Innholdsfortegnelse for 8-Apr-2018 i Business Today

By and large, banking regulators and countries across the globe are in a dilemma about how to deal with Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. A few countries have banned Bitcoins and other cryptos – but these are extreme examples. Many have explicitly stated that Bitcoins have no legal status as currency, but allow its trading and tax gains out of it. They also allow it to be converted into the country’s currency through mutual consent between two parties, without giving an official standing to it. In a sense, it is treated like other precious commodities like gold, silver or diamonds. Many countries recognise Bitcoins as a valid currency, though they have not given that status to other cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, Venezuela has banned Bitcoins while introducing its own cryptocurrency called the Petro.…

TRUMP STOPS QUALCOMM TAKEOVER U.S. President Donald Trump stopped Singapore-based Broadcom’s $117 billion bid to acquire rival chipmaker Qualcomm, citing national security concerns. Both firms were ordered to discard the proposed merger. The move is likely to frustrate Qualcomm investors. The U.S. firm announced a $1 billion cost-cutting initiative and demotion of former CEO Paul Jacobs from the role of executive chairman. 11 COUNTRIES SIGN ASIA-PACIFIC TRADE PACT In spite of the US pulling out last year, 11 Asia-Pacific nations signed a trade pact, formerly known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The countries included Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The treaty aims to bring down trade tariffs and non-tariff obstacles between member nations. FINLAND BETTING ON NOKIA In a bid to boost the…

BITCOINS AND CRYPTOS are not the only enigma for the world’s regulators. They have another headache to deal with—Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Some fear this may be akin to the housing bubble of the US where tier upon tier of investing options were built on crumbling underlying assets which eventually brought the whole market crashing down. ICOs are essentially IPOs of two kinds: One, that raises funds for a new crypto-currency on the lines of a Bitcoin or Ripple. These offer digital tokens to investors at a fixed price that can be swapped for the new crypto-currency at a future date once it gains in popularity. The second kind are those that use the proceeds of the ICO to start up a company. These digital tokens promise exchange with equity…

“So far, the US hasn’t damaged the agreement at all. You may even argue to the contrary because it galvanised every other nation into immediate action. Remember PM Modi said the same day that it will be a crime against future generations if you don’t act on climate and if you don’t act now” RAJ CHENGAPPA: On climate change, the US is the elephant in the room with President Donald Trump pulling out from the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement. How seriously has it damaged the cause? ERIK SOLHEIM: So far, it hasn’t damaged the agreement at all. You may even argue to the contrary because it galvanised every other nation into immediate action. Remember Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the same day that it will be a crime against…

Tackily, business process outsourcing (BPO) firm HGS calls it ‘Bots & Brains’. That’s their term for robotic process automation (RPA) and humans working together. Bots do the mundane, repeatable tasks; humans the more complex processes. If it were a see-saw game, you could tell the bots are winning. An insurance customer in the United States has outsourced processes such as enrolment of customers and database management of hospitals to HGS. The enrollment process is tedious. When the insurance company signs on a new corporate client, an influx of employee data, in thousands, swarms the BPO. Employees check for missing information such as date of birth, and send the forms back to the customer for correction. Once returned, the data needs entering in different customer systems. Enter bots. It can scan…

WITH APP SIZE HALVED AND FEWER PRE-INSTALLED APPS, THE ANDROID OREO GO EDITION OFFERS DOUBLE THE INTERNAL STORAGE One out of three feature phone users in India is expected to upgrade to a data-enabled phone by the next year, according to a study by International Data Corporation. Sensing a huge opportunity, phone companies have been on a low-budget smartphone manufacturing spree – ones that come with lower specifications but support mobile Internet. However, bundling a fully-loaded Android operating system in these entry-level smartphones was a futile move. Devices slowing down and the perennial shortage of storage left consumers discontented. When Google’s Android Oreo Go edition – a trimmed down/optimised version of Android’s latest version – tailored for smartphones with 1 GB or less of RAM was launched, entry-level smartphones found…

