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France-based automobile manufacturer <keyword id="43777" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="renault" source="Orion">Renault</keyword> and Japan-headquartered <keyword id="46283" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="nissan" source="Orion">Nissan</keyword> on Monday committed investments of USD 600 million (around ₹5,300 crore) in the country 15 years after foraying into the <keyword id="20154" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="tamil-nadu" source="Orion">Tamil Nadu</keyword> automobile industry. The fresh round of investments would witness rollout of six new models between the two companies, including two electric vehicles, representing the two global brands, Nissan Global Chief Operating Officer and Member, Alliance Board Ashwani Gupta said here. Currently, both automakers produce four models at the Chennai plant located at Oragadam, about 45 kilometres from here. According to Gupta, the Renault-Nissan manufacturing facility would also become 100 per cent carbon neutral by 2025 with use of renewable energy. The investments would see creation of 2,000 new jobs at the Renault Nissan Research and Development and Business Centre located at Mahindra Research City in Singaperumalkoil. Gupta, in the presence of Chief Minister M K Stalin, Renault <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> Country CEO Venkatram Mamillapallee exchanged memorandum of understanding with the Tamil Nadu government promoted nodal agency Guidance Bureau MD and CEO <keyword id="16485351" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="vishnu-venugopal" source="Orion">Vishnu Venugopal</keyword> at an event here. Elaborating on the new models, Gupta said: "Today is almost 15 years of Renault-Nissan announcing plans of a manufacturing facility in Chennai following the signing of an agreement with the Government of Tamil Nadu." "Since then, our factory (in Chennai) has produced more than 2.4 million cars and exports to over 108 countries. I am delighted to announce that our partnership (Renault-Nissan) continues with a new agreement with Government of Tamil Nadu," he said. Gupta termed the signing of agreement with the government as a 'long-term commitment' of the automakers to India and the wider region. On the signing of the new agreement, he said India is one of the key markets and it is poised to become the third largest automotive market in the world. "That is why we are thrilled to announce our new long-term vision for the country where we will introduce six new models, including two battery-operated vehicles to be made at our plant in Chennai. This plant will become an international export hub," he said. The increased activity in new projects at its technical centres including digital and software development would see creation of up to 2,000 jobs at Mahindra World City, he added. "We are (also) transforming our Chennai plant into a carbon neutral manufacturing power house. This is really a great day for the alliance...," he said. The Chennai plant already sources more than 50 per cent of its electricity from renewable energy including solar, biomass and wind. The existing solar plant would become more than six times bigger, expanding to a 14 MW plant from 2.2 MW currently, the company said. On the rollout of new products, Gupta said, "Of the six new models manufactured here, three will be made by Nissan and three by Renault -- to the four existing Nissan and Renault vehicles. These vehicles will be built on a common alliance platform while keeping individual distinctive brand identities." Gupta said the new manufacturing products would include four new 'C' segment Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) while it would be the first for Nissan in India. "Importantly, this lineup will include Nissan and Renault's first-ever electric vehicles for India," he said. Two new 'A' segment electric vehicle products would be built on both brands (Renault and Nissan) and would have mass market electrification, he said referring to the success of the company's electric vehicles Nissan Aria and Secura. The investment announcements made by the company signals significant increase in exports from India showcasing the skilled manufacturing capabilities that would benefit the customers in the world, he said. "Our plant will boost plant utilisation, up to 80 per cent securing thousands of jobs in years to come," he said. By 2025, 100 per cent of the electricity used in the plant would be renewable energy, Gupta said. "This is an ambitious and important target as you can see we are fully committed to the Indian market in electrification..." Under the new framework of agreement, Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt Ltd would move to an ownership of 51 per cent Nissan and 49 per cent Renault. Renault Nissan Technology Business Centre would move to an ownership of 51 per cent Renault - 49 per cent Nissan. "This reinforces the partnership for the long-term and will empower the joint ventures with more responsibility and more autonomy," the company said in a statement. Gupta recalled that he was present during the inauguration of the company's research and development and formation of Renault Nissan Automobile India Pvt Ltd about 17 years ago in Chennai and in other parts of the country. "It is personally very significant for me to be back here and to be a part of building a future for the company and for our people," he said. According to a company statement, the new models to be produced at the Chennai plant would not only serve the domestic customers but also signal a significant increase in exports from India, boosting plant utilisation levels to 80 per cent. Nissan's Africa, Middle East, India, Europe and Oceania region Chairperson Guillaume Cartier said: "Renault and Nissan are fully committed to the Indian market, committed to electrifying the Indian market and committed to minimising our impact on the environment." "India was the first Alliance plant and India will be at the centre of this new chapter of the alliance, with new vehicles, new R&amp;D activities and new export markets taking our joint operations to the next level," he said. "Renault and Nissan have renewed their commitment to India today and we thank the Tamil Nadu government for their strong partnership and support," Cartier said. Tamil Nadu Industries Department additional chief secretary S Krishnan said, "The Renault-Nissan Alliance in Tamil Nadu has had manufacturing and design facilities in operation in the state for more than 15 years now. This is a very valuable and important relationship for the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Alliance. It employs about 15,000 people indirectly in the State..." "We are very excited about this new proposal of modernisation and fresh investment by the Renault-Nissan Alliance in Tamil Nadu. This genuinely brings to life 'Make in Tamil Nadu' and 'Make in India for the World'," he added. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/yamaha-bikes-to-be-e20-compliant-by-end-of-this-year-drives-in-new-range-with-traction-control-system/articleshow/97865654.cms">Entire motorcycle range to be E-20 compliant by end of the year: Yamaha</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/news/cancer-diagnosis-can-affect-a-persons-ability-to-keep-a-job-says-a-study-in-american-academy-of-neurology/articleshow/97866989.cms">Cancer diagnosis can affect a person's ability to keep a job says a study in American Academy of Neurology</a>

Renault-Nissan commits ₹5,300 cr to TN; to introduce 6 new models including EVs

<keyword id="46283" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Nissan">Nissan</keyword> has brought its famous and world acclaimed GT Acedemy to India in association with Sony PlayStation 3. The academy picks up gamers who are really good at motorsport gaming and bring them to the real world race tracks. The training is hard and racing is harder. Nissan turns regular gamers into hardcore racers in a just few months. 
 This is an untradtional sport as it defies all the most common rules of motorsports and similar activities. The winner from Indian leg will be sent to other countries to participate and win the large bounty there. The <keyword id="2045557" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="Indian-Nissan-GT-Academy">Indian Nissan GT Academy</keyword> qualifying rounds will take place in shopping malls with high footfalls. Anybody and everybody can participate and if you have the racing spunk in you, people at Nissan might just pick you up, train you and get you ready for a ride of a lifetime. <keyword id="29071" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="karun-chandhok">Karun Chandhok</keyword> has been picked up as the ambassador for the academy and seemed upbeat for the Indian leg.

