New Delhi, Jun 21 () With the world celebrating International Yoga Day on Sunday, leaders of Indian industry reiterated the significance of the ancient practice, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. While the practice of 'Namaste' has become the international symbol of maintaining physical distance and staying safe, the power of yoga in boosting mental fitness has also become significant, they said. "Namaste, in this time of COVID-19, has become not just an Indian but an international symbol of maintaining physical distance and staying safe. Namaste when combined with yoga, which is a way of life and part of our culture and heritage becomes one of our weapons to fight against the invisible virus," Ficci President Sangita Reddy said. Expressing similar views, Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw tweeted, "As we celebrate the virtues of yoga on physical fitness, Covid19 reminds us of the power of yoga in mental fitness too. Let's celebrate International Yoga Day 2020 with the strength of body and mind to fight the virus." "Yoga is a good way to keep the mind and body in a good healthy rhythm. In an ageing body yoga keeps one flexible and functioning well," Mahindra Manulife Mutual Fund MD and CEO Ashutosh Bishnoi said. Sharing his personal experience on the benefits of yoga, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) Chairman Naveen Jindal said, "Yoga has had a great effect on my life. It has given me calmness and flexibility, and has helped me improve my performance in shooting and polo. Embrace Yoga, stay healthy." Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan tweeted, "Yoga furthers the spirit of oneness. It is not just meditation but a way of life. Celebrated #InternationalYogaDay - Yoga at home, yoga with family. Sincere gratitude to Hon. PM Shri @narendramodi for popularising the ancient Indian science of yoga." "Yoga has emerged as a force for unity and deepens the bonds of humanity - PM @narendramodi ji. Yoga in everyday life helps harmonise body and mind," he said in another tweet, sharing pictures of him doing yoga at home. Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) Chairman Shashi Shanker and Indian Oil Corp (IOC) Chairman Sanjiv Singh also performed yoga routines at home. "Yoga boosts fitness by improving sleep, busting stress, building immunity and strengthening heart. Practicing yoga everyday can lead to better mental and physical fitness," ONGC tweeted. "Join the IndianOil family as we further the Hon'ble PM's vision of 'Yoga at home and Yoga with family', this #InternationalDayOfYoga and practice safely at home. A few glimpses of how @ChairmanIOCL took up the challenge," IOC tweeted, sharing pictures. Assocham Secretary General Deepak Sood said the International Yoga Day is a good reminder of staying fit for the large number of corporate personnel who have been working from home for almost three months with least physical activity. ''We need to ensure that the COVID-19 imposes the minimum of a cost on India's precious human resource; and the Yoga can be an effective shield," he added. Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi said in a tweet, "#Yoga helps in boosting our immunity and is most effective way to fight against #COVID19. Let's make yoga a regular part of our life and build a healthy nation. #InternationalYogaDay." "A simple and convenient means to attain overall fitness &amp; well-being, Yoga not only energises our mind &amp; body but also helps us heal from stress &amp; anxiety. On 6th #InternationalYogaDay, let us make make Yoga an integral part of our lives for a healthier tomorrow," Minister for Women and Child Development and Textiles Smriti Irani tweeted. RSN RKL ANZ ABM ABM