AN HR HEAD of a leading company, which is big in the digital space, recently told Business Today how much the eye health of its employees matters to the company. In fact, the company has programmed its systems so that pop-ups appear on PC screens at regular intervals, alerting the staff about the 20-20-20 rule – every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at things 20 ft away. It is a no-brainer that many of us are victims of what doctors call ‘computer vision syndrome’ that causes eye strain, blurred vision and the commonest of all, dry eyes. The reason: We tend to watch lighted screens much of the time without blinking as much as we should. Dry eye means the tear film on the surface of the…

PERSPECTIVE Is Gender Diversity Loosely-used Term in Corporate India? Though most HR professionals talk about the various initiatives they have taken to retain women, in reality it's a daunting task to retain women at the middle-management level businesstoday.in/corporateindia-women NEWS Rapid Expansion of Warehousing Space in Indian Metros Warehousing accounts for 25 per cent of the logistics cost for most. As companies consolidate operations in large warehouses, they could achieve economies of scale businesstoday.in/warehousing-metros Bio-jet Fuel Is Cleaner But Expensive for Airlines in India to Afford The efforts to shift to a cleaner fuel are largely on paper in India… and the reasons are mostly financial in nature businesstoday.in/jetfuel-finance Will Lakshmi Mittal's Desperate Bid for Essar Steel Open up Doors to India? In the past decade, ArcelorMittal has made vigorous attempts…

0.9% ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT (AUM) of the mutual fund industry fell by 0.9 per cent month-on-month (m-o-m) to touch ₹22,20,326 crore by February 2018. This is the third decline in the last six months – September saw a decline of 0.9 per cent and December saw a steep fall of 6.2 per cent. AUMs had reached an all-time high of ₹22, 79,032 crore in November 2017. AUMs of all mutual fund categories fell in February except for liquid/money market fund – it grew 1.4 per cent. Gilt funds witnessed the sharpest decline of 12.8 per cent; other exchange-traded funds category declined 4.2 per cent and equity-linked savings schemes fell 2.4 per cent. For the other exchange-traded funds, this is the first m-o-m fall since August 2015.…

DAYS AFTER THE Maharashtra government tabled ‘another farmer-friendly’ budget, around 40,000 farmers of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), an affiliate of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), from Nashik, Thane and Palghar districts walked down to Mumbai, demanding unconditional farm loan waiver and transfer of forest farmlands in their names. They also demanded fixed remunerative prices for agri produce and implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendations. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis settled the issue for the time being by acceding to their demands. So far, Maharashtra has written off loans worth ₹13,782 crore to 35.68 lakh farmers. Under the flagship Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Shetkari Sanman Yojana, 89 lakh farmers were to have benefitted, with the exchequer taking on ₹34,000-crore worth of agri debt. But the scheme hasn’t reached even half the…

Start-ups are newsworthy. We are proud of our schools of technology and management; their students get good publicity when they exhibit their innovations. And yet, it is difficult to see what start-ups and innovations have contributed to our business landscape. How does India compare with other countries as a nation of start-ups? There is a general impression that start-ups are powerful instruments of innovation; their importance in the emergence of information technology industry is well known. Actually, technology start-ups are a small minority. The largest number is to be found in retail, advertising, apps, financial services, content and publishing. Amongst technology start-ups, those in information technology, data and analytics, biotechnology and healthcare are important. The US has the largest number of companies – roughly 100,000 – started between 2001 and…

THE RUMBLINGS from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are ominous. The banking regulator has issued four warnings against Bitcoin (BTC) and other crypto-currencies since December 2013, the last few explicitly calling it a ponzi scheme. Stock market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has made an oblique cautionary statement on the digital currency. And, after years of stony silence by the finance ministry, Arun Jaitley made a surprise declaration in Budget 2018: “…Bitcoins will not be considered lawful or legal tender in India.” You would expect a nationwide clampdown after such overpowering sentiment from the regulators and the government. Far from it. Two dozen Bitcoin/crypto trading platforms (8 large ones) are flourishing where you can buy and sell Bitcoins like you buy and sell stocks on any…

