By Gurdip Singh Singapore, May 15 () Construction companies in Singapore have been asked to follow strict safety measures like the regular testing of the foreign workers for the coronavirus once the work resumes on the pending projects next month after the completion of the "circuit breaker" period, a senior government official has said.Singapore's Manpower Minister Josephine Teo has said the government will gradually lift some of the measures in June that are targeting the migrant workers to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.Foreign workers living in dormitories in Singapore form the bulk of the COVID-19 infections in the country which till Thursday has recorded 26,098 cases.Singapore on Tuesday allowed some businesses, including food manufacturers, barbers, specific food retail outlets, to reopen.Construction companies must implement safety measures for workers when projects gradually resume after the "circuit breaker" period ends on June 1, including regular COVID-19 tests and managing their interaction, Channel News Asia reported on Friday.Every worker will be required to download contact tracing app TraceTogether, and employers should put in place a system to track the daily health status of every worker, said Hugh Lim, CEO of the state agency, Building and Construction Authority (BCA), told reporters on Friday.Currently, about 20,000 workers, or about five per cent of the construction workforce - have been allowed to work on a small number of critical infrastructure projects during the circuit breaker period.Lim expects another 20,000 workers to gradually resume work next month.Work will resume on critical and time-sensitive projects from June 2 as these cannot be left idle for too long due to safety concerns. These are multi-million-dollar projects such as part of the subway and tunnelling of a deep tunnel sewerage system.Previously suspended residential renovation works will also be allowed to resume, Lim said.Employers will also have to house and separate workers based on the projects they are working on under a "cohorting" strategy, and provide transport services between the work site and their accommodation, Lim said, adding that workers from different projects will not be allowed to mix with each other.At the work sites itself, companies will have to appoint safe management officers to enforce the safety measures, put up health advisory posters and infographics in the foreign workers' native languages, and install "technology-enabled processes" - such as the digital SafetyEntry system used islandwide right now - when workers enter and exit specific zones within the worksite.Workers will be split into teams and restricted to work in a single zone; no cross-deployment or interaction between workers in different teams will be allowed, according to the Channel report.Contractors must provide workers with individually packed meals and utensils as well as masks while they are on the job.Facilities that are shared and heavily used will have to be well-ventilated and disinfected frequently, while hand-washing stations must be installed at exit points.Two other labour-intensive and employing a large number of foreign workers industries - the marine and offshore and the process sector - are also developing their own COVID safety plans that will be released in due course, Ministry of Manpower permanent secretary Aubeck Kam said.The BCA said that it will audit and inspect work sites to make sure they observe these COVID-19 safety rules. GS RS RS

COVID-19: Construction companies in Singapore asked to follow strict measures once work resumes

By Gurdip Singh Singapore, Apr 20 () Singapore on Monday reported a record 1,426 new coronavirus cases, out of which 1,410 are foreign workers, including Indians residing in dormitories, health officials said.With the fresh cases, the total number of coronavirus cases in the city-state stands at 8,014, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said."We are still working through the details of the cases, and further updates will be shared via the MOH press release that will be issued tonight," said the Ministry in a statement.A total of 18 foreign worker dormitories have been gazetted as isolation areas, as the number of COVID-19 cases continue to rise.As of Sunday, the cluster at S11 Dormitory at Punggol remained the biggest, with 1,508 confirmed cases.The next biggest cluster was at Sungei Tengah Lodge, with 521 confirmed cases.Though the dormitories are being disinfected and bedding accommodation re-arranged, most of these were overcrowded, leading to a large number of cases as foreign workers are now undergoing screening and testing.All foreign workers in the construction sector have been placed on mandatory stay-home notices until May 4 as a precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19.The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) noted that while the recent rise in the number of foreign workers infected with the coronavirus has mostly been concentrated in dormitories, there have been cases at construction worksites.Meanwhile, crime-fighting has continued during the COVID-19 outbreak, albeit with precautionary measures for inmates, suspects and accused persons, the Channel News Asia reported on Monday.In the prisons, where no coronavirus case has been detected as of Apr 10, inmates have been issued with a reusable mask each.Newly admitted inmates are housed separately from the general population and monitored for 14 days, said the Singapore Prison Service (SPS).All inmates have their temperatures taken twice daily and safe distancing measures are in place to reduce the gathering of inmates, for example during yard time.Family members of inmates are not allowed to visit during the circuit breaker period from Apr 7 to May 4, as SPS has suspended all family visits.Instead, inmates can make local phone calls to their families or communicate via email and traditional mail.If the inmates need to be produced in court, video-conferencing is used when possible, otherwise SPS works closely with the courts to implement safe distancing for those who need escorting to court.A Singapore Police Force spokesperson told the Channel that police services are "largely unaffected", but frontline officers are issued with personal protective equipment including masks and gloves.Most court hearings originally scheduled during the circuit breaker period have been adjourned, the Chief Justice previously announced.However, cases that are urgent and essential continue to be heard, albeit with extra precautions, according to the Channel report. GS CPSCPS

