Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<ul><li>We bring to you a series of columns from industry experts, looking back at the last 10 years. </li><li>The columns will explore how the media, marketing and advertising industry has transformed in the last decade. </li><li>Amaresh Godbole, CEO, Digitas India walks us through his personal journey from 2010 to 2020 as well as the different stages of evolution that the digital industry went through in the last decade.</li></ul>The year was 2009. I was trying to convince my boss to accept my resignation. He couldn’t fathom why I would leave a fast-track career in an established network agency to join an unknown digital shop. I couldn’t blame him. Everyone I knew in the agency world felt that it was hara-kiri. There was a tsunami coming and the MarComm industry at the time was in collective denial about it. In the decade since, I have witnessed the industry get from there to acceptance in classic stages. 2009-2010 – Denial This was the era of flash banners, microsites and entrepreneur led digital shops. Some got as far as animated ‘viral’ videos, typically depicting popular Bollywood characters or mythology to support the ‘real’ campaign. All of it was at best considered cute. CMOs and CCOs had no time for digital work and usually the junior brand manager that drew a short straw was put in charge of it. Some industry luminaries were even dismissing digital as a passing trend. With barely 60 million users online, no one bothered to argue. Of course, the fees reflected the sentiment, and seemed like a cruel joke when compared to the soon to perish 15% commission model. 2011-2012 – Anger A new reality emerged. Smartphones + Mobile Data + Social Media = Consumer voice at scale. Brands and agencies alike plunged in, trying to understand how to play this game. The ones who didn’t soon realized that it was akin to not attending your own trial where the consumer was judge, jury and executioner. I recall, embarrassingly so in hindsight, that we had an entire brainstorm to understand how hashtags worked. Facebook applications, paid followers, trending mechanics, always-on content calendars et all emerged in this period. Amidst this the word ‘disruption’ and the consequent need for ‘transformation’ started gaining momentum. A lot of people across industries were angry. Many had spent decades learning the ropes of their business, and suddenly there was a new set of rules. But they weren’t set rules, the only thing you could be certain of is that things would keep changing. 2013-2016 – Bargaining Okay, we need digital… “But there’s no reach” “But print is more credible” “But we can solve the problem by hiring 1-2 millennials in house” To illustrate the sentiment of this period, a couple of us from our agency’s leadership featured in a leading publication’s ‘most admired agency leaders’ list alongside traditionally well-known faces. And instead of calls from other leaders congratulating us, we were asked in genuinely confused tones whether we had paid to be on it, so they could rationalize it. The ‘buts’ didn’t stop the advent of digital. HTML 5 made engaging interfaces available at scale across devices. Budgets grew and demand for digital talent skyrocketed. It became a 24*7 struggle to keep up with real-time marketing, constantly evolving platform algorithms and the mobile app ecosystem. Recognizing their gaps, holding companies got into M&amp;A mode and independent digital agencies around the world were quickly bought up. 2017-2018 – Depression Realization dawned that we were up against Google and Facebook as frenemies, as well as consultancies and tech companies like Accenture as competitors. It really sunk in when we saw a change of guard at many celebrated agencies, with revered talent making way for others if they hadn’t adapted. For individuals in the business, it was a wake-up call - upskill or soon be redundant. Marketers had smelt the coffee much earlier and had been training their teams for years. These well trained clients too were putting pressure on their agency partners to speak the language of modern marketing. The final punch in the gut was when a leading holding company merged two of their greatest legacy agency networks into digital brands, changing the face of the industry forever. 2019 – Acceptance This year was truly the coming of age for modern marketing practices. Creativity powered by technology was celebrated on the world’s biggest stages. OTT players and devices like the Amazon Firestick blurred the line between when that LED on your wall is a TV and when it is a screen. The reach argument in India was dealt a defining blow as the country crossed 500Mn people online. Many of them, who have difficulty interacting with screens and text, are using voice as their first interface. Others are driving up the demand for vernacular content. Fittingly, this year digital agencies such as ours grew to a scale comparable to many legacy agencies. And it is increasingly dawning on leaders in the industry that the time for distinction between digital and traditional capabilities has passed. Strategy and creative skills are still crucial. But they need to be coupled with data and technology to deliver the demands of marketing today and tomorrow. 2020 and beyond Voice, video and vernacular will scale as drivers of consumer engagement. Machine Learning algorithms fed by data will transform how things work internally for companies, as well as how they interact with their customers. Emerging technologies like blockchain will change the norms of transaction. New jobs like Data Security Specialists will be in demand. Many people have barely wrapped their heads around the digital disruption so far and feel exhausted thinking about another upskilling exercise. But continuous learning is the key to survival. For us, it could mean focusing on cracking a great idea and letting the machine take care of dynamic creative personalization. Formulating a brilliant media strategy and letting ML take care of optimum automated bidding and blockchain powered safe transactions. My belief is that to succeed in the 2020s, it won’t be about People Vs Machines, but rather how we best play together as People AND Machines. - By Amaresh Godbole, CEO, Digitas India

Digital marketing: A decade to acceptance

New Delhi, Feb 23 () Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said the international community has a unique opportunity to design a new international tax system to handle the challenges of digitalisation with a cost-efficient dispute prevention mechanism. She called upon the G20 countries to ensure that the consensus solution being developed by G20/inclusive framework for addressing tax challenges arising from digitalisation is truly inclusive, according to tweets by the finance ministry. The finance minister emphasised on the need for a closer collaboration between revenue agencies to investigate tax affairs of offenders who cross-borders for escaping tax investigation, a tweet said. During the second day of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Riyadh, Sitharaman highlighted the efforts undertaken by the Government of India to deepen the corporate bond market, such as removal of capital controls for identified categories of government securities (G-Secs) and increased Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) limit on the corporate bond market. The finance minister said she looked forward to continued engagement with G20 on this agenda. According to the tweets, Sitharaman explained the steps being taken to reform the credit default swap market, changing the method of buying and selling bonds electronically through exchanges, and facilitating on-tap issuances for all, among others, for further enabling greater investments in India's bond market. Speaking during the session on infrastructure investment, Sitharaman welcomed the efforts underway in G20 to develop infrastructure technology -- the InfraTech Agenda. However, she also cautioned that G20 should refrain from developing any common prescriptive approach since various countries are at varied stages of adoption of technology in infrastructure, according to the tweets. The minister highlighted successful Indian experience in the area of adoption of technology in infrastructure such as FASTags. She also pointed out the efforts being taken for installation of smart energy meters across India to reduce revenue leakages. DP SR HRS

'Global community has opportunity to design new int'l taxation to handle digitalisation challenges'

Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], December 9 (ANI): The founder and CEO of Paytm <keyword id="198636" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vijay-shekhar-sharma" source="Orion">Vijay Shekhar Sharma</keyword>, shared his perspectives on various aspects of the significance of '<keyword id="19757838" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="wed-in-india" source="Orion">Wed in India</keyword>', RBI's regulations, and the country's GDP growth during an event in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Speaking about Indian weddings, Shekhar Sharma emphasized the cultural importance of these events. He stated, "No matter where Indians go they always look for <keyword id="6382048" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-food" source="Orion">Indian food</keyword> and I believe the best Indian food is made in India. I am not only a supporter but also an attendee of those weddings which happen in India." On the topic of expansion, particularly in the context of <keyword id="6424024" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gift-city" source="Orion">GIFT City</keyword> (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City), Sharma expressed enthusiasm. He sees GIFT City as a platform that offers opportunities for technology companies and fintech to extend their reach from India to the global stage. He stated, "GIFT City leads from India to the world, so as a technology company, as a Fintech we love what GIFT City offers us, an opportunity to go from GIFT City to the world. So while we are in India and Japan I would rather want to be in the GIFT city than go to the world". Discussing the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) regulations regarding payment banks, Sharma highlighted the positive developments resulting from the regulatory guidance. He noted, "The biggest benefit of the guidance that RBI has given is that it has made the commitment of RBI to facilitate payments and to provide breadth to different use cases. So we are seeing a lot of good positive development, expansion of limits and new use cases where payment and digitalisation will happen". Sekhar Sharma emphasized the expansion of limits and the emergence of new use cases, creating a conducive environment for digital payments and overall digitalization. Commenting on the country's GDP growth rate of 7.6 per cent, Sharma highlighted the positive impact of the formalization of the economy. He noted that the ongoing digital transition, including the adoption of UPI (Unified Payments Interface) and Paytm, has played a crucial role, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas where cash transactions are prevalent. Sharma expressed optimism about the formal financial system's growth contributing to increased financial opportunities for more people. He stated, "The formalisation of the economy is a big blow to India and the more we go to rural and semi-urban areas where most of the people are dealing in cash, the way digital transition like UPI, and Paytm is happening, is because of that. I feel that the contribution of the country's formal economy will increase even more. When the economy of the country grows and the formal financial system grows, more people get financial opportunities". Vijay Shekhar Sharma's insights provided a comprehensive overview of Paytm's vision, the cultural significance of Indian weddings, the regulatory landscape, and the positive impact of digitalization on the country's economy. (ANI)