THE ACCELERATED USE OF AI WILL EXPAND EXISTING THREATS, BRING A TWIST TO THE TYPICAL CHARACTER OF ONGOING THREATS AND INTRODUCE ENTIRELY NOVEL ONES Tech companies are high on Artificial Intelligence at the moment. The applications being researched and developed are so potentially beneficial and transformative that it is easy to sweep the downsides under the carpet. Although possible job losses from automation are discussed on an everyday basis, there are more catastrophic threats that are yet to get the spotlight. For example, AI can be used by criminals, terrorists, rogue states or anyone with malicious intent to wreak havoc at an unimaginable scale. What the equation will be between attackers and defenders is not easy to predict, but a group of 26 security experts from a number of institutions…

DON’T JUDGE a book by its cover. This adage holds true when looking at the new Samsung Galaxy S9+ because of how similar it looks to the S8+ launched last year. Switch on the Galaxy S9+ to be greeted by a 6.2-inch super bright infinity display. The fingerprint scanner has been repositioned below the camera module making it intuitive to use. In addition to the face and iris unlocking feature, there is the Intelligent Scan, a combination of the two scanners, that can unlock the phone in low or harsh light. However, it failed to unlock the phone when I was wearing sunglasses. The S9+ is the first S-series smartphone to have a dual camera for capturing DSLR-like depth images. Accessible through the ‘Live Focus’ mode, the depth effect can…

EYE CARE has seen new breakthroughs, many of them achieved indigenously. For instance, Hyderabad-headquartered L.V. Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) uses adult stem cells, instead of the more controversial embryonic stem cells, to help patients recover from damaged cells. Dr Sayan Basu, a consultant cornea surgeon and scientist at LVPEI, explains that simple limbal epithelial transplantation, or SLET, is the procedure to replace damaged stem cells with healthy ones, taken from the patient. Technically, limbal stem cell deficiency can be treated “by transplanting healthy limbal tissue to the surface of the diseased eye for in-vivo (at the site where it is required or on the eye) expansion of epithelial cells”, he says. It means instead of using the lab to grow the stem cells on a tissue, doctors are using the…

Edge of Chaos: Why Democracy is Failing to Deliver Economic Growth and How to Fix It By Dambisa Moyo Hachette Price: ₹599 Pages: 320 A stark reminder of the new political and economic challenges facing the world, and the specific, radical solutions needed to resolve these issues and reignite global growth. As chaos erupts across the world with citizens demanding a greater say in their political and economic future, better education, healthcare and living standards, the author underlines the need for a fundamental retooling of democratic capitalism. The Space Barons: Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos By Christian Davenport Hachette Price: ₹1299 Pages: 320 This is the story of a group of billionaire entrepreneurs spearheading the new space movement aiming to send humans further than…

DURING FRENCH PRESIDENT Emmanuel Macron’s recent visit, India and France signed an ‘Industrial Way Forward Agreement’ to construct the world's biggest nuclear project at Jaitapur, Maharashtra. Experts, however, say the real way forward is still miles away. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) will set up six European Pressurised Reactors (EPR) of 10,000 megawatt (MW) with reactors supplied by French major Électricité de France (EDF) at the 900-plus hectare coastal area in Jaitapur. NPCIL, however, has only a capacity of 6,000 MW so far and EPR is still an unproven technology though these are third-generation reactors developed over a decade ago. Olkiluoto in Finland (1600 MW), Flamanville in France (1600 Mw), Taishan in China (2X1600 Mw) and a proposed project at Hinkley Point in UK (2 EPRs) are…

THE SUPREME COURT has clearly reiterated its position that the use of Aadhaar, the unique 12-digit identification number given to Indian residents, will remain restricted to social services and entitlements such as public distribution system and the National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme until the court issues its final verdict. An earlier order had set March 31 as the deadline for Aadhaar linkage for other services including banking and telecom; with the latest directive, the deadline has been extended. Although this provides relief to those apprehensive about sharing their Aadhaar number and authenticating their identity using biometrics, it doesn’t mean that the requests and reminders will stop. The government needs to issue clear instructions to agencies, both governmental and private, that no requests be made but for the purposes that the…

