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It’s that time of the year again when India’s premier engineering institute, <keyword id="57604" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="iit-delhi">IIT Delhi</keyword> hosts ‘Open House’ - its annual exhibition to give people an insight into the revolutionary work happening inside the campus over the past year. As the college is gearing up to host the 12th edition of ‘Open House’, the list of splendid innovations that will be featured at the event has already caught eyeballs across the country. 
 
This is because once again, most of these projects are not only innovative but those with “high societal impact”. 
 
Among a total of 500 research projects and 80 demo projects to be displayed are some really interesting innovations like a hip protective device for the elderly, high productivity bio-fertilizer, Mamma Pod and diagram books for blind students. 
 
There will also be these: A 5 min endotoxin detection kit, Tissue Engineering and 3D Bio printing, Design and Development of Mobile Unit for Biogas Enrichment &amp; Bottlingm among others. 
 But what’s going to be the center of attention is a system of better drainage systems for Delhi. Yes, A lot of eyes, especially from the <keyword id="6354952" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Delhi-Government">Delhi government</keyword> will be on this as the event kickstarts on April 23. 
 V Ramgopal Rao, who assumed office as the premier institute’s Director three days ago, said “The idea of <keyword id="2388827" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="IIT-Open-House">IIT Open House</keyword> is to identify projects where a new product or technology is created with high societal impact. We are going to connect with agricultural and healthcare institutions and would like to work on multi-disciplinary projects offering societal benefits.” 
 
IIT Delhi is expecting over 40,000 school students to visit the exposition which will be open and free for public. While demonstrations will close by 2 pm the laboratory will stay open for visitors till 4 pm. 
 
IIT IS STRIVING TO CREATE A BETTER WORLD FOR THE VISUALLY CHALLENGED 
 
The institute has been working towards providing aid to the visually-impaired for quite sometime now and had come up in the past with technology-driven devices like the blind cane, that have shown positive results. 
 
Their latest project focuses on providing blind students access to non-visual representations of diagrams and figures in subjects like maths, science, economics and geography, in tactile form at an affordable cost. 
 
Prof M Balakrishnan, who is guiding the project, said it uses the process of thermoforming with durable PVC sheets as opposed to the more expensive swell paper or the less durable embossing, while using 3D printing technology. 
 
“Thermoforming lies between embossing and swell technology. While embossing might be economical, it is less durable and prone to wear and tear. Swell technology is expensive with each paper costing Rs 100. With thermoforming, more durable diagrams are created at a nominal price of Rs 10-Rs 15 per sheet,” Renu Kaushik and Vibha Chaudhury, who are working as research scholars for the project, said. 
 
The team has been working with NCERT to bring out a map book for Upper Primary grades in blind schools. 
 
They have also brought out science and maths textbooks for ninth grade and economics textbook for the eleventh grade, besides a Yoga book for the Iyengar society that can be used by visually impaired individuals to practise yoga. 
 
Rao also emphasised on the need for tech-based initiatives and said that it will be among one of the primary areas of focus for the years to come. 
 
“I have seen that a lot of start ups are coming up but there are hardly any tech-based start-ups. We have to focus on tech and tech-incubation is what we will focus on in the next few years,” he said. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

IIT Delhi is all set to host the 12th edition of its massively popular innovations 'Open House'. Here’s what to expect