Auto Expo 2014 – Nissan Brings Its Famous GT Academy to
India

Bidding goodbye to the willows will be an emotional moment for the master blaster, considered the greatest batsman of his generation and compared with the one and only cricketing legend, <keyword id="73093" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Don-Bradman">Don Bradman</keyword>. Curtains will fall on his 24-year-long international career when <keyword id="118008" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sachin-Ramesh-Tendulkar">Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar</keyword> plays his 200th and final Test match against the West Indies from Thursday (November 14). We are happy that his milestone match will be played on the ‘home’ turf – at the <keyword id="3033" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Wankhede-Stadium">Wankhede Stadium</keyword> in Mumbai. After all, no Indian wants to miss the chance of seeing the cricket maestro in action – for one last time. 
 Of late, Sachin has drawn flak for hanging around too long in spite of his falling form. His ODI retirement came after a dismal performance in the 2012 series against England. And lack of form has once again driven him to quit <keyword id="9400" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="test-Cricket">Test cricket</keyword> – after his 200th game. 
 
Are the critics wrong in accusing him as ‘selfish’ and ‘money-minded’ for delaying the inevitable? We don’t want to get into a long and painful debate, but here’s a quick look at Sachin’s earnings, coveted possessions and the usual controversies that follow Big Money. Cheers to cricket and the wealth it earns!

God Of Good Life: How Sachin Is Minting His Millions
And Spending Them

<ul><li><keyword id="9025059" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="abhik-choudhury">Abhik Choudhury</keyword>, Chief strategist &amp; founder, Salt and Paper Consulting writes how brands colors are now both category and audience agnostic. </li><li>He further shares a few reasons behind this paradigm shift. </li></ul> What do Volkswagen, Volvo, Tata, Ford and GM have in common? They all are reliable family cars with blue logos. How about KFC, McDonalds, Wendy’s, Pizza Hut and Burger King? They all are global fast food chains with either or both, red and yellow in their identities. And till about a decade ago, it was all fine and dandy till digital content clutter multiplied our brand exposure to a whopping 5000+ on an average day. And that meant the compelling need for acute differentiation over everything else. Let’s look at the topical industry of the year - EdTech. The whole industry came into being post digital burst. And in their identities, whilst catering to the same audiences their approach to <keyword id="9709248" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="brand-colors">brand colors</keyword> couldn’t have been more drastically contrasting. Byju, India’s second most valuable startup at $10Bn adorns a bright purple, something which experts used to put in the segment of richness and royalty. Udemy with its coral shade usually seen in lifestyle brands has intentionally moved away from its launch color of grass green. Coursera on the other end of the spectrum is safely engulfed in the reliable blue (think sweet spot between the old and new Facebook color). And finally look at Khan Academy, a blend of sea green and ocean blue. I would argue brands colors are now both category and audience agnostic. And there are four reasons for this major paradigm shift. The Differentiation Paradox: Of course the trained mind might argue the above example is just an anomaly so let’s go back to the automobile category we opened our discussion with to see this point through. In the last decade, the new electric car segment is slowly overpowering old heavyweights. What’s interesting though is as much as these shiny, new kids stand for the same brand promise of blending sleek style, sustainability and automation, their colors try to intentionally stay as apart as possible. Leading the pack Tesla shines in its signature passion red, Faraday Future graces the color of powerplay jet black, Fisker has famously named its brand colors California sunset (orange) and Pacific ocean (blue), the Chinese born Byton decks a more luxurious grey and the adventure friendly Rivian chose orangish yellow. Superdry’s orange boasts of its fun and bold collection, Zara’s black promotes the high street range inspired by luxury fashion weeks. And why not, as the concept of brand colors needed to be synonymous with the “brand experience”. Now though, the audience is aware enough to know that just because Grab taxis are green, they don’t only move with an oil free, electric fleet. Honestly, as long as the story behind your choice of brand color is believable you can paint the canvas with whatever you wish for. Breaking the traditional need for popping colors, Unilever’s new age Talenti Gelato comes in a pure transparent identity to just focus on the product and cut the clutter in the ice cream shelf simultaneously. Ola, India’s answer to Uber uses an exclusive pear color something eponymous with sporty, not exactly a massy cab service using Wagon R &amp; Swift Dzire cars. But does it work? Quite brilliantly actually, the point of differentiation is well made and well reaped. The Niche Maze Before the digital era, market penetration used to be mostly about what the masses demanded. And honestly rightfully so, for neither there was internet to measure the size of niche interests nor a way to get them delivered online to spurt segments scattered all over. And what it has resulted in is making colors more unisex, boldly unique and universally acceptable. Lyft’s Magenta and Dunzo’s Mint Green paves way for many more to come in the coming decade. Let’s try to understand the repercussions of not having niche colors. In the Indian media ecosystem look at the known brands Zee News, NDTV, ABP News, Republic, Aaj Tak, BBC Hindi, The Wire and Firspost ALL have red in their logos. Let’s forget for a second if all these brands have similar personalities, experience or values of the color red. Let’s rather say in 2021 you want to start a media corporation catering to millennials. Don’t you think a berry blue or sunshine yellow will give you a niche identity distinctively apart from all your industry peers and make the consumer immediately associate you with the color no matter on which medium it is used? Reliance Jio certainly would have considered it while starting to slowly move towards Persian blue from its bright red similar to core competitors Airtel and Vodafone. So would have AirBnB while choosing a coral shade over their old blue similar to Booking’s identity. <div type="image" title="Color Logos Case" msid="77389917" hostid="261"></div> Content Overload: One of the most profitable industries inarguably today is the smartphone hub with over 1.5Bn average annual unit sales and still a long way in penetrating the global population. No matter where you are from, you can’t deflect from its plethora of content across platforms. Oppo and Vivo with their selfie camera positioning had planned a budget of INR 2200 crores for the Indian market to dwarf Samsung at its own game. Xiaomi, who finally did overthrow Samsung poured INR 3500 crores last year aiming at an even more aggressive advertising strategy. All pointing towards an inevitable content war subtly numbing the audiences to all headlines and creatives. And hence you see Xiaomi goes with a blazing orange, Oppo graces forest green, One Plus Christmas red, Google Pixel a more humbling grey to Apple’s black while Vivo goes for sailor blue. We aren’t talking about one off anomalies that used to happen in every category like Ferrari’s legendary lemon yellow backdrop whilst Audi, Mercedes, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Jaguar &amp; Lexus all go with the same kind of logo in metallic elements on their cars. These smartphone examples are of all category leaders and none come close to the other’s color no matter how close their audience, personality and brand experience might be. Now one of the major brand identity tests is to create a fictional character with a rich personality to match with your corporation’s values, vision and heart. The catch is, it only works if your audience feels that metaphor coming alive too. Otherwise as you will agree, every horse breeder can sell a Unicorn. And with all due respect the 2020s audiences have evolved from all color tones (and it’s kind of fair if not lovely). Now they are more interested and invested in what you actually do both with your offering and beyond it for the overall society. They know how to filter the frills from the flowers. Typography before color: The formula is minimal typography for maximum impact. Uber tweaked its logo element to a bolder no nonsense font of its name. Indian food delivery pioneers have removed their famous spoon and now just have Zomato written in a thicker and slightly curved style. The legendary Absolut Vodka which had a designer cursive line - ‘Country of Sweden’ in the logo itself has switched to just a navy blue Absolut enjoying the solitude. Visa has removed the card element last decade and even fired the fiery yellow edge to allow blue to engulf all of its typography on this one. Dominos have hit puberty late but by making the name come out of the inclined box they now demand complete attention. IHop, Dunkin... the list honestly keeps going on but the verdict is clear. Clarity of your name in the logo, something that can be read in a nanosecond during a digital post or banner is what works today. And when pure simplicity takes absolute precedent, intricate elements, three tone color schemes and parallel mascots take a backseat. Bold is the new black and clarity is the new color. Millennials demand this world to stop seeing colors, at least without any preconceived prejudices. And if anything the creative industry should be elated with this transformation, one less box to fit into. Let the old labels make way for legacy. If only the world would start having bold brands who can make shirts for men and call it pink. Oh wait, we already do - Pink Shirtmaker, London owned by the Louis Vuitton group. By Abhik Choudhury, Chief strategist &amp; founder, Salt and Paper Consulting. He is also a visiting faculty of Market Research and Campaign Planning at <keyword id="9497386" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-indian-institute-of-mass-communication">the Indian Institute of Mass Communication</keyword>, New Delhi. You can reach him at abhik@saltandpaper.co.

