The ICT Committee of Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI) organized a Webinar on “ChatGPT and beyond, powered by Artificial Intelligence” on Monday evening. Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary ITE & C and Department of Industries & Commerce, Gov of Telangana was the Special Chief Guest. Addressing the virtual audience on Zoom he said it generates human-like responses. We have seen many advances in technology in the last ten years. ChatGPT is the latest in advancement of knowledge in the area of Artificial Intelligence (AI). ChatGPT is being used increasingly for fun purposes and fun questioning. I have asked for the most popular five Telugu proverbs. It not only gave them, both in Telugu, English, their meanings too. It has the ability to search so fast from vast data and give information. But, it is not 100% accurate. I asked "Who is Jayesh Ranjan?, the Health Secretary said. And I have not ever been a health secretary. Jayesh highlighted how ChatGPT and GPT tools can help the human race. Like any other technologies, it has its own pitfalls and dangers. Students can misuse its power. They may not do research and simply use these tools. Children feel "Why original thinking, let machines do?', this can be disastrous for society. When it was launched Elon Musk tweeted "Goodbye to HomeWork" Jayesh Ranjan said. He brought to the notice of his audience that a Princeton student created an app called GPTZero that outsmarts ChatGPT. With the help of this now we can know how much percentage of an Essay or presentation has ChatGPT content. It can work similar to the software that checks plagiarism, he said. Speaking about job loss, he said, these apprehensions are common whenever a new technology is introduced, people fear that there may be job losses. But on the contrary, it may create more new jobs. When compared to the advantages of GPT Engines, the pitfalls are far less. The state Telangana is focusing on AI and the year 2020 was observed as the year of AI in Telangana. The ICT Committee of FTCCI must now focus on GPT Engines and tools, said Mr. Jayesh Ranjan. Giving his welcome address Anil Agarwal, President of FTCCI said ChatGPT, GPT Tools and Engines will transform the way we do business, create content and curate it. In her opening remarks, Mrs. Khyati Naravane, CEO, FTCCI said ChatGPT can answer questions, talk in natural language, and does much more than what we can imagine as of now. FTCCI is always in forefront in deciphering new technology for the people of the city, Mr. K. Mohan Raidu, Chairman of ICT Committee, FTCCI said the webinar is timely and the need of the hour. It is disrupting the whole world with unimaginable tasks. The Webinar was addressed by Mr. Bala Prasad Peddigari, Chief Innovation Officer and Global Head - Technology Advisory Services, CMT Unit at TCS and Co-Chair,ICT Committee, FTCCI. Speaking about Evolution of Generative AI, AI Trends, Outlook, Open AI, Chat GP use cases he said Generative AI is a disruptive technology that can generate artifacts that previously relied on humans, delivering innovative results without the biases of human experiences and thought processes. These Artifacts include Images, text, audio, video or code. These can augment existing creative workflows collaboratively with humans through reinforcement. It has groundbreaking application and impact across Media, Communications, Manufacturing, Healthcare, IT and more Speaking about how it impacts the media and entertainment industry Bala Prasad said it is deep learning and is growing more popular as an AI writing tool. Though there are no signs of humans getting replaced soon for creative writing, GPT tools are now writing screenplay or stories for short films with plots and twists. Speaking about Generative AI Trends and Outlook quoting top Gartner Predictions, he said, 30% of outbound marketing messages from large organizations will be synthetically generated. 50% drug development initiatives will use generative AI. Speaking about ChatGPT he said, it mimics human conversations with versatility, nuance and improvisation. It generates content such as Essays, Music, Teleplays, Articles, Lyrics and many more. It summarizes 100 pages of documents into one single page. It is trained on nearly 175 billion parameters. Speaking about ChatGPT recent achievements he said B grade achieved in MBA degree exam at Wharton University of Pennsylvania; 99.9% score achieved in Psychology Today Verbal Linguistic Intelligence IQ Test. The two reasons why ChatGPT has become so popular are one, it is trained on nearly 175 billion parameters. Another reason is its Policy and Moderation because of which it avoids giving any responses on parameters such as hate, harassment, violence, self-harm, sexual, political, spam, deception and malware. He demonstrated how policy and moderation works by giving an example "Give a joke on Joe Biden". It says sorry, I have not rained on it

Young FICCI Ladies Organization (YFLO), Hyderabad Chapter organised a session “Untaboo Your Parenting” for young parents who were members of Anju Kish recently in the city. 250 Members and invited guests attended the session. Besides their members, representatives of the city’s few reputed schools such as HPS, Oakridge, Kangaroo Kids, New York Academy, Meridian School, The Premia Academy, and Shri Ram Academy also attended the knowledge-packed session that lasted a little over two and half hours. Anju Kish broke India's biggest wall, The Wall of Silence. She gave answers to many kids’ curious questions like How does a baby come into the tummy? What is Condom, Sanitary Pad, Gay, what is the meaning of showing the middle finger, what is FUCK? etc. "How does a baby come into the mummy?" A simple and age-appropriate explanation should work well. You can say something as simple as, there is a baby bag in the tummy in which there is a tiny seed, when the time is right, the mother’s seed mixes with the father through a scientific process and the seed grows into a baby just like a seed grows into a plant. Keep adding layers of age-appropriate information as they grow up, she informed. Speaking about how to explain a sanitary pad to six/seven years old kids, as kids are sometimes curious to know, she said and added that the baby bag in the tummy needs to be cleaned every month. While cleaning, sometimes a few blood stains come out, which will spoil clothes. That is why it is used, she explained. She shared a funny incident in this regard that happened to one of the participants of her workshop. A mother once placed an order for a Sanitary Pad online and an e-com portal door delivered it. The child who took delivery of the parcel opened it out of curiosity and asked his mother what it was and why it was