Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi  inaugurated RAISE 2020, a Mega Virtual Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI) today. RAISE 2020 is a global meeting of minds to exchange ideas and chart a course for using AI for social transformation, inclusion and empowerment in areas like Healthcare, Agriculture, Education and Smart Mobility, among other sectors.

The Prime Minister praised the organizers for encouraging discussion on Artificial Intelligence. He said Technology has transformed our workplaces and has improved connectivity. He hoped the merger between  social responsibility and AI would enrich AI with human touch. He said the teamwork of AI with humans can do wonders for our planet.

He pointed that India has led the world in knowledge & learning and will continue to digitally excel  and delight the world.

Shri Modi said India has experienced how technology helps in improving transparency and service delivery.

The Prime Minister stressed how the world’s largest unique identity system – Aadhaar along with the world’s most innovative digital payments system – UPI has enabled providing access to digital services, including financial services, like Direct Cash Transfers to the poor and marginalised. During the pandemic, it has enabled in reaching out to people with help, at the earliest and in the most efficient manner.

The Prime Minister wished India to become a global hub for Artificial Intelligence and hoped many more Indians would start working on this in the times to come. He said the approach towards this goal is powered by core principles of: Teamwork, Trust, Collaboration, Responsibility and Inclusivity.

The Prime Minister said India has recently adopted the National Education Policy 2020, which focuses on technology-based learning and skilling as a major part of education. He added E-courses will also be developed in various regional languages and dialects. This whole effort will benefit from Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities of AI platforms. He said under the ‘Responsible AI for Youth’ program launched in April 2020, more than 11,000 students from schools completed the basic course. They are now building their AI projects.

The Prime Minister said the National Educational Technology Forum will create an e-Education unit to boost the digital infrastructure, digital content and capacity. He elaborated the steps taken to keep pace with the emerging technologies like setting up of Virtual labs, Atal Innovation Mission.

He said the National Programme on Artificial Intelligence will be dedicated for solving problems of society.

Shri Modi listed the sectors in which he envisions a big role for AI – agriculture, creating next generation urban infrastructure, addressing urban issues like: reducing traffic jams, improving sewage systems and laying energy grids, making disaster management systems stronger and solving the problem of climate change. He suggested using AI to seamlessly bridge language barriers and preserve the diversity of languages and dialects. He also suggested using AI for knowledge sharing.

The Prime Minister said Algorithm Transparency is key to establishing trust in how AI is used and it remains our collective responsibility to ensure it.

He urged to protect the world against weaponization of AI by Non-State Actors. He said human creativity and human emotions continue to be our greatest strength and are our unique advantage over machines. He urged everyone to think about how this intellectual edge over machines can be retained and ensure human intelligence is always a few steps ahead of AI. He said we should think about how AI can help humans to increase their own capacities.

The Prime Minister said AI will unlock the unique potential of each person and will empower them to contribute more effectively to the society. He urged the participants at RAISE 2020 to exchange ideas and chart a common course for the adoption of Artificial Intelligence. He wished that the Action Roadmap for Responsible AI created out of the discussion would help in transforming the  lives and livelihoods of people across the world.

Distinguished guests from India and abroad, Namaste!

Welcome to RAISE Responsible AI for Social Empowerment Summit. This is a great effort to encourage discussion on Artificial Intelligence. You all have rightly highlighted aspects relating to technology and human empowerment. Technology has transformed our work places. It has improved connectivity. Time and again, technology has helped us solve key challenges. I am sure this merge between social responsibility and AI will enrich AI with human touch.

Friends, 

Artificial intelligence is a tribute to human intellectual power. The power to think enabled humans to make tools and technologies. Today, these tools and technologies have also acquired the power to learn and think! In this, one key emerging technology is AI. The teamwork of AI with humans can do wonders for our planet.

Friends,

At every step of history, India has led the world in knowledge and learning. In today’s age of IT as well, India is making outstanding contributions. Some of the brightest tech leaders belong to India. India has also proved to be the power-house of the global IT services Industry. We will continue to digitally excel and delight the world.

Friends,

In India, we have experienced that technology improves transparency and service delivery. We are home to the world’s largest unique identity system- Aadhaar. We also have the world’s most innovative digital payments system-UPI. This has enabled providing access to digital services, including financial services, like Direct Cash Transfers to the poor and marginalised. In the pandemic situation, we saw how India’s digital readiness was of great help. We reached out to people with help, at the earliest and in the most efficient manner. India is rapidly expanding its optical fibre network. The aim is to provide every village with high speed internet connectivity.

Friends,

Now, we want India to become a global hub for AI.  Many Indians are already working on this. I hope many more do so in the times to come. Our approach to this is powered by core principles of: Teamwork, Trust, Collaboration, Responsibility and Inclusivity.

Friends,

India has recently adopted the National Education Policy 2020.  It focuses on technology-based learning and skilling as a major part of education.  E-courses will also be developed in various regional languages and dialects. This whole effort will benefit from  Natural Language Processing  (NLP)  capabilities of AI platforms. We launched Responsible AI for Youth program this year in April, under this programme, more than 11000 students from schools completed the basic course.  They are now building their AI projects.

