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<ul><li>The <keyword id="75867" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bengaluru-International-Airport">Bengaluru International Airport</keyword> (BIAL), in partnership with Vision-Box, has announced that they will be introducing <keyword id="30939" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="facial-recognition">facial recognition</keyword> by Q1 2019. </li><li>The first phase of the rollout will include selected airlines, namely, Spice Jet, Air Asia and Jet Airways. </li><li>While BIAL hopes to be the first airport with <keyword id="6549368" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="paperless-boarding">paperless boarding</keyword>, they will be in competition with the Varanasi International Airport who are aiming to do the same under the government’s <keyword id="3019100" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Digiyatra">DigiYatra</keyword> scheme.</li></ul>Around the world, the concept of paperless boarding is still fairly uncommon though widely recognised as convenient. India’s own <keyword id="6354321" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bengaluru">Bengaluru</keyword> International Airport (BIAL) has announced its plans of upgrading security measures to include <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/bengaluru-airport-to-launch-facial-recognition-facility-from-2019/articleshow/65707365.cms">biometric self-boarding technology</a>, or simply put, facial recognition. In a partnership with Vision-Box, a biometrics solutions service provider, BIAL has plans of rolling out paperless boarding for select airlines starting next year. The initiative is in-line with the government’s DigiYatra scheme that aims to minimise paperwork for air travel under a digital system for airport entry and boarding flights. India’s first paperless airport Facial recognition seems to be the second most trending term in technology after artificial intelligence (AI). While a lot of airports around the world already implement paperless boarding, India is yet to take-off on this initiative. DigiYatra has already started installing their automated security system in Varanasi at the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport where the airport director, AK Rai, has speculated that the airport will be ready go live with their services by October. In addition, the DigiYatra scheme will also extend to the Visakhapatnam airport and the Kolkata airport as well. That being said, government projects run the risk of not being on time, so there’s a high possibility that BIAL might actually be India’s first paperless boarding airport. The first phase of their roll-out will include Jet Airways, Spice Jet and Air Asia in the first quarter of 2019. If done on time, BIAL could be the first airport to have a end-to-end solution of paperless air travel.

Bengaluru International Airport in a race to be India’s first airport with facial recognition

<ul><li>Unique ID to help identify passengers and make boarding process for domestic flights simpler. </li><li>The unique ID will be biometric-based. </li><li>Vijayawada and Varanasi among the three airports where <keyword id="6549368" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="paperless-boarding">paperless boarding</keyword> will be tested. </li></ul>With the Indian Railways increasing the fare for air-conditioned coaches, many people who preferred trains to flights have now started travelling by air. Thanks to the competition between different airlines, flight ticket prices have become affordable and in many cases, even cheaper than what train journeys would cost. Why waste hours on a train when you can pay lesser and get to your destination sooner? The process of boarding and deboarding a plane, however, remains tiresome. With many ditching trains for flights now, airports have become as crowded as railway stations. Naturally, the queues for boarding passes and for security checks have become longer. But there’s some good news! The government might soon implement a new feature -- a biometric-based unique ID -- that will make the boarding process for domestic flyers smooth. A unique identification number, similar to the Aadhaar, will soon let commuters dodge the boarding processes for domestic flights. A technical team from the Airport Authority of India (AAI) along with four private metro airports where the new scheme is set to be tested, finalized a completely paperless boarding process for domestic flyers. The team has also finalized and proposed the format for biometric-based identification called “Digi-Yatra” (DY). Under the new process, each commuter will be allocated a unique ID from the aviation ministry portal. This unique ID issued will also be linked to the person’s biometrics. Passengers wishing to use the new service will then have to provide the booking site with this ID. Getting the new ID will be optional for passengers. The existing process will continue to remain in place. How do you register for <keyword id="6549964" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="digi-yatra">digi-yatra</keyword> ID? A Digi-Yatra link will be made available on the Air Sewa-II portal soon. Passengers can register there. The verification of the individuals will be done using government-issued ID proof like Aadhaar, driving licence etc.. After registration, whenever the registered person visits the airport the next time, he/she needs to carry the given ID proof and a photograph with them. Iris scans and the details will be captured at the airport. Once that’s done, you can say bye to the long queues for boarding passes. After biometric authentication of the traveller, the E-gate will open. The passenger will be able to avail all the services like check-in, security check and boarding using QR codes and biometrics. Airport websites will also be updated to accommodate the new feature after the proposal is approved by the ministry. The government has selected three airports to test the new scheme. “We have selected three airports, including Varanasi and Vijayawada, for rolling out DY,” <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/unique-id-to-enable-paperless-boarding-for-domestic-flyers/articleshow/64264988.cms">the AAI chief said.</a>

