<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/47956036.cms" /> 
Men aren’t leading the game anymore. At least not in the sky where women are everyday proving their strength. In a country where safety of women can’t be ensured in a cab in the capital city of the country, Indian women are putting their mettle seating in the cockpit. 
 
According to ministry of civil aviation data, India currently has 5,100 pilots, of which 600, or 11.7 %, are women. There are a total 130,000 pilots in the world, of which 4,000, or about 3 % , are women, according to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, as per a news report in The Economic Times,. 
 
"This is definitely one trend which flies in the face of global opinion of India as a regressive place for women," Harpreet Singh Dey, president of the Indian Women Pilots' Association told The Economic Times. She's also the first female pilot to operate an international flight by a local carrier, Air India, in 1988. Families are willing to back girls who want to pursue the profession even regardless of whether they're married or not, she said. 
 
"Flying schools are churning out a higher number of women pilots every year. There are many families who are supportive of a woman's career choice as a pilot even after marriage. There are also many women who would happily remain single to follow their passion," Dey said. 
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	Of the 1,100 pilot licences issued in India in 2014, about 170 were to women, an increase of 5 % from the year earlier. 
 
The number of female pilots in SpiceJet is 15 per cent of the total, said chief operating officer Sanjiv Kapoor, up from 11-12 % two years ago. 
 
"It is a gradual growth. I think it mirrors the increasing numbers of women in the professional workforce as old ways of thinking change," he said. "Parents are also likely more supportive, employers are more gender neutral." 
 
Jet Airways has a pilot force that's 14 per cent women, compared with 12.5 per cent two years ago, said a spokesperson. Between January 2013 and May 2015, 42 female pilots joined the airline, around 15 per cent of the total pilot intake in that period. 
 
At IndiGo airlines, 168, or 11 %t of its 1,448 pilots, are women. 
According to a media report last year, British Airways has about 3,500 pilots, of which 200, or 5 % , are women. 
 
Opportunities for women in the Indian airline industry, once restricted to cabin crew and ground staff, have expanded in only the last few years. Durba Banerjee, India's first woman commercial pilot in 1956, captained a Fokker F27 Friendship in 1966. But the next time a woman became captain was two decades later, when Saudamini Deshmukh became the first to command a Boeing 737. Later, she also became Airbus A320 commander. 
 
Dey recalls that conditions during her training period weren't always optimal. 
 
"I was in Hisar, Haryana, and here were no women's hostels," she said. "I had to share with men. In my later years I often slept with a knife under my pillow to be safe." 
 
The times have changed dramatically since then, Dey said. Airlines now have special contract clauses designed specially for women pilots. 
 
"In the field of 24/7 work, mothers here get to choose a Sunday or Saturday off to spend with their kids," Bavicca Bharathi, a pilot and line training captain with IndiGo told the ET. Bharathi holds records for being India's youngest pilot licence holder at 18 in 2007 and also its youngest commander three years later. "We also have flexible contracts providing a variety of options such as 40 hours of flying per month or two weeks off for two weeks of flying. We also have a creche at the training centre for new mothers." 
 
She said however that long breaks are a problem as certifications tend to lapse. 
 
"Even after a break of 30 days, 'recency' checks are required to get back," she said. After maternity leave of a year or so, women would have to undertake ground classes and simulator checks all over again. 
 
At IndiGo, 44 % of the total workforce and a third of its leadership constitutes women. That ratio is even more balanced at India's newest carrier. 
"At Vistara, we have a healthy gender ratio of around 50:50 and have observed that women employees play a key role in creating a competitive edge for the business," S Varadarajan, head of human resources and corporate affairs at the carrier, a joint venture between the Tata group and Singapore Airlines that started flying in January, told the financial daily.

Sky is the limit for Indian women

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/48268211.cms" /> An <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=UAV">unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)</a>, commonly known as a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=drone+">drone </a>is an aircraft without a human pilot aboard. Its flight is controlled either autonomously by onboard computers or by the remote control of a pilot on the ground or in another vehicle. The launch and landing process of an unmanned aircraft is by the function of an automatic system or an external operator on the ground. 
 The concept of <keyword id="94769" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="drones">drones</keyword> came in the mid-1800s, when bomb-filled balloons were used to attack the enemy. The drones that we see today started in the early 1900s and were originally used for target practice to train military personnel. It continued to be developed during World War I and UAV's were used in significant numbers by the Nazi Germany during the course of World War II. United States Air Force started the highly classified UAV program under the code name of "Red Wagon" in the year 1959 to prevent losing pilots over the enemy territory. 
 