<ul><li>IIT-D had submitted the new drainage plan to the <keyword id="66" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Delhi">Delhi</keyword> government 18 months ago. </li><li>One of the major suggestions is the revival of the natural drainage basins of the Capital which are fast disappearing. </li><li>PWD says that different departments are assigned specific tasks for the “theoretical report” to turn it into a practical project.</li></ul> While <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/itd-be-funny-if-it-werent-such-a-pain-city-fights-waterlogging-with-42-year-old-plan/articleshow/65045726.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Delhi</a> is not exactly known for the kind of monsoons Mumbai deals with, water-logging has increasingly become a problem in the Capital. A little rain results in standing water puddles, mounting traffic and a series of issues more. So, what exactly is the problem? For starters, the Capital is functioning with a drainage plan that is a few decades old. And while a new plan has been formulated, it has not been implemented yet. In 2012, Sheila Dikshit, the then chief minister of Delhi, announced that a reform in the Capital’s drainage plan was needed. Considering that the last drainage plan for the city was designed in 1976, a reform was more than a little necessary. Dikshit gave IIT Delhi (IIT-D) the task to come up with the new master plan. IIT-D submitted the new plan 18 months back, however, the Delhi government has still not taken up any of their recommendations. They are apparently facing a bureaucratic maze where “nothing has been done so far” because there are no systems in place to make the changes and the concerned people are disinterested. And thanks to that, the result is that the Capital comes to a halt after little to moderate rainfall. Here’s how the university came up with their plan Delhi has 700 km of <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/itd-be-funny-if-it-werent-such-a-pain-city-fights-waterlogging-with-42-year-old-plan/articleshow/65045726.cms">drainage </a>and IIT-D first scientifically quantified the volume of water that flows in them and then, came up with several ways to increase the volume. This included rectifying slopes of drains, width adjustments, siltation removal and revival of the natural drainage system which runs across 426.555 km in Delhi. The natural drainage basins of the Capital are fast disappearing. The 1976 drainage master plan had identified 201 major natural drainage basins. However, 44 of them can not be located anymore and the others are so “permanently” silted that no one knows about their actual dimensions any longer, like the ones in Barapullah and Najafgarh. IIT-D also pointed out that the increase in the area under paved surfaces have lead to a reduction in water percolation and are resulting in standing dirty water on the roads. The only immediate solution that they recommended was to completely clean the stormwater and the sewage system. They recommended that the Delhi Jal Board use super suckers for unclogging the sewer lanes. The draft also mentioned that the stormwater drainage system should be kept free of solid waste. Fifty percent of Delhi does not segregate between stormwater and sewage since more than half of houses are not even connected to a sewage system and therefore, open drainage is used as a dustbin. Other recommendations included complete separation of the networks carrying sewage and stormwater, unified framework for drainage with a common plan, laying down of pipes to channel rainwater away from the surface to nearby parks or water bodies and the revival of natural drains. The Public Works Department (PWD) has argued that it is only a theoretical report and it has been converted to a practical project after different departments were allocated specific tasks to make it happen. The deadline for this theory to practice plan has been set for 2031. And in all this, the Delhi government’s department of irrigation and flood control was given the task to work on it with IIT-D. All departments were given the recommendation draft for their inputs. One problem with the system is the multiplicity of agencies and the absence of a common framework on drainage. There are 10 agencies, including the municipal corporations, PWD, Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), <keyword id="6371761" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="delhi-development-authority">Delhi Development Authority</keyword> (DDA), and the irrigation and flood control department. With so many authorities to deal with, IIT-D believes that lack of leadership is a major hurdle when it comes to implementing the plan. And while the plan flails through this bureaucratic maze, Delhi will just have to deal with water-logging till things work out.

IIT Delhi has a master drainage plan for the Capital, but it remains unimplemented

A digital microscope to see cells in 3-D, a helmet whose strap tightens with the click of a button and components which make buildings earthquake resistant, IIT-Delhi's recent 'Open House' displayed the kind of innovations that are taking place within the campus, but to be put into use by the outside world. While some innovations are near completion, others have even been patented and are now being used by the industries. History is testimony to the fact that what these students have crafted have been making a difference in our lives. While benefiting the common man, there's one more area that <keyword id="137562" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="IITians">IITians</keyword> have contributed to - Defence. Let's for instance take the example of a material called aluminium cenosphere syntactic foam. Work is on so that this can be used to place as a layer in buildings, bridges and flyovers to protect them from collapsing or suffering severe damage during a bomb blast. Another example is that of helmets being used by the <keyword id="6354416" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Army">Indian Army</keyword>. It can only protect a soldier from splinters, rocks and a bullet that only grazes the helmet and is not directly hitting it. But the helmet being made by IIT-Delhi will contain layers of varied materials, including ceramic and cellular foam, which will blunt the bullet, reduce its velocity and absorb its energy. The new helmet will make sure the bullet does not penetrate the helmet there is no 'back face signature', which is a deformity caused on the helmet by the bullet. IITians have also given the defence sector several <keyword id="94769" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="drones">drones</keyword>. whoch are being used in anti-combing operations in <keyword id="21647" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="naxal">Naxal</keyword> areas, for surveillance under waters and to check movements on our borders. S. Basu, Assistant Dean, Research and Development, Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi recently said - "the institute's collaborated with <keyword id="490397" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Defence-Research-Development-Organisation">Defence Research Development Organisation</keyword> (<keyword id="6355142" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="DRDO">DRDO</keyword>), wherein the former will receive Rs 230 crore over five years to build technologies to thwart mine attacks, assess their impact, and to build a "spy-balloon" -- conceptualized as a drone -- among others." Let's wait to see the kind of innovations that come out of our premier institutes in the days to come!