Friends,

The National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) is being formed. This will create an

e-Education unit to boost the digital infrastructure, digital content and capacity. Virtual  labs are being established to provide hands-on experience to learners. We have also launched the Atal Innovation Mission to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. Through these steps, we aim to keep pace with emerging technologies  for people’s benefit.

Friends.

I would also like to mention about the National Programme on Artificial Intelligence. Thiswill be dedicated towards rightful use of AI for solving problems of society. It will be implemented with the support of all stakeholders. RAISE can be a platform to brain storm in this regard.  I invite all of you to actively participate in these efforts. 

Friends,

 There are a few challenges that I would like to pose to this august audience. Can we use Artificial Intelligence for the optimal management of our assets and resources? At some places, resources are idle. While in other place, there is a shortage of resources. Can we dynamically reallocate them to find optimal use? Can we delight our citizens with proactive and prompt delivery of services at their doorsteps.?

Friends,

The future belongs to the youth. And, every youngster matters. Each child has unique talents, capabilities and aptitudes. At times, the right person ends up at the wrong place.

There is a way we can change that. How about every child observing him or herself while growing up? Can parents, teachers and friends- carefully observe children? Observe them from their childhood to the start of adulthood. And, keep a record of them. This will go a long way in helping a child discover his or her natural calling. Those observations can be effective guiding forces for youngsters. Can we have a system which gives an analytic report on the aptitude of each child?  This would open doors of opportunity for many youngsters.  Such human resource mapping will have long-lasting benefits, in governments and businesses.

Friends,

 I see a big role for AI in empowering Agriculture, healthcare.  Creating next generation urban infrastructure. And, addressing urban issues like: reducing traffic jams. Improving sewage systems and Laying our energy grids.  It can be used for making our disaster management systems stronger. It can even be used to solve the problem of climate change.

Friends,

Our planet is blessed with several languages.  In India, we have several languages and dialects. Such diversity makes us a better society. As Professor Raj Reddy just suggested, why not use AI to seamlessly bridge language barriers. Let us think about simple and effective ways of how AI can empower Divyang sisters and brothers.

Friends,

Why not use AI for knowledge sharing? There are few things as empowering as making knowledge, information and skills easily accessible.

Friends,

It remains our collective responsibility to ensure trust in how AI is used.  Algorithm Transparency is key to establishing this Trust.  Equally important is accountability. We must protect the world against weaponistion of AI by Non-State Actors.

Friends,

While we discuss AI, let also have no doubts that human creativity and Human emotions continue to be our greatest strength. They are our unique advantage over machines.  the smartest of AI cannot solve mankind’s problems without blending with our intellect and empathy. We should also think of how we will retain this intellectual edge over machines? We should ensure that we take care so that human intelligence is always a few steps ahead of AI. We should think about how AI can help humans to increase their own capacities. I want to state again:- AI will unlock the unique potential of each person. It will empower them to contribute more effectively to the society.

Friends,

Here at RAISE 2020, we have created a global forum for the world’s leading stakeholders. Let us exchange ideas and chart a common course for the adoption of Artificial Intelligence. It is critical that all of us work together as partners for this. I thank you for coming together to participate in this truly global event. I wish the Global Summit all success. I am sure that the discussions over the next four days will help create an Action Roadmap for Responsible AI. A roadmap that can truly help transform lives and livelihoods across the world. My best wishes to you all.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi  inaugurated RAISE 2020- ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020,’ late yesterday, in the  presence of Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister for Electronics & IT, Communications & Law & Justice, Professor Raj Reddy, Turing Awardee, Padma Bhushan awardee, former Co-Chair, US President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee, Shri Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries Ltd, Dr. Arvind Krishna, CEO, IBM India, Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog and Shri Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & IT. The summit will have 45 sessions from October 5-9, with participation of around 300 speakers from academia, industry and government.

Speaking on the occasion Prime Minister emphasised that at every step of history, India has led the world in knowledge and learning. In today’s age of IT as well, India is making outstanding contributions. He also underlined the committed to make India AI hub of the world.

“India has also proved to be the powerhouse of the global IT services industry. We will continue to digitally excel and delight the world. We want India to become a global hub for AI. Many Indians are already working in this area. I hope many more do so in the times to come. Our approach to this is powered by the core principles of teamwork, trust, collaboration, responsibility and inclusivity,” Shri Modi said.

“India’s National programme on AI will be dedicated towards the rightful use of AI in solving societal problems,” the Prime Minister added. Shri Modi also emphasized that we must ensure that human intellect should always be a few steps ahead of AI. “While we discuss AI, let us also have no doubts that human creativity and human emotions continue to be our greatest strength. They are our unique advantage over machines. Even the smartest of AI cannot solve mankind’s problems without blending with our intellect,” Shri Modi said.

Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad elaborated on the Government of India’s emphasis on developing AI capabilities in the country. He said that the government has set up AI centers of excellence and that more such centers will be set up to train the youth. “Technology at times overwhelms us, but we welcome AI to generate development and promote equity. India’s resource of demographic dividend will play a key role in promoting pools of skilled professionals to take the country’s AI ecosystem forward. India’s application of AI will become a beacon for the world,” Shri Prasad said.

