Given that most Indians are unlikely to be tested for COVID-19, scientists are taking a cue from the country's surveillance programme for polio and turning to sewage to get a clearer snapshot of how many people are infected with the coronavirus. Wastewater epidemiology is a valuable tool to monitor the spread of the novel coronavirus in communities, said Manish Kumar of the Indian Institute of Technology in Gandhinagar who is working with an international team of collaborators on the project. The wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) global collaboration comprises over 50 institutes and researchers headed by Kyle James Bibby of the University of Notre Dame in the US. The group is coordinating sampling and analytical protocols as well as data-sharing so that results obtained can be compared on a global scale. The numbers in India tell their own story – a population of 1.3 billion vs 9,02,654 tests till Friday, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research. Over the last five days, India has been averaging 49,800 tests a day. The number of tests have almost doubled in the last eight days -- India had conducted just about five lakh tests from March 23 to April 22 – but this is still not enough to gauge the spread of the disease. "The current testing method is not enough to tell the exact situation of the coronavirus infection in India. Even if the people show symptoms for novel coronavirus,it will take three to 15 days actually to detect it," Kumar, assistant professor at the Department of Earth Sciences, told . "That is too late. That's why we thought, how about wastewater epidemiology, using wastewater to check if there is coronavirus genetic material or not," said Kumar. He said India's polio monitoring system, which uses a similar surveillance method, could come handy in the fight against coronavirus. "Sewage-based epidemiology is an indication of what may be missed by case- based surveillance," Gagandeep Kang, executive director of the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad, told . Kang agreed that the approach can be employed like polio surveillance in the country. According to Masaki Kitajima, a world renowned environmental virologist from Japan's Hokkaido University, the presence of genetic material of novel coronavirus provides an opportunity to use wastewater as a surveillance tool for the "invasion, prevalence, molecular epidemiology, and potential eradication of the virus in a community". "The magnitude of COVID-19 spread is such that it provides us an opportunity for interdisciplinary coordination on a global scale to multiply the impacts of individual efforts. Kumar's team at IITGN has been a key member in this effort," Kitajima, lead author of one of the first review papers on novel coronavirus in wastewater, told . It is a published fact that if somebody is infected with the novel coronavirus, they will excrete it through their body, in the form of faeces and urine, which in turn can be detected in wastewater, Kumar added. "We are not going to detect the live coronavirus in wastewater but their RNA (genetic material in viruses) present in sewage water. This collected sample will then be used in gene sequencing to assess how much genetic material of coronavirus is available," he said. Kumar explained that the results can then be extrapolated for a genetic material estimation of the wastewater and assigned with a probable number of people infected in a given locality or community. "I have sent the protocol to several institutes in India like in IIT Chennai, IIT Roorkee, IIT Guwahati and <keyword id="4343477" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="JNU-Delhi">JNU Delhi</keyword>, so we all can do sampling following one protocol," he noted. He added that the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) and Gujarat State Biotechnology Mission (GSBTM) are providing his team all the cooperation to accomplish the work. "Several preliminary studies have reported the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater in the early stages of local outbreaks which further supports the relevance of WBE," said WBE head Bibby. "We can determine the burden of undiagnosed infections at the population level, which is critical to refining estimates of case-fatality rates," he said. According to Keisuke Kuroda from Japan's Toyama Prefectural University, who is also a part of the collaboration, an accurate prediction of infected population by WBE will naturally involve multiple uncertainties, some of which will be linked with various geographic, climatic, demographic, socio-economic, and environmental conditions. "I believe that Kumar's team will certainly provide considerable insights into WBE's global application," Kuroda, who has published several papers on the fate of viruses and pharmaceuticals in urban waters of Japan and Vietnam, told . In a study published last week in the journal Science of the Total Environment, researchers highlighted the economic advantages of the approach over conventional disease testing and epidemiological surveillance. "Our results show that exclusive reliance on testing of individuals is too slow, cost-prohibitive and in most places, impractical, given our current testing capacity," said Rolf Halden, a professor at the Arizona State University (ASU) in the US, who was a part of the research team. "However, when preceded by population-wide screening of wastewater, the task becomes less daunting and more manageable," he said. However, the research indicates that careful calibration must be carried out to ensure the accuracy of data, which is acutely sensitive to key variables, including seasonal temperature, average in-sewer travel time, degradation rates of biomarkers, community demographics and per-person water use. Estimates based on European and North American data suggest that each person infected with SARS-CoV-2 will excrete millions if not billions of viral genomes into wastewater per day. This translates to between 0.15 and 141.5 million viral genomes per litre of wastewater generated, the researchers said. Using reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) -- a laboratory technique of molecular biology -- researchers should be able to detect the novel coronavirus with high sensitivity, Kumar said. Kumar said he has been contacted by the 2030 Water Resources Group of World Bank and several stakeholders in Maharashtra with whom WBE group and his team are generously sharing the sampling and analytical protocol. "The coronavirus can only be defeated by unity, perseverance and persistent efforts," he said. SAR MIN MINMIN

