Enabling a tech-supported journey from schooling to livelihoods – @livemint
Everyone aspires for good education, relevant skilling, and gainful employment. But, in a developing country with a large population and huge socioeconomic disparities, there are visible gaps between these three. Education, skilling, and employment are a continuum, and technology can enable smooth progression, fulfilment, and growth at every step. Around 180 million of India’s youth are expected to join the workforce in the next 15 years. However, current trends suggest that almost 33% of India’s working-age population are employment-unaware and 50% are unemployable. The skilling ecosystem, while it has made great progress in recent years, has inadequate focus on student mindset and behaviour, insufficient employer linkages, and hardly any post-training guidance...[more]
Stowe Boyd 2022-06-13 14:01:27
Worth emulating in West Africa…Low-waste, sustainable chocolates: These south Indian startups lead the way https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/low-waste-sustainable-chocolates-these-south-indian-startups-lead-way-147134
Though still a niche market, “environment-friendly chocolates”, which are being developed with low-waste processes and social consciousness, are gaining a steady, loyal customer base in India. For Nitin Chordia, the founder of Kocoatrait, it all started with a backpacking trip to Belgium and France where this entrepreneur from Chennai learnt the ropes of chocolate making...[more]
mapsontheweb: 32 out of 40 most polluted cities in the world…
32 out of 40 most polluted cities in the world are in India, 2020.
I spent an awful week in Delhi a few years ago. They burn garbage to heat their homes, and the farmers burn the harvested fields, so the air stank and a dark, greasy pall covered the land. I could not get the taste out of my mouth until I departed.
Ghastly.
Worth emulating,The Global Brand – Lijjat is an Indian women’s cooperative involved in manufacturing of various fast-moving consumer goods
Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad, popularly known as Lijjat, is an Indian women's cooperative involved in manufacturing of various fast-moving consumer goods. The organisation's main objective is empowerment of women by providing them employment opportunities. Started in 1959 by seven women in Mumbai with a seed capital of only Rs.80 ($1.5), it had an annual turnover of more than Rs. 800 crore (over $109 million) in 2018. It provides employment to 43,000 (in 2018) women across the country...[more]
Why is INDIA the 2nd biggest SOFTWARE Power in the WORLD? – @VisualPolitik EN https://youtu.be/FPZkNwhshiU
Building pipelines | From the labs: India-made world-class supercapacitor
Scientists in Hyderabad have developed a supercapacitor, a device that stores electrical charge. The charge that a capacitor can hold — capacitance — depends upon the surface area of electrodes...[more]
From Artisanal Production to Machine Tools Industrialization in #India over the Long Run
This chapter documents the decline and rise of industrial production in India. As the economy integrated into the British Empire’s global network, there was a rapid decline in artisanal and cottage industries in the nineteenth century and a rising share of commodity exports. However, modern industries also developed in cotton textiles, jute, and tea under the entrepreneurship of British and Indian interests and with little support from the state. After independence in 1947, India adopted the planned development of an industrial sector, by regulating foreign trade and investment. Initial attempts succeeded in building a large capital goods sector, but import substitution ran out of steam. Indian industries remained inefficient and failed to match East Asia’s successful entry to the world market in industrial goods. Re-integration into the global economy after 1980 led to efficiency gains, but rising growth in recent years has been led by the services rather than industry...[more]
3 Lessons #Nigeria can learn from the world’s cheapest hospital by @NaijaFlyingDr
How to create world-class healthcare facilities for the poorest people of the world
Narayana hospital in India has made Dr. Devi Shetty the ‘Dangote of healthcare’. The Dangote group provides commodities like salt, sugar, pasta and cement to meet people’s basic needs at the best possible price point...[more]
Priya Ahluwalia A Nigerian-Indian Designer
The Nigerian-Indian heritage of London-based menswear designer Priya Ahluwalia has done more than influence the direction of her eponymous label—it has informed the ethical way in which her collections are created.