bought. She responded that they were the napkins for a special occasion and kept the pack in the bathroom. The other day when guests visited, a mother was shocked to see the baby distributing them to the guests. The incident taught us that we must be careful in choosing words and explanations. On showing the middle finger and the meaning it conveys, she told her participants to explain it to their kids in simple words that it is slang, a bad word, a slang signage which means to show your private parts to others which is bad About FUCK, the word being used loosely and often and how to respond, she hinted at explaining it as slang, a word of disrespect and abuse. What it means is that you are asking other people to show their private parts to you. Gay is another term kids are curious to know and keep asking about it. When you are confronted with the question by your kid simply explain, Men like blue, and women like pink colour. Men like cars, and women like dolls. But what is wrong if a boy likes a pink colour, nothing right? Boys love girls and girls love boys and it is natural. But there may be a girl-loving girl and a boy-loving boy. That doesn’t mean that it is bad. We can't label them. We must respect that she gave her explanation. Anju herself faced a very tricky situation with her son who asked her what is the USA. And whether she visited it ever. She gave a normal explanation, “The United States of America”. And she confirmed that she had visited it. But to her shock, the boy told her that what it meant was ‘Under the Skirt Area’. She was astonished. Anju Kish is a Certified Sex Educator, double graduate, former journalist, an avid writer, passionate speaker and an out-of-the-box thinker, Anju is a mother of 2 teenagers with a cauldron of ideas that made the session fun and educative. She is a Founder of UnTaboo, a company dedicated to Safety and Sex Education. It has been working to break the taboos around the subject to nurture a safer society. Speaking further, Anju Kish said ‘we must decode the word sex education, and find another term. Though there are some words like ‘body literacy’, ‘Adolescent Education Program’ etc are used, we need better words so the people are not scared of it, she said. She told her participants to use conversation. It is generally believed that people experiment in urban cities, but people in rural areas are experimenting more than their urban counterparts. The session was aimed to educate and enlighten young and old moms, grandmas and everyone in the audience as to how to communicate with children of varied age groups when it comes to topics like sex, puberty, sexual identity and various questions that children ask. The session focused on breaking the taboo and giving the right answers to raise educated children with the right knowledge on these topics. This generation needs answers ahead of their time. Covering topics and questions for children from 2 years to 15 years, the session brought a new perspective on parenting where social stigma is broken and open communication was encouraged. This was an attempt to build a better society where every child is well-informed and not misinformed. Ultimately the session was helpful in building a responsible and empowered next generation that believes in open communication with their parents on every topic, shared Ms. Sonali Modi Saraf, Chairperson of YFLO. Prior to the session speaking to the media Anju Kish said that she was working towards changing the mindsets and making people realize that Sex education is not about sex, but about helping children transition smoothly from childhood to adulthood with a very positive and responsible attitude. India is said to have a high rate of teenage pregnancies. 53% of children in India between the ages of 5 to 12 are sexually abused. The average age at which a child in India watches porn is 11 and experiments with sex are 14 years. Many believe that sex education corrupts children, but the statistics of our country where there is sex education prove that …. sex education is not the culprit, it is the solution to keep the child safe.

Under the Leadership of Prof. Dr. Pratik Mungekar Memorandum of Understanding was signed on February 18, 2023, at a signing ceremony between Heritage International School and Vyomika Space Academy, powered by the Indian Space Research Organization, to establish Maharashtra's First Space Education Lab in Rural areas. Govind Yadav and Prof. Dr. Pratik Mungekar, on behalf of the VSA ISRO Space Tutor Program, were in attendance for the signing ceremony, along with Mr. Krishna Bhilare (Founder President) Mrs. Sangeeta Bhilare (Secretary) Mr. Kunal Bhilare (Director) Mrs. Yashaswini Bhilare (Administrative Coordinator) and Mrs. Renu Patil (Principal). According to Dr. Pratik, education broadens options for social mobility, improves economic prospects, and empowers women and young girls. While remote and rural communities have historically had difficulty getting access to education, space-based technologies like flying drones and RC aircraft, 3D printing and CAD modelling, robotics and coding, virtual reality and gamification, and STEM education are transforming these communities' educational opportunities. Space not only aids in the delivery of programmes but also inspires students. Space-related classes frequently pique students' interest and imagination and inspire both male and female young people to pursue careers in the sciences. Mr. Kunal Bhilare expressed that this space school will focus on gamifying space education and learning. Developing the world's next generation of astronauts, astrophysicists, space scientists, and aerospace engineers is our vision. We are excited to open the first rural space education lab in Maharashtra, which is now prepared for cosmic action in a small village school in Mulshi Tahsil, Pune. Vyomika Space Academy and Heritage International School will work with ISRO CBPO to assist kids in launching rockets, seeing solar system through telescopes, building robots, and flying aircraft. All schools will be able to visit this lab to study more about space, aviation, and satellites, as said by Ms. Renu Patil (Principal). Govind Yadav and Dr. Pratik Mungekar sir received special gratitude from Mrs. Yashaswini Bhilare for their encouragement and assistance. Leading ISRO scientist Dr. T. N. Sureshkumr sir virtually praised the country and predicted that with the help of these labs, India's future would be bright. The teachers and support staff at Heritage International School were present for this priceless signing event. Visionary Krishna Bhilare and Sangeeta Bhilare stated that we strive to provide all of our students at Heritage International School with the proper education and education in the right way.

