Innholdsfortegnelse for 11-Aug-19 i Business Today

AT A DINNER that she hosted for financial journalists, post the presentation of Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman explained one of the reasons behind the government’s decision to issue foreign currency debt. Given the tight liquidity in the market, she pointed out, if the government did all its borrowing from the domestic market, it would leave little money for the private sector to borrow. At the same dinner, a senior finance ministry official held forth on the number of initiatives being taken by the government to bring in a flood of liquidity to the domestic debt markets. A week before the finance minister’s dinner, Niranjan Hiranandani, Co-founder and Managing Director of Hiranandani Group, the real estate giant headquartered in Mumbai, was expounding on the liquidity issues in the course…

WITH AN over 25 per cent share, petroleum products and gems & jewellery exports have always impacted the performance of India’s merchandise exports ($330 billion in 2018/19). That is why when exports in these two categories slid 32.85 per cent and 10.67 per cent, respectively, in June 2019 (compared to June 2018), India’s merchandise exports shrunk 9.71 per cent to $25.01 billion from $27 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year. Take these out, and the decline was statistically less severe, at 4.86 per cent. That is no solace, rather it only hides the bigger problem, as petroleum and gems & jewellery exports are entirely dependent on imported raw materials and their fortunes in value terms are merely a factor of price volatility in global raw material prices.…

THE RESERVE Bank of India (RBI) seems to be among the most overworked institutions. From regulating banks and new age small payments banks to fintech entities and NBFCs, besides deciding the monetary policy, the RBI clearly has its hands full. To add to this, the Budget has proposed a unified regulatory body for both NBFCs and housing finance companies (HFCs) under the aegis of RBI. Till now, HFCs were being regulated by the National Housing Bank. The government believes this would improve regulation of HFCs and bring in a more transparent system. Since various financial institutions perform inter-related functions, it seems logical to bring in HFCs under the purview of RBI. Moreover, HFCs are similar to NBFCs, the only difference being their focus on housing finance. However, as the NBFC…

IF FACEBOOK – SOCIAL media 1.0 – was about connecting with friends and family, new social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram – social media 2.0 – attracted content creators, influencers and followers. Now the social network is moving to version 3.0, with platforms such as TikTok and a recent addition to the platter, Bigo Live. TikTok says it is not an ordinary short-form video-sharing application. Its content comes “from the gut” and “come, as you are” storytelling narrated in 15 seconds. Livestreaming app Bigo Live lets you “broadcast your life, gain many fans, receive gifts, earn money and be an idol easily”. Facebook too has added Facebook Live and Instagram IGTV. The phenomenon caught on as influencers shot to fame. Everyone signing up on such apps becomes a…

₹16,000 CRORE Resource mobilisation by way of public and rights issues in 2018/19, which is much less than the ₹83,000 crore raised in 2017/18 2% AVERAGE GROWTH in bank lending to the infrastructure sector in the last four years, which shows heightened risk perception among the lenders A DECADE AFTER the Lehman Brothers crash, which triggered off a global financial contagion, central bankers and governments around the world are well aware of how quickly panic and tight liquidity can spread – and threaten the entire economy. The government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are working overtime to ensure that a similar panic and liquidity crisis does not get out of hand – and roil the economy that is already facing too many other pressures. After 10 months of…

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced PSB recapitalisation of up to ₹70,000 crore in the Budget The government will encourage PSBs to buy high-rated pooled assets of up to ₹ 1 lakh crore of financially sound NBFCs, for which it will provide a one-time six-month partial credit guarantee for the first loss of up to 10 per cent. The government has decided to shift a part of its borrowings abroad, in foreign currencies, so that financial institutions get space to borrow more money from the domestic market The RBI has been providing liquidity support to banks through its open market operations and rupee-dollar swap window The RBI has been putting pressure on banks to not hamper the flow of credit to the needy sectors…

