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Gautam Khaitan, an eminent corporate lawyer explains the changing dynamics & its impact on FDI in India

The India Saga Saga |

Gautam Khaitan an eminent corporate lawyer explains the changing dynamics & its impact on FDI in India.

Today, when the global tensions seem to be getting diffused, it has been reported that India is considering to clear FDI from China that India suspended post-face-off with the Dragon nation in May 2020 along the LAC.

Moreover, the government banned almost 100 Chinese apps citing security reasons that included some of the globally popular platforms including TikTok, Players Unknown Battle Ground (PUBG), and UC Browser. Eminent Corporate lawyer Gautam Khaitan explains the changing dynamics and its impact on FDI in India.

“Earlier, FDI from China used to get automatic clearances from the authorities. New Delhi brought the new FDI policy with the aim of protecting takeovers of local firms amidst the pandemic. As reports suggested that the National Security Advisor has raised a red flag over the investments from China, the government brought tough measures which included getting all the investments from the neighbour nation approved from the Home Ministry irrespective of the size of the investments,” says Gautam Khaitan.

However, the government has begun clearing FDI proposals from the Dragon Nation on a “case-by-case” basis. It is pertinent to note that such clearances are only for smaller cases and the government has categorically said that large proposals would be taken up after careful analysis of the situation.

Government is also keen to smoothening the process for FDI from China and had set up a coordination committee comprising of officers from the ministries of home, external affairs, commerce and industry and NitiAyog.

He said that the situation at the Indo-China border is somewhat diffused, the present political leadership in the country might choose to continue taking extra precautions even when the face-off is fully disseminated. “As several intelligence agencies across the world have raised alarm over Chinese government making disguised investments in foreign nations through dummy companies for espionage purposes. Almost every nation across the world is being precautious right now.”

The government has reportedly blocked over 120 Chinese FDI worth over INR 110 billion in the past nine months, Indian companies in dire need of Chinese investments have reflected unhappiness over the issue. “India is one of the beneficiaries of Chinese investments, but if you look at it from the government’s perspective, China is majorly investing in the technology sphere and is acquiring controlling stakes in Indian companies. Which is the matter of serious concern.”

“Today, technology is the place where strategic implications are being developed concerning the internal and external security of the nation. Further, the definition of state-owned enterprises and private enterprises are blurred making the whole issue going shady,” Gautam Khaitan adds. However, he also thinks that the issue regarding investments from China to India is overhyped as it constitutes only around 0.5 percent of the total share.

Conclusion: What do you think the government should do in such a case?

It can be inferred that India is closely monitoring China and the Chinese companies who want to establish themselves in India and rightly so as China had been involved in espionage in different countries by opening various dummy companies in the garb of investments. It is the aftermath of the Galwan clash at the eastern border that made India tightened the inflows from the Chinese investments. However, China is raising concerns that such actions are against the ethos and rules of WTO but India is well within its right to protect its sovereignty.

EC issues notice to CM Mamata Banerjee over remarks on “central powers bullying voters”

The India Saga Saga |

The Election Commission of India has issued a new notice to Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, requesting that she clarify her comments about central forces manning polling booths in the Bengal elections.

This is the second notification that the Election Commission has given to her. EC was convinced that her two remarks, one during a TV interview on March 28 and the other during a speech in Cooch Behar on April 7, were in violation of the model code of conduct as well as Sections 186, 189, and 504 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Banerjee is given time until 11 a.m. on April 10 to clarify her role in making the comments, according to the poll panel’s note. 

The EC made a point of expressing its gratitude to the Central forces, saying that they have consistently performed admirably on the duties assigned to them in all fields, the most recent incident was the horrific episode in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, where people were forced to lay down their lives.


“It also needs to be placed on record that they and many other ministries and departments of the Union government and departments of state governments assist the ECI for the conduct of elections. But the praiseworthy role of central forces in ensuring free, fair, transparent and accessible elections merits a special mention.” they further said.

EC adding to the statement said that Banerjee may not have realised that her comments vilifying the Central powers were being misconstrued.

Sunil Arora, the Chief Election Commissioner, responded to a query at a press conference at the end of the two-day visit by saying it was unfortunate that “ a party made averments about the BSF.”
He added “ I have asked for concrete instances. They (BSF) are one of the finest forces in the country. There is no point in casting any force, ad nauseam.”