Empowerment is a word that fills us with the energy to work for the betterment of the community. People have a myth that empowerment means becoming capable of earning something or becoming financially independent. A question arises in my mind when I look at this concept of empowerment. Youth is the strength of the nation. The progress of a country depends on how the youth gets treated and provides opportunities for development. Recently I got a chance to conduct a session on Life Skills for a group of youths. The title of the training program was Disaster Management and it was organized by the District Disaster Management Committee. I was amazed to hear the title. I conducted my session. It went on good. But I was curious to know what these trainers tell about disaster management. The next session was regarding rescue operations during floods. The session was an eye-opener. I had a belief that a rescue operation consists of a few experts that reach the flood-affected area with a rescue boat and a few life jackets and help people to shift to safe places. The most exciting part was the different types of life jackets that can be developed from the materials that are available at home. I then tried to know about the rest of the sessions. The trainers talked about the contents of the training like preparedness and rescue operations done during a few natural disasters like floods, fire, earthquakes, droughts, etc. It was great information. It changed the views I had regarding empowerment. The training was intended to help students learn techniques for helping people during calamities or disasters. Youth empowerment refers to encouragement for taking charge of their lives. It helps to address their concerns, access the resources and modify their consciousness. The youth of a nation expects equal opportunities for good health, education, skill building, and employment. The disaster management training covers all the elements. It is helping the youth to develop a new skill of saving lives. A calamity or disaster occurs suddenly. We cannot prevent it but can help to reduce the loss of life and property through proper strategies. The training focuses on making youth aware of the techniques for saving people and preventing loss due to accidents. For instance, when a fire breaks out in a building, a basic knowledge of evacuating the building can save many lives. But consider a situation when people are not aware of the precautions, the loss will be more. We all have recently witnessed a devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The news channels and newspapers give us updates on the difficult situations faced by these countries. It is difficult to compare any two situations or countries. We can certainly learn from the incidents of natural calamities taking place around us. India is a highly populated country. The people working with the disaster management cell are few. In this scenario, it becomes difficult to handle the sudden eruption of disasters. Increasing awareness among the youth will prepare more people to handle difficult situations. This can save several lives. Disaster management training is thus training the youths to fulfill the noble responsibility of saving many lives during difficult situations. Apart from managing the disasters, the training is a source of holistic development for the youth. The modules were framed beautifully to focus on all aspects of their growth and well-being. Every session was followed by a group discussion and presentation. There were different activities to enhance their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The youth learned to work in collaboration and in teams. They learned leadership skills and developed decisive qualities by learning about disasters and the techniques to face the challenges that they may face ahead in life. Above all, they learned the human qualities of caring for others and helping others. They explored the quality of being resilient and adapting to the changes going on around them. The disaster management training made them flexible and collaborative to handle crises in real life. They explored the safety and security concerns of their teammates and taking of themselves and others during tough situations. The training on disaster management is a marvelous opportunity to enable youth to acquire skills needed to handle tough situations in life. The participants are given the title of disaster friends after the training. The disaster friends should handle the responsibility of increasing awareness of disaster management. It is said that development is an empty slogan in the absence of awareness. The youths who acquire this training should sensitize others on the issues related to disasters or calamities. The training empowers youth to develop skills and courage to face adverse situations in life. Next time, when you talk about empowerment think about it beyond the financial gains. Any activity that improves your skill and makes you human is empowerment. Encourage the youth to participate in projects that help them learn the human virtues of sharing, caring, and respecting others. Digital influence and social media have robbed human qualities. Transform your views about empowerment and help the youth to be good human beings. Contribute to making them capable of handling the challenges and benefit others through their service. Courtesy : Dr. Anjum Qureshi ,Asst. Prof., RCERT, Chandrapur

It's always a terrific sensation when your articles receive captivating readership. I received these accolades, which are very dear to my heart. I have always referred to them as the real awards I have received so far. It seems odd and a little condescending to suggest that our failure to master appreciation might be one of the biggest obstacles to happiness. To begin, we don't usually think that appreciation is even a skill; rather, it seems like we are born with the ability to correctly determine what is worth preserving; and as a result, our evaluation of what is deserving of gratitude must be 100% accurate. Additionally, trusting that, regrettably, the majority of what is truly valuable is not yet in our possession is quite natural. Then, every once in a while, we may experience an unexpected emotion. We suddenly become overwhelmed by a new sense of its significance, beauty, and value when we arrive at something that is extremely familiar to us and easily accessible, but from which we have not derived value in years. The stillness of the evening at the top of the house, the view from the window, the way the sun is hitting the curtain, or our lover's hand resting on the table in front of us could all be the source. We are compelled to