UAV's can be classified under these basic categories: 
 
· Logistics – UAVs specifically designed for cargo and logistics operation 
· Research and development – used to further develop UAV technologies to be integrated into field deployed UAV aircraft. 
· Civil and Commercial UAVs – UAVs specifically designed for civil and commercial applications. 
· Target and decoy – providing ground and aerial gunnery a target that simulates an enemy aircraft or missile. 
· Reconnaissance – providing battlefield intelligence. 
· Combat (UCAV's) – providing attack capability for high-risk missions. 
 
Modern drones provide capabilities of both guided missiles and manned aircraft. They provide the tactical and operational flexibility of manned platforms with the reduced risk to personnel associated with it. The Predator drone was first introduced in 1995 and is capable of outperforming any human pilot due to its 50-hour endurance and they can operate in a vast range of environments and fulfill many roles such as reconnaissance and intelligence gathering; close air support for ground forces; offensive aerial operations; and hunter-killer operations. 
 
The Israel connection 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Israel">Israel</a>, a country known for its cutting-edge technology and a robust defence manufacturing set-up is also the biggest exporter of unmanned aerial vehicles, which are fast becoming essential to governments worldwide for both military and civilian uses. Some of the Israeli companies that manufacture the drones earned more than $5 billion in sales during the last few years. Israel was recently announced as the world's largest exporter of the small surveillance planes. 
 Israel doesn’t have strict export curbs unlike others and more than half of those Israeli exports were to Europe, while a third went to Asia-Pacific countries including India and <keyword id="62433" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</keyword>. Israel has supplied around 61% of the world’s drones since 1985, as per the new data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. In second place is the United States, which accounts for 23.9 percent of global drone exports, followed by Canada and France. 
 
 With 22.5% of the world’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imports, between 1985 and 2014, India ranks first among drone-importing nations, followed by United Kingdom and France. 
 
India’s Love for UAVs 
 
The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Indian+Army">Indian Army</a> was the first to acquire UAVs, in late 1990s from Israel followed by the Indian Air Force and the Navy. The Indian Armed Forces have been operating UAVs for over a decade. The <keyword id="6355100" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Navy">Indian Navy</keyword> has acquired the Heron UAVs for its off shore requirements. The <keyword id="6354416" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Army">Indian Army</keyword> and the Indian Air Force has Searcher Mark I, followed by the Searcher Mark II and the Heron. 
Efforts has been laid down to develop the indigenous UAV's .India will soon embark on developing an indigenous unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) for surveillance, detection and destroying specific targets. 
 
 DRDO is also developing the AURA (Autonomous Unmanned Research Aircraft) which is an Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle for the Indian Air Force with "self-defending high-speed reconnaissance and weapon firing capability". The AURA UCAV will be a tactical stealth aircraft built largely with composites, and capable of delivering laser-guided strike weapons. It would be a stealthy flying-wing concept aircraft with internal weapons and a turbofan engine. The AURA will have on-board sensors for targeting and weapon guidance with flight control system and data link packages. 
 
Future potential as a force multiplier 
 
As per some experts current UAVs are useless in a contested environment unless we provide manned aircraft support to protect them. Some of the UCAV's like Predators and Reapers are tailor-made for counter-terrorism operations and in war zones in which the enemy lacks sufficient firepower to shoot them down, and are unable to withstand anti-aircraft defenses or air-to-air combat. 
 
United States and China has a large pile of UCAV's and China is even considering of raising several squadrons of UCAV's in near future. India’s present stock of UAVs is extremely low and there is a need for greater quantities to meet battlefield requirements for the future. The versatility of the UAVs has been demonstrated in strikes against terrorist camps in Iraq and Afghanistan. One major concern for India is that China has already featured its Chang Hong-3 UCAV platforms in various defence exhibitions in recent years and Pakistan has already started receiving these systems from China. 
 <keyword id="2974725" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="UK-Royal-Air-Force">UK Royal Air Force</keyword> (RAF) is seriously considering to replace a percentage of its fighter aircraft fleet by UCAVs. The <keyword id="143680" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="United-States-navy">United States Navy</keyword> already has plans for deploying the unmanned Northrop Grumman X 47-B Unmanned Combat Air System and this shows us the way the world is heading in terms of UAV's and UCAV's. Development of advanced UCAV's is still in a nascent stage and it is here to stay with some serious indications of being a future force multiplier 
 