The relevance of brand colors are redundant, it’s all about differentiation

We are entering an Age of Complexity manifested by intensified economic unpredictability, tectonic demographic and technological shifts, and accelerating scarcity of resources. Adversity has become the new normal. The good news is that we humans are typically good at coping with adversity. From a biological perspective, humans are pre-programmed to react predictably to adverse—and even hostile—situations thanks to our well-perfected “fight-or-flight” instinct. Sadly, however, this preconditioned “fight-or-flight” reaction fails to produce optimal responses in today’s complex world. When we face an intractable problem many of us tend to throw in the towel quickly or keep on fighting the issue wishing it will vanish. Now visualize this: what if you could transcend this binary “fight-or-flight” reaction and uncover a “third way”—a new outlook that empowers you to see adversity as an opportunity for personal and collective growth? Adversity will suddenly morph into your ally—an ally that can ignite your ingenuity and drive you to the unearthing of revolutionary solutions that yield amazing value for yourselves and for humanity. You will become a modern day alchemist—one who can literally transmute adversity into opportunity. Such alchemists do exist—and many of them live in emerging markets like India. 
 
Take Kanak Das, a young man who lives in Morigaon, a remote village in the northeast Indian state of Assam. Das got sick of riding his bicycle on poor village roads filled with potholes and bumps. Assume you were an R&amp;D engineer who works for <keyword id="6355174" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ford">Ford</keyword>, <keyword id="6355119" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="BMW">BMW</keyword>, or <keyword id="6374528" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Toyota">Toyota</keyword> trying to design a car that can ride smoothly on such potholes-filled roads: your “fight” instinct would have told you to design better shock absorbers to overcome the bumps. But Das didn’t “fight” the bumps: instead, he used this constraint to his advantage by equipping his bicycle with a makeshift device that converts the shocks it gets into acceleration energy—enabling his bicycle to run faster on bumpy roads! 
 
Das literally transformed adversity into an opportunity to innovate and extract value from the very problem he confronted. Das epitomizes the spirit of jugaad. Jugaad is a hindi word meaning an innovative fix or an improvised solution born from ingenuity and cleverness. Jugaad is, quite simply, a unique way of thinking and acting in response to challenges; it is the gutsy art of spotting opportunities in the most adverse circumstances and resourcefully improvising solutions using simple means. Jugaad is about seeing the glass always half-full. 
 
Jugaad Innovators: The Modern Day Alchemists 
 Jugaad is practised by almost all Indians in their daily lives to make the most of what they have. Jugaad applications include finding new shrewd uses for everyday objects—Indian kitchens are replete with empty soft drink or pickle bottles reused as containers for water, spices, or lentils— or inventing new utilitarian applications and ingenious solutions with everyday objects, like using cellphones to make “missed calls”. 
The entrepreneurial spirit of jugaad is not limited to India. It is widely practised across all emerging economies such as China, <keyword id="12925" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Africa">Africa</keyword>, and Brazil, where resilient entrepreneurs are also pursuing growth in difficult circumstances. The Brazilians have their own word for this resourceful approach: jeitinho. The Chinese call it zizhu chuangxin, or indigenous innovation (in contrast with shanzhai, meaning copycat versions of foreign-made products). The Kenyans refer to it as jua kali. In our book Jugaad Innovation, my co-authors and I delved into the frugal and flexible mindset of thousands of ingenious entrepreneurs and enterprises around the world practicing jugaad to creatively address critical socio-economic issues in their communities. In Kenya, for instance, entrepreneurs have invented a device that enables bicycle riders to charge their cellphones while pedalling. 
 
In the Philippines, Illac Diaz invented A litre of light—a recycled plastic bottle containing bleach-processed water that refracts sunlight, producing the equivalent of a 55-watt light bulb. This product—which costs only $1—is a boon for scores of Filipino families living in makeshift houses in off-the-grid shantytowns. And in <keyword id="15735" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Lima">Lima</keyword>, <keyword id="6360497" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Peru">Peru</keyword> (a country with 98% humidity that receives only 1 inch of rain a year), the local university of engineering and Technology (UTEC) has designed advertising billboards that can generate up to 100 litres of potable water out of humid air each day. 
 
