Month: March 2018

India and Pakistan can take bilateral trade to $30 billion, says High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Calling for the removal non-tariff barriers between India and Pakistan, the Indian envoy said on Friday at Lahore that both countries need to shun violence and normalise relations in order to take the two-way trade to $30 billion from the present $5 billion.

Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria, addressing the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), also said that there is no better way of improving bilateral relations than mutually beneficial economic ties. He said mutual relations between the two countries should be built on the basis of trade and economy, and violence and war should not be an option.

Bisaria’s statement came at a time when relations between the two nuclear-power neighbors are at a low amid heightened tensions following claims and counter-claims by both the countries about harassment of each other’s diplomats.

The Indian High Commissioner also said that India and Pakistan should have the future different from the past and must not carry the burden of history. “Both Pakistan and India need to take more steps to remove non-tariff barriers that are a major impediment to bilateral trade relations.”

“We should not talk about negative and positive lists rather we should work on the windows of opportunities. At present, over $5 billion trade is being done through third country but after removal of non-tariff barriers, liberalisation of visa and normalisation of mutual relations, the two-way trade could touch a high $30 billion,” he said.

Stressing that both India and Pakistan could cater to each other if they utilise youths, Bisaria said that two-third population of India is below the age of 35 and same is the case in Pakistan where 65 percent population is under the age of 35.

“Chambers of the commerce and industry of both the countries are important lobby as not only they can play an instrumental role in strengthening mutual trade and economic ties but also influence the policy makers,” he said.

LCCI President Malik Tahir Javaid said at present an unfavourable scenario has developed both at political and diplomatic fronts.

“We have been witnessing time and again that first there is a trust deficit, then some joint efforts are made for trust building, then some incident happens and we end up yet again at trust deficit. One such (terror) incident must not halt the process of relation building. Both countries should give the peace another chance to prevail in the region for our youth and coming generations,” he said. Pakistan and India need to show a lot of maturity and act very sensibly, he added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

India’s Forex reserves rise by $1.19 billion

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India’s foreign exchange (Forex) reserves increased by $1.19 billion as on March 23, official data showed on Friday.

According to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) weekly statistical supplement, the overall Forex reserves rose to $422.53 billion from $421.33 billion reported for the week ended March 16.

India’s Forex reserves comprise of foreign currency assets (FCAs), gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs) and the RBI’s position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Segment-wise, FCAs — the largest component of the Forex reserves — increased by $1.13 billion to $397.29 billion during the week under review.

Besides the US dollar, FCAs consist of nearly 20-30 per cent of major global currencies. It also includes investments in US Treasury bonds, bonds of other selected governments and deposits with foreign central and commercial banks.

In addition, the country’s gold reserves value rose by $52.7 million to $21.61 billion.

Similarly, the SDRs value increased. It inched up by $3 million to $1.54 billion, while the country’s reserve position with the IMF edged up by $4 million to $2.08 billion.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Domestic passenger traffic to grow 18% in FY18, says rating agency

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Indian aviation industry is estimated to grow by 18% during financial year 2018, ratings agency ICRA said on Friday. “The domestic passenger traffic growth remained healthy backed by improvement in core growth drivers like economic environment and increasing tourism demand,” the ratings agency said.

“The strong demand has pushed the passenger load factor (PLF) to an all-time high of 86.5% in the current fiscal and India remains one of the best performing key domestic aviation markets in the world in terms of PLF.”

As per ICRA, in terms of international routes, the Indian airlines continued to outperform the industry during the current year.

“The international passenger traffic growth from India is estimated to be 10% in (financial year) 2018, while the Indian airlines are expected to report a growth of 13.5% during the same period,” it said.

“Increasing capacity deployment by Indian airlines on international routes and growing tourism demand are the key growth drivers. Resultantly, the market share of the Indian airlines on international routes has remained at an all-time high during the current fiscal,” the ratings agency added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

AI has a dirty little secret about artificial intelligence

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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There’s a dirty little secret about artificial intelligence: It’s powered by hundreds of thousands of real people.