Image: indiatimes

Rise of the Drones and their impact on 21st century warfare

<keyword id="18635" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="amazon" source="Orion">Amazon</keyword> India and <keyword id="108831" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="tvs-motor-company" botkeyword="" source="ET" sourcekeytype="COMPANY" meta.keywordsubtype="EQ" meta.aliasname="tvs motor company" meta.entityname="TVS Motor Company Ltd." meta.entityid="12940" meta.seoname="tvs-motor-company-ltd">TVS Motor Company</keyword> on Wednesday announced a collaboration on electric two and three-wheeler deployment, helping to further drive electric mobility in India. As part of this collaboration, a fleet of electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers from <keyword id="46156" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="tvs-motor" botkeyword="" source="ET" sourcekeytype="COMPANY" meta.keywordsubtype="EQ" meta.aliasname="tvs motor" meta.entityname="TVS Motor Company Ltd." meta.entityid="12940" meta.seoname="tvs-motor-company-ltd">TVS Motor</keyword> <keyword id="15310100" type="TOPIC" weightage="60" keywordseo="Will" source="TOPIC" sourcekeytype="finance,investopedia" meta.keywordsubtype="null" meta.msid="92723889" meta.seopath="w/will" meta.entityname="Will" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="will">will</keyword> be deployed for Amazon's last-mile deliveries. The two companies will also pilot <keyword id="13129889" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="tvs" botkeyword="" source="ET" sourcekeytype="COMPANY" meta.keywordsubtype="EQ" meta.aliasname="tvs" meta.entityname="Chennai Business Consulting Services Ltd." meta.entityid="12015" meta.seoname="chennai-business-consulting-services-ltd">TVS</keyword> Motor's electric vehicle solutions through partner bases and delivery associates across the country. "This will support our supply chain in minimising the environmental impact of our operations and contribute to Amazon India's goal of inducting 10,000 EVs into our fleet by 2025," said Abhinav Singh, Director, Customer Fulfilment, Supply Chain and Global Specialty Fulfilment, Amazon India. In 2020, the e-commerce major said its fleet of delivery vehicles in the country will include 10,000 EVs by 2025. The induction of these EVs is in addition to Amazon's global commitment of 100,000 EVs by 2030. "With the great success of TVS '<keyword id="8648410" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="iqube-electric" source="Orion">iQube Electric</keyword>', we now intend to expand our electric offering across multiple segments and commercial mobility stands at the opportune inflexion point," said Manu Saxena, Senior Vice President, Future Mobility, TVS Motor Company. TVS Motor is ready with electric two-wheeler and three-wheeler product options for the business-to-business (B2B) segment, along with an ecosystem of connected service and alternate ownership. In addition, the two companies will work in tandem to examine EV use cases for various Amazon business groups for its network and logistical requirements. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/adani-group-to-become-the-first-indian-port-operator-in-sri-lanka/articleshow/95394338.cms">Adani Group to become the first Indian port operator in Sri Lanka</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/meteor-350-vs-super-meteor-650/slidelist/95395383.cms">Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650 cruiser is a beefed-up in comparison to Meteor 350 —details here</a>