Samarpit Kanwatia, Who Believes Astrology Can Make Lives Better

The India Saga Saga |

“Astrological guidance enhances the quality of life. It helps in maximising gains and minimise losses for an individual, giving followers of this amazing Vedic science a wholesome solution to their problems.” This is the theory believed by celebrity astrologer Samarpit Kanwatia. He says that astrology is a Vedic science and no miracle and to most people, who follow it rightly and with the right mindset it turns out to be true. In today’s time, astrology is the only occult science that is believed and practised by many and is a near-perfect way of knowing your future and living a good life.

A celebrity astrologer from Mumbai Samarpit Kanwatia is also a successful businessman. He has been practising astrology for more than 20 years having clients pan world. He believes that astrology should be studied well and applied efficiently. Having good knowledge of various forms of other occult sciences such as Vastu and Numerology, he mixes these two forms as an added measure with astrology to give better results to his clients so that they are happy with the end result.

In India, there are many astrologers and he always wanted to render something unique yet give the right solutions and remedies as per the scriptures and grammar of astrology to an individual. With a vision to help society at large, he established his company named- “Sarv Mangal Ho” which is a single stop solution for all problems related to Astrology, Numerology and Vastu. Through Sarv Mangal Ho, he nourishes, guides, and provides his assistance to all strata of people coming from different layers of our country. He feels “An astrologer must be well-read before he guides people yet at the same time says astrologers are not god and take their say as a guideline only. Remember that you cannot change your destiny but you can tweak it with your karma. Astrology cannot change your life, it just helps you to lead a better life.”

For people who totally believe in fate and destiny, he says “One can believe in fate and destiny as they let you know where will you reach in life and what position will you acquire but without right karma, nothing will be attained and even if one does it will go away soon.KARMA at the end of the day has no substitute.”

A recipient of many accolades and prestigious awards in the past, Samarpit Kanwatia was recently honoured with Gaurav Icon Award as an Iconic celebrity Astrologer, a recognition for his efforts in the field of astrology.“I feel humbled and gratified by all this adulation. A good astrologer is always truthful to his clients and works towards their success. A country with a successful society is a global asset.” concludes this celebrity astrologer.

To know more about astrology login to the website: www.sarvmangalho.com

Wow Laddus win the prestigious Lux Life, United Kingdom award

The India Saga Saga |

Lux Life has awarded Wow Laddus the Most Versatile Nutritious Delicacy in its recent Global Excellence Awards. For Indians, laddus are a source of happiness and hold a special place in Indian culture. The sweet, little balls of happiness act as the perfect glue to bring together families and friends. Combining the loveable delicacy with health and nutrition resulted is a recipe for success. Lux Life reached out from the UK stating that they have shortlisted Wow Laddus products based on their research methodology for their award.  The main emphasis was placed on a particular product’s contribution to a healthy lifestyle and convenience or ease of use in day-to-day life. Lux Life looked into the operations of Wow Laddus in multiple countries.

Wow Laddus, a food tech startup based out of Bangalore has been shipping a range of nutritious laddus across India, the USA and Canada.  Murali Cherat, a serial entrepreneur with eleven patents across robotics, stem cells and packaging, founded Wow Laddus in 2016 with the vision of taking Indian laddus all over the world.  In line with this, Wow Laddus already has manufacturing operations in Canada.  These laddus are available online and at gourmet retail shops. Wow Laddus offers a range of laddus made with dry fruits like Almonds, pistachios, walnuts, and 250 odd ingredients sourced from best in class locations across the globe.

During global consumer research, it was noticed that while Indians will simply hold a laddu and take it straight to their mouth, elsewhere, people were asking for a knife to cut and enjoy laddus.  Many such nuances made Wow Laddus offer a range of laddus with cheese, scotch, ice cream, Mexican flan, and just plain yoghurt along with other combinations. Wow Laddus is probably the first to offer laddus made with Maple syrup and a range for the fast-growing vegan market as stated by Murali Cherat.

Holly Morris of Lux Life Magazine was delighted as Wow Laddus Private Limited was conferred with the award and got the recognition they deserved. LUXlife Magazine is a premium lifestyle publication that was founded in 2015 by the publishing company AI Global Media Ltd. Distributed to a circulation of 238,000 globally, LUX Life focuses on a range of topics within the luxury lifestyle industry, featuring articles on; fashion, beauty, fine dining, travel, luxury real estate, and much more. Within the pages, readers can find everything from product news and reviews to in-depth pieces on trends, features and comment; all designed to inform, entertain and inspire.