The jugaad innovators we studied all hail from different cultures and social and professional backgrounds. Yet they all share one unique quality: their uncanny ability to “make lemonade with any lemon” they are given. They are resilient entrepreneurs who overcame tremendous difficulties to invent ingenious solutions to vexing issues afflicting our societies. Like magicians, they conjured up these innovative solutions out of thin air—using meagre resources. Just as an alchemist can convert low-value metal into high-value gold, these frugal innovators can “do more with less”: they can create lot more value using far fewer resources. 
 
What Makes Jugaad innovators— And Their solutions—Unique? 
Despite their diversity, all the jugaad innovators—be they entrepreneurs or corporate leaders—we studied in India and other emerging markets all have the following unique personality traits in common: 
 
They are empathetic 
They recognize that their fellow citizens are suffering from adverse circumstances (e.g., poor access to healthcare or education services) and strive to lessen their pain. It is this compassion for other beings that sparks their own passion to discovering pertinent solutions to issues afflicting others. 
 
For instance, Jane Chen, a Stanford MBA, was deeply moved by the fact that 20 million babies are born prematurely or with a low birth weight each year worldwide, and four million of them die, most in developing nations, because their parents can’t afford to maintain them in baby incubators, which are too expensive. To address this issue, Jane co-founded Embrace, which makes inexpensive portable infant warmers that low income mothers in rural India, China, and Africa can use to keep their premature babies warm, and thus save their lives. 
 
They are driven by a higher purpose 
 
Jugaad innovators are not driven by fame or money. Rather, they are motivated by the aspiration to build “a better world”. This higher purpose provides them great ethical clarity and serves as an inner compass that guides all their decisions and actions. 
 
For instance, brothers <keyword id="299988" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Abhishek-Sinha">Abhishek Sinha</keyword> and Abhinav Sinha co-founded Eko to make <keyword id="6354241" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Financial-Services">financial services</keyword> affordable and accessible to the 600 million Indians who can’t avail of banking services. Eko enables low income people to open a savings account in a kirana (neighborhood retail store) and then merely use a mobile phone to deposit/withdraw cash as well as send/receive money. 
 
They are nonconformists 
 
Jugaad innovators boldly challenge the status quo by relentlessly posing the question: “why not?” They exhibit what Samuel Taylor Coleridge calls “uncommon common sense”: they develop counterintuitive solutions that flout conventional wisdom or even turn it on its head. 
 
For example, when <keyword id="6360722" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="ratan-tata">Ratan Tata</keyword> announced his decision to produce the Nano industry experts and media analysts scoffed at the idea of making a $2,000 car, for which they believed there would be no market. But the maverick Tata stuck to his counterintuitive decision and he ended up creating not only a breakthrough car but he also shaped an entire new market for subcompact cars that western automakers are jumping into lately. 
 
They are ingeniously resourceful 
 
Just like MacGyver (the famed TV action hero who can escape from any predicament by improvising solutions using just his Swiss Army knife), jugaad innovators display great ingenuity in the face of challenges. They leverage their (inner) resourcefulness when they have no external resources to tap into. They embody the frugal “bricoleurs” whom the legendary anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss lauded in his seminal book La Pensée Sauvage. According to Lévi-Strauss, a bricoleur taps into existing resources to quickly solve a problem—unlike an engineer who goes searching for the best resources available to design a perfect solution. 
 
Mansukh Prajapati is one such bricoleur: a potter by training, he created Mitticool, the world’s “greenest” fridge made entirely of clay that consumes no electricity and is 100% biodegradable. 
 
They are adaptable 
 
Jugaad innovators possess an agile mindset that enables them to rapidly shift course and reach their objectives by trying out various approaches. They are not wedded to any specific approach or tool to solving problems. Their sense of purpose is steadfast (“make the world a better place”) but their method to serving that purpose is dynamic and constantly evolving. Hence, they are resilient and can “reinvent” themselves continually. 
 
For example, Harish Hande founded Selco in 1995 to debunk the myths that poor people can’t afford <keyword id="6357019" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="solar-energy">solar energy</keyword> and cannot maintain sustainable technologies. Conservative banks refused to fund his start-up and he initially struggled to convince rural consumers to switch from cheap-but-polluting kerosene to solar systems. But Hande applied his flexible thinking to improvise an ingenious solution that involves a grassroots network of micro-entrepreneurs who charge, install, maintain, and collect payment for solar lighting systems that they rent to people in remote villages. 
 
These personality traits of jugaad innovators also pervade the clever solutions they conceive. All their astute solutions (products or services) share the following attributes: 
 
• They deliver more value at less cost: Their ingenious solutions are low-cost (or much less expensive than alternative solutions in the market) and yet they offer much greater value for users. As a result, these solutions deliver “more value for less”. For instance, the embrace portable infant warmer costs less than $200—or 1% of the cost of western baby incubators priced at $20,000. More importantly, mothers can now hold against them their premature babies— dramatically boosting their chances of survival. That’s real value! 
• They are simple to use and maintain: The solutions are designed to be incredibly simple to use and maintain, thus lowering their “adoption barriers” for a larger number of users. For example, Eko’s mobile banking and payment services can be accessed using even the most basic mobile handset. This ease of use is a key success factor of Eko’s service which today counts 2 million clients. 
• They are inclusive: The solutions make critical products and services available and accessible to “marginal segments” of the society—e.g., low income people, the elderly, ethnic minorities— who traditionally couldn’t afford or access these products/services due their high cost or high complexity. For example, Selco’s solar lighting systems are now used by over 125,000 rural households across India (Selco aims to serve 200,00 households by 2013). 
• They are sustainable: The solutions are both environmentally and socially sustainable. First, these solutions are eco-friendly and minimize use of natural resources. Second, these solutions contribute to the social sustainability of local communities by spawning new “ecosystems” that create new jobs, etc.—thus catalysing a virtuous cycle of enduring socio-economic growth. For instance, Mansukh Prajapati involves many women in his village in Gujarat to produce his Mitticools, thus creating gainful employment for local community members. 
 
The rise of Jugaad innovation in The West The developed world, like emerging economies, is increasingly facing its own problems in areas such as healthcare, education, finance, and community development. Cash-strapped western governments, however, are unable to deal with these challenges on their own. In this context, a new wave of flexible-minded jugaad innovators in the US and Europe are emerging. These nonconformists are turning the conventional practices of many industries upside down, and in the process creating affordable and sustainable products and services for more citizens. 
 