Amazon joins TVS Motor Company to scale EV mobility in India

<ul><li>It is no secret that consumers have started making their purchase decisions based on brands' sustainability practices and it is a topic that just cannot be ignored anymore.</li><li>However, only a handful of brands in India seem to have cracked the code.</li><li>Kantar’s latest report on sustainability revealed that 68% of consumers surveyed worry brands are involved in social issues just for commercial reasons.</li><li>Paru Minocha, Managing Director, South Asia, Insights Division, Kantar tells us how brands convince their consumers about their true purpose and make a real change.</li><li>She further shares what sustainability means to consumers of today and how brands can navigate their journey.</li></ul>Today's consumers expect brands to have a social and environmental purpose. It is, therefore, becoming increasingly imperative for brands to revisit their company’s purpose, hire more resources to focus on sustainability, look for raw material that doesn’t hurt the environment and burn a hole in consumer’s pockets -- all at the same time. <keyword id="11955519" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kantars-Asia-Sustainability-Foundational-Study" source="Orion">Kantar’s Asia Sustainability Foundational Study</keyword> revealed that 68% of consumers surveyed worry that brands are involved in social issues just for commercial reasons, which means they expect brands to walk-the-talk, see concrete results in terms of how much they contribute to earth’s ecological footprint and only then make a purchase decision. 77% of them said that they are willing to invest time and money supporting companies that do good. In fact, 66% of consumers said that they have stopped buying products/services that have a negative impact on the environment and society. At the same time, the report also highlighted that India is still a price-sensitive market and while purchasing a product, 84% of the same set of consumers said that they end up prioritising saving money over saving the planet. With this, arises a stark dichotomy between Indian consumers’ ideal preferences and real money-spending habits, which Kantar refers to as ‘The Value-Action Gap.’ We caught up with Paru Minocha, Managing Director, South Asia, Insights Division, Kantar to understand how can brands and consumers close this gap, make a real difference, stop putting the environment on the back-burner, what are some of the hot areas in sustainability today and much more. Excerpts: Q. How do you think consumer behavior has changed after the pandemic? How important is sustainability for them today? The pandemic has precipitated and accelerated a change that was already coming. The realization that taking care of oneself and the family will not be enough to keep everyone safe is quite stark. This gives a new meaning to community and responsible living. It also gave us the time to pause and reflect and the consciousness of sustainability could be stemming from both of these. Kantar’s Shopper Barometer report also showcases that after the first wave of the pandemic, 72% consumers were on the look-out for natural / healthier alternatives of their regular use products. Q. What are some of the areas within sustainability that brands should consider? The first thing that brands need to consider is that consumer expectations and concerns around sustainability are discrete and differ by categories. Therefore, brands need to recognize where to play- which plank or concern to own and drive. Secondly, brands need to be careful and understand that some are hygiene factors and they may not win big if they offer them, but might lose if they don’t. In Kantar’s Sustainability framework, we call these factors- Shields. The other are concerns that are important to consumers and associated with the category, but not yet championed. These are referred to as Swords- which can be used as differentiating planks by the brands. Q. Have brands put sustainability on the back burner due to the pandemic? Considering that consumers are asking for no-touch delivery and minimum contact, which can only be possible with one-time-use packaging. During the pandemic priority for brands was to be available, be safe and keep safe. A lot of good has come out of this churn and sustainability indeed came to the fore-front. A lot of introspection is also happening, both by consumers and brands. While some brands may have paused, many others have activated sustainable behaviors during this time. An example from the food and beverage industry comes to mind- since a consumer could not enjoy coffee at a café and takeaways were essential, some brands like KC Roasters gave 10% off if consumers carried their own mug. Q. It is no secret that consumers have started making their purchase decisions basis a brand's sustainability practices and it cannot be ignored anymore. However, only a handful of brands in India seem to have cracked it. It is now evident in the report considering that 68% worry brands are involved in social issues just for commercial reasons. So, how can brands convince their consumers about their true purpose and make a real change? Brands now have to put sustainability at the heart of their business. This is a non-negotiable. When it is authentic and when it becomes a purpose, consumers will trust you and connect with you better. This gives a brand the power in the consumer relationship. Any halfhearted measures will be seen through and those brands will risk rejection by consumers. Q. Can you share a few examples of Indian brands where they have addressed sustainability successfully? It’s a journey that is just starting across many organizations. It’s not limited to niche brands, but is a movement that will go mass soon. A global example is MAC, that pushes the consumers to adopt recycling by giving a free lipstick on return of 6 empties. In India, Dabur is piloting selling toothpaste without the carton pack to save paper and Colgate has launched a first of its kind recyclable toothpaste tube. Another example is Hindustan Unilever (HUL) piloting an in-store vending model ‘Smart Fill’ at Mumbai’s Reliance Smart Acme Mall. Users are offered INR 30 off on the MRP if they use their own bottle and INR 15 off to those who purchase the Smart Fill bottle. Organic clothing, increasing popularity of electric or hybrid cars all show we are making steps in the right direction. Q. What are some of the things that brands should keep in mind while working on their <keyword id="11955518" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sustainability-roadmap" source="Orion">sustainability roadmap</keyword> to attract more consumers? How can brands close the Value-action gap? Brands need to give consumers a compelling reason to buy. Fundamental marketing principles continue to apply and sustainability in isolation will unlock consumer behaviour change. Brands need to handhold and nudge the consumers along this behavior change. It is important for them to solve for the 3C’s going forward: <ul><li>Cost: and creating desire</li><li>Comfort: and give a clear advantage over current brand</li><li>Convenience: by being present in the moment of truth and making the switch easy</li></ul>

Making sustainable choices that don’t burn a hole in your pocket: Here’s how brands can help close The Value-Action Gap

Mumbai, Dec 20 () Several employee unions of Air India on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding waiver of the airline's loans and run it by a professional management.
 Against the backdrop of the government working out the modalities for Air India disinvestment, seven employee groupings have also said the carrier can be turned around.
 "Air India has been reporting operational profit for as long as three years. Servicing the loans is a major challenge as the annual outgo is an upwards of Rs 4,000 crore," they said in a letter.
 The letter has been signed by representatives of seven unions -- Indian Commercial Pilots' Association, Indian Pilots' Guild, Air Corporations Employees' Union, All India Cabin Crew Association, Air India Employees' Union, Indian Aircraft Technicians' Association and All India Aircraft Engineers' Association.
 The unions have urged the government to consider waiving the credits and have the airline run by a professional management.
 "We have immense faith, that taking these actions will indeed find Air India in the league of profit making carriers, once again.
 "... Air India can be turned around and run successfully in the hands of professionals if the government intends for it to," the letter said.
 Further, the unions said it is not true that the employees are to be blamed for the present situation.
 "Majority of Air India's employees are highly competent and hardworking even to this day.
 "Our national carrier has always been a promising one -- minus the unfortunate decision makers of past governments -- and can still run effectively with the presence of a strong leader and new policies," they said.
 According to them, the need of the hour is for Air India to be a board managed company run by professional managers like at ITC and L&amp;T. IAS RAM MR
MR