The Indian government is trying to make airline boarding passes obsolete

<ul><li>The Noida International Airport (NIA) at Jewar is all set to become India’s <keyword id="14279786" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="first-digital-airport" source="Orion">first digital airport</keyword>.</li><li>A digital airport will offer paperless and contactless services across all checkpoints in line to its passengers.</li><li>The digital services provided by the NIA will be in line with the central government’s DigiYatra Policy.</li></ul>The Noida International Airport (NIA) at Jewar, which is currently under construction, is all set to become India’s first digital airport. This aviation hub will offer paperless and contactless services across all checkpoints in line to its passengers. Not only will such an airport eliminate long lines for ID verification, it will also save the effort of printing tickets and boarding passes and fishing them out at multiple checkpoints. The first airport in India to facilitate it is Yamuna International Airport Private (YIAPL), which is coming up at Jewar. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What’s a digital airport?" comment="subhead" text="What’s a digital airport?">What’s a digital airport?</cmsannotation> A digital airport would have a one-time verification at the checkpoints for the first time using the ID. This will be stored in DigiYatra ID. After the one-tie verification, the passengers will undergo automatic digital processing based on facial recognition system at checkpoints like; entry-point check, entry into security check, and aircraft boarding. Additionally, this will also facilitate self-bag drop and check-in, using facial recognition to identify pax and data recall. Digi Yatra will facilitate paperless travel and avoid identity check at multiple points. To accomplish this, NIA selected global technology firm <keyword id="4553387" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="icad" source="Orion">ICAD</keyword> Holding as its master system integrator (MSI) consultant and partnered with Indian IT major <keyword id="10862" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="wipro" source="Orion">Wipro</keyword> which will act as a sub-consultant to the global tech company. An MSI enables all the technical systems, with all of their disparate parts and pieces to work cohesively and work as designed, throughout its lifespan. ICAD will support NIA with the systems integration design, integration programme management and integration of ICT and airport systems. It will also lead the core airport systems implementation and integration. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Hassle-free and paperless" comment="subhead" text="Hassle-free and paperless">Hassle-free and paperless</cmsannotation> These digital services will be in line with the central government’s DigiYatra policy. Released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in 2018, the initiative seeks to promote paperless and hassle-free air travel. “India is an emerging market and we at the ICAD Group will work closely with YIAPL and other airport companies, Airports Authority of India (AAI) to deliver signature airport projects in India through the Indian subsidiary,” said Ghassan Sayegh, group CEO, ICAD. The airport project is all set to complete by December 2024, said Feroz Mehdi, director at ICAD said at the press conference. The airport will also be environment friendly with zero-emissions. It intends to maximize the use of renewable energy sources such as solar power, and implement processes for water treatment and recycling. The airport also aspires to be a ‘green airport’ as it promised to preserve all the native species. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/indias-crypto-players-bullish-on-hiring-say-crash-is-just-a-phase/articleshow/92425464.cms">India’s crypto players bullish on hiring; say crash is just a phase</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/a-bengal-based-startup-can-now-produce-oxygen-from-water/articleshow/92434741.cms">A Bengal-based startup can now produce oxygen from water</a>

Wipro, ICAD to create India's first digital airport — here are its features

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/search/2/image?artist=Alex%20Wong&amp;family=editorial">Alex Wong/Getty Images</a>Burgundy passport books could one day become obsolete.</div></div></div>Many people worry about forgetting their passport when they travel, but few would leave the house without their smartphone.The British passport maker De La Rue may have found a solution to the problem: moving travellers' passports onto their mobile phones.<a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/technology/article4723297.ece">Martin Sutherland, the chief executive of De La Rue, told The Times</a> that the company has begun working on technology that could securely store passport details on smartphones, rendering passport books obsolete.The paperless passports, which <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/03/29/your-smartphone-could-be-your-next-passport/">we first read about on The Telegraph</a>, would allow individuals to pass through immigration control at airports without any physical documents.If they become a reality, the digital passports could work like mobile boarding passes, according to The Telegraph's report."Technology is at the forefront of De La Rue's business, and as you would expect we are always looking at new innovations and technology solutions for our customers around the world," a spokesperson for De La Rue told Business Insider over email."Paperless passports are one of many initiatives that we are currently looking at, but at the moment it is a concept that is at the very early stages of development."It's unclear how individuals' personal details, which are currently stored on a passport's electronic chip, would be transferred to mobile phones and kept secure. What might happen if a phone were to break, get lost or stolen is also unclear at this stage.Of course, the passports would need to be approved by governments before they could be used internationally, according to The Times.Though paperless passports aren't likely to be ready for quite some time, with 80 percent of the British population holding a passport (according to a spokesperson for the Home Office), it's an exciting prospect that could revolutionise modern travel. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/this-machine-prints-letters-on-keyboards-with-lasers-2016-3">Here's how letters get printed on your keyboard</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="VndW1hMjE6AGWM8sWG5hbNSSOTD4rElw" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