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To know more

Website https://wowsaysworld.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wowladdus/

Chai Studios and Blackeye Entertainment all set to release ‘Ladies First’ this summer

The India Saga Saga |

Under the banners of Blackeye Entertainment and Chai Studio, Raghav Diwan is set to showcase his directorial debut with the short film, ‘Ladies First’. This short film is an attempt to reveal the odds that a married woman has to face in today’s day and age to go about chasing her dreams.

With his strong sense of vision and know-how of theatre, Raghav Diwan has aced various roles of a writer, actor, and producer. All these experiences have given him impeccable wisdom to make his debut as a director.  Under his foresighted direction, the film runs on the theme of sensitization towards the life of working women. This vision is shared by the co-producers of ‘Ladies First’, Vivek Bhadra and Jigar Gori.

Driven by newcomers to the acting industry, the short film has debutante Pragati Seth in the lead role. Academically a perfectionist, Pragati has a knack for creative writing. Delivering the dialogues in one go, she knew exactly how to fit in Suhana’s character. The other leads in the movie are Akash Jayant and Rupesh Tillu, while it is Akash’s first movie as an actor, Rupesh Tillu is the ‘Lakhon Mein Ek’ fame actor from the Amazon Prime web series. Apart from that, he has also shot a movie with Saif Ali Khan, which will hit the screens soon.

Vivek, the co-producer is the founder of the renowned theatre group, ‘Apurnviram’, situated in Jamnagar, Gujarat. He has been in the field for 10 years and has done more than fifty shows, all of which have been a hit. Three years ago he decided to enter the film industry and ever since he has produced seven to eight short films. Talking about Akash’s debut in the industry, he is a pass out from Balaji Telefilms. Belonging to business background originally, Akash is an aspiring actor who has been preparing himself for six years to land the perfect opportunity. He was among those talents who were able to crack the ‘Ladies First’ auditions in one go.

The perfectly curated cast and crew of the short film coupled with the excellence of Raghav and his team in weaving awe-inspiring movies with their profound sense of cinema will certainly be a treat for short film lovers. This piece of mastered art will be releasing soon and is quite looked forward to by the millennials.

There is a trend to appreciate such subject-based movies that take the forefront amongst the Indian audience. The fabulous crew which also includes Devesh Gautam, Anmol Patel, Shivam Singh Chouhan and many others,   is certain that the movie will create benchmarks in giving fuel to the fire of women empowerment discourses around the country and will stand out like their previous noteworthy releases.

Indore-Based Startup Supersourcing Gets Recognised for Redefining IT Talent Outsourcing

The India Saga Saga |

Indore, April 9th 2021: Beginning from humble roots, founders of Supersourcing (Product of Engineer babu), Mayank Pratap and Aditi Chaurasia were always passionate about startups and the value they bring to people from a fresh perspective. With Mayank’s tech background and Aditi’s managerial expertise, the duo started a platform that has now become a leading name for finding the top tech talent for startups around the country.

Since its inception in January last year, Supersourcing has helped 350+ startups go digital by hiring 900+ remote engineers and developers from top companies.

Months into 2020, while the country was facing an economic crisis during COVID-19, Supersourcing stood as a pillar for small and medium businesses. For their continued effort, the startup was recognized by the Madhya Pradesh government and received an award from the Chief Minister of the state Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Supersourcing delivers exactly what it promises – matching the right talent with the talent seekers. The startup offers a pool of experienced, proficient and skilled developers from top agencies who are available for hire. It helps companies find their best tech fit based on their budget and other project requirements.

Having experienced the hardships of hiring first hand, it only made sense for the duo to start an IT outsourcing platform like Supersourcing. As many budding entrepreneurs have great ideas that don’t get realised owing to the lack of tech infrastructure and access, Supersourcing has emerged as an answer to embryonic startups to build their products from scratch.

Not only did Supersourcing get critically acclaimed by the state government, but it was successful in raising INR 1.5 crores in a round of seed funding, backed by Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Ritesh Malik from the coworking space Innov8, and investor Nikhil Sharma.

With the IT outsourcing market size almost touching a billion dollars worldwide, Supersourcing aims at providing a fast and reliable solution to the tech woes faced by startups and companies looking to scale their tech teams at large.

So, the road ahead looks bright for the tech outsourcing innovation! Supersourcing has untapped opportunities lying ahead to digitally transform the startup space.