What is common between Pankaj Patel, Chairman of India’s fourth largest drug firm Cadila Healthcare (also known as Zydus Cadila), and other doyens of India’s drug industry like erstwhile Ranbaxy’s late Parvinder Singh, Dr Reddy’s founder late Dr Anji Reddy and Lupin’s founder late Dr Deshbandhu Gupta? All of them dreamt of inventing new chemical drugs that would convert their generic drug-making firms into original innovator companies like Pfizer, Novartis or GlaxoSmithKline. But that dream has not been fulfilled yet and India’s first novel chemical entity (NCE) reaping billions of dollars is still miles away. Drug discovery has been a tough ride for Indian pharma companies. After Parvinder Singh, sons Malvinder and Shivinder did away with the company’s costly and risky new drug pursuit. The same story played out at…

Tech Mahindra and Japanese telecom firm Rakuten Mobile Network signed an agreement to set up 5G and 4G network labs in Tokyo and Bengaluru in 2018 Infosys announced a JV with Hitachi, Panasonic and Pasona in Japan in 2018 Paytm launched the ‘PayPay’ mobile wallet in Japan in JV with SoftBank, Yahoo Japan in 2018 TCS created a strategic Japanese IT services company by combining forces with Mitsubishi Corporation’s IT Frontier Corporation in 2014 Lupin acquired Kyowa Pharmaceutical Industry in 2007…

KAMAL NATH CEO, SIFY TECHNOLOGIES He has driven the company’s turnaround and transformation since 2013, establishing it as a leading provider of converged ICT solutions. Under him, Sify has grown in revenue and profitability, with 10,000 businesses opting for its services in the past couple of years. Q. The biggest challenge you faced in your career A. The biggest challenge was also the biggest opportunity for me. I was entrusted with transforming the company to Sify 3.0. So, I had to play four roles at the same time. First, it was plumbing, which means fixing existing issues. Then there was incubation for creating new businesses and markets. Finally, I had to be the growth driver and the change-maker amid significant disruptions. Q. Your best teacher in business A. Our customers,…

STAY CONNECTED WITH US ON www.facebook.com/BusinessToday@BT_India Split Wide Open on Shift to Electric Mobility The government says the auto industry is not doing enough, and the industry says the government is being unrealistic. Electric mobility has pitted both against each other businesstoday.in/autoindustry-government Make-in-India Flops for Medical Devices; Domestic Firms Shutting Shops to Import Failed policies cause domestic manufacturers to import medical devices, while the government wants India to list among top five medical device manufacturing hubs in the world under the ‘Make-in-India’ initiative businesstoday.in/makeinindia-medical.devices NEWS Employees Allege Venugopal Dhoot Duped Them Before Filing for Videocon Bankruptcy Over 500 employees of Kolkata-based facilities have not received their salaries for 22 months businesstoday.in/videocon-staffsalary Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries May Bid for Anil’s RCom in Bankruptcy The acquisition is important for RIL, for two…

THE ₹29 lakh crore troubled NBFC sector has got a lifeline from the government by way of generating ₹1 lakh crore of liquidity through sale of pooled assets to state-owned banks. The guarantee cover of first loss up to 10 per cent would encourage banks to buy the assets and the RBI is working on a framework or a set of conditions for this. Clearly, there is a need for due diligence of the pooled assets and also the NBFCs. The financially sound NBFCs – track record of profitability, low level of NPAs and leverage, etc – would be able to participate. But there is the risk of the asset quality risk getting transferred to banks. Banks would also have to devise their buying strategy based on the kind of…

AS MORE skeletons tumble out of Bhushan Power and Steel’s closet, it has put the ongoing insolvency process in danger. With Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Allahabad Bank — two creditors to the company — making allegations of fund diversion to the tune of ₹5,500 crore (PNB reporting ₹3,800 crore and Allahabad Bank ₹1,700 crore), enforcement agencies such as the CBI and the ED may take charge of investigations and, if required, seek permission for attachment of properties. This may jeopardise the insolvency process as the bidders — in this case JSW Steel, whose resolution plan has been approved by the lenders — may find the offer unattractive. In case of Rei Agro, another company that was being investigated and whose properties were attached by the ED, the insolvency process…