A British company is trying to change the most annoying thing about passports

<ul><li><keyword id="3019100" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digiyatra" source="Orion">DigiYatra</keyword> aims to create a common management system with digital identities. </li><li>In the first phase, the application is operational for passengers traveling through Delhi International <keyword id="6355752" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="airport" source="Orion">Airport</keyword> and Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport. </li><li>The app is currently available on Google PlayStore only. </li></ul>Delhi International Airport Ltd and Bengaluru's International Airport are India's first two selected airports to introduce a recently launched DigiYatra application. Based on <keyword id="30939" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="facial-recognition" source="Orion">Facial Recognition</keyword> Technology, the application is a Biometric Enabled Seamless Travel experience system. This application is said to make the entry, security checks, and boarding process paperless, quick, and uncomplicated. Passengers traveling from Terminal 3 of Delhi airport can download the DigitYatra application and register to speed up their check-in time. At Bangalore International Airport, the service is operational for all domestic terminals. Currently, no rollout schedule is announced for other airports, but <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/industry/aviation/story/delhi-airport-launches-beta-version-of-digi-yatra-app-for-android-users-details-here-344679-2022-08-15">reports</a> suggest it will be introduced in Pune, Vijayawada, Kolkata, Hyderabad and more by March 2023. The app isn’t accessible to iPhone or iOS users as of now, but Android users can install it from the Play Store. However, it’s said to be available for iOS users soon. Delhi International Airport said it's a Biometric Enabled Seamless Travel experience based on Facial Recognition technology. It aims to provide a paperless &amp; seamless travel experience to the passengers. If you are planning to travel from any of these two airports, register with DigiYatra to avail of the benefits. Passengers traveling will be able to enter and pass all the checkpoints with face recognition which will act as proof of identity. This means only the designated person can enter, and no additional identification documents will be required to prevent physical contact. Also, with no physical documents required like a vaccine certificate, identity proof, ticket and more at security check, boarding, and check-in, this new service will reduce wait times and queues. The application will also send real-time notifications and updates. The DigiYatra platform will be a joint platform to monitor and manage flight details. How to register: <ul><li>Download the DigiYatra application from Google PlayStore and App Store(when available).</li><li>Register on the application with your name, mobile number, and email address.</li><li>Enter the Aadhar information as per UIDAI Guidelines.</li><li>Digi Yatra Id will be created, and passengers can use the Id while booking the ticket.</li><li>On first travel, after generating the Id, the passenger will have to go to the registration kiosk at the airport to validate their Id.</li><li>Aadhar verification can be done online, but other identity proofs require manual verification.</li><li>The photo of the passenger will be reflected on the DigiYatra profile. </li></ul>SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/whatsapp-is-working-on-a-login-approval-feature-to-help-prevent-hacking/articleshow/93423168.cms">WhatsApp is working on a ‘login approval’ feature to help prevent hacking – here’s everything you need to know</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/ola-s1-electric-scooter-relaunched-at-an-introductory-price-electric-car-teased/slidelist/93583724.cms">Ola S1 electric scooter relaunched at an introductory price, electric car teased</a>

DigiYatra app will use facial recognition to make airport check-ins faster - here’s how to use it

New Delhi, Apr 1 () NEC Technologies India on Wednesday said it has appointed Aalok Kumar as its President and Chief Executive Officer.With this appointment, Takayuki Inaba (former Chairman and Managing Director) has been appointed as Executive Chairman of NEC Technologies India, a statement said.This change reflects NEC Corporation's strong commitment to the country and India's growing importance to the company's global business, it added."This management restructuring exercise is aimed at accelerating our evolution in India. Capacity building in India will not only bolster our business in this country but also support our global businesses," NEC Corporation President (Global Business Unit) Akihiko Kumagai said.Kumar brings a good mix of strategic thinking and operational excellence, and his rich experience in business transformation and performance improvement will help accelerate growth, he added."With him onboard, we are confident that he will take NEC Technologies India to even greater heights and help India achieve its goals," he said.Kumar said India is a key market in NEC's global growth strategy."With our huge pool of engineering and technology talent across various verticals, including public safety, communications infrastructure, aviation, logistics and transportation solutions, NEC is contributing significantly to the digital transformation of India," he said.Kumar said the R&amp;D efforts at NEC Laboratories India have enabled its 'In India- For India' strategy to develop innovative solutions that create social value and are globally scalable.With a workforce of over 6,000 local employees, NEC has deployed a number of cross-industry solutions for the infrastructure, aviation, logistics and transportation sectors.Some key NEC projects in India include Chennai-Andaman submarine cable project, biometric-based paperless boarding solution and container tracking and optimisation solutions deployed by DMICDC Logistics Data Services. SR BAL

NEC Tech India appoints Aalok Kumar as President, CEO

New Delhi, Feb 9 () Exporters will need to mention additional information, including district of origin of goods, to customs department from February 15 to help the government fine tune its policies to boost outward shipments. According to a circular by the Central Board of Indirect taxes and Customs (CBIC), exporters will also have to furnish details like 'the state of origin of goods', 'details of Preferential Agreements under which the goods are being exported, wherever applicable', and 'Standard Unit Quantity Code (SQC)'. The data will be used for district-level plans for promoting exports as the commerce ministry has initiated a process to prepare a district export plan specific to every state and Union territory to boost exports. With effect from February 15, 2020, apart from the data/ information required to be furnished in the present electronic form of electronic integrated declaration mentioned in Regulation 3 of Shipping Bill (Electronic Integrated Declaration and Paperless Processing) Regulations 2019, the circular said. "...Board has decided to incorporate additional attributes in the Shipping Bill to enable the Customs System to capture the districts and states of Origin for goods being exported" as the endeavour of the government is boost domestic manufacturing and exports. The initiative is also aimed at bringing uniformity with the data/ information captured in the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), it added. The district level plan of the commerce ministry would include the support required by the local industry to boost their manufacturing and exports with impetus on supporting the industry from the production stage to the exporting stage. The plan includes strategy to enhance logistics and infrastructure at the district level and better utilisation of the Market Access Initiative (MAI) scheme of the ministry for inviting foreign buyers. Budgetary support will be provided to make outreach at the district level and prepare this plan, the commerce ministry said. The ministry also said state and UTs will be assisted in preparing an annual Export Ranking Index of different districts to rank each district on its export competitiveness. NKD CS MRMR