11 TIDING OVER CONFLICTS WHAT: Workshop on Conflict Management & Negotiation Skills WHEN: April 11, Gurugram WHAT TO LOOK FOR: People manage conflicts and negotiate every day at the workplace. It may be with customers, vendors, colleagues, a boss, or employees. This hands-on CII session offers a step-by-step guide to effective negotiation. Participants will learn how to manage difficult situations with diplomacy, tact and credibility. 19 SUPPORTING PES/VCS WHAT: 10th “India Investment Conference” WHEN: April 19, New Delhi WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The event aims to spread awareness of the importance of private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) to the Indian economy. It attempts to create an ecosystem to support entrepreneurial activities and innovations. It also debates important issues related to the PE/VC industry. 19-20 SHAPING HEALTH FINANCING WHAT:…

Recently, Anand Mahindra’s tweet about “collectively acquiring” the iconic music shop Rhythm House for “restoring it & turning it into a performance venue”, sent Twitter fans into a frenzy. His tweet attracted around 14,068 likes and 4,002 retweets (and still counting); celebrities, such as politician Milind Deora, music composer Vishal Dadlani and chef Sanjeev Kapoor, as well as several professionals came forward to offer free legal advice, ticket booking, advertising and other services. Gauging the buzz his tweet generated, Mahindra got his cultural outreach team to spearhead the revival initiative. The Twitter handle ‘Rhythm House Revival’ already has over 3,000 followers. BEING PART OF A SOCIAL MOVEMENT IS NO LONGER ABOUT DOING SOMETHING GOOD BUT AN INTEGRAL BRAND BUILDING EXERCISE IN ITSELF With his tweet, Mahindra organically and effortlessly brought…

31 OCT, 2008 Satoshi Nakamoto (believed to be a pseudonym) releases white paper ‘Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System’ 12 JAN, 2009 First Bitcoin transaction takes place JUN 2011 Wikileaks begins accepting Bitcoins for donations FEB 2013 Coinbase reports selling $1 million worth Bitcoins in a month at over $22 per BTC JUN 2013 US Drug Administration lists 11.02 Bitcoins as seized assets; Thailand declares Bitcoin illegal JULY 2013 Kenya pilot links Bitcoin with M-Pesa NOV 2013 China’s Baidu allows clients of website security services to pay with Bitcoins; BTC China overtakes Japan’s Mt. Gox and Europe’s Bitstamp to become largest Bitcoin exchange by volume DEC 2013 People's Bank of China prohibits Chinese FIs from using Bitcoins FEB 2014 Mt. Gox suspends withdrawals citing technical issues; files for bankruptcy after…

6.4 LAKH MW (Source: IEEMA) REALITY CHECK NO NEW GREENFIELD COAL-FIRED PROJECTS TILL 2022 OVER 21 GW PRIVATE SECTOR COAL-BASED CAPACITY UNDER STRESS ANOTHER 35 GW CAPACITY UNDER CONSTRUCTION IS LAGGING DUE TO VARIOUS ISSUES BTG INDUSTRY EXPECTS ONLY 7-8 GW OF COAL-BASED POWER PROJECTS OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS ₹5,000 CRORE REQUIRED FOR AIR POLLUTION CONTROL EQUIPMENT (FLUE GAS DESULFURISATION, OR FGD, AND SELECTIVE CATALYTIC REDUCTION, OR SCR) NTPC AND OTHER STATE UTILITIES TO RETIRE 19 GW OF OLD AND INEFFICIENT COAL-BASED POWER PLANTS…

PENDING CASES ACROSS TIME BANDS Source: National Judicial Data Grid In 1963, members of a family – which shall remain unnamed – fighting over property, filed a suit in a trial court in Bombay (as it was then called). The court announced its verdict 25 years later, in 1988. The losing party then moved the Bombay High Court in appeal. As the case was being heard, the court discovered that a number of the parties to the feud had died in the intervening years. If any party dies, the Code of Civil Procedure requires a legal representative to be made a party within 90 days. Since the appellants had failed to do so, the high court dismissed the appeal in 2015. The appeal to the Supreme Court is still pending.…