Vijay Shekhar Sharma says 'Wed in India' is a good idea for its food options

<ul><li>Digitalisation and automation have been game-changers for manufacturers in achieving post-pandemic business goals. </li><li>Over two-thirds of companies that have implemented IoT would have deployed at least one <keyword id="50691" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="digital" source="Orion">digital</keyword> twin in production by 2022. </li><li>Digitalisation will help Indian manufacturers to compete in local and global markets.</li></ul>What does manufacturing look like in the post-COVID world? While the sector faced unforeseen challenges in the last two years, the pandemic has been a watershed event for technology in the sector. <keyword id="1568100" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="suprakash-chaudhuri" source="Orion">Suprakash Chaudhuri</keyword>, Head- <keyword id="6324890" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="digital-industries" source="Orion">Digital Industries</keyword>, <keyword id="163581" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="siemens-india" source="Orion">Siemens India</keyword>, believes that the need to converge the digital and the real worlds was felt most strongly during this time. In an exclusive chat with <keyword id="1857762" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="business-insider-india" source="Orion">Business Insider India</keyword>, Chaudhuri spoke in great detail about how the manufacturing sector is digitally transforming itself with the use of technologies like digital twin, industrial internet of things (IIoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and a lot more. Here are excerpts from an interview. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Manufacturing has propelled into a completely new era post the pandemic. What do you consider as the biggest changes that transformed the industry during this period?" comment="subhead" text="Manufacturing has propelled into a completely new era post the pandemic. What do you consider as the biggest changes that transformed the industry during this period?">Manufacturing has propelled into a completely new era post the pandemic. What do you consider as the biggest changes that transformed the industry during this period?</cmsannotation> The COVID-19 pandemic was a revelation for the industry at large. It exposed the entire world, irrespective of their technology adoption, to deal with – rapidly-changing market conditions, a soaring global population requiring dependable supplies, and simultaneously, an increasingly urgent need for greater sustainability. With the global pandemic now in its third year, most business leaders continue to face significant challenges, but also unprecedented opportunities if fully realised. Digitalisation came forward as the clear gamechanger to tackle these challenges. The need to combine the real and digital worlds, including the entire value chains, became evident. Unlocking the full potential of digitalisation and automation with innovative solutions ensures lower costs, shorter production cycles, increase in resilience and makes carbon costs more transparent. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="While players have been rapidly adopting digitalisation and automation, what do you see as the most critical gaps of industrial digital transformation at this stage? How is Siemens collaborating with companies to help accelerate this goal?" comment="subhead" text="While players have been rapidly adopting digitalisation and automation, what do you see as the most critical gaps of industrial digital transformation at this stage? How is Siemens collaborating with companies to help accelerate this goal?">While players have been rapidly adopting digitalisation and automation, what do you see as the most critical gaps of industrial digital transformation at this stage? How is Siemens collaborating with companies to help accelerate this goal?</cmsannotation> All industries are feeling the pressure of digital transformation. We are addressing the challenges our customers face through deep, process-centric solutions. Siemens is delivering next-generation solutions to help manufacturers transform their operations through our concept of Digital Thread – which is a distinct, linked, traceable sequence of activities in the product or production lifecycle, that is digitised and automated. There are two dimensions to this digital integration. One is horizontal integration. It is the integration of the digital flow from the digital twin of the product through the digital twin of production, then to the real production and the digital twin of performance. And then we have the second one, the so-called vertical integration between OT (Operational Technology) and IT (Information Technology). Secure communication, resulting in a secure exchange of data between OT and IT, is the backbone of digitalisation. With our deep domain know-how and vertical experience, we are helping our customers create a blueprint for their digital transformation across these vertical and horizontal dimensions and co-create solutions. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in the industry often find it challenging to work with legacy systems and siloed approaches in a manufacturing environment. How is Siemens helping change this? Can you give us some examples?" comment="subhead" text="Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in the industry often find it challenging to work with legacy systems and siloed approaches in a manufacturing environment. How is Siemens helping change this? Can you give us some examples?">Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in the industry often find it challenging to work with legacy systems and siloed approaches in a manufacturing environment. How is Siemens helping change this? Can you give us some examples?</cmsannotation> With consumers wanting more customised products and markets being shorter-lived than ever, companies must plan for shorter innovation cycles than in the past. Production facilities need to be designed with enough resilience and flexibility to scale up, then scale down—often in record time. Brownfield optimization of existing facilities using adaptable technology is as important as repairing and retrofitting services, as well as data analysis and predictive services solutions. Software and software-enabled hardware are increasingly becoming key competitive factors in plants with limited resources and legacy equipment. Our <keyword id="2803209" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="digital-enterprise" source="Orion">Digital Enterprise</keyword> offerings address this across the entire value chain. The Digital Enterprise brings together processes that were previously separate. It breaks down traditional silos and helps bridge the gaps between software and hardware, IT and OT, shop floor and top floor. Recently, Siemens and BioNTech expanded our collaboration for rapid expansion and creation of production capacity for global COVID-19 vaccine production with our latest automation and digitalisation technology. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What were the key focus areas of Hannover Messe 2022, where future technologies are showcased?" comment="subhead" text="What were the key focus areas of Hannover Messe 2022, where future technologies are showcased?">What were the key focus areas of <keyword id="1942048" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="hannover-messe" source="Orion">Hannover Messe</keyword> 2022, where future technologies are showcased?</cmsannotation> This year we addressed the most persistent question of driving sustainable growth. Under the motto: “Let’s combine real and digital worlds for a sustainable tomorrow,” we showcased examples of how to achieve these goals and become a true Digital Enterprise. We demonstrated successful cases of using data more intelligently to combine the real and virtual worlds with the support of various technology highlights in the field of additive manufacturing, energy efficiency, digital twin, OT/IT convergence, artificial intelligence and data analytics, cybersecurity, electrification, industrial 5G, and industrial IoT from <keyword id="79174" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="edge" source="Orion">Edge</keyword> to cloud. As the highlight, we demonstrated how an electric car manufacturer is achieving performance and driving range goals, while also meeting sustainability and profitability targets using our solutions. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="How do you see digital twin as a technology and its adoption evolving in the coming days, especially, outside the manufacturing arena?" comment="subhead" text="How do you see digital twin as a technology and its adoption evolving in the coming days, especially, outside the manufacturing arena?">How do you see digital twin as a technology and its adoption evolving in the coming days, especially, outside the manufacturing arena?</cmsannotation> We see digital twin adoption in all kinds of organisations. However, its adoption in the manufacturing space is the most exciting. For example, Gartner expects over two-thirds of companies that have implemented IoT would have deployed at least one digital twin in production by 2022, to increase their effectiveness. Digital twin is simple and yet an immensely powerful interpretation of Industry 4.0. As a virtual representation of a product, production process, or performance, it enables the individual process stages to be seamlessly linked. This creates a consistent improvement in efficiency, minimises failure rates, shortens development cycles, and opens up new business opportunities. In other words, it creates a lasting competitive edge. Over the years, Siemens has shown the benefits of combining the real and digital worlds and how it works in practice. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="India is evolving as a global manufacturing hub. What does Siemens’ roadmap look like?" comment="subhead" text="India is evolving as a global manufacturing hub. What does Siemens’ roadmap look like?"><keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> is evolving as a global manufacturing hub. What does Siemens’ roadmap look like?</cmsannotation> The Indian manufacturers have the aptitude and attitude to meet the growing needs. Adopting the right technology can make India self-reliant. With digitalisation, <keyword id="150428" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="indian-industry" source="Orion">Indian Industry</keyword>, especially SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) can achieve constant technical progress as well as the competence to meet the changing requirements of both local and global markets. The openness to adopt the latest technologies like AI, Edge and other IIoT solutions will be critical to India’s desire to maintain pace with global best practices and technologies. Using our efficient, digital workflows, innovative technologies and our rich domain expertise, we are enabling our customers to react quickly to changing market requirements and increase productivity, efficiency, and quality - sustainably.

'Digital thread & digital twin tech will be game changers for manufacturing'