Customs dept to seek district-level data on goods from exporters

<ul class="summary-list"><li>As the 2020 election cycle continues, more and more places in the US are switching over to using paper ballots.</li><li>Experts say paper voting systems are the safest method for elections, as they are less vulnerable to hacking and manipulation.</li><li>In Ohio, 12 counties have enlisted a new voting machine company that's focused its innovation on paper and is challenging a market traditionally dominated by three legacy providers.</li><li>But officials say when it comes to protecting our elections, the perception of security is ultimately more important than the reality.</li><li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/BusinessInsiderToday/470155010549573/">View more episodes of Business Insider Weekly on Facebook.</a></li></ul>This story is based on an episode of Business Insider Weekly. Watch the full episode <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BusinessInsiderToday/videos/1294706330713965/">here</a>.Election officials across the country are under more scrutiny than ever as concerns over Russian election interference grow.As presidential <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2020-democratic-presidential-primary-power-ranking-2019-4">primary season ramps up</a>, some Ohio counties are switching from digital voting systems to paper ballots, which are immune from hacking or digital manipulation.In doing so, local officials are putting their faith in a new voting technology company - <a href="https://clearballot.com/">Clear Ballot Group</a> - as Americans' faith in their elections hangs in the balance.We spoke with people on the frontlines of election security to find how the old-fashioned system of paper ballots could ensure every vote gets counted.<h2>How paper could restore faith in elections</h2>Getty Images, Nexstar - WGN, ChicagoExperts say paper voting systems are the safest method for elections, as they are less vulnerable to hacking and manipulation.Ohio's primary is on March 17, and the state has been preparing for years - spending <a href="https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200102/most-ohio-counties-tested-new-equipment-in-2019-for-2020-election">nearly $115 million</a> to replace voting machines that were often over a decade old.A dozen counties in the state chose to buy machines from a new voting system company called Clear Ballot Group. The 11-year-old company, whose voting system was federally certified in 2018, has been implementing paper-based voting systems in counties across the US."We have focused all of our innovation around the paper ballot," James Rundlett, national sales manager for Clear Ballot, told Business Insider Weekly. "It is the most auditable and transparent way of running an election. You always have that tangible physical record of the vote."In Clear Ballot's system, voters fill out paper ballots by hand and then feed them through a scanner. Images of each ballot are then saved on the machine's internal memory and on thumb drives. After polls close, the files offer immediate results and provide a paper trail. Physical ballots are saved in case of a recount. "We were looking for something that could grow with us. Something that … had more vision than it had history," said Jeff Monroe, the election chairman in Ohio's Warren County, one of the jurisdictions switching to Clear Ballot's system this election cycle.Before this year, the county had been using voting machines made by a company called Election Systems and Software - one of three legacy businesses that dominate the $300 million voting systems industry, along with Dominion Voting Systems and Hart InterCivic.Although all Ohio voting systems are required to have a paper trail, Warren County officials wanted to update its old hardware in part to combat voters' fears of a compromised election."I don't have the same iPhone I had in 2010. I don't have the same laptop I had in 2010," Jordan Esten, a Clear Ballot board member, told Business Insider Weekly. "Why am I doing that with my voting platform, my voting systems?"<h2>Americans are worried about election integrity</h2>Hannah Jiang and Matthew Petrunak/Business Insider TodayOhio has spent nearly $115 million to replace voting machines that were often more than a decade old.The election cycle has already gotten off to a rocky start, with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/iowa-democratic-caucus-tech-issues-2020-2">several technical issues</a> plaguing Iowa's Democratic caucus in early February. Delayed results and inconsistencies in the vote totals shook voters' confidence in the system.As the 2020 election cycle continues, pressure is mounting on other states to get it right. "You don't get to get it wrong. You can't. It has to be perfect," Monroe said.For election officials, the stakes couldn't be higher. Only one-third of Americans said they have <a href="https://apnews.com/30f3f90a6e3704bf3995311390b6199e">high confidence in an accurate vote count</a>, according to a poll by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. US intelligence agencies found that <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/inside-the-mueller-report-a-sophisticated-russian-interference-campaign">Russia interfered with the 2016 presidential election</a> through social media campaigns and by hacking into Democratic Party computer networks. They also reported that <a href="https://apnews.com/30f3f90a6e3704bf3995311390b6199e">Russia searched for vulnerabilities</a> in the election systems of all 50 states, although there was no evidence it changed any votes.But for those involved in running elections, it doesn't matter that Russia's vote-hacking attempts were not proven successful."Perception is more important than reality in elections, and if there's a perception that an election was not fair, not counted properly, or was hacked … it doesn't matter whether it's true," Keir Holeman, Clear Ballot's vice president of technical services, told Business Insider Weekly.<h2>Other places in the US are switching to paper</h2>Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty ImagesA woman places her ballot paper in the box during early voting for the mid-term elections in Sylmar, California, on November 3, 2018.Warren County is far from the only place in America updating its voting systems ahead of the 2020 election. Some jurisdictions are switching to paper ballots for the first time after long periods of using digital voting terminals.In 2018, 14 states were still relying on paperless voting systems in certain jurisdictions, <a href="https://www.politico.com/interactives/2019/election-security-americas-voting-machines/">according to Politico</a>.The outlet found that 45 of the nearly 600 paperless counties have already made the switch to paper ballots, and 166 more are either in the process of replacing their paperless machines or have plans to make the change.But still, 193 jurisdictions have no plans to go paperless.It wasn't a risk some in Ohio were willing to take."My goal is that when people go to bed on election night, they will know intuitively that their vote was counted, that their voice was heard," Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose told Business Insider Weekly."It's a constant ongoing job. Being prepared for 2020 will help us be prepared for the future." <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/economist-weighted-voting-could-help-save-us-democracy-2018-5">This top economist has a radical plan to change the way Americans vote - weighted voting</a></h3>

Only a third of Americans have high confidence in an accurate vote count - here's why paper ballots could restore their faith in secure elections