In her debut collection, which launched for SS19, Ahluwalia used secondhand garments reworked as menswear to illuminate the industry’s problem with waste. As minds awaken to the issues surrounding climate change, attitudes and trends are evolving to find new ways to live in a socially-conscious manner. Reusing unwanted materials is a common practice in the field of fashion; what is less common is designers using everything in their power to bring attention to, and minimize the effects of, the wasteful industry that they are part of. Ahluwalia is innovative in her approach for this reason: not just because of her technique and material choice, but also for her production methods, which she asserts are as important as individual purchasing choices...[more]
India’s new technology infrastructure has created a platform to build domestic tech giants
Things for Africa to think about…Can a homemade plane revolutionise manufacturing in India?
The Solution is in Biology: A Startup Takes Biogas to the Kitchen
“The problem is not with the technology, but the science itself,” says Priyadarshan Sahasrabuddhe, founder of Vaayu-mitra, a startup from Pune, India, which is pioneering the idea of making your own green fuel.More here
Their product, named Vaayu, converts household food waste into biogas. Often delivered in canisters decorated with the catchy design of Pixar’s “minions,” this household device makes green fuel in your kitchen with simple resources and in a relatively short time.
“We often seek the solution to the problem of energy security via high-tech solar panels or huge wind mills. Whereas, a simple solution is present in biology,” Priyadarshan continues. “The biomass in and around us is the most abundant energy source in the world and is easily accessible. The non-biological solutions such as solar or wind are part of the solution. But they alone cannot save our future when it comes to energy security. We need a strong backing of biological sources to make everyone independent for their energy needs.
India has a new caste for native English speakers only | Sajith Pai
Work Futures Daily – 2017 Is Almost Done
An Indian IT firm is building a million-dollar empire with an army of high school graduates
Robot race: These three countries are winning
mapsontheweb: Languages of India.
Biotech projects incubated in India’s first DIY Bio Lab and Bioincubator at BioRiiDL
Biotech projects incubated in India’s first DIY Bio Lab and Bioincubator at BioRiiDL showcase their projects to compete for funding
An incubation cell for biotechnology start-ups BioRiiDL and a DIY bio lab has been launched by Somaiya Vidyavihar. It aims to nurture innovation and entrepreneurship in various aspects of biotechnology.
To encourage and support this initiative Bio RiiDL has set up DIY BIO LAB, which is a space where biologists can come, execute their ideas and innovate, even after completion of their studies, they can come and work on their own projects and a bioincubator where potential projects can be taken into the market.
The BioRiiDL will facilitate 100 students in the first year...[more]
Indian Technology Workers Worry About a Job Threat: Technology | Nida Najar
The automation of IT is hitting the lowest skilled first (surprise), and that often means offshore IT staff in India and other Asian countries:
India’s information technology industry grew at a breakneck speed over the past two decades thanks to the trend commonly called offshoring. The industry and related businesses generate more than $150 billion in annual revenue and employ about four million people to build and test software, to enter and analyze data, and to provide customer support for American and European companies looking for relatively inexpensive labor.
But the global tech industry is increasingly relying on automation, robotics, big data analytics, machine learning and consulting — technologies that threaten to bypass and even replace Indian workers. For example, automated processes may soon replace the kind of work Mr. Choudhari was performing for foreign clients, which involved maintaining software by occasionally plugging in simple code and analyzing data.
The situation in India is national news:
The Indian government has rushed to reassure the public that job losses will be minimal. Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Indian minister who oversees the technology industry, recently denied that major layoffs were occurring even as he encouraged the industry to speed up development.
“The question of slackness in jobs is absolutely factually incorrect,” he said. “Obviously, those who don’t perform will have to go.”
Some tech employees who recently lost jobs disputed that they were underperformers.
So, blaming the victims has started. Then, employers start talking ‘skills gap’:
Finding a job can be even harder for experienced workers who need to refresh their skills.
Dinesh Shende, a 38-year-old developer at Tech Mahindra who said he was forced to resign in February, looked for work for months. Born to farmer parents in a village in Maharashtra, he earned about $37,000 a year.
“Now employers say reskilling is needed — it is your responsibility,” he said. “We are ready to reskill ourselves. But will the next company employ us?”
And once workers brush up on skills – getting certification, degrees, exposure to new technologies – and then still can’t find jobs? Unionization:
In some places, tech workers are showing early signs of organizing, which industry leaders say could lead to unions and then to government interference, which could hurt competitiveness. In Pune, 47 workers from Tech Mahindra and other India-focused employers, including the local arms of Cognizant Technology Solutions of the United States and Vodafone of Britain, have signed petitions alleging forced resignations and baseless firings to the local labor commissioner.
Cognizant said the allegations were “totally unfounded,” while Vodafone did not respond to requests for comment. R. Chandrashekhar, president of Nasscom, the industry group, said in May that the industry would remain a “net hirer” but that automation would eliminate some types of jobs.
How quickly is the hollowing out of offshored IT jobs in India happening?
T. V. Mohandas Pai, a longtime industry figure, estimates the cuts will encompass up to 2 percent of the work force by September, mainly from culling underperformers. A 2015 study released by the National Association of Software and Services Companies, the Indian technology industry trade group known as Nasscom, and McKinsey India found that 50 to 70 percent of workers’ skills would be irrelevant by 2020.
This is the postnormal, so of course, the change will be very fast, everywhere, and out of control.
‘Machines’ – A Documenntary
India’s grassroots Innovation awards
India's presidential palace was the site of an unusual gathering this week, celebrating the democratic inclusion of people with no or little training in the country’s innovation system...[more]
Analytics Companies to Watch – South Africa’s BrandsEye & India’s MogIA India predicted Trump’s win
...the day before the US headed to the polls to vote, South African Jean Pierre Kloppers (CEO of BrandsEye) made a prediction to BBC reporters that defied what most analysts and polls were forecasting globally. He announced that US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump would win the election. He was one of few to see it coming...[more]Meanwhile in India CNBC reported that:
Sanjiv Rai's MogIA used Artificial Intelligence to correctly predict the result of the US 2016 presidential election...[more]
Shenzhen’s hardware accelerator HAX funds its first Indian startup
Support the Taal Digital Stethoscope on Indiegogo
A Startup Incubator with a Makerspace in Bangalore
Edible Cutlery: The Future of Eco Friendly Utensils
We are gearing up to create the world's first mass produced edible cutlery. This has huge potential to prevent plastic waste...
FarmChat on WhatsApp
Working the rural fields of India’s Maharashtra state can be lonely and backbreaking work for small-scale farmers. So Anil Bandawane, a farmer and engineer, created a Facebook group called ‘Baliraja’ — farmer king, roughly — with about a dozen fellow farmers in 2012. The members chatted about their work, posed questions, and traded tips, building ties they couldn’t form alone on the farm. They also began filling the isolating divide that can lead struggling or financially desperate farmers to suicide (a significant problem in rural India).images via Networked India
The group grew rapidly. Anil began to see the massive potential for a bigger forum where farmers could connect with each other and talk with experts who answered questions in real time. He expanded Baliraja to the instant messaging service WhatsApp, which now counts more than 1,000 farmers plus agricultural experts, consultants, and suppliers...[more]
Hacking Education – A Makerspace Experiment
This is an Education hack, and it’s pretty awesome. [Abhijit Sinha] received an Engineering degree and took up a run-of-the mill IT job in Bangalore, considered India’s IT hub. 7 months down the line on Dec 31st, he gave notice to the company and quit his “boring” job. He ended up in Banjarpalya, a village just 30 kms out of Bangalore. But it could well have been 30 years back in time. The people there had never come across computers, and there wasn’t much sign of other modern technology. So he set up Project DEFY – Design Education for You...[more]
From Beetroot To Pineapple, Homemade Wines Sweeten Christmas In India
In October, Hilda Mascarenhas, who writes a popular food blog in Pune, India, began her Christmas preparations with an unusual request to her fruit seller.
Courtesy Merwyn Mascarenhas
After buying a pineapple, she asked the vendor to separately pack the peel and eyes that he had skillfully removed with his long knife.