India Inc leaders reiterate significance of yoga in COVID-19 times

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6356662" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="singapore">Singapore</keyword> has become famous for its hawker food centers, where flavorful local dishes are served in a no-frills manner.</li><li>But now, social distancing measures limiting the number of diners who can eat in have brought added challenges to a vulnerable industry where the <a href="https://www.nea.gov.sg/media/news/news/index/new-programme-targets-to-train-100-aspiring-hawkers-over-the-next-three-year#:~:text=Trade%20%5B1%5D.-,Hawkers'%20Development%20Programme,hawker%20trade%20for%20future%20generations">average age of an operator is 60</a>.</li><li>Young Singaporeans have turned to social media to bring their neighborhood hawker stalls to dining tables across the country.</li><li>Unknowingly, this effort might also have sparked something else: a massive citizen effort to document, catalog, support, and consume hawker cuisine.</li></ul>The island of Singapore is dotted with open-air spaces where hawkers serve flavorful local dishes in a no-frills manner. These hawker centers, as they're called, have become a strong cultural emblem in Singapore, and several hawker stalls have earned <a href="https://guide.michelin.com/sg/en/article/dining-out/7-new-michelin-plate-hawkers-in-the-michelin-guide-singapore-2019">Michelin stars</a>.Newton Hawker Center was featured in a much-talked-about dinner scene in Crazy Rich Asians, catapulting local hawker fare to Hollywood fame. Singapore submitted a bid for hawker culture to be recognized on UNESCO's <a href="https://ich.unesco.org/en/lists">Intangible Cultural Heritage list</a> this year; the nomination will be discussed by the Committee in December.Yet on the ground, the reality is a bit less bright for hawker culture. Even before the pandemic, hawkers were facing <a href="http://www.makansutra.com/stories/3/1061/whygen-yshunhawkercentres">trouble appealing to younger consumers</a> who want to eat more international, hybrid, or gourmet food at air-conditioned restaurants. Now, social distancing measures limiting the number of diners who can eat in have brought added challenges to a vulnerable industry where the <a href="https://www.nea.gov.sg/media/news/news/index/new-programme-targets-to-train-100-aspiring-hawkers-over-the-next-three-year#:~:text=Trade%20%5B1%5D.-,Hawkers'%20Development%20Programme,hawker%20trade%20for%20future%20generations">average age of an operator is 60</a>.<div type="image" title="Melvin Chew, 42, a second-generation hawker." height="1668" width="2223" msid="78137317" hostid="261"></div><h2>Social media is helping keep the hawker scene alive throughout the pandemic</h2>With more people staying home, young Singaporeans have turned to social media and online platforms to bring their neighborhood hawker stalls to dining tables across the country.Melvin Chew, 42, is a second-generation hawker who runs Jin Ji Teochew Braised Duck and Kway Chap Stall at Chinatown Food Complex with his mother, Lim Bee Hong. When the government announced circuit breaker measures limiting in-person dining on April 3, Chew took to Facebook that night to establish the group <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/HawkersUnited2020">Hawkers United</a>. Chew told Business Insider his vision was to create "a platform where hawkers can announce to the consumers that they are still operating, what type of delivery they have.""[The] objective is to help hawkers to survive. Consumers can find food and drivers can earn some income," he added.A full 70,000 members joined the group in the first 24 hours. The group currently has 274,400 members with active postings every day and is moderated by a group of seven volunteers. Each post contains photos of the food along with prices, the location of the stall, ordering instructions, payment and delivery options.Scrolling the feed, which feels like a virtual hawker centre with islandwide offerings, one can find all sorts of local delicacies: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/HawkersUnited2020/?post_id=352399052427802">Roe crab bee hoon</a> from Toa Payoh starting at 20 Singapore dollars (US $14.72), <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/HawkersUnited2020/permalink/294913284843046/">Mian Jian Kueh</a> (a type of Singaporean pancake) from Bendemeer Market for 1 Singapore dollar (0.74 cents), <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/HawkersUnited2020/permalink/311341433200231/">Hokkien Prawn Mee</a> from Beach Rd for 3 Singapore dollars (US $2.21),<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/HawkersUnited2020/?post_id=354650692202638"> Fuzhou oyster cakes</a> from Maxwell Food Centre for 13 Singapore dollars (US $9.57).<div type="image" title="Singapore food hawker stall coronavirus" height="4015" width="5354" msid="78137321" hostid="261"></div>One of the volunteer administrators for the Facebook group is Jill Sara, 43. Sara shared with Business Insider that "the general consensus is if you post on Hawkers United you will see a spike in sales" but admitted it continues to be "very tough" for elderly hawkers to use the Facebook group."Sometimes they don't even have a touchscreen phone so they're not on Facebook, they don't have a social media account, so it's hard. We encourage members to help post on behalf of the hawkers," Sara said.Younger consumers have since stepped up to promote their neighborhood hawker stalls online by creating postings for them.A Facebook user by the name of Yvonne Chen posted about a "granny" stall owner selling dim sum at Kwek Seng Huat Eating House who "is very elderly and even shaking when she's standing up but is still opening her stall everyday and trying to get on with life amidst the virus.""Due to Circuit Breaker, she hasnt [sic] been able to sell much of her food items and business has been very poor. PLEASE HELP IF POSSIBLE," Chen wrote.The post was then <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/HawkersUnited2020/?post_id=282023206132054">reposted</a> multiple times in the Hawkers United group, garnering hundreds of comments and shares. Singaporeans flocked to the store. They shared photos of the food they bought and encouraged others to help her out. "She'll usually be sitting by her stall on her own till 5 to 6 p.m. with most of her kuehs unsold," a user pointed out. The collective effort worked out: "Granny" was sold out every day that week by noon. Members repeatedly bumped up the thread so it wouldn't be forgotten. One user made an <a href="https://www.iheartfnb.com/restaurant/515-%E6%89%8B%E5%B7%A5%E5%8C%85%E7%82%B9/?fbclid=IwAR0g5LLA14X-abceX_UAIsRb8Ep4vsT2Ban3PDH_LZM89539hC9WoazO0d8">online listing</a> for her stall. Others offered to help buy food from the stall and deliver it to customers personally.A videographer in the group went down to the stall to get to know the elderly food seller's reality better. The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfyW4uCeH0o&amp;feature=youtu.beu.be">video</a> he made reveals that "granny" is in her 70s and rides her bicycle at 6 a.m. to work at her stall. Before the postings, she says in the video, she would have a lot of leftovers and would end up giving them away.<h2>An extra tough reality for older hawkers</h2>The hawkers who are hardest hit are those who are often old and disconnected. Traditionally most hawkers would conduct their businesses in-person and accept cash only. While larger and younger food businesses pivoted to the web through islandwide delivery platforms, online ordering, and payment through digital banking apps, many hawkers were left out of this sudden digital revolution. It is these hawkers that these young citizens are eager to promote and support. The story of Hawker United members uniting around "granny" is not isolated; the Facebook group has come to rely on younger heartlanders who know their neighborhood stalls well, and who promote the hawkers they love.While members comment on food taste and quality, a large proportion of group conversations center around something else: compassion. Members remind each other to buy from older hawkers and not just the popular stalls, especially during troubled times like the pandemic. So far, it seems like the band of Singaporeans at Hawkers United are putting their money where their mouth is. A Hawker United post by a younger member listed an elderly couple who sells <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/HawkersUnited2020/?post_id=349868999347474">soybean milk and tau huey</a> (soybean pudding) at Kovan Market; it translated to purchases and rave reviews for the couple, who don't use social media themselves and would have not been able to do such outreach.Another Hawker United user, Evon Chi, told Business Insider he is friends with an older food seller. He posted a Google form to streamline online orders and organize delivery for the elderly man's famous <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/HawkersUnited2020/?post_id=354489095552131">Fried Carrot Fingers</a> to various neighborhoods. All his delivery slots were snapped up in two days.In <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/HawkersUnited2020/?post_id=290520825282292">another post</a>, a member relayed the story of an elderly couple selling western food in Hougang. The couple told her that business had been very poor; in the comments that very same day, users shared photos of long queues at the couple's storefront.Chew, the hawker who started the group, told Business Insider, "That is why we keep encouraging tech savvy younger generations to help all these elderly to engage in social media."Unknowingly, this younger generation that Chew refers to might have also sparked something else: a massive citizen effort to document, catalog, support, and consume hawker cuisine. Hawkers United, with its large member base of 275, 900 in a nation of 5.85 million, has one in 21 Singapore residents as a part of the group. The online community has become a repository for hawker culture, a growing, searchable, grassroots index where one can discover hawker stalls around the neighborhood or even find new dishes to try.Users have also found community in each other, bantering and cheering each other's businesses on. In a time of social distancing, the virtual hawker center seems like a way to satiate the taste buds and bring out the best in us.

The pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities in Singapore's famed food hawker culture, where the average age of an operator is 60. Young Singaporeans are turning to social media to save it.

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">PatSnapPatSnap founders (L-R): Jeffrey Tiong, CEO, Guan Dian SVP Asia Pacific, and Markus Haense, CTO.</div></div></div>Sequoia, one of the most famous venture capital firms in the world, has made another rare investment in a <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword> tech startup.The Silicon Valley VC firm - which backed Apple, Google, and Facebook in their early days - has led a funding round in a London-based cloud software company called PatSnap, which describes itself as an "IP intelligence" business.The size of the Series C funding round was not disclosed but PatSnap previously raised a Series A round of $3.6 million (£2.9 million) in 2014 and a Series B of $11 million (£8.9 million) in 2015.A PatSnap spokeswoman told Business Insider that the latest funding round was in the "tens of millions of dollars." Other investors in the round included Shunwei Capital and Qualgro.PatSnap, which counts IBM, Nasa, Vodafone, and the United States Department of Defence among its customer base, said it will use the funding to develop new products and expand its team, which currently comprises of 400 employees based in Singapore, London and Suzhou, in China.Explaining what PatSnap does, founder Jeffrey Tiong said in a statement: "At PatSnap, we support innovators across every level of the enterprise, from scientists and engineers, to C level executives and directors, by developing intuitive tools which enable them to make better informed decisions around every aspect of the innovation lifecycle."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://www.sequoiacap.com/people/michael-moritz/">Sequoia Capital</a>Sequoia Capital chairman Michael Moritz.</div></div></div>Like Skyscanner (another UK Sequoia investment), PatSnap has operations in China - a market that many western companies shy away from.Last year, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/sequoia-capital-chairman-michael-moritz-people-underestimate-china-especially-in-europe-2015-11" target="_blank">Michael Moritz, the chairman of Sequoia, said</a>: "People underestimate China, especially in Europe." He added: "There are not too many UK technology companies doing business in China: Skyscanner is one of them."Steven Ji, partner at Sequoia Capital China, said in a statement: "PatSnap is expected to contribute great efforts to the technology innovation globally. It has rapidly built a global team, and is exceptional in having a strong customer base spanning Asia, America and Europe."Jeffrey and his team have shown an incredible ability to execute on their vision, product, and go-to-market strategy, demonstrating consistent year-on-year revenue growth." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tiny-buttons-rivets-jeans-2016-11">What those tiny rivets on your jeans are for</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="FvajVuNzE6FeZYPfzdXhwUaIoFl9wkLj" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Sequoia has backed PatSnap, another UK tech startup that's focusing on China