Testing not enough, scientists examine sewage to gauge spread of coronavirus

<keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> Cabs has promised to invest Rs 100 crore over three years into the training and <keyword id="6418027" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Skill-development">skill development</keyword> of over one lakh drivers. 
 
In a statement, the company explains that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to that effect. 
 
Manish Kumar, MD and CEO, NSDC said, “We are extremely happy to work alongside Ola, driving this campaign that has the potential to significantly improve livelihoods and contribute to the economic growth of lakhs of Indians. Such initiatives will go a long way in promoting skill development and creating an environment of entrepreneurship for the people of the country.” 
 
Ola claims to see “phenomenal growth” in the mobility sector and seeks to “empower” people from all walks of life. The money will be invested in the training of drivers and the requisite skills. The MoU was signed by Ola co-founder and CEO Bhavish Agarwal and Kumar, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister of State Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy and dignitaries. 
 Reportedly, NSDC and Ola will <keyword id="657095" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="work-together">work together</keyword> to identify people and then train them to be drivers, or “driver entrepreneurs”, as Ola calls them. 
 “The mobility sector in the country is witnessing phenomenal growth and has the potential to <keyword id="3974885" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="empower-aspiring-individuals">empower aspiring individuals</keyword> from all walks of life to become entrepreneurs. We are extremely excited to partner with NSDC to invest in the training and skilling of drivers as this would help us in realising our objective of nurturing micro-entrepreneurship,” Aggarwal said.

OLA to invest 100 crore into training one lakh drivers

<keyword id="6354923" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vodafone-India">Vodafone India</keyword> has completely rejigged it's leadership structures to take <keyword id="5189" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="competition">competition</keyword> coming from several directions including Reliance Jio, head-on. India's second largest <keyword id="6528808" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mobile-operator">mobile operator</keyword>, Vodafone has halved the number of decision-making people from four to two so as to increase the pace of taking important calls, accelerating its goto-markets strategy and optimizing resources. 
 
It has distributed its operations in 3 divisions- ‘direct’; ‘growth’ and ‘emerging’ markclusters. The company’s strongest markets - Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata/West Bengal, Tamil Nadu/Chennai and Gujarat – will be included in the 'direct markets' cluster. The business heads from these markets will directly report to the company's chief operating officer, Naveen Chopra. Before the re-organization, they were reporting to one of the four directors depending on circle geography. The two operations directors, Suresh Kumar and Arvind Vohra, will supervise other circles categorized as 'growth' and 'emerging' market clusters respectively. 
 
“The removal of a senior managerial layer between the COO and the business heads of Vodafone's biggest 'direct' markets was aimed at greater agility in decision-making and decision translation,” a senior company executive told ET. 
 
“The Indian unit of UK's Vodafone Plc has taken a strategic decision to have these large markets report into the COO to enhance organizational agility and speed-to-market, which reflect the company's core values of speed and simplicity," a Vodafone India spokesman told ET. “The new structure was created to also provide greater involvement of these large markets in the central strategy making process,” he further added. 
 
The re-organizing exercise however, appears to have had a few hiccups along the way, in the form of some senior level exits like Anand Sahai, Vodafone India's business head (Kolkata &amp; West Bengal), and Manish Kumar, business head (Madhya Pradesh-Chattisgarh). 
 
Vodafone has confirmed that Kumar is leaving but denied a comment on Sahai’s Resignation. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

Vodafone India re-organizes its leadership structure

As the population of senior citizens rise to 118 million in 2016, the senior living sector shows immense opportunities of development in the coming years. It is predicted that by 2025, the population of senior citizens will be equal to the population of dependent children in the country. With these numbers in book, developers are building projects specifically to accommodate senior citizens. Independent living, dependent living, nursing care, quick hospital connectivity and easy commuting facilities are some of the factors that are taken into consideration. But it is still a long road to traverse.
 

	While in US it has matured fully, India still has untapped potential. To understand fully the opportunities and the challenges, one needs to understand first where India stands in the global scenario.
 

	Population
 In 2008 as per the National Institute of Aging (<keyword id="6355055" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="USA">USA</keyword>), it was estimated that the senior population (above 60 years of age) in the world was 506 million. The population of seniors across the world is projected to become 1.3 billion by 2040. 