HUL, Google, IIFT and IIT Madras make it to the top in Dare2Compete Awards 2021

The India Saga Saga |

On the sunny and bright noon of April 7, 2021 students, colleges, and recruiting organizations got together for the much-awaited reveal of Dare2Compete Awards 2021 rankings. The fourth edition of the awards celebrated the extremely adequate performance of all its stakeholders and showered elusive insights into the industry trends by releasing the distinctive D2C Campus Employer Branding Report 2021.

With CRISIL as the knowledge partner, this year the rankings and D2C CEBR were based on an overwhelming 24,000 student nominations (2x YoY), 51,000+ votes (2.5x YoY), and 7,200 survey responses.

Across B-Schools HUL L.I.M.E. once again made the cut as the winner of D2C Prestigious B-School Competitions 2021, closely followed by Flipkart WiRED& Amazon Customer Excellence Challenge. Narrowing down to the category of Premier 10 B-Schools, students crowned Amazon Customer Excellence Challenge as theD2C most prestigious B-School competition 2021. HUL L.I.M.E& Asian PaintsCanvas took second and third places, respectively.

Under the D2C Prestigious E-School Competitions 2021 category, Code Jam won the winning title followed by Hash Code, both of which were from the house of Google.Microsoft Imagine Cup secured third place followed by Flipkart GRiD and IBM Hack Challenge.

Talking of the D2C Prestigious B-Schools 2021, the top four positions were secured by IIFT, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, and IIM Kashipur in that order. In the E-School category, IIT Madras emerged victorious, taking home the tag of Dare2Compete most Competitive E-School 2021.

Rashmi from T. A. Pai Management Institute (TAPMI), Manipal, was named D2C Competitive Leader 2021 (Category: B-School). Talking of the Engineering space, Guhan Narayanan from IIT Madras lifted the trophy of D2C Competitive Leader 2021 (Category: E-School)

For complete rankings, visit https://dare2compete.com/awards/2021 or click here.

The D2C Campus Employer Branding Report (CEBR) 2021 turned out to be a crowd-puller. As a part of the D2C Campus Employer Branding Report 2021, winning titles were awarded in the category of “Dream Companies to work for 2021”:

  • In the premier 10 B-Schools, HUL remains the dream employer, leading it from the front with Amazon and McKinsey. While across 30 B-Schools, Google grabs the dream employer’s position, followed by Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and Amazon.
  • In the Engineering space, Google wins first place and Microsoft takes a close second with Amazon as third.
  • BCG pips Mckinsey to grab first place as the desirable consulting company, followed by Bain in premier 10 B-Schools. However, the famous MBB trio – McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, and Bain & Company grab the first three places as usual across premier 30 B-Schools.
  • In the Banking and Finance sector, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase & Co. shine this year as well, as No.1 and No.2 respectively, across segments.
  • ITC gains 2nd spot while HUL shines at No.1 in the desirable FMCG/Beverage companies space, followed by P&G, Nestle, and Coca-Cola in that order across segments.
  • Tata Sons wins first place under the General Management domain, followed by Aditya Birla Group (ABG), Mahindra, and Reliance across Premier 10 B-Schools. Interestingly in premier 30 B-Schools, the order changes as TATA, Reliance, ABG, and then Mahindra.
  • In line with last year’s report, Amazon, Flipkart, and Google shine as the top 3 desirable Start-Ups/Online-Services/E-Commerce/Technology Companies where students would like to work across segments. Microsoft and Udaan took the 4th and 5th position respectively in the premier 10 B-School segments.

D2C CEBR 2021 has also given us much-needed insight into the thought process of students. Here are some key findings from the D2C Employer Branding Report 2021:

  • Marketing and General Management are the preferred domains that B-School students would like to work in followed by Finance, Analytics, and Operations.
  • E-Schoolers want to work as a Software Engineer/Developer followed by Product Manager roles and then Data Scientist & Analytics.
  • Consulting and FMCG/FMCD are the most sought-after sectors by B-Schoolers, closely followed by E-Commerce and BFSI.
  • Engineering students aspire to work in ITeS or their Core engineering sector, followed by Analytics and Consulting.
  • 56% of B-School students expect and are happy with at least INR 100,001- INR 150,000 minimum monthly in-hand salary after graduation. In E-Schools, expectations are rather spread out with a minimum starting at INR 50,000.
  • 81% of B-Schoolers &74% of Engineering students would like to have only one to two interactions with the company to understand it better before deciding to build a career in that company.

The awards distribution ceremony was graced by three thoughtful panel discussions where the audience garnered actionable insights and gleaned fresh perspectives on industry trends from the best business minds at leading companies.