COVID-19: Record 1,426 new cases in Singapore, mostly foreign workers affected

By Gurdip Singh Singapore, May 31 () Singapore is gearing up to lift its circuit breaker measures imposed to curb the coronavirus pandemic after two months, even as the city-state reported 518 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, taking the total number of infections to 34,884. Singapore's circuit breaker period will end on Monday, with measures to be progressively lifted in three phase starting the next day. Under Phase 1 of reopening, businesses that operate in settings with lower transmission risks will be allowed to resume, subject to issued safe distancing guidelines. Of the 518 new cases reported on Sunday, only three cases are among Singaporeans or permanent residents, the Ministry of Health said in its daily update. The vast majority of the cases are work permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories that have emerged as a major source of coronavirus cases following aggressive medical testing of occupants. As of Saturday, seven coronavirus patients are in critical condition in the intensive care unit out of the 374 hospitalized while 13,242 are isolated and cared for at community facilities for mild symptoms. In all, 20,727 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities. To date, 23 have died from complications due to COVID-19. Under Phase 1 of ending the circuit breaker shutdown, which starts on Tuesday, those living in cleared dormitories are allowed to go to work using designated transport provided by their employers. They must return to the dormitories after work, the Manpower Ministry said. On April 21, all migrant workers living in dormitories were told to stop work and were not allowed to move in and out of their dormitories until May 4. The restriction on daily movement was later extended until Jun 1. These measures were put in place to minimise the risk of further community transmission of COVID-19, according to authorities, reported Channel News Asia. The inter-agency task force dealing with the outbreak of COVID-19 in dormitories will announce the first batch of cleared blocks or dormitories next week. A cleared dormitory is one where every block has been cleared of coronavirus cases. Elaborating, the Ministry said the default mode of working for all companies - including those allowed to resume operations in Phase 1 and later Phase 2 - is working from home. Employees now working from home must continue to do so. They should go to the office only where there is no alternative, like if they need specialised equipment that can't be assessed from home. Checks will be conducted, it said. Safe distancing measures must be implemented in the workplace for those who are there. For offices, this includes the wearing of masks inside the premises, no gatherings with colleagues during meals or breaks, and no cross-deployment of workers. For manufacturing, cleaning and disinfection of all equipment must be stepped up, among other things. For shops, the SafeEntry digital check-in system must be in place, floors must be marked to show queue lines and common spaces and items must be regularly disinfected. Companies must be able to show why staff who return are unable to work from home, said the ministry. GS PMS PMS

Singapore gears up to exit circuit breaker from Monday, reports 518 new coronavirus cases

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">HCLIWong Su-yen, CEO of HCLI spoke to Business Insider during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.</div></div></div>Asia is experiencing an "immense war for talent."That's according to one of the most prominent employment experts in Singapore - The Human Capital Leadership Institute's (HCLI) CEO <a href="http://www.hcli.org/the-institute/management-team/wong-su-yen/">Wong Su-Yen</a>.Cheap labour costs and a high level of digital skills mean the Asia's workers are highly sought after in the West.On top of this, Asian companies are looking to increasingly expand overseas, making retaining talent in the region even more difficult.The World Economic Forum revealed in a mammoth report this week that <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/wef-davos-report-on-robots-replacing-human-jobs-2016-1">the immense development and use of technology is going to finish off millions of jobs</a> and in turn the only big growth area for global employment will be in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) jobs.It is for this reason that Wong of HCLI, which is a unit jointly-created by the Singapore government's Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and Singapore Management University (SMU) to develop employment and skills, revealed to Business Insider in an interview during the WEF's annual meeting that Asia's workforce is at a crossroads and countries need to find better ways to develop talent and promote international mobility."Asia has been, and will continue to be, a significant contributor to global growth," said Wong to Business Insider. "Faced with anaemic growth rates in their home markets, US and European multinationals have looked to the East as it evolves from being a low cost production base, to an attractive market in its own right that is home to a rapidly growing middle class.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Thomson ReutersThe skyline of the financial district in Singapore.</div></div></div>"At the same time, Asian companies are looking to globalise and expand into markets beyond their home turf. Taken together, this has led to an immense war for talent in Asia in recent years."Wong's comments coincide with the conference's theme of "Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution," which is looking at how technology is reshaping the world.Alongside business school INSEAD and HR services titan Adecco, HCLI, released the <a href="http://www.gtci2015-16.com/gtci-2015-16/">Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI)</a>, which is an annual study based on research on "<a href="http://www.gtci2015-16.com/gtci-2015-16/">Talent Attraction and International Mobility."</a>She says that "mobility of talent is a key solution to balance surpluses and deficits of skills across the world.""As connectivity increases, technology and globalisation often go hand in hand. Hence, besides digital awareness, executives and CEOs would do well to develop a strong grasp of global market dynamics, regulatory regimes, customer behaviour, and cultural nuances in order to capitalise on the opportunities that digitisation enables," she added."In Asia, there is a significant focus on developing Asian leaders that have the ability to take on regional and global roles. Similarly, companies have a great interest in ensuring that expatriates are equipped to lead effectively in the region. The HCLI was established for precisely these reasons - to develop insights on leadership and human capital in Asia, and to develop leaders for and from Asia. "Recent research published by the HCLI similarly indicates that the lack of mobility among ASEAN talent has led to a mismatch between required skills and the current skillset possessed by executives." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/inventors-killed-by-inventions-titanic-marie-curie-hang-glide-2016-1">7 inventors who were killed by their own inventions</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="VsMGYwMDE6fvg6irQt8i2KueCbxtIwrO" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

One of Singapore's most prominent job experts revealed why Asia's workforce is at a crossroads right now