IIT student innovations empower India's defence sector like never before

Well, if you have kept your eyes open while on road you couldn’t have missed ‘Look up’ promotional campaign by Housing.com. The engrossing campaign by the startup founded by 3 alumni from IIT, Mumbai have a record of being in news for all wrong reasons. Believe it or not, the company has spent around Rs 120 crore , much above it’s estimate just to promote its logo, which is apparently inspired from an <keyword id="75489" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="IOS">iOs</keyword> app. Adding to it this time is it’s <keyword id="5645" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="CEO">CEO</keyword> <keyword id="536283" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rahul-Yadav">Rahul Yadav</keyword>’s resignation from the board. A nasty email he wrote to his colleagues was accessed by the media and all the hell broke loose. 
 
In his resignation, Rahul has written: 
 
Dear board members and investors, I don't think you guys are intellectually capable enough to have any sensible discussion anymore. This is something which I not just believe but can prove on your faces also! 
 
I had calculated long back (by taking avg life expectancy minus avg sleeping hrs) that I only have ~3L (hours) in my life. ~3L hrs are certainly not much to waste with you guys! 
 
Hence resigning from the position of Directorship, Chairmanship and the CEO position of the company(sic). I'm available for the next 7 days to help in the transition. Won't give more time after that. So please be efficient in this duration. 
 
Cheers, 
Rahul 
 
And as the letter became viral, social media exploded with sarcasm, criticism and of course choicest abuses against Yadav. 
 
A twitteratti, @GabbarSingh known for mean tweets reacted steadily saying, “IIT brat Housing dot com CEO's resignation letter. And you ask why don't we have an Elon musk.” 
 This was followed by a series of reactions with someone replying, “The only 'innovation' I saw was to plaster the city with his ads. No patents. No <keyword id="6414070" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="iron-man">Iron man</keyword> suit. Pshaw!” Someone took this occasion to criticize the app saying, “To be fair, the app was disruptive in its micro-innovations. That it's run by juveniles is another story.” Keeping the fun alive, <keyword id="202428" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gabbar">Gabbar</keyword> himself replied, “his ego is writing cheques which his product cant encash. Build a fuckin suit.” 
 Yet, this isn’t the first time Yadav has proved how foul mouthed badass he is. Earlier when <keyword id="270604" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sequoia">Sequoia</keyword>, a <keyword id="6357097" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="venture-capital">venture capital</keyword> fund declined to <keyword id="47916" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="invest">invest</keyword> on Housing and instead pumped money in Grabhouse, a rival of Housing, Yadav had sent a nasty email to Shailendra, the MD of the venture capital firm, saying: 
 
“You clearly know what shit you’ve done with multiple entrepreneuers and startups in India with your cheap and dirty tactics.” 
 
The letter ends with Rahul signing off “Go die motherf*****” 
 
And when the hurly-burly is done, the news report in the ET reads, the Housing board consisted of three directors " Yadav, Sharma and Arora. On Tuesday, sources told the ET that the first item on the board's agenda will be the appointment of two new directors "Ritesh Banglani of Helion and Sujan of Nexus " and formalising the appointment of Bullock in place of Arora. 
 Documents accessed by ET show that Yadav owns 4.57% stake in the company. <keyword id="440175" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nexus-Ventures">Nexus Ventures</keyword> owns 19%, <keyword id="163404" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Softbank">SoftBank</keyword> 32%, and <keyword id="344650" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Helion-Ventures">Helion Ventures</keyword> and <keyword id="60126" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Falcon">Falcon</keyword> Edge about 10% each.. 
 
According to the sources, the board will discuss reporting structure, recent marketing expenditure and acquisitions, the resignation of Arora as well the events involving the Times Group and Sequoia. 
 
Housing competes with CommonFloor, 99Acres and MagicBricks, owned by the owner of this portal in India.