<ul><li>A <keyword id="15764516" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Great-Learning-study" source="Orion">Great Learning study</keyword> found that in 2022, building skills in data science was likely to result in 3x rise in salaries by 2040 compared to those who haven’t upskilled. </li><li>A marketing professional who upskills in 2022 will earn 100% more than her peers over a period of 10 years. </li><li>The industry recognises and pays a premium for relevant skills as compared to legacy skills. </li><li>An often-overlooked component of <keyword id="3554713" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="upskilling" source="Orion">upskilling</keyword> is developing the right set of social and professional contacts to unlock potential career moves.</li></ul>Every graduate has a moment of reckoning: after years of preparation and being tested, they’re ready to face the world and carve a career, hoping for instant success and believing they have the right combination to crack the job market. But being labelled a ‘fresher’ in a viciously cutthroat environment offers a sudden reality check for most wide-eyed, hopeful aspirants, bringing up real-world challenges and barriers that can be hugely dispiriting. Freshers have the odds stacked against them—employers logically seek experience, people who can get going right from day one, and personnel with proven track records. From an economic and viability standpoint, companies look to invest in reliability, as the long-term benefits of skilled employees outweigh the immediate low hiring costs associated with freshers. Up-and-coming hopefuls also lack inside perspective; you don’t simply learn organisational dynamics in a classroom. Intuitiveness comes from experience, and it’s little wonder graduates find it difficult to land their first jobs once out of college. Freshers also face the dreadful proposition of encountering a slow, uncertain post-pandemic job market that is still finding its feet as global volatility and economic unpredictability loom large. Companies and MNCs are either rescinding their offer letters or delaying their recruiting in the backdrop of new, more austere hiring practices, causing an onboarding bottleneck that’s proving challenging to get past. But, thankfully, it’s not all doom and gloom. Freshers can appeal to hirers, brush away more accomplished competition, and possibly skip bottlenecks by skilling up, reskilling and building a <keyword id="27676" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="portfolio" source="Orion">portfolio</keyword> of attractive abilities. A recent report by <keyword id="6559242" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="great-learning" source="Orion">Great Learning</keyword> has shown that professionals who invest in upskilling early on in their careers earn twice as much as their peers and receive significantly higher increments than them. They also gain financial independence much earlier than those who do not. The modern job market regards upskilling and reskilling very highly, as it is a way to stay up to date with a dynamic environment. Here are some steps that can help guide young professionals ready themselves for the job market: 1.Select your industry domain – Knowing which basket to keep your eggs in is crucial when it comes to an ever-changing environment. Traditionally, industries such as finance and technology have been regarded as high paying. With growing digitalisation, technology has emerged as one of the hottest sectors, especially with regard to new-age technologies such as data science, AI, ML, blockchain, etc. A Great Learning study found that in 2022, building skills in data science was likely to take salaries of professionals to 57.9 lakh per annum by 2040 - 3x that of peers who haven’t upskilled. Similarly, a marketing professional who upskills in 2022 will earn 100% more than her peers over a period of 10 years. 2.Build the right skills – Enhancing your skill sets can open up unimaginable new opportunities and streams of revenue for you. It can introduce you to a sea of domains and skills demanded by recruiters across the globe. For example, a software engineering professional with new-age skills can make up to 4x as much as her peers who have traditional knowledge and the same level of expertise. A professional who hasn’t upskilled will be able to build her retirement corpus only by the age of 60, whereas an upskilled professional would have accumulated her retirement fund by 50 years of age. This is because the industry recognises and pays a premium for relevant skills as compared to legacy skills. 3.Choose the right learning platform with research and a data-led approach – There are innumerable ways through which you can increase your knowledge capital. However, the focus needs to be on building capability rather than just receiving certification on paper. To achieve the highest aaknowledge. Many upskilling platforms have connections with hiring companies and provide dedicated placement assistance to help you make the best of your cutting-edge expertise. 4.Network for the win – An often-overlooked component of upskilling is developing the right set of social and professional contacts to unlock potential career moves. Once a candidate has updated her skill sets and zeroed in on an industry domain, the next stage is to connect with the industry through its peers and influencers – leverage employment-focused online platforms and engage with mentors and like-minded professionals; build a social network that is privy to your interests, profile, skills and creativity and caters to nurturing your professional relationships. Having the skills alone might not suffice, you’ll need to advertise them and show people why you’re qualified. Take advantage of the tools available, join groups and forums, and participate in events, connecting with a global network of established members. You stand to gain specific insights and tidbits you otherwise wouldn’t. And if you capture someone’s interest, you might find yourself at the receiving end of a recommendation or a possible job opportunity or two. Complement your networking by participating in industry-relevant programmes and live projects like hackathons and summits. They further provide an understanding of the inner workings of particular specialisations and are a great way to meet industry partners and stakeholders with similar goals and attitudes 5.Curate a relevant portfolio – A portfolio is your identity and speaks on your behalf before you’ve even personally met a prospective employer. As such, take a lot of care in ensuring that your portfolio is fresh, contemporary, and offers an inside view of your talents and abilities. Detail your experiences, don’t shy away from showcasing your wins, highlight tangible outcomes you’ve effected in projects, and give a sense of progression and your hunger to succeed. Update your CV with the skills you’ve picked up and let hirers know you’re up to the brief and have what it takes to work in the industry. And finally, prepare for interviews and possible curveballs and participate in career fairs to get a sense of the job market and what companies are looking for. The bottom line is to make smart choices, put in the effort, and ensure that the effort is aligned with your goals and the larger industry ecosystem. Investing in learning and building the right skills is a foolproof way to secure your position in the future. This not only guarantees access to more appropriate opportunities and prepares you for the most demanding moments of your career, you also draw better benefits and are always a couple of rungs above the rest of the contenders on the highly challenging and immensely crowded employment ladder. (The writer is the co-founder of Great Learning)

Skill up and stand out: How to crack a demanding job market in 2023

<keyword id="4343578" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Adani-Green" source="Orion">Adani Green</keyword> Energy Ltd (<keyword id="4621631" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AGEL" source="Orion">AGEL</keyword>), the world's largest solar power developer and the renewable energy arm of the diversified Adani Group, has received approval for being a member of the <keyword id="13121680" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="GRI-South-Asia-charter" source="Orion">GRI South Asia Charter</keyword> on <keyword id="13121679" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sustainability-Imperatives" source="Orion">Sustainability Imperatives</keyword>. AGEL had initiated this pursuit in response to a call from GRI by becoming a signatory to the GRI <keyword id="52011" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="south-asia" source="Orion">South Asia</keyword> charter in April 2021. Firming up its commitment, the company has now submitted a declaration with clearly identified UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) where it can make an impact in following years. These SDGs are aligned with AGEL's sustainability strategy and show its measurable impact. Organizations that sign up to the GRI Charter agree to uphold three principles: Compliance: Adhere to all applicable national and sub-national laws and regulations wherever they operate. Ethics and governance: Act with the highest ethical standards and integrity, taking decisions and implementing actions in good faith. Transparency and disclosure: Make public their performance on economic, environmental and social dimensions. "AGEL is committed to ramp up its sustainability performance and build credibility as an effective corporate citizen while strengthening internal data management and reporting systems," said Vneet S. Jaain, MD &amp; CEO, AGEL. "Sustainability is integrated into the business and is evident at each stage of the project cycle. Being a pure play renewable energy company, our business goals are in line with climate change concerns and global efforts to mitigate its impacts. Going beyond the obvious advantages of the green business, we have taken many initiatives to make this a responsible corporate organisation." Aditi Haldar, Director of GRI South Asia, said: "The GRI South Asia Charter commits organizations to increase their engagement in support of sustainable development, acting as a catalyst for responsible business practices. I am delighted that AGEL has committed to the aims of the Charter. I would encourage other organizations in India and the wider region to join with us and work together in support of a sustainable future for all." Understanding the three SDGs where AGEL is set to make an impact: SDG 7 which entails access to affordable, modern, and clean energy for all which is essentially reliable and sustainable. To achieve SDG 7, the average tariff across the portfolio will be lower than the national APPC. The cost reduction will be achieved by improvement of technology, optimisation of resources using IoT and machine learning related digital interventions. SDG 9 has a more investment appetite which calls on to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation, to achieve the ambitious goal of renewable capacity addition by keeping the average tariff below national level. In addition, many digital interventions like IoT, machine learning and innovations are in the pipeline. Digitalisation is perceived as the key to future-ready remote operations, improved efficiencies, resource optimisation and energy efficiency, leading to cost reduction and keeping tariffs competitive. SDG 13 encourages companies to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. AGEL has announced a target of having operating renewable energy generation capacity of 45 GW by 2030. AGEL has aligned its operations and capex plans to meet these objectives. Through these measures, the company is committed to mitigate climate change and contribute to global sustainable development goals. In our journey towards this goal, we displaced 14.64 million tCO2 until March 2021. The GRI South Asia Charter on Sustainability Imperatives - a unique creation by GRI South Asia Hub - is a clarion call for decision and action for business and its stakeholders. It is anchored to a framework of transparency and disclosure, as enshrined in the GRI Standards, and provides an ameliorating way out of the climate change quagmire. Given the Covid-19 recovery context, it is essential to focus on the SDGs and respond to the call to build back better while keeping in mind the underlying principle of leaving no one behind. The Charter serves as an important stimulus to implement sustainability-oriented imperatives that help to realise the UN Sustainable Development Goals by the end of the current decade. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/meesho-allows-employees-to-permanently-work-from-anywhere/articleshow/89404646.cms">Meesho allows employees to permanently work from anywhere</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/bank-of-baroda-surges-10-as-net-profit-doubles-aims-to-grow-loan-book-by-12-next-year/articleshow/89404686.cms">Bank of Baroda surges 10% as net profit doubles, aims to grow loan book by 12% next year</a>