<ul><li>Foreign direct investments into <keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="keywords">India</keyword> is likely to gather momentum in 2024.</li><li>Healthy macroeconomic numbers, better industrial output, attractive PLI schemes will attract overseas players amid geopolitical headwinds and tighter interest rate regime globally.</li><li>Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for sectors like pharma, food processing, and medical appliances have started yielding fruits and are attracting foreign investors.</li></ul>Foreign direct investments into India is likely to gather momentum in 2024 as healthy macroeconomic numbers, better industrial output as well as attractive PLI schemes will attract more overseas players amid geopolitical headwinds and tighter interest rate regime globally. To ensure that India remains an attractive and investor friendly destination, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said the government reviews <keyword id="44528" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="fdi" source="Orion">FDI</keyword> policy on an ongoing basis and makes changes from time to time after having extensive consultations with stakeholders. In the January-September period this year, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country declined 22 per cent to USD 48.98 billion. The inflow was at USD 62.66 billion in the year-ago period. "However, we are broadly in line with the overall trends of FDI growth. FDI inflows from 2014-23 period is about USD 596 billion, which is about double than what India received during 2005-14. The trend is positive and India is still the preferred destination for foreign players," Singh told PTI. According to him, Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for sectors like pharma, food processing, and medical appliances have started yielding fruits and are attracting foreign investors. "Many of these sectors have seen a jump in FDI," Singh said. He said the major reasons for the shortfall in FDI inflows could include the threat of global recession, economic crisis due to Russia-Ukraine conflict and protectionist measures. A decline in real GDP growth rates of Singapore, the USA and the UK could also be a factor as these countries are major sources for FDI into India, he added. Singh also emphasised that India continues to open up its economy to global investors by raising FDI limits, removing regulatory barriers, developing infrastructure and improving the business environment. Experts also opined that despite the global challenges, India is still the preferred investment destination. Steps taken to promote ease of doing business, availability of skilled manpower, natural resources, liberal FDI policy, huge domestic market and PLI schemes are the reasons for optimism with respect to foreign fund inflows in 2024, they said. According to UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2023, the number of greenfield investment projects announced in developing countries increased by 37 per cent. "This is a positive sign for investment prospects in industry and in infrastructure," it said. Rumki Majumdar, an economist at consultancy Deloitte India, said the slowdown in capital flows has been more a function of tightening global liquidity and geopolitical uncertainties. "But soon the world will recognise the strength of the fundamentals India has and India will see capital flows rising," she said. Majumdar said there is a genuine interest among global investors to tap into the potential of India and be a part of the growth journey that the country is likely to see over the decade. Anindya Ghosh, partner at law firm IndusLaw, said it needs to be noted that global FDI has also dropped by a considerable margin and India can take some sense of comfort from the fact that it is not the only country bearing the wrath of the recent economic downturn. "While there has been a lot of concerns pertaining to the decline in FDI in India recently, statistics indicate that FDI inflows might witness a modest increase in the year 2024," Ghosh said. As per the National Statistical Office (NSO), the Indian economy grew 7.7 per cent in the first half of 2023-24. The country's foreign exchange reserve is above USD 600 billion and industrial production accelerated to a 16-month high of 11.7 per cent in October, mainly due to double-digit growth in the output of manufacturing, power and mining sectors. Also, PLI schemes that seek to boost India's manufacturing capabilities and exports have been announced for 14 sectors. The total outlay for the schemes is Rs 1.97 lakh crore and the sectors covered include white goods, telecom and auto components. During the period between April 2000 to September 2023, total FDI into India reached USD 953.14 billion. About one-fourth of the FDI came through the Mauritius route during the period under review. It was followed by Singapore (23 per cent), the US (9 per cent), the Netherlands (7 per cent), Japan (6 per cent) and the UK (5 per cent). The UAE, Germany, Cyprus, and Cayman Islands accounted for 2 per cent each. The key sectors which attracted the maximum FDI in India include services segment, computer software and hardware, telecommunications, trading, construction development, automobile, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. FDI is allowed through the automatic route in most of the sectors while in areas such as telecom, media, pharmaceuticals and insurance, government approval is required for foreign investors. Under the government approval route, a foreign investor has to take prior nod of the ministry or department concerned whereas under the automatic route, an overseas investor is only required to inform the <keyword id="19899810" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="reserve-bank-of-india" source="keywords">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> (RBI) after the investment is made. At present, FDI is prohibited in certain sectors. They are lottery, gambling and betting, chit funds, nidhi company, real estate business, and manufacturing of cigars, cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes using tobacco. FDI is important as India would require huge investments in the coming years for its infrastructure sector to boost growth. Healthy foreign inflows also help in maintaining the balance of payments and the value of the rupee. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/upcoming-new-mobile-phones-in-india-in-2024/slidelist/106244996.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/upcoming-new-mobile-phones-in-india-in-2024/slidelist/106244996.cms" target="_blank">Apple vs Samsung vs OnePlus and more – Upcoming smartphones launching in India in 2024</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/webstories/top-10-richest-people-in-the-world-in-2023/slidelist/106204146.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/webstories/top-10-richest-people-in-the-world-in-2023/slidelist/106204146.cms" target="_blank">Elon Musk to Warren Buffett – the top 10 richest people in the world</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/redmi-note-12-to-moto-g84-the-most-popular-smartphones-in-2023-under-20000/slidelist/106183118.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/redmi-note-12-to-moto-g84-the-most-popular-smartphones-in-2023-under-20000/slidelist/106183118.cms" target="_blank">Redmi Note 12 to Moto G84 – The most popular smartphones in 2023 under ₹20,000</a>