Housing.com ex CEO shows what badass means

<ul><li>Hike is looking to hire engineers who lost their jobs and freshers to fill in around 20 new positions at the company.</li><li>In an exclusive interview with Business Insider, Anshuman Mishra, the VP of Operations at Hike outlines the four-stage process that candidates have to go through to get selected.</li><li>Some of the roles that they’re looking at include areas like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), and user research.</li></ul>The Kavin Mittal-owned startup, Hike, is opening up hiring during the lockdown even as most companies have announced a . As they work towards launching HikeLand — an augmented reality-based based experience that nobody really knows much about — it has opened up around 20 positions to add to their 152-strong staff. And, all the hiring will happen virtually. In addition to looking at freshers from <keyword id="6364832" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="IIT-Kharagpur">IIT Kharagpur</keyword>, IIT Dhanbad, Netaji Subhas University of Technology (NSUT) and some other top tier colleges through its ZeroTo2 program — Hike is also looking to hire people who were laid off during the lockdown in hopes of picking up top talent on the rebound. “We are reaching out to alumni networks, mapping and prioritising high pedigree candidates facing job and salary cuts and are actively accepting requests from organisations looking for outplacement support,” Anshuman Mishra, the VP of Operations at Hike exclusively told Business Insider. The loopholes that candidates will have to jump through in order to get hired “Once a candidate’s profile is shortlisted, we share custom-designed stimulations and assignments — depending on the role they have applied for — with each candidate. We have been using tech tools like Hackerank and in-house developed simulations,” explained Mishra. Each simulation will have a cut-off and the scores will be compared to select the top performers depending on the number of positions available. “We use top percentiles to decide real-time thresholds for cutoffs, so that bar is always high,” said Mishra. Once the top candidates have been selected, they will move to the second stage — interviews. Not just one, but every candidate will have to go through at least four rounds of interviews for Hike to evaluate their competency. The interview stage is followed by one more check that candidates will have to clear — how they fit into the overall culture at Hike. “We introduce the candidates to Hike and assess how well do they align to Hike’s values, DNA and vision,” said Mishra. Some of the roles that they’re looking at include areas like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), and user research over and above the conventional hiring in product, design and marketing. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/covid-effect-startups-staring-at-revenue-decline-many-in-process-of-closing-down/articleshow/75832629.cms">COVID effect: Startups staring at revenue decline, many in process of closing down</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/youtube-talent-managers-share-the-biggest-challenge-they-face-in-helping-build-an-influencers-career/articleshow/75853240.cms">YouTube talent managers share the biggest challenge they face in helping build an influencer's career</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/hiring-at-infosys-and-tech-mahindra-is-down-40-in-line-with-the-trend-in-top-five-it-firms-and-its-not-just-because-of-covid-19/articleshow/75669358.cms">Hiring at Infosys and Tech Mahindra is down at least 40% in line with the trend in top five IT firms⁠— and it's not just because of COVID-19</a>

EXCLUSIVE: Hike is looking for engineers who lost their jobs during lockdown ⁠— here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the test candidates have to go through

It took <keyword id="57604" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="iit-delhi">IIT Delhi</keyword> 8 long years to come out with the perfect walking stick for <keyword id="23953" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="blind">blind</keyword> - 'Smart Cane' - that could help them in navigating their way amid obstacles, and when they finally did last year, one of India's biggest e-commerce company Snapdeal decided to sell it on their portal. Several blind people now make use of it in their daily lives! 
 On my recent visit to IIT's Open House event this year, I came across something that made me feel we would soon see yet another great success story after Smart Cane by the masterminds at this premier institute. Just like Smart Cane, they have been working on what's called '<keyword id="3338878" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tactile-Graphics">Tactile Graphics</keyword>' - books with images that consist of raised lines and textures so that people with visual impairment can perceive images by using the sense of touch. 
 
The innovation can help persons with visual impairment read diagrams and figures in subjects like maths, science, economic, geography etc very easily. 
 
There are two challenges, however, before students can make a breakthrough in this regard. One is to come out with a cheap technology for printing these graphics at low cost. Secondly, the cheap technology should be able to create accurate and good quality tactile for students. 
 
The existing technology used abroad involves using swell paper and the printing process costs around Rs. 200 per sheet. Microcapsules of alchohol are embedded in the sheet and when heated these capsules explode, creating a raised surface on the paper that makes the graphics readable for the visually challenged. While this technology produces high-quality graphics, it is expensive and isn't ideal if the graphics need more height variation. 
 
Tactile Graphics, on the other hand, uses a process called embossing and thermoforming to cut printing costs to around Rs. 20 per sheet. The process involves using a 3D printer to print the mould, which is then pasted on a printout of the graphics. A plastic sheet is placed on it and it's put inside a forming machine, which heats the sheet and the result is a low-cost print of Tactile Graphics. 
 
However, the one problem that needs to be addressed is accuracy. Accuracy is very important in areas like geography, especially in the subject of maps, where it is critical. Manual processes of making molds is highly inadequate in such cases. Even in simple geometric shapes, smoothness gets compromised without high accuracy. 
 