For instance, Sal Khan founded Khan Academy to democratize access to education and make learning more fun for kids. He has created over 4,000 video tutorials for math, sciences, and engineering that are freely available on <keyword id="10879" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="YouTube">YouTube</keyword> and are today viewed by over 6 million users a month. Similarly, Erik Douglas co-founded CellScope, a start-up that converts your smartphone into a medical diagnosis tool so you can do ear, throat, and skin exams at home without having to visit an expensive lab. CellScope is a boon for the 50 million Americans who lack medical insurance. And to meet the needs of the 68 million Americans today who are unbanked or underbanked, <keyword id="2787085" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Danny-Shader">Danny Shader</keyword> founded PayNearme, which enables US citizens without credit/debit cards to pay for online transactions by cash in local convenient stores. 
 
Universities too are joining this jugaad innovation movement in the west. Several higher education institutions in the US and Europe are training a new breed of engineers and managers to design next-generation products and services that can deal with scarcity in a frugal and sustainable manner. For instance, Stanford runs a very popular multidisciplinary program called entrepreneurial design for Extreme Affordability. And <keyword id="54274" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="MIT">MIT</keyword>, with funding from Ratan Tata, recently launched the <keyword id="2481320" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Tata-Center-for-Technology-and-Design">Tata Center for Technology and Design</keyword> to train future generation of engineers and business leaders to create affordable technologies and inclusive systems that meet the needs of resource-constrained communities in the developing world. Finally, several vanguard western corporations— helmed by visionary CEOs—are pioneering the adoption of jugaad innovation. The most notable of them is the global carmaker <keyword id="70040" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Renault-Nissan">Renault-Nissan</keyword>, whose CEO, <keyword id="69288" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Carlos-Ghosn">Carlos Ghosn</keyword> famously coined the term “frugal engineering” in 2006 to describe the Indian engineers’ unique ability to conceive high-quality solutions faster, better, and cheaper. Ghosn is a big admirer of the jugaad mindset. As he puts it: “In the west, when we face huge problems and we lack resources, we tend to give up (too) easily. Jugaad is about never giving up!” In 2012, he sent Gérard Detourbet, a senior French executive in charge of <keyword id="43777" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Renault">Renault</keyword>’s entry-level car business, to India. From his new R&amp;D center in Chennai, Detourbet will be designing and producing several vehicles—all built on the ultra-low-cost “A-entry” platform—that will first be launched in India and then marketed in Brazil and <keyword id="6355117" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="South-Africa">South Africa</keyword>. There is no doubt that when Detourbet returns to Renault’s headquarters in Paris, he will carry with him the flexible jugaad mindset he acquired in India. 
 
Ultimately, the ingenious solutions devised by these audacious jugaad innovators—our modern day alchemists—in emerging markets as well as in developed economies stand out not because they are “clever” but because they bring hope to millions around the world. In today’s morose economic climate and challenging social context, these alchemists help transmute pessimism into optimism—and that, by itself, is priceless. These ingenious alchemists—and their frugal and agile jugaad mindset—not only represent the hope for humanity but they also help restore our faith in humanity. 
 This article is partially adapted from the book Jugaad Innovation: A Frugal And Flexible Approach To Innovation For The 21st Century (<keyword id="189391" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Random-House-India">Random House India</keyword>, 2012). 
 (<keyword id="373112" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Navi-Radjou">Navi Radjou</keyword>, an innovation and leadership strategist based in <keyword id="6357722" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="silicon-valley">Silicon Valley</keyword> and <keyword id="192175" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="co-author">co-author</keyword> of best selling books including Jugaad Innovation; From Smart to Wise: Acting and Leading with Wisdom; and most recently Frugal Innovation: How to do more with less, leads an engaging discussion with a group of like minded individuals brought together by Thinkers (<a href="http://www.thinkers.in/">www.thinkers.in</a>) on how new technologies (mobility, social media, Internet of Things, 3D printing) and groundswell socio-economic movements (e.g., sharing and circular economy, maker movement) are dramatically lowering the cost of innovation worldwide.)

Thinkers/Thinkers 50: Know what 'Jugaad' or frugal innovation has done for the world!

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (<keyword id="6354756" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bcci" source="Orion">BCCI</keyword>) on Tuesday confirmed that star India pacer <keyword id="967087" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mohammed-shami" source="Orion">Mohammed Shami</keyword> will miss the upcoming Indian Premier League (<keyword id="6354312" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ipl" source="Orion">IPL</keyword>) 2024 with <keyword id="13135498" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gujarat-titans" source="Orion">Gujarat Titans</keyword> (GT). In an official statement, BCCI stated that Shami is currently monitored by the BCCI medical team after going through surgery on his Achilles tendon in February. "The <keyword id="13015" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="fast-bowler" source="Orion">fast bowler</keyword> successfully underwent surgery on February 26th, 2024, for his right heel problem. He is currently being monitored by the BCCI medical team and is ruled out of the upcoming TATA IPL 2024," BCCI stated on Shami. Shami missed the home T20I series against Australia following the ICC World Cup last year, and he was ruled out of the entire South Africa tour. He also missed the Afghanistan series. Following that, he also missed the five-match Test series against England. The 33-year-old did not take part in the recently concluded five-match Test series against England. He last represented India in the ODI World Cup final against Australia in November. The senior pacer finished as the tournament's highest wicket-taker and dismissed 24 batters in only 7 matches. On the other hand, BCCI also updated Prasidh Krishna's fitness and stated that he will soon start his rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) after going through surgery on his left proximal quadriceps tendon. "The fast bowler underwent surgery on February 23rd, 2024, on his left proximal quadriceps tendon. He is currently being monitored by the BCCI Medical Team and will resume rehab at the National Cricket Academy soon. He will not be able to take part in the upcoming TATA IPL 2024," BCCI on Krishna. On Tuesday, BCCI gave a major update on Rishabh Pant's recovery from injury and said that the wicketkeeper batter has been declared fit to take part in the upcoming IPL 2024. The India wicketkeeper batter missed the IPL 2023 after suffering multiple injuries in a horrific car accident on December 30, 2022. (ANI)