acknowledge some unidentified flaws in our mechanisms of appreciation and humblely ponder the extent to which these may extend due to the combination of the memory of our previous neglect and our newly elevated awareness. We might find ourselves on the verge of a big, bold, and ultimately disturbing idea: that we may already be significantly wealthier than we believe; that our dissatisfactions may be more due to our inability to derive value from the things we already have than from our desire for something else. When we stop to think about it, we realize that one of our biggest flaws and, as a result, the root of our unhappiness is our inability to appreciate the value of some of the things we already have. This makes us yearn, often unjustly, for the imagined attractions of other places, people, and things. About Dr Pratik Mungekar 1) He is the first Indian to be appointed as the planetary Minister of Sustainable Development of Newly emerging The Kingdom of Atlantis (a Decentralized Sovereign Kingdom) 2) He is the first youngest Indian whose book Introduction to Sustainable Development Goals (Non-Academic) is now part of the Atlantean Education program. 3) He is the first youngest Indian to receive 300+ Honorary Doctorates from all over the world. 4)He is the first youngest Indian professor who taught more than 8000+ Students & Career guided 4000+ Students to date & the count is still on. 5) He is the first Indian who has 850+ International, National & State Awards 6 National Patents, 15 World Records at the age of 28 for his contribution in the field of Teaching & Research. 6) He is the first youngest Indian to receive 125+ Honorary High Degrees across the Globe. 7) He is the first Indian to be appointed by 45+ International organizations on various High-positions at the same time. 8) He is the first youngest Indian to be appointed as Ambassador by 46 organizations of many countries in almost all disciplines. 9) He is the first Indian youngest professor to start teaching at the age of sixteen, the age of twenty Seven He has completed twelve years of Teaching. 10) He is the first Youngest Indian to receive Royal &Prestigious Titles such as 1)Lecturus Magnificus (L.M.), 2) H.R.H. 5* Duke. 11) First Youngest Indian to receive Mendeleev’s Fellowship ( United Kingdom’s Highest Academic Honour). 12)First Indian to receive the distinguished title “Professor Wisdom” from Institución Cultural Colombiana Casa Poética Magia y Plumas, Colombia South America. 13) Visting faculty in many National & Foreign Universities. 14) Director of Research & Innovation OXFAA University, Lighthouse Leadership University. 15) Vice Chancellor Unified Theological Seminary USA University of Kingdom of Atlantis Today, the name of Prof. Dr. Pratik Rajan Mungekar is no longer common but is emerging as a distinguished Scientist, Professor, World Educationist, Published Writer, Counsellor, Social Worker, and an International Speaker Instagram Id: https://www.instagram.com/drpratikmungekar/ Facebook id: https://www.facebook.com/Pratikmngkr7

PayU, India's leading online payments solutions provider, today announced the appointment of Manish Deo as its Head of Risk Operations and Anti-Money Laundering (AML). In his new role, Manish will oversee the risk management framework, mitigation strategies & risk operations across PayU’s payments business. PayU has always maintained risk operational governance as its key focus within its core governance areas to ensure the highest level of compliance, operational excellence and while building world class processes around these functions. As the brand strikes new strategic partnerships, Manish will oversee third-party risk management from a reputation, financial, regulatory & credit risk perspective as well as ensuring business resiliency. Manish will be responsible for leading the continual development and maintenance of appropriate policies, procedures, processes, and tools across PayU payments business. Commenting on the appointment, Anirban Mukherjee, Chief Executive Officer, PayU Payments, said, “We are pleased to bring in someone of Manish’s caliber and experience to take up the leadership of our risk and compliance responsibilities. Manish has an excellent record of risk management in financial services and his expertise and insights will be invaluable in our constant work to monitor and increase the effectiveness of our anti-financial crime efforts.” “Our journey of innovation must go hand in hand with strong risk management, for us to be able to create and expand our digital financial services responsibly”, he further added. Manish Deo, Head Risk Operations and AML, PayU payments, said, “PayU’s contribution to the Indian fintech landscape is exemplary, I’m excited to be part of PayU and make my contribution in fueling the company’s journey further as it continues to achieve new milestones.” Manish carries two decades of experience in risk management, digital transaction monitoring and credit risk strategies for payment and lending businesses. Prior to this, he worked as Senior Vice President and headed the risk containment unit in IndusInd bank. He also worked for Axis Bank and IDFC First Bank in Mumbai — focusing on various aspects of risk management frameworks in the space of, digital lending, transaction monitoring governance, prudential reporting, risk-based supervision and on payment business risks. He has been instrumental in setting up the fraud risk strategic frameworks and has extensive experience in risk management, governance and digital banking. About PayU: PayU, India's leading online payment solutions provider, is regulated under the Reserve Bank of India and has advanced solutions to meet the digital payment needs of the Indian market. PayU India aims to create a full-stack digital financial services platform to serve all (tapped and untapped) financial needs of customers (merchants, banks and consumers) through technology. PayU provides payment gateway solutions to online businesses through its cutting-edge and award-winning technology. PayU is one of the leading payment gateways in India & has empowered 5 lakh+ businesses, including leading enterprises, e-commerce giants and SMBs. It enables businesses to collect digital payments across 150+ online payment methods such as Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Net Banking, EMIs, BNPL, QR, UPI, Wallets, and more. It is a preferred partner in the affordability ecosystem, offering the maximum coverage of issuers & easy to implement integrations across card-based EMIs, pay later options and new-age cardless EMIs. PayU offers merchants best in industry success rates while ensuring a seamless checkout experience.