From makeup artists in Venezuela to women in conservative parts of India, people around the world are doing the digital equivalent of needlework —drawing boxes around cars in street photos, tagging images, and transcribing snatches of speech that computers can’t quite make out.

Such data feeds directly into “machine learning” algorithms that help self-driving cars wind through traffic and let Alexa figure out that you want the lights on. Many such technologies wouldn’t work without massive quantities of this human-labeled data.

These repetitive tasks pay pennies apiece. But in bulk, this work can offer a decent wage in many parts of the world — even in the U.S. And it underpins a technology that could change humanity forever: AI that will drive us around, execute verbal commands without flaw, and — possibly — one day think on its own.

For more than a decade, Google has used people to rate the accuracy of its search results. More recently, investors have poured tens of millions of dollars into startups like Mighty AI and CrowdFlower, which are developing software that makes it easier to label photos and other data, even on smartphones.

Venture capitalist S. “Soma” Somasegar says he sees “billions of dollars of opportunity” in servicing the needs of machine learning algorithms. His firm, Madrona Venture Group, invested in Mighty AI. Humans will be in the loop “for a long, long, long time to come,” he says.

Accurate labeling could make the difference between a self-driving car distinguishing between the sky and the side of a truck — a distinction Tesla’s Model S failed in the first known fatality involving self-driving systems in 2016.

“We’re not building a system to play a game, we’re building a system to save lives,” says Mighty AI CEO Daryn Nakhuda.

___

Marjorie Aguilar, a 31-year-old freelance makeup artist in Maracaibo, Venezuela, spends four to six hours a day drawing boxes around traffic objects to help train self-driving systems for Mighty AI.

She earns about 50 cents an hour, but in a crisis-wracked country with runaway inflation, just a few hours’ work can pay a month’s rent in bolivars.

“It doesn’t sound like a lot of money, but for me it’s pretty decent,” she says. “You can imagine how important it is for me getting paid in U.S. dollars.”

Aria Khrisna, a 36-year-old father of three in Tegal, Indonesia, says that adding word tags to clothing pictures on websites such as eBay and Amazon pays him about $100 a month, roughly half his income.

And for 25-year-old Shamima Khatoon, her job annotating cars, lane markers and traffic lights at an all-female outpost of data-labeling company iMerit in Metiabruz, India, represents the only chance she has to work outside the home in her conservative Muslim community.

“It’s a good platform to increase your skills and support your family,” she says.

The benefits of greater accuracy can be immediate. At InterContinental Hotels Group, every call that its digital assistant Amelia can take from a human saves $5 to $10, says information technology director Scot Whigham.

When Amelia fails, the program listens while a call is rerouted to one of about 60 service desk workers. It learns from their response and tries the technique out on the next call, freeing up human employees to do other things.

When a computer can’t make out a customer call to the Hyatt Hotels chain, an audio snippet is sent to AI-powered call center Interactions in an old brick building in Franklin, Massachusetts. There, while the customer waits on the phone, one of a roomful of headphone-wearing “intent analysts” transcribes everything from misheard numbers to profanity and quickly directs the computer how to respond.

That information feeds back into the system. “Next time through, we’ve got a better chance of being successful,” says Robert Nagle, Interactions’ chief technology officer.

___

Researchers have tried to find workarounds to human-labeled data, often without success.

In a project that used Google Street View images of parked cars to estimate the demographic makeup of neighborhoods, then-Stanford researcher Timnit Gebru tried to train her AI by scraping Craigslist photos of cars for sale that were labeled by their owners.

But the product shots didn’t look anything like the car images in Street View, and the program couldn’t recognize them. In the end, she says, she spent $35,000 to hire auto dealer experts to label her data.