India pacer Mohammed Shami ruled out of IPL 2024, confirms BCCI

Experimental removal of <keyword id="1514703" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="grazing" source="Orion">grazing</keyword> by herbivores in grazing ecosystems of the <keyword id="6395658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="spiti" source="Orion">Spiti</keyword> region in the <keyword id="52569" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="himalayas" source="Orion">Himalayas</keyword> has been found to increase the fluctuations in the level of <keyword id="3165082" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="soil-carbon" source="Orion">soil carbon</keyword>, possibly leading to unintended negative consequences for the global carbon cycle. The study, spread over 16 years, was carried out by researchers at the <keyword id="2157086" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="centre-for-ecological-sciences" source="Orion">Centre for Ecological Sciences</keyword> (CES) and the Divecha Centre for <keyword id="6361617" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="climate-change" source="Orion">Climate Change</keyword> (DCCC), Indian Institute of Science (<keyword id="41780" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="iisc" source="Orion">IISc</keyword>). Large mammalian herbivores like the yak and ibex play a crucial role in stabilising the pool of soil carbon in grazing ecosystems such as the Spiti region in the Himalayas, according to the study. Since soil contains more carbon than all plants and the atmosphere combined, it is important to ensure its persistence. When plants and animals die, dead organic matter remains in the soil for a long duration before microbes break it down and release carbon into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. "The soil pool is a reliable sink for trapping carbon," explains Sumanta Bagchi, Associate Professor at CES and senior author of the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Maintaining stable levels of carbon in the soil is, therefore, key to offsetting the effects of climate change, the IISc release states. Bagchi began studying the impact of grazing animals on Himalayan ecosystems during his PhD back in 2005. With support from the Himachal Pradesh state government, local authorities, and the people of the Kibber village in Spiti, he and his team established fenced plots (where animals were excluded) as well as plots in which animals like yak and ibex grazed. Over the following decade, he and his students collected soil samples from the region and analysed their chemical composition, tracking and comparing the levels of carbon and nitrogen in each plot year after year. From one year to the next, soil carbon was found to fluctuate 30-40 per cent more in the fenced plots where animals were absent, compared to the grazed plots where it remained more stable each year. A key factor underlying these fluctuations was nitrogen. Depending on the soil conditions, nitrogen can either stabilise or destabilise the carbon pool. Grazing by herbivores, however, changes their interactions in ways that tip the balance in favour of the former, the researchers found. Many previous studies have focused on measuring carbon and nitrogen levels at long time intervals, assuming that the accumulation or loss of carbon is a slow process, explains Dilip GT Naidu, PhD student at DCCC and first author of the study. But the interannual fluctuations they noticed in their data paint a very different picture, he adds. These fluctuations can be consequential for climate as they are linked to how large mammalian herbivores influence soil, the IISc release stated. Because grazing ecosystems make up about 40 per cent of the Earth's land surface, protecting the herbivores that keep the soil carbon stable should remain a key priority for mitigating climate change, the researchers suggest. "Both domestic and wild herbivores influence climate via their effects on soil carbon," explains Shamik Roy, a former PhD student at CES and another author of the study. In ongoing research, Bagchi and his team are also assessing why domestic herbivores such as goat and sheep differ from their wild relatives in how they impact ecosystems. "Domestic and wild herbivores are very similar in many respects, but they differ in how they influence plants and soil. Understanding why they are not alike can lead us toward more effective stewardship of soil carbon," Roy adds. <h2>Recommended stories: </h2> <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="94931298" title="Ocean warming rates to quadruple by 2090 if climate change not mitigated: study" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="94988067" title="Survey reveals 84% Indian adults believe global warming cannot be ignored; only half attribute it to human-related causes" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <div type="QUIZ" hostid="261" msid="93637741" title="Sustainability Insider Quiz" mstype="1" mssubtype="2"><payload><![CDATA[sustainability-quiz]]></payload></div>

Grazing animals may be extremely vital to climate change mitigation and maintaining soil carbon health, new study reveals