Tripto Rahman, a young and talented Bangladeshi musical artist, has taken the music industry by storm with his unique sound and style. Born on December 16, 1996, Tripto Rahman, whose full name is Shorif Hossain, is a singer, songwriter, musician, quotes writer, and YouTuber. He currently lives in Konapara, Jatrabari, Dhaka, but his hometown is Chandpur, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Tripto Rahman comes from a middle-class family and is the son of Mrs. Salina Rahman and Mr. Delower Hossain. He completed his S.S.C at Shahebgonj Secondary School in 2016 and his H.S.C at Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College. Tripto Rahman stands at 1.75 meters tall and weighs 60 kilograms. Tripto Rahman started his musical journey in 2021 and has quickly gained recognition for his unique sound and style. He is the owner of Mr. Media and his YouTube channel is a hub for his fans who love to stay updated on his latest projects and musical journey. Tripto Rahman's versatility as an artist has made him a popular name in the Bangladeshi music industry. Tripto Rahman's passion for music is evident in his work and his dedication to his craft has made him one of the most sought-after artists in Bangladesh. With his unique voice and musical abilities, Tripto Rahman is quickly becoming a household name in the music industry. In conclusion, Tripto Rahman is a rising star in the Bangladeshi music industry and his unique sound and style have captured the hearts of many. With his passion for music and dedicated work ethic, there is no doubt that Tripto Rahman will continue to make great strides in his career and leave a lasting impact on the music industry. Follow this artist on social media Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/MrTriptoRahman Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/MrTriptoRahman YouTube link: https://youtube.com/@MrTriptoRahman Twitter link: https://twitter.com/MrTriptoRahman Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6vKgfCzW3S6BL1xosTmcnN Courtesy: Tongi, Gazipur, Dhaka, Bangladesh

“There are lots of exciting and varied roles for female actors nowadays. The roles for female actors are very well written but the perception that female-centric films do well on OTT platforms bothers me,” opined well-known actress Vidya Balan. She was speaking on the topic 'The Challenges of Female Actors in the Entertainment World’ during the Masterclass at the 21st Pune International Film Festival organized by the Pune Film Foundation and Maharashtra Government today at PVR Icon in Pavilion Mall on Senapati Bapat Road. Dr. Jabbar Patel, Director of PIFF interacted with the actress on the occasion. “Nowadays, female actors are doing great and female-centric films can do well as people are hungry for different content. On the other hand, roles for male actors are stereotyped. I always tell the director to give me what I have not done before. The roles might be great, but most are inflexions and variations of old roles. I want to do something, which I cannot imagine doing,“ said the 44-year-old actress, while stating that she however doesn’t like doing issue-based films as cinema is for entertainment and not for preaching. Vidya Balan who decided to pursue her career in acting after watching Madhuri Dixit’s famous song ‘Ek Do Teen’ from Tezaab, recalled that during the initial phase of her career, she was ‘thrown out’ of the 12 films she was signed for and it was something that shattered her. “But I did not give up and it was Director Pradip Sarkar, who showed faith in me. It was after I did a video for the band Euphoria, things started changing for me and I started getting offers. Similarly, my career changed after the film Ishqiya in 2010,” said Balan. She concluded by saying “Everyone should live their lives well, observe people and their surroundings and learn from it to grow in their careers.”

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are fast emerging as the vehicle of choice across multiple applications, and the organized last-mile delivery space is likely to dominate 25% of sales by 2025, according to a report titled ‘Electric Vehicles: Future of Last-Mile Deliveries in India’, published today by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The growing popularity of EVs in the last mile delivery segment can be gauged from the multiple ‘Proof of Concepts’ (PoCs) being carried out and the ambitious fleet electrification commitments by key players in food, grocery and e-commerce delivery. Food delivery aggregator Zomato, for instance, has announced 100% electrification of its fleet by 2030, while grocery delivery service provider Big Basket has announced >70% fleet electrification by 2024, indicating a huge market opportunity for the EV ecosystem. BCG has undertaken extensive primary and secondary research to decode this space - 40+ industry experts have been interviewed including senior executives from OEMs, delivery platforms, energy & battery players and EV asset operators. 50+ EV drivers have been interviewed to understand usage patterns and on-ground challenges. The report highlights the reasons for the popularity of EVs in the organized last-mile delivery market, the emerging shifts in market dynamics and the actions that the key players of the EV ecosystem must undertake to capitalize on this opportunity. Natarajan Sankar, Managing Director & Partner and Lead, Auto and Mobility practice, BCG India said, “Last-mile deliveries are set to experience significant growth over the next five years, with a CAGR of 15-20% across a wide range of applications. For instance, the food delivery sector is projected to see a CAGR of 30% during this period. This robust growth along with supporting regulatory measures, will drive the need and demand for expanded delivery fleets, leading to a 20-30% increase in adoption of EVs by 2025.” The report points out that the environmental benefits of EV deployment are not the sole determinant but financial benefits in the longer term owing to the reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) over internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles plays a significant role. Moreover, various regulatory measures by the Central and State Governments in the form of subsidies and adoption mandates are driving factors behind EV adoption. The report further throws insight into shifts in market dynamics, especially ownership patterns and operating models, owing to fleet electrification. Some of the