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueU.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with his new National Security Adviser Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster after making the announcement at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida U.S. February 20, 2017.</div></div></div><ul><li>President Donald Trump's national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, has consistently expressed hawkish views on North Korea and is reportedly pushing for a "bloody nose" strike against the Kim regime.</li><li>McMaster has a foreign policy vision that calls for the US to reverse decades of waning power by standing up to adversaries like Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.</li><li>The US has been steadily declining in international efficacy and absorbing a constant stream of foreign policy losses, but has managed to avoid a major war.</li><li>McMaster's "bloody nose" idea could stop the erosion of US power, but it could also start a major war.</li></ul> President Donald Trump's national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, seems to think that the US's complete military and nuclear supremacy over North Korea cannot deter Kim Jong Un from attacking the US, and that a strike is needed to stop him.It also appears that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">Defense</keyword> Jim Mattis are the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tillerson-mattis-trump-north-korea-strike-2018-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">key figures holding Trump back from taking McMaster's advice</a>.McMaster, who led the US's counterinsurgency strategy in the Iraq War of the early 2000s, frequently provides some of the <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/hr-mcmaster-us-trump-ready-to-take-north-korea-nuclear-weapons-by-force-2017-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">most hawkish US statements on North Korea</a>, only sometimes surpassed by Trump himself.McMaster, even before he became Trump's national security adviser, has stood at the forefront of piecing together a comprehensive US military strategy for the post-Cold War era.<h2>McMaster thinks traditional deterrence has failed</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">KCNA via ReutersNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un guides a target-striking contest of the special operation forces of the Korean People's Army (KPA) to occupy islands in this undated picture provided by KCNA in Pyongyang on August 25, 2017.</div></div></div>While traditional thinking since the fall of the Soviet Union has centered around maintaining a peaceful status quo and world order, McMaster has likened today's situation to 1914 and chastised the security community for taking a "holiday from history" and allowing the US's power and influence to decline while focusing on expensive defense projects."Geopolitics are back and are back with a vengeance," McMaster said when introducing the US's new national security strategy. McMaster also cowrote an article at the Association of the US Army in which he said that "hostile, revisionist powers - Russia, China, North Korea and Iran - annex territory, intimidate our allies, develop nuclear weapons, and use proxies under the cover of modernized conventional militaries."McMaster asserted the US's adversaries named above "often act below the threshold that would elicit a concerted response from US and our allies," also noting in his 2016 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcESByl9rpc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speech to the Virginia Military Institute</a> that the "hostile actors do not operate in isolation from one another." "They watch and assess American actions and responses across the globe," he said. "They calibrate their actions."Essentially, McMaster posits that when the world sees Russia waging hybrid warfare in Ukraine and the Baltics and the US offers a muddled response, refusing for years to provide lethal aide to Ukraine, China, Iran, and North Korea become emboldened. While the US struggles to patrol China's massive land grab in the South China Sea or combat Iran's growing influence and use of proxy militias in Syria, North Korea assesses - correctly so far - that it can continue to defy the US without punishment.North Korea, in particular, has proven adept at "salami-slicing," or advancing its interests against US demands in such small steps that no one provocation is enough for the US to initiate a war. Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran have all acted against US interests despite the US's nuclear arsenal and in what some would call defiance of traditional deterrence. The US has seen its power in the Pacific, eastern Europe, and the Middle East decline exponentially as China, Russia, and Iran rise, but the strategy of tolerating a constant stream of slights has kept the US out of major conflicts. McMaster may want to change that.<h2>Make America fight again</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSouth Korean marines participate in a U.S.-South Korea joint landing operation drill as Amphibious assault vehicles of the South Korean Marine Corps throw smoke bombs in Pohang March 30, 2015. The drill is part of the two countries' annual military training called Foal Eagle, which runs from March 2 to April 24. </div></div></div>McMaster has indicated that standing up for US interests and punishing its adversaries <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/hr-mcmaster-us-trump-ready-to-take-north-korea-nuclear-weapons-by-force-2017-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">may be more important than avoiding a massive war</a>. Asked about the North Korean crisis by the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42409144" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BBC in December</a>, McMaster said "we're not committed to a peaceful resolution, we're committed to a resolution," adding that "we have to be prepared if necessary to compel the denuclearization of North Korea without the cooperation of that regime."McMaster has openly questioned whether deterrence will work on North Korea. While few think North Korea would launch a nuclear attack on the US, as it would be a suicide mission, North Korea has transferred weapons and nuclear technology to US enemies. North Korea has also killed hundreds of US and South Korean civilians. One solution that's increasingly discussed, and apparently is one of McMaster's ideas, is to teach North Korea a lesson with force. The "bloody nose" strategy, whereby the US carries out a limited strike on North Korea in response to some provocation, could achieve this.Striking North Korea risks a major conflict that could quickly go nuclear. China, or even Russia, may get involved. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, could die.As Uri Friedman points out in <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/549341/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Atlantic</a>, McMaster's strategy would make a lot of sense as a bluff to convince US enemies that the country is now serious and willing to risk major wars to protect its interests, but Friedman quotes John Nagl, a retired Lt. Col who worked extensively with McMaster as saying that's unlikely."What H.R. says you can take to the bank," said Nagl. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-kim-jong-un-scariest-dictators-2016-1">North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un is 34 -here's how he became one of the world's scariest dictators</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Why Trump's national security adviser thinks it might soon be time to bomb North Korea