In his address, Mr. Mukesh Ambani said India has the power of data generated by over a billion Indians that would catapult it to becoming a leading global AI player. “When 1.3 billion Indians are digitally empowered, they will unleash proliferation of digital enterprises that will create faster growth, better standards of living and superior opportunities across society,” Mr. Ambani said.

According to independent studies, AI has the potential to raise India’s annual growth rate by 1.3% and add USD 957 billion to the country’s economy by 2035.

“At a global level, AI will unlock USD 15.7 trillion in productivity by 2030 and it has the potential to not only boost economic growth but improve the livelihoods of millions around the world,” Dr Arvind. Krishna said.

Professor Reddy emphasized the benefits of AI in bridging language barriers and for managing pandemic situations.

“Today, we can do things which were impossible to do 50 years ago. Using AI, anyone can translate from any language to any language ride in a self-driving car and play Chess at Grandmaster level. Looking forward, we can expect AI to help eliminate lockdowns, replace one-size-fits-all education by personalizing education based on individual student capabilities and interests, watch any movie and talk to anyone in any language and empower the people at the bottom of the pyramid,” he said.

The inauguration was followed by a session on the way forward for transforming the world using artificial intelligence. The session featured tech talks by Professor Reddy, Mr. Kant, and Mr. Sawhney. The session was moderated by Mr. Abhishek Singh, President & CEO, NeGD and CEO, MyGov.

So far, more than 61,000 stakeholders from academia, the research industry and government representatives from 140 countries have registered to participate in RAISE 2020.

From agriculture to fin-tech and healthcare to infrastructure, India is witnessing rapid development in the integration of artificial intelligence. On the back of its technological prowess and the richness of its data, India can become the AI laboratory of the world and contribute to inclusive development. The RAISE 2020 Summit (http://raise2020.indiaai.gov.in/) serves as a platform for discussion and consensus building to help create a data-rich environment, which will help to eventually transform lives globally.

About RAISE 2020:

RAISE 2020 is a first-of-its-kind, global meeting of minds on Artificial Intelligence to drive India’s vision and roadmap for social transformation, inclusion and empowerment through responsible AI. Organized by Government of India along with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and NITI Aayog, the event will witness robust participation from global industry leaders, key opinion makers, Government representatives and academia.

We all are experiencing a sudden pandemic on global scale. We all on the new phase of ‘new normal’. There are certain restrictions but still many business organizations are focusing on the ‘back to office’ thing.

It is very needed that the leaders should focus that the working environment should be as safe as possible. The different steps taken by the government like installing of scree, re-arranging of desks in cubical forms and many other, so that there is no direct contact with each other and the work force at least returns.

But the question always remains what will happen next? Still the business needs to look at past the ‘new normal’ and the next challenges that they will be facing.

About the old normal or pre-COVID era

Before six months also, we did not know that business and its working condition will suddenly change dramatically. The workplace will suddenly change from ‘office’ to ‘home’. This environment is very daunting as we never experienced such condition before.

A lot of changes leaders and business entrepreneurs had to undergo.  Remote working and flexible hours came into their concern. Though employees are working from home for full time but still are missing the office space and social attachments.

When we emerge from this phase of life, we will prove that our organization  are very much more adaptable by us than working from home for full time. But working from home is leading to an increase in loyalty, this fact cannot denied.

The future state of ‘New Normal’

Many changes have already taken place, but still there more certain changes yet to come. This process is not going to be a short-run process but a long term process. The pain and strain gained from this global pandemic, both physical and mental, are bound to leave scars on the work force.

Mental health issues are becoming very common now-a-days in this COVID-19 era. Many are not able to express or confession it.  This COVID-19 will; have an significant issue on our population.

We still need to take care and prepare for the COVID-19 health risks and issues. Until we take steps, this COVID-19 will stay in our community. We cannot take risk of the health and wellbeing of the employees. Prevention is better than cure and it is better to be safe than sorry, Right!

It is considering that the 2021 or the post-COVID-19 era will be relaxing and break the stress of 2020, the era of COVID-19.

Change is the permanent and a challenging issue, every time. It can be managed in a possible manner for a longer period of time. We all have deal with this impact of global pandemic for months or the next years to come. So let us plan from the very beginning of the day one that how should we will deal with this situation.  It is the utmost requirement to deal with this dramatic changes regarding this pandemic.

Hope you enjoyed reading this article. Do not forget to stay connected with us for recent and more updates. Till then goodbye. Have a nice day.

By hearing the title, you are guessing that life of an entrepreneur is easy and normal, but no it is really hard as they are multi-tasking people with lots of arms.

Many questions may come to your mind like-‘what do they do?’ ‘ what are their lifestyle?’ All your questions let stop here as today we are to talk about a day in a life of an entrepreneur. Let us unfold the life of an entrepreneur together in this article.

So without further delay, let us role the intro. Have a great reading ahead.

Not all the days of an entrepreneur are same. Everybody’s perspective is very different of how they utilize their day and time. It may vary from person to person.

Not every entrepreneur gets up early in the morning at 6.00 A.M. and goes out for jogging. Then he meditates and record a vlog while drinking wheat-grass drink. All is set by 8.00 A.M. and he is ready to head to the office work.