Till last year, their technology wasn't producing as high-quality sheets as those printed using swell paper, but it was found to be better for dots of variable heights and was a lot cheaper. Rs. 20 per sheet was a price that could keep books affordable even if the quality was not as good as the sheets printed using swell paper. As for accuracy, IITians are not far away from getting desired results. They are now making molds using software and 3D printing which provides the key components for meeting the accuracy needs of molds. 
 
Why I felt this could do wonders like Smart Cane is because of two reasons. One, it's a wonderful concept that can make a significant change in the lives of the visually challenged on a mass level, and secondly the students and professors have been relentlessly working on making a cheap version just like Smart Cane. And let's just say when there's a will, there's always a way!

They are helping blind walk safely, and this new innovation by IITians will now help them read effortlessly!

<keyword id="276564" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Satya-Nadella">Satya Nadella</keyword> and <keyword id="164502" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sundar-Pichai">Sundar Pichai</keyword>, the Indian-origin CEOs of world's largest technology companies Microsoft and Google, respectively, are going to visit India this month. 
 
Pichai, accompanied by Google’s senior global executives, will be here in the coming week or next, marking his first international visit after becoming the CEO. In the two days that he would be here, he would be outlining his Indian vision for the coming years. Pichai, 43, is likely to deliver the keynote address at the ‘Google for India’ event on December 16 in New Delhi. He's also expected to share the plans that Google has for India, which happens to be one of its largest growth markets. 
 
Pichai would also be attending a dinner at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, which would be hosted by President Pranab Mukherjee. Meeting PM Modi is also on his cards. The two have already met when Modi visited Silicon Valley in September. 
 
Nadella came to India just a month ago to attend Microsoft's flagship Future Unleashed event and meet key customers, partners and developers. However, this time, this is more of a personal trip, quite like last year when he visited during the Christmas and New Year holidays. 
 
In the recent past, India has seen frequent visits by top global executives, including Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. 
Like Zuckerberg, Pichai has plans to host an open house session with Indian students; however, instead of IIT, his choice is likely to be Delhi University. 
 
<a href="http://s3.india.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/google.jpg">Image source</a>

After Zuckerberg, Nadella and Pichai to visit India before the year ends

The recent budget has been pragmatic that focuses on enhancing the foundations of <keyword id="497931" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Competitiveness">competitiveness</keyword> and <keyword id="2748697" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Social-Wellbeing">social wellbeing</keyword> of its people. The budget, without a doubt, has been visionary in more than one ways and is reflected in the distinct direction that the present regime is trying to push the country towards. The budget tries to serve the poor at the same time being pro-business and pro-investment in sectors like infrastructure, housing, and power. All this in addition to accepting the recent recommendations of the <keyword id="74136" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="finance-commission">Finance Commission</keyword> to devolve a greater share of <keyword id="487578" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="tax-collections">tax collections</keyword> up to 42% from the earlier 32%. This suggests that the government clearly appreciates the idea of states as being the primary unit of geography where finer economic development objectives are decided. 
 The focus of the budget has been in solving the problems of the poor through targeted subsidy regime by reducing leakages in transfers. The JAM (<keyword id="6392137" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jan-dhan-Yojana">Jan Dhan Yojana</keyword>, <keyword id="681230" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Aadhar-card">Aadhar Card</keyword> and Mobile Phones) Number Trinity as pointed out in the economic survey aims to make the system leak-proof in the coming future. The government has thought long and hard on solving the problems of the poor. It is evident from the schemes meant for the people at various stages that do not have medical or general insurance. The old age pension scheme and the way the other insurance schemes have been designed with benefits to poorest of the poor in times of need in the form of accident premiums at amounts as small as Rs 330 a year, etc. with a coverage of Rs 2 Lakh point towards the same. 
 
Implicit in the design of such schemes is the fact that the government seems to opt for market-based solutions to take care of problems of the people rather than a governmental welfare driven model. It was also evident by the announcement to create a National Skills Mission through the Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Ministry that aims to make the workforce employable and stay employable. A look at the provisions also suggests that the government is keen to invest in startups as well as in promoting small businesses by providing funds for entrepreneurship. The opening up a Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank, with a corpus of Rs. 20,000 Crore also bolsters this point. There also seems to be an explicit understanding that India of tomorrow will have to be driven by entrepreneurs and a shift in the mindset is required from being job seekers to job creators. The education system also gets a boost, but opening up newer institutions especially IIM’s and IIT’s makes the education system focus on quantity but not quality. This is where the task of the HRD Ministry would be cut out to focus on IIT’s/ IIM’s as a pillar in the ecosystem of creating enterprises. 
 