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Thomson ReutersLaborers work at a construction site for a new building in Shanghai</div></div></div>Getting a group of friends to agree where to have dinner is stressful enough. Relocating the equivalent of <a href="http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/philippines-population/">the entire population of the Philippines</a> (population: 102 million), within five years - that's a completely different undertaking.By 2020, China hopes to move 100 million people from the country's farming regions into cities. By 2026, it hopes to move 250 million.The plan was first unveiled in March of last year as the<a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2014-03/16/c_133190495.htm">"National New-type Urbanization Plan (2014-2020)."</a>At 30 chapters long, the plan is a staggeringly complex vision involving the mass uprooting of Chinese citizens and the destruction, and reconstruction, of homes, office buildings, and infrastructure. It imagines a China that can compete with the world leaders, both financially and ecologically.So why now? Because China is tired of exporting and investing. It wants to bring the world's economy to its doorstep.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://worldcongress2015.iclei.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/SP1_02_Patrick_Ho_Seoul_20150402.pdf">China Energy Fund Committee</a>China has both economic and sustainability goals.</div></div></div>"Domestic demand is the fundamental impetus for China's development," the plan says, "and the greatest potential for expanding domestic demand lies in urbanization."In the US, roughly 80% of people live in cities. In China, fewer than 60% percent do. By moving farmers from the rural regions into urban environments, the country hopes to become a visible powerhouse in the global economy.The 2020 plan calls for major extensions to railways and expressways so that all cities with more than 200,000 people are connected. High-speed rail will join cities with at least 500,000 people. These goals ultimately seek to maximize how many people are registered as urban residents - 54% live there full-time, but only 36% are documented, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/18/world/asia/china-releases-plan-to-integrate-farmers-in-cities.html?_r=0">the New York Times reported</a>. On paper, that equates to a difference between a life of remote self-sustenance and access to subsidized health care and education for children.Whether China is accomplishing that goal is up for discussion.Since 100 hundred million people need a place to go, the country's plan has been to merge major cities with large suburbs to create so-called megacities. Formally, megacities have populations greater than 10 million. Several are already underway, including China's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-mega-city-has-more-people-than-canada-argentina-or-australia-2015-7">Pearl River Delta</a> to the south and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-megacity-in-beijing-will-be-larger-than-japan-2015-7">Jing-Jin-Ji</a>, which surrounds Beijing, to the north.Here is Beijing's urban growth between 1978 and 2010. Red regions indicate the spread of urbanization.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn7mn_an2Lw">NASA.gov</a></div></div></div>As you might expect, a move of this scale doesn't happen easily over such a short time period. Many Western countries took centuries to build up the necessary infrastructure to support populations of 100-million-plus, and some are still in the process. In its rush to build, however, the Chinese government has hit some logistical walls.In only a year since the plan's unveiling, many bridges and highways are <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/Publications/Urban%20Development/EAP_Urban_Expansion_full_report_web.pdf">already lagging behind</a> their scheduled completion. High costs of living keep people confined to the outskirts, as public transportation remains their only means of access to working in the city. Some residents in older urban areas even get caught in the crossfire. In preparation for the 2010 Asian Games, the city ordered the widespread bulldozing of houses to make room for new developments. Rising real esate prices forced the evictions of many, though few were compensated for the move.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Bobby Yip/Reuters</div></div></div>Extreme incidents such as these are rare, but they highlight a fundamental challenge in growing a city too fast: People's livelihoods are at stake."It's a new world for us in the city," Tian Wei, a wheat farmer-turned-factory watchman <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/world/asia/chinas-great-uprooting-moving-250-million-into-cities.html">told the New York Times</a> in 2013. "All my life I've worked with my hands in the fields; do I have the educational level to keep up with the city people?"In shifting the country's mission, the Chinese government effectively told its citizens that their current way of life was outmoded. It was time to fix what was broken, even if millions of rural inhabitants never saw it that way. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/video-wooden-roller-coaster-china-2015-7">Here's what it's like to ride on the epic half-mile-long wooden roller coaster in China</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="RjaTEzdjpQ82W8Tuxp3dBpqP5Qiz9hrd" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Here's China's crazy plan to move a population the size of the Phillippines from farms to cities

There could hardly be a Web surfer who hasn’t heard of <keyword id="66322" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="TED">TED</keyword> (Technology, <keyword id="4578" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="entertainment">Entertainment</keyword> and Design) talks. And those are more than talks. Listening to the speakers is like walking into a history museum and falling in love with every archaeological object on display there. 
 
Motivation has its moments. When you surf the Web for TED talks delivered by Indians and listen to their stories, you realise they took a path that wasn’t treaded upon. Much like an elephant that makes its own pathway, irrespective of what the ‘norm’ is. 
 
Some of the Must-listen TED talks: 
 
 
Arvind Gupta: Trash’s fun! 
 
This IIT-Kharagpur graduate-turned-science teacher of sorts has been fuelling the fire in young minds through his innovative toys. “The best thing a child can do with a toy is break it,” he says with a sunny disposition and a mischievous smile. 
 
 
Bunker Roy: A professional isn’t about education alone 
 He chose to look away from a cushy IAS posting to come face to face with the treasure trove of knowledge in villages. Decades later, he has established barefoot college where people ‘learn and serve’ with their <keyword id="6500558" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="40" keywordseo="Indigenous">indigenous</keyword> knowledge, and not come in and leave with fancy degrees! 
 
 
Devadutt Pattanaik: Deciphering the war of ideology 
 
Devadutt Pattanaik is a gifted writer. His presentation of Indian mythology and beliefs has caught the attention of the young and the old alike. His words are as engaging as his books. He unravels the way east and west contradict each other in myths and beliefs about God, leading to misunderstanding (between each other). 
 
 
<keyword id="6354361" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Kiran-Bedi">Kiran Bedi</keyword>: Bringing peace within unrest 
 
Being an upright, honest and strict police chief wasn’t a bed of roses. But Kiran Bedi wasn’t expecting anything to be smoother. At this TED talk, she talks about the image makeover she gave to Tihar jail, which became a space for reform rather than a place of condemnation. 
 
 
<keyword id="44604" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Nandan-Nilekani">Nandan Nilekani</keyword>: What an idea sir ji! 
 
Spearheading the ‘Aadhar’ card process in India, a mammoth exercise to provide a unique identification number to every citizen, Nandan Nilekani could only dream big. In this talk, he elaborates on ideas that worked for India and the bright spots for future. 
 