Rather some entrepreneurs have children and have to spend the morning time with them by making them ready for schools while others spend their morning time by responding to the official emails on their laptop by holding a cup of coffee. Either way, their day gets started with a ritual for staying motivated for the rest of day. It brings a positivity in them.

Each and every in the life of an entrepreneur is structured to utilize to the maximum of the 24 hours of a day.  Their single day consists of an early start and a late finish, with a great planned and directed routine in a midst for a packed day.  An entrepreneur is required to look after different tasks – from human resource to sales and from marketing to spoke-person. Once he may be find to be spending nights with his clients from one side of country or another time he may be found to recruit new employees by conducting meetings, calls or giving response to emails.

The most challenge that an entrepreneur face is to keep himself motivate for the rest of the day. It keeps him cool-minded for the rest of the day.  It is correctly said that intellectual work is better done in the morning and more creative work when tiredness starts setting in.

The day is not just spending time with the company but also spending and giving time to the family and friends and the most important to give time to themselves. They spend morning breakfast with their family and they keep evenings for their friends by communicating with them via calls or tests. As social took a different place in our daily life, so it is not difficult for the entrepreneurs to get connected to different people across the world.

There are many entrepreneurs whose day begin with laptop and ends in tucking his children into bed. Working 50-90 hours weeks, entrepreneurs really needs to get motivated. Really hats off these incredible manly figures.

These manly figured entrepreneurs spent their life or rather a single day by thinking and doing business from dawn to dusk. So it is utmost important for the entrepreneurs to keep themselves positive and motivated.

So now you know a day in life of an entrepreneur. Hope you liked and enjoyed reading this article. Stay connected with us for further updates. Till then goodbye. Have a nice day.

Do you have a VC meeting knocking at your door? Are you getting confused what to send before your meeting? Is sweat dripping from your forehead and butterflies flying in your stomach?

No worries, then this article is surely for you. If this is your first meeting. Then you must be having certain concerns. Let us talk about your fears and what are the things that you must keep in mind or what should you send a VC before your meeting.

Okay, enough with the preamble, let us dive into the main topic. Have a happy reading ahead.

You are really afraid of killing the excitement before your meet-up

You must be afraid of providing or sending your deck because you are in a thought that sending this deck before meet-up, can actually kill the excitement of your investors. Another thing that can happen is when you are going to present this, you know that your investors fully know about your business and may not be interested to listen to you.

You might fear that this particular deck is of no use and cannot impress them.

You are afraid of showing your business without proper NDA

You could be scared of sending your deck to a venture capital and if you are not getting any commitment like non-disclosure agreement, it might be a cause of your fear.  The thinking that your own business ideas might get stolen, can be very disturbing for you.

What you should send before your meet-up

You should not send a deck but instead of that deck, you can send a teaser or an overview of your deck. It should not be long as long teasers are often proved to be boring and it must not reveal all secrets of your business and ideas related to it.

You can think this in the angle of movie trailer. Trailers of movies always keep the audiences excited for the movie, just like that your teaser of deck will keep your investor excited about your business ideas.  It can help you to retain excitement for your deck.

Do not get scared to reveal some exciting features of your business but remember that your teaser should be like a marketing teaser. If this gets leaked you should not be feeling bad because you are not paying for this.

Do not get afraid of your teaser, because your teaser is only going share your thoughts and ideas regarding your business but it is not going to share the way you have done it. Right!

Let us take an example. Think this way, imagine that you have a chocolate making factory and your customers just love your chocolates. So you want to expand your factory by opening more factories in several places. So what you need? You need investors for that and obviously money also.

You can do one thing, you make a dozens of chocolates and send it to investors who would like to be your partner. After they finished tasting your chocolates, they said they just loved it and it is awesome. Their business deal with your chocolate factory is final.

So you see in this context, you just shared your made chocolates with your investors but you did not share the secret recipe or the process how you made it. Right! Now you can understand from this example that your chocolate factory is your teaser deck and you are not going to reveal your process of making the teaser or the so called ‘secret recipe’.

So now you know what you should send to a VC before your meet-up. Then what are you all waiting for! Go and prepare a killer teaser deck and surprise your investors with your business ideas.

   I always feel joyous and excited  on occasion of National (5September) or World (5 October) Teachers’ Day,as I could complete school education to my top education i.e. Ph.D. because of my teachers and also happy that I started my carrier as College Teacher. 

   In India, from 1962, 5 September is celebrated as Teachers’ Day as on this day in 1888 a great scholar, philosopher, erudite person and statesman Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born. On the other hand, in the world 5 October is celebrated as World Teachers’ Day, which was initiated from 1994. It is pertinent to mention that   UNESCO celebrates World Teachers’ Day (WTD) to commemorate the anniversary of the signing of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. It sets forth the rights and responsibilities of teachers, and standards for their initial preparation, on-going professional development, recruitment, employment, teaching and learning conditions. It also contains numerous recommendations for teachers’ participation in educational decisions through social dialogue and negotiation with educational authorities. As per UNESCO, “this year’s World Teachers’ Day has an even greater significance in light of the challenges that teachers have faced during the COVID-19 crisis. As the pandemic has shown, they make a crucial contribution to ensuring continuity of learning and supporting the mental health and wellbeing of their students. Because of COVID-19, nearly 1.6 billion learners – more than 90% of the world’s total enrolled student population – have been affected by school closures. The COVID-19 crisis has also affected over 63 million teachers, highlighted persistent weaknesses in many education systems and exacerbated inequalities, with devastating consequences for the most marginalized. In this crisis, teachers have shown, as they have done so often, great leadership and innovation in ensuring that #LearningNeverStops that no learner is left behind. Around the world, they have worked individually and collectively to find solutions and create new learning environments for their students to allow education to continue. Their role advising on school reopening plans and supporting students with the return to school is just as important (en.unesco.org/news/)”.  Also it is observed that from the document that, “We now need to think beyond COVID-19 and work to build greater resilience in our education systems, so we can respond quickly and effectively to these and other such crises. This means protecting education financing, investing in high-quality initial teacher education, as well as continuing the professional development of the existing teacher workforce”.