AI employee unions seek waiver of loans

Mumbai, Mar 18 () The government's plan to privatise flag carrier Air India will be further delayed and it will have to infuse up to Rs 3,000 crore to ensure continuity of operations till the sale process gets over, the Centre for Pacific Aviation (CAPA) said on Wednesday. The government has already extended the date of submission for expression of interest to April 30 from March 17 due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. In January, the government restarted the divestment process of the carrier and invited bids for selling its 100 per cent stake in both Air India and its low-cost international budget arm Air India Express besides entire 50 per cent holding in ground-handling joint venture AI-SATS. "The privatisation process for Air India will be further delayed. The EoI submission date has already been pushed back by six weeks," CAPA said in its latest report -- Impact of COVID-19 on Indian Aviation -- released on Wednesday. Due to this delay, the government will need to commit "significant" and "immediate" interim funding of USD300-400 million for the national carrier, to ensure that it is able to operate at least in its current condition until such time as the sale transaction is concluded. Air India pilot unions - Indian Pilots Guild and Indian Commercial Pilots Association- on Monday wrote to Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri, seeking immediate financial assistance to the airline in view of the situation arising out of the coronvirus outbreak. CAPA, in its report also stated that the government must also have a fall-back plan to regroup and continue to operate the airline for the medium-term if the privatisation process is unable to proceed. After its unsuccessful bid to sell Air India in 2018, the government this time decided to offload its entire stake. In 2018, the government had offered to sell its 76 per cent stake in the airline. IAS MRMR

Govt needs to infuse Rs 3K cr in Air India as sale to get delayed: CAPA

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c7654cd2628983e9144a813-1800/ap19058281561730.jpg" border="0" alt="India pakistan crashed jet" data-mce-source="AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan" data-mce-caption="An Indian army solider walks past the wreckage of an Indian aircraft after it crashed in Budgam area, outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Feb.27, 2019." /></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Pakistan's civil aviation authority has closed the country's airspace as tensions with India escalate.</li><li>Pakistan says that it shot down two Indian jets and has two Indian pilots in custody because the aircraft crossed into Pakistan's side of the disputed Kashmir region.</li><li>Pakistan also launched air strikes into India-controlled Kashmir on Wednesday after India claimed to strike a militant training camp in Pakistan on Tuesday.</li></ul>Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority said on Wednesday that it had shut its entire airspace to all commercial flights after it claimed to shoot down two Indian jets amid mounting tensions between the two nuclear rivals.Pakistan's military claimed earlier on Wednesday that it had shot down two Indian aircraft because they crossed onto Pakistan's side of the disputed Kashmir region, The Associated Press (AP) and Reuters reported.Pakistan added that it has&#xa0;two Indian pilots in custody.India has not yet issued a response, though it said on Tuesday that it had launched an airstrike on what it said was a militant training base in Pakistan, Reuters reported.Pakistan's air force launched airstrikes into Indian-controlled part of Kashmir earlier on Wednesday, though no civilian casualities were reported, according to the AP.Pakistan International Airlines warned passengers in a Wednesday tweet that Pakistan's air space closure might affect its flights.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">Attention! As a precautionary measure, PIA flights may be affected due to closure of Pakistan Commercial Air Space. For details please call our universal helpline +92 021 111 786 786. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PIA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PIA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pakistan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Pakistan</a> <a href="https://t.co/WKIEi5E0Fj">pic.twitter.com/WKIEi5E0Fj</a>- PIA (@Official_PIA) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1100670038892298241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

Pakistan closed the entire country's airspace after claiming to shoot down two jets in a dogfight with India