I'm big into New Year's resolutions. I think it's because I love fresh starts and clean slates.
This year, I have a few resolutions. First and foremost: If it takes less than 5 minutes, do it now. 
It's surprising how many things we put off that could get done in 5 minutes. For example: calling to make a doctor's appointment. Or unloading the dishwasher. Or deleting junk email. The list goes on and on.
Turns out, most of the things that you procrastinate on aren't actually difficult or time-consuming - you just avoid doing them because they feel like a pain in the neck. But crossing a small to-do off your list can offer an outsized peace-of-mind reward because it clears mental clutter and makes you feel that you accomplished something. There's also some evidence that this approach sets you up to achieve bigger goals, too.
In the spirit of making good on financial resolutions both big and small, here are 10 ways you can get your finances on track in the next 5 minutes or less.
<ol start="1">
<li>Sign up for an IRA.</li>
<li>Unsubscribe from 3 online retailer emails.</li>
<li>Check the beneficiaries on your 401k to make sure they reflect your spouse or kids.</li>
<li>Set up automatic bill pay-no more late fees!</li>
<li>Take the first step in teaching your child about money. Snag this cool piggy bank that helps kids understand that money can be used for 4 things: saving, spending, donating and investing.</li>
<li>Sign up for paperless communications with your bank.</li>
<li>Change your light bulbs to CFL bulbs. They last 10 times as long, use 90% less energy, and can save you $40 over the lifetime of the bulb.</li>
<li>Sign up for a 529 account to start saving for your child's college education.</li>
<li>Remove 2 credit cards from your wallet, and put them in a drawer where you'll forget about them.</li>
<li>Create a Pinterest board called "My Retirement" and start pinning photos of what you want your retirement to look like. Refer back to the board when you're feeling down, to remember what you're saving up for.</li>
</ol>
The clock starts now. What can you do in the next 5 minutes?
Jessie Szymanski writes about personal finance for The Blog. 
<a href="http://etfdb.com/2014/5-minutes-youre-done-10-quick-money-tips/">Click here to read the original article on ETFdb.com.</a>
 
Read more posts on <a href="http://etfdb.com">ETF Database »</a><div class="feed-footer-wrapper"><div class="feed-footer">

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10 Money Tips You Can Act On In 5 Minutes

<div class="image-container float_right click-to-enlarge" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><a title_source="National Guard" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/515b4d80ecad04816a000011-960/army-soldiers-veterans-formation.jpg"></a></div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thenationalguard/5161482855/sizes/o/in/photostream/">National Guard</a></div>The Marine Corps recruiter never told me the biggest battle would be waged right here at home.
Whether it be to secure a disability pension for ills caused from <keyword id="6359526" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Military">military</keyword> service, or to cash in education benefits to go college, dealing with the Department of <keyword id="202626" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Veterans-Affairs">Veterans Affairs</keyword> is painful.
I am certainly not alone. There are <a href="http://cironline.org/blog/post/newly-released-data-reveal-extent-veterans-backlog-4324">more than 900,000 veterans</a> waiting in the V.A. backlog — a mostly paper-based system riddled with technology issues, long waits, and layers of bureaucracy. Since 2005, the case load has continued to worsen.
It's so bad that the wait time for claims at some offices has skyrocketed well over 600 days, <a href="http://cironline.org/reports/map-where-veterans-backlog-worst-3792">according to the Center for Investigative Reporting.</a>
And while the U.S. military was able to adapt to changes on the battlefield (like the adoption of <a href="http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-24fd.pdf">counterinsurgency doctrine</a> in 2006), the V.A. has not.
"This country is capable of drafting you, putting you in boot camp, teaching you to kill someone, and then putting you in a war zone within six months," writes Jim Strickland on the masthead of his <a href="http://www.vawatchdog.org/">VA Watchdog website</a>. "So, why can't they process a claim that fast?"
It's a pointed criticism of an agency that so far has failed to upgrade all of their systems to electronic, and is increasingly forced to <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2013/04/veterans-affairs-backlog-files-were-stacked-so-high-they-posed-a-safety-risk-to-va-staff-1.html">file away claims for years</a> at a time while sustained war produces more and more.
"It's sort of the old 'turn a P-51 into an F-18 while in flight' comparison," Brandon Friedman, former communications director for V.A., <a href="https://twitter.com/PaulSzoldra/status/313347784801669120">recently told me over Twitter</a>. "While VA is converting, the Department is still processing nearly 100,000 claims a month right now."
And Craig Newmark, founder of Craiglist and advisor to a <a href="http://craigconnects.org/military-families-and-veterans">number of veterans groups</a>, puts <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-newmark/veterans-disability-claim_b_2992824.html?utm_hp_ref=politics">it this way:</a>
The VA disability claims process has been like a car with the "check engine light" on for a decade or longer. Wasn't much of a problem until maybe around 2005, when the car filled up, and more people needed that ride. Vets needed a much bigger car back then, but that costs money, and no one in Washington stood up for that.
But more importantly than pointing out the problem, Newmark offers solutions. In a piece <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-newmark/veterans-disability-claim_b_2992824.html?utm_hp_ref=politics">published Tuesday in The Huffington Post</a>, he offers technology recommendations, cross-talk between federal agencies (Ironically, the V.A. and the Military health system <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jon-stewart-obama-va-backlog-republicans-daily-show-march-27-2013-3">don't transfer records</a> very well), and changing the culture inside the organization.
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-newmark/veterans-disability-claim_b_2992824.html?utm_hp_ref=politics">Newmark writes:</a>
Turns out that VA has 56 regional offices, each running the old paper-based system, that's like 56 cars that are breaking down, some badly. The challenge is to replace each old car with new ones, while gracefully transferring riders to the new cars. In practice, that means getting a lot of paper scanned into the new systems, a lot of work. Key to that is getting everyone on board.
Whether that happens is anyone's guess, but they appear to be trying. <a href="http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2418">In a press release</a> on their official website, the VA says they have implemented a paperless system in 18 offices (as of Dec. 2012) with full deployment to the rest by the end of 2013.
That move goes along with VA Secretary Eric Shinseki's promise to end the backlog by 2015, although his pledge follows a <a href="http://www.stripes.com/blogs/the-ruptured-duck/the-ruptured-duck-1.160117/a-backlog-of-promises-on-va-claims-backlog-1.213593">'backlog of promises'</a> as Leo Shane points out at Stars and Stripes.
"It takes too long to make a claim, and the error rate is too high. The vets don't care about the process, they care about the outcome," Secretary Anthony Principi said in 2001.
Sadly, he's still right.