 This year, (2020) World Teachers’ Day (WTD) is celebrated with the theme, “Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future.” According to Guy Ryder,  the International Labour Organization (ILO) Director-General, “Now is the time to recognize the role of teachers in helping to ensure a generation of students can reach their full potential, and the importance of education for short-term stimulus, economic growth and social cohesion, during and after COVID-19”. World is celebrating Teachers’ Day for their continued commitment to the students and for contributing to the achievement of the 2030 targets under Sustainable Development Goal 4.

  According to our former President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam ji, “Teaching is a very noble profession that shapes the character, calibre, and future of an individual. If the people remember me as a good teacher, that will be the biggest honour for me”.

On occasion of World Teachers’ Day, my Pronam to all the teachers for their selfless service.

The following website and eBook have been consulted while writing the article:

1. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/ed_dialogue/sector/documents/normativeinstrument/wcms_493315.pdf
2. UNESCO, 2020, “World Teachers’ Day 2020 Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future”
3. https://en.unesco.org/news/world-teachers-day-joint-statement-unesco-ilo-unicef-and-education-international
4. https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/statements-and-speeches/WCMS_757035/lang–en/index.htm

One’s choice in colours reflects their personality as well as their lifestyle. People’s thoughts and emotions can be easily influenced by the colours that surround them. The colour of their room, their clothes and stones they wear to communicate much about them. Colours have much power in today’s world, they can soothe or irritate one’s eyes, a combination of them can create illusions or paintings and they can also be used along with medical therapy to help cure certain ailments, this is called chronotherapy. Specific colours are complementary to all others while some only look good with a few, just like us humans. Let’s talk about different people and their favourite colours-

Red

Only a small amount of people consider red their most loved colour. Similarly, this colour can be properly pulled off only by very less number of people. They love getting an adrenaline high but taking risks and going on adventures. They are the most powerful and loving among their friends and family just like the colour red which represents adventure and passion. Their love towards this colour is enhanced because their favourite fast-food chains, McDonald’s and KFC, also have their logos in this colour. Red also symbolises life and people with red as their favourite colour are known for being full of life. 

Yellow

Yellow is a colour which instantly brings happiness to one’s mind. Dependable and friendly, people belonging to Taurus become the centre of attention wherever they go. They are light-hearted and humorous, therefore, fun to be around. Their presence alone can cheer up their friends and family even in the worst of times. The thought of this colour brings pure joy to one’s heart. Yellow stands for positivity and intellect.

Green

People who love green are generally the most outgoing and versatile. A good hike or camping in the forest, connecting with nature, is their way to release stress. From their clothes to their soul, everything is green. Green is the colour of growth, good luck and health. It is deeply associated with the concept of safety. Some people love to feel safe and secure and, thus, the colour with which they connect the most is green, the colour of nature. 

Pink

People who love pink tend to be passionate about everything they do. Romanticising every moment of their life and falling in love with every second person they talk to keeps their life exciting q gives them the motivation to get out of bed every day. Their personality screams pink. Like the colour pink, they are affectionate, friendly and youthful. They are a bunch of day-dreamers who are emotional and moody, thus, the colour pink is perfect for them. 

White

Most of the people with white as the colour they love are generous, passionate and responsible. They do everything the best they can with all their heart. They are calm and peaceful and always know what to say when someone is stressed. They also often act as negotiators as well. All of these traits match the colour white. White is the colour of innocence, peace, purity, elegance and simplicity. It is a colour which never goes out of style. 

According to the Cyclone Warning Divisionof the India Meteorological Department (IMD):

Likely formation of a Low pressure area over Andaman Sea around 9th October and itsgradual intensification into a Depression over central Bay of Bengal during subsequent 2days with likely north-westwards movement towards north Andhra Pradesh and Odishacoasts

Weather Systems:

• A fresh low pressure area is very likely to form over north Andaman Sea & adjoiningeastcentral Bay of Bengal around 9 October 2020. It is very likely to move north-westwardstowards north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coasts with gradual intensification into adepression during subsequent 2-3 days.
• The current Low Pressure Area lies over northwest Bay of Bengal & adjoining Odisha coast.It is very likely to persist there till 5 October and become less marked thereafter. However, itsassociated cyclonic circulation is very likely to move over to south Chhattisgarh on 6th Octand remain active till 7th Oct.