Trevor Darrell, a machine learning expert at the University of California Berkeley, says he expects it will be five to 10 years before computer algorithms can learn to perform without the need for human labeling. His group alone spends hundreds of thousands of dollars a year paying people to annotate images.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Coal India records highest offtake on March 28

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Coal India Ltd has recorded the highest offtake of 2 million tonnes in a single day on March 28, with railways helping movement of highest number of 289.5 rakes from CIL’s own sidings. Clubbed with supplies at private coal washeries and good sheds, railways has helped movement of 344.5 coal rakes on March 28, 2018.

“The synergy between CIL and railway has made it possible to surpass the benchmark of 342 rakes per day set for tiding over the crisis for coal faced by power and other industrial consumers. The day also witnessed another record of dispatching 252 rakes in a single day to power plants as against the daily target of 230 rakes,” an official release said.

Coal India and railways strengthened their synergic efforts to overcome the crisis faced by thermal power plants from the month of July 2017, since they were called upon to meet the deficit in generation of power by hydro, nuclear and solar power generators, it said.

The thermal power producers were in crisis, as they did not carry adequate stocks at the plants to cope up with the spurt in generation needs. This was due to their reduced intake of contracted quantities of coal during 2016-17 due to subdued generation demand.

The relentless effort has resulted in an impressive growth of 7% in loading for Power Sector by Rail mode during the current year. The daily average despatch to power plants during the last ten days has also crossed the target of 1.4 million tonnes.

As a result, the stocks at the power stations’ end which had plunged to the lowest level of about 7 million tonnes during October, 2017, has now improved to 16 million tonnes, despite rapid increase in coal consumption. With the continuing cooperation from Railways, Coal India is expected to achieve record offtake of about 581 MT during the current fiscal, registering a growth of 7 percent.

Having realized the potential for moving over 340 rakes of coal produced from Coal India in a single day, increased thrust is being made to carry forward the momentum to bring the power sector out of criticality and to meet the demands of other sectors of consumers.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Fossil fuel-producing nations turning into infrastructure investors

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The “Global Energy & CO2 Status Report”, published by the International Energy Agency (IEA), states that “renewable energy saw the highest growth rate of all energy sources in 2017 and met around a quarter of global energy demand growth” — a significant statistic by any standard and one that clearly points to the fact that renewable energy is here to stay.

This has serious ramifications for fossil fuel-producing nations. While fossil fuels still contribute a large part of the global energy needs, the fact that a “structural shift” is in process is clear. It is clear that over a medium- to long-term horizon, fossil fuel-dependent nations will have to rethink their strategy to boost and manage their economies.

A quick look at the largest sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in the world tells us that approximately 50 per cent of them are fossil fuel-based economies. Significant pools of capital are available with these SWFs and it should not be a surprise to see them diversify into various asset classes.

The next few decades may see fossil fuel-dependent countries go from being providers of energy and capital to focusing significantly more on being a source of capital, i.e., an investor. This switch towards investing is a visible trend, with SWFs being a source of significant capital across asset classes such as equity, private equity and infrastructure. The key takeaway is that SWFs, especially those from fossil fuel-producing countries, can be significant financiers of infrastructure.

Infrastructure as an asset class has two elements that make it attractive for SWFs: Fixed cash-flow profile and large market. Infrastructure assets, by their very nature, are highly regulated assets with fixed income type of cash flows. Such a structure works well for SWFs that are looking to match liabilities, i.e., cash outflows, on their balance sheets. In addition, infrastructure needs that countries face are large enough markets for SWFs to invest into in meaningful size to generate returns.

The large fossil fuel-driven SWFs are of significant size. Estimates by the Sovereign Wealth Funds Institute say the top 10 SWFs globally are managing more than $200 billion each, and four of these are fossil fuel-driven. Therefore, given the long-dated investment horizon of the SWFs, the nature of liabilities on their balance sheets, and the large size of capital that needs to be deployed, infrastructure as a broad sector is attractive.