FDI inflows likely to rise in 2024 as India remains 'preferred investment destination

Welcome to <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/insider-energy">Insider Energy</a>, a weekly <keyword id="6357014" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="energy">energy</keyword> newsletter brought to you by Business Insider. Here's what you need to know:<ul><li>Want to get <keyword id="9962321" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="insider-energy">Insider Energy</keyword> in your inbox every Friday? <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/insider-energy">Sign up here</a>. </li><li>Do you have feedback or story tips? Reach out to me at <a href="mailto:bjones@businessinsider.com">bjones@businessinsider.com</a>. </li><li>We're hiring: BI is looking for an <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/2011708590/?refId=LGohV4YUTDSS71Oo1AwuBw%3D%3D">energy reporter/editor</a> to help shape our coverage. It's a sweet gig with a ton of opportunity to make a mark on a fresh beat for our newsroom. </li></ul>Well, well, well … it looks like people are finally returning from vacation.It was a week full of news, from details on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oil-company-bp-solar-energy-strategy-behemoth-2020-9">BP's strategy overhaul</a> to Amazon's big low-carbon fund. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/singapore-probing-exxon-labor-practices-oil-price-downturn-2020-9">We broke a couple of stories, too</a>. With summer over, crisp, 60-degree weather swept through New York this week, animating me with spooky Halloween vibes. (My accidental pumpkin, harvested several weeks ago, is showing no signs of decay. Thanks for asking). Let's get to it. <div type="image" title="Lightsource BP" height="1687" width="2250" msid="78192838" hostid="261"></div><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oil-company-bp-solar-energy-strategy-behemoth-2020-9">BP's plan to dominate the solar industry</a></h2>"New energy, who dis?"That might be the worst thing you've read this week, but at least it's not totally inaccurate. <keyword id="32848" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="BP">BP</keyword> is on track to be a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oil-company-bp-solar-energy-strategy-behemoth-2020-9">very different energy company by 2030</a>, with a massive portfolio of renewables. In the near-term, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oil-company-bp-solar-energy-strategy-behemoth-2020-9">solar power will dominate the company's clean-energy growth</a>. <ul><li>Today, the oil-turning-energy giant has 16 gigawatts of solar energy in the pipeline. </li><li>That's enough to rival even the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-15/bp-s-clean-energy-push-starts-with-5-year-sprint-on-solar-wind">world's biggest solar operator</a>, China's State Power Investment Corp.</li></ul>The plan: BP's solar ambitions are carried out through Lightsource BP, a joint venture formed in 2018 between BP and Lightsource Renewable Energy.<ul><li>BP moves "at lightning speed," Bernard Looney, BP's CEO, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oil-company-bp-solar-energy-strategy-behemoth-2020-9">told investors this week</a>. </li><li>Solar is unique among energy projects, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oil-company-bp-solar-energy-strategy-behemoth-2020-9">the company said</a>, because developers can move from concept to construction in as few as 18 months. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oil-company-bp-solar-energy-strategy-behemoth-2020-9">See all the details of the company's plan to dominate solar here</a>. </li></ul>What else: BP revealed tons of other details this week during BP Week, an annual event for analysts and investors. <ul><li>Oil demand is set to plateau this decade and then decline, even under a "business-as-usual" scenario, the company said. Remarkably, that's <a href="https://www.axios.com/bp-peak-oil-demand-10569b34-d5cc-459a-8fba-b03319965e26.html?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosgenerate&amp;stream=topp;stream=top">a decade earlier</a> than the company's forecast from last year. </li><li>In fact, it's possible that peak oil demand is behind us, under a scenario where governments take more aggressive action on climate change, BP said.</li><li>BP also revealed that its secretive commodity trading arm <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-16/bp-lifts-veil-of-secrecy-on-big-oil-trading-profits">boosts the company's average return on investment</a> by close to 2 percentage points. </li><li>That will be key for achieving the 8-10% return on capital that BP is promising for its renewable business.</li></ul><div type="image" title="rivian r1s" height="1611" width="2153" msid="78192841" hostid="261"></div><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/list-startups-amazon-is-backing-2-billion-climate-fund-2020-9">5 startups Amazon is betting on to shape a new future for energy and transportation</a></h2>Amazon, which operates a major shipping business, has a mixed environmental record.<ul><li>Earlier this year, employees put their jobs at risk to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/01/26/amazon-employees-plan-mass-defiance-company-communications-policy-support-colleagues/">publicly criticize</a> the company's climate practices.</li><li>The company provides support to oil and gas companies.</li></ul>It's within that context that the tech giant announced a $2 billion low-carbon venture fund in June — one of the largest in the clean-energy industry — to help it become a net-zero emissions company by 2040. <ul><li>(For comparison, Apple and Facebook say they will be net-zero across their entire supply chains by 2030, though these companies aren't in the business of shipping.)</li></ul>First bets: Amazon <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/list-startups-amazon-is-backing-2-billion-climate-fund-2020-9">announced on Thursday</a> the startups receiving the fund's first and highly anticipated investments.<ul><li>There are five of them, and the technologies they deploy range <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/list-startups-amazon-is-backing-2-billion-climate-fund-2020-9">from carbon-capture to electric transportation</a>.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/list-startups-amazon-is-backing-2-billion-climate-fund-2020-9">You can see profiles of all the companies here</a>.</li></ul>What else: Google <a href="https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/sustainability/our-third-decade-climate-action-realizing-carbon-free-future">said</a> this week that by 2030 it will run its systems on carbon-free energy 24/7. <ul><li>That means that even if there's no solar or wind energy available at a given moment, it will still find clean electricity, such as from a big battery. </li><li>It's the first major company to make such a commitment.</li></ul><div type="image" title="Refinery hub home to Exxon" height="1168" width="1558" msid="78192844" hostid="261"></div><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/singapore-probing-exxon-labor-practices-oil-price-downturn-2020-9">Singapore probes Exxon's labor practices</a></h2><keyword id="6383208" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="exxon">Exxon</keyword> is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/singapore-probing-exxon-labor-practices-oil-price-downturn-2020-9">facing questions</a> from the government of Singapore about whether it misused its performance review process to cut workers after the price of oil crashed. <ul><li>Workers claim the company used its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/exxon-managers-dub-some-employees-poor-performers-cut-staff-2020-7">performance review process to mask layoffs</a>. </li><li>Some staffers in Singapore <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/singapore-probing-exxon-labor-practices-oil-price-downturn-2020-9">complained to the country's Ministry of Manpower</a>, which confirmed to BI that it's looking into the company's HR practices. </li></ul>What employees say: "We are all extremely anxious and worried about our job security," <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/singapore-probing-exxon-labor-practices-oil-price-downturn-2020-9">said one worker</a>. <ul><li>Exxon, one of Singapore's largest foreign investors, is considered a prestigious employer in the country, the employee said. </li><li>Losing your job through a performance-based cut is a ding on your resume, she said, and it will make it harder to find new employment.</li></ul>Exxon's response: "The performance review process provides a fair and consistent approach to managing employees with lower relative or lower absolute performance," Casey Norton, an Exxon spokesperson, said. "This is an annual process which has been in place for many years." Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/exxon-managers-dub-some-employees-poor-performers-cut-staff-2020-7">Internal documents, leaked audio, and 20 insiders reveal Exxon made managers dub more employees poor performers as the oil giant sought to quietly cut staff</a><div type="image" title="Schlumberger oil pipe" height="1600" width="2133" msid="78192847" hostid="261"></div><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/schlumberger-workers-ivory-coast-say-werent-paid-fair-severance-2020-9">Schlumberger's treatment of some foreign workers is called into question</a></h2>It was a week of Googling "10 am in New York is what time in …" <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/schlumberger-workers-ivory-coast-say-werent-paid-fair-severance-2020-9">We reported this week on claims from former Ivorian workers</a> at the oil giant <keyword id="161205" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Schlumberger">Schlumberger</keyword> — supported by a trove of internal documents we reviewed — that the company <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/schlumberger-workers-ivory-coast-say-werent-paid-fair-severance-2020-9">stiffed them of fair severance amid its mass layoff</a>. <ul><li>Former workers say the company is taking advantage of Ivory Coast's weak governance and feeble unions to pay them less. </li><li>This practice is not uncommon among global corporations based in the West, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/schlumberger-workers-ivory-coast-say-werent-paid-fair-severance-2020-9">according to Joe Drexler</a>, an international labor expert and adjunct professor at the University of Denver. </li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/schlumberger-workers-ivory-coast-say-werent-paid-fair-severance-2020-9">You can read the full story here.</a>Have a tip about Schlumberger? Reach out to me at <a href="mailto:bjones@businessinsider.com">bjones@businessinsider.com</a> or shoot me a text at 646-768-1657. <h2>5 big stories we didn't cover</h2><ul><li>Oil update. "The International Energy Agency revised down its 2020 global oil demand forecast to 91.7 million barrels per day on expectations of a 'treacherous' path ahead," BI's <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/oil-outlook-iea-cuts-2020-demand-forecast-sees-slow-recovery-2020-9-1029589609">Shalini Nagarajan reports</a>. </li><li>Another SPAC IPO. EV-charging-network startup, ChargePoint, is "nearing a deal to go public through a reverse merger with Switchback Energy Acquisition Corp," <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-switchback-m-a-chargepoint/exclusive-electric-vehicle-charge-network-chargepoint-nears-deal-to-go-public-sources-idUSKBN26736X">per Reuters</a>. </li><li>Big FERC move. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission passed an order this week that allows small energy sources that are distributed across the grid, such as rooftop solar panels, to participate in wholesale energy markets, per <a href="https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2020/09/18/fercs-new-der-rule-to-pry-open-big-opportunities-for-solar-storage/">pv magazine</a>.</li><li>The climate pledges keep rolling in. New Zealeand's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, committed to achieving 100% renewable energy by 2030 should her party be reelected in October, <a href="https://www.axios.com/new-zealand-renewable-energy-2030-36493cd8-ff1a-4577-9b51-f2ca43d945a8.html">per Axios</a>. </li></ul>That's it! Have a great weekend. - Benji Ps. We left our apartments! Here are a few members of our team enjoying beverages in Prospect Park this week.<div type="image" title="Some of BI's healthcare/energy/cannabis team." height="2316" width="3088" msid="78192850" hostid="261"></div>

Inside BP's plan to dominate the global solar industry and rival the world's largest operators

New Delhi/ Mumbai, Mar 12 () Hundreds of cancelled flights, decline in daily ticket bookings, fall in footfalls at airport shops and spike in expenses continue to rattle the country's aviation space as airlines, with weakened financials, and airport operators grapple with coronavirus headwinds.With mounting travel restrictions across the world, including in India, the tailwind of sharp plunge in crude oil prices seems to fade in the background of excess seat and fleet capacity in the airline industry, according to experts.More than 490 flights operated by foreign carriers to and from India have been cancelled for varying periods of time while the count of weekly flights cancelled by domestic airlines is more than 90, as per official data. The number of cancelled flights on international routes is expected to rise as India has also suspended all visas, except a few categories such as diplomatic and employment, till April 15 as part of efforts to curb spreading of coronavirus infections.Data shared by aviation consultancy CAPA showed that capacity or the number of seats available weekly on various international flight routes connecting India has significantly come down for the week that started on March 9 compared to the situation in December last year. Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the number of international passengers arriving at the country's airports has come down to around 62,000 per day from 70,000 in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.According to him, the count might further come down to around 40,000 following the travel advisory issued on Wednesday. There are 30 international airports in the country. From being "nimble in approach" to adverse impact on quarterly earnings, domestic carriers have already flagged their concerns about coronavirus impact on their businesses. The Association of Private Airport Operators (APAO) has flagged various problems in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, including that of "less sales at the Food and Beverage, and retail outlets" at aerodromes. In a letter to the civil aviation ministry on Wednesday, the grouping also said airport operators are now required to significantly beef up manpower deployment as well as make expenditure on items like masks, sanitisers and floor cleaners, in order to ensure compliance with various government advisories. Further, APAO has sought approval for "levying of a nominal passenger facilitation charge as part of airline fares to cover increased operating expenses being incurred by the operators", as per the letter. It has also sought provisioning of an "airport operator alleviation package by AERA to facilitate the growing operational expenses". Regulator AERA fixes tariffs for certain categories of airports. Referring to the government's decision to suspend visas from March 13 till April 15, CAPA said the ban would cripple the aviation industry with very serious impact on airlines with weaker balance sheet. Overall, it would be a "serious blow" to the aviation industry, CAPA CEO (South Asia) Kapil Kaul told .Peak travel period, which generally starts from April, would be impacted. A senior airline industry official said domestic air traffic might start increasing as the people who had planned their vacations abroad could visit domestic destinations. Full service carrier Vistara, on Thursday, said business on some of its international and domestic routes has been impacted by coronavirus outbreak. "At Vistara, we are reviewing the situation everyday and remain nimble in our approach," an airline spokesperson said. On Wednesday, the country's largest airline IndiGo said it was expecting quarterly earnings to be adversely impacted as daily bookings have declined 15-20 per cent in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The airline has also suspended Staff Leisure Travel (SLT) to certain countries, including China, Singapore and Hong Kong. SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said the aviation sector is under a lot of pressure but that was "temporary". "SpiceJet is far better placed than many others to weather this turbulence. I firmly believe that this is an opportunity for SpiceJet, for the government and the aviation ecosystem to create more efficient and viable structures for the growth that lies ahead. "... the Indian aviation market and especially our domestic market has immense potential and will remain amongst the fastest growing in the world," he said on Thursday. On the positive, an airline official said excess international capacity can be redeployed on domestic routes and that fall in oil prices, which account for around 40 per cent of operational costs, is a silver lining. IAS RAM ANUANU

Coronavirus headwinds rattle airlines, airports; lower passenger numbers, restrictions take toll

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/contact-tracing">Contact tracing</a> has become a major tactic around the world in tracking and containing the spread of the <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/coronavirus">coronavirus</a>.</li><li>While effective in other countries, the United States has yet to deploy <keyword id="7313056" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Contact-tracing">contact tracing</keyword> at scale. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/website-shows-what-smartphones-see-with-bluetooth-contact-tracing-video-2020-4">Location data tracking </a>and sharing might be one way to utilize technology to help trace the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> spread.</li><li>This push for more data has led to larger discussions about <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/california-ccpa-data-privacy-startups-compliance-55-billion-2020-1">laws protecting users' privacy and data.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>Following is a transcription of the <keyword id="21654" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="video">video</keyword>: Narrator: As COVID-19 continues to spread around the globe, one tactic in particular, called contact tracing, has been highly effective in countries like Taiwan, Singapore, and Iceland. But there is a trade-off. Contact tracing asks us all to share data with the government and corporations, information that some people prefer to keep private. So the question becomes: How much privacy would you be willing to trade to save lives?The specifics of contact tracing vary by country, but the basics remain the same. Step one: identify and isolate confirmed cases of COVID-19. Step two: trace their movement and contact with others backwards, finding people who may be at risk without knowing it. Step three: quarantine and track the movements of confirmed cases going forward.Syra Madad: It's a very lengthy process that requires many different steps, but at the end what you're trying to achieve is to break that chain of transmission, so that way you don't have new outbreaks, if you will, or new cases of the disease itself.Narrator: Rather than spending time treating new cases, contact tracing allows officials to stop the spread of the virus in the first place. That's how countries that have implemented contact tracing have been able to flatten the curve. This requires a lot of manpower. It also requires a monumental amount of data, which is where the issue of privacy comes into play.To make contact tracing truly effective, it is important to have verifiable records of people's whereabouts and contact with others. Some countries have developed apps that trace your cellphone's GPS signal, thus keeping a log of every place you've been. To many, that might sound like the start of a dystopian horror movie: the government tracking your every move and knowing everyone you speak with. On the other hand, the COVID-19 pandemic seems straight out of a horror film itself, and the results of contact tracing speak for themselves.Take Singapore for example. The number of confirmed cases in the country is around 4,500 as of April 16, despite being relatively near China, the country where experts believe the virus originated. Singapore was aggressive in adopting contact tracing. The country utilized the national health service, police detectives, and a contact-tracing app to track the spread of the virus. Their contact-tracing program was so effective that about 40% of people in the first wave of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country discovered that they had been exposed to the virus when they received a phone call from Singapore's Ministry of Health. The call informed them of when, where, and how they came into contact with the virus and told them to be tested and isolated.Meanwhile, in the United States, government authorities have not yet aggressively pursued contact tracing as a tactic to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, despite the fact that there are now more confirmed cases in the US than any other country in the world. We saw this play out in New York City, where the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus was diagnosed on March 1. Just a week prior, the woman who tested positive had returned to New York from Doha, Qatar, landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Public officials promised to track down every person who had been aboard her flight to identify other potential cases. But according to The New York Times, that never happened.A lack of available tests and the uniquely dense population of New York City also contributed to the rapid spread of the virus in the city and the state, where more than 240,000 cases have now been reported. And while New York did engage in contact tracing to an extent, it was nowhere near as vigorous as in countries where the practice has been highly effective.Madad: China, for example, implemented a huge workforce, and they were able to do tens of thousands of contact tracing every single day. We do not have that infrastructure here in the United States yet. Another thing to note is that they were just doing in a very small area of China. We would need to do it throughout the United States because we are having hot spots throughout the United States.Narrator: In New York City, where the population is over 8.3 million, 50 disease detectives were deployed to trace the spread of the virus in the early days of the outbreak. That's only one disease detective for every 166,000 people. Wuhan, China, where the crisis is thought to have originated, has a slightly higher population. There, more than 9,000 disease detectives were deployed to trace known cases. This disparity is not unique to New York, however. In the United States, only about 3,600 disease detectives have been trained by the Epidemic Intelligence Service program since 1951. That's for a population of over 329 million people.While manual contact tracing is important, data helps. Singapore has released an app that not only tracks users' location, but also uses Bluetooth to record proximity to others who are using the app. And though manual contact tracing may not be as robust in the United States, data collection certainly is. Citizens' movements are on full display via Silicon Valley companies big and small. Lesser-known entities like Cuebiq and Unacast have already been providing tracking data to the public. And while Unacast collects its data via an opt-in app, Cuebiq says only that it relies on "Cuebiq's first party data" to create its interactive map. So, with the technology and data for contact tracing readily available, the question remains, why was the US so slow to adopt contact tracing on a wider scale?The answer may be our own rights to privacy and how dearly we hold them. Americans' attitudes about their private data being shared are well documented. Wiretapping phones of American citizens was a hot-button political issue in the not-so-distant past. And, more recently, large corporations mining us for data has come to the forefront of the national consciousness. Those attitudes may shift as the COVID-19 crisis continues.Madad: So, in order for us to get to a post-coronavirus-disease era where we're able to lift some of these social-distancing restrictions and, you know, for all intents and purposes, resume whatever our normal lives would look like, we need to make sure we're able to implement rigorous contact tracing to be able to isolate those individuals and quarantine individuals that may have the disease itself.Narrator: While a recent poll showed that a majority of Americans agree that measures like closing schools and businesses are necessary to combat the coronavirus, they also share a desire to return the day-to-day operations of the country to as close to normal as possible as soon and as safely as possible. At the same time, health experts predict a second wave of the virus to hit sometime in 2020 or 2021. So offering up our location information might be the best way to get through this.Madad: Safeguarding privacy is something that is going to be a huge roadblock. But, at the same time, I think that we're living in a very technology-savvy society where we should be able to, with some degree, you know, work around that. I think we can have this even as a voluntary basis. Being able to consent, in a way, in letting them know this is obviously what's great not just for them, but for the greater community if we wanna resume our normal life, whatever that's, again, gonna look like, you know, this is something that needs to be done.Narrator: The tech world has already started to publicly collect this data. Facebook's Data for Good program has created data maps that show distributions of people reporting COVID symptoms, density of at-risk populations, areas that are socially connected to current hot spots, and more. Apple and Google have announced plans for a joint venture to create an opt-in contact-tracing app that would be compatible with both Apple and Android phones. But with this push for more government access to location-tracking data also comes another push for more user protection. As of now, there are no comprehensive federal laws around data privacy in the United States. It's happened only on a state level.In 2018, the California Consumer Privacy Act was enacted, giving California users the legal right to know what data is collected, the right to delete personal information held by businesses, and the right to opt out of the sale of personal information. Other states are following California's lead. Nevada passed similar legislation, and New York, Texas, and Washington have also proposed legislation similar to California's privacy act. In other states, legal rights to data privacy are not nearly as clear or strong. So in the case of the US, what we do know is that large amounts of data, including location tracking, are already being collected. The questions become what we as a nation will do with that data to confront the COVID-19 crisis, whether the public is willing to release it, and how we will protect that data going forward.Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-contact-tracing-works-to-stop-coronavirus-spread-2020-4">Business Insider</a>

How location data can help track and stop the spread of COVID-19

Considering the massive military modernization, OROP commitments and implementation of Seventh Pay Commission a hike is warranted in allocation in the upcoming Budget 2016 for Defense sector. 
	 