Warnings:

(i) Rainfall warning

• Rainfall (over Andaman & Nicobar Islands)

Light to moderate rainfall at most places with heavy (6.5-12 cm) to very heavy (12-20 cm) rainfall atisolated places would occur over Andaman & Nicobar Islands on 9th and 10th October.

• Rainfall (over Odisha, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand,Gangetic West Bengal);

Under the influence of current Low Pressure Area over northwest Bay ofBengal & adjoining Odisha coast, fairly widespread to widespread rainfall very likely over Odisha,Bihar, Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal during next 4 days. Isolated heavy rainfall very likely overOdisha during 04-06 October, Jharkhand on 04, 06 & 07, over Bihar on 06 & 07, Chhattisgarh from04 to 07 2020. Under the influence of fresh Low Pressure Area, rainfall activity very likely toincrease over Odisha and coastal Andhra Pradesh during 11th to 13th Oct, 2020.

(ii) Wind warning

Squally wind speed reaching 40-50 kmph would prevail of north Andaman Sea, East central and adjoiningsoutheast Bay of Bengal on 9th and 10th October; 50-60 kmph over central Bay of Bengal on 10th and 11^thOctober and over north Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coasts and adjoining North Bay of Bengal on11th October.

(iii) Sea condition

Sea condition will be rough to very rough over the areas of north Andaman Sea, East central and adjoiningsoutheast Bay of Bengal on 9th and 10th October; over central Bay of Bengal on 10th and 11^th October andover North Bay of Bengal on 11^th October.

(iv) Fishermen Warning

Fishermen are advised not to venture into Andaman Sea, East central and adjoining southeast Bay ofBengal on 9^th and 10th October; over central Bay of Bengal on 10th and 11th October and over North Bay ofBengal on 11^th October.

Paddy procurement for 2020-21 has commenced across the procuring States. As on 03.10.2020, cumulative procurement of Paddy in KMS 2020-21 is 5,73,339 MT. The total number of farmers benefited are 41,084 and total MSP outflow so far, is approximately Rs 1,082.464 crore.

The Procurement of seed cotton (Kapas) during Kharif Marketing Season 2020-21 has started from 1st October, 2020. As on 3-10-2020, Cotton Corporation of India has procured a cumulative quantity of 147 bales under MSP for a value of Rs.40.80 Lakh benefitting 29 farmers.

We may be close to a vaccine to boost the immune system of rice. A scientist has uncovered the mechanism by which a bacterium called Xoo (Xanthomonas oryzaepv. oryzae) that causes a serious bacterial leaf blight disease in rice interacts with rice plant and cause disease.

Dr Tayi Lavanya, a recipient of DST-Inspire Faculty Fellowship, instituted by the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, working in Centre for Plant Molecular Biology (CPMB), Osmania University, Hyderabadalong with her research group is working to identify and develop few molecules which are derived from either the Xoo bacterium or from the infected rice cell walls.

The team is developing new disease control strategies which they can use as vaccines that activate the rice immune system and provide resistance to rice plants from subsequent infections by pathogens.

Xanthomonas oryzaepv. oryzae, or commonly known as Xoo infection, cause huge yield losses to rice cultivation throughout the world. Treatment of rice with cellulase, a cell wall degrading enzyme secreted by Xoo induces rice immune responses and protects rice from subsequent infections by Xoo.

The team led by Dr Lavanya carried out biochemical and functional studies on plant cell wall degrading enzymes secreted by Xoo, which has provided key insights into the mechanisms by which the Xoo pathogen interacts with rice plant and cause disease.

Using the leads obtained from her Ph. D work, Dr Lavanya, along with her research group have zeroed in on few molecules derived from either the Xoo bacterium and from infected rice cell walls which they hope to develop into vaccines. 

Currently, Dr. Lavanya’s group is working on a cellulase protein secreted by Xoo. This cellulase protein has the features of a typical vaccine as it is a potent elicitor of rice immune responses. Pre-treatment of rice plants with this protein provides resistance to rice against subsequent Xoo infection.

In order to study how exactly this protein induces the rice immune system, her group is testing whether any surface exposed peptide of this cellulase protein is being recognized by the rice immune system leading to the activation of immune responses. They are also exploring whether the rice cell wall degradation products (sugars) that are released by the activity of this cellulase protein on rice cell walls elicit rice immunity. The elicitor molecules (peptide/sugars), once identified, will be used as a vaccine to activate the rice immune system and induce resistance in rice plants to subsequent infections by pathogens. 

So far, improving the resistance of rice plants by introducing Resistance “R” genes has been the best way to control this disease which involves breeding or gene manipulation techniques that are laborious and time-consuming. Also, the introduced of “R” genes provide only race-specific resistance that will prevent infections by only specific strains of Xoo. But the elicitor molecule that will be identified in this work will have the potential to induce a broad-spectrum resistance, which will be effective not only against Xoo but also against other pathogens.

According to Dr Lavanya, this study will reveal novel elicitors of rice defence responses and provide new knowledge about the basic aspects of plant-pathogen interactions that might lead to new ways of reducing yield losses for a crop that at least half of the world’s population depends on.

Secretary Department of Science and Technology Prof. Ashutosh Sharma underlined the increasing attention given by India to sharing of scientific data as was evident from India’s National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy (INDSAP) and an open government data portal, at the Science & Technology Ministerial Roundtable, organized in the 17^th annual Science Technology and Society (STS) Forum.