For fossil fuel-producing countries, switching from being an energy supplier to a supplier of capital lets them reduce their exposure to fossil fuel price volatility in the short term and play a larger role in boosting trade ties with other nations through infrastructure creation in the long run.

For nations that need financing for infrastructure creation, the global shift towards renewables and its consequent impact on fossil fuel-producing countries to turn investors is an opportunity not to be missed.

There are also important lessons to be learnt by both investors and infrastructure destination nations from the Norwegian government’s decision against allowing unlisted infrastructure investments by its Sovereign Wealth Fund. The reason given was that the fund wasn’t equipped to deal with the risks involved, especially from a political and regulatory perspective.

This points towards the urgent need for infrastructure destination nations to, one, improve regulations around unlisted infrastructure assets and, two, create mechanisms that allow for listed infrastructure assets to grow.

The issues faced by the Norwegian Sovereign Fund are generic issues that all SWFs face. It is important that in a highly competitive global capital market, countries expedite the creation of an enabling environment for infrastructure creation.

Clearly, the global changes in the energy markets also have significant ramifications on the financial markets.

The energy transition from a world dependent on fossil fuels to one driven by renewables does not necessarily need to have winners and losers. In a global economy besieged by the fear of “trade wars”, switching roles for fossil fuel-producing nations from major energy suppliers to large providers of capital is worth considering.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Airlines demand investigation of ‘inaccurate’ reporting of technical snags

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Several major airlines have asked the government to investigate the matter of “inaccurate” reporting of technical snags by some other passenger carriers.

In a letter dated March 28, to Jayant Sinha, the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and Vistara alleged that the “number of technical snags being reported by various airlines is inaccurate”.

The letter said, “It seems apparent that the number of technical snags being reported by various airlines is inaccurate. This discrepancy or misreporting of data is leading to the false illusion of the relative safety of some airlines over others.”

“As you are aware, reporting of snags and defects is mandatory in India and accurate reporting of such snags is in the interest of passengers and aviation safety,” it said.

The development comes after Sinha, in a reply to a question, informed the Rajya Sabha that airlines in India had reported a total of 24,791 defects or snags in 2017.

“We request you to get this matter investigated by the DGCA so that accurate information may be made available to the Parliament of India and the travelling public,” the letter added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

10% Indians hopeful of tasting success within a year, shows survey

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Despite pressures of a competitive job economy, one in 10 Indians feel optimistic about achieving success within one year, which is double the global average of 5 per cent, according to a LinkedIn survey on Wednesday.

“The growing optimism in India’s macroeconomic environment shines through in the confidence Indian professionals feel towards achieving success,” said Deepa Sapatnekar, Head of Communications for India, LinkedIn.

But instead of chasing a six-figure salary, most people in India tend to measure success on the scale of happiness and health, according to the results.

“Being happy” is the ultimate definition of success for 72 per cent Indians, according to the survey commissioned by the professional social network and conducted by international research firm YouGov.

Good health (65 per cent) and a healthy work-life balance (57 per cent) also emerged as important indicators of success.

Only 22 per cent attributed success to a “rise in paycheck” and 36 per cent defined success in terms of “earning a six-figure salary”, the results showed.

“While success means many different things to different people, it is heartening to see indicators like work-life balance, family time and health taking precedence over a six-figure salary,” Sapatnekar said.

The survey involved responses from over 18,000 adults from 15 other countries, including Britain, Australia and the US, besides India.

Nearly 70 per cent Indians said they felt successful and had a positive and balanced outlook on achieving success.

Among the 16 countries, Indian professionals ranked third in feeling successful, following the UAE in the first spot and Brazil in the second.

Nearly 80 per cent respondents from India said that education plays a positive role in their ability to achieve success, along with other factors such as one’s age (61 per cent), gender (56 gender) and the career they have chosen (68 per cent), which also have a positive impact on future success.