For US Troops, The Toughest Battle Is Waiting For Them Back At Home

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Michael Bodson is the president and CEO of the <keyword id="1525978" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="DTCC">DTCC</keyword>.</li><li>In this op-ed, Bodson makes the case for the US digitizing the $780 billion worth of physical stock certificates that still remain. </li></ul>As the financial services industry gazes toward the future, with intense debates about digitized securities, paperless currencies, and no-contact payment systems, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has refocused attention on an antiquated, often overlooked and paper-intensive practice in our industry: the physical processing of securities certificates.It's extraordinary but true. In 2020, as automation permeates every aspect of our industry, we still manually process thousands of transactions - handling certificates, stamping and signing documents, receiving checks and moving certificates to vaults for safekeeping.Calling this practice a holdover from a bygone era is akin to comparing a Tesla to a covered wagon. It's clear that dematerialization - eliminating all paper securities and converting existing physical certificates to electronic records while working with industry stakeholders and regulators to revise practices and regulations-is an idea whose time is long overdue.<h2>$780 billion worth of physical certificates still exist</h2>While most physical certificates have been eliminated over the past five decades, the Depository Trust Company (DTC) still holds $780 billion worth of physical certificates in its vault. And throughout the pandemic, teams at banks, broker-dealers, transfer agents and market infrastructures have operated with limited on-site personnel and wrestled with workarounds to keep the system functioning efficiently.At times, circumstances forced offices to close entirely, leaving industry stakeholders with little or no access to physical securities held at those locations. The industry can no longer afford that kind of vulnerability.In fact, the call for dematerialization is not new. Nearly 50 years ago, the US Securities and Exchange Commission noted in its study, Unsafe and Unsound Practices of Brokers and Dealers, that "burdensome" manual processing helped to create the Paperwork Crisis of the late 1960s, which resulted in <keyword id="62298" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="exchanges">exchanges</keyword> closing one day a week to process mountains of paper records.Dematerialization was the "best approach" for resolving the physical processing issue, the study noted, but it was viewed then as a "utopian solution" requiring "very extensive legal work and lead time to implement."In response to the Paperwork Crisis, the industry launched DTC in 1973 to streamline securities processing by immobilizing physical securities and creating electronic book entries to automate what had been a highly manual process. Since then, industry groups, including the Securities Industry Association - now part of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) - have worked with industry stakeholders to dematerialize and create greater efficiency while reducing cost and risk.But complete dematerialization has remained elusive because the system works well - until it doesn't.<h2>The pandemic has created an chance to reconsider dematerialization</h2>The planets nearly aligned in 2012 after Superstorm Sandy flooded DTC's vault in lower Manhattan, soaking about 1.7 million stock certificates worth $2 trillion. No funds were lost, but it took more than six months to recover, clean and reconcile the certificates, reinforcing once again the challenges involved in processing paper.Unfortunately, other matters continued to take priority over full dematerialization as firms focused on meeting new regulatory mandates stemming from the 2008 financial crisis, transforming technology, increasing resilience, and protecting against cyberattack, among other key issue.Fast forward to 2020 and the pandemic, which should act as the catalyst for the United States to join dozens of countries across Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America in eliminating all physical certificates.The benefits are significant: contactless processing, greater efficiency, reduced risk,and significant cost savings. On that last point, manual processing of physical certificates costs on average 10 times as much as automated processing - a drain on resources at a time when firms face intense earnings pressures.DTCC outlined a roadmap in a white paper released last month, <a href="https://perspectives.dtcc.com/downloads/whitepaper/from-physical-to-digital-advancing-the-dematerialization-of-u-s-securities">From Physical to Digital: Advancing the Dematerialization of US Securities</a>, which calls for working groups comprised of market participants, stakeholders, and regulators to establish firm deadlines to achieve full dematerialization during the next four years.SIFMA, along with other industry stakeholders, supports the initiative, noting that eliminating "the issuance and handling of physical securities will result in a more cost-effective, efficient, transparent, secure, competitive and resilient Marketplace."This is a complex industry challenge that will require strong collaboration with industry firms, exchanges, transfer agents, regulators and other stakeholders.We believe it is possible that, together, the industry can dramatically reduce the number of remaining physical stock certificates in the next three years by converting the existing inventory of certificates to electronic entries - no small feat as DTC alone currently holds 491,844 certificates representing 188,849 issues in its vault.We believe that the industry can achieve full dematerialization of equities by embracing direct, electronic registration, which would eliminate the issuance of physical certificates as well as the recurring handling of approximately 80,000 physical deposits annually.Dematerialization is no longer the "utopian solution" described by the SEC in 1971. All of the component pieces to achieve full dematerialization are available to us now, and as the pandemic has made clear, the time has come to embrace 21 st century technology and relegate paper certificates to decorative frames hanging on a home study wall once and for all.Michael C. Bodson is president and chief executive officer of DTCC. He is also president and chief executive officer of DTCC's principal operating subsidiaries, DTC, FICC and NSCC and a member of DTCC's Board of Directors. He is also a current member of the board of Digital Asset Holdings and a trustee of the World Economic Forum's Financial Services Initiative. He is also a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Fintech Advisory Group as well as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Systemic Resolution Advisory Committee.

