Archive: September 2, 2022

Billabong High International launches ‘Meraki’ in presence of Dublin based experts

Mumbai: In an effort to enlighten and inspire students to pursue their passions, Billabong High International School (BHIS) has launched its novel project Meraki. The program will comprise a series of thought-provoking sessions which will be conducted by world-renowned leaders from across the globe. The initiative is designed to empower students to be ready for the real-world and provide them with a global perspective.

As a kickstart to the program, global experts Dr. Eleni Mangina and Dr. Jeremy Simpson hosted two engaging sessions at the BHIS Malad Campus on 29th August 2022. One of the topics included ‘How is Artificial Intelligence Helping Humanity?’ and was conducted by world-renowned expert from Dublin, Ireland, Dr Eleni Mangina, Professor, School of Computer Science and Vice Principal, International College of Science and University College of Dublin.

Another thought-provoking session on ‘The Life & Death of A Cell’ was hosted by Dr. Jeremy Simpson, College Principal & Dean of Science (College of Science), University College Dublin (UCD).

During the session, Dr Eleni focused on the progression of Artificial Intelligence over the decades. “In the context of the changes our planet and humanity are experiencing, the potential of Artificial Intelligence can be presented through examples of automation of tasks, estimation and prediction in different areas (robotics, emissions, energy, education) with incomparable efficiency,” she said.

“I am excited to be here and address these enthusiastic Billabongers. Through such sessions, we are bringing professional lessons and engagement to the lives of these students,” Dr Eleni added.

Mrs Shuchi Sinha, Principal, BHIS, Malad, said, “Artificial Intelligence is an unstoppable force. It has the potential to improve our understanding of complex subjects. For students, it is essential that they have clarity on the subjects of their choice from the beginning. We believe that employing the concepts of artificial intelligence will help them make valuable decisions in the subject fields they want to pursue.”

Commenting on uniqueness of the program, Natasha Mehta, Head of School Development, Lighthouse Learning Pvt. Ltd said, “Meraki is a platform that will bring people with proven expertise in their specific fields to engage with our students. The students will have conversations that will give them glimpses of academic work and opportunities in higher education both in India and overseas and also provide them with a world view of the latest research and development in their areas of interest. This in turn will help them develop an understanding of real-life work places to broaden their perspective and spark ambition.”

Commenting on the launch of this initiative Rahul Deshpande, CEO, K12 Division, Lighthouse Learning, said, “It is essential that we create opportunities and infrastructure for our students to explore new skills, hone them with the appropriate guidance to elevate their abilities and excel in their chosen fields. Meraki is one such effort which is focused on creating an integrated approach for academic and beyond with global partners to upskill and elevate the competencies of our students.”

UniFarm announces the launch of Thunder Farms…

New Delhi, September 2022 – UniFarm, a one-stop solution for web3 projects, announces the launch of Thunder Farms 1. UniFarm has partnered with over 20 Blockchain projects across 3 chains: Ethereum, Binance, and Polygon.

Thunder Farm will span for 60 days with a payout ranging between APY 60% to 400%. The user can stake either in Yield or Liquidity Farming through UniFarm’s DeFi platform https://app.unifarm.co. This is an unlocked pool and users can unstake and claim their confirmed rewards anytime.

Here’s a closer look at UniFarm’s prestigious project offering:

– Yield Farming offers staking for 60 days with a minimum guarantee of 60% APY

– Liquidity Farming offers staking for 60 days with a minimum guarantee of 80% APY

– The stakers of Thunder Farms will also get a chance to be whitelisted for the upcoming SportzChain IDO on UniFarm Launchpad — UniLaunch

– The stakers can maximize their rewards by upto 400% by purchasing a Booster Pack

On the announcement of Thunder farms with multiple projects, Mr. Mohit Madan, CEO and Founder, UniFarm and OroPocket express his views, “UniFarm, a decentralized farming pool of DeFi’s most innovative projects allows users to farm numerous project tokens on an easy-to-use interface. Unlike traditional farming, UniFarm offers diversification to its token holders by allowing multiple token farming options hence the motto “Stake One, Farm More.”

Additional benefits to participating in Thunder Farms and chance to get more rewards

– The stakers will stake in 20 tokens in Liquidity Farming or 20 tokens in Yield Farming that will be live till the end of October.

– The stakers are eligible to participate in the 3 Mega Events worth $10000 of reward pool for 115 winners

– The activities are Crypto Poker Tournament, Art Festival and Hackathon

How to participate in Mega Events?

Thunder Farms Gold NFT – The user can get Gold NFT by staking a minimum of $50 in any of the 20 Liquidity Farming or Yield Farming that will be live till the end of October 2022.
Thunder Farms Silver NFT – The user can get Silver NFT by winning in community activities- AMA on Telegram, Passive Income Conclave/s, Staking referrals, and Twitter spaces.

50th National Convention of Company Secretaries announces a slew of national and International new initiatives

September 2022, Kolkata: The Institute of Company Secretaries (ICSI) announced a slew of new initiatives at its three-day 50thNational Convention of Company Secretaries in Kolkata attended by over 1100 delegates in person from all over India and 4,500 members joined in virtually. This year’s Convention themed `Company Secretary: A Vishwaguru in Governance and Sustainability’ will explore the renewed role and responsibility of Company Secretaries (CS) in response to the changing dynamics of the regulatory environment.

