Feb 17, 2021 | Entertainment, Interviews and Features, Lifestyle
With schools and offices still mostly virtual, and with many people opting to continue staying at home, the uptick in digital activities continues. Home crafting workshops are gaining popularity and attracting not just children but also young adults who are looking to stay busy and enjoy perfecting new skills. Keeping this in mind, KNMA continues to innovate and find new and interesting topics to explore and engage with audiences of all ages.
This time around with the ‘Game Craft’ series, it is a trip down memory lane with DIY videos to craft your own classic hand held games. The series includes episodes that covermaking a Skywheel, Marble Labyrinth, Foosball or Table Soccer box and a Mini Mario game. The materials needed are kept simple and tend to be easily available, so anybody can join in. The series kicked off on February 3, 2021 and will be screen every Wednesday until February 24, 2021. You can view the episodes across social media platforms including the KNMA website, Facebook page, Instagram page and YouTube page.
The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art
Established by art collector Kiran Nadar in 2010, the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) is the first privately-funded museum of art exhibiting modern and contemporary works from India and the sub-continent. Located in New Delhi NCR, India’s capital city, KNMA hosts an ever-growing collection of artworks that both highlights a magnificent generation of 20th-century Indian painters from the post- Independence decades and engages with the different art practices of younger contemporaries.
Sponsored by the Shiv Nadar Foundation, KNMA is focused on bridging the gap between art and the public and fostering a museum-going culture in India. KNMA aims to become a place for confluence, dialogue and collaboration through its curatorial initiatives and exhibitions, school and college workshops, art appreciation discourses, symposiums, and public programs.
Feb 1, 2021 | Business, Environment, Finance, Interviews and Features
Dr. Yasmin Ali Haque, Cherie Blair, Amitabh Kant & Prof. Philip Kotler speak about responsibility, sustainability and environment at the summit. Mumbai : The RISE World Summit 2021 has concluded addressing issues of environment and climate change amidst Global Keynote speakers and dignitaries. A unique 36-hour Virtual Relay Conference organized by RISE Infinity Foundation and Idobro Impact Solutions from 28th-29th January 2021, the Summit witnessed an overwhelming participation of over 1,120 attendees from across 55 countries and 8 time zones. The Opening Plenary was graced by esteemed dignitaries who released RISE values – Responsible, Inclusive, Sustainable, Eco-friendly. Dr. Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF Representative to India, emphasized the need to look responsibly at issues of environment and climate change and how they affect our lives.
“This forum today brings together all elements of civil society. We need all stakeholders to come together to nurture shared values to achieve our goals and work towards global commitments. There’s a need for a strong evaluation committee dovetailed with the sense of responsibility and accountability”, she said. Among others were Prof. K. Vijay Raghavan – India’s Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India;
Ms. Vidya Shah, Chairperson and CEO of the EdelGive Foundation along with Ambassador Gideon Behar, Special Envoy for Climate Change and Sustainability at the Israeli Foreign Ministry, and Former Ambassador to Senegal and West Africa who in his speech mentioned, “Sustainability means zero hunger and zero poverty and access to education, water and health for all. But if we don’t employ a holistic approach, we as humans will have to face a difficult future. We need to be good to one another and good towards nature as well.” There was a special message by Ms. Cherie Blair- Former UK First Lady, leading lawyer, writer and committed campaigner for women’s rights on the critical work done in partnership with Idobro for women entrepreneurship and the need to scale such initiatives.
Amitabh Kant, CEO, National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, in a Valedictory message during the closing plenary on the 29th Jan, 2021, praised the partnerships between civil society organizations arising during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The pandemic has severely slackened the pace of SDGs across the world. It has also brutally demonstrated, in one fell sweep, how relentlessly integrated the world is and how intertwined different actors, stakeholders and responders are. Thus, we have seen an outstanding growth of partnership among a very large number of diverse agencies and stakeholders.