Adani Green gets GRI South Asia charter member status

<ul><li>Finance Minister <keyword id="129243" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nirmala-sitharaman" source="Orion">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> announced that the government will set up an Animation, Visual Effects, <keyword id="6357332" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="gaming" source="Orion">Gaming</keyword> and Comics (<keyword id="1920258" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="avgc" source="Orion">AVGC</keyword>) promotion task force for boosting talent in the animation and gaming sector.</li><li>We speak to experts from the industry to understand the larger implications of the move and how it will help the industry.</li></ul>During her Union Budget speech yesterday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the government will set up an Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) promotion task force for boosting talent in the animation and gaming sector. Sitharaman said the AVGC sector will provide a huge opportunity for young professionals and also create new job opportunities for the youth. “The AVGC sector offers immense potential to employ youth. An AVGC Promotion taskforce with all stakeholders will be set up to recommend ways to realize this and build domestic capacity for serving our markets and the global demand,” Sitharaman said during her speech. The move is expected to attract new talent and give them the required support to take the AVGC sector global. The AVGC sectors, and especially the gaming industry has been witnessing a healthy growth. Most industry reports have predicted that the next few years will contribute to immense growth for the industry. A recent report by Sequoia India and BCG had said that while the gaming industry in India is currently smaller than that of the US and China and is 1% of the global gaming market, it is generating $1.5 billion revenue and is expected to triple to over $5 billion by 2025 on the back of the ‘mobile first’ phenomenon. So the government’s move comes at an opportune time. To understand the larger implications of the move, we spoke to experts from the gaming industry and here’s how they thought the government's move will give a boost to the segment: <keyword id="2388996" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sai-srinivas" source="Orion">Sai Srinivas</keyword>, Co-Founder and CEO, Mobile Premier League It is very encouraging to see that the Union Budget has taken into consideration some of the long-pending suggestions for the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics (AVGC) sector, while noting the strong potential this industry holds for employment-generation as well as taking ‘Made in India’ game titles global. We welcome the Hon’ble Finance Minister's announcement to set up an AVGC Promotion Task Force to provide a much-needed boost to the sector. This announcement highlights the need to build capacity to serve both domestic and global markets, and is a strong indicator of the impetus that the government is willing to provide for its growth. It is also heartening to see the government's commitment to work with the industry, allowing for a balanced approach that accommodates the needs of all stakeholders and strengthens the ecosystem holistically. A progressive tax regime, predictable regulatory framework and supportive funding policies will allow the industry to compete on the world stage and fulfil the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision for the Indian digital gaming sector to be a global powerhouse. Moreover, it will also help develop a workforce of young and employable AVGC professionals to usher in the next tech revolution from within India. With a renewed focus on the AVGC sector, blended financing for deep tech and IT, hardware and electronics manufacturing combined with deployment of 5G and affordable internet in underserved areas, it is clear that the government is committed to take the Indian startup ecosystem to the next level. We are hopeful that with the positive support of the government, the coming years will see online gaming, VFX and esports startups leading the charge in the global economy. By developing deep tech intellectual property and exporting services, they can help cement India’s position as a world leader in the sector. Rajan Navani, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, JetSynthesys I strongly welcome the formation of a AVGC task force for promotion, something that we as an industry have been pushing for a long time. It is high time that animation, visual effects and gaming are recognised as an industry because of the sheer potential that they carry. Skyrocketing further owing to the pandemic, these industries have the power to create large employment as well as give Indian gaming companies an opportunity to become globally competitive and play an increasingly larger role at a global level. Building a task force that will address the needs of this industry across various ministries would be a very proactive approach towards strengthening this industry, in my opinion. The aim to rollout 5G services in FY 2022-23 along with affordable broadband services and efficient connectivity to allow equal access to e-services in remote and urban areas has also been long due. The focus of Hon FM on new emerging technologies particularly like Blockchain and AI, a word which was repeated several times during the speech is again a very positive move to show that digitalisation is truly the future, and a strong focus area for government. Digitalisation was applied across agriculture, healthcare, skills, education and appeared in various shapes and forms throughout the budget speech. Additionally, the national tele-mental health programme is a great initiative by the government as the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the mental health of people to an unfathomable extent. Various channels and platforms like ThinkRight.me by JetSynthesys and others in the space can together help tackle India's mental health issues. In all, we’re truly excited about the future of digital India and what this means to JetSynthesys which is here to play a key role in the daily digital lives of a billion Indians. As a country, we hope to move forward with jet speed and transform our country into an atmanirbhar, technologically and digitally forward nation. Vishwalok Nath, Director, World Esports Cup We welcome the steps by the Finance Minister of India as part of Budget 2022-2023 including the creation of the AVGC task force. We hope that this task force can help promote the creation of a robust infrastructure for game development with gradual benefits to the esports community. We are also looking forward to the 5G spectrum auction this year. 5G can further promote the latest innovations and mass adoption of technologies like cloud gaming in the country. There is a huge scope of employment for the youth in the gaming industry. Esports/Video Games is a versatile industry and there is a huge scope for professional gamers as well as other jobs like casters, commentators, and other support staff appointed by the esports tournaments like producers, editors, analysts, product managers, game testers, referees, production crew members, event managers, social media managers, etc. Lokesh Suji, Director, Esports Federation of India &amp; Vice President, Asian Esports Federation It is encouraging to finally see the seriousness from our Government towards this sector which has been long neglected. This will definitely help in setting up the policies which would encourage and build our capacities and capabilities to export to the rest of the world; leading to more domestic video game development studios and more investments in the AVGC sector. Spectrum auctions for 5G is a welcome move for the gaming industry as well, 5G can disrupt the industry by enhancing the live streaming of games and cloud gaming as well. The task force should consist largely of people who have been part of the ‘Video Game’ industry and are playing an active role in shaping up the Indian video game industry. <keyword id="263906" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jehil-thakkar" source="Orion">Jehil Thakkar</keyword>, Partner and Media and Entertainment Sector Leader, Deloitte India The setting up of the AVGC promotion task force announced in the Union Budget will help India achieve its potential of achieving 20 lakh jobs according to Deloitte projections. These are critical skills for growth of the metaverse and India is poised to take advantage of this ecosystem. Sagar Nair, Co-Founder &amp; CEO, Qlan It is this continued acceptance that will lead to the progress of the Indian gaming and esports industry. First was esports’ entry in the Asian Games as an official event followed by a government dedicated task force to work with the AVGC sector. I have no doubt that these initiatives as part of the national budget policy highlight the true potential of the Indian gaming &amp; esports segment not only in India but also on the global circuit. The statement clearly indicates the backing of homegrown game developers, tournament organizers, and esports companies and recommendations from the appointed task force will help build domestic capacity for serving out markets and the global demand as well. Sunil Yadav, CEO, PlayerzPot The AVGC sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in India, and attracts a huge interest from a large cross section of the population. The announcement of the new AVGC task force is a welcome one, as we expect it will help to build domestic capacity and also serve the global demand. The task force has come at the right time, for those pursuing a career in gaming as the sector is booming right now and needs more talented youngsters to grow. With the government introducing digital rupee and a visible trend in crypto adoption, NFT’s will grow significantly. 5G services auction within FY 22-23 across the country will play an important role in the growth by further penetrating in the markets and also enhancing the gaming experience. As the honorable minister mentioned in her budget presentation, the gaming sector has the potential to become the torchbearer of 'Create in India' &amp; 'Brand India', on the same lines we were hoping for transparent and progressive regulation that will help differentiate games of skill from those of chance, because this is a key area of concern for the industry as a whole. Dilsher Singh Malhi, Founder &amp; CEO, Zupee The creation of the AVGC promotion task force is a welcome move. The initiative with industry participation will help in establishing uniform, progressive policies that will promote growth and investments in the sector, which in turn, will lead to job creation, revenue generation, and engagement opportunities. This will be a crucial step towards bridging the digital divide and unlocking a fully connected and empowered digital India. We believe that this initiative will pave the way for the Indian gaming industry to establish itself on a global stage. Rahul Tewari, Chief Financial Officer, Games24x7 The gaming industry welcomes the decision to set up a task force for Animation, Visual Effect, Gaming and Comics. AVGC taskforce can provide the long-term policy impetus and bring together the various stakeholders to turbocharge the vibrant ecosystem in gaming and animation. India has a deep and very high-quality talent pool of developers and creative artists who will transform India into a global player in the interactive entertainment space in the coming years. We hope this paves way for regularity clarity for gaming, a sector that has contributed immensely to India’s start-up success in the last few years. Manish Agarwal, CEO, Nazara Technologies Ltd. The government’s announcement of an AVGC task force to seek recommendation to create the way forward is a welcome move. As we know, India presently commands around 10% of the global AVGC market and has the potential to reach 20-25% by 2027. This taskforce will facilitate employment for the youth, build domestic capacity to serve the Indian markets and also meet global demand. <keyword id="3471731" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="roland-landers" source="Orion">Roland Landers</keyword>, CEO, The All-India Gaming Federation I am pleased that the government has announced a progressive budget; stating the gaming industry as a sector that generates various job opportunities for the youth while boosting the economy of the country. The ideas proposed for the sector are very encouraging. We are thrilled and look forward to the AVGC task force that will give a major boost to the game development sector by building scale and adding to the overall online skill gaming industry’s momentum. AIGF and the skill games council of domain experts will be happy to assist, if need be, in playing a consultative role for the same Likewise, the tax extension to four years will benefit the entire start-up ecosystem in online gaming which is in the excess of 300 companies. Furthermore, the Hon’ble FM’s announcement of the digital rupee launch will increase purchases of virtual goods in games through microtransactions. Finally, 5G auctions when implemented will enhance the gamer experience dramatically as well as facilitate the adoption of new technologies in gaming. Overall, the budget has opened more avenues for the gaming industry.

The gaming industry lauds the government’s decision to set up an Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics promotion task force