key findings that the report revealed are: EV ownership models are different from ICE vehicles: The report points to lower ownership by driver owners owing to higher upfront costs, perceived uncertainty about technology, range anxiety, and limited awareness of TCO benefits. These factors have paved the way for EV asset operators to purchase vehicles and offer fleets on rental contracts. The increasing role of delivery platforms as influencers: Vehicle models are no longer chosen solely based on recommendations from dealers; end-customers — such as e-commerce, and food delivery platforms — act as influencers and drive vehicle selection for their fleets. They conduct pilot programs with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to identify the best-suited models for their usage and unit economics, based on which they make purchase recommendations. OEMs must factor in this trend in laying out market strategies. Growing need for ‘fit-for-purpose’ vehicles: Research indicates higher demand for 2-wheelers, as these models are used for both delivery and personal usage. Delivery personnel have unique needs, including large storage space, good pickup even after putting in heavy load, customizations like backrest for usage over longer periods etc., and at the same time, use the vehicle for personal commute after work. Therefore, the design of the vehicles needs to factor in the purpose of end-users. Potential to deepen TCO benefits by improving EV utilization: There is potential to increase utilization (km covered/day) by 50% by cross-utilizing vehicles across applications to minimize downtime. EV asset operators serving numerous customers are best suited to implement this, given they serve multiple customers. Such shifts require a recalibration of strategies of OEMs, EV asset operators and other players. OEMs cannot continue to rely on conventional dealer-driven channels and will need to reimagine GTM (Go-to-market). They also need to focus on product strategy for this segment. EV asset operators must be able to differentiate their value proposition to play a more significant role in a maturing market. Delivery companies e.g., e-commerce firms need to adopt a concerted approach to increase EV adoption and achieve their targets. A copy of the report can be downloaded here.

Marathi Film ‘Madaar’ directed by Mangesh Mahadev Badar won the Government of Maharashtra’s Sant Tukaram Best International Marathi Film Award at the closing ceremony of the 21st Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) held at the Sakal Lalit Kalaghar at Mukundnagar on Thursday. ‘Madaar’ also won several other awards including Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal Best Director Award, which was bagged by Mangesh Badar. For Madaar, actor Milind Shinde won the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal Best Actor Award, while Amruta Agarawal won the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal Best Actress Award. Akash Bankar and Ajay Balerao won the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal Best Cinematographer Award for the film . Meanwhile, Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal Best Screenplay Award was won by Rahul Awate for the film ‘Panchak’. The Special Mention Jury Award for the Director was bagged by Kavita Datir and Amit Sonawane for ‘Giraki’ while the Special Mention Jury Award for Art Director was won by Kunal Vedpathak for the film ‘Diary of Vinayak Pandit’. The Government of Maharashtra Prabhat International Best Film Award was won by the film ‘Tori and Lokita’ directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc-Dardenne. The Government of Maharashtra Best International Best Director Award and the MIT-SFT Human Spirit Award was won by Maryna Er Gorbach for the film ‘Klondike’. In the world competition, the special jury mention for the film was won by ‘Boy From Heaven’ directed by Tarik Saleh, while the Special Jury Mention for the actress was won by Lubna Azabel for the film ‘The Blue Caftan’. The awards were presented by a host of dignitaries including Sudhir Mungatiwar, Maharashtra Cultural Minister, Chandrakant Patil Pune District Guardian Minister and well-known actress Vidya Balan. Addressing the gathering Sudhir Mungatiwar urged the film fraternity to include Environmental issues in the films, which may help raise awareness about ecological problems.' “When I became the finance minister, I had asked where Maharashtra stood economically in the world and I got to know that it was at 36th rank. Likewise, when I became the cultural minister, I again asked where the state stood and I got to know it was in the 10th position. Accordingly, the government is considering having Film-based Equity on the lines of the stock markets,” he said. Chandrakant Patil requested the cultural minister to give Pune a Film Studio, which can be useful for the shooting of films. Vidya Balan said, “I was sceptical whether people visit theatres to watch the films as all the content is available online. However, the festival has proved that it is unique as people had been thronging the theatres to watch the films.” Dr. Jabbar Patel, Director of PIFF made the opening remarks after a musical program by National Award Winning Vocalists Rahul Deshpande and Priyanka Barve.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a growth-focused budget for FY23, Here are some of the reactions from different sections. Education Dr Yajulu Medury, Vice Chancellor, Mahindra University ''The budget provides a much-needed impetus towards empowering the education sector and youth towards helping them realize their true potential. The setting up of 100 5 G-enabled labs to develop apps in engineering institutions and 3 centres of excellence in Artificial Intelligence is a major step towards 'Make AI in India and Make AI Work for India' and helps in shaping the new engineer of today. The 30-skill India international centres across states will further promote interdisciplinary research for developing cutting-edge applications to transform critical sectors and provide solutions for sustainable cities. In order to bridge the skill gap in India, the budget is in line with Mahindra University's focus on integrating critical thinking and problem-solving through a dynamic and diverse curriculum.'' Dr Ashwini Kumar Sharma, Director General, VIPS, Delhi, ( Ex VC, Symbiosis Skills and Professional University, Pune) “The focus on empowering our youth with skills is the major highlight of this