So, a multi-layer world Summit like this seeking breakthrough interactions has been planted on a very fertile ground.” Furthermore, a special address was delivered by Bishow Parajuli, Representative and Country Director –United Nations World Food Programme; and a Keynote address was given by Philip Kotler, Author, Consultant, and Professor, the S. C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor – The Kellogg School of Management. Also announced were The Nutrition Awards, in partnership with Glenmark Foundation and Knowledge Partners – World Food Programme (WFP), to recognize non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and others who undertook exceptional efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic. Satish Agnihotri Head (CTARA) –IIT -Bombay, Dr. R. Hemalatha Director, ICMR-NIN, Hyderabad; Neeraj Jain, Country Director–PATH, Vedeika Shekhar, Associate-NITI Aayog were the Grand Jury members who presented the awards to the winners. Additionally, the RISE Ownership Awards were presented by Walter Vieira – Former Chairman, International Council of Management Consulting Institutes to the Initiatives and Prof. N. Vinod Chandra Menon – Founder Member, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Government of India – MILKAR and Migrant Travel Support Network – who have worked relentlessly towards the relief efforts during the pandemic.
The RISE Global Citizen Award was presented to Yosef Abramowitz CEO of Energiya Global Capital with projects across Africa and Israel. The unique and comprehensive 36 hour global-relay-programme was in partnership with knowledge partners including The Lewis Institute and Babson Social Innovation Lab, USA, Country Partners – Swedish Consulate in Mumbai and the Japan Consulate in Mumbai, Programme partners – Krushak Mitra Agro, SEED, Swedish Institute, NTT and over 60 visionary partners from across the globe. The interactive formats of Roundtables, Workshops, Chat Tables, Earth Tours and Cultural Programmes were met with an overwhelming audience from across several time zones with participants cutting across all age groups and expertise brought in their insightful perspectives and innovative ideas to the table.
Tejas Sangwan, a 5th grade student from India who participated in a Bio-Mimicry Workshop, spoke enthusiastically about how we can use self-sustaining practices in our day-to-day lives and the 18-year-old Sandhya Saroj – Prime Minister of Young Advocates for Social Harmony (YASH) stressed about the realistic challenges slum kids are facing today and the need for positive changes on the ground through her association with the UNICEF. Karon Shaiva, Convenor of the RISE World Summit, Managing Trustee at RISE Infinity Foundation and Chief Impact Officer at Idobro Impact Solutions, said: “Through this summit, we envisaged a platform to create shared values that would drive people and organisations to action because together, we multiply impact. We aim to facilitate our participants with opportunities to connect and collaborate with the ecosystem and the stakeholders. Our Partners, the Steering Council, Board, Core committee, Working groups and teams have together made this important objective possible. We got an outstanding participation from over 750 organisations, which led to organic exchanges and impact-driven discussions between several thought leaders. We hope to build upon these breakthrough interactions for collaborations and find ways to translate our deliberations into action. This is just the beginning.”
– More details about RISE World Summit 2021: https://risesummit.in/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RISEInfinityF/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RISEInfinityF Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/riseinfinityf
Jan 2, 2021 | Business, Education, Interviews and Features
China’s aggressive actions against India at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) earlier this year resulted in an ongoing standoff between the two Asian giants. At the same time, China’s increasing belligerence towards the United States and Australia, and other neighbours, has led to global concern for China’s ambitions for the World Order. With a mix of employing ‘debt-trap diplomacy’ and ‘wolf-warrior diplomacy’, China has undertaken a strong ‘colonial enterprise’. In light of such actions, calls have been made in India across the aisle for it to decouple from China, with the government already having taken steps in that direction.
To bring the attention of the global community and stir a debate on the same, New Delhi based international affairs observer group Red Lantern Analytica (RLA) organized an Expert Panel Webinar on the topic ‘Why India Needs to Decouple from China: Understanding China’s Colonial Enterprise’ on December 24, 2020. The panel was chaired by BJD parliamentarian Dr. Amar Patnaik and the list of eminent speakers included – Senior Fellow at Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies Abhijit Iyer Mitra; China expert and activist Kyle Olbert; Professor of Economics at Christ University Dr. Shalini Sharma; and Assistant Professor at UASN, Poland, Dr. Pradeep Kumar. The discussion was moderated by Assistant Professor, Rashtriya Raksha University Jayraj Pandya.
RLA’s founder Abhishek Ranjan opened the webinar by introducing the moderator and referred to the need to address the ‘dragon in the room’ as India looks towards decoupling from China.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Amar Patnaik stressed on the need for a ‘quest for excellence’ as India plans to decouple from China. He argued that even though decoupling is the need of the hour, the path is difficult – which requires a complete overhaul of the manufacturing ecosystem of the country. India needs to enlarge its GDP and tap into the large market to be able to produce cost-competitive products that can rival China’s, and hence, develop its global supply chains.
