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Silchar (<keyword id="19911206" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Assam" source="keywords">Assam</keyword>): At least three suspected <keyword id="19909887" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="militants" source="keywords">militants</keyword> were killed and several police personnel were injured in a fierce <keyword id="19935589" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="encounter" source="keywords">encounter</keyword> in Cachar district of Assam on Wednesday, officials said. Though police have not made any official comment yet, a senior official at <keyword id="45253" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Assam-Police" source="Orion">Assam Police</keyword> Headquarters in Guwahati confirmed to PTI that three militants were neutralised in the encounter. "Some of our personnel also sustained injuries. But we cannot immediately say the nature of injuries. We are yet to receive a report from the Cachar district police," he said. According to sources, police arrested three militants, whose affiliations are yet to be made public, from East Dholai Ganganagar on Tuesday night. "Police seized one AK-47 rifle, one pistol and other arms from the autorickshaw in which they were travelling. A police team took the trio to Bhaban Hills area today morning in search of other rebels. At that time, the encounter happened," they added. According to a source, three militants were killed in the gunfight, which lasted more than an hour, while three policemen also sustained bullet injuries. "All the injured have been admitted to Silchar Medical College and Hospital for treatment," he added. Cachar Superintendent of Police Numal Mahatta and other senior officials rushed to the spot.

Assam: Three militants killed, several policemen injured in encounter in Cachar

<ul><li>Roads, bridges, culverts and many other infrastructures have been damaged at various places in Biswanath, Lakhimpur, Dhubri, Chirang, Nagaon, Jorhat, Barpeta, Majuli districts. </li><li>The Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger mark at Guwahati, Tezpur, Dhubri and Goalpara towns. </li><li>The floods, triggered by heavy rains, have inundated 122,573 hectares of crop area and have also damaged 30,605. </li></ul>“There’s lots of water, Everything is underwater,” Mohammed Rahman <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTpYNZ_-ILw">told AFP</a>. From the last few years, heavy floods in South Asia — especially Assam and Bangladesh — have destroyed a large number of homes, displaced millions of people and killed thousands. Rahman lives in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTpYNZ_-ILw">in Assam </a>and is among the 4 million people affected by heavy floods in that part of South Asia this year. His home and all the roads in his village are destroyed. In Assam, heavy floods have claimed 123 lives. <div type="Youtube" id="pTpYNZ_-ILw" title="Deadly monsoon floods affect over 4 million across South and Southeast Asia" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pTpYNZ_-ILw/mqdefault.jpg"></div> “Our houses have been underwater. Our houses have been damaged and many people lost their belongings,” another victim of Assam’s heavy floods told ANI. In Bangladesh, Safar Ali<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTpYNZ_-ILw"> wasn’t able to enter his house after the water level</a> reached over his chest level. He says, all the houses in his village were underwater. Mosammat Parveen was forced to leave her house and find shelter after the floodwater crossed knee-level. More than a third of the land in Bangladesh is flooded. This is a double whammy for local administration which is already struggling to battle with the coronavirus pandemic. The heavy floods were seen soon after the monsoon started in late June. The Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger mark at Guwahati, Tezpur, Dhubri and Goalpara towns. Its tributaries Dhansiri, Jia Bharali, Kopili, Beki and Sankosh at Golokoganj in Dhubri are also flowing above the danger levels at various places. <div type="image" title="Assam floods2" msid="77190201" hostid="261"></div> Roads, bridges, culverts and many other infrastructures have been damaged at various places in Biswanath, Lakhimpur, Dhubri, Chirang, Nagaon, Jorhat, Barpeta, Majuli districts. Massive erosions have been witnessed at different places of Biswanath, South Salmara, Chirang and Majuli districts.The floods, triggered by heavy rains, have inundated 122,573 hectares of crop area and have also damaged 30,605. <div type="image" title="Assam floods" msid="77190182" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt; Guwahati: An aerial view of the flood-affected areas of Assam, on July 24, 2020.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> The embankments created by the government to prevent the floods are in need of high maintenance. President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday spoke to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal over the phone on the flood situation in Assam and expressed solidarity with the distressed people of the state. The district administrations have set up around 457 relief camps and distribution centres in 23 districts, where around 46,000 flood-hit people have taken shelter, according to IANS. However, over 2.5 million people have been affected by it, according to IANS. The deluge in eastern and northeastern parts of India is nearly an annual affair but there is little preparation and maximum damage each time. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/coovid-vaccine-from-oxford-serum-institute-and-astrazeneca-shows-promising-immune-response/articleshow/77069321.cms">The COVID-19 vaccine from Oxford and AstraZeneca shows 'promising' results in early human trials</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/dil-bechara-kissing-booth-2-and-other-movies-you-can-watch-on-netflix-amazon-prime-disneyhotstar-this-week/slidelist/77142498.cms">Dil Bechara, Kissing Booth 2 and other movies you can watch on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+Hotstar this week</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/work-from-home-effect-these-companies-are-shelling-out-for-employees-power-bills-internet-cost-and-more/articleshow/77139229.cms">WFH effect – These companies are paying for employees' power bills, internet cost and more</a>