The actor found overnight fame thanks to playing Jim Hopper on "Stranger Things." Now he's ready for the next chapter in his career.David Harbour has heard you.He's heard your shouts of, Hopper! Hey, Hopper! Yo, Hopper! as he walks the streets of New York City and London, where he spends most of his time these days.He's not mad at you. But just like a musician with a breakthrough hit, he longs to be more than a one-hit-wonder.His turn as fan-favorite police chief Jim Hopper on Netflix's "Stranger Things" took Harbour from a little-known character actor to a two-time Emmy nominee — and a household name. But unlike his teenage costars, his fame came later in life.Already in the business for decades, Harbour was prepared when fame hit. In fact, entering the celebrity bubble helped introduce him to his now-wife, singer Lily Allen. However, it's time to level up again. At 48, David Harbour is thinking about his future. <div type="image" title="David Harbour in a suit next to a Stranger Things logo" height="1564" width="2300" msid="102576760" hostid="261" sizebytes="131210"></div>In late June, I linked up with him over Zoom.Calling from London, he was in total dad mode, watching over one of Allen's daughters (whom she had with ex-husband Sam Cooper) while the "Smile" singer is at a West End theater, performing in the play "The Pillowman." He's a little jet-lagged, he told me, and his bushy beard didn't help him look any less haggard. (The facial hair is for work: he needs it to reprise his role as Red Guardian for the upcoming Marvel series, "Thunderbolts.")"I'm very animated now, but the minute we're done here it's... [Snoring sound]," Harbour said as he playfully slumps his large 6' 3" frame down into his chair, becoming limp as a noodle.Harbour's schedule has been impacted by the Writer's Guild strike, which began in May. It's halted production on both "Thunderbolts," <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/05/marvel-thunderbolts-writers-strike-1235380504/#recipient_hashed=3a3baf33fde74a0cf9fc3af244dd666d88a51fe84dd964875093b5a98d5764b6&amp;recipient_salt=920d8b92feb07303a242938a23f9992cf27f3e5e076fcc9aa292a484a5828153" target="_blank" rel="noopener">which was scheduled to start in June,</a> and the fifth and final season of <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/stranger-things-pause-writers-strike-wga-netflix-halted-duffers-brothers/">"Stranger Things."</a> Harbour and I spoke just weeks before the actors joined the picket line after SAG-AFTRA called its own strike.Though there's been a lot of time recently to think about roles that can stretch him as an actor, he actually began before the strikes even got started. In the past few years, he's played a Marvel character (Red Guardian in "Black Widow"), a Santa with a specific set of skills ("Violent Night"), and a ghost who doesn't speak (Netflix's "We Have a Ghost").He admitted these projects are a solid start as he gets ready to say goodbye to "Stranger Things," but he wants to go even further. He wants moviegoers to seek him out. <div type="image" title="joyce byers hugging hopperin a russian prison, with her back to the camera. hopper has a bewildered, almost overwhelmed expression on his face" height="947" width="1920" msid="102576762" hostid="261" sizebytes="42192"></div>"I have always been waiting for the man roles," he said when asked to explain his late-career rise. "My 20s never worked for me. For guys like me, we're always waiting to be 40, even when we're, like, 19. We're waiting for the hairline to go. Those are the guys that I admired growing up, and those are the guys I wanted to emulate."During our conversation, I compared Harbour to another actor who hit it big after his hairline started to thin, Gene Hackman — much to the actor's delight.Like Harbour, Hackman started his career on the stage and didn't become a movie star until he was 41 when he played a cop in the 1971 classic "The French Connection." Hackman's gritty performance as New York detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle led to an Oscar win for best actor. Hackman went on to star as everything from Lex Luthor in "Superman" movies to a B-movie director in "Get Shorty." Audiences were mesmerized by his range — they filled theaters to see him, regardless of the movie's genre.That's what Harbour wants."I hate the word 'brand,' but I want there to be something you get when you see a movie I'm in," he explained. "You'll get an emotional experience. You'll get surprised." He's hoping "Gran Turismo" has both of those things.<h2>Channeling his inner coach while making 'Gran Turismo'</h2>"Gran Turismo," opening in theaters August 25, is based on the true-life story of Jann Mardenborough, a teenage gamer who won the 2011 GT Academy, a competition in which thousands of the best "Gran Turismo" video-game players competed to win a chance to become a real race-car driver for Nissan. Behind every underdog is the grizzled coach motivating the hero toward unlocking their full potential. That's where Harbour comes in. In the movie, he plays Jack Salter, a brash American who must train Jann (played by Archie Madekwe) into a real race-car driver.Director Neill Blomkamp ("District 9") said he always wanted Jack, based on a composite of the real Jann's early coaches, to be American. "I kind of read him older, like Robert Duvall in 'Days of Thunder,'" Blomkamp told me. "But quite early on, David's name came up, and as soon as I heard it, I thought that could be super interesting."His first meeting with Harbour convinced Blomkamp that he'd found his Jack, he said, but Harbour's reference point for the character was one he didn't initially understand."He kept bringing up 'Hoosiers' with Gene Hackman, in how he wanted to play Jack," Blomkamp said. "I actually had never seen it, so I had to watch it in order to know what he was talking about. Then I saw instantly what he meant, and we were off."<div type="image" title="David Harbour in a race track" height="1295" width="2300" msid="102576764" hostid="261" sizebytes="171486"></div>Harbour's performance is the glue of "Gran Turismo." Dealing out sarcastic one-liners, Harbour is immediately likable as Jack. But as the movie goes on, Harbour shows even more of his range as Jack softens toward Jann. He's a calming figure within the fast-paced racing madness Jann has been thrust into.A lot of those choices came from Harbour himself, Blomkamp revealed. At times, the actor would throw out ideas "days before shooting," the director added. They'd later be worked into the script. "He's very controlled," the director said of Harbour's acting. "He wouldn't just go off on a scene, and I would just let the camera roll. He's really thorough." By his admission, Harbour's not a car guy, but that didn't mean he was going to pass up the chance to drive one during production. Unlike his costars, who all wanted to get behind the wheel of a race car, Harbour had his eye on the safety cars for a specific reason."Safety cars are the ones that show up when a crash happens on the track and those are stick shift. The race cars have peddle shifters," Harbour explained. "So I would wheel around in the safety cars while everyone else was fetishizing out over the racing cars. I was like, 'You are missing out.'" In the movie, there's a serious scene where Jack and Jann talk on the race track, before driving off in a safety car. After finishing the scene, Blomkamp recalled Harbour having this look in his eye, like he wanted to stay put and drive around a bit. "I was like, 'Just go, man,'" Blomkamp said. Harbour boasts to me that he got up to 140 miles per hour on that drive, and I imagine him looking out at the open road ahead, wondering to himself, "How the heck did I get here?"<h2>From an unknown theater actor to life after Hopper</h2>For years — before landing his first supporting roles in movies like "Brokeback Mountain" and "Revolutionary Road" — Harbour developed his craft in the theater, trying to get noticed. Director Jo Bonney was one of his early believers.The first time she saw Harbour on stage was over 20 years ago when Harbour played Antonio in a production of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" in New York City's Central Park. Though the play also starred the likes of Julia Stiles and Zach Braff, it was a then-unknown Harbour who Bonney couldn't keep her eyes off."This production had this massive wave constructed on the set and David's entrance consisted of him surfing on a piece of carpet from the top of this insanely high wave and down on stage. It looked like, at any moment, David was going to shoot off into who knows where in the park," Bonney said.<div type="image" title="David Harbour in a suit" height="1621" width="2162" msid="102576767" hostid="261" sizebytes="135572"></div>"But he rode it so beautifully," Bonney said, adding "that when he landed at the bottom, there was this ripple of delight from the audience. And then he played Antonio with such genuine heart and humor. I thought, 'Okay, this actor is impressive.'"Interestingly enough, New York Times critic Ben Brantley was also impressed by Harbour that evening, noting <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/22/theater/theater-review-wayward-currents-in-uncharted-waters.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in his review</a> that Harbour was "recruited as a last-minute replacement for an injured actor" and that his performance was "the evening's most emotionally compelling."A year later, Bonney crossed paths with Harbour again. He was auditioning for her production of the Lanford Wilson play, "Fifth of July," in which he landed the role of John, a friend to a Vietnam veteran named Ken who comes home as a double amputee."John needs to have this big presence," Bonney said of the role. "He's a player so he has a swagger to him, but also he goes to a very emotional place because of his relationship with Ken; it becomes very tense and very emotional as they dig back. So that's exactly what David was able to bring in."Though Harbour's first venture away from Hopper didn't hit — his reboot of "Hellboy" in 2019 turned out to be a box-office bust — he's rebounded. With the success of "Violent Night" over the 2022 holiday season, Harbour believes he's found his path. "I've been on Netflix ... but this was a small original movie that's going to a cinema. A whole new world opened up for me with that," Harbour said of "Violent Night," in which he plays a Santa Clause who must save a family held hostage on Christmas Eve. "I like this playing field. I want to make original movies that go to the movie theaters."After "Gran Turismo," his next original movie was meant to be the based-on-a-true-story indie film "The Trashers" in which he plays a garbage tycoon with ties to the mob, but he says he left the project over creative differences. A "Violent Night" sequel was also getting off the ground before the writers' strike. "There was a script," he told me. "Work has been done."<div type="image" title="violent night" height="1382" width="2064" msid="102576768" hostid="261" sizebytes="138790"></div>But if you haven't pieced it together yet, it's not just Hopper who Harbour is done with — after the strike ends and he films his last "Stranger Things" season, he's moving on from TV. Movies are his focus now. And if he has it his way, Hopper will become just a footnote in a varied, triumphant career."I think about that a lot," Harbour said of one day being associated with more than just the character that made him a star."It's a funny position I'm in, which I never thought I would be in," he said with an intensity in his eyes. I buckled up for what he was about to tell me."The first year of 'Stranger Things,' I remember having a discussion with a publicist and her saying, 'Maybe you don't want to be associated with the show so much,' and I was like, 'Why? I love this show. I love the character.' And I do love the show. And I do love the character," he explained. "But I don't want to be just that character. I don't want to be just that guy.""I think about George Clooney leaving 'ER.' Now we just see him as George Clooney," he continued. "But there was a time when it was, The guy from 'ER' is doing a movie with Nicole Kidman.""I'm trying to navigate some of that, and it's tricky because you don't want to shit on the people that love you for this thing that you did that you also love. But at the same time, you kind of want to leave the nest. I got more in me. I got different stuff in me, and I want you guys to see that. I don't want people yelling 'Hopper' on the street every five minutes the rest of my life."I have a feeling those Yo, Hopper! shout-outs will turn into Yo, Harbour! soon enough.