 
Vijay Kumar: ‘Sensing’ trouble 
 This scientist from Penn dreams of a day when small robots will be <keyword id="54921" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="40" keywordseo="spread">spread</keyword> across the world to warn of an oncoming disaster. He and his team-members are busy working on models that can swarm and sense any activity. Robo soothsayers, anyone? 
 
 
Arunachalam Muruganatham: Bringing sanity with sanitary pads 
 When this ‘house husband’ decided to do something about creating a revolution around sanitary pads, it cost him his marriage and family ties. Yet, he continued with his mission. Today, scores of <keyword id="624" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Women">women</keyword> and girls thank him for having brought a very positive change in their lives. 
 
 
Shukla Bose: Sowing seeds, one at a time 
 
Shukla Bose set up Parikrma Foundation with a vision of teaching one kid at a time when schools are hoarding kids into classrooms. Her focus is on children from less fortunate background. We change their lives, we change the future of this nation, she says. 
 
 
<keyword id="4993" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Shekhar-Kapur">Shekhar Kapur</keyword>: Panicking over creative juices 
 
Shekhar Kapur, the award-winning director who gave some of the best films to Indian and international audiences, speaks of the stories that make us. And what caused the surge of creativity within him? Utter panic, he says! 
 
 
<keyword id="42749" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Shashi-Tharoor">Shashi Tharoor</keyword>: Go soft on hard power! 
 A diplomat-turned-politician, Shashi <keyword id="6383086" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="tharoor">Tharoor</keyword> talks of an exchange between India and <keyword id="818790" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="the-rest">the rest</keyword> of the world through culture and cuisine and music, than building army and stocking up on weapons and drones. He sure knows that butter chicken has conquered the world now!