budget and this will be one of the clear distinctions that will define our future. The announcements on spurring innovation through setting up institutions for AI and 5G labs will be immensely helpful in building a foundation for a technology and knowledge-based economy”. Real Estate Anand Shukla, MD, Ocean Infraheights (Golden I) 'The announcement for INR 10,000 crore per year for urban infra development fund will provide a major boost to the real estate sector. This will be beneficial for the use of priority sector lending shortfall and will provide robust momentum to the real estate sector. The enhancement of 66% in the outlay for PM Awaas Yojana, will ensure the protection of housing rights at the grassroots level. Our initiatives in the areas of retail, IT/ITES offices, and residential construction are in line with the goal of promoting sustainable economic development while preserving the environment. Pharma sector Farhan Pettiwala, Head of Corporate Affairs, Hikal Limited “Under the provisions of the Union Budget, a new programme for research in pharmaceuticals will be formulated that will not only promote R&D investments but also encourage to invest in research that would boost the pharma sector. The reduction of basic customs duty on acid-grade fluorescence from 5% to 2.5% is a big relief for the pharma industry as it will make the domestic fluorochemicals industry Atma-Nirbhar. Similarly, the exemption of denatured alcohol used in the chemical industry, will support the ethanol blending program and facilitate the energy transition. Meanwhile, 10000 Bioresource input centres will truly help India create a national-level Bio resource micro fertilizer and pesticide manufacturing network.” Tech / Telecom Manoranjan Mohapatra, CEO, Comviva “With the ongoing 5G rollouts in India, the government's decision to establish 100 5G application Labs is a timely move to spur innovation in developing the 5G ecosystem and India relevant use cases. There is a great opportunity to combine 5G and AI to improve network speed, responsiveness, and efficiency. The special emphasis on establishing AI centres of excellence shall help produce specialized talent to enable India preserve its global advantage and leadership. These are extremely positive initiatives and shall bring technological advancements to the country as AI and 5G are the two most critical elements to enable futuristic innovations and developed related 5G ecosystem.” Matthew Foxton, India Regional President & Executive Vice-President, Branding & Communications · IDEMIA “I am pleased to see the focus in Union Budget to strengthen the Digital ecosystem, India's digital advancements in this decade have been remarkable, especially the integration of digital infrastructure and identity framework. Establishing a strong national identity system is crucial as it boosts security, drives economic growth, and strengthens social unity. The adoption of a unified KYC process, utilizing Digilocker and Aadhaar as the primary means of identity verification, is a positive step forward and will increase financial accessibility for marginalized communities”. Arvind Bali, CEO, Telecom Sector Skill Council “The government's focus on the skill development of India's potential youth talent through initiatives like NEP, PMKVY 4.0 for skilling in niche new-age technologies like 5G, AI, 3D printing, drones, coding, mechatronics, robotics, and IoT draws further impetus to the ongoing efforts. Blue and grey-collar job demand in India grew by up to four-fold in 2022. Annual demand in telecommunications and 5G have increased by 33.7 per cent in September 2022. There was a demand for 1.3 million workers in FY22-23 which is growing each year and. New use-cases including cloud computing, robots, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are also seeing a sharp rise in hiring. We believe the initiatives will be beneficial to close country's growing demand supply gap of technical talent workforce. With the government's push to establish 30 Skill India international centres, 100 premier labs for developing applications to use 5G services, and centres of excellence for AI, India has the potential to deliver talent not only across domestic markets but also to the international market. The initiative like the Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) is also a progressive move by the government to uplift the tribal population and empower the students to take up new job opportunities.” Rajiv Bhalla, Managing Director, India & Vice President APAC, at Barco “Indian economy is heading towards a bright future, the 'Saptrishi' of the Budget 2023 prioritizes on inclusive development, reaching last mile, unleashing potential, green growth, youth power. Announcement around adding 50 tourist destinations as a whole package and focusing holistically on physical as well as virtual connectivity, tourist guides, high standards for food streets and tourists’ security through an app to enhance tourist experience, is a significant step that will unlock growth and job opportunities in the sector. The Budget is perfectly aligned with Barco’s aim to make India a popular tourist destination with visible impact, allowing people to enjoy compelling entertainment experiences. Further, Budget has focused on overall growth & sustainability as India has the potential to be a world-class infrastructure centre, moving toward net zero carbon emissions by 2070 & setting up the AI based solutions in health, education, and sustainable cities will give additional push towards the extensive use of technology”. A. Gururaj, MD, Optiemus Electronics “This year’s budget is a strong effort to consolidate the Indian economy in post-pandemic dynamics, raising the personal tax exemption limit will certainly boost consumption and the electronics industry will surely benefit from it. Continuing the import duty cuts on Camera Lens and batteries for mobile manufacturing is a welcome step and this will continue to fuel the remarkable growth India has witnessed in domestic manufacturing.” Jagdish Mitra, Chief Strategy Officer & Head of Growth, Tech Mahindra “It is a very positive budget from a technology sector perspective, as it sets the right message about 5G labs, setting up AI centre of excellence and the focus around skilling, which is absolutely the key need for the country as we live through the Prime Minister’s vision on TechAde and technology being the core enabler. From a business perspective, steps around ease of doing