China is seeking to set up more robust logistics in about a dozen countries, including three in India's neighbourhood, to allow its army to project and sustain its power at greater distances, a <keyword id="6362444" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="pentagon">Pentagon</keyword> report has said. In addition to the three Indian neighbours -- Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar -- the other countries where China is considering to base its military logistics and infrastructure are Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania, Angola, and Tajikistan, the report said on Tuesday. In its annual report "Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China (PRC) 2020" that was submitted to the US Congress on Tuesday, the Pentagon said these potential <keyword id="95524" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chinese-military">Chinese military</keyword> logistics facilities are in addition to the Chinese military base in Djibouti, which is aimed at supporting naval, air and ground forces projection. "A global PLA (Peoples Liberation Army) military logistics network could both interfere with US military operations and support offensive operations against the United States as the PRC's global military objectives evolve," the Pentagon said in the report. China has probably already made overtures to Namibia, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands, it said, adding the known focus areas of PLA planning are along the Seal Lines of Communication from China to the Strait of Hormuz, Africa, and the Pacific Islands. Similarly, the Pentagon said, Beijing uses One Belt One Road (OBOR) to support its strategy of national rejuvenation by seeking to expand global transportation and trade linkages to support its development and deepen its economic integration with nations along its periphery and beyond. "OBOR projects associated with pipelines and port construction in Pakistan intend to decrease China's reliance on transporting energy resources through strategic chokepoints, such as the Strait of Malacca," it said. China leverages OBOR to invest in projects along China's western and southern periphery to improve stability and diminish threats along its borders, the report said. First announced in 2013, China's OBOR initiative is a signature foreign and economic policy advanced by President Xi Jinping. According to the Pentagon, a global PLA military logistics network could both interfere with the US military operations and support offensive operations against the United States as the Chinese global military objectives evolve. "Host nations can perform an essential role in regulating the PRC's military operations as Chinese officials very likely recognise that a stable long-term relationship with the host nation is critical to the success of their military logistics facilities," it said. Chinese military academics assert that bases abroad can enable forward deployment of its forces and support military conflict, diplomatic signalling, political change, bilateral and multilateral cooperation, and training. They also suggest that a military logistic network could enable intelligence monitoring of the US military. In August 2017, China officially opened its first military base in Djibouti. Chinese Navy Marines are stationed at the base with wheeled armoured vehicles and artillery but are currently dependent on nearby commercial ports due to the lack of a pier on base, the report said. Chinese personnel at the facility have interfered with US flights by lasing pilots and flying drones, and China has sought to restrict Djiboutian sovereign airspace over the base, the report said.

Chinese military is expanding its network into at least another dozen countries, according to the US Department of Defense