These Are Must-See Top 10 Sessions by Indians At TED

In late April, Marco, an employee at a <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/sbux-Quote">Starbucks</a> in Florida, was called to a "very mandatory" meeting with the rest of his store's employees."Each manager was required to read verbatim about a half hour of dicta blaming the baristas for all these problems," Marco, who has worked at Starbucks for more than five years, told Business Insider. The root of the issues, Marco said, was a lack of connection between workers and customers.The same meeting has taken place at every Starbucks store in the US over the last month, as part of what the company is calling a "fight for the heart and soul" of Starbucks. These meeting are part of a battle to double down on improving the customer experience in Starbucks stores.But Marco left the meeting infuriated, feeling that Starbucks was forcing baristas to take responsibility for customer service problems caused by other issues, like understaffed stores, an increasing demand from mobile and drive-thru orders, and time-intensive drinks. In the meeting, he said, Starbucks essentially ordered employees to find a way to improve the customer experience - or quit the company. Stefan Wermuth/Reuters A barista prepares a drink at Starbucks' Vigo Street branch in Mayfair, central London."Everyone's jaw dropped," Marco said. "There was a point where they said, if you're not down with this, you're welcome to get out."Following his manager's monologue, Marco spoke up. He and another employee raised concerns that Starbucks was putting too much of the blame on employees. Marco said he was shut down by his manager, who sought "submission" over input. He wasn't the only person who took issue with the meetings. A number of employees have spoken out online and in interviews with Business Insider, saying that the coffee giant's new agenda is misguided and ineffective.Starbucks baristas told Business Insider they felt Starbucks was right about one thing: that the coffee chain needs to make some changes. However, instead of corporate pep talks, the employees we spoke to said they want better support in the form of higher wages and better staffing at stores.<h2>'Fight for the heart and soul of the company'</h2>StarbucksStarbucks chairman and ex-CEO Howard Schultz and CEO Kevin Johnson.The meeting that Marco attended is part of a two-year agenda called "North Star" that aims to refocus the company's approach to customer service. "North Star was really created out of an ambition to focus ourselves on what makes the Starbucks experience, the Starbucks experience," Kris Engskov, who is leading the program as Starbucks' new head of US retail, told Business Insider in an interview. North Star is one of the company's first major initiatives under the leadership of Starbucks' new CEO, Kevin Johnson, who took the place of long-time chief executive Howard Schultz in April. Johnson, along with Engskov, are emphatic disciples of the idea that what makes Starbucks special is baristas' ability to form "emotional connections" with its customers."I think is a key differentiator for Starbucks it is that emotional connection our partners have to what we stand for, and the fact that we are in the business of human connection," Johnson told Business Insider in an interview in March. "At the end of the day, there is one thing that every person on this planet has in common, and that is the human experience... It's a beautiful thing."Engskov hit several of Johnson's key points in a letter to employees that was distributed in the North Star trainings and obtained by Business Insider: Emotional connection is more important than ever, customers visit Starbucks for connection, and in-store workers are the ones tasked with supplying that connection.However, the letter also gets at a point that Johnson has avoided discussing - the idea that Starbucks is falling short in providing these connections. In the letter, Engskov wrote that Starbucks is "in a fight for the heart and soul of our company." "Despite all the remarkable talents and capabilities our store partners bring, we've allowed complexity to get in our way," Engskov writes. "And, frankly, these are just excuses. Excuses we're no longer willing to accept. We're going to move quickly to make some real changes to how we operate - in our support centers and in our stores - to unleash those remarkable talents."ReutersStarbucks has been consistently growing same-store sales in the US and globally for years. The company reported in April that same-store sales grew 3% in second quarter. However, the company is now facing a series of problems that threaten its upward trajectory.Traffic in the second quarter was flat, after dropping 2% in the first quarter of 2017, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/starbucks-traffic-declines-in-february-2017-3">meaning that fewer people are visiting the stores</a>. Mobile ordering also continues to be a headache for the company, as waves of online orders create bottlenecks at stores. And, while the Unicorn Frappuccino dominated social media in mid-April, the popularity of this and other Instagram-friendly beverages that take longer to make have resulted in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/starbucks-unicorn-frappuccino-backlash-2017-4">backlash from baristas</a>.<h2>National reinvigoration versus 'company Kool-Aid'</h2>REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiA staff serves beverages at a Starbucks coffee shop in Seoul, South Korea, in this March 7, 2016, file photo.Starbucks executives say they intended for the North Star letter and corresponding meetings to encourage discussions about potential problems and reenergize employees. However, Marco and other employees saw the initiative as sidestepping the actual issues that Starbucks workers and the company as a whole are facing. "North Star is basically every customer service culture re-invigoration that we've ever had with an ultimatum attached to it," one Starbucks worker, Sandy, told Business Insider. "If [an employee] stands up for themselves or in any way [puts] a customer second to something else, they put their job on the line." According to Engskov, this was not Starbucks' intention. He describes North Star as a two-part solution. One part is rallying and training employees to form connections. The other part is finding ways for the Seattle corporate "support team" to better support baristas and streamline their work, with fixes such as adapting to mobile ordering growth, making scheduling easier, and adjusting inventory availability. "This is a two-part equation," Engskov said. "We're listening very, very closely [to employees]... We're taking that feedback, and we're doing something with it." This supportive part of North Star has apparently been lost in translation for many employees. Amanda, a Starbucks worker who quit the week before her store's North Star meeting, said that the new agenda sounded more like "company Kool-Aid" than actual changes. "Really it's Starbucks saying 'hey, we're going to keep understaffing you and running you ragged, but ON TOP of that, we want you to be better at customer service. Oh, and you won't get paid more for it either,'" she said. On the r/Starbucks subreddit, one of the more active forums for Starbucks discussion online, North Star has become a hot topic of debate.Some employees were on board with Engskov's vision, describing the meetings as <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/starbucks/comments/67lzvj/changes_postnorth_star/">productive and even inspirational</a>. Worksheets that employees were required to fill out solicited feedback on how Starbucks could improve things for both "partners," or employees, and customers.The "to be a partner" hashtag on Instagram, which is populated by photos posted by Starbucks workers, show employees that seem eager to show off their Starbucks spirit."My store has been approaching the breaking point for weeks as far as animosity and resentment, and our meeting was filled with positivity and legitimately constructive criticism," a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/starbucks/comments/65aotr/am_i_the_only_one_who_doesnt_hate_north_star/">comment on Reddit reads. </a>"All but one partner were working to set goals and try to work better as a team."Other employees appreciated that Starbucks was attempting to address problems at the company, even if they didn't think the meetings were a success. "I completely agree that the company lost it's way, and that it's time for us to go back to our core values," <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/starbucks/comments/651bfu/thoughts_about_north_star_venti/">wrote one Reddit user</a>. "I'm happy that they're finally recognizing where they