For the corporate sector and investor community, this is probably the first time that the focus has been on providing internationally competitive tax rates (though deferred over the next four years). Similarly, the indication on a timely implementation of the much-awaited goods and services tax (to be implemented from next year) indicates that the government is keen towards its aim of a common unified market that will integrate the economy and boost growth and enhance regional competitiveness. The focus on reducing red tape by focusing on simplifying norms for opening and complying with rules also indicates the government is keen on improving India’s rank on indices such as the Global Competitiveness Index and the Ease of Doing Business Index by leveraging technology to solve problems. 
 
The push towards infrastructure is evident with an allocation of Rs. 70,000 Crores more to the sector from the previous year despite the reduction in fiscal space. The creation of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), with annual flows of Rs. 20,000 Crore will help the trust to raise debt, and in turn, invest as equity in infrastructure finance companies. It will then enable infrastructure finance companies to leverage extra equity, many folds. Thus, one clearly sees a boost for India’s creaky infrastructure. 
 
The greater devolution to states also means that now the union government is trying to go on the path of cooperative federalism that had been talked about for long. It means states will now have greater freedom to design policies and implement programs suitable to the needs of the people residing therein. The only two caveats i.e., first the states being unable to implement policies and secondly the deepening wedge and greater regional disparity due to better performance of some states. This is where the states will have to understand the competitive federalism and take it in a healthy spirit. The Institute for Competitiveness’s annual State Competitiveness Index ranking may be of benefit for states to see their performance and improve it over time. 
 
The budget thus manages to do well for quality of life of citizens, as well as social progress especially for the common people. It signals a departure from the past with a new economic order in place one that has at its core a focus on states, infrastructure, entrepreneurship, competition and access to markets as the prime drivers of tomorrow’s India. Will the budget have a transformational impact on India’s future? It certainly has the potential; The rest will depend on India's implementational capability. 
 
(Dr. Amit Kapoor is President and CEO of India Council on Competitiveness and Honorary Chairman of Institute for Competitiveness, India. He tweets @kautiliya and can be contacted at <a href="mailto:amit.kapoor@competitiveness.in">amit.kapoor@competitiveness.in</a>)

Enhancing India’s Competitiveness: A New Economic Order in Making

<ul><li>The German banking giant, <keyword id="6357341" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="deutsche-bank">Deutsche Bank</keyword>, has plans to onboard up to 1,000 employees this year.</li><li>Dilipkumar Khandelwal — Deutsche Bank’s global chief information officer (CIO) of Corporate Functions Technology — revealed that the bank is looking for employees willing to learn rather than just the right set of skills, in an exclusive interview with Business Insider India.</li><li>The aim of this hiring drive is to build competencies in-house in India so that the need for outsourcing is drummed down.</li></ul>Deutsche Bank plans to hire up to 1,000 new employees this year in India at its technology centres, as it looks to double down on digitisation. The company is looking for people who have the ability to be flexible as technology changes rather than specific digital skills. This includes around 300 freshers and 700 lateral hires. That being said, the focus is on cloud technology, simplifying the tech stack — which is the back end processes for loans, account opening and other functions — competence in <keyword id="107950" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="artificial-intelligence">artificial intelligence</keyword> (AI) and <keyword id="294572" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="machine-learning">machine learning</keyword> (ML). “In line with our strategy of internalising our technology talent and growing our engineering capabilities in house, we are expecting to hire up to 1,000 employees at our India technology centres this year,” Dilipkumar Khandelwal, global chief information officer (CIO) of Corporate Functions Technology at Deutsche Bank told Business Insider India in an exclusive interview. It is about more than just hiring the right talent Like most big corporations, Deutsche Bank hires from the best campuses in India like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). According to Khandelwal, the bank is looking at at least 25 to 35 different colleges across the country. And, there’s no dearth of talent. “The challenge almost comes in when you want to build those core capabilities, your existing organisation plus what you’re hiring has the right set of functional and technical depth that you require,” explained the Indian School of Business alumnus. Core capabilities include moving the background code that a bank needs to run its applications to the cloud, specifically Google’s public cloud, and reducing dependencies. This means faster upgrades and roll-out of new services in the future. “We’re looking at not just hiring people but also increasing the maturity of the people in terms of the skills they need to acquire,” Khandelwal told Business Insider India. This could mean upskilling or reskilling with the aim to have talent in-house. The need for outsourcing should come down. Maturity means the capability of learning new skills and building on them to further develop technology ahead of the curve. “The overall maturity has to go up. Otherwise, you’ll always have a tendency of work getting outsourced and not having the right capabilities and decision-making powers in the right locations,” explained the man who has been with Deutsche Bank for a little over a year. COVID-19 pandemic presented a unique challenge where most people were hired virtually. Going forward, this will only change if the pandemic numbers are low enough to make coming to the office a reality again. “At some point of time, you need to think about how you integrate them with the larger workforce and how do you get them to integrate them to be a part of the organisation’s culture,” said Khandelwal. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/discounts-have-dropped-lower-on-the-customer-priority-list-say-indian-online-retailers/articleshow/81145830.cmshttps://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/discounts-have-dropped-lower-on-the-customer-priority-list-say-indian-online-retailers/articleshow/81145830.cms">Discounts have dropped lower on the customer’s priority list, say Indian e-tailers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/heres-how-to-avail-gst-credit-if-your-supplier-has-not-uploaded-invoices/articleshow/81145678.cms">Here’s how to avail GST credit if your supplier has not uploaded invoices</a>