	For the first time in human history in 2021, the total number of seniors will be greater than the number of kids below 5 years of age. While developed nations will continue to have a large number of seniors, the rate of growth in senior population in developing nations will be double that of developed nations. The 80 plus age segment is actually the fastest growing segment amongst population sets in several nations.
 

	China and India are projected to have almost 50% of the 1.3 billion worldwide seniors by 2040. 
 

	Industry
 <keyword id="3250843" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="senior-housing">Senior housing</keyword> is a $60 billion industry worldwide. In USA alone there are over 520,000 senior housing units with additional 16,000 units under construction. 

	While the sector commands large numbers, it is also important to get a sense that only about 12% of seniors in the USA live in formal senior living projects. Compare to this Australia has 4% as seniors living in such projects. 
 

	Challenges
 

	In contrast to senior living in the west where seniors are seen as an asset class, one of the main challenges that India faces is social stigma associated with the very concept of senior housing. We don’t even talk about it. 
 

	“In this changing social environment, concepts like contemporary retirement resorts are becoming acceptable and popular,” Manish Kumar, Managing Director-Strategic Consulting, JLL India, said in his blog.
 

	The development can only be seen in the Tier-II cities and the target is mostly independent senior citizens. Also, the senior housing sector should be in the affordable segment. With the stingy budget and contingencies in the affordable housing sector, that is not possible anytime soon. To add to the woes, not many developers are even aware of the framework needed to cater to end to end needs of theirs.
 

	A fully integrated continuing care retirement communities is still a chit chat of the future.

Senior Housing: Expect Budget 2016 to
be more inclusive

<keyword id="1671" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shah-Rukh-Khan">Shah Rukh Khan</keyword> and <keyword id="6354713" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="kajol">Kajol</keyword>, who are shooting for <keyword id="22746" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="rohit-shetty">Rohit Shetty</keyword>’s upcoming movie <keyword id="1665132" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dilwale">Dilwale</keyword>, would be seen in a song shot in a single take. The romantic number would be shot at the famous black sand and white surf location in <keyword id="55091" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Iceland">Iceland</keyword>, and we can’t wait to see India’s most loved on-screen jodi to sizzle in this song. 
 
However, director Rohit Shetty is not the first Indian director to have thought of shooting a song in a single go. In the past, there have been songs or sequences where the director didn’t call for a cut and shot it in one go. 
 
Surely, this takes a lot of planning, rehearsal, and retakes, but what comes out in the final cut is spellbinding, and completely worth it. 
Here is a list of the songs and sequences that were shot in a single take. 
 
1. <keyword id="1013107" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="roop-tera-mastana">Roop Tera Mastana</keyword> (Aradhana, 1969) Director <keyword id="328587" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shakti-Samanta">Shakti Samanta</keyword> shot the entire sensual song in one take, with actors <keyword id="20397" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rajesh-Khanna">Rajesh Khanna</keyword> and <keyword id="1888" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sharmila-Tagore">Sharmila Tagore</keyword>. The song had the magical voice of <keyword id="6378234" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kishore-Kumar">Kishore Kumar</keyword> and S.D Burman composed the music. The song was more than 03:30 minutes long. 
 
 
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HenA-OUyo0s">[Source]</a> 
 
2. Chale Jaise Hawaein (Main Hoon Na, 2004) Director <keyword id="3783" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Farah-Khan">Farah Khan</keyword> decided to shoot the opening sequence for this movie in a single take, and it was all the way more difficult because unlike Roop Tera Mastana, this song had a lot of dance steps, extras, background dancers, along with <keyword id="3872" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amrita-rao">Amrita Rao</keyword>, the actress. Farah Khan choreographed the first 02:40 minutes of the song in a single take. 
 
 
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmPfioaW1Tw">[Source]</a> 
 
3. I Wanna Make Love To You (Aitraaz, 2004) The Abbas-Mustan movie starring <keyword id="2823" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Akshay-Kumar">Akshay Kumar</keyword>, <keyword id="1655" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Priyanka-Chopra">Priyanka Chopra</keyword>, and <keyword id="2165" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kareena-Kapoor">Kareena Kapoor</keyword> had this sensual song, which was shot in one room, and in one take. The 03:39-minute song was sung by <keyword id="5293" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sunidhi-Chauhan">Sunidhi Chauhan</keyword>, with music composed by <keyword id="8539" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Himesh-Reshammiya">Himesh Reshammiya</keyword>. 
 