“Scientific data sharing is being considered for inclusion in the New S T I P 2020 being framed. Data is the new water, and we do want to share it as global partners,” Prof. Sharma emphasised.

The online Science & Technology Ministerial Roundtable organised on 3rd October 2020 and hosted by Japan, deliberated on the role of international R&D collaboration, social sciences & humanities, and open science. It saw the participation of S&T heads from about 50 countries around the world and explored the opportunities arising from international collaborations in science and technology to address the challenges posed by COVID 19.

Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary Department of Science & Technology who represented India at the Ministers’ Roundtable, highlighted India’s major initiatives in S&T collaboration, social sciences & open science. He said that India gives extraordinary importance to international cooperation in S&T for development and for addressing challenges of health, water, energy, environment, climate change, communication, and natural disasters.”

He spoke about India’s active S&T collaboration with over 40 countries in the world. “We are also part of all the major multilateral and regional S&T platforms and groupings such as the EU, BRICS, ASEAN, G20, Africa Initiatives, UN and OECD S&T platform as well as international mega-science projects such as ITER, TMT, LIGO and so on. Coalitions for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, International Solar Alliance and Mission Innovation are India’s global initiatives in the management of disasters and clean energy,” he added.

Prof. Ashutosh Sharma highlighted that vaccines for coronavirus are in advanced phases of trial, and India has the capacity to supply the vaccine to a major part of humanity.

The high-level ministerial meeting witnessed participation from countries like Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, India, Iraq, Russia, South Africa, and others.

The forum community highlighted critical role of S&T in fighting the current pandemic situation and agreed that strong international collaboration in the field of science & technology, cutting edge science, and open science were the most important tools to solve the current crisis and prepare for the upcoming crisis of the future.

Science and Technology Ministers’ Roundtable is held along with the STS forum every year. The STS forum aims to provide a new mechanism for open discussions on an informal basis and to build a human network that would, in time, resolve the new types of problems stemming from the application of science and technology.

The RAISE-2020 Summit, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, will witness experts likeDr. Manish Gupta, Director, Google Research, Mr. Gaurav Sharma, VP, IBM India Software Labs, Mr. BhaskarGorti, President, Nokia Software, GargiDasgupta, Director, IBM Research India and CTO, IBM India, and Mr. Henri Verdier, French Ambassador for Digital Affairs, Government of France, among others, participating on October 8 and October 9.The Government of India is organizing the Global Virtual Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI), RAISE 2020- ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020,’ from October 5-9, 2020.

Mr. Gupta and Mr. Sharma will talk about scaling AI research to solve big societal problems. Mr. Gorti will elaborate on AI for All and will detail measures to make AI accessible. Ms. Dasgupta will talk about leveraging AI for pandemic preparedness, while Mr. Verdier will share his views on AI governance and creating an institutional mechanism for collaboration and innovation.

On October 8, the session on scaling AI research to solve societal problems will also be attended by Professor SunitaSarawagi, Institute Chair Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay, and Mr. VivekRaghavan, Chief Product Manager and Biometric architect at Unique Identification Authority of India.

Later in the day, there will be a session detailing Telangana’s story of using AI to address developmental challenges. Mr. JayeshRanjan, Principal Secretary, ITEC Department, Government of Telangana will lead the session. Ms. Sangeeta Gupta, SVP, NASSCOM, Dr. P. Anandan, CEO, Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Professor PJ Narayanan, Director, IIT Hyderabad, among others, will be in attendance.

Apart from Mr. Gorti, the session on AI for All will be attended by Mr. Balendu Sharma, Localization and Accessibility Lead, Microsoft India, and Jeffery J. Rittener, Chief Government Affairs Officer, Intel.

There will also be a session on leveraging AI for learning on October 8, which will be headlined by Ms. Shalini Kapoor, IBM Fellow, Director India Software Labs. Dr. Manish Kumar, MD and CEO, National Skill Development Corporation, Ms. IndraniChoudhary, Chief Learning Officer, Microsoft India, Mr. Manav Sehgal, Head – Digital Innovation, India/South Asia, Amazon, and Dr. Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF’s India representative will also attend this session.

The day will also witness a fireside chat between Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO NITI Aayog and Swedish Banker and Industrialist, Mr. Marcus Wallenberg. Running in parallel to this will be a fireside chat between Ms. Rekha Menon, Chairperson and MD, Accenture, and Mr. Abhishek Singh, President & CEO, NeGD and CEO, MyGov.

The summit will also witness on October 8, a session on the future of work, which will be led by Mr. Michal Rutkowski, Global Director for Social Protection and Labor, World Bank Group and Dr. carl Benedikt Frey, Director of Work at Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford. Dr. R. Ramanan, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission and Mr. Sridhar Vembu, Founder, ZOHO, will also attend the session.

This will be followed by a session on infrastructure for AI-led innovation, which will be headlined by Ms. Deepali Khanna, MD, Asia Regional Office, Rockefeller Foundation and Mr. Jonathan Tsuen Yip Wong, Chief of Technology and Innovation, Trade, Investment and Innovation Division at United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

Ms. Nivruti Rai, Country Head, Intel India, and Dr. Aloknath De, Chief Technology Officer, Samsung R&D, will address a session on collaboration and data driven research and decision making. This session will be led by a keynote address by Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology.