LEADING online market for B2B platform IndiaMart, which saw a successful listing the BSE, proved to be the best test case for venture capitalist exits. Existing investors, including VCs like Intel Capital, Amadeus Capital Partners and Quona Capital, looked at an exit through the successful listing making it the second online firm to tap into an IPO, after Infibeam. Reports suggest that e-commerce big boy Flipkart, owned by Walmart, could tap the US IPO market by 2022, which would provide an exit to investors. Many VC investors are now considering India’s successful start-ups mature for an exit.…

SLOWDOWN HITS CHINA China’s economy grew 6.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2019 compared to a year ago, the slowest in almost 30 years. Exports also contracted in June, dragging down overall growth. However, the growth rate is in line with China’s target of 6-6.5 per cent for the entire year. The Chinese government is taking steps to boost the economy and offset the damaging impact of the trade war with the US. More government spending on infrastructure, tax cuts and increased bank lending at lower interest rates have contributed to strong factory output and retail sales. Meanwhile, the ongoing trade talks between the US and China have reportedly reached a stalemate as the latter wants all restrictions on Huawei to be lifted. The Chinese tech giant, which…

The growing financial services industry in India, with large players that include insurers, pension providers and mutual funds, needs a bankruptcy code. The Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill was earlier junked because depositors raised a concern, but the recent debacle of IL&FS and Dewan Housing Finance makes a strong case to revisit the code, which lays down the framework for taking financial services firms to liquidation. Second, the regulators should identify the too-big-to-fail institutions in sub-sectors like insurance, mutual funds, capital markets, HFCs, micro-finance institutions (MFIs), etc, because the interconnectedness between financial institutions has increased manifold. Remember the US had to bail out insurer AIG with tax payers’ money after the 2008 crisis. Many suggest that the RBI should encourage large NBFCs to convert into banks. In her…

US WISHLIST FROM INDIA Wants change in India’s e-commerce policy, which has prohibited deep discounts and exclusive sale of products on particular platforms, thereby affecting Amazon and Walmart (which owns Flipkart) Does not want India to insist on local storage of local data Does not want India to set up a public credit registry, listing all borrowings, as this might impact the four existing private credit registries in India, three of which are owned by US companies Wants India to actively back its Iran sanctions, stop buying Iran oil Has excluded India from its list of countries entitled to Generalised System of Preferences by which exports from such countries face very low/zero tariffs Wants India to buy more combat helicopters, fighter planes, drones from US companies DEVELOPMENTS SO FAR India…

Focus on low-paying subscribers in rural areas as it offers only 2G/3G services Large workforce; salaries account for 75 per cent income; for other telcos, this is usually 3-5 per cent Without 4G LTE services, it can't compete with private telcos in rural and urban areas Lack of full-time directors on the board, especially for the finance job Inability to cash in on contracts for BharatNet and defence sector Poor governance issues and involvement of DoT Sitting on accumulated operating losses of over ₹90,000 crore…

Change in sales (%) between Q1 2018/19 and Q1 2019/20 Source: SIAM REASONS FOR POOR DEMAND Consumer sentiment: Car and two-wheeler sales depend on propensity of consumers to spend, which has been low over the last 12 months due to stagnant job market and low income growth Liquidity crunch: Banking and NBFC crisis has affected cost and availability of capital for both consumers and dealers Increased prices: A host of regulatory changes, including stricter safety norms, have increased cost of production High fuel prices: Prices of petrol and diesel have remained high due to volatility in international markets and higher taxation by the government here. Increased competition: India is one of the most competitive markets in entry-level segments, which has meant lower profitability for most companies.…