 
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLr0jVmGNmY">[Source]</a> 
 
4. <keyword id="3018475" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zara-Bach-Ke">Zara Bach Ke</keyword> (Cash, 2007) This song, directed by <keyword id="32859" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Anubhav-Sinha">Anubhav Sinha</keyword>, had five actors viz. Riteish Deshmukh, <keyword id="10357" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zayed-Khan">Zayed Khan</keyword>, <keyword id="2807" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shamita-Shetty">Shamita Shetty</keyword>, <keyword id="981" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dia-Mirza">Dia Mirza</keyword>, and <keyword id="1952" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Esha-Deol">Esha Deol</keyword>, dancing in what looks like a maze of different corridors. The song is around 03:39-minutes long, and was sung by Anushka Manchanda, Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani while the latter two being the music directors. 
 
​​ 
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q81ymh8vl4Q">[Source]</a> 
 
5. Ek Villain (2014) The movie starring Sidharth Malhotra, <keyword id="89958" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shraddha-Kapoor">Shraddha Kapoor</keyword> and Riteish Deshmukh had a fight sequence, which was 2-minutes long, and was shot in a single take. The sequence showed Malhota getting onto a ship and fighting with dozens of goons, one by one, in a single take. The scene was brilliantly executed because the fight looked real and the background music added a lot of drama to the scene. 
 
 
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SVKBZthBUo">[Source]</a> 
 
6. Gallan Goodiyaan (Dil Dhadakne Do, 2015) 
This song from 2015's comedy-drama had a lot of actors, including Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar, Rahul Bose, Ridhuma Sud, Zarina Wahab, Vikrant Massey, Parmeet Sethi, Divya Seth, and Manoj Pahwa dancing with hundreds of background songs. Out of all the songs listed, this one has the most fast-paced beats, and is also the longest one-take song (04:38 minutes). Directed by Zoya Akhtar, this song was sung by ​Yashita Sharma, Manish Kumar Tipu, Farhan Akhtar, Shankar Mahadevan, and Sukhwinder Singh, with Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's music and Bosco-Ceaser's choreography. ​Thanks to our reader ​Jahangir Hussain for pointing out that we had missed this song. 
 
 
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCEdTq3j-0U">[Source]</a>

SRK Kajol to shoot one take song in Dilwale, but it’s not Bollywood’s first

After months of political uncertainty, it seems Delhi will soon have a government of its own. Amidst this politically charged atmosphere, a delegation of the <keyword id="6354944" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Aam-Aadmi-Party">Aam Aadmi Party</keyword> (<keyword id="6356115" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="AAP">AAP</keyword>) recently met President <keyword id="6359124" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Pranab-Mukherjee">Pranab Mukherjee</keyword> after <keyword id="6354564" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lieutenant-Governor">Lieutenant Governor</keyword> (LG) <keyword id="6478435" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Najeeb-Jung">Najeeb Jung</keyword> sought the President's nod to invite the single-largest party, the <keyword id="14666" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="BJP">BJP</keyword>, to form the government. In this backdrop, BI India’s Manish Kumar had an exclusive interview with <keyword id="342262" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Yogendra-Yadav">Yogendra Yadav</keyword>, AAP’s senior leader and strategist. Here are the excerpts: 
 
Lieutenant Governor LG Naseeb Jung, in an interview with The Times Of India, said that the efforts for government formation in Delhi were still on. But your party has been demanding to conduct elections at the earliest. What is your reaction on that? 
I saw the statement and I was really surprised. I was surprised because there is a very clear-cut situation... the party with the largest number, the BJP, has not staked claim to power. The second largest party, the Aam Aadmi Party, has refused to form the government, and has demanded election. Congress has no chance of forming the government. The composition of the Assembly hasn’t changed as well. Then what is the LG waiting for? That surprises me, and statement like that lends itself to an interpretation that the LG is waiting for ‘something’ to happen, perhaps for some horse trading to take place. 
 
After saying that it does not have the required number to form the government, the BJP has now said that it is open to forming the government if asked by the LG. How do you view this change in BJP’s stance? 
This is precisely what is odd here. When the BJP had 32 MLAs in the Assembly, it went to the (Lieutenant) Governor and said that we cannot form the government. Now that it has only 29 members, it says it may be willing (to form the government) if invited by the Lieutenant Governor. At the same time, it is not going to the LG to formally stake a claim. Clearly, they do not have the numbers or the confidence that they have or can get majority in the Assembly. Clearly, they are waiting for some help from the Lieutenant Governor. That is what’s odd about it as if the BJP is hoping that the constitutional office of the LG could favour it and help manufacture a majority that it does not actually enjoy. That reminds us of the older days before the Anti-defection Bill came, when buying and selling of MPs and MLAs used to be a very standard thing. One can only hope that the LG and the BJP are not colluding to take us back to that situation. 
 