“ICSI has undertaken a slew of national and international initiatives and projects that are at various stages of implementation. At the Convention there would be capacity building and forward-looking sessions engaging 7000 plus CS members across India,” said CS Mr Devendra V Deshpande, President, ICSI.

Some of the key ICSI initiatives on the anvil are: 

·New Centre of Excellence in Kolkata: ICSI, which has the Eastern India Regional Council (EIRC) in Kolkata, is coming up with a new centre of excellence (CoE) at Rajarhat New Town. Kolkata. This would be one of the most important training premises or infrastructure of ICSI. The CoE is expected to start operations by the end of 2022. This would greatly benefit the CS and students. ICSI has also an academic connection with students through MoUs with different Universities and Institutes, including IIM, and conducts various programs and courses that impart skills and increase their employability.

·New ICSI Syllabus: ICSI today formally launched a whole New ICSI Syllabus which is in sync with the New Education Policy of the Government. The new syllabus would be effective from 2023 onwards. ICSI has factored in over 5000 feedbacks and suggestions from the general public while drafting the new syllabus.

·New ICSI overseas Centre in Canada: ICSI formally announced and virtually launched a new overseas centre in Canada. This would be the sixth ICSI Overseas Centre after Australia, Singapore, UAE, USA and UK. The ICSI team will go to Canada by the end of 2022 to formally inaugurate the centre. The ICSI overseas centres cater to the needs of overseas students and professionals.

·ICSI International Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) center: The Institute formally announced the launch of its own `ADR Centre’ at the National Convention. Arbitration, mediation, conciliation, negotiation are a part and parcel of ADR addressing commercial disputes. A new company has been incorporated for this purpose. ICSI will start a pilot project from Hyderabad and has the full support and guidance of the Ministry of Law and the mandate is to open 20 such ADR Centres across India.

·ICSI-West Bengal Government MoU on MSMEs: ICSI is gearing up to sign an MoU with the West Bengal Government to provide services to the MSMEs. This would provide wide-ranging support to the MSMEs in the state and help them to garner maximum benefits available under various schemes.

·ICSIStartupSarathi project: Under the StartUpSarathi project, ICSI will support corporates on incorporation, registration and compliance of start ups. ICSI members would be especially empanelled for this purpose.

ICSI has submitted a proposal to the University Grants Commission (UGC) to include its member CS on its draft resolution on practising professors and the UGC has partly agreed to it. Company Secretaries with 15 plus years of experience in a professional field would soon be able to work as practising professors and would help develop the academic side of the Institute.

KEI Wires & Cables Showcases their range at INTCON EXPO 2022, Guwahati

KEI Wires & Cables, India’s leading and world renowned wire and cable manufacturer has displayed their wide range of wires and cables at INTCON EXPO 2022, Guwahati. During the 4- days (25-28 Aug 2022) of this mega congregation, over 300 top interior designers, architects, builders, consultants and other stakeholders of fast-growing north eastern market visited KEI stall.

KEI – the wire and cable industry leader, with a dedicated branch and deport base at Guwahati catering to Assam and entire north-east Indian markets, exhibited their full range with end-to- end solutions and applications for the modern-day construction industry at a sprawling island stall at INTCON EXPO 2022. During the event, KEI – the company with world class R&D facilities also engaged with north-eastern India’s leading architects, interior designers, builders, consultants and exchanged views on the market and industry trends. The KEI’s presence at the event had excellent response from the members of Guwahati Electric Merchants Association.

(GEMA), Guwahati Sanitary and Hardware Merchants Association (GSHMA) & Interiors Solution. With the widest product range of KEI i.e. 0.5 Sq. mm cables to 400 kv Cables, INTCON was an excellent platform to have strategic business partnerships and fruitful industry dialogues with the best of north-east Indian market stakeholders.

Speaking on the event participation, Mr.Anil Gupta, CMD, KEI Wires & Cables mentioned, “North eastern states are fast growing markets. With the improvement in transportation and infrastructure, there has been immense development across this region. And it has opened newer industry opportunity for all of us. At INTCON 2022, we shared our entire range of products and solutions with key stakeholders in the exhibition. The interactions and response from everyone present at the event were excellent and we look forward to continue exchanging our knowledge, products and services at such forums for better tomorrow.” 

KEI Wires & Cables is the pioneer in the business with products that includes – house wires, EV Charging Cables, Solar cables, Communication cables, HV/MV Cables, LV Cables, Signal & Instrumentation Cables, etc. The brand is well known not only in India but also globally with a presence in 59 countries. The company has excellent market expansion plans deepening its presence in the retail space. Talking about the vision for KEI, Mr. Anil Gupta, CMD, KEI Wires & Cables, said, “I aspire to make KEI as the world’s leading electrical cables, wires and allied businesses company. As far as retail business goes, our focus remains on growing our dealer network by deepening our engagement with our channel partners and influencers to widen our customer base. With our retail presence, we are powering dreams of India’s 135 crore population, a consumption economy, by building and electrifying their homes.