You came from NBC, a traditional broadcast network. How different is it to work for a digital entertainment platform? I was in Fox for 10 years before I went to NBC. They are all the same in the sense that you are looking for inspired voices and good content. It is about keeping the creative process at the centre of everything we do. However, it’s freeing not be held to the network’s schedule in the same way and have a global audience. That part has been incredible. I have learnt a lot. I love building culture, I love meeting people. For me, it’s great to be able to meet so many people from all over the world. I didn’t have that opportunity in my previous positions. We are building talent…

JAPAN International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the government body that coordinates the official development assistance (ODA) given by Japan to other nations, has an illustrative map to provide a glimpse of projects in India that it is supporting. One glance is enough to make you realise the extent of its help. Of the 29 states in India, 25 have projects that have got financial assistance, almost all soft loans, from Japan. With accumulated soft loan commitment of ₹3,00,000 crore (till 2017/18), India is JICA’s largest development partner in the world. “India was the biggest recipient of Japanese ODA last year (2018). We have provided 420 billion Japanese yen (₹26,400 crore) and have been increasing our support to the metro and other infrastructure projects. We have more Japanese technologies coming here, more…

Of late, life insurance has emerged as a core component of any financial portfolio. On the face of it, the whole thing is simple enough – buying a life cover makes one feel secure as the family will have adequate financial support in case anything happens to the breadwinner. You need to protect all foreseeable goals and liabilities so that your family does not go through any financial hardship when you are not around. However, it is not easy to decide upon the right policy as individual requirements are widely different and no standard product can serve everybody. People often buy life insurance products without considering their actual needs. Many of them have moved past the traditional endowment regime and are ready for term plans, which offer maximum coverage at…

You will have to fill one form. Health checkups, if any, are done only once Companies offer a discount of around 5 per cent if you opt for separate policies You can avail of tax breaks on both life and health insurance premium paid You have the option to opt out of one of the policies. You can port the health insurance part Life insurance part may have a limited term of 5-10 years and health insurance is renewed yearly. Some policies may have a co-payment clause In case you port or opt out of any of the insurance policies, you will have to forgo the discount…

FOR YEARS NOW, we have come across bulky MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machines, those enormous and somewhat intimidating chunks of infrastructure which would often make us panicky. Still astonishing is their ability to capture detailed images of internal organs and soft tissues – something that X-rays and CT scans cannot do – to help with diagnosis. There is just one glitch. The machines have not shed their bulk even in this age of nanotechnology; neither do they fit in an ambulance. But efforts are on to miniaturise them as portability is crucial to widen their reach and enhance their functionality. Over the past few years, some reduction in the size of MRI machines has been achieved to make it a point-of-care diagnostic tool. One such effort resulted in WristView wherein…

₹64,192 CRORE AMOUNT RAISED THROUGH EXTRA-BUDGET-ARY RESOURCES IN 2018/19 THE Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is miffed at the Budget proposal for transferring 25 per cent of its surplus funds to central government coffers. The government is desperate to augment revenues as it has been struggling to meet its fiscal deficit targets in recent years. The Centre’s fiscal deficit target for 2017/18 was budgeted at 3.2 per cent of GDP, but went up to 3.5 per cent. The target for 2018/19 was 3.3 per cent of GDP, but is expected to be 3.4 per cent now. The reason for the slippage was shortfall in revenues while expenses increased. The Budget document reveals that for 2018/19, fiscal deficit and revenue deficit are 103 per cent and 107 per cent…

THE UNION BUDGET has proposed a Model Tenancy Act to give a fillip to rental housing in India, where over 11 million houses were lying vacant as per the 2011 Census. The draft rent rules include capping the security deposit at just two months’ rent (against the norm of 10 months in most Tier 1 cities), heavy penalties for failure to vacate, and a notice of three months before the house owner revises the rent. While the measures are aimed at encouraging renting over ownership to utilise vacant houses, the proposed Act may meet with limited success as most such houses are in far flung areas where infrastructure is not well developed. Moreover, land is a state subject. So, if states decide to drastically modify proposals, the Act may be…