INTERVIEW: Deutsche Bank plans to hire 1,000 employees in India as it looks to build core technologies in-house

<ul><li>The SGX Nifty was trading 0.48% higher at 7:55 am, indicating a higher start for Nifty50. </li><li>Here’s a list of stocks to watch for in trade today. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/">Check out the latest news and updates on Business Insider. </a></li></ul>Amidst positive cues from the Asian markets, the Indian stock market is likely to open in green. The SGX Nifty was trading 0.48% higher at 7:55 am, indicating a positive start for Nifty50. Other Asian markets were also trading in green— Hang Seng Index was up 1.34%, Australian Securities Exchange, ASX 200 was also up 0.17%. These are the stocks to watch out for during the trading session on October 12: Vedanta Vedanta on Sunday informed stock-exchanges that its buyback offer is deemed to have failed as per the terms of the delisting regulations after promoter Vedanta Resources did not receive the required number of shares to delist the firm. The shares of Vedanta closed 2% higher on Friday. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Glenmark Pharmaceuticals on Friday said that its Umifenovir did not show superior clinical outcomes when added to Favipiravir treatment for moderate coronavirus. The shares of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals closed 2% lower on Friday. Indiabulls Housing Finance The Gurugram-headquartered mortgage lender, Indiabulls Housing Finance has raised about ₹441 crore by further selling a portion of its stake in OakNorth Holding to a US-based Riva Capital Partners V LP. The shares of Indiabulls Housing Finance closed 5% higher on Friday. Dr Lal PathLabs Dr Lal PathLabs clarified that the data breach of its patients occurred after a misconfiguration in one of its minor web applications where temporary records were stored for operational purposes, and took place at a facility managed by a third party. “It involved less than 0.5% of our records and has been successfully resolved since,” the company said. The shares of Dr Lal PathLabs closed 5% lower on Friday. RITES The engineering consultancy company, RITES has secured ₹103 crore order from project management consultancies for the construction of various buildings at IIT Delhi and for study of Multi Modal Integration Planning for Surat Metro, among others. The shares of RITES closed 0.22% higher on Friday. Premier Explosives The explosives manufacturing company, Premier Explosives said it has bagged ₹82.83 crore order from a state-run Singareni Collieries Company in Telangana for the supply of SMS/SME explosives and accessories. The shares of Premier Explosives closed 5% higher on Friday. Karnataka Bank The state-owned Karnataka Bank on Friday declared its exposure of ₹107.99 crore to Sintex Industries (SIL) as fraud. The shares of Karnataka Bank closed 2.4% higher on Friday. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders and UTI AMC The shares of Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders and UTI AMC will list on the bourses today at 10:00 am. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders is expected to witness a bumper listing, with grey market premium floating around ₹95-₹100. Meanwhile, UTI AMC may not see much excitement from investors, as per the current grey market premium. UTI AMC is likely to list at a <a href="https://www.ipowatch.in/2019/12/uti-amc-ipo-gmp-grey-market-premium-kostak-rates-subject-to-sauda-today.html">‘discounted’ </a>price. Wipro Watch out for Wipro ahead of its earnings and buyback announcement due tomorrow. Shalby and GNA Axles Shalby and GNA Axles are slated to report their second quarterly earnings today. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/gst-council-to-discuss-compensation-issue-for-third-time-in-a-row-on-monday/articleshow/78605574.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">GST Council meet yet again — to discuss compensation issue for the third time today</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/delhi-government-exempts-road-tax-on-battery-operated-vehicles-under-its-ev-policy/articleshow/78605311.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Delhi government exempts road tax on battery-operated vehicles under its EV policy</a>

Top stocks to watch — Vedanta, Wipro, RITES, Mazagon Dock, UTI AMC, Glenmark Pharma, and others

MUMBAI: <keyword id="6360722" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ratan-tata">Ratan Tata</keyword> is said to be considering a personal investment in <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword>, an e-commerce firm, at a time when online retail is generating investor euphoria on the back of exponential growth. 
 