On October 9, Dr. GargiDasgupta, Director, IBM Research India and CTO, IBM India, Mr. VikramDendi, GM, Chief Product Officer, Microsoft Health Next and Mr. Arvind Sivaramakrishnan, CIO, Apollo Hospitals, among others, will address a session on leveraging AI for pandemic preparedness.

The day will also witness two fireside chats that will run in parallel. The first one will be on creating AI innovators, between Ms. Debjani Ghosh, President, NASSCOM and Ms. Nigel Wilson, Founding Partner at Awaken AI.

The second fireside chat will be between Mr. VivekWadhwa, Fellow & Adjunct Professor at Carnegie Mellon’s School of Engineering, and Mr. Amitabh kant, CEO, NITI Aayog.

Professor K. Vijayraghavan, Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of India, Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, Mr. Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary MeitY, Dr. Neeta Verma, DG, NIC, among others will participate in a session on role of government in AI enablement.

So far, more than 45,619 stakeholders from academia, the research industry and government representatives from 133 countries have registered to participate in RAISE 2020.

From agriculture to fin-tech and healthcare to infrastructure, India is witnessing rapid integration of artificial intelligence across fields. India can become the AI garage of the world and contribute to inclusive development and growth through empowerment, by delivering cutting edge technological solutions. The RAISE 2020 Summit (http://raise2020.indiaai.gov.in/) will serve as a platform for discussion and consensus building to help create a data-rich environment, which will help to eventually transform lives globally.

About RAISE 2020:

RAISE 2020 is a first-of-its-kind, global meeting of minds on Artificial Intelligence to drive India’s vision and roadmap for social transformation, inclusion and empowerment through responsible AI. Organized by Government of India along with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and NITI Aayog, the event will witness robust participation from global industry leaders, key opinion makers, Government representatives and academia.

Shri Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Government of India inaugurated Phoolbagan Metro station of East-West Metro today i.e. on 4th October, 2020.  Shri Piyush Goyal also flagged off the first train from the newly inaugurated Phoolbgan station through video link. In his address, congratulating all for taking extra initiative to complete the work of Phoolbagan station in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic, Shri Goyal said that this extension of services from Salt Lake Stadium to Phoolbagan (a stretch of 1.665 kms) will be a great help for the commuters more so because of its proximity to Sealdah station. Terming this as a gift for Durga Puja, he also said that Metro provides the safest, cleanest and fastest transportation system in Kolkata.

He has further reassured that if land is made available and encroachments are removed then funds won’t be a constraint for implementing any Railway project.

Shri Babul Supriyo, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change congratulated Hon’ble Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry for taking the initiative to commission this modern and beautiful Phoolbagan Metro station so early. He expressed his hope that in the coming days people will be able to commute to and from Sealdah station easily due to this extension of East-West Metro. 

Sushri Debasree Chaudhuri, Minister of State for Women and Child Development was also present in this programme and expressed her happiness for commissioning of Phoolbagan station.

Shri Manoj Joshi, General Manager, Metro Railway, in his inaugural address spoke about how the opening of this station will facilitate Metro commuters to go to the IT Hub in Salt Lake Sector-V, International Bus Terminal and Mela Ground in Karunamoyee, important Government offices at Central Park and the famous Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium).

Total length of this project is 16.5 kms.and the total estimated project cost is Rs.  8574.98 Cr. This will connect Howrah on the West bank of the river Hooghly with Salt Lake City on its East bank.

            The first-phase of the East-West Metro from Salt Lake Stadium to Salt Lake Sector V was inaugurated by Shri Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of Railways and Commerce and Industry, Government of India on 13th February, 2020.

Commercial services to and from Phoolbagan station will start from 05.10.2020 (Monday). Daily 48 services will run from 08:00 hrs to 19:50 hrs from Salt Lake Sector-V to Phoolbagan at 30 minutes interval.  The last service will start from Salt Lake Sector-V and Phoolbagan stations at 19:30 hrs. There will be no service on Sunday.

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today released a Coffee Table Book on “Discovering the Heritage of Assam”, with foreword by Amitabh Bachchan and published by Penguin.

The voluminous coffee table book with pictures and photographs on glaze paper presents an absorbing compilation of heritage, faith, beliefs and traditions of different ethnic tribes and subtribes living in the largest State of the North Eastern Region.

While releasing the book, Dr Jitendra Singh congratulated its author Padampani Bora, who is by profession an officer of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS-2009 batch), but has over the years established himself as an accomplished author, specializing in the subjects reflecting diverse nuances of the North Eastern Region of India.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, while mostly it is suggested that North East should be brought closer to the rest of India, very few understand that actually there is much more that in fact the rest of India can learn from the North East. The book by Padampani Bora, he said, will help to understand the grand splendour and glory of the undiscovered facets of Assam.

Dr Jitendra Singh suggested wide circulation of the Coffee Table Book and hoped that Bora’s creation will not only remain confined to the pages of the book but would also serve as cultural and heritage ambassador of the North East for the rest of the world.