Gut-wrenching stories from Assam floods which have swept away villages displaced millions and killed over a hundred people

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], May 26 (ANI): Several passengers faced inconvenience as <keyword id="19954208" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="flight-operations" source="keywords">flight operations</keyword> were suspended at the <keyword id="20176434" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kolkata-Airport" source="keywords">Kolkata airport</keyword> for 21 hours in the wake of cyclone 'Remal'. Passengers complained that the airlines did not inform them about the cancellation of their flights through email or registered phone number. Some of them demanded hotel costs and food allowance from the airline. Arnab Tarafdar, one of the relatives of the passenger, who had come to the airport to drop off her grandmother, Meera Nandi complained that her grandmother, who is an aged woman, was asked to wait and then informed about the cancellation of her flight. "My grandmother (Meera Nandi) was asked to wait. After some time she was called to the counter and said that the flight was overbooked and she would not get a seat. She was asked to come tomorrow because all flights later in the day have been cancelled owing to the cyclone. She is an aged woman. Now she has to go back and come again tomorrow," Arnab Tarafdar said speaking to ANI. Another passenger, Avinash Talukdar said that he had checked out of his hotel at 5 am and came to the airport only to know that his flight had been cancelled. Talukdar demanded hotel costs and food allowance from his airline and is also exploring legal ways to make such demands. "We had a flight to Guwahati at 8:30 am. They said the flight had been cancelled owing to the cyclone. They did not drop a text or call us. I have checked out from my hotel at 5 am and I have come here. They should have informed us through email or message. They said that the next flight is on May 28. Where shall we roam in these two days? Our flight has been rescheduled for May 28 without even asking us. They just asked us to get out of the airport. We want hotel costs and allowance for food. We are searching on the web whether we can take demand such costs legally." Talukdar told ANI. Another passenger, Himadri Das whose flight was also cancelled said, "We had come here from Guwahati for medical reasons. We have an important work at Guwahati for which we were supposed to leave today. But we were not allowed to fly owing the the cyclone. We did not receive any information about this. Our flight was at 8:30 and we came here at 6. We did not receive any mail, or any message at our registered number." "This was not expected from Indigo. We have travelled by Indigo several times and it has always been a good experience. We do not have any accommodation here. They rescheduled it themselves, that too on May 28. We will see what can be done lawfully," she added. According to the <keyword id="12299746" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kolkata-Airport-Authority" source="Orion">Kolkata Airport Authority</keyword>, a total of 394 flights that were scheduled for arrival or departure including domestic and international have been suspended from Sunday noon to Monday 9 am. This includes 170 domestic tentative departures and 26 international tentative arrivals, officials said. <keyword id="21792316" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cyclone-Remal" source="keywords">Cyclone Remal</keyword> is forecasted to significantly impact the coastal region of West Bengal, including the city of Kolkata.

Passengers face inconvenience as Kolkata Airport suspends flight operations amid cyclone 'Remal' scare

India records highest single-day spike of 8,380 coronavirus cases—  death toll climbs to 5,164