business have been taken and I think that's commendable. I would like to congratulate the Finance Minister and the government for taking these steps”. Start-ups Tarun Sharma, Founder and CEO, Yodda Elder Care “The budget is inspiring and encouraging for the start-up ecosystem. For the elders and seniors, setting up 157 new nursing colleges is a positive step in increasing the number of caregivers and is in line with the commitment to increasing public health expenditure to reach 2.5% of GDP by 2025. Also, the limit enhancement in the senior citizen savings scheme to Rs 30 lakhs is likely to encourage more savings from seniors. While this budget is very positive for the masses, it misses the intent and lacks inclusiveness for the senior citizens. With the rise of the ageing population, there is an urgent need for professional at-home care services for elders. While businesses like caregiving or home visits from nurses have been freed of tax burdens, at-home elder care continues to be taxed at a rate of 18% GST - a factor limiting the affordability and reach of such services. We urgently need these services to be tax-exempt or taxed at a lower rate to ease the burden on the senior citizens.” Neha Bagaria founder & CEO of JobsForHer “We appreciate the emphasis on training the young population, and the decision to decrease the total tax obligation, which encourages domestic spending. However, we were hoping for a gender-inclusive budget that would offer more chances for women's career growth, tax incentives to hasten their skills development, lower the cost of higher education for women, and provide support for female entrepreneurs. Hope these are also included in future drafts”. Energy / Sustainability Dr. Prateek Kanakia, Chairman and Founder, TheGreenBillions "This budget should be labelled as the first Green Budget as the businesses can now adopt a greener approach and cultivate sustainable solutions practices with the allocation of ₹35,000 for priority capital investment towards energy transition. Launching the national green hydrogen mission is a significant step in moving towards clean & green energy. Further, municipal solid waste can play an important role in achieving a hydrogen production capacity of 5 metric million tonnes by 2030. Given India’s G20 presidency, this budget is a watershed moment in India’s fight towards climate change.” Economy Ms PREETI MALHOTRA, Chairman, India - Foreign Investors India Forum Extremely happy to note that the vision of ‘Saptarishi’ outlined in the budget today is a vision for Bharat@100 – a democratic and developed nation by 2047. India’s growth plans are ambitious, ‘unleashing potential’ requires intense capital investment that must be financed by exploring current avenues such as FDI which continues to be a key catalyst for growth. Foreign Investors, especially OCIs, who are more committed to the motherland require certain liberalisation in terms of taxation of global income on extended stays in the country. Several reports and case studies have shown a strong positive correlation between FDI and economic growth and a lot of our Asian neighbours have successfully used FDI to achieve exponential growth. For India too, this must be the next immediate step to direct the nation towards “Amrit Kaal.” Nilanjan Banik, Economist, Mahindra University “It is a fantastic budget. It has elements of unleashing purchasing power both from the perspective of consumers and businesses. For the common man, there has been an increase in tax rebates. For businesses and the economy as a whole, there has been an increase in the allocation of capital expenditure. Capital expenditure is hiked to Rs 10 trillion and this money when used for building roads, ports, and airports will lead to a further round of income and employment generation. Additionally, an all-time high allocation towards the railway sector will complement this connectivity pan-India and will make India a better place to do business. And all of this spending towards capital expenditure is undertaken by taking into consideration that the fiscal deficit is kept under control. Money is being spent judiciously and towards the infrastructure sector, keeping in mind the long-term (amrit kaal) growth”.

Veteran actor and renowned Comedian Johnny Lever opined that lockdown enhanced the challenges of scriptwriters as various social media platforms easily offered humorous programs to the audience, who became used to it. Johnny Lever was speaking during a Masterclass titled ‘Humour in Cinema’ during the 21st Pune International Film Festival, organized by Pune Film Foundation and Government of Maharashtra, at the PVR Icon on the Senapati Bapat Road on Tuesday. Pune Film Foundation President and PIFF Director Dr Jabbar Patel interacted with Lever, who rose from a humble background. “The sense of humour of the public has increased. People are able to view comedy content in short videos on social media and thus the challenge of script-writers for writing comedy is increasing,” Johnny Lever said. “Comedy has to be ingrained and comedians are born with it. I indulged in the mimicry of actors and mimicked most of the actors including Ashok Kumar, Jeevan and Jagdeep. But the transition to acting was indeed difficult and I struggled for 12 years just to get that right. Reacting to other actors’ roles is an important trait for comedians and that was what I learned through observation during the shoots,” said Johnny. Considering Charlie Chaplin as his godfather and Late Comedian Johnny Walker as a man with profound world knowledge, Lever also said that comedy was a serious business but nowadays most of the times the directors and writers lack discipline and compromise on the content, which may result into failure of the film. “Earlier, filmmaking was a challenging job as the directors went out of their way to cast an actor for a particular role but that’s not the case nowadays as filmmakers look for easy ways for casting actors. One cannot just make people laugh at trivial things as it takes efforts and for that the entire credit goes to the actor,” Johnny Lever asserted. Speaking on indecency in the films, Johnny Lever said that when there is a dearth of original content it paves the way for vulgarity. Speaking on Late Comedian Mehmood, Johnny Lever said, “Initially when I worked with him, I was under a lot of pressure as Mehmood was a great star with a massive fan following. Nevertheless, he took me under his wings and taught me the art of humour.”