<ul><li>Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for 2022-23 in Parliament on Tuesday.</li><li>This year's budget is indexed towards startups, MSMEs, infrastructure projects, rural revival, digital payment apps, telecom growth and affordable housing.</li><li>We reached out to digital, media and creative agencies to understand how the increased focus on digitalisation, sustainability, blockchain and push to MSME can impact the ad and marketing industry.</li></ul>Be it the introduction of a Digital University to make education accessible across the country or the proposed launch of a Digital currency by the Reserve Bank of India to the government’s focus on promoting digital payments and fintech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made it is clear that digital is the way forward. The Union Budget 2022-23 aims to boost the country's digital infrastructure and enable a cashless economy. The government also announced that it will set up an Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) promotion task force to give a push to the animation and gaming industry. To facilitate the roll-out of 5G mobile services in India, FM Sitharaman said that Spectrum auctions will be conducted in 2022. This, in turn, will give impetus to Voice, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality and pave the way for the Metaverse. The Digital Rupee using blockchain will help Indians accept virtual currency and accelerate cryptocurrency exchange in India. Overall, the budget also shows a promise for Electric Vehicle brands, digital payment apps, MSMEs, gaming industry and start-ups. We reached out to digital, media and creative agencies to understand how the increased focus on digitalisation, sustainability and blockchain can impact the advertising and marketing industry. Here’s what they said: Anupriya Acharya, South Asia CEO, Publicis Groupe: The Budget is positive, growth-oriented and with reforms in the right direction. The advent of 5G is sure to transform communications – for our industry it will help creation of better AV, voice and AR/VR experiences. It will also fuel digital payments, streaming entertainment, gaming, e-commerce, tele-medicine etc which in turn will aid more Unicorns! It is also heartening to note that a special Task Force is being set up for AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comic) as this will help us build the much needed capacity both for domestic as well as global markets. And then there have been no changes in income-tax slabs for people, which many consumer segments were worried about. This in turn boosts consumer sentiment. From e-passports, to battery swapping for electric vehicles, setting up of optic fiber in the remotest of villages, setting up of a digital university and skilling through an e-portal, the big push is for technology, digital infrastructure and empowerment. Narayan Devanathan, Chief Client Officer, dentsu India: Having gone through the 38-page document of the Finance Minister’s budget speech, I decided to do a search for a couple of words that I thought kept repeating throughout her speech. The words “will be” occurred 110 times in the entire speech. When I narrowed my search to the single word “will,” the number rose to 362. To me, those two words sum up the essence of what this year’s budget is and is not. What it is, is a future-focused budget, aiming at the distant vision of India@100, with a 25-year Amrit Kaal lead-up. What it is not, and what I felt was sorely needed this year of all years, is a present-focused budget. A punishing 2021 for the aam aadmi with more-than-usual expenditure on health and sustenance meant the general populace was looking for immediate relief that would place more cash in their household budgets. That did not happen. Nor was there any extraordinary investment in relieving the healthcare expenditure burden. For all the importance of farmers in upcoming poll-bound states, there was neither major sop nor stimulus given to back the importance of agriculture as a spine if not engine of the economy. Even the MSME sectors were only handed a slightly longer lease of life with the extension of the ECLGS, but there was no real move to stimulate consumption by placing more cash at consumers’ disposal, for example, extending LTA claims to restaurants (and not just accommodation). There is perhaps plenty for the industry to cheer about since it can afford to think about the future and a slightly longer term than just the here and now of survival. The stock market did cheer up even before the FM’s speech, but that only served to underscore the dichotomy between the real health of the population and the Minority of Haves. When the general population probably can’t afford to wait for the benefits of trickle-down economics to reach them in yet another trying year, the dreams and wheels of a consumer-driven economy might move slower than the industry might like, despite the many future-facing and progressive policies announced. Virat Tandon, Group CEO, MullenLowe Lintas Group: The union budget can be termed as consistent with the government's vision to reach the 5 trillion GDP mark by 2025-26. Hence, the strong focus on capex to boost infrastructure that connects and streamlines middle India and provides the engines of entrepreneurship across the length and breadth of the country. It also shows India's commitment to bring a digital first economy with the 5G rollout planned for next financial year, clarity on India's policy for cryptocurrency, data centres, EVs and our very own digital Rupee. Start-up culture will continue to flourish with the right policy framework. These investments and policies will generate jobs and go a long way in inclusive and sustainable growth for Bharat. Anurag Bansal, COO &amp; CFO, DDB Mudra Group: This Union Budget looks neutral, with no major changes in taxation. The launch of digital Rupee based on blockchain technology is a big move to bring in official cryptocurrency in India. New e-passports with embedded chips would definitely ease overseas travel. Managing the Fiscal deficit while pushing for growth and investments is a great balancing act taken on by the government. It will give a boost to capital investments and infrastructure development. Kartik Sharma - Group Chief Executive Officer – India, Omnicom Media Group: With an impetus on holistic growth, developing infrastructure and job creation across sectors, the 2022 union budget shows promise with a focus on the big picture. Reviving economic growth in the post-pandemic environment has been a focus for this government and this progressive, digital-first, and development-oriented budget reflects that. Not only does it provide a boost to the MSME, agriculture and healthcare verticals, but also signals that investing in infrastructure today will connect India better tomorrow. With an increased focus on digitization, some of the standouts for me were that the budget recognized the current gaps and opportunities within the education sector, and is advancing towards uplifting India with the creation of a digital ecosystem - one that is focused on upskilling and creating more employment; aligned with the dynamic needs of today. It also aims to further strengthen communications in the rural sector and build upon the overall financialization of India. Furthermore, while the rollout of a 5G ecosystem will improve the quality of services, the launch of digital money, supported by blockchain, signals an increasing focus on transparency. With consistency in strategic direction and focus on propelling the MSME and start-up ecosystem, this is a welcoming budget for new-age businesses and a hopeful one that will ultimately lead to a boost in the A&amp;M industry as well. We're at the cusp of the next stage of India's digital revolution and although certain factors like data privacy still remain an area to be delved deeper into, as infrastructure and banking penetrate further into rural India, we’re looking hopeful and strong to transform into a forward-leaning digital economy of tomorrow.” Deepak Mittal, CEO and Co-Founder, TO THE NEW: The government's unprecedented commitment to technology innovation and adoption in this union budget is highly encouraging. Breakthrough developments and futuristic technology such as the introduction of digital currency, the rollout of 5G within FY22-23, and e-passports using embedded chips are exciting for the country's future. Among the measures announced, the budget highlights special incentives to startups and the launch of a progressive, new portal encouraging a digital ecosystem for skilling and upskilling. These initiatives will serve as a successful catalyst for the country's economic growth. Atul Shrivastava, Group CEO &amp; Executive Director at Laqshya Media Group: The union Budget underlined the government’s focus on long-term growth. As India’s economic growth is estimated to be 9.2% in the upcoming financial year so it would be good for all the industry and with overall growth, we are sure advertising &amp; media will also show remarkable growth which was low due to the pandemic in the last couple of years. As announced the National Highways to be expanded by 25,000 km under PM Gati Shakti mission. Highways are adding a new dimension to the growth of the OOH Industry as advertising on the Highways is emerging as very strong choice for brand building for many categories. Prasad Shejale, Founder and CEO, Logicserve Digital: The FM has announced a very progressive budget with an intention to widen India's horizons and outlook in the next five years, leveraging emerging technologies. The Government has addressed some urgent priorities underpinning the digital sector, including the launch of digital currency, API-based skill credentials, digital learning channels, digitization of manual processes, etc. On the digital connectivity front, the 5G spectrum auctions will finally make the dream of a tech-savvy India a reality, further boosting the country's digital infrastructure. Additionally, the launch of a design-led manufacturing scheme for the 5G ecosystem as part of the PLI scheme will ensure affordable broadband and mobile communication even in far-flung areas. The availability of high-speed internet connectivity in urban as well as rural areas will encourage marketers to experiment with blockchain, AR, VR. On the skilling front, initiatives like establishing a digital university will provide an opportunity for youth to learn new skills from the comfort of their homes. The creation of a new task force to build domestic capacity in the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comic (AVGC) sector is commendable. The overall budget is future tech-enabled and balanced. Ahmed Aftab Naqvi, Global CEO &amp; Co-founder, GOZOOP Group: While there will always be hope for more and better, the continued push towards digital, fintech and the boost for start-up ecosystem with the extension of tax benefits till March 2023 along with capping the surcharge at 15% irrespective of the amount of long term capital gains, will fuel the fire of entrepreneurship in our nation. Varun Duggirala, Entrepreneur, Co-founder of The Glitch, Author, Content Creator and a Podcaster: The twin announcements of the digital rupee and the taxation on ‘virtual digital assets’ is clearly a focused drive from the government to regulate the crypto space. What needs to be seen is how this plays out because regulating a decentralized space is a paradox in itself. Another point that stood out for me was the national mental health program. More than anything else it signifies the normalizing of mental health as a legitimate area of focus for us as a nation. Shrenik Gandhi, CEO and Co-founder, White Rivers Media: In my opinion, it is a fairly balanced budget. There is sufficient emphasis being laid on up-skilling, and making right investments in tech which is the need of the hour. The previous budget was more inclined towards setting up a strong foundation in the digital space, and this one is essentially focused on making further advancements. Besides, Digital Rupee being introduced is indeed, a great news across sectors and it will be exciting to finally watch it become a reality. It can prove to be a game-changer in India's future as transactions will become even more instantaneous. Speaking of the expected benefits, let’s not forget that this is India’s #Budget and not a Big Bazaar scheme announcement. So, the immediate benefit may not be seen right now but considering the long-term narrative, it is a fairly established budget. Sahil Chopra, Founder &amp; CEO- iCubesWire: While the general trend of the <keyword id="12134566" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="union-budget-2022" source="Orion">union budget 2022</keyword> has its emphasis on ease of doing business, I strongly believe, data and digital occupied the centerpiece of the budget. The plans to focus and promote the fintech and digital economy are a very strong positive move. New age technologies, keeping data and digital at heart of it will allow the tech enablers to transform multiple industries. For MSMEs, the government has plans to outlay Rs 2 trillion which is again a welcoming move that will help in enhancing startups as well as entrepreneurial opportunities for all. Besides, extension on tax exemption to startups and promotion of startups to facilitate ‘Drone Shakti’ through varied applications and drones as a service is also encouraging. The ambitious optical fibre to the villages under PPP in 2022-23 shall get the next 100M in the Digital Universe soon. To sum up, it’s a positive budget for the digital sector which has always vouched for a strong digital infrastructure in the country." Chetan Asher, Founder and CEO, Tonic Worldwide: The budget clearly will help the country march towards digital adoption and transformation in many sectors. With 5G rollout on the cards we will see an acceleration across the board. The digital rupee will put India right up on the map of advanced digital economies. Clarity on Digital assets and crypto will give it new impetus. All of these initiatives will help us emerge as leaders in adoption and growth of blockchain technology Ambika Sharma, Founder &amp; MD, Pulp Strategy: The Budget is interesting as the Government has focused on all sectors. The financial support for the digital payments ecosystem is a welcome move and further reaffirms the Government of India's digital banking push. This push on digitization will make way for more inclusion in the ecosystem. The focus on 'Ease of doing business is a great step, as it will further promote entrepreneurship in the economy” . The 2022-23 budget finely balanced fiscal retreat with supporting economic recovery. The budget focused on a familiar strategy of driving capital expenditure to drive growth, to crowd in private investment through higher public spending. Although markets could be disappointed with a higher fiscal deficit of 6.4% of GDP for FY23 than expected, it is perhaps prudent to not undertake aggressive fiscal consolidation at this nascent stage of recovery. While elevated market borrowings are likely to pressurize bond yields, the inclusion of green bonds in the borrowing plan is an interesting innovation. In terms of specific policy announcements, the move towards self-reliance through protection for domestic manufacturers (change in custom and import duties) aligns with the long-term goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat. The government has extended the startup tax holiday and concessional tax for manufacturing startups by a year. While that was on the cards, it doesn’t address the core need of startups to be given a longer tax holiday of 5 years as required. One of the most encouraging aspects of the budget has been the announcement to set up an AVGC (animation, visual effects, gaming, and comics) promotion task force to plan and build domestic capacity for serving domestic as well as global markets. Loss from the transfer of virtual digital assets cannot be set off against any other income. The creation of a unified logistics platform and the developments of 100 new cargo terminals in the next three years are significant steps in improving the supply chain ecosystem in the country. Infrastructure status given to Data Centers will provide a huge boost to the fast-evolving digital environment of the country. The fiscal outcome is broadly in line with our expectations with the government having continued its focus on infrastructure and rural demand. Himanshu Arya, Founder and CEO, Grapes: The Union Budget for the financial year 2022-23 has set the stage with an invigorated focus on ramping up the process of the digital revolution. The government’s focus on the digital ecosystem is a progressive move to render an inclusive landscape for job openings and entrepreneurial opportunities. The extension of tax incentives for startups for one more year will give a slight relief to the industry. I hope that the cash flow improves in the market. The Union Budget has various encouraging initiatives and is directed towards a more viable and flexible business ecosystem that completely aligns with the ideologies of Make in India. Siddharth Devnani, Co-Founder &amp; Director, SoCheers: Digital and digitization stood out as a strong overall trend in the Union Budget 2022. The budget put a great focus on long-term growth and given how intricately ‘digital’ was integrated into several measures, it can be seen as an integral part of that growth. Implementation of the Central Bank digital currency will definitively aid the growth of digital economy and finance in the country, opening doors for digital acceleration across sectors. The announcement about the new digital university and the renewed focus on digital learning, further presents an opportunity, especially to the fast-evolving Educational Technology sector. However, a definite plan on how this will pan out for all corners of India remains to be seen. Moreover, digital will also be leveraged in the set-up and operation of tele-mental health centres, providing the necessary focus and access to mental health services to the Indian masses. This comes as one of the most welcome move as it’ll contribute infinitely to the nation’s long-term growth.