<ul><li>Two new cases in Karnataka took the total number of infected patients to 10 in the state. </li><li>Nagpur police have imposed Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)to ban public gatherings. </li><li>The Aligarh Muslim University urged students to stay away from Friday prayers if they have flu-like symptoms. </li><li>The government on Monday prohibited the entry of passengers from European countries and Turkey as a precautionary measure from March 18 to 31.</li></ul> The number of <keyword id="8674550" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Coronavirus-cases-in-India">coronavirus cases in India</keyword> currently stands at 140, including 13 people cured of the disease and three who lost their lives, according to the latest data available on the ministry of health and family welfare <a href="https://www.mohfw.gov.in/">website</a>. The number of cases in Maharashtra saw a steep rise in the past one week after a family of 5 escaped the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> tests at the airport. The Maharashtra government reported 39 active cases in the state, making it the worst-hit state in India.Kerala stood second place with 27 infected people. The Nagpur Police has imposed Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure till March 31 to ban public gatherings to check the spread of the virus. Gurgaon woman tests positive, first confirmed case of coronavirus in Haryana A 29-year-old woman in Haryana's Gurgaon district tested positive for coronavirus, a health official said on Tuesday(March 17). The employee of a Gurgaon-based company and has travelled to Malaysia and Indonesia before testing positive. The samples of her tests were taken to the Pune-based National Institute of Virology, which confirmed her to be positive of Covid-19 Noida reports 2 new cases of coronavirus Two people from Gautam Buddha Nagar in Uttar Pradesh have tested positive with coronavirus. While one patient is identified as a resident of Sector 100 who returned from France. The second patient is a resident of Hyde Park in Sector 78. Both are now in isolation. 64-year old passes away in Mumbai taking state death toll to 2 A 64-year-old coronavirus patient today (March 17) passed away at Mumbai's Kasturba Hospital, taking the state’s death toll to 2. In fact, both the people who passed away are from Mumbai. Overall, three people have died of the disease across the country. Karnataka reports two new cases The Karnataka health department on Tuesday reported two new cases of coronavirus, taking the total number of infected patients to 10 in the state. A 20-year-old woman, who travelled from the UK has tested positive and a 60-year-old man, who came in contact with the 76-year-old deceased patient from Kalaburgi, also tested positive. 
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
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 India bans entry of Europeans and Turkey from March 18 to 31 The government on Monday prohibited the entry of passengers from European countries and Turkey as a precautionary measure from March 18 to 31. The government also announced to expand the minimum quarantine for people travelling to India from UAE, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait. Addressing a <a href="https://www.mohfw.gov.in/TravelAdvisory16thMarch.pdf">press conference</a>, minister of health joint secretary Lav Agarwal said, “As a precautionary measure, we are expanding compulsory quarantine for a minimum period of 14 days for passengers coming from or transiting through UAE, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait.” Guidelines for cremating bodies of coronavirus infected deads In order to stop the infection from spreading further, the Central government is framing guidelines for handling bodies of those who die of coronavirus. It came after the controversy over the cremation of a Delhi patient who died of the virus last week. The <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/govt-framing-guidelines-for-handling-virus-victims-bodies/articleshow/74663235.cms">experts</a> at the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) are reviewing the guidelines that were framed during the 2018 Kerala Nipah virus outbreak and might adopt them for coronavirus as well. Air India pilots seek urgent financial aid in awake of covid-19 The two Air India pilots’ unions, Indian Aviation Guild and the Indian Commercial Pilots Association, have used this opportunity to highlight their plight in a letter to civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri The letter said, “during this time, Air India employees have gone above and beyond to get our countrymen back from Covid-19-affected countries worldwide.” It went on to add, “On one hand the cabinet has openly praised the recent efforts of Air Indians and the national carrier, but on the other, the government has not infused any funds. Our fundamental right to wages for work already done is being flouted time and again.” AMU urges students to sit at a distance during Friday prayers The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has issued a notice urging students and all other employees of the varsity to stay away from Friday prayers on the campus mosques if they have any symptoms of flu. According to the notice, people have been asked to sit at a distance from each other during prayers and also skip one row in between. It also said that those with symptoms of flu should offer prayers at their residences. The AMU has around 20 mosques in the campus and the 20,000 students and teachers who live on the campus, offer prayers at these mosques. Taj Mahal shuts entry amid coronavirus scare The Taj Mahal will be closed for tourists from Tuesday onwards amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. Officials said that the decision was communicated to them on Monday night by the Ministry of Tourism in New Delhi. The Taj Mahal’s closure will be a major jolt to the domestic tourism industry, particularly the hospitality sector since the shutdown would lead to more cancellation of bookings in Agra. McDonald’s, Domino’s introducing ‘contactless’ delivery in India After Zomato and Swiggy, McDonald’s and Domino’s Pizza on Monday introduced ‘contactless’ delivery option where the delivery boys will ensure social distancing. Westlife Development, which owns McDonald’s restaurants in western and southern India, said that it has launched a ‘contactless’ delivery option in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. “This service will allow customers to receive their order without coming in contact with the delivery staff. This feature has been introduced as an additional precautionary measure to ensure the safety of both the customers and the delivery staff,” said Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd (JFL), which runs Domino’s Pizza in the country. Punjab government shuts zoos amid <keyword id="8595403" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Coronavirus-outbreak">coronavirus outbreak</keyword> The Punjab government on Monday ordered the closure of all zoos in the state till March 31 as a preventive measure in view of the coronavirus outbreak, an official statement said. There is a large zoo at Chhatbir near Chandigarh. Besides, there are four other small zoos at Patiala, Ludhiana, Bathinda and Neelon near Samrala in Punjab, it said. According to the statement, nearly 4,000 people visit these zoos daily. The number swells to 10,000 on weekends and more during holidays in summer and winter seasons. All 12 zoos, National Library shut in Bengal till March 31 The West Bengal Government has closed all 12 zoos in the state, including the famous Alipore Zoological Gardens from Tuesday till March 31 as a means of combating the deadly <keyword id="1559124" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus-infection">coronavirus infection</keyword>, a senior minister said. The National Library here is also being shut till March 31, an official said. Minister for Forests Rajib Banerjee told mediapersons that the decision was taken in view of an advisory from the Central Zoo Authority of India which the state government was adhering to totally. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/topic/coronavirus">coronavirus: Latest News, Articles on coronavirus | Business Insider India</a>