	Post the Gurdaspur and Pathannkot attack, the army’s main focus has been on border management. At present, it is more manpower oriented rather than technological. The border management needs a complete overhaul making it more dependent on state of the art technology. A lesson needs to be learnt from Israel whose border management is mainly monitored through technology and less on manpower. The internal security duties and frequent deployment for natural disasters too need to prepare a lot. 
	 
	More autonomy for Airforce? 
	 The air force is still dependent on the bureaucratic hurdle of getting the <keyword id="6381048" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rafale">Rafale</keyword>. Even after the decision of buying the 36 fighters off the shelf, the negotiations are still on. It was expected to be signed during the visit of French President on republic day, but didn’t. The good news though is about the spectacular performance of home made Tejas at the recently completed Bahrain Air Show. Tejas, a 4.5 generation aircraft like Rafale, has always been insufficiently funded by the government and undermined by the IAF with periodic rewriting of ASRs. 
	 
	<keyword id="6355100" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Navy">Indian Navy</keyword> 
	 
	The Navy showcased its growing supremacy at the recently concluded International Fleet Review (IFR). The Navy has emerged as an effective tool of Indian diplomacy in past years, making it imperative for policy-makers to redefine the role of the nation’s naval forces in Indian strategy. The Indian Navy’s role is now changed from being local sea control and shore defense orientation, to a more aggressive naval posture. India needs blue water navy not only to meet emerging naval threats from Pakistan and China. It also has to safeguard strategic location at the center of the Indian Ocean as well as to protect its extensive exclusive economic zone. 
	 
	The Indian Navy also has a 15-year plan to achieve full indigenization in all phases of warship construction as a part of Make in India campaign. But it’s a real long time and the Navy to maintain its supremacy in Indian Ocean and to withstand the rising Chinese Navy’s ambition, still needs Submarines, Frigates and helicopters. 
	 
	Make in India 
	 
	Make in India has led to a lot possibilities for private partnership in defense which can bolster manufacturing sector. In a significant boost for the Indian Air Force, Phil Shaw, chief executive of Lockheed Martin India Private Ltd said "We are ready to manufacture F-16 in India and support the Make in India initiative," at the Singapore Airshow 2016. There have been lots of interesting deals that have been signed under Make In India campaign recently: 
	 
	1) BAE Systems to partner with Mahindra for assembling &amp; testing M777 howitzers 
	 
	2) Bharat Forge forms joint venture with Rafael; to manufacture high-tech defence components 
	 
	3)Mahindra, Airbus sign pact to form joint venture for military helicopters 
	 
	Defense allocation: India versus its neighbours 
	 In the neighborhood, Pakistan's defense budget has consistently been getting an almost double-digit growth meanwhile China maintains a defense budget which is three times the size of India. China’s dangerous adventures can gauged from the recent news that is has deployed surface-to-air missiles (<keyword id="694687" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="SAMS">SAMs</keyword>) near a Chinese-held feature in the Paracel Island group. As reported by Fox News the missile deployment, based on analysis of satellite imagery; the news has since been confirmed by both the U.S. Department of Defense and Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND). 
	 
	Incidents of border stand-offs in the North and claiming of Aksai Chin are major irritants. Besides, India's traditional strategy to combat insurgency and terrorism remains military oriented. Combined with the ambition to extend our maritime sphere of interest, these potential threats will require India to give a boost in its defense spending. 
	 
	Looking at India’s neighborhood scenario the government needs to take a call whether it can or cannot hike the defense spending. Our defense strategy should be based on therealities of the money this government can actually spend. 
	 One also needs to look in to the fact that continued government’s fiscal deficit targets and the need to increase the budget allotment on Education, Health and policies for the poor farmers will also be deciding a factor if this Government can actually spend more than 2% of its <keyword id="35050" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="gdp">GDP</keyword> on defense. 
	 
	The article has been authored by defense analyst Sunil Rampore, who works as a leading consultant in defense and aerospace industry. 
	 
	Image Credit: Indiatimes.com

You Searched For "singapore ministry of manpower" and got 9 results

COVID-19: Construction companies in Singapore asked to follow strict measures once work resumes

PTI

COVID-19: Record 1,426 new cases in Singapore, mostly foreign workers affected

PTI

Singapore gears up to exit circuit breaker from Monday, reports 518 new coronavirus cases

PTI

One of Singapore's most prominent job experts revealed why Asia's workforce is at a crossroads right now

Lianna Brinded

FDI inflows likely to rise in 2024 as India remains 'preferred investment destination

PTI

Inside BP's plan to dominate the global solar industry and rival the world's largest operators

Benji Jones

Coronavirus headwinds rattle airlines, airports; lower passenger numbers, restrictions take toll

PTI

How location data can help track and stop the spread of COVID-19

Hiatt Woods

Budget 2016: Can the Indian defense forces get a little more than 2% of the GDP?

Purba Das