64% of respondents are optimistic about the economy’s growth: Simplilearn 2022 State of Upskilling Survey

Mumbai, September 02, 2022: Simplilearn, a leading online bootcamp offering digital skills training, has published the findings of the 2022 State of Upskilling Midyear Learner Survey. The report highlights employee trends regarding career development through the past 12 months and expectations for the coming year. The survey was conducted to understand career trajectories of professionals in the past year – obstacles faced, what they did differently to improve their careers, the impact of these actions, and insight on new skills they have learned or plan to learn. The survey obtained responses from 750 learners and identified that 64% expect economic growth to continue and the pandemic to fade away. 69% plan to spend more time upskilling, while 72% are looking to change employers or pivot to a new career altogether.

Regarding the survey results, Dr. Will Wei Lin, Chief Marketing Officer, Simplilearn, said, “The pandemic has impacted professionals irrespective of gender or age. This has also been a challenging time for many in terms of career growth. However, it is promising to see the optimism in terms of post-pandemic development, and it is no doubt that the importance of continued learning has come through during this time. 2022 has been a year of transition. Digital transformation has come a long way from the onset of the pandemic in 2020. Enterprises today completely understand the need to have a digitally-skilled workforce. Further, In line with the survey findings, the positive sentiment of employees towards overall economic growth also extends to their individual needs for professional growth and development. We have seen a consistent upward trend amongst professionals and students in upskilling themselves in the latest skills.”

He further added, “What is interesting is that the desire to upskill is prevalent across levels and not limited to entry-level employees, with 77% CXOs and leaders stating that they plan to spend more time learning this year. This finding also indicates a dynamic and rapid shift across industries that requires all professionals, irrespective of designation, to upskill in new-age skills quickly and effectively. Upskilling has become a strong priority for all employees and enterprises, and we aim to continue empowering learners with relevant digital economy skills.”

At the same time, the ongoing competition for tech talent has persuaded some organizations to hire candidates who demonstrate good soft skills and a willingness to learn new technology skills to match the demands of their new positions. As a result, individuals who demonstrate responsibility for their own skill development and a history of ongoing learning are better positioned to compete for open jobs and command higher salaries.

Insights from the survey report indicate the following:

64% of respondents are optimistic about the economy’s growth and believe that the pandemic will fade away

While there is some uncertainty about continued economic recovery and the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, CXOs and VPs/Department Heads are most optimistic about recovery from the pandemic. People in large companies (5,000 to 9,999 employees) are optimistic about the pandemic ending but somewhat less certain about economic recovery.

Scarcity of critical skills was observed as the biggest challenge for respondents

While 37% of respondents cited lacking skill certifications or new skills their jobs required as an obstacle to career growth, 18% cited a lack of soft skills like verbal and written communication, supervisory skills, and presentation.

Data Science and Project Management were the top skills chosen by learners for upskilling

28% of the respondents who were planning to do better in their current roles and 30% of those who were looking to pivot to a new career showed interest in skills such as Data Science, Digital Marketing, and Project Management.

Both large and small enterprises emphasize continued learning

75% of employees in very small firms (fewer than 50 employees) and 73% of people in very large firms (over 10,000 employees) said they were planning to spend more time learning in the coming year. One inference from this finding is that small firms’ employees need to keep their skills current with emerging technologies and want a well-rounded skill set. Another insight is that large enterprises value continuous learning and encourage their employees to refresh their skills.

77% CXOs said that they are planning to spend more time on learning this year

The top and bottom of organizations are most interested in learning and upskilling. 77% of CXOs said they plan to spend more time learning in the coming year (compared to 69% of all respondents). 72% of individual contributors said they plan to spend more time learning in the coming year.

JK Tyre secures Best in Class rating in ESG performance

India, September 1, 2022: JK Tyre, a leading tyre manufacturer and the pioneer of Radial technology in India, announced that, CareEdge has undertaken the ESG rating of the Company.

In recognition of its superior environment, social and governance practices, JK Tyre has been rated as the best among peers, in the sub-industry category of tyre. The overall ESG score at 75 out of 100 is considered “Very Good”.

JK Tyre’s ESG performance is driven by strong commitment and performance on majority themes to ensure ESG integration. It is effectively implemented throughout its business. Transparent and well-defined policies make JK Tyre a market leader in Tyre industry.

Dr. Raghupati Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director, said, “We are extremely proud to share that JK Tyre has scored a “Very Good” rating on ESG parameters and is the best among peers in the industry. We believe that this recognition will further strengthen our unwavering commitments and responsibility towards conserving environment and serving societal needs. It is highly satisfying that we kept sustainability at the heart of our growth journey. We are committed to the goal of being a Green and Clean Company with sustainable use of green energy, green technology in manufacturing and reduction on fossil fuel dependence. We stood steadfast to our commitments towards our people and the larger community. We will continue to provide support through our well-structured and multifaceted CSR programs. We follow global best practices and uphold the highest standards of corporate governance and compliance.”