The advertising industry voices its enthusiasm about the government’s steps towards boosting digital ecosystem in Union Budget 2022-23

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Alexandra DaoTech billionaire and venture capitalist, Tej Kohli.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Tej Kohli is a London-based billionaire tech entrepreneur and philanthropist who made the majority of his fortune through the e-commerce and real estate industries.</li><li>Kohli now serves as executive chairman of his eponymous VC firm, Kohli Ventures, which focuses on firms in the fields of artificial intelligence, genomics, robotics, biotech, and e-sports.</li><li>Speaking to Business Insider, Kohli explained the two simple qualities he requires of every company he invests in - scalability and the potential to change the world.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime?module=article&amp;area=summary&amp;r=US&amp;IR=T">Click here for more BI Prime stories.</a></li></ul>Tech billionaire and VC Tej Kohli says there are two specific qualities he looks for in every firm he invests in - scalability and the potential to change the world.Kohli made the bulk of his fortune through e-commerce, building a portfolio of white-label tech and payment processing providers in the 1990s. He now invests in tech firms through his VC firm, Kohli Ventures.Speaking to Business Insider about how startups can persuade him to part with his cash, Kohli said: "The company has to be scalable, and it has to be beneficial to other human beings."Elaborating on his view, Kohli cited Detraxi, a US-based biotech startup developing artificial blood, which Kohli says his VC firm has backed as part of a $100 million funding commitment."[A company can] look so exciting, but at the same time, you have to look at the people who are behind it. You have to look at how scalable it is. If Detraxi works anything close to what we say, it's life-changing for the whole world. It's the greatest invention since the light bulb," he says.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Joern Pollex/Getty ImagesKohli said artificial blood could be "the greatest invention since the light-bulb."</div></div></div>He also cited Rewired, a robotics-focused venture capital firm <a href="https://www.businesscloud.co.uk/news/london-entrepreneur-tej-kohli-pours-100m-into-ai-ventures">which Kohli invested $100 million dollars into</a> last June."Let's look at Rewired's acquisitions," said Kohli. "Rewired has <a href="https://born2invest.com/articles/redefining-humanity-future-bionic-prosthetics/">acquired a company, Open Bionics, that makes prosthetic arms</a>. We have invested in many companies which all have some kind of an application which can scale up hugely, indefinitely.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-billionaire-tej-kohli-says-children-will-live-to-125-2019-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">Tech billionaire Tej Kohli says his children will live to at least 125 years old because of tiny robots, DNA reprogramming, and artificial blood</a>"At this stage of my life, I look at how companies can better other people's lives. That doesn't have to be exclusive from profitability. Both things can work together at the same time. I try to look for both those elements to the extent that it is possible."<h2>Kohli hunts for the "six Ds of exponential growth"</h2>Kohli adheres to the so-called "six Ds of exponential growth" when weighing up at possible investments. First conceived by fellow entrepreneurs Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler, the 'six Ds' is a business theory which <a href="https://singularityhub.com/2016/11/22/the-6-ds-of-tech-disruption-a-guide-to-the-digital-economy/">holds that tech firms that end up growing exponentially share six key attributes</a>.Kohli explains: "Every new business has to be digitalised. It has to be disruptive. It has to be demonetized - when Google and Facebook were made, they never thought about how much money they were going to make. They just wanted eyeballs, and they got them. Now, of course, they make more money than anyone."They have to be dematerialised - you have phones with all these apps. They are deceptive with their growth [as exponential growth is deceptively slow at first]. And, of course, they have to be democratized."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">GettyIn November 2018, Kohli entered the e-sports space.</div></div></div>Another investment Kohli views as meeting these criteria comes from the burgeoning e-sports industry. <a href="https://esportsinsider.com/2018/11/team-vitality-tej-kohli-investment/">In November 2018, Kohli invested $22 million (€22 million) in Team Vitality</a>, a Paris-based e-sports team.In June, Team Vitality <a href="https://media.group.renault.com/global/en-gb/renault/media/pressreleases/21229275/sur-le-toit-du-monde-renault-sport-team-vitality-champion-du-monde-2019-sur-rocket-league">won the world championship</a> for the hit video game Rocket League - a game which had an estimated 50 million players worldwide as of last year.<a href="https://www.emarketer.com/content/esports-disrupts-digital-sports-streaming">According to the market research firm, eMarketer</a>, the global audience for e-sports in 2018 was roughly 400 million.Kohli said: "I would suggest that it'll be at one billion very soon, and as I've said in another interview, that's good enough for me. My job is, at this stage, is to [establish] what I see as the most advanced technologies and how they affect people. Coming from the e-commerce era, in the 1990s and so on, it was all about eyeballs. E-sports is also about eyeballs." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/robotic-farm-uses-90-less-water-than-traditional-farming-2018-10">This robotic farm uses 90% less water than traditional farming</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Billionaire tech VC Tej Kohli says startups must have a vision as grand as inventing the light bulb to get his cash

Defence Minister <keyword id="6363133" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Manohar-Parrikar">Manohar Parrikar</keyword> alerted the Army against "information blackout" as he sought enhanced capabilities to ensure protection from disruptive <keyword id="6361792" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="cyber-attacks">cyber attacks</keyword> or manipulations. 
 Parrikar also cited the example of the terrorist organization <keyword id="174501" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="ISIS">ISIS</keyword>, which he said, was "one of the best user of internet technology" for promoting their cause. 
 
The Defence Minister said a resurgent India will increasingly play a dominant role in the world affairs. 
 "The world that we as a nation will be interacting with is increasingly fraught with turbulence and will call for dominant military might. We need to develop technology and system appropriate to evolving military doctrine," Parrikar said addressing the DEFCOM seminar here organised by the Corps of Signal of the <keyword id="6354416" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indian-Army">Indian Army</keyword> and the CII. 
 
He said that Information Technology (IT) has an important role to play because "future wars may be cyber wars". 
 
Parrikar, however, asserted that boots on the ground cannot be replaced. "Ultimately conventional armies cannot be replaced but they can be equipped with equipment which will provide them with all the information to fight with a well decided and well planned way without getting interrupted." 
 
Speaking about the need for proper use of the developing internet technology, Parrikar said, "One can take the example of terrorist organisations like Daish or ISIS. They use the internet to ensure a lot of recruitment or support, and they are one of the best users of internet technology for promoting their cause." 
 
He said his worry was information blackout which can be caused by various destructive mechanisms. 
 
"Information corruption can be another danger to the platform which we use," he said adding that information overload is also a problem. 
 
"Because of Information Technology, you can get so much information that getting vital information out of that becomes something like finding a needle in a haystack," the minister said. 
 