Elaborating his thought on this, he argued, “Do we need to decouple? Yes! India and the whole world has recognised that. How to decouple? Reduce the trade imbalance India has with China and reduce the dependency on China.
At present, most of the materials India requires for its major projects and initiatives must be sourced from China. That is why the economic decoupling with China cannot be like a turn-on and turn-off approach. It has to be spread over a period of time – in the short term, in the medium term, and in the long term. The long term goal for India is to have some of the supply chains in India and become self-reliant. The supply chains that will be developed in India should not only be restricted to India. Even though these Indian supply chains will help reduce dependency on China, they must also help reduce India’s trade deficit and be exported to other countries around the world. Thus, India needs to make these supply chains cost-competitive. Therefore, I would suggest that India enters Bilateral FTA’s with its neighbours so that together India and its neighbours can become the supply centers of the world, not China. This is how an economic decoupling in the medium term and long term would work.“
“A few things India must be aware of in its efforts to establish end-to-end supply chains and it cannot run into the same problems plaguing China. It cannot have low wages for workers or mass produce non-essential goods that would later be dumped in other economies. It’s a tall order but India is heading in the right direction”, he concluded.
Abhijit Iyer Mitra, while appreciating the need for decoupling, argued that the path is laden with difficulties for India. He said that technically, the conversation of decoupling starts in the West. China only accounts for 0.9% of inwards investment into the US and 3% of inwards investment into the EU. China’s trade with the US and EU combined equals the amount of trade carried out between the US and EU. In terms of trade flows, China is important to the West. But in terms of investment flows, it is not! This is the starting point for a Western decoupling from China. The West is the technology supplier to China, either it is legal technology transfer, like Apple setting up a factory in China, or it is stolen technology which China is extremely good at. China has a much lower per capita income than the West and is a middle-income economy. China will be stuck being a middle-income economy and therefore will not be able to move up the production chain. In its efforts to decouple from China, the West will move additive manufacturing out of China and will rely more on 3D printing technology.
“India has to rapidly move into mid-level manufacturing if it wishes to replace China. The basic problems in India that make it unappealing for businesses are – an educational deficit (not spending enough on education), riots are very frequent and so are law and order situations. There is also a highly volatile law and order ecosystem, a volatile jurisprudence ecosystem, an enforcement deficit in past laws and atrocious regulations. All of these things combined, make it very difficult for India to move into the manufacturing sector. The nature of India-China trade is extremely colonial. India exports raw materials to China and imports finished goods from China. If India starts to decouple from China, then India’s service markets that also rely on China will start taking a hit. Decoupling from China is a very precarious task for India. It is almost impossible. A Western decoupling from China will hurt India very badly”, he added.
Dr. Shalini Sharma, through her presentation, argued that even though the path of decoupling is a difficult one, India is well on its way to achieving success in it. She pointed out to various successes of the government policies and projects like Make in India and Atma Nirbhar Bharat, which have given a huge impetus to startups in India. She noted that India is also attracting global value chains and that the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows have increased in recent times as a result of these policies.
Describing the path of India’s trade deficit with China broadened over the past few years, Dr. Sharma explained, “In 1989, maximum imports into India were from the US, followed by the UK. In 1999, the structure changed slightly but China was not visible at all in the top 5 countries. By this time, India was not dependent on China. All that changed in 2009 as Indian imports from China grew to 11% and in 2019, Chinese import became 13% and was almost reaching 15% by the end of the year. On the export side, India’s basic exports were with the Soviet Union and in 1999, India began exporting to the United States. In the same year, 6% of India’s exports were going to China, while India’s imports from China were negligible. In 2009, India’s exports to China fell from 6% to 5% and in 2019, the exports to China further fell, leading to the growing trade deficit between India and China.
India needs to break its dependence on China. As per the latest data, during the pandemic period, India’s exports to China have risen to 6.5% and imports from China have decreased. There are multiple projects in India currently that are aiding India’s efforts to decouple from China. Make in India is one such initiative, which encourages companies to manufacture in India and incentivises dedicated investment into manufacturing. The government also encouraged zero-defect production and maintained high quality so that Indian products could readily be accepted by consumers around the world. The Indian Government has facilitated innovation, skill development, and protected intellectual property.”
As her concluding remarks, she argued that the current world perspective on China and burgeoning anti-China sentiments across the world will help India and has already dealt a huge economic blow to China.
Mr. Kyle Olbert, through his comprehensive presentation, highlighted that the need for decoupling emerges due to the strategic concerns that India has against China. He observed that China is following Alfred Thayar’s strategy of “who controls the seas” and that India should be wary of China’s naval network and the String of Pearls strategy to encircle India. He further noted that China being an authoritarian state has a disregard for human rights like the right to privacy and therefore, India should not allow Chinese companies to access its data at any cost.
On China’s expansionism through technology, Olbert argued, “Modern China is not a nation; it is a prison of nations. China is built on oppression and is held together by the force of the state and the CCP. China is essentially a prison for anyone within its borders. China is a threat unlike the world has ever seen before. China has also come up with a new strategy to control cyberspace. China’s rollout of 5G technologies, as well as fibers, is an effort to control data chokepoints. Data is the new resource and China is collecting. China’s data is locked behind the Great Firewall, but China has free access to the world’s data through data brokers. These data brokers collect data through online surveys and through cookies on websites which we visit. They then make a profile and then sell this data. The main problem is that we do not know where they sell this data to. They could be selling it to China, but we would never know.”
As concluding remarks, he argued, “As difficult as it might be, the best option for India to decouple is to not play into China’s game – to not play into its very obvious traps and pitfalls.”
Dr. Pradeep Kumar noted that India needs not just economic decoupling from China, but also cultural and security decoupling from it. He further elaborated, “Why are we talking about decoupling with China today? For several decades, India and China had no casualties of soldiers on the border. India and China, both knew that if peace was maintained at the border, then both the countries could continue their relationship. But if the peace at the border cannot be maintained, then that will negatively affect all other aspects of India’s relationship with China. China, in recent months and weeks, has been trying to dictate terms to India and has been trying to unilaterally decide the border demarcations. China is essentially trying to tell India that it has to accept China’s hegemony. These actions have led us to the topic of decoupling with China. India is reacting to China’s hostile actions and is rejecting China’s hegemony”.
The webinar closed with a vote of thanks by Media Adviser of RLA Karneet Bhasin, wherein she highlighted the importance of the topic and thanked the panelists and the audience for making the event a success.
Nov 15, 2020 | Auto, Education, Entertainment, Interviews and Features
“Guftugu”, the widely acclaimed talk show on RajyaSabha TV that suddenly came to an end this October is again in talks after Rekhta Foundation announced its re-launch through its social media platforms. Curated by the renowned television anchor Syed Irfan, Guftugu was one of the longest running celeb talk show in India running since Aug, 2011. With the announcement, Rekhta Foundation forays into the TV production.
Guftugu, the only uninterrupted celebrity chat show on Indian Television was one of its kind interview program that hosted around 400 noted celebrities from the league of personalities such as Gulzar, Nasiruddin Shah, Anupam Kher, Paresh Rawal and Konkana Sen Sharma among others. Syed Mohd Irfan, the anchor of the show, set a new benchmark in the industry with his exclusive interviewing style where the questions revolved around the most humane aspects of the artists` lives that are otherwise shunned behind their glamorous appearances.
Speaking about the announcement, Sanjiv Sarraf, the founder of Rekhta Foundation said, “Rekhta strives to preserve all forms of expressions that have the potential to strengthen the core of our society. Guftugu, through its impactful conversations has inspired a generation of people in the course of 10 years. I am elated to share that very soon Irfan would continue his good efforts through our communication platforms.”
Unlike other celebrity talk shows that are scripted and where questions are pre-decided, Guftugu`s conversations were built at an unhurried pace which emerged as Irfan`s signature style. Many people including noted Bollywood celebrities have revered Guftugu as a film school in itself due to the simplicity and honesty of learning and inspiration imparted on the show. As Guftugu goes off air on Rajya Sabha TV, Rekhta Foundation has stepped forward to let the decade old show go on.
“Rekhta has cultivated a legacy of intellectual audience through its constant efforts in the field of art and culture over the years. Today, there is no better platform than this for programs such as Guftugu. Since the show went off air, many people have messaged me and expressed their love for Guftugu. Their support, and the fact that there is much left to do excites me to return on the show. “, said Irfan, commenting on the occasion.
The show would be run with the same vigour by Rekhta Foundation without any change in the quintessential nature of the program. Rekhta Foundation is yet to announce the date of launch of the show.