In case of another hung Assembly even after fresh elections, would you accept or extend support to either the BJP or the Congress? 
This is not just a hypothetical but a super-hypothetical question. We are, at the moment, struggling for the election to be announced. You have assumed that elections have been announced, you have assumed that elections have been held, you have assumed that results are out, and there is no majority…I mean…I don’t think I would like to respond to this super-hypothetical question. I am personally quite confident that if elections are held, Aam Aadmi Party would come in majority. And that is precisely the reason why the BJP is running away from elections. 
 
<keyword id="540848" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="kumar-vishwas">Kumar Vishwas</keyword> recently alleged that the BJP had approached him with the offer of making him the chief minister. Why is the party’s top brass silent on the issue? 
That’s not true. My colleague Sanjay Singh has actually openly spoken about it. He even named the person. The party has spoken. Any attempt to offer such incentives of any kind is clearly unethical. 
 
I was referring to the party’s top brass – you yourself, Arvind Kejriwal or Manish Sisodia. 
You may have one understanding of what the top brass is. But I clearly include Sanjay bhai among the top brass. There is clearly no doubt in anyone’s mind that any form of inducement offered, etc., is simply not acceptable. This is not an ethical conduct and if this is indeed what happened, then this is surely a matter of concern. 
 
Your comment on Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>’s 100 days in office. 
I have written an article about it, where basically I have said that 100 days is too short a period to come to any definitive conclusion. We have seen some signs…some positive signs as well like the foreign policy, like setting SIT on black money, etc. But signs of worry are overwhelming. The government had made huge promises about inflation, employment and so on, but there’s been no action yet. In fact, when it comes to farmers, there is reverse action. On environment, there has been purely negative action so far. On foreign policy, there is no clear integral view of what is happening. And worst of all, on questions to do with integrity and corruption, the government doesn’t seem to be standing up for the honest officers. Not to forget the question of communalism, where there appears to be a crowd-sourcing of communalism and the government is silently watching it. These are reasons of worry. One can only hope that Modi would learn and improve. The trouble, of course, is that he has closed himself from the possibility of learning because of his authoritarian style of governance. These things, one can hope, would change. And if they do, we can indeed have better governance. Otherwise what the country needs is a genuine alternative kind of opposition. 
 
Can you please elaborate on the “authoritarian style of governance” that you just referred to? 
I mean this is no secret that Modi has, in his Cabinet, ministers who do not count for anything. All the crucial decisions about any ministry are taken not by the minister himself but by the Prime Minister. There is strict surveillance of all the key party leaders in the BJP itself. Anyone who can possibly be of any challenge to Modi has been systematically sidelined. These are not signs of a democratic leader, these are not signs of authority. These are signs of authoritarianism. But these are early signs and one can only hope that things will get better later.

"BJP Hoping For LG’s Favour To Manufacture Majority": Yogendra Yadav

With Assembly elections likely to be held early next year, the political temperature in Delhi is heating up. The <keyword id="6354944" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Aam-Aadmi-Party">Aam Aadmi Party</keyword> (AAP) has already announced its first list of candidates and the second list is expected anytime. In an exclusive interview to Business Insider’s Manish Kumar, senior AAP leader <keyword id="6354681" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Manish-Sisodia">Manish Sisodia</keyword> dismissed Congress as a “finished party” and said that <keyword id="14666" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="BJP">BJP</keyword> is faceless in the state. Here are the edited excerpts: 

	The Delhi Assembly elections are likely to be held in February-March next year. What would be Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) strategy in this election? What would be the key issues on which you will attack the BJP and the Congress? 
	Congress is a finished party. It has only done kukarm (bad deeds) wherever it got power. People have started hating Congress. It’s not about disliking it. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been trying to fill this gap. But if you talk about Delhi, BJP is too scared in Delhi. I am not saying this as an opponent of the BJP. I am saying this on the basis of facts. If you see the recent elections in Haryana and Maharashtra, none of the states had a viable option to the BJP. Hence, it fought the elections with full confidence. But it Delhi, it had been dilly-dallying on holding the elections. But now they have no option. This is for the first time that it has asked its MPs to come to Delhi and work here. It did not do so in Maharashtra and Haryana elections. This is because BJP is afraid of losing in Delhi. That is why it is deploying its 300 MPs in Delhi. 
	 
 

	Will the Jan Lok Pal Bill continue to remain in your agenda?

	Jan Lokpal, honest governance and strict action against those who indulge in corruption have been our planks and will always be. Hum hain hi isliye. Had any other party worked honestly, we would not have entered in politics. They forced us to join politics. Otherwise, I would have been pursuing my career in journalism. 
	 
	 

	Corruption has almost become a way of life. You can’t even get a driving license without paying bribe. If you promise to make Delhi like Shanghai, New York or Singapore, it has no meaning for a common man. It is just a political gimmick. For a person who is planning to open a shop, what matters to him is that he does not have to pay bribe for this. Everybody has a certain expectation from this city, and it is very important to meet these expectations. People want such education system where they do not have to run from pillar to post for their children’s admission… they are not compelled to sell their land to pay heavy donations. Nobody talks about these fundamental issues. Instead, parties come up with fancy dreams… Shanghai bana denge, Singapore bana denge. Vision is not Shanghai; vision is living. 
	 
	 

	The vote share of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swelled from 33% in the last year’s Assembly election to 46% in this year’s Lok Sabha election. On the other hand, AAP's vote share increased to just 33% from 29%. How will you overcome this huge difference? That was due to the Modi wave. People wanted to elect <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>. But this time, people are not going to elect Modi. 
	 
	 

	In case of another hung Assembly even after fresh elections, would you accept or extend support to either BJP or Congress? 
	 

	We never think haar gaye to kya karenge. We only focus on jeet gaye to kya karenge. This is our philosophy. 
	 
	 

	I am not talking about losing the election. My question to you is about hung Assembly. 
	 

	That may be your perception. For us, anything less than 36 seats would mean losing the election. 
	 
	 

	Will you play the role of a constructive opposition if you don’t manage to win 36 seats? 
	 

	We don’t think on this line. This is not our philosophy. You are forcing me to think on this line. 
	 
	 

	Many leaders like Shazia Ilmi, MS Dhir etc. have ditched AAP. How do you think this would impact the party’s prospects? Does it not demoralise workers and volunteers? 
	 

	Can you name five leaders who were effective in AAP and left the party? (We named four: Shazia Ilmi, MS Dhir, Captain Gopinath and Maulana Qasmi, and this is how he responded) Maulana Qasmi was a member of India Against Corruption. He was caught spying red-handed and was thrown out. I am questioning the media, which is portraying that AAP toot-phoot rahi hai (AAP is disintegrating.) Can anyone from the media name five influential leaders who quit the party? I am throwing an open challenge to all mediapersons. The picture that the media is painting is that AAP mein bhagdad machi hai... leaders are flocking away from the party. 
	 
	 

	The Narendra Modi government has just completed six months. What is your take on his stint in power so far? 
	 

	He speaks very well. When he talks, it seems things are going to change. But when it comes to implementation, not even a single inch has moved. Delhi is just under Modi’s nose. In the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), you have to pay bribe to get your work done. Like I said earlier, you can’t get even a driving license without kickback. 
	 
	 

	Modi started the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan with great fanfare. It was a good initiative which we too supported. But his own party leaders were caught committing fraud in the name of safai. Has he taken any action against them? No. Has he taken any action against the councillors who are not doing their job? No. So, when it comes to delivery, not a single inch has moved forward. 
	 
	 

	How do you view the Modi government’s efforts with regard to bringing back the <keyword id="6356023" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Black-Money">black money</keyword> stashed abroad? 
	 

	During his election campaign, Modi used to say that there is so much black money that if it comes to the country, every person would get Rs 15-20 lakh. In a stark contradiction to that, when he talks about black money in his ‘Man Ki Baat’ programme, he says that he has no idea how much black money is there. Then why was he lying about giving Rs 15-20 lakh to every person? This is the biggest lie. Or maybe he is lying now under the pressure of black money owners. Either he was lying before the election or he is lying now. Both of his statements cannot be true. 
	 
	 

	How much impact will Modi’s personality cult have on Assembly elections in Delhi? 
	 

	Of course, personality cult is a fact. But ultimately, what runs the life of people is governance. A person may speak well or look very good, but he needs to deliver too. 
	 
	 

	In Maharashtra and Haryana, if the BJP did not have any face, its opposition had corrupt faces… most hated, most rejected faces. The situation is same in Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir. But this is not so in Delhi. Here, there is a face and people have an alternative to the BJP.

[Exclusive] Modi Is Lying On Black Money: Manish Sisodia

Sumit Chhazed, Co-Founder, CredR 
 
"The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/StartupIndiaStartups-and-investors-are-smiling-their-way-out-of-Vigyan-Bhawan/articleshow/50606389.cms">startup plan</a> is quite a promising one and we are happy with few initiatives proposed by the government such as tax exemption for 3 years, no inspection for compliance under labour law and starting start- up in 1 day via mobile app. Also the government acknowledges failures to be part of building great start - ups and promises 90 days exit plan, which is well received by the start - up community. Efforts to seed entrepreneurial culture and supporting it through incubation set ups in universities should really propel product innovation. 
 
Government is looking to accentuate the Make in India and Make for India efforts. Plans to create 1000cr fund over next 4 yrs with incentive for tax capital gains to investors would really boost start - up risk appetite in the whole ecosystem. This is indeed a wonderful move from the government and we hope to see these initiatives executed in the near timeframe." 
 
Samar Singla, CEO and founder, Jugnoo 
 
Immense potential for entrepreneurship in India can be forseen with this campaign. By making the taxation and compliance norms easier, the government has taken some very positive steps in this direction. 
 
Raghav Chandra, Co founder, Urbanclap, 
 
This initiative of PM Modi is the right step in making the environment friendlier for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/StartupIndia-Standup-India-Softbanks-Masayoshi-Son-ishaving-a-roaring-love-affair-in-India-and-hes-in-no-hurry-to-move-on/articleshow/50601754.cms">entrepreneurs</a> and thus encouraging them to start up. We will wait for the fine print to understand exactly what the next steps will be. However, I can only say that outcome will be in the positive direction and we are very excited! 
 
Krispian Lawrence, Co-Founder &amp; CEO, Ducere Technologies – Makers of the world’s first haptic footwear Lechal 
 
The government's initiative to fast track start-ups patent applications is a very beneficial move to encourage start-ups. In addition, 80% rebate on patent filing and prosecution deals will allow start-ups to file and create intellectual properties which in the long run will end up being additional sources of revenue. This will spur product innovations in the country and allow Indian product companies to compete globally. Other encouraging aspects of the plan include self certification on labour and environment for all Start-Ups to be up in three years. 
 
Start-ups face a lot of challenges when setting up a business and if the government can ease smaller issues; it will help us to focus on scaling up the business. 
 
Shailesh Jain Co-founder, Mirraw.com 
 
It is delightful to know that our Prime Minister has taken into account small and medium size Start-ups that are not funded by huge investments. Specially, the tax benefits policy and ease on patent fee will extensively support a bootstrapped company like us where single money counts. India is a breeding ground for innovation and this intiative will give <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Startup-IndiaOla-Cabs-Bhavish-Aggarwal-is-conscious-thatsecurity-is-a-concern-more-measures-need-to-be-taken/articleshow/50602554.cms">opportunitie</a>s to many young minds to explore unique ideas. 
 
Anupam Tulsyan co-founder and managing director, Peachmode.com 
 
"We are going to witness a revolution in Start-up culture, with our country's PM validating the governing rules. Elimination of regulatory burden, faster certification and easy exit policy will encourage many youngsters to join the wagon. Tax redemption for 3 years is an important move by our Government that will help the new entrants to scale their business without VC's money. These tax redemptions will allow a bootstrapped company like us to be self-reliant and make profitable in the long run We have high hopes with Startup Indiamovement and sincerely believe that it will lead to many job creation in future. " 
 
Shaifali Agarwal Holani, founder and CEO, EasyFix 
 
What an initiative and a great day for India. Most populated India has sharpest brains of all times and this initiative will give a platform to many enthusiastic but under confident talents to come out of their ordeal. Encouraging privatisation will speed the pace at which India is developing and we will become a developed country soon. 
 
For us, EasyFix is a labour development &amp; construction focussed company, PM Modi said "he is trying to foster innovation and incubation" and our startup is looking forward to collaborating with Modi Govt for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Exclusive-Practo-Foundersays-Modi-govt-should-do-away-with-regulatory-hurdles-in-the-healthcare-sector/articleshow/50604175.cms">skill development</a> and labour development initiatives. We want to be able to contribute to the society &amp; transform the unorganised labour market by doing things right, and that is by better execution of skill development programs. 
 
Swati Gupta, CEO and Founder, Industrybuying.com 
 
Patent fee reduction of 80% will be huge for IP based startups who can not only protect their intellectual property , but patents once registered add to tangible valuation increase" 
 
"No inspections for 3 years will very much reduce the regulatory burden related to VAT set up in new states, warehouse procedures , new factory set ups and much more physical infrastructure related start ups. 
 