Hilda's husband, Merwyn, though accustomed to his wife's culinary experiments, was as mystified as the fruit seller. What did the thick, thorny peel and tongue-lacerating eyes, normally discarded as waste, have to do with Christmas?
He found out a month later when presented with a delicious little glass of golden pineapple wine.
Across India, several Christian communities, including the Goans, Mangloreans, Anglo-Indians and East Indians, prepare sweet homemade wines for the festive season from a rich array of local fruit, roots and grain. Grape, raisin and ginger wine are the staples, but many households also make wine from beetroot, tomato, cashew, gooseberry, jackfruit, jambhul, watermelon, bananas, mango, mulberries and rice...[more]
The Pruthvi Chip
A tiny chip designed in Bengaluru, the size of a postage stamp, might hold the answer to connecting India's rural population to the internet, an ambitious goal being chased by the likes of Google, Facebook and Microsoft.
image via the Times of India
The chip, called Pruthvi, powers a system which can use television White Space — or wasted spectrum bandwidth — to beam internet to scores of households. This innovation by Saankhya Labs, is important in today's India, where on one hand the government is pushing its ambitious 'Digital India' programme and on the other, large technology companies are working on similar goals.
"World over regulatory authorities are using or planning to use this spectrum for their respective connectivity programmes. India can take the lead in both technology and the markets for TV White Space-based broadband delivery. And how long can the government not push the envelope... It's got to be expedited sooner than later," said Parag Naik, CEO and co-founder of Saankhya Labs...[more]
Totus Power
Totus Power: Mobile power packs for schools in developing countries from recycled electric car batteries.
By recycling electric vehicle batteries into mobile power packs for schools, Totus Power has created a reliable, non-toxic, high-power, rapid charging lithium-ion battery pack named the Jupiter 6 that provides up to 20 hours of electricity. The Jupiter 6 incorporates Li-ion batteries from electric cars and is significantly lighter than the equivalent lead acid batteries.
The Maker Movement is having a breakout year in China.
The Maker Movement is having a breakout year in China. It was obvious at Maker Faire Shenzhen, a large, bustling celebration this July that was driven in part by government sponsorship. SEEED Studio’s Kevin Lau, the executive producer of Maker Faire Shenzhen who organized hundreds of Makers across four city blocks, said it was 10 times larger than 2014.
Photo Credit: Makeblock
China’s premier, Li Kequiang, has focused on economic reform. During a visit to a Shenzhen Makerspace in January, he declared that “Makers with creative ideas should be helped to set up their own businesses.” The deputy mayor of Shenzhen also spoke about this emerging opportunity: “Shenzhen is to be a city built for Makers.” The government wants to put together an entrepreneurial ecosystem for Chinese Makers that supports startups and small businesses. The prototype for this new generation of entrepreneurs could be Jasen Wang of Makeblock...[more]
The Waterless ‘Dry-San Toilet’
The Dry San Hygienic Rural Toilet is a waterless system where waste doesn’t have to be flushed. Prof Dr Kishore Munshi, senior professor and former dean of the Industrial Design Center at IIT-B, has developed the Dry San to reduce open defecation, improve hygiene, and help vulnerable sections including women and children.More here
“The project has been developed for rural India, targetting mainly the farming community with the basic premise that there is dearth of water in most rural areas. Thus, the flush toilet cannot be part of the solution.
Therefore, an autonomous solution based on water-less or minimal water usage was invented,” said Prof Munshi.
Images via IIT Bombay
Hassle free "Goat Markets"
Increasing number of traders and customers head online for "hassle free" transaction of livestock to slaughter for Eid...farmers said they were increasingly moving to India's popular online classified portals like Quikr and Olx, for easier and stress-free sales.More here
"I am getting 10 to 15 calls every day," Qaiser Khan, from the northern state of Rajasthan, told AFP news agency.
Khan said he usually travelled to markets throughout Rajasthan in the lead up to Eid, keeping him away from home for weeks. But this year he has sold half a dozen goats online, including one for $3,800.