The US still has $780 billion worth of physical stock certificates. It's time to digitize them.

<div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"></div>Adam Ludwin</div>Adam Ludwin sees a lot of startups as a principal at RRE, a venture capital firm that's invested in companies like Moda Operandi, Makerbot, Braintree and Business Insider. 
As such, he sees broad trends in entrepreneurship; he knows what every founder is working on, which spaces are the most crowded, and which types of startups investors are looking to financially back.
Two of the biggest trends right now are: 
<ul>
<li>Social photo and video apps -- Think Viddy, SocialCam, Cinemagram and Snapchat. All emerged as Instagram was getting acquired for $1 billion and Pinterest was receiving a billion-dollar valuation.</li>
<li>Reinventing the iPhone's default apps -- Instagram re-invented the Camera app and found success. Spotify is often used instead of Apple's "Music." Evernote is a good alternative to "Notes," the new Mailbox app is preferred to "Mail" and apps like Sunrise and Fantastical are better than "Calendar."</li>
</ul>
Ludwin founded two companies prior to joining RRE, and now he's trying his hand at another one. He's co-founding an iPhone app with a friend from Los Angeles, Devon Gundry.
And guess what? 
<ul>
<li>It's a social photo app called <a href="https://bitly.com/WbwBij">Albumatic</a></li>
<li>It's trying to smother one of Apple's default apps, "Photos."</li>
</ul>
"I really don't want to like another photo app," I told Ludwin as I looked at the app. He laughed and said, "Neither do I."
But as I stalked recent photos of CrunchFund's MG Siegler on a trip to Cabo with his girlfriend, I found myself warming to <keyword id="1765878" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Albumatic">Albumatic</keyword>.
Albumatic is a social, beautifully-designed alternative to Apple's "Photos," an album app most people forget they have on their iPhones. Ludwin calls Albumatic an "organizational layer" for photos, separating them by event, location, and featured people.
"There were seven or eight of us all taking photos of Devon's new baby," Ludwin explained Albumatic's origins. "All together we had taken 100 photos, but they were all siloed in each others' devices. There are endless places to share photos -- via text message, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter -- but there's no good, social way to bulk combine camera rolls and image galleries."
When you join Albumatic, it helps you find other users on Facebook, in your contact list, or nearby via the iPhone's GPS. From then on, when you and a friend are near each other, you can create and join albums together. 
No invites codes are sent back and forth; friends see albums as you create them through push notifications, and they can either "watch" it if they aren't nearby, or they can join the album if they're witnessing the same event. Like Instagram, people can favorite or comment on photos.
<div class="image-container" style="width:590px"><div class="image"></div>Albumatic</div>
Like Path and Foursquare, each user has a profile page that displays their albums, photos and activity. Here's what it looks like:
<div class="image-container" style="width:590px"><div class="image"></div>Albumatic</div>
Only your friends can watch/subscribe to your albums, so strangers won't be able to creep into them (I was only able to "watch" photos of MG's trip to Cabo because Ludwin is friends with him. I wouldn't have been able to do that on my version of the app).
Albumatic could be good if you want to witness a friend's spring break trip you can't make, or a wedding you weren't invited to. Subscribing to an album is like being there in spirit, and you can watch the event unfold in real-time without having to wait for Facebook uploads after the fact. 
It's also good for weddings you are invited to, where every friend has a camera and is snapping their own shots. Instead of uploading and tagging each camera roll separately on Facebook, you can join forces and see everyone's photos at once on Albumatic.
Here's what the album view looks like in the app:
<div class="image-container" style="width:590px"><div class="image"></div>Albumatic</div>
One problem with Albumatic is, if events are too big (think South by Southwest), it's possible to have too many people join a single album. If a bunch of friends of friends of friends are at a concert or event together, they could all end up joining the same album and contribute thousands of photos that the album creator never cared to see.
Ludwin calls this idea "album hijacking" and admits it could be a problem. He and Gundry have contemplated capping the number of people who can join albums. He says Siegler has already hijacked one of his from a San Francisco trip.
Here's a view of all the people that have joined or watched an album:
<div class="image-container" style="width:590px"><div class="image"></div>Albumatic</div> 
Also, there's no way to remove or "untag" a photo of you once it's in Albumatic, and anyone who's subscribed to the album can see it. Ludwin says the only current solution is to ask the poster to take down the image.
Here's what the group camera roll looks like in Albumatic:
<div class="image-container" style="width:590px"><div class="image"></div>Albumatic</div>
For now, Ludwin will remain at RRE and involved in companies where he's on the board: HowAboutWe, Moda Operandi, Kik Interactive, Paperless Post and VYou. 
RRE will also be investing in Albumatic, although a round of financing hasn't closed yet.
Ludwin realizes photo-sharing is a packed space, but after months of mulling it over and researching Albumatic's competitors, he's confident in his startup. 
When asked why he picked such a crowded space he replied, "Simple: the problem was still unsolved!"