Puja Bansal, Founder &amp; Director, Myheera.com 
 
Listening to action plan today I m most exited about the tax exemptions which will release the maximum burden on a startup like us. Self certification compliance in which for three years you are not disturbed from the govt end and you are at ease of doing your best to perform and more focused on the idea and its implementation. Today a start up can register themselves in one day which truly will show more minds and ideas coming quickly and getting jumpstarted. The fund of 10,000 cr which has been created to boost the startups will bring so much confidence as this is coming from our own country. 
 
Incubation centers getting promoted along with pre incubation centers will surely again prevent many failures in startups. Now when we see the entire ecosystem is contributing to 'Make in India' the sentiments of manystartups will change with much more deliverables and may more opening and changing the world. India is full of talents and now when our govt has finally joined hands we will see it as a big game changer with entrepreneurs emerging from every corner of the country. Faster exits were again a breather for many startup who again feel morally down with their failures. It will not be late when india will become world’s largest start up hub. 
 
Manish Kumar, co-founder and CEO of GREX 
 
“The Prime Minister’s announcement of the Startup Policy had quite a few important and measurable benefits that the startups can gain from. Most importantly, the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister outlined a change in the principle approach of the government towards the economy – that the government wants to stay away from deciding and directing on what needs to be done. Instead, the Government looks at a policy of arm’s length enablement. This stand is a bold new change in the government policy and disruptive in its own right. 
 
Venture debt was miserably missing in the ecosystem. Startups have only been used to equity as a mode of capital. GREX is completely poised to launch venture debt in a few weeks’ time. This will help our partner Banks and NBFCs walk the road along with us more aggressively as credits become guaranteed. 
 
Another big thing that was anticipated but not announced is the addressal of concerns around notional valuation gains to investors over and above the fair market value. The incidence of such tax deductions today lie at startups’ end. The ecosystem will expect more details on this front. However, the Prime Minister’s assurance on this is welcome. Some other welcome steps in favor of companies and therefore their investors are retention of profits by the company for three years.” 
 
Kulpreet Kaur, Co-founder, Shop Pirate Coupons

	“The Indian government has kick-started ambitious Start-Up India mission that envisages technology business incubators and research parks. This was for the first time a government in India has launched an exclusive program for startups and the expectations were really high. The vision to set up 75 such startup support hubs in the National Institutes of Technology (NITs), the Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) and National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIEPRs) will help India to develop local brands that can create global footprints. In the past India has been a market for technological innovation created overseas. The time has come now that the Indians create technological products at home that can be marketed globally. 
	We have the skills and need a platform. 
	Start-Up India is going to go a long way in filling up this void. I would say today is the day, that will take new and young entrepreneurs to a next level as the issue from incorporation to talent to infrastructure, all have been discussed. Its appreciable that the major concern of B2B business which is 10% TDS and 14.5 % ST, have been noticed and government saying they will rationalize the same. <o:p></o:p>

	Also as rightly said by Anisha Singh, it’s important that women entrepreneurs should be looked upon as entrepreneurs, not just women entrepreneurs. It’s our work that should get noticed not our gender. However the change is need of time and to give this equality government has to encourage women entrepreneur. It’s good to see that certain provisions are made where there are funds allocations for women entrepreneur. Ecosystem is getting changed and allowing more women to work, which is a highlight of Start-Up India Initiative. Apart from this startup sector becoming unregulated will be better for the sector. Instead of looking at Singapore, we will now have our ecosystem in India. Hoping the budget session will further revolutionize the startups in India. Now the only concern will be 'Sell it India" that is a challenge that needs to be addressed next.<o:p></o:p>

	Amit Ramani, founder and CEO, Awfis Space Solutions Pvt Ltd
Honourable PM Modi's action plan demonstrates a startup like thought process. It provides simple yet innovative policies that can catalyse a revolution to transform India as the most innovative country and major player in global GDP, a feat India enjoyed around 300 years back.

You Searched For "manish kumar" and got 8 results

Testing not enough, scientists examine sewage to gauge spread of coronavirus

PTI

OLA to invest 100 crore into training one lakh drivers

BI India Bureau

Vodafone India re-organizes its leadership structure

BI India Bureau

Senior Housing: Expect Budget 2016 to be more inclusive

Usha Rani Das

SRK Kajol to shoot one take song in Dilwale, but it’s not Bollywood’s first

Nandini Sharma

"BJP Hoping For LG’s Favour To Manufacture Majority": Yogendra Yadav

Manish Kumar

[Exclusive] Modi Is Lying On Black Money: Manish Sisodia

Manish Kumar

#StartupIndia: Here's what startupreneurs have to say about PM Modi's Startup India polices

Purba Das