Around 30 per cent Indians think achieving social success is more important than achieving professional success, higher than the global average of 22 per cent, the survey showed.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

My Management Mantra: This boss says the best place to prepare for leadership is on the job

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Aditya Ghosh, CEO, Oyo Hotels & Homes – South Asia gives us an insight into his management mantra.

How do corporate leaders manage? Where do they draw inspiration from? ‘My Management Mantra’ is CNBCTV18.com‘s series of interviews with experienced leaders who run large companies and oversee a large workforce. This one features Aditya Ghosh, CEO, Oyo Hotels & Homes – South Asia.

1. What time do you like to be at your desk?

If desk means emails and work messages and starting to work … then around 5.30 am … in an increasingly virtual world, a hard wood desk is becoming an ornament.

2. Where is the best place to prepare for leadership: at business school or on the job?

On the job. I never went to business school.

3. Describe your management style.

Hopefully to always lead by example.

4. Are tough decisions best taken by one person or collectively?

One person with various inputs from others.

Inspiration is all around us. We just have to have the eyes to observe and not just see, and ears to listen and not just hear.

5. Do you want to be liked, feared or respected?

Both to be respected and liked.

6. What does your support team look like?

An incredible team that makes me look very good.

7. A business outside of aviation or a business leader that you draw inspiration from?

Inspiration is all around us. We just have to have the eyes to observe and not just see, and ears to listen and not just hear.

8. Which management book has influenced you the most?

I like reading but am not a regular reader of management books.

9. Do you socialise with your team outside of work?

Yes.

10. What would your key management advice be?

To have a healthy dose of fear, take pride in creating something new and the deep realisation of how many people you impact.

This piece was first published when Ghosh was president and whole-time director, Indigo Airlines.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

My Management Mantra: This airline boss believes in giving opportunities to colleagues to excel at work

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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How do corporate leaders manage? Where do they draw inspiration from? CNBCTV18.com is launching a series of interviews titled ‘My Management Mantra; with experienced leaders who run large companies and oversee a large workforce. The first one features Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of AirAsia, the founder of Malaysia-based low-cost airline AirAsia Bhd.

1. What time do you like to be at your desk?

I work on my phone most of the time but when I have scheduled meetings in the office, I like to be at my desk early so I can get started on the day.

2. Where is the best place to prepare for leadership: at business school or on the job?

Knowledge is important but nothing trains you to do something better than actually doing it.

3. Describe your management style.

I try to have the right people around me that I can trust with important decisions. You are only as good as your people.

Everyone has the potential to be amazing at something, and your job as manager is to give them the opportunity to be the best version of themselves.

4. Are tough decisions best taken by one person or collectively?

Building consensus is an important part of being a manager but ultimately, no. Truly effective solutions are designed by committee. Part of your responsibility as a person in charge is sometimes, after listening to everyone, you have to make difficult choices.

5. Do you want to be liked, feared or respected?

Liked and respected. AirAsia is a family, and there is no place for fear in this company.

6. What does your support team look like?

I can’t do anything without my personal assistant Jackye and my executive assistants Ben Jie and Jun Ho. They probably know my schedule better than I do and they make sure everything runs smoothly.

7. A business outside of aviation or a business leader that you draw inspiration from?

Elon Musk. He is a rare combination of thinker, dreamer and doer. Few others are willing to take on big problems, propose radical solutions then go all-out to make those a reality, whether it’s electric cars, space travel, Hyperloop or boring tunnels.

8. Which management book has influenced you the most?

I’ve recently been reading Time, Talent, Energy, which talks about how to unleash the full potential of your people by eliminating institutional factors that drag on performance.

9. Do you socialise with your team outside of work?

Sometimes. But if we did, we’d probably just talk about work again and they’d get sick of my face, so I try to keep a healthy distance.

10.  What would your key management advice be?

See the best in people. Everyone has the potential to be amazing at something, and your job as manager is to give them the opportunity to be the best version of themselves.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow