The Public Affairs Index-2020 has ranked Kerala as the best-governed state. The Public Affairs Centre, which released its report in Bengaluru, has found Uttar Pradesh declared at the bottom in the category of the large states. 

In the annual report released on Friday, the city-based not-for-profit-organisation said the states were ranked based on a composite index in the context of sustainable development. The organisation is headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K. Kasturirangan. 

In the large state category in terms of governance, four southern states Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka took the top four ranks. Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Bihar marked the bottom of the ranking, scoring negative points in the category, getting -1.461, -1.201 and – 1.158 points respectively. 

In the small state category, Goa ranked first with 1.745 points, followed by Meghalaya (0.797) and Himachal Pradesh (0.725). Worst performers who scored negative points are Manipur (-0.363), Delhi (-0.289) and Uttarakhand (0.277), according to the PAC report. 

Chandigarh was found to be the best governed Union Territory in the category of UTs with 1.05 PAI points followed by Puducherry (0.50), while Andaman and Nicobar (-0.30) was the worst performer. 

According to PAC, the governance performance is analysed in the context of sustainable development defined by three pillars of equity, growth and sustainability. Speaking on the occasion, Kasturirangan said: “The evidence that PAI 2020 generates and the insights that it provides must compel us to reflect on the economic and social transition that is underway in India.”

People are becoming more health-conscious amidst the Covid-19 pandemic resulting in demand for organic foods which is driving the exponential growth of organic farming. Interestingly, educated Indians from various walks of life have turned to their home farming plots and purchasing farming plots to grow healthy food. They are ensuring that organic certifications and independent studies support their vision for healthy food.

States like Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh have embraced this trend and have made organic farming mandatory leading to healthy communities. So we can observe a positive trend and a scaling of such farms in India in the coming years.

Organic food is now being hailed as one of the best choices for consumers and farmers. Organically grown food is now part of the go-green lifestyle. This happened as a result of awareness campaigns directed at the farmers by agriculture scientists and health and wellness professionals.

“The ongoing pandemic has further encouraged the need to adapt and transition to a healthier lifestyle by using organically grown products”, said Mr. Mark Garvin, CEO of Organic Solution Inc, a Nagpur-based company dedicated to helping organic farmers to source organic fertilizers agriculture. Mr.Garvin, a first-generation entrepreneur with vast experience in the field of international business and organic agriculture, has received many awards for his business acumen and service excellence.

He added that a long-neglected area of healthy soil for regeneration is also being focused on because of years of mineral depletion in soil due to the preference for chemical fertilizers. There is certainly a connection between healthy soils and high-yielding crops. An increase in a healthy yield will help farmers improve their profitability and support their families.  

Organic farming, needless to say, is extremely crucial in sustaining the environment, minimizing climate change, and access to clean water. Mr. Garvin also mentioned that preserving natural resources is a key objective and said he wanted to ensure Organic solution Inc. would continue to promote ecological farming, nutrient-rich produce, and eliminate the use of synthetic and chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Some of their products include:

Liquid humic fertilizer EDAGUM®S? is applied in plant production for increasing the productivity of various crops by 10-50% and more; increasing plant resistance to drought, bacterial and fungal diseases; plant stress coping after application of plant protection products; improving the quality of produced plant production; increasing water holding capacity of sandy soils (at an average on 30%); restoration soil fertility; and many other. 

Cropsil,  a silicon-based plant nutrient, is applied in plant production to strengthen plant cell walls and also to produce healthier plants with increased resistance to pesticides and insecticides. It also helps in increasing the yields and tolerance to high salinity. 

Crop Care Protect is an extremely effective organic non-toxic mite and pest control technology. Eco-Cert certified as an organic pesticide, Crop Care Protect is extremely effective on flying and non-flying pests and mites.

Moreover, to provide farmers with cost-effective farming solutions, one litre of their product can accommodate 2.5 acres of land which minimizes the cost of farming up to 500 Rs Acre.

 Organic Solutions Inc abides by the ideology of conserving natural resources, limiting the carbon footprint, growing and eating locally grown and prepared foods, and making the world a better place to live in. This commitment helps it deliver the best quality organic fertilizer that is safe and environment-friendly.

 With like-minded companies across the globe, Organic Solutions Inc. and its partners have successfully supplied organic fertilizers over 10,000,000 acres of farmland in various countries. eg. The Netherlands, USA, China, Russia, Canada, Spain, Sri Lanka, Argentina, and many others.

The company has partnered with a talented pool of international R&D personnel, who function intending to carry out detailed research works in new fertilizer formulations in the field of organic and biofertilizers. The team has so far developed world-class technologies in bioavailable Silicic Acid, Humic and Fulvic acid fertilizer to enhance organic agriculture inputs which are approved by various regulatory bodies in India, Russia, EU, France, USA, Canada, Jamaica, Chile, etc.

Midway Seeker revolves around manifesting oneself in understanding the spiritual, emotional and physical dimensions of the world by manoeuvring all aspects to seek the reason behind this cycle of life. Advait Ji found the midway seeker phenomenon to use yoga as a medium to attain awakening – both mental and physical nourishment.

‘A healthy mind resides in a healthy body’ -believing in this concept, Advait Ji endeavoured in providing yoga therapy which aims in integrating mind, body and spirit. In this era of technology and gadgets, we are so indulged in the materialistic things around us that we have lost sight of the spiritual things. By being a Midway Seeker, he is bringing in the alignment of the physical body with the soul which eventually helps us in taking steps towards our intellectual and emotional growth. Yoga considers the body as energy channels which if taken proper care of, would make us physically fit and would also help us to keep our mind stress-free and clear.

Yoga helps to replenish our body and soul and it also stimulates us to explore the aspect of knowledge that we have not traversed yet. When we dedicate ourselves to discovering the ultimate need for our existence, we open a plethora of opportunities that change the way we perceive everything around us. For this reason, Advait Ji uses Yoga to help people to recover from their problems and attain a balance between worldly things and divine needs.

He diagnoses physical ailments of people and combines Ayurveda, Panchkarma and therapeutic yoga to heal them. Modern science has identified this as Psychosomatic disorders and accepts that Yoga and Ayurveda is a solution to them. All he wishes for is to help people realise the importance of yoga so that they can widen their horizons of knowledge and thus, motivate them to achieve greater things in life.

Anusheel’s wish was to meet him once now for him this will always be a dream, he was deeply saddened by his passing away, who died at the age of 90 last Saturday. Anusheel became his fan through his Bond movies, beside a James Bond Star and Actor he was also a Kyokushin Karate Member and practitioner too, the same Karate style Anusheel practices, that made Anusheel more fond of him. He also listed some of his favourite Sean Connery movies, must watch according to him was Dr No, Goldfinger, Thunderball, From Russia with Love, Murder on the orient express, The Untouchables, Indiana Jones & the last crusade, The League of Extraordinary.

As we all know Anusheel is Indian National Kyokushin Karate Champion & Lifetime Member of the International Karate Organization Kyokushinkaikan led by Kancho Shokei Matsui, many of us in India know or not but Anusheel wished to let the Indian audiences & Kyokushin Karate practitioners in India especially know that Sosai Mas Oyama, the founder of Kyokushin Karate-The Strongest Karate, trained James Bond Star Sean Connery. Not only did Sosai Mas Oyama train Sean Connery, but he was also granted the rank of 1st Dan Black Belt (Honorary Shodan). Anyone familiar with the militaristic training requirements set by Sosai Oyama understands what a momentous accomplishment it was to train with Sosai Oyama at Honbu in Tokyo, Japan, so much so that even the Honorary title is impressive.

Few Don’t believe it Connery know and trained with Sosai Mas Oyama. He shared those pics which he gives credit to original content/post uploader on the Internet.

The gentleman next to Sean Connery receiving his Dan Certificate from Sosai Oyama is Donn Draeger trainer, accomplished Martial Artist and choreographer for the Bond Movies. Standing Sosai Oyama and James Bond how cool was that.

Anusheel extended his heartfelt gratitude “Rest in Peace Sir and Big Osu to you, your fan and admirer” to the true legend Sean Connery, who defined James Bond, he will always live through this movies and in the hearts of his millions of fans & every Kyokushin Karate practitioners around the world.

Attacking the Opposition for criticising the Centre in the wake of the Pulwama attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday urged that people should not do politics over terror attacks in the interest of the nation. “The country can never forget that some people were not saddened at the sacrifice of the security personnel during the Pulwama attack. At that time, these people were only doing politics… I request them not to do such politics in the interest of the nation,” Modi said.  

The Prime Minister paid his heartiest tribute to the Iron Man of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, on his birth anniversary. The PM visited the Statue of Unity in Gujarat’s Kevadia and inaugurated the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas parade. After the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas parade, PM Modi reiterated India’s stand on terrorism and emphasised on the significance of ‘unity’ in this day and age. PM later boarded the seaplane from Kewadia to Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad.

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, also known as the National Unity Day, is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, one of India’s greatest freedom fighters.

On Friday, the Prime Minister had inaugurated the Sardar Patel Zoological Park, popularly called the Jungle Safari, in Kevadia. The zoological park has been set up near the 182-metre-tall Statue of Unity.

The PM also inaugurated the ‘Arogya Van’, ‘Ekta Mall’ and ‘Children Nutrition Park’ in Kevadia yesterday. ‘Arogya Van’ is home to hundreds of plants and herbs that have medicinal value.

The Prime Minister Modi also paid tribute to the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 36th death anniversary. The then Prime Minister was assassinated by her bodyguards in 1984.

“Tributes to our former PM Smt. Indira Gandhi Ji on her death anniversary,” Modi tweeted.

CM Arvind Kejriwal launched the ‘Green Delhi’ mobile app to enable people to register complaints to report increasing pollution sources and violations of anti-pollution norms.

The Delhi government launched a photo, audio, and video-based ‘Green Delhi’ app to enable citizens of Delhi to report pollution violations and local sources of pollution in the city, such as garbage burning, dust due to construction activities, industrial activities, and other local pollutants.

Delhi CM Kejriwal said, “Today, we are launching the ‘Green Delhi’ App. Our aim is to enable every citizen to participate in our ‘Yuddh, Pradushan Ke Viruddh’ campaign. No movement can happen until people take part in the movement. We are launching the ‘Green Delhi’ app that can be downloaded from the play store, it is available on android for now and will be available on other platforms soon”.

“In this app, a citizen can take a photo or shoot a video and audio of local pollutants, such as garbage burning, industrial pollution, construction dust, etc and upload them on the app to report it. “While reporting the activity, we will automatically get your location where the source of pollution was found,” said the CM. 

He further added that a complaint lodged on the App will be received by the concerned departments, which will have to resolve the complaints in a time-bound manner, as per the specified timelines for different types of complaints.

“In this app, a citizen can take a photo or shoot a video and audio of local pollutants, such as garbage burning, industrial pollution, construction dust, etc and upload them on the app to report it. “While reporting the activity, we will automatically get your location where the source of pollution was found,” said the CM. 

The monitoring of the resolution of all complaints and the number of complaints received will be done in our 24×7 Green War Room. Around 70 Green marshals have also been deployed for effective resolution of complaints registered on the app.

“Please make us aware of any difficulties that you may face in the app initially, and we will work towards resolving them. Our objective is to involve every agency and department, be it DDA, MCD, Delhi government, to strengthen our ‘Yuddh, Pradushan Ke Viruddh’,” added the CM.

Voting for the first phase of the Bihar Assembly election has begun with the electorate queuing up at polling booths. Voters are exercising their franchise in 71 constituencies out of the total 243 in the state. Of the nearly 2.15 crore electors eligible to exercise the franchise, 1.12 crore are male, 1.01 crore female and 599 are from the third gender. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Election Commission of India has issued elaborate guidelines for the three-phase elections in the state. 

Some of the major guidelines include wearing face masks, maintaining social distance inside and outside polling booths, regular sanitization of polling booths and thermal scanning of voters. The ECI has also allowed the Covid-19 patients, symptomatic and asymptomatic, who are under either institutional or home quarantine, to vote through postal ballots. 

On the campaigning trails, the issue of unemployment has hogged much limelight, with the RJD promising 10 lakh government jobs if voted into power. The BJP has also come up with the promise of four lakh government jobs. The core issues in this year’s assembly election have been health care, women empowerment and education. 

Political parties have also held rallies across the state in the run-up to the first phase of polling. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, the incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) Chief Chirag Paswan have held rallies to win over the support of the electorate.

Today, PM Modi will address three rallies in the state-Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur and Patna, whereas, Rahul Gandhi will address two rallies Valmikinagar and Kusheshwar Asthan constituencies.  

India’s economic expansion in recent years has been led by a new generation of entrepreneurs which includes scores of women. Along with venture capitalists, a number of mentors have been grooming women entrepreneurs to scale up their operations and adopt the best management practices.

We-pitch (Mumbai), event ideated & executed by Ritika Kothari is one such narrative on empowered women, empowering women.

A Mumbai-based architect, designer and digital media consultant, Ritika Kothari is the Creative Director at House of Ritika, a digital consulting platform that was established in 2018 to aid individuals, start-ups, and brands with their visual communication and digital marketing strategies. With a graduate degree in architecture and a post-graduate degree in Urban Planning, Ritika has a decade of design experience that includes various design and slum redevelopment projects across India. More recently, she launched ColabCloud — a digital design ecosystem, connecting with brands and designers via virtual events and webinars. With a quest to bring her passion for design and persona under one roof, Ritika continues to create inspiring content and help businesses and individuals.

The We-pitch Mumbai campaign, ideated and executed by ‘House of Ritika’, garnered a lot of praise.  It was co-powered by ‘India Circus’, a Godrej venture led by Krsnaa Mehta along with ‘Sunicon’, a Startup incubator founded by Saloni Jain. The outreach partner for the event was ‘Networking Now’- a social networking platform.

The two-day event saw live business pitches, keynote speeches, panel discussions, and workshops that drew huge participation from all over the country. The live streaming of the event was viewed by hundreds of live viewers on facebook.

The We-Pitch event was an overall success, with a 500+ viewership and a curated list of enthusiastic participants, who pitched their business stories to the Jury & live audience. The Jury was a mix of people from various backgrounds, Bharat Suri, Tanya Khanna, Sabina Bhanpurawala, Viraj Kalra, Nina Malhotra, Nidhi Kamdar, Nitya Arora, Devang Master, Krsnaa Mehta, each member an expert in their domain.

They selected three winners, who are to be individually mentored and incubated by Sunicon. The workshops by brand VRTT & Open Brackets Learning imparted valuable learning experience and inspiration to the participants.

The vision turned into reality due to the encouraging response from some amazing participants. The real success of the event was witnessed by three success stories and personal mentoring offered to select participants by the jury members. “ I remembered my early days when I saw the participants pitch their business, a little hand-holding can take us places and that has been my motivation and thought behind hosting this event”, Ritika says with a confident and happy smile.

India is appreciating the newfound ease with which it can access farmland and indulge in organic farming. Besides being a golden opportunity for small-time investors, this change is also creating a highly profitable business opportunity for regular customers, who don’t have access to significant capital but who are looking to move away from the hustle & bustle of city life. The organic farming company, Hebbevu Agro-Realty, is showing people the way forward in this direction, at an affordable price. Within a short time, this firm, run by brothers, Amith and Ashrith Kishan, former bankers, has gained the trust of the public and has become one of the most loved & trusted brands in organic farming.

The organic farming methods followed by Hebbevu are in keeping with the company’s long-term vision of protecting the environment. The company’s motto is “Happiness for Humans and the Environment.” Right from using natural fertilizers to optimized biological productivity, Hebbevu is dedicated to earning profits for its investors through ethical means.

The global market for organic food and beverages may reach USD 327,600 million by 2022 and organic fruits and vegetables together constitute more than half of this market share. With the world population booming and global warming continuing unabated, people are becoming more concerned about the preservation of the earth and its resources. Organic farming is one way to protect the environment and now with the Coronavirus pandemic having turned the world upside down, the pace of this change has become even more rapid. Even well-educated youngsters with rising disposable income are looking for ways to invest in the betterment of the world. With Amith and Ashrith’s Hebbevu organic farming company, the choice is more clear and closer to reality.

Both the brothers were working in the banking sector, with a well-paying career in hand. But it was the need to do something more with their life and take matters in their own hands that inspired them to choose Penukonda, the erstwhile summer capital of the Vijayanagar Rayas, as the base on which they would build their dream. It is a stroke of luck that today, Penukonda, located in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, is already a hot investment destination as well as an industrial center. The town is also fast emerging as an organic farming center too, thanks to Hebbevu and Kishan brothers.

Explaining the inspiration behind this path-breaking endeavour, Amith and Ashrith say, “Hebbevu intends to mobilize the available knowledge, innovation and best practice to create an evolving agri-business market, to help people get back to the basics. Ours is an agro-realty company that caters specifically to individuals interested in land investment in South India.” Describing their venture as “a platform for people looking for a second home away from their present home,” the Kishans are also targeting families looking for holiday homes in the lap of nature. What’s more is that your investment will not only help you go organic in life, it will also shift the focus of development from the concrete jungles to nature itself.

This collaborative platform allows investors to indulge in agriculture practice as well as deal in trade-in commodities. Whether it is timber plantation, cattle-rearing or cash crops, there are multiple ways to deal in and earn a profit, straight out of your home. In fact, the dairy products that they produce from rearing rare cattle breeds like Sahiwal, Ongole, Gir Kankrej and Rati, are further marketed through direct vendors under the subsidiary brand, Ksheera Organic Milk.

However, beyond organic farming and dairy products, Hebbevu organic farming company is also known for its holistic approach towards development. The land development is done in a wholesale manner, including internal access roads, water & electric infrastructure, indoor/outdoor activity zones, swimming pools, etc are all part of the development plan and it is the company that takes care of everything. The investor just has to put in his money in the project!

Hebbevu’s vision is to offer 100% ownership to its customers in lieu of the capital. The company takes care of the management of the farmland, plantation, harvesting, and marketing of resulting goods. As per Hebbevu management, “Investing with Hebbevu is no less than indulging in farming yourself, without getting into the dirt!”

If that entices you enough, Hebbevu offers you a lifetime chance of getting closer to nature, without having to worry about how!

WOCstar Fund, a Black female-led New York-based venture fund, announced its inaugural venture scouts including Pratik Gauri from India to increase a new generation of leaders focused on investing in women of color tech startups WOCstar (Women Of Color ) Fund is a New York-based early-stage venture fund that is changing the trajectory for investors and entrepreneurs.

Earlier this week, WOCstar Fund announced its WOCstar Venture Scout program and its inaugural venture scouts. The global group of active investors, entrepreneurs, and business professionals represent the new generation of leaders that will advance the WOCstar Fund’s commitment to invest meaningful capital in women of color (“WOC”) and diverse tech entrepreneurs. Founded in 2018, WOCstar Fund is an early-stage investment fund focused on women of color tech startups. The Fund offers smart, inclusive investors the opportunity to share in the success of one of the more profitable segments of the financial market — Women of color and global, inclusive tech teams. The team is actively investing in companies that are reimagining the future of media, consumer, fintech, EdTech, and AgTech sectors. “In order to manifest racial and economic equality, we need to increase the diversity of the investing talent equipped to invest in women entrepreneurs and business owners,” said Gayle Jennings-O’Byrne, co-founder of the WOCstar Fund.

“Individually the VC Scouts are impressive but together, we truly are a global group of rockstars ready to invest in North America, India, Africa, Latin America, and beyond.” The fund announced some of its scouts, including Pratik Gauri from India. Gauri is a serial Indian social entrepreneur and active investor widely known as the Creator of 5th Industrial Revolution. He serves as the India President of 5th Element Group, Chairman of India Needs You, and sits on the board of six startups. He previously served in various executive positions with the TATA group. Pratik was named Creative Entrepreneur of the year 2020 by Entrepreneur India magazine and Entrepreneur of the year 2020 by Indian Achievers’ Forum.

He is a Greenbiz Global 30 Under 30, British Petroleum Scholar, WEF Global Shaper, Ambassador at One Young World, Al Gore’s Climate Leader, Fellow at Startup Leadership Program, and Changemaker at Global Action on Poverty. Gauri says, “I am excited to join the incredible WOCstar family to help diversify WOCstar’s portfolio of companies by investing in women-led purpose companies with a deep focus on India.”