In the first panel discussion, the industry luminaries like Anandi Shankar, Talent &Organisation Director, Unilever South Asia; Bharatendu Verma, Batch Representative 2019-21, IIM Ahmedabad, Poornima Pandey, VP Group HR, TATA Sons and Soumita Bose, Executive Director, HR, JPMorgan Chase & Co pitched into the lightning discussion over ideal career decision-making thought process, whether the process should go about Industry > Company > Job Profile? Or should it be reversed?

Putting her point across the big names, Anandi Shankar, Talent &Organisation Director, Unilever South Asia, said, “We should look back every two years of our career and see if there is substantial growth in us as an individual. If we are too comfortable, it’s probably the wrong career for us.”

Malliga Rajkumar, Senior Director, HR, Flipkart; Roshni Wadhwa, Director, Human Resources, L’Oréal; Sharada Ramachander, Director and Head Talent Acquisition (Global), CRISIL Limited, and Sonal Jain, Director HR Consumer Health Business, Johnson & Johnson honored the second-panel discussion on understanding the dynamics of engaging with students and working professionals.

Commenting on the company’s core beliefs basis their national and international campus engagements, Roshni Wadhwa, Director, Human Resources, L’Oréal said, “The more diverse a team one has under their foray, the more innovation can come that can accentuate the entire business. Engaging with young minds can help a company leverage their powerful ideas that can mould their business strategy.”

The third-panel discussion straightened out the dilemma of democratizing the hiring process.

Aashish Kshetry, Vice President, HR & Systems, Asian Paints; Amitav Mukherji, Head Corporate Human Resources, ITC Limited; Ashwani Prashara, CHRO, Hydrocarbons, Reliance Industries and Manish Sinha, SVP & CHRO, Automotive Business, Mahindra &Mahindra conveyed their views on whether the companies should go beyond top-tier B-Schools and Engineering Colleges?

Disclosing how Reliance has changed its recruitment processes while venturing into new forays Ashwani Prashara, CHRO, Hydrocarbons, Reliance Industries said, “We have democratized and re-looked the entire hiring process. We look for talent from every nook and corner and go for the best fit for our company irrespective of the student’s college.”

The final act of the Dare2Compete Awards 2021 ceremony was the D2C Recruiter-2-Recruiter and D2C Recruiter-2-Student networking session. In the one-of-a-kind session, the students got exclusive facetime with campus recruiters!

Rahul Borole’s Journey As A Backbencher To Top Social Media Marketing Expert Is Inspiring millions

The India Saga Saga |

Grades and academic performance should never determine a person’s potential. A lot of creative minds don’t have big degrees in their hands. It is their ability to think 10 steps ahead that help them reach the top. Rahul Borole, a youth from Aurangabad, is a suitable example of the same. Today, Rahul is a well-known photographer and owns his own agency called RB Social Media Marketing.

From his childhood days, Rahul was always fond of clicking pictures. Being a backbencher, he was never good at studies. But no one could beat him when it came to creativity, especially photography. His first camera was a cell phone at that time as he couldn’t afford a proper camera. But he was happy with what he had and clicked many pictures of nature, his family and friends around. Slowly, he saved enough to buy himself a new DSLR.

With a DSLR in his life, Rahul Borole’s photography career commenced. He started working, taking up work for wedding shoots and indoor photography. Word of mouth and impeccable skills helped him become popular, and Rahul started getting big projects like outdoor shoot/coverage and modelling shoots. He also got political photography assignments such as rallies and events featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis.

Along with working as a photographer, Rahul Borole started learning about digital marketing. Today, he owns RB Social Media Marketing and has clients all over India. His clientele list includes many politicians, celebs, sportsperson and social workers. Several brands also approach Rahul as his social media skills are brilliant and help achieve the target and goals.

When asked about his career, Rahul Borole says, “Creativity in work can take many different forms, and a creative mind is what makes an individual different from others. People have always been drawn to innovative things. So I always made sure that my originality reflects in every work I do.”

Dance Deewane : Dharmendra, Shatrughan rewards contestant with ?51

The India Saga Saga |

The reality dancing show, Dance Deewane witnessed one of the finest veteran actors Dharmendra and Shatrughan Sinha on their show. Both the actors took interest in everyone’s performance and even gave rewards to contestants as a token of blessing.

Generation 3 contestant Pallavi Tolye impressed both Dharmendra and Shatrughan by dancing on ‘Ja Re Ja O Harjai’. Shatrughan said, “You have proven that there is no age limit to dancing.”