About Rekhta Foundation
A not-for-profit, social impact organization, Rekhta Foundation is devoted towards the preservation & promotion of languages and literature of the Indian subcontinent. The Rekhta ecosphere includes Content Repository: (Rekhta.org – Single largest language and literature repository in the world). Preservation: (Rekhta E-Books – Digitizing rare & old Hindustani literature); Education: (aamozish.com – A free e-learning platform for Urdu script); Publishing: (Rekhta Books – A platform to publish established, young and upcoming poets); Promotions: (Rekhta Events – Celebrating the language, literature, art & Culture through Jashn-e-Rekhta, Rang-e-Rekhta, Shaam-e-Rekhta and Raabta). Sufi Repository: (Sufinama.org – A website dedicated to Sufi-bhakti tradition).
The Foundation’s latest endeavour is Hindwi.org which aims to be a Rekhta.org equivalent for Hindi literature
Nov 5, 2020 | Business, Health and Wellness, Interviews and Features, Lifestyle
Hyatt Centric MG Road Bangalore has announced that it has achieved Global Biorisk Advisory Council® (GBAC) STAR™ accreditation, the gold standard for prepared facilities. Under the guidance of GBAC, a Division of ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association, Hyatt Centric MG Road Bangalore has implemented the most stringent protocols for cleaning, disinfection and infectious disease prevention in its facilities.
As the cleaning industry’s only outbreak prevention, response and recovery accreditation, GBAC STAR™ helps organizations establish protocols and procedures, offers expert-led training and assesses a facility’s readiness for biorisk situations. The program verifies that Hyatt Centric MG Road Bangalore implements best practices to prepare for, respond to and recover from outbreaks and pandemics.
“GBAC STAR accreditation empowers facility owners and managers to assure workers, customers and key stakeholders that they have proven systems in place to maintain clean and healthy environments,” said GBAC Executive Director Patricia Olinger. “By taking this important step to pursue GBAC STAR, Hyatt Centric MG Road Bangalore has received third-party validation that it follows strict protocols for biorisk situations, thereby demonstrating its preparedness and commitment to operating safely.”
To achieve GBAC STAR™ accreditation, Hyatt Centric MG Road Bangalore was required to demonstrate compliance with the program’s 20 core elements, which range from standard operating procedures and risk assessment strategies to personal protective equipment and emergency preparedness and response measures. Learn more about GBAC STAR accreditation at www.gbac.org.
Nov 5, 2020 | Books, Business, Interviews and Features
Astronaut’s visionary work slated as forward-thinking publication company’s first book
Discover how one man’s incredible journey carries a profoundly important message for all of humanity in the upcoming autobiographical allegory, Floating in Darkness: A Journey of Evolution, by Ron Garan.
As an Air Force fighter pilot, veteran of the first Persian Gulf War, and NASA astronaut, Garan has seen and experienced things only a select few ever will. Garan has experienced life through an array of settings and circumstances – from the fury of war, to the serene world beneath the ocean’s surface, and the stunningly beautiful, yet perilous realm of Earth orbit.
Throughout his outward journey through all these experiences and events, Ron found himself on an equally amazing and challenging journey through inner space, as he reflected upon the human condition, how we treat one another, the planet we all share, and the very nature and meaning of our existence.
The conclusion he reached is simple, yet world-shaking in its implications: We must evolve to a new, more compassionate, and higher consciousness – rooted in the truth that we are, as a human race, truly one. And it is only together that can we ensure our peace and prosperity, and the wellbeing of the Earth and all life on it.
Floating in Darkness: A Journey of Evolution, set for publication in May, is the first book to be published under New Epoch Publishing, a joint venture between Ron Garan and Something Or Other Publishing (soopllc.com), the mission of New Epoch Publishing is to create and introduce content that will help nudge the trajectory of our world toward a positive and restorative future. New Epoch will feature works by some of today’s most forward-thinking authors.
On this project, New Epoch and SOOP are partnering with Dundurn Press, one of Canada’s largest and most-respected publishers of adult and children’s fiction and non-fiction. Dundurn will provide distribution in Canada, as well as to bookstores in the US.
New Epoch will also soon publish Garan’s Railroad to the Moon, his first children’s book, which encapsulates his message in a format which budding readers can understand and enjoy.
For more information, contact SOOP’s Director of Premium Programs, Christian Lee, (313) 506-9034, christian@soopllc.com
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