RRE Investor Adam Ludwin Has Decided To Start A Company, Albumatic, In The Most Crowded Space Ever

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Alan Mak</div></div></div>Two things stand out about Alan Mak, the 31-year-old MP for Havant who was elected to Parliament in the 2015 General Election.One is that he is a proud Yorkshireman and the other is that his childhood experiences living above and working in his parents shop have had a profound influence on his political beliefs.Business Insider met up with Mak for a chat over tea and crumpets about his passions for education and business, and his life as a new MP.EducationMak's passion for education stems from his own experience winning an assisted place scholarship to a private school. The Assisted Place Scheme was set up by Margret Thatcher to subsidise the cost of going to private fee-paying schools for talented children from lower income families. Tony Blair believed the scheme to be elitist and scrapped it. Mak says that winning the scholarship "transformed" his life and encouraged him to become a Conservative."Education is my big political passion passion, I am the son of immigrant shop keepers, quite a disadvantaged background, but through the power of good state education and later through an assisted place scholarship which Margaret Thatcher introduced, I got to have a fantastic education which transformed my life."Lots of politicians talk about having passions for things, but Mak makes taking practical to steps to pursue his passions sound like a fact of life."When I came to London as a new graduate, I started working really hard in the city, but I was really passionate about doing something to help people more disadvantaged than myself. I had a primary school literally five minutes walk from my house, I just knocked on the door and said can I be involved, can I be a reading partner, can I help your breakfast club. And they said yes and obviously I became a governor and stayed with them for six year and it was a great experience," he said.Just turning up to things and asking to help seems to be a common theme with Mak.One Young WorldBack in 2010 he saw an advert near his work for a Summit being held by One Young World, an organisation that aims to inspire young people to create a positive change in their communities. Mak turned up to the summit, enjoyed it, became a member of the advisoree board and is now one of their ambassadors.He says he liked One Young World because is encourages action: young people are encouraged to start a charity project, build a business or stand for election. Mak was still in his 20s when the the organisations co-founder Kate Robertson took him to meetings with sponsors. "They always wanted to have a senior person like her, but also an emerging leader like myself to really show them what one young world is about," Mak says.His association with One Young World also gave Make some exposure in the media spotlight, something to which he is clearly not adverse. "I was in Vanity Fair, profiled in a number of other business magazines like Management Today," he told Business Insider. Community WorkThe Big Society, the Conservative Government's somewhat neglected flagship policy from 2010 to empower individuals and communities to take a bigger role in society has dropped out of vogue, but Mak confesses to being a "big fan.""I was a big fan of the big society and magic breakfast, the charity that I was proud to be a trustee of having actually won a big society award from the Prime Minister." The magic breakfast charity sets up breakfast clubs to feed hungry children without using taxpayers money. "I also got to carry the Olympic torch as a result of my work," Mak adds.He is evangelistic about his philosophy that people can commit to doing good in the community, no matter what their career path is, and wants a new generation of young people to follow in his footsteps."As a millennial I'm in a very fortunate position to be able to both combine enjoyment of professional work with also a commitment to doing good in the community. I think that they are no longer mutually exclusive."BusinessAt the age of only 31 and with a postgraduate degree at Cambridge and six years at a top city law firm under his belt, Mak has somehow also managed to squeeze in a career as a tech entrepreneur. He started a consultancy that aimed to help small businesses raise money and was an Angel Investor in the online retail site StreetHub and electronic receipt company Paperless Receipts. Mak says his drive for business started at a young age."My business career starts at the age of nine or ten, helping in my parent's high street shop up in Yorkshire. My parents ran a high street shop for over twenty years. We actually lived above the shop, so we had a short commute. It meant my parents would work all the time, because their work was just downstairs. It taught me some good values about hard work, about being able to relate to all sorts of different people who came into the shop...I'm one of the key cheerleaders for business, small business in particular, in Parliament" Mak says. Being a new MP To observers its clear that Mak hasn't been shy about getting stuck into life as an MP as he regualrly turns out an He is also the first ever "British Chinese" MP. Mak says that he's received nothing but support from MPs across the political spectrum who tell him his election has been positive for Parliament and the Country. "The Prime Minister mentioned me in his first speech of this parliament," Mak adds."I think some people will consider me that. Whilst I may not have chosen that role, it's one I've assumed and am very happy to carry it out," he says after clarifying that his constituents are his first priority.Mak may be painting a rosy picture of his short time in Parliament, but the truth is he has been on the receiving end much harsher criticism than many of the new intake. Business Insider asked him whether he was affected by accusations made by a political blog that he fabricated quotes on his CV and overstated his business success to he constituents."I wasn't affected by it," he says. "I think that when someone new and different appears on the scene, then the left wing often like to think they own some of the BME votes and here was someone on the right who was confounding all their expectations. And I think that bred some resentment."With the tea and crumpets finished, Mak needed to dash off to show a group of school children from his constituency around Parliament. "I love showing them around," he says as he leaves. "It still gives me a thrill to be here." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jeb-bush-green-screen-reddit-photoshop-battle-2015-10">The internet went crazy with a photo of Jeb Bush in front of a green screen</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="pnYmFkeDriHeYbRpuyMwTAmunY0f65yw" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

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