Dharmendra recalling his shooting days said, “I was part of a film called ‘Dil Bhi Tera, Hum Bhi Tere’. I was called upon to sign the movie. There were three cabins and I sat in the middle one, listening to what they intended to pay me. There were 3 co-producers. All of them got out ?17 each and gave me ?51. I consider those ?51 lucky for me. I want to give you a shagun too of ?51.” Pallavi, on the other hand, was taken aback by his expression.

Veteran actresses Asha Parekh, Helen, and Waheeda Rehman have recently appeared on the show. They had a wonderful time sharing stories with fans and judges Madhuri Dixit, Tushar Kalia, and Dharmesh Yelande.

Even after following all the protocols for the novel Coronavirus on set, 18 crew members were still tested positive, said a film industry worker’s union. Channel in a statement said, “Some crew members associated with our show ‘Dance Deewane’ have tested positive for COVID-19. They have been immediately provided with medical assistance and are currently placed under quarantine. All the necessary safety procedures have been undertaken and the sets and adjoining areas have been thoroughly sanitized”.

More Bollywood celebrities will be seen in the upcoming episodes of Dance Deewane Season 3. 

Time to bring automation in critical infrastructure, says Praveen Sinha of Jabong

The India Saga Saga |

The Parliament has recently passed DFI Bill to boost investment in infrastructure for rapid development

The present regime has been aggressively focusing on developing the critical infrastructure across the nation. Recently, the parliament has also passed the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) Bill, 2020 to boost infrastructure. From railways to pipelines, the government has planned to infuse billions of dollars in the development of the cornerstone of the economy. However, the Co-founder and ex-MD of Jabong, Praveen Sinha has said that the government should also consider introducing automation to its gigantic infra projects to make them more resilient, efficient, and cost-effective.

While applauding the efforts of the present regime, he said that the government is making unprecedented moves to attract investments and even foster the growth of infrastructure throughout the nation. “The government must be appreciated for their ultra-active indulgence in the infra sector. The construction business in India is going up at a rapid pace and is expected to become the third-largest in the world soon. Development of roads and railways, in particular, has revolutionized the logistics and warehousing in India.”

An investment of INR 50 trillion in infra is required by the year 2022 to achieve sustainable development of the country. Therefore, the government is aggressively engaged in attracting funds to achieve its mammoth investment goals. Moreover, the World Bank in its Logistics Performance Index (LPI) has placed the nation at 44 ranks out of 167 countries in 2018 and the Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index has ranked India in second place, making the nation an attractive opportunity for investments and viable returns.

Owing to the time to come in near future, Praveen Sinha has suggested that the government must introduce automation to its high-end infra projects for achieving desired objectives. “Automation at first can be expensive but in the long run is cost-efficient. Take the example of roads and highways. It is a highly cost-sensitive area and the stakeholders are a bit sceptical about introducing automation in it. However, it is evident that those who have implemented it are enjoying low maintenance cost, making the whole process go cost-effective.”

Countries like Japan, which are troubled by its ageing infrastructure, have been deploying automation for maintenance and are spending millions of dollars to make it possible. “We will have to learn from these countries. Now, we are creating state-of-the-art infra projects, but maintaining them manually will prove to be a herculean and costly task. As soon as they will start ageing, the cost for implementation of artificial intelligence and allied technology will quadruple.”

He said that the India-Japan Coordination Forum for Development of Northeast’s strategic infra projects is an opportunity to learn from Japan on creating futuristic infrastructure that will cater to the needs of coming generations.

He also praised Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari who in his recent statement has said that India will become toll-free within two years. “Implementation of GPS-based toll collection is a revolutionary idea. People are going to get free from jams at the toll stations which are already de burdened with the introduction of FASTag systems,” says Praveen SinhaJabong, Co-Founder. He also added that more such initiatives are required not only at the national, but in the states and local levels too, to make Indian roads on par with the international standards. On railways, he said that an expert panel and a startup from Stanford led by an Indian “are already working on connecting sensors from rail coaches to satellites. Railways have already started it and that is commendable. However, there is a need to manoeuvre more resources in the direction.” 

“Implementation of automation in the infra will also give startups in India ample opportunities to engage with the government and actively collaborate in the process of public policies,” he adds.

Praveen Sinha is the founder and ex-MD of Jabong. With over two decades of experience in the corporate sector, he is a well-known face in the Indian startup industry.