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="42108" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ambanis">Ambanis</keyword>, <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>'s richest family, plan to build <a href="https://www.theweek.in/news/biz-tech/2021/02/20/ambanis-to-build-the-worlds-largest-zoo-in-gujarats-jamnagar.html">the world's largest zoo</a> and animal rescue center in western India.</li><li>The zoo is reportedly a "pet project" of <keyword id="6374020" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Anant-Ambani">Anant Ambani</keyword>, the youngest son of billionaire <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>.</li><li>On Sunday, activists <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/north-east/privatisation-of-two-black-panthers-kicks-up-a-storm-in-guwahati/cid/1807414">protested the transfer of two black panthers</a> from a state-run zoo to Reliance's planned private zoo. </li></ul>India's richest family, known for its lavish lifestyle and control of India's most valuable company, has a new venture: building the world's largest zoo. The Ambanis, the billionaire family that owns the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/top-ten-most-valued-indian-companies-according-to-hurun-list/slidelist/80250905.cms">$168 billion conglomerate Reliance Industries</a>, plan to build <a href="https://www.theweek.in/news/biz-tech/2021/02/20/ambanis-to-build-the-worlds-largest-zoo-in-gujarats-jamnagar.html">a 280-acre zoo and animal rescue sanctuary</a> called "Greens Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Kingdom" in Jamnagar, a city in western India, The Week Magazine reports. Mukesh Ambani, Reliance's owner and majority shareholder, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/mukesh-d-ambani/"> is worth $78.3 billion</a>, making him the 12th-richest person in the world.The zoo is the "pet project" of Anant Ambani, Mukesh Ambani's 25-year-old son, per The Week. <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/what-are-business-responsibilities-of-mukesh-ambani-children/story/416851.html">Anant is a board member at Jio</a>, Reliance's telecom arm. The zoo will be built near the company's refinery in Jamnagar, per The Week. <div type="image" title="anant ambani" height="1263" width="1684" msid="81168716" hostid="261"></div>Anant Ambani's zoo is slated to be home to <a href="https://news.abplive.com/news/mukesh-ambani-s-son-anant-s-pet-project-greens-zoological-rescue-and-rehabilitation-kingdom-will-sit-on-250-acres-1445080">nearly 100 species of animals</a>, birds, and reptiles from India and around the world, including African lions, pygmy hippo, Bengal tigers, and Komodo dragons, according to local media reports. The animals will be housed in various areas with names like Frog House, Dragon's Land, Aquatic Kingdom, Indian Desert, and Exotic Island.<h2>Drawing criticism after striking a deal for two rare black panthers</h2>The Greens Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Kingdom, which is expected to open in 2023, has already stirred up some controversy.In January, <keyword id="6355199" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="reliance-industries">Reliance Industries</keyword> struck a deal to <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/assam-zoo-black-panthers-for-ambanis-jamnagar-zoo/articleshow/80884971.cms">obtain two rare black panthers</a> from the the Assam State Zoo in Guwahati, the Times of India reported. In exchange, Reliance agreed to ship the Guwahati zoo two pairs of zebra from Israel. But activists and a local political party have <a href="https://nenow.in/north-east-news/assam/assam-congress-condemns-transfer-of-black-panthers-from-state-zoo-to-mukesh-ambanis-jamnagar-zoo.html">criticized the transfer of the panthers</a> from the state-run Guwahati zoo to the Ambanis' private zoo, according to Northeast Now <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news">News</keyword>."It seems that even wild animals kept in captivity in zoos cannot escape from the tentacles of big corporate houses as the recent 'hush-hush' transfer of two black panthers from the State Zoo in Guwahati to a zoo in Gujarat being set up by the Reliance group of the Ambanis has proved," Bobbeeta Sharma, leader of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, said in a statement, according to the publication.<div type="image" title="black panthers" height="1852" width="2470" msid="81168717" hostid="261"></div>Around <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/north-east/privatisation-of-two-black-panthers-kicks-up-a-storm-in-guwahati/cid/1807414">100 activists gathered</a> in front of the Guwahati zoo to protest the transfer of the panthers on Sunday, per Telegraph India.It's unclear whether Reliance purchased the 280 acres in Jamnagar for the purpose of developing the zoo or whether the company already owned the land. A Reliance spokesperson did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment for this story.<h2>A family that mingles with celebrities and tech CEOs</h2>Mukesh Ambani, 63, was Asia's richest man for about two years before being dethroned in December by Chinese <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/asias-richest-man-zhong-shanshan-lifestyle-wealth-2021-1">bottled water and vaccine billionaire Zhong Shanshan</a>. Still, he's Asia's second-richest man and the richest man in India by far - the next richest is Gautam Adani, who has a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/gautam-s-adani/?sref=BLKWHazc">$45 billion fortune</a> as compared to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/mukesh-d-ambani/">Ambani's $78 billion.</a>The Ambani family is known for its lavish lifestyle. They live in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ambani-richest-family-in-asia-india-lifestyle-home-wedding-photos-2018-12">a 27-story skyscraper in Mumbai</a> that has three helipads and cost a reported $1 billion to build. The 2018 wedding of <a href="https://www.insider.com/who-is-isha-ambani-2018-12">Ambani's daughter, Isha Ambani</a>, was attended by the likes of Hillary Clinton, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and <a href="https://www.insider.com/nick-jonas-priyanka-chopra-relationship-timeline-2018-6">Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas.</a> And perhaps most impressively, <a href="https://www.insider.com/beyonce-performs-at-wedding-of-indian-billionaire-families-isha-ambani-2018-12">Beyoncé gave a private performance</a>. <div type="image" title="ambani" height="1809" width="2412" msid="81168720" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://www.ril.com/">Reliance Industries</a> - which was founded by Mukesh Ambani's father - is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/top-ten-most-valued-indian-companies-according-to-hurun-list/slidelist/80250905.cms">the most valuable company in India</a>, with arms in energy, telecom, retail, petrochemicals, and more. Ambani's other two children, 29-year-old twins Isha Ambani and Akash Ambani, also hold roles at the company. According to Business Today, <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/what-are-business-responsibilities-of-mukesh-ambani-children/story/416851.html">Isha holds two board and advisory roles at Jio</a>, Reliance's lucrative telecom arm that secured <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-invests-in-jio-india-mobile-internet-service-2020-4">a $5.7 billion investment from Facebook</a> last year. Akash also works at Jio as part of the executive committee. He's involved in the company's product development, messaging, and chat services.

India's richest family is planning to build the world's largest zoo, and the 280-acre project has already sparked a protest by animal activists

Guwahati, May 13 () "Victory is reserved for thosewho are willing to pay its price," legendary Chinese generaland strategist Sun Tzu once famously told his warriors.Today, a different set of warriors is toiling, day andnight, trying to defeat a sneaky, invisible enemy acrosshospitals, putting at risk almost everything, including theirlives.These frontline warriors against COVID 19--thefaceless multitude of doctors, nurses and paramedical staff--fight down ostracism by society and their own demons ofloneliness and uncertain future of their families, with theoppressive synthetic shield of PPE forming their last defenceagainst death."You never know how strong you are until being strongis the only choice you have," iconic Jamaican singer-songwriter Bob Marley said, and Dr Nayan Jyoti Bez cannotagree more.Bez, the Registrar of Emergency Medicine at GauhatiMedical College and Hospital (GMCH), is one of the threedoctors in-charge of screening COVID-19 suspect cases at thefacility.On May 7, Bez had gone to fetch his wife Jita Baruah,also a doctor, from Tezpur, some 180 km from Guwahati. She wasbedridden from excruciating back pain which refused to goaway.The couple had met after two months. But bad news wastrailing Bez closely.He got to know that a colleague handling COVID-19patients had tested positive for the virus the day he leftGuwahati and another the next day. Bez had come into contactwith both."I immediately put on a mask and withdrew from her. Weate dinner away from each other and slept in separate rooms. Ijust cannot forget the worried look on her face and the tearsthat refused to ebb away," Bez told .He left for Guwahati the very next morning, leavingbehind his wife, and quarantined himself at his hospital. Heheaved a huge sigh of relief after his swab sample testednegative."I cannot express how I felt when he was leaving. Wehad met after two months and I could not even hold his hands,"said Baruah later. She also screens suspected COVID-19patients at the hospital she works for in Tezpur.At his Guwahati home, where Bez lives with his mother,brother and sister-in-law, the doctor has virtually cocoonedhimself. He lives alone on the first floor and eats fromdisposable plates."My duty starts from 7:30 am and I stay till around 4pm in the hospital. During this period, I do not drink or eatanything. At times, it is exhausting. But I have to do this,"he said, his face deadpan and stoic like a battle-scarredsoldier.Dr Sumanjit S Boro of the Dr B Borooah CancerInstitute (BBCI) is the master of his house but has made theservant quarters his home since the outbreak.Boro, the only micro-vascular plastic surgeon in thewhole of North-East, is not directly treating COVID-19patients but has taken the precaution to preclude chances ofhis family getting infected."You never know which cancer patient is infected withthe coronavirus. Recently, a 16-year-old girl hospitalised inBBCI was detected with COVID-19 and she died."The place where I am staying now is on the back sideof our main building. I am living there alone. I have my ownutensils, which I clean myself. My sister-in-law brings foodfor me which she keeps on the table outside my room from whereI pick it up," he said.Boro felt a twinge in the heart when he could nottouch the feet of his parents to seek blessings during theBihu festival in mid-April. His parents blessed him from asafe distance.His wife Monalisa, also a doctor, is part of the armyof COVID-19 warriors in Assam, and for her the battle theatreis the Assam Medical College in Dibrugarh, some 500 km awayfrom their Guwahati home.Benedict Teron, another doctor on the COVID-19battlefront--the Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH)-has not informed his family in West Karbi Anglong districtthat he is treating coronavirus patients."My mother has died and my father is old. He stayswith my two brothers. I don't want them to worry about me.Maybe I will tell the once the fight is over and we have won,"he said. "These are testing times," he said tersely.After seven days of duty, Teron's entire team getsquarantined for 14 days."There are no boundaries for us as doctors, only duty.We as doctors have taken the oath to protect the lives of allirrespective of gender, religion and nationality. We aretrying to do just that," he said matter-of-factly.Teron's colleague at JMCH Dr Anoop R narrated hisexperience of the 8-hour shift which he spends in theisolation ward with COVID-19 patients while wrapped inpersonal protective equipment (PPE)."Once we have worn the PPE, we virtually cut ourselvesoff from the outer world. We cannot drink, eat or even use thewashroom. It is an air-tight clothing that makes us sweatheavily. At the end of the shift, we come out as if we had asteam bath, exhausted and dehydrated," he said.Anoop, from Kozhikode in Kerala, is all praise for thedistrict authorities who have made arrangements foraccomodating all medical staff who come into direct contactwith COVID-19 patients. "They take good care of us," he said."I have not seen my parents for the last six months.They are alone in Kerala as my brother is in Canada now. Theyare worried for me but also proud that I am trying to savelives," he added.Dr Partha Pratim Medhi has to try hard to quell hiswistful longing to cuddle his eight-month-old daughter.A patient died of COVID-19 in his hospital last weekand he now lives alone on the first floor of his house. Hefeels an occasional lump in the throat and his heart skips abeat when he sees his daughter peacefully asleep in hermother's arms from a distance.Medhi said lower grade staff of the hospital facedostracism after the patient died. The locals did not want themin the neighbourhood despite testing negative for the disease."Such episodes tend to break our heart and dip ourmorale. But the fight is on," said Medhi.As the fight gets tough, the Medhis, the Terons, theBoros and Bezes of the world are getting tougher, as theybattle not only the disease but also the disgrace some attachto it. TR KK SKSK SK

COVID warriors fight disease, disgrace but soldier on By Trideep Lahkar

It’s good news for the Pink City as both the highest and third highest scorer of IIT (JEE) Advanced – exam conducted for admissions to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/IIT-Bombay-ORCA/articleshow/52499437.cms">premier IITs</a> - are from Jaipur this year. 
 A boy named <keyword id="997182" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Aman-Bansal">Aman Bansal</keyword> has emerged as the topper, while another boy <keyword id="1154775" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kunal-Goyal">Kunal Goyal</keyword> has stood third in the engineering test deemed to be the toughest in the country. Meanwhile, Bhavesh Dhingra from Yamuna Nagar (Haryana) has bagged the second position. 
 
Aman Bansal - Topper 
 
(Image credit: JEE website) 
 
The results which were announced earlier today on the official website also showed another name - Riya Singh ( with an All India Rank of 133), also from Rajasthan (Kota), as the topper among girls. 
 
In all, 36,566 of the 1.47 lakh aspirants, who appeared for the test held on May 22, have qualified in the examination that was organised by <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/the-new-iit-preparation-app-and-what-makes-it-the-best-move-by-any-government-in-curbing-rising-student-suicides-so-far/articleshow/52361218.cms">IIT</a> Guwahati in collaboration with the Joint Admission Board 2016 across various centres throughout the country. Of the students who qualified, 4,570 are girls. 
 Duggani Jeevithiesh from <keyword id="61280" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="VIJAYWADA">Vijaywada</keyword> topped the students who appeared from the OBC category, <keyword id="3409424" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="chinmay-awale">Chinmay Awale</keyword> from Navi Mumbai topped in the SC category, Chaitanya Naik in the ST category and Hari Prasad K from Guntur topped the physically disabled category. 
 
Now, the performance of candidates in Advanced will form the basis for admission to the Bachelor’s, Integrated Master’s and Dual Degree programs (entry at the 10+2 level) in all the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Admissions-to-IITs-NITs-through-JEE-Advanced/articleshow/49179824.cms">Indian Institute of Technology (IITs)</a> and the Indian School of Mines (ISM). 
 
(Image credit: Indian Express)

IIT-JEE (Advanced) results are out, and the Pink City just can't stop rejoicing!

For Indians, who are always hungry for some bloody drama, the high profile murders make for a delectable watch. Hence, it was little surprising when the recent <keyword id="3021112" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sheena-Bora-murder-case">Sheena Bora murder case</keyword>, which is still developing, was called a ‘prime time murder’ for a reason. 
 
Crimes are what the audience trip on. We know that too well by now. It redeems the collective notion of Indians in karma theory they believe innately in. What goes around definitely comes around as well. And, when a rich man or woman commits a crime, they surreptitiously evoke the feelings of not-so-rich Indian middle class that watches the elite with a bit of suspicion and jealousy. 
 The case of Sheena Bora, the famed sister (allegedly daughter) of <keyword id="1210108" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indrani-Mukerjea">Indrani Mukerjea</keyword>, who shot to fame years after her death, is a classic example of how India’s thirst is ravaging for sensational murders. 
 
After all, aren’t we the same country that fuels our imagination with prime time soap operas that are conniving, filled with crime, and also have a fair share of those who stand by and suffer silently till someone rescues them. Our concept of god, as the saviour is pretty much the same. 
 
Sheena’s story is still developing, in which a shocking dimension is getting added every day. The 24X7 coverage the news report is getting, doesn’t seem enough because the list of people involved is getting bigger by the day. The puzzle is so confusing that it is almost an unsolvable maze now. 
 
Some of the high profile cases that have shook India have had an interesting mix of elite and middle class with the latter feeling helpless. In case of Jessica Lal, the case was a clear one. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=aarushi">Aarushi Talwar’s case</a> was also something that media rode on for a long time. There was sex, gore and double murders in the upscale house of affluent dentist couple. In the absence of everything else, the parents were finally declared the murderers and put behind bars. They continue to languish there, while trying to work up a weak battle once a while. But, the battle has now shifted from middle class to the system that implicates them. The system is so corroded that it has almost become unreachable and inaccessible for the end users. 
 
With Sheena, the case has gotten a lot murkier than all other. This is almost such a tragedy that even Greek tragedies that were written by greatest playwrights fall short of the dramatic equations this has created. 
 Never before did social media use a crime for comic relief. Today, when you open Facebook or Twitter, you only see the images of 24-year-old innocent Sheena, who was looking forward to a life with her technical stepbrother who was her lover, and a social climber in Indrani who seemed to have exploited her gender and looks to the last benefit, and a hapless <keyword id="6360333" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Peter-Mukerjea">Peter Mukerjea</keyword> who claimed he didn’t know Sheena was Indrani’s daughter. 
 
Wow! That was SOMETHING! Now, is this the same man who turned the fortune for Star Group in India? People, remember those days when Amitabh Bachchan resonated with his baritone voice on Kaun Banega Crorepati, a show that gave a fresh lease of life for both the actor and the channel! 
 
Star till then was pretty much a western channel that was yet to mature with Indian content. Peter changed the fortune with a bouquet of programmes. At a time when Star was at its best, it had top 44 shows on the list of a 100 most popular shows in India. This was the calibre of the man, who is now stuck in a marriage and a murder that does not seem to be easy to solve. 
 
Indrani is a challenge to India’s social conscience. A small town girl from Guwahati, who was called Pori in her childhood turned out to be the best social climber ever. There are hardly any journalists and media persons who have NOT tweeted or written about this crime after she was picked up by Mumbai police for interrogation two weeks ago. 
 
Since then, the crime has remained the same with dimensions getting wider and wider. Indrani not only managed to rope in her former husband from whom she had another daughter whom she publicly acknowledges, but mercilessly played a role in ending the life of her own daughter from an alleged live-in relationship that didn’t turn into a marriage. A son from the same relationship escaped the jaws of death because of his presence of mind. 
 
This is some crime that will rankle the ears of India for a long time to come. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

Sheena Bora murder case and other bloody trail of India’s high and mighty

The New Year has brought <keyword id="6354458" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="US">us</keyword> some much-awaited good news on the hiring front and along with that, some concerns. According to experts, it may rain jobs in 2014 as Indian <keyword id="22917" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Companies">companies</keyword> are gearing up to add more than 8.5 lakh new employees to their payrolls. But a robust hiring scenario may also see a rise in employee attrition. <keyword id="115437" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="India-Inc-">India Inc.</keyword> experiences the highest attrition rate globally and one in four employees in the organised sector could be set to switch jobs, according to a Hay Group study. 
 But there’s another side of the story. Ask employees why many of them tend to take flight and the responses would seem identical. At least 39% are concerned about opportunities regarding <keyword id="605173" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Learning-and-Development">learning and development</keyword> while 36% feel there is no <keyword id="2000020" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Supervisory-coaching">supervisory coaching</keyword> to ensure their <keyword id="42546" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Growth">growth</keyword>. In brief, a lot of attrition seems to be happening because <keyword id="6358610" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Businesses">businesses</keyword> fail to engage with their employees in the right way – be it <keyword id="6669200" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="induction">induction</keyword>, on-the-job training, breaking down silos or team-building. 
 <keyword id="1631069" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Corporate-training-programmes">Corporate training programmes</keyword> often turn out to be inadequate as they mostly follow a set pattern, instead of a need-based approach, and uphold the age-old ‘classroom’ training model, instead of making learning fun and interactive. But here is one start-up from Pune that aims to usher in a sea-change in the <keyword id="770011" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Employee-training">employee training</keyword> and engagement space. Two-year-old <keyword id="2000014" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="MindTickle">MindTickle</keyword> provides a Cloud-based <keyword id="2000035" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gamified">gamified</keyword> and <keyword id="2000036" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="social-learning-platform">social learning platform</keyword> that makes the training experience extremely engaging. As ‘<keyword id="1071127" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gamification">gamification</keyword>’ gets hot all over the world, MindTickle, too, has created waves globally. Here is a snapshot that captures the start-up’s vision and viability. 
 
Who runs MindTickle (www.mindtickle.com): Four <keyword id="382595" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="co-founders">co-founders</keyword> – <keyword id="2000038" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Deepak-Diwakar">Deepak Diwakar</keyword>, <keyword id="2000039" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Krishna-Depura">Krishna Depura</keyword>, <keyword id="1141504" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mohit-Garg">Mohit Garg</keyword> and <keyword id="2000016" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nishant-Mungali">Nishant Mungali</keyword>. Deepak has done BTech in Computer Science from IIT Mumbai while Nishant holds a bachelor’s degree in Design from IIT Guwahati. Krishna is an alumnus of IIT Roorkee and <keyword id="6357276" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="ISB">ISB</keyword>, Hyderabad. Mohit is an NSIT grad, has done MSEE from <keyword id="33081" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Stanford">Stanford</keyword> and holds an MBA from ISB. Krishna and Mohit were also batch mates at ISB. 
 Prior to starting up, Mohit was a director in PwC’s management consulting practice at New Jersey and worked with a number of telcos in the US, Europe, and <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> on various strategy projects. In addition, he has done <keyword id="187755" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="product-development">product development</keyword> for <keyword id="6357722" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="silicon-valley">Silicon Valley</keyword> start-ups such as <keyword id="270697" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Aruba-Networks">Aruba Networks</keyword>. The other three worked with <keyword id="1010923" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="PubMatic">PubMatic</keyword> before starting MindTickle although Krishna had an earlier stint with <keyword id="10387" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword>. The start-up was launched in August 2011 and its products were rolled out in beta in early 2012. Besides its headquarters and development centre in Pune, the company has a sales &amp; marketing office in <keyword id="12161" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="San-Francisco">San Francisco</keyword> as it is aggressively targeting the <keyword id="35193" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="us-market">US market</keyword> for expansion. 
 
What inspired the venture: A hobby activity by the foursome led to the Eureka moment. It was called <keyword id="2000046" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="TeraMeraIdea">TeraMeraIdea</keyword> and later evolved into an <keyword id="6541953" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="online-platform">online platform</keyword> that allowed users to experiment with new ideas in the Internet, media and social business space. “We had quizzes and knowledge-based treasure hunts covering loads of topics. And people simply loved to learn things through our quizzes,” recalls Krishna, one of the co-founders. That’s when the four realised that learning can be fun and interesting without being scary or boring. 
 At the same time, they saw the rise of some new technologies and new concepts – Cloud, for instance, and increasing mobile penetration; social networking, casual gaming and gamification. The four of them were quite convinced that a big opportunity was out there to transform the learning experience with the help of social and gamification elements. So they did some more experiments with knowledge-based games, and worked with <keyword id="2000019" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="LD">L&amp;D</keyword> experts and researchers to learn the best practices in interactive learning. “Finally, we deployed pilots for corporate houses and the feedback was just awesome,” says Krishna. “It was noon-clear that <keyword id="2000051" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Conventional-learning">conventional learning</keyword> would take a backseat in the next few years. So we decided to take the lead and create a next-generation learning platform,” he adds. 
 
What’s the pitch: <keyword id="2000054" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Effective-training">Effective training</keyword> and better <keyword id="610471" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="employee-engagement">employee engagement</keyword> that generate <keyword id="2000055" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Business-results">business results</keyword>. Most businesses are deeply dissatisfied with their training programmes although they have invested a large chunk into their human assets. Classroom methods are near-dead, especially in a corporate environment, as they are resource-heavy, limited in scope (not customisable), and lack the scale and global reach-out required for today’s mobile and <keyword id="2000092" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Distributed-workforce">distributed workforce</keyword>. On the other hand, a conventional e-learning system like the CBT or the WBT fails to engage and motivate the end user. “But at MindTickle, we have created a next-gen learning platform that enables enterprises to create and deliver very engaging and effective training,” clarifies Krishna. 
 
Why the name MindTickle: During its research days, the start-up came up with a unique content creation technique that would transform chunks of data into interesting mind tickles – a series of brain-teasers that would help you gain knowledge through problem solving and content discovery. Hence, the name. 
 
How it works: Simply put, MindTickle has created a Cloud-based learning platform, which enables enterprises to deliver their training programmes anywhere, at any time and on any device. Moreover, the same learning platform can be used to train their partners and customers. It features an in-built social and gamification engine that makes the entire learning experience really engaging. This has not only resulted into huge participation, but also ensured increasing level of <keyword id="2000060" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Training-completion">training completion</keyword>. 
 As of now, the focus is on <keyword id="2000062" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="New-hire-training">new hire training</keyword>, <keyword id="2000064" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Product-training">product training</keyword>, <keyword id="2000065" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sales-training">sales training</keyword> and <keyword id="2000066" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Customer-service-training">customer service training</keyword>, but the range can be quite extensive. Also, a SaaS (software as a service) platform means totally hassle-free implementation – enterprises can simply sign up and start creating their own learning/training sites. 
 The start-up offers an intuitive admin interface with a number of templates that allow companies to create interactive training programmes by using their existing content (audio, video, PPT, PDF, Doc file, etc.). Once that is done, a trainer can invite end-users who can securely access the site via any Web browser. Detailed <keyword id="6359249" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="analytics">analytics</keyword> and reports are also generated on a real-time basis, which trainers can use to measure the effectiveness of their programmes and can also tweak it, based on the feedback. Overall, MindTickle has embraced the <keyword id="2000067" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="SoGaMo">SoGaMo</keyword> (social, gamified and mobile) technologies as its product backbone. 
 “Our platform has several pre-defined, <keyword id="2000070" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Customisable-features">customisable features</keyword>, which users can tweak to create their own <keyword id="2000071" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Personalised-experience">personalised experience</keyword>. However, we don’t create custom solutions for specific requirements,” explains Krishna. 
 
Claim to fame: Traction and recognition. MindTickle has been awarded for ‘Best use of engagement techniques in Enterprise HR’ at the Global GSummit in 2012 and 2013. And the traction has been impressive over the past two years. More than 54,736 learners from a number of leading organisations have benefited till date while its customer base includes several <keyword id="542582" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Fortune-500-companies">Fortune 500 companies</keyword> and some reputed start-ups such as <keyword id="282568" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="SAP-Labs">SAP Labs</keyword>, <keyword id="15492" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vodafone">Vodafone</keyword>, <keyword id="6357395" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="eBay">eBay</keyword>, <keyword id="180948" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Yahoo-India">Yahoo! India</keyword>, <keyword id="164941" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="inMobi">InMobi</keyword>, <keyword id="54613" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="makemytrip">MakeMyTrip</keyword>, <keyword id="1101579" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="SHRM">SHRM</keyword> and ISB. 
 
Show me the money: Unlike many start-ups, this one is a venture-funded company and raised an undisclosed seed <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword> from <keyword id="144381" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Accel-Partners">Accel Partners</keyword> in January 2012. That’s not surprising as globally, the training market is worth $200 billion and growing. MindTickle targets medium-to-large enterprises in India and the US, and has in place a robust per-user subscription model. However, it is a <keyword id="2000069" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Product-company">product company</keyword> that needs constant cash-burning for ongoing design, development and implementation. “To meet that requirement, we are now putting all the money we earn back into the company and we are not margin-focused at present,” says Krishna. “Of course, no one can ignore break-even and profits, but our first priority is to build more and more world-class products and adopt a scalable go-to-market policy,” he adds. The start-up will also raise more funding as and when it requires the money for incremental growth. 
 
Biggest challenge: Not competition, per se, feels Krishna. According to him, MindTickle’s platform actually complements a lot of existing learning solutions, rather than being a direct competition. For instance, the company has tools, which help create great videos from existing PPTs or help record or create screencasts for training. With the help of such platform integration capabilities, companies in the training space can actually improve their offerings by leveraging multiple content formats. On the other hand, quite a few education tech companies like Udemy, Coursera and <keyword id="1175348" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="edX">edX</keyword> have come up in the <keyword id="6561759" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="MOOC">MOOC</keyword> space (<keyword id="1071995" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Massive-Open-Online-Courses">Massive Open Online Courses</keyword>) and they are now entering the <keyword id="2000084" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Enterprise-environment">enterprise environment</keyword>. MindTickle is keeping a tab on the latest developments as these may ensure further opportunities for growth and <keyword id="6379846" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="collaboration">collaboration</keyword>. 
 “But one of the biggest challenges is to evangelise the concept – to make people aware of how easy it is to create great training programmes,” admits Krishna. Many of the <keyword id="2000089" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Subject-matter-experts">subject matter experts</keyword> feel intimidated when faced with the complexity of the current systems. Companies, too, struggle to cope with <keyword id="2000091" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Employee-learning">employee learning</keyword> and engagement, especially when they are growing very fast or trying to manage a distributed workforce. “Now that we have got a great platform whose effectiveness has been proven globally, our next challenge is to position our brand, create awareness and grow exponentially,” concludes Krishna.

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