In a move that would signal his interest in India's emerging consumer internet story, the 76-year-old chairman emeritus of Tata Sons may buy out an early investor in Snapdeal through a secondary sale, people familiar with the development said. 
 
Kunal Bahl, co-founder of Snapdeal, did not respond to TOI's query while an emailed questionnaire to Tata's office on Monday remained unanswered till the time of going to press on Tuesday. 
 
The 76-year-old, who transformed India's largest private sector conglomerate with a string of marquee global acquisitions, is expected to be a minority investor in his personal capacity in the e-tailer. TOI could not ascertain the exact stake Tata would hold in Snapdeal if and when the transaction is completed. 
 
While his holding is unlikely to be high, its real significance would lie in the buzz it would create for the four-year-old firm. Tata has always had in interest in technology; even so, the deal, if it goes through, would mark the ultimate coming together of the old and new guard. 
 
People close to Snapdeal said Tata had visited the firm's headquarters in Delhi about a month ago and addressed employees. 
 Tata could be boarding Snapdeal just when the online marketplace, which has crossed $1 billion in gross merchandise sale by value—second only to Flipkart—is busy fending off a challenge from online retail juggernaut <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> for No. 2 position in the domestic e-commerce market. 
 
The investment would be testimony to the growing interest of established business houses in India's burgeoning internet commerce, which is poised to hit $9 billion over the next two years, according to US venture capitalist Accel Partners. 
 The potential investment by Tata, who stepped down from his day-to-day responsibilities at the $100 billion conglomerate about two years ago, would be a huge, timely shot in the arm for Snapdeal, with both <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> and Amazon declaring open war for dominance of India's fast-growing e-commerce market which has attracted top dollars from financial investors. 
 
Bangalore-based Flipkart, the country's leading e-tailer with gross sales nearing $3 billion, last week raised $1 billion in funding mostly from existing investors led by Tiger Global, Naspers and Accel Partners. The Jeff Bezos-led Amazon responded a day later by announcing a $2 billion investment in what is becoming a hotly contested three-legged race. 
 Another Indian business tycoon, Wipro's Azim Premj, has laid bets on the Indian consumer internet story through his family office PremjiInvest by picking up minority stakes in <keyword id="319719" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Myntra">Myntra</keyword>, now merged with Flipkart, and Snapdeal. <keyword id="6354512" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Infosys">Infosys</keyword> co-founder <keyword id="6355623" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narayana-Murthy">Narayana Murthy</keyword> recently formed an e-commerce joint venture with Amazon through his private investment firm Catamaran Ventures. 
 
Other big Indian business houses with interests in offline retail like Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail and the Aditya Birla Group have now begun unfolding their e-commerce plans as an increasing number of Indians shop online, driven in large part by rising smartphone penetration. India's galloping internet user base is now estimated at over 240 million, raising the possibility of it emerging as the world's largest digital commerce market along with China. 
 
Snapdeal has already raised two rounds of funds so far this year, taking total capital raised to about $350 million at a valuation of a billion dollars. Its existing investors include San Jose- based eBay Inc, Singapore's Temasek, BlackRock, PremjiInvest, Intel, Nexus Venture Partners, NEA-IndoUS Venture Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners. 
 
Bahl and schoolmate, Rohit Bansal, both 32, started Snapdeal four years ago as a daily deals site, modelled on GroupOn, later changing it into an online marketplace for merchants to sell their products. Before Snapdeal, the Delhi duo founded Money Saver, a physical coupon book business that offered discounts to consumers across retail outlets. Bahl, who'd returned after graduating from Wharton, and Bansal, armed with an IIT-Delhi degree, later transitioned from a physical format to mobile couponing till the idea of starting a daily-deals site struck them in January 2010. 
 
Snapdeal says it sells about five million products across various categories like apparel, mobiles and electronics with over 25 million subscribers operating on a pure-play online marketplace model. Like Flipkart, it generates over 50% of its orders from mobile phones.

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