He said while we progress through IT and make a more digitalised army, the danger is of disruption through cyber attacks by the enemy. "We need to enhance our capabilities to ensure that they are protected from such disruptive cyber attacks or cyber manipulations," he said. 
 
Parrikar said the Indian Army should not only use the digital advantage but also protect itself against destructive technology of adversaries. Noting that India has been at the forefront of software development, he said one needs better hardware designing and integration in our system. 
 
Parrikar also said that the new Defence Procurement Procedure was at an "advanced stage", and he expects it to be in place in the near future. 
 
He said the government's effort is to have as much as indigenisation as possible. 
 
The minister, however, said that it cannot happen overnight because even with best efforts, only 10 per cent increase can be achieved. 
 Underlining that the government has been pushing very hard, he assured the industry and the armed forces that the government is focusing on <keyword id="6354869" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="make-in-India">Make in India</keyword>. 
 
"Our effort will be to depend on indigenously manufactured items because for a very rare eventuality in a war, you can really depend on your own resources," he said. 
 
(Image credit: BCCL)

Manohar Parrikar calls ISIS one of the best users of internet technology, warns Army against information blackout

Welcome to The Fintech Briefing, a morning email providing the latest news, data, and insight into disruptive fintech in Europe and around the world, produced by <a href="https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/" target="_blank">BI Intelligence</a>.Want to receive The Fintech Briefing to your inbox? Enter your email in the box below.<form action="http://e.businessinsider.com/s/Fintech+Briefing" method="post" target="_blank"><label>Email:</label> <button style="border: none; padding: 6px 8px; vertical-align: top; font-family: helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; text-transform: uppercase; color: #fff; background: #ff722d;" type="submit" value="Subscribe">Subscribe</button></form>THE PROSPECT OF DYNAMIC PRICING IN ALT LENDING: In a two-part blog post, Pascal Bouvier, a partner at Santander InnoVentures, and Ghela Boskovich, the director of strategic development at Zafin, argue that dynamic pricing would be beneficial to financial institutions, and alternative lenders may offer it in the future.Dynamic pricing is the flexible pricing of products based on context. It can take into account things like the day of the week, time of the day, and location as well as detailed information about a particular customer. Airline ticket prices and Uber surge pricing are examples.It would be beneficial to banks and alt lenders. Competition is heating up in financial services simply because digital channels give consumers more information and options about the products they are considering. Regulators are also keen to make it easier for consumers to access these products in order to stimulate competition. To win new customers and keep existing customers, legacy players and new entrants could price products more competitively with dynamic pricing, taking into account variables like the lifetime value of the customer.But it's not that simple. Boskovich and Bovier argue that legacy banks probably won't offer dynamic pricing and alt lenders might, but they'll have to offer more products first.<ul><li>Risk-based products have a price-elasticity problem: Consumers of loans are very price sensitive, and that doesn't leave much variability in pricing for financial institutions to play with, at least for a single product. </li><li>It might work for firms that offer multiple products: For a financial institution that offers multiple products such as mortgages, personal loans, and credit cards, customer loyalty becomes more important because the lifetime value of the customer is higher; they'll likely use more than one product throughout the course of the relationship. That means there is more flexibility in the pricing of one product within the context of the others.</li><li>Traditional banks probably won't offer dynamic pricing: These firms do offer multiple products, but their core systems, organizational structures, and management incentives are typically siloed. Those silos would need to be overcome to launch a dynamic pricing strategy since information would need to be shared between teams.</li><li>Alt lenders might be able to do it if they offered more products: Alt lenders don't have the silo problem that legacy banks have, and they could offer other products like cards. That said, if they offer more products and then dynamic pricing, they'll likely attract the attention of regulators, which could become another hurdle. </li></ul>We simplified the authors' arguments to make this a quick, digestible read. If you want to dig in, you can find <a href="http://finiculture.com/a-business-case-for-dynamic-pricing-in-banking/" target="_blank">part I here</a> and <a href="http://finiculture.com/dynamic-pricing-in-alternative-lending-p2p-lending/?utm_campaign=Tradestreaming&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=Tradestreaming_60" target="_blank">part II here</a>. GOCARDLESS GETS £13 MILLION ($18 MILLION): UK-based online payments company GoCardless enables businesses to accept recurring payments pulled directly from a customer's account (direct debit). GoCardless will use the funding to further expand globally - it's currently active in Europe and Scandinavia. The company also announced that it is processing £1 billion in volume and 10 million in payments per year for over 16,000 merchants. That means average transaction size is about £100. Norton Capital led the funding round, which included Balderton Capital, Accel Partners, and Passion Capital.Global fintech funding has slowed. Global fintechs have seen about £35 billion ($50 billion) in investment in the last five years, but from the data we've seen and most everyone we've talked to, funding is drying up. The number of fintech deals hit a peak of 169 in Q2 2015, and in Q4 2015, fintech funding hit its lowest point since Q3 2014 at only £1.2 billion ($1.7 billion). There are a number of factors driving this trend, including increasing risk due to political and economic trends. Fintech has also received a lot of funding and investors are now looking to see what floats. But regardless of funding trends, disruption in financial services is a certainty. That's because the innovative products that fintechs are building provide a better user experiences than what is currently available, and regulators are opening up the market so that the firms that offer these products can challenge legacy players.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="BI Intelligence" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56f8c865dd08955d6a8b468a-960/global fintech deals.png"></a>BI Intelligence</div></div></div>MEET US AT MONEY20/20 EUROPE: BI Intelligence analysts will be at Money20/20 Europe. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/meet-business-insider-at-money2020-europe-2016-3?IR=T" target="_blank">Sign-up to meet the analysts here</a> and don't forget to attend Managing Analyst John Heggestuen's fireside chat with MoneyGram CEO Alex Holmes.€200 MILLION ($223 million) FINTECH VENTURE FUND LAUNCHES: UniCredit evo is a <a href="https://www.unicreditgroup.eu/en/press-media/press-releases/2016/unicredit-spa-e-gruppo-anthemis-lanciano-unicredit-evo-investmen.html" target="_blank">joint initiative</a> between Italian lender UniCredit and UK-based Anthemis Group, a fintech venture and advisory firm. Unicredit evo will target mid-stage fintech startups, as well as early-stage startups. In terms of geography it is focusing on targets in Europe and North America.The move makes sense for UniCredit. It's a large bank with operations in 17 countries throughout Western, Central, and Eastern Europe. That means that it's at risk of disruption from fintechs, and it's addressing this risk by identifying disruptive companies as potential assets rather than competitors. Its strategy is to "accelerate the digitalisation" of its banking group through these investments. It's a trend we're seeing throughout the banking industry and around the world.Enjoying The Fintech Briefing? Enter your email to receive it directly to your inbox. <form action="http://e.businessinsider.com/s/Fintech+Briefing" method="post" target="_blank"><label>Email:</label> <button style="border: none; padding: 6px 8px; vertical-align: top; font-family: helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; text-transform: uppercase; color: #fff; background: #ff722d;" type="submit" value="Subscribe">Subscribe</button></form>Around the world ...PATCH OF LAND EXPANDS OFFERINGS: US-based Patch of Land, an alternative lender that provides an online marketplace connecting borrowers with investors for residential and commercial real estate projects, <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/patch-of-land-reaches-3-key-milestones-in-q1-100m-in-origination-over-25m-returned-to-investors-introduces-new-products-300240561.html">released figures</a> that detail the success it's seen with its initial product. The firm, which offers a 12-month short-term loan, has originated over £70.8 million ($100 million) in loans and returned over £17.7 million ($25 million) in principal and interest to investors. As a result of this success, Patch of Land announced the launch of a medium-term, 24-36-month product to further meet the needs of its borrowers and fill a perceived gap in the industry. The product, which has already seen £28.3 million ($40 million) in loan interest since it launched in beta two weeks ago, could help Patch of Land, which is currently the only alternative lender to focus exclusively on real-estate lending, further increasing its competitive advantage in the space.ROBO-ADVISOR TACKLES RESPONSIBLE INVESTING: Canada-based robo-advisory firm Wealthsimple announced plans to make socially responsible investment (SRI) portfolios available to its clients, according to <a href="https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/63700/robo-advisor-wealthsimple-launches-responsible-investment-portfolios?utm_campaign=Tradestreaming&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=Tradestreaming_60">Finextra</a>. The demand for responsible portfolios, which allow clients to "align their values with investments" and invest morally, is rising - SRI funds now count £15.6 trillion ($22 trillion) in assets worldwide, and the portfolios comprise 20% of all of Canadian financial assets. By providing responsible portfolios as an option to clients, Wealthsimple could attract a new segment of Canadians to its robo-advisory service, particularly because its one of few online-only platforms offering SRIs as a substitute to conventional portfolios.PRIVACY.COM LAUNCHES DISPOSABLE DEBIT CARD FOR ONLINE PURCHASES: A big problem in e-commerce is that merchants get hacked and criminals get their hands on payment data that can be used for fraudulent purchases online. US-based fintech startup Privacy.com is <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-app-from-privacycom-protects-you-with-virtual-debit-cards-for-online-purchases-300241360.html?ct=t(FinTech_for_RSSFEED_DATE_4_16_2015)" target="_blank">launching</a> an app for iOS and Android that creates one-time use virtual cards to combat this problem. The idea is that if the card number can only be used one time then the customer that uses it is protected in the event of a merchant breach. To use the app, customers link their bank account, but spending doesn't require preloading the account. The virtual cards can be used anywhere that accepts Visa. It may be difficult for Privacy.com to compete with Apply Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay because these services all use a security scheme that authenticates both the user and the device being used to make a transaction, making it extremely difficult to use payment data harvested from a breach for fraud.