Coronavirus: Number of cases in India stands at 140; 13 cured and three dead

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d402b45100a2438e2336c62-1200/pakistan%20military%20plane%20crash.jpg" border="0" alt="pakistan military plane crash" data-mce-source="Anjum Naveed/AP" data-mce-caption="A Pakistani soldier guards the site of a military plane crash in Rawalpindi, northern Pakistan, on July 30, 2019." /></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>A small military plane operated by the Pakistani Army crashed into a residential area in Rawalpindi, a northern city near Islamabad, during a routine training exercise early Tuesday morning.</li><li>All five crew members on the plane died, as did at least 13 people on the ground. Children are among the dead, The Associated Press reported.</li><li>Footage from the disaster showed the crash creating a bright orange fireball, and a huge blaze spreading across people's houses.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul>A small Pakistani military aircraft crashed into several people's homes during a routine training exercise in the country's north on Tuesday, killing at least 18 people.The aircraft crashed in a residential area in Rawalpindi, a garrison city 14 miles south of Islamabad, early Tuesday morning, <a href="https://www.apnews.com/07940fb80c424614b166eb5f27170043/">The Associated Press</a> (AP) and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-49160416">the BBC</a> reported.All five crew members - including two pilots - died from the crash, as did 13 other people on the ground, the AP reported.There are children among the dead, the agency added, citing emergency service official Farooq Butt.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d402b7b100a2433d503d8c5-1200/pakistan%20military%20plane%20crash%20aircraft.jpg" border="0" alt="pakistan military plane crash aircraft" data-mce-source="Anjum Naveed/AP" data-mce-caption="Pakistani army officials guard the site of a military plane crash in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on July 30, 2019. The charred plane can be seen in the back of the photo." /></div></div></div>Others were critically injured, Butt told the AP - suggesting that the death toll could rise.The crash ignited a fire that spread across several homes, the BBC reported. Footage posted on social media showed a bright orange fireball, as well as a huge blaze destroying building structures in the dark.The cause of the crash remains unclear. The BBC reported that the aircraft had taken a steep turn not long before the crash.The BBC identified the plane as a King Air 350 turboprop, which can be used for surveillance purposes. It's not clear what the Pakistani military wanted to use this plane for.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d402c1d8d664201ab40d475-1271/pakistan%20military%20plane%20crash%20map.jpg" border="0" alt="pakistan military plane crash map" data-mce-source="Google Maps/Business Insider" data-mce-caption="Map showing approximate location of the Pakistani military plane crash on July 30, 2019." /></div></div></div>Rawalpindi residents said the aircraft crashed into a family home around 2 a.m. local time, the BBC reported.Many were woken up by the explosion, and saw debris from the burning plane near their homes, the AP said.Witness Yasir Baloch told the BBC: "The tail of the plane was on fire and it took barely two to three seconds and it crashed four houses away from my house and burnt to ashes."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d402f6da209d35f265e9a05-1200/pakistan%20military%20crash%20victim.jpg" border="0" alt="pakistan military crash victim" data-mce-source="Reuters" data-mce-caption="People help an unidentified man who was injured in the military plane crash in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on July 30, 2019." /></div></div></div>Pakistani Prime Minister <a href="https://twitter.com/pid_gov/status/1156067076437696514">Imran Khan</a> and President <a href="https://twitter.com/pid_gov/status/1156071291838967808">Arif Alvi</a> issued separate statements on Tuesday morning, noting their "sorrow over the loss of lives" in the crash and sending "prayers for the early recovery of the wounded."The Pakistani army has been on <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/pakistan-army-says-troops-on-high-alert-along-loc/articleshow/68203258.cms">high alert</a> since February, when military tensions between Pakistan and neighboring India came to the surface after a terrorist attack in the disputed region of Kashmir killed 40 Indian troops.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/border-between-india-and-pakistan-2019-7">Here's what life is like on the border between India and Pakistan, one of the world's most disputed regions</a><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d402b528d664201ae6a3fa3-1200/pakistan%20military%20plane%20crash%20house.jpg" border="0" alt="pakistan military plane crash house" data-mce-source="Anjum Naveed/AP" data-mce-caption="A charred roof of a house at the site of a plane crash in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on July 30, 2019." /></div></div></div>There have been multiple aviation disasters in Pakistan in recent years.In 2009, a Russian-manufactured, military transport helicopter crashed in the northwestern Orakzai district, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/04/world/asia/04pstan.html">killing around 40 people</a>.A commercial flight flying from the northern Pakistani city of Chitral to Islamabad crashed due to a supposed engine failure in December 2016, killing all 47 people on board.The deadliest crash was in July 2010, when an Airbus 321 aircraft operated by Pakistan's budget Airblue airline crashed near Islamabad, killing all 152 on board.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">BREAKING : A small aircraft which took off from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Islamabad?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Islamabad</a> international airport, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pakistan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Pakistan</a> has crashed in a housing society in the city of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rawalpindi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Rawalpindi</a>, 4 people died, 3-4 houses are completely damaged due to a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/planecrash?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#planecrash</a> in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rawalpindi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Rawalpindi</a>. <a href="https://t.co/ck4MRgC1Pd">pic.twitter.com/ck4MRgC1Pd</a>- FatiMa Butt (@FatiMaButt_17) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1155973578384