DRUG SALES in India are slowing as price control measures and a sluggish market caused the Indian pharmaceutical market to post the lowest growth in the last seven quarters. As per the data of drug sales tracking agency AIOCD Pharmasofttech AWACS, drug sales growth slowed to just 7.9 per cent in the first quarter of FY2020, among the lowest in the past five years. Growth in May was just 7 per cent, and fell further to 6.6 per cent in June, says the data. Normally, drug sales peak during the monsoon. This year, the onset of the monsoon got delayed in most parts of the country. While price caps for most drugs were hurting profitability of companies, the industry is yet to fully absorb the issues of moving to GST…

THE COUNTRY’S largest bank, the State Bank of India (SBI), has written off ₹1.54 lakh crore of bad assets in the last four years. While the size of the written off amount is not big when compared to the ₹36.8 lakh crore balance sheet size of the bank, the amount is equal to the balance sheet of mid-sized Federal Bank or Bank of Maharashtra. In 2018/19 alone, the write-off of ₹61,663 crore is almost 40 per cent of the last four years’ total. SBI has provided for these loans, but that raises questions about its recovery efforts. ₹9,600 CRORE Total issue size of the about half a dozen IPOs likely to come out in August, though many may pull out…

CYBER THREAT WHAT: Cyber Security Conference WHEN: September 4-5, Hyderabad WHAT TO LOOK FOR: More than 400 national and international delegates and over 50 international speakers will hold a discussion on cyber crime and keeping organisations secure. COMPLIANCE MATTERS WHAT: International Conference on Corporate Governance WHEN: September 7-8, New Delhi WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The theme of the conference is Corporate Governance: Issues, Challenges and Changing Paradigms. The participants will get an opportunity to gather information on corporate governance across countries and how regulations are shaping up in the digital era. PRODUCT INNOVATION WHAT: NASSCOM Design & Engineering Summit WHEN: September 5-6, Bengaluru WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Industry experts will shed light on innovations, disruptive technologies and upcoming products, trends and services in the engineering research and development space. The…

1) The Founders Kundan Shahi, Mahendra Singh, Syed Asif Iqbal and Himanshu Kesari; all of them are from diverse backgrounds such as law, insurance, technology and consultancy. 2) The Concept In 2016, the co-founders launched their first start-up called Advok8 that focussed on litigation funding, case tracking and other legal aid services. In the course of work, they realised that there was a huge market out there as people seek legal advice for a plethora of reasons. However, they hesitate to go ahead as they have little knowledge of the legal system. As lawyers are not allowed to advertise or promote their work, individuals find it difficult to access them. High legal costs also act as a deterrent in many cases. The four, therefore, decided to launch a second start-up…

RBI’s asset quality review of banks leads to hidden NPAs tumbling out Banks’ lending to infra, power, steel and other key sectors halts because of rising NPAs and lower capital Demonetisation floods banks, mutual funds and insurers with deposits While banks that faced asset quality deterioration are cautious in lending, easy money flows from other banks and mutual funds to NBFCs and HFCs Infra financing institution IL&FS defaults, creating panic among investors like mutual funds Fund houses, insurers, cash-rich corporates and HNIs stop rolling over NBFCs’ commercial paper Banks refuse to lend to NBFCs fearing loan losses System level liquidity plunges into deficit for the whole of 2018, also due to dollar outflows, slowdown in government spending and high level of currency with public Rating agencies turn cautious; downgrade ratings.…

Sliding Sentiment Business confidence index has dipped for two consecutive quarters No Macro Cheer Inflation is the only bright spot among major economic parameters Mumbai-based Rajni Thakur is an economist working for RBL Bank. She spends 40 per cent of her work time interacting with clients hailing from automotive, start-up, software, textiles and other sectors, and every week helps 150-odd clients take calls on interest rates and transactions in foreign exchange. Thakur says her clients’ confidence level has dipped sharply over the past six months. “Before elections, there was a sense that things would get better after polls were over. But during this earnings season, most of the management-speak has been around how consumption is going to slow down. Nothing fundamentally has changed in the economy, but we see negative…