went wrong, and that they're making an effort to fix it. But no one is addressing the fact that the partners make this company."Others on Reddit saw the meetings as <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/starbucks/comments/64nb1j/my_north_star_meeting/">a waste of time</a> - a corporate requirement unlikely to have any lasting positive effects and that may even damage morale by blaming workers. To ensure that North Star is a success, Starbucks is going to have to win over these skeptical employees who expect more from management. <h2>A 'cult that pays $9 per hour'</h2>Business InsiderOne employee criticism of the North Star agenda is that it suggests the company values its customers over its employees. Another gripe is that it ignores the practical realities of working in the coffee shop. "There is no customer connection when we're as busy AND understaffed as we are," a Starbucks worker, Alex, told Business Insider. "Put another person on the floor and we can talk. I've had people call the store to complain that we seemed rushed and upset. The stress is overwhelming." According to workers that Business Insider spoke to, understaffing started to become a major problem at Starbucks last year. In late June 2016, Starbucks employee Jaime Prater created a <a href="https://www.coworker.org/petitions/starbucks-lack-of-labor-is-killing-morale">Coworker.org petition that said a "lack of labor is killing morale" at the chain</a>. "Labor is the real bone of contention, in addition to the drinks that corporate continues to roll out... baristas also continue to struggle in their stores, with more expectation, with less support staff," the petition reads. According to Starbucks, understaffing concerns were overhyped by workers and regional leaders didn't see a need to make changes. The company hasn't made any changes to it staffing policy and leaves decisions up to local leadership."How we staff our stores is the most important thing we do," Engskov said. "Our store managers really have great latitude in determining how they're going to staff their store."Some workers say that understaffing issues persist. Starbucks workers are still signing Prater's Coworker.org petition, which now has more than 17,500 signatures, with the most recent signatures appearing just this week. "Understaffing has become a problem," Alex said. "They cut our labor in half last year and, many times, there'd only be one barista on the floor at a time. It's still the case now.""I'd bet my life to say that if they'd kept us fully staffed, that growth would've been in the double digits," Alex said, referring to the company's 2016 sales. In December, Starbucks reported that same-store sales in the Americas grew 6%, based on a 5% increase in sales and a 1% increase in customer visits. Kate TaylorOne solution to Starbucks' mobile order bottlenecks is adding a pick-up shelf.Mobile is a huge growth area for Starbucks. However, adding mobile orders has changed baristas' workflow. Employees at some busy locations are forced to deal with bottlenecks when a huge rush of mobile orders arrive at the same time, something that Engskov and other Starbucks executives have said they're working to address."Obviously, we're not connecting because we have mobile here, and we have drive-thru here," Marco said. "We're running around like crazy."Frappuccinos represent another way Starbucks <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/starbucks-frappuccino-happy-hour-starts-next-week-2017-4">is attempting to grow sales</a>, but the frozen beverages have also been a source of frustration for baristas. While pouring a cup of coffee only takes one step, making a Frappuccino is a messy, noisy process that involves multiple steps.Baristas who spoke with Business Insider said that things such as mobile and Frappuccino concerns wouldn't be an issue if stores were better staffed, or employees were paid more for their work.<a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/starbucks-partners/a-letter-from-howard-investing-in-the-us-starbucks-partner-experience/1087951401227345/">Starbucks Facbebook</a>Last July, soon after reports of understaffing emerged, Howard Schultz published an open letter on Starbucks' Facebook page, promising a pay raise in October, enhanced stock options, revamped benefits, more stable scheduling, and a new dress code. However, this October pay raise took the place of the company's annual January raise, according to the company. As a result, Starbucks workers haven't yet received a raise in 2017, and some employees feel salaries are still too low.According to Glassdoor data, average barista pay is $9.50 per hour. For comparison, average pay for a worker at McDonald's is roughly $8.49 per hour, and the median pay for <a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes353022.htm">barista-style servers</a> is $10.28 per hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistic. Starbucks emphasizes that the chain offers benefits beyond hourly pay, which include college tuition assistance, 401(k) matching, and the ability to purchase Starbucks stock through the <a href="https://starbucksbeanstock.com/en-us/welcome-en-us/about-bean-stock-en-us/">Bean Stock program.</a> While some Starbucks employees said benefits helped convince them to stay at the company, others argued that higher pay would better serve workers. "My team wants to be able to afford rent and groceries," Sandy said. "If you had asked partners if they could have the option for higher pay or the college achievement program, somewhere around 90% of all partners would have asked for increased pay."Amanda, the former Starbucks worker, said she saw many new "bright-eyed and excited" new employees grow jaded after experiencing a reality filled with low pay, bureaucracy, and internal disconnect. "It's a cult that pays $9 per hour," she said.<h2>What comes next </h2>Stephen Brashear / Stringer / Getty ImagesStarbucks workers preparing coffee using the siphoning technique, which is available at stores with Reserve Bars.The North Star meetings that took place at Starbucks across the country in April are just the beginning of what Starbucks wants to be a process in improving customer service by sparking connections. "This is not prescriptive," Engskov said. "Our part of the job is to really set [employees] up for success, not to tell them how to do this."If Engskov succeeds, North Star could be a way to bring workers back to their "bright-eyed" early days at the company, and have them bring that energy to their interaction with customers. Finding ways to improve customer service is crucial in creating brand loyalty, especially as the chain prepares to open 5,000 locations over the next five years. Nearly all the Starbucks employees that spoke with Business Insider, including the harshest critics, said that they enjoyed and even loved parts of their jobs. However, they also saw a company that was putting the blame on employees, instead of taking responsibility for its growing pains. If Starbucks wants to connect with customers, they need to connect with these employees first. *Starbucks in-store employee's names have been changed.If you work for Starbucks and have a story to share email retail@businessinsider.com. <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/zetime-smart-watch-hybrid-analogue-and-smart-watches-clock-hands-touch-2017-5">This smart watch has mechanical clock hands</a></h3> Please enable Javascript to watch this video

You Searched For "ji s vision" and got 12 results

India Inc leaders reiterate significance of yoga in COVID-19 times

PTI

The pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities in Singapore's famed food hawker culture, where the average age of an operator is 60. Young Singaporeans are turning to social media to save it.

Keshia Naurana Badalge

Sequoia has backed PatSnap, another UK tech startup that's focusing on China

Sam Shead

Why Trump's national security adviser thinks it might soon be time to bomb North Korea

Alex Lockie

Here's China's crazy plan to move a population the size of the Phillippines from farms to cities

Chris Weller

These Are Must-See Top 10 Sessions by Indians At TED

Preetam Kaushik

Starbucks is quietly trying to solve a major problem as furious baristas slam the 'cult that pays $9 an hour'

Kate Taylor

The entire list and a brief profile of 'Delhi ke nirmata'⁠— the makers of Delhi felicitated at Kejriwal's oath taking ceremony

BI India Bureau

Full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's first address to the Parliament as the 17th Lok Sabha gets underway

BI India Bureau

Here's the full text of Trump's State of the Union address

Business Insider

The activist in BJP: Sudhanshu Mittal

Arvind Passey

Full transcript of PM Narendra Modi's TV interview

BI India Bureau