FINTECH BRIEFING: Alt lenders could offer dynamic pricing - Online payments firm gets &#163;13M - A new fintech VC

In the world of start-ups there is one saying that is held as the gospel truth-that there has got to be a problem that you want to solve. Some of the world’s biggest disrupters, including the likes of Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg amongst others have believed in the ‘you need to want to solve a problem’ theory with utmost faith. It is in this belief that germinates an idea that amongst everything else impacts human lives and changes it for the good. That is exactly what <keyword id="1165145" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shashank-ND">Shashank ND</keyword> and Abhinav Lal have managed to do with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Booked-an-appointment-with-a-doctor-on-Practo-Uber-will-make-sure-you-dont-miss-it/articleshow/49800904.cms">Practo</a>-now one of the world’s largest <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Technology-Trends-That-Are-Revolutionising-Indian-Healthcare/articleshow/45284705.cms">online health services platforms</a>, when they set out as 20-something gullible, but eager-to-learn college students. 
 Since its inception in 2008, from Shashank’s father’s modest 3-bedroom house in Bangalore, today <keyword id="1165142" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Practo">Practo</keyword> has become India’s largest digital <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Good-surveillance-could-be-the-lifeline-of-Indias-healthcare-system/articleshow/47342852.cms">health services</a> company, having raised a neat $124 million in funding, one of the largest outside the ecommerce space. It also boasts of a loyal network of over 10,000 <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/How-about-a-Rolls-Royce-ambulance-or-a-fine-dining-restaurant-in-a-hospital-Welcome-to-5-star-healthcare-in-India/articleshow/47456269.cms">hospitals</a>, 5000 diagnostic centres and over 2 lakh doctors spread across 35 cities in India. It has also recently acquired four companies: Qikwell, a doctor appointment seeking platform; FitHo, a preventive health platform; Genii, a product outsourcing firm and Insta Health Solutions, a hospital information management company. So formidable has been the company’s growth that it has also recently entered the South East Asian market with launches in Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore. 
 
Business Insider caught up with the maverick, unassumingly charming, go-getter co-founder of Practo, Shashank ND to talk about everything that is ‘Practo’. 
 
Let’s start from the beginning. When did the idea of starting a digital company in the <keyword id="6354525" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Healthcare">healthcare</keyword> space seem like a viable option? 
 
The intent was to create a company where people would want to come despite having the Monday blues. (smiling) Where people hopefully would have the Friday blues. It is not about the numbers, it is about the emotions. I came across entrepreneurship in the second year of my college. It was really early when I was exposed to the whole world. Today it is main stream to start a company, but in 2008 it was quite a path off the road. Entrepreneurship fascinated me as it was about doing things others have not yet done. 
 
What was the personal aspect that egged you into this? 
 
It was an operation that my dad had to go through in 2008 around his knee. I was the techie in the house. My mom handed me the health reports and asked me to send them to a doctor in the US for a second opinion. I remember taking photographs and printing and then scanning them to send to the doctor in the US, and thinking to myself that if the scanning had problems, some of the data in the reports would be unclear or even lost in the transmission. So, I approached the doctor here who said he couldn’t digitize the reports simply because he didn’t have the ‘email’ button on the platform where the reports were stored. This guy had equipment worth crores, generating revenues in crores, but he didn’t have an email button. 
 
The first thing that occurred to me was why people weren’t storing their own medical records in the digital format. You didn’t have any digital data about your health and it’s funny because that is the one thing that you should have all in one place. People in fact stored every other irrelevant, bizarre matter in their phones, but not the most important one about their health. I saw that this was a global problem. The reason was that the doctors were not able to generate digital data. It’s not for the patients to do. Microsoft World and Google Health were doing the opposite. They were encouraging patients to digitalise their own data. 
 
Did it cross your minds that you could be betting on the wrong stuff, going against Microsoft and Google? 
 
Definitely. It was just like David going against Goliath at its best. In my father’s 3 BHK house we decided to build this out. Sitting and validating the fact that the thing on which all of Silicon Valley was working on is wrong, is plain crazy. But we were not worried about being wrong. What we were worried about was how to solve the problem. 
 Abhinav, my co-founder and I, sat together and built our first software <keyword id="1165143" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Practo-Ray">Practo Ray</keyword>, which had an email button. At each point we got validated. The first validation came from the users. In Bangalore there were 10-15 doctors we sold the software to at first. Changing the system is done best with a bottom-up approach. For 2 years we ran it on our own without any money. Then it just took off. We did what was right. Kept our ego aside and ran the business. Validation came every 2-3 months and accordingly we made changes. It so became that I couldn’t stomach appreciation, I could only take criticism. In fact, now when people say we are doing something wrong, I find that amazing, because it means they are noticing our work. 
 
What do you see as challenges at this stage? 
 
The biggest challenge is the communication culture. How do you make people aware about what you are doing? How do ensure that we keep our outputs equal to the expectations that the rest of the world have of us. Being a global company with the largest space in India, culturally, how do we ensure that we continue to grow? 
 
How difficult was it to make people buy your product? At what stage did you realise that acquisitions and tie-ups would be the way forward? 
 
Acquisition is the fastest way to grow. It is a good way of saving multiple years. It is just about saving time and having more impact. Basis the problems we face, we decide where or who to go to. We have 200,000 professionals today on our platform. 
 
In Practo, you have essentially married technology with healthcare, a sector that is completely inundated with infrastructure issues. What has been your takeaway there? 
 
There are 2 things, failure at the doctor level and that at the public level. Our App tells you where you have to go and how much time you have to wait. You can meet the doctor at the right time. A Qikwell product that we have acquired recently reduced waiting time for patients from 30 minutes to 8 minutes. We are bringing systemic efficiencies into the hospitals in the way they are run. 
 
How have hospitals accepted the technology, including the big chains? 
 
Everyone knew us and that worked in our favour. Reputation and acquisition helped us. 
 
What is the next step? Global expansion? 
 
We are targeting countries where we are seeing mobile internet integration on the rise. We are looking to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Practo-seeks-Rs-400-cr-from-global-investors-to-expand-its-leadership-in-India/articleshow/47599663.cms">invest</a> in developing countries. First preference is Latin America. We have started our ground work in the Middle East too. Our approach in entering new countries has been to launch the consumer product first. We targeted the consumers first there. But, before that we made sure that the doctors are listed on our platform. 
 
So, Now that Practo is safely on its way to becoming a truly global company, do you get time to unwind? You are young. Do you take time out for things like partying, watching movies and other things that people your age like doing? 
 
(Laughs)Yes. I do party. Now I get more time than earlier. Even then it is about prioritising. Choosing between the two parties and two movies that I want to go for. Even at work it’s about prioritising. I also now get time to travel. 
 
(Image credits: yourstory)

You Searched For "stages of digitalisation" and got 12 results

Digital marketing: A decade to acceptance

Guest Author

'Global community has opportunity to design new int'l taxation to handle digitalisation challenges'

PTI

Vijay Shekhar Sharma says 'Wed in India' is a good idea for its food options

ANI

'Digital thread & digital twin tech will be game changers for manufacturing'

Radhika Nallayam

Skill up and stand out: How to crack a demanding job market in 2023

Hari Krishnan Nair

Adani Green gets GRI South Asia charter member status

IANS

The gaming industry lauds the government’s decision to set up an Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics promotion task force

BI India Partner

The advertising industry voices its enthusiasm about the government’s steps towards boosting digital ecosystem in Union Budget 2022-23

BI India Partner

Billionaire tech VC Tej Kohli says startups must have a vision as grand as inventing the light bulb to get his cash

Charlie Wood

Manohar Parrikar calls ISIS one of the best users of internet technology, warns Army against information blackout

BI India Bureau

FINTECH BRIEFING: Alt lenders could offer dynamic pricing - Online payments firm gets £13M - A new fintech VC

John Heggestuen,Jaime Toplin

EXCLUSIVE: Practo Co-Founder says taking global Internet giants head-on was crazy, but solving the problem at hand was more important

Debdatta

Usha

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides

You Searched For "stages of digitalisation" and got 12 results

Digital marketing: A decade to acceptance

Guest Author

'Global community has opportunity to design new int'l taxation to handle digitalisation challenges'

PTI

Vijay Shekhar Sharma says 'Wed in India' is a good idea for its food options

ANI

'Digital thread & digital twin tech will be game changers for manufacturing'

Radhika Nallayam

Skill up and stand out: How to crack a demanding job market in 2023

Hari Krishnan Nair

Adani Green gets GRI South Asia charter member status

IANS

The gaming industry lauds the government’s decision to set up an Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics promotion task force

BI India Partner

The advertising industry voices its enthusiasm about the government’s steps towards boosting digital ecosystem in Union Budget 2022-23

BI India Partner

Billionaire tech VC Tej Kohli says startups must have a vision as grand as inventing the light bulb to get his cash

Charlie Wood

Manohar Parrikar calls ISIS one of the best users of internet technology, warns Army against information blackout

BI India Bureau

FINTECH BRIEFING: Alt lenders could offer dynamic pricing - Online payments firm gets &#163;13M - A new fintech VC

John Heggestuen,Jaime Toplin

EXCLUSIVE: Practo Co-Founder says taking global Internet giants head-on was crazy, but solving the problem at hand was more important

Debdatta

Usha

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides

FINTECH BRIEFING: Alt lenders could offer dynamic pricing - Online payments firm gets £13M - A new fintech VC