DIGITAL SHIFT With the rise of SMAC stack enterprise, IT requirements have undergone a fundamental shift. But Indian IT gets only a small percentage of its revenue from digital tech. WORKFORCE RESKILLING Given the recent shifts in the global marketplace, the industry must invest substantially in retraining its workforce. Not an easy task since it will involve training nearly 4 million employees. NON-TARIFF BARRIERS Visa restrictions and insistence on near-shore delivery compliance mean Indian IT must rework its strategy while trying to maintain growth and margins. LACK OF M&A AGGRESSION Until recently, the sector focussed on organic growth and would not go for big mergers and acquisitions. Now it must be more aggressive and acquire companies for technology, customers, global footprint and scale. SMALL BASE With the US and the…

FOR YEARS, there has been a race to miniaturise medical equipment so they can easily be carted off to where they are needed most. In India, that would be far-flung locations where resources are meagre. Now, Siemens Healthineers India has tied up with a start-up, Jana Care, to release what is being touted as the first ever smartphone-based diagnostic system. Aina, as the system is called, is a portable lab of sorts that can run blood tests right then and there. It’s a dongle-like module that attaches to a smartphone just like one. It also takes in a strip, the type used in glucometers, and all it needs is a drop of blood. A lancet and needle – again, the type diabetics will be familiar with – is used to…

IT LOOKS GOOD; and cleans indoor air with finesse. Dyson’s Pure Cool Link Tower has an unconventional design – an oval bladeless fan at the top with a circular bottom housing the filter. Installation is simple – place the loop on top of the circular base and push it gently. The click sound confirms that the two are locked and the air purifier is ready to use. Use the compact remote to power it on/off, control fan speed, swing, turn on night mode, set timer and more; it can also be controlled using the Dyson app. None of the air purifiers we have tested in the past has managed to bring down the PM 2.5 level down so efficiently. In less than an hour, the level of PM 2.5 in…

FOR FINE DINERS and world travellers, it’s rather important to be in the know about wine. One of the easiest ways to up your wine IQ is to use one of the many excellent apps. Try Vivino, available on both Android and iOS, register through one of the multiple options presented, and pick up a bottle of wine. First off, you can browse wines by categories – red, white, sparkling, etc. Tap on a category and you can look through reviews and ratings of wines with their descriptions. You can also buy them from the app. Then, if you’re out for dinner, you can use the app to see food pairings; so you know what type of wine goes with your choice of meat. The app offers a lot of…

Watches TIME FLIES WATCH BRAND Breitling has always been associated with the world of aviation. The new pilot’s watch collection, Navitimer 8, keeps that tradition alive. The number in the name traces back to the Huit Aviation Department, which was set up in 1938 to produce cockpit instruments and pilot’s watches. The new watch combines the brand’s passion for aviation with its expertise in producing the finest chronometers. With impeccable design credentials and engineering features to match, each of the five models in this collection showcases the brand’s love for detail. Experience NIGHT TO REMEMBER IT WAS A rare men-only event for which whisky brand Royal Salute joined hands with designer Rohit Bal to curate what came to be known as Extraordinaire, blending Indian craftsmanship with global sensibility. The curated…

On February 16, a pleasant Friday afternoon, top corporate honchos from the city of joy teed off at the Tollygunge Club for the LLOYD Business Today Pro-Am of Champions 2018. It was the second last leg before the tournament moves to the final leg in Delhi, followed by the grand final. The winning team comprising Hansdip Bindra (Processware ERP), Ugyen Wangchuk (Royal Bhutan Consulate), Umang Puri (K Puri News Distributors) and Amitava Sinha (SREI), with a combined score of 99 points, were crowned the Kolkata Kosmics. They will compete in the final in Delhi against the winners from other nine cities. The team comprising P.S. Rawat, Capt. Ravi Dey, Rupinder Singh and Rajesh Goenka finished runners-up with 998 points. In the Individual categories, Amitava Sinha was the winner with 34…