After giving a mighty push to the less-cash economy, digital governance seems to be the next big thing on the current government’s agenda, going by what Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget speech. The finance minister told Parliament “the existing system of (income tax) scrutiny involves a high level of personal interaction between the taxpayer and the tax department, which leads to certain undesirable practices on the part of tax officials. To eliminate such instances, a scheme of faceless assessment in electronic mode involving no human interface will be rolled out this year in a phased manner.” Sitharaman never uttered the word ‘corruption’, but this might be her honest admission of how the IT Department had gone about its business to meet revenue targets and the subsequent fallout. Electronic assessment,…

NEW DRUG research takes 10-15 years and millions of dollars. Shareholders are reluctant to invest for that long, and finding alternative funding sources for such a long period, with no returns, is difficult. Add to that the fact that eight of 10 promising molecules that reach clinical trial stage fail. Many Indian companies have tried and failed in this pursuit. In 1997, scientists at Dr Reddy’s Laboratories in Hyderabad discovered a molecule to treat Type-2 diabetes, Balaglitazone (named after Tirupati deity Balaji). A drug research company was formed with funding from ICICI Venture and a couple of PEs. Two diabetes molecules under development were licensed for clinical trials. A few years later, some lab rats died and trials in the third and final phase were discontinued. Within a few years,…

General and component manufacturers: As large auto makers have slowed production, orders for parts have dried up, forcing component makers to reduce production or shut down altogether. Those that make diversified parts are in a better position than those units, usually smaller, that make only specific parts Logistics providers: Lower production means goods and cars/vehicles to be transported are less. By one estimate, the logistics sector is facing a business loss of 25-35 per cent. Incentives and other benefits to employees have been reduced Dealer network: Not only are they facing a fall in revenue and margins, storing unsold inventory has become a problem. From keeping inventory for a month, they now have inventory for two-and-a-half months. Perks and incentives, a large chunk of salaries of sales staff, have been…

IF YOU’RE A CHIEF executive officer, your job is to execute. It’s written right into your title. But what does it mean, in terms of daily tasks, to be the company’s top “executer”? After all, CEOs don’t actually build factories or sell products. It’s tempting, therefore, to view the CEO as primarily a thinker; someone who mulls and shapes strategy. That is a part of the CEO’s job, of course. But the best CEOs know that strategy is just theory unless it’s actually translated into frontline routines – unless the rest of the company actually is executing the strategy. The CEO’s job is to make sure that happens. The best CEOs focus primarily on four things: communication, communication, communication, and overseeing resource allocation to ensure that the priorities they’re communicating…

$2.1 BILLION INVESTMENT BY JAPANESE COMPANIES AND VENTURE CAPITALISTS IN INDIAN START-UPS IN 2018 NASSCOM, the apex trade association of companies that offer information technology (IT) services from India, is getting ready to take a 20-member delegation of Indian start-up firms to Tokyo on a fund-raising mission in August. The number of applicants has already crossed 1,500, making the selection process tough. On the other side, there is huge interest among Japanese institutions to invest in Indian start-ups. In the past three years, NASSCOM alone has facilitated over 100 business meetings for Japanese investors in India. In addition, some 30 Indian start-ups participated in Japan’s biggest IoT (internet of things) show as part of a Japanese government funded start-up initiative during this period. Some, such as Bengaluru-based iWave – mentioned…

One of the policy priorities of the current Narendra Modi government is the continuation of high economic growth. Further vitalisation of economic activity is essential to become a $5 trillion economy by 2025 and grow into one of the largest economies on the same scale as Japan. Infrastructure development and improvement of the business environment are critical challenges to achieve this target, and no further delay in policy implementation should be allowed. Over the past 20 years, Japan has been the third-largest investor in India in terms of cumulative FDI, with about 1,400 companies, mainly manufacturing firms, currently operating across 5,000-plus bases. The number of Japanese companies entering the Indian market has increased 2.5 times in the past 10 years, and over half of them plan to expand their businesses…

Ascertain life insurance requirement based on the future value of your goals and current liabilities. Thumb rule is that you need a life cover of at least 10-15 times your annual income until you retire your liabilities and achieve your goals. Take additional cover whenever you add a big liability such as a home loan or an auto loan. Do not delay buying insurance as premium is low when you are young. Compare and buy online as online plans are cost-effective. Choose the premium payment term of your liking. Opt for limited pay if you do not want to pay until you retire. Do not hide any relevant fact when buying a policy. Disclose all medical conditions and habits. Choose a payout option (lump sum or staggered) based on dependents’…

• The RBI has got more power over NBFCs and housing finance companies • It can intervene to protect depositors and borrowers in case of distress • It can supersede the affected lender’s board and even order a merger • The government has asked banks to provide up to ₹1 lakh crore liquidity to NBFCs and HFCs • Even if an NBFC stops lending, it will keep servicing existing borrowers • In case an NBFC sells your loan to another lender, you will still be serviced by the original lender • If stuck with a partially disbursed loan, you may opt for a transfer…

IMAGINE HOW GOOD it will feel if your smartphone or laptop can be charged over the air. Redmond-based Ossia has just received an FCC certification for this kind of wireless tech, as per The Next Web. Its wireless tech, called Cota, uses radio frequencies to deliver power across a short distance. But right now, it is only available for industrial use. “Wireless charging pads are not the ultimate innovation,” says the company’s website. “When power is available everywhere, the question is no longer how quickly you can charge your device, but rather, what is possible when your device does not need to be charged at all?” Cota will use a transmitter placed indoors and receivers placed in the gadgets that need power – it could include IoT sensors as well.…

MENTAL HEALTH has always been the proverbial elephant in the room – Indian corporate houses would never acknowledge that their people’s well-being and productivity could be affected by mental health issues. Worse still, mental illnesses could affect physical health and must not be ignored any longer. According to Dr Niraj Ravani, a practising neuropsychiatrist for two decades and Director of Mumbai Psychiatry Clinics, four out of every 10 professionals in India suffer from either depression or anxiety. What is worrying is that “over half of them – about 55 per cent – are below 30 while 25 per cent fall in the 30-40 age bracket. If you convert these into numbers, they will be huge,” he says. Dr Ravani also refers to a survey that has found that the number…

PRIVACY 3.0: Unlocking Our Data-Driven Future BY RAHUL MATTHAN Publisher: HARPERCOLLINS Pages: 288 Price: ₹599 PUBLISHED SOME TIME AGO, Privacy 3.0 is three books thoughtfully packaged into one. However, not much has been written about it for a couple of reasons – the complex technolegal nature of the topic and the raging controversies over data privacy issues, especially the ‘large-scale misuse’ of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, which ended up in the apex court. The Supreme Court has upheld the validity of the Act since but limited the scope of the biometric identity project to some extent. Besides, the government has identified several data loopholes and the Draft Personal Data Protection Bill will soon be tabled in Parliament to address data privacy,…

The 5 AM Club: Own Your Morning, Elevate Your Life By Robin Sharma Jaico Publishing House Price: ₹350 Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind By Yuval Noah Harari Penguin Random House Price: ₹499 The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck By Mark Manson Harper Collins Price: ₹499 Life’s Amazing Secrets: How to Find Balance and Purpose in Your Life By Gaur Gopal Das Penguin Ananda Price: ₹250 Attitude Is Everything: Change Your Attitude … Change Your Life! By Jeff Keller Collins Price: ₹199 *Top books by sales for May 1-June 30, 2019; Information provided by amazon.in…