David Harbour's last name isn't Hopper. He's hoping to prove that to you soon.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>As the coronavirus pandemic puts sports and most of the rest of the world on hold, racing divisions like NASCAR and Formula One are moving races online with some of their big-name drivers. </li><li>The races are exhibition only and won't count for anything, but will be broadcast both online and on television.</li><li>It's an example of the rise of racing simulators, which realistically recreate cars and tracks online.</li><li>Simulators have gotten so realistic, even, that drivers use them to train, and some even get their start on the computer.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>Much of the world is at a halt due to the novel coronavirus, which has<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-virus-everything-we-know-deadly-2019-ncov-wuhan-spread-2020-1"> infected a reported 265,000 people worldwide</a>. That includes sporting events and leagues, with everything from the<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/major-events-cancelled-or-postponed-due-to-the-coronavirus-2020#glastonbury-2020-scheduled-to-take-place-in-june-was-also-canceled-organizers-said-that-already-purchased-tickets-will-roll-over-to-the-2021-festival-6"> Kentucky Derby</a> to<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/ncaa-suspends-march-madness-coronavirus-2020-3"> March Madness</a> in a holding pattern or scrapped entirely. But motorsports are in a position most person-to-person ones aren't. They can be realistically simulated online, and that's exactly what major divisions like NASCAR and Formula One are doing - along with some of their big-name drivers.While both circuits are on hold indefinitely during the pandemic, they each scrambled together to bring viewers a replacement of sorts: online racing, but with many of the drivers who would be out on the track - giving the people who aren't quite into esports yet but don't have anything else to watch something to be invested in.NASCAR <a href="https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2020/03/17/nascar-iracing-introduce-enascar-iracing-pro-invitational-series/">announced</a> on Tuesday that it would start an exhibition round called the eNASCAR Pro Invitational Series on iRacing, a realistic simulator that's<a href="https://www.iracing.com/overview/history/"> been around since 2004</a>, for big names to compete in during the lull. The opening race will be <a href="https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2020/03/19/fox-sports-to-televise-enascar-iracing-pro-series-invitational-opener-on-fs1/">live on Fox Sports 1 on Sunday</a>, complete with the network's broadcasters and top-level Cup Series champions Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, and Joey Logano in the race.F1 went a similar route on Friday,<a href="https://corp.formula1.com/formula-1-launches-virtual-grand-prix-series-to-replace-postponed-races/"> announcing</a> it would launch the F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix with "a number of current F1 drivers" on the grid. The announcement didn't name anyone, but said the series will compete "strictly for entertainment purposes" in place of every postponed grand prix on Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook.Drivers won't be sitting in front of a console with a simple game controller, either - F1 will use F1 2019 game, which drivers <a href="https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/f1-2018-game-formula-1-drivers-verdict">have said</a> in the past has a similar feel to the real race cars. iRacing, which covers a broader spectrum of tracks and race cars, is realistic enough that many drivers use it to train.The more realistic racing sims out there are also more than just games with pedals and a wheel attached to them. iRacing, for example, goes out and <a href="https://jalopnik.com/heres-how-an-iracing-virtual-track-is-built-1826533656">scans individual race tracks</a>, uploads them, and has detailed models of how each car should interact with its surroundings based on things like the texture of the racing surface and damage sustained during the race. One of the biggest simulator stories in professional motorsports is probably <a href="https://jalopnik.com/nascar-s-newest-top-level-driver-learned-how-to-race-on-1797673141">the career ascension of William Byron</a>, who will be in the NASCAR exhibition race on Sunday. Byron learned how to drive on iRacing after getting a simulator setup at age 13, and didn't get into a real race car until he was 15 - a decade after many who succeed in the sport do. He's now a full-time driver for powerhouse team Hendrick Motorsports in the Cup Series, and won the driver's championship in NASCAR's second-tier Xfinity Series during his rookie season <a href="https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2017/11/17/nascar-xfinity-homestead-championship-william-byron-title/">in 2017</a>. He was 19 at the time, or just six years removed from his first simulator race. There are also programs like the Nissan GT Academy, which graduates drivers to real race cars based on their gaming skills. The academy once produced drivers <a href="https://jalopnik.com/expert-gran-turismo-drivers-cant-race-in-real-life-beca-5982998">too fast for the real-life competition they were entered in</a>, and the game it uses, Gran Turismo, can be used to <a href="https://jalopnik.com/playing-gran-turismo-sport-will-count-toward-a-real-rac-1777997419">work toward a real racing license</a>. Basically, they're legit, even if many folks' perceptions of video games aren't quite there yet. The coronavirus has hit motorsports as hard as most other things, with NASCAR provisionally <a href="https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2020/03/16/nascar-schedule-update-statement-race-coronavirus/">postponing all of its races through May 3</a> and F1 doing the same <a href="https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2020.html">through at least the start of June</a>. F1 also <a href="https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.monaco-announce-cancellation-2020-f1-race.4tpwalvxWpDL0uwRMnV9TI.html">canceled its biggest event of the year</a>, the Monaco Grand Prix street race, marking the first time since 1954 that it won't be run.Both will be in for a tough time with scheduling when things do resume to a quasi-normal state, too: NASCAR runs 36 Cup Series events per year, along with two other national touring series, and will have to squeeze in a big chunk of the schedule if it hopes to run all of its races. F1 didn't even get to begin its 22-race schedule, which, like NASCAR, normally ends in November. But, if anything, there's now something to do to pass the time - for both the drivers and the rest of us.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/brand-investment-esports?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=esports&amp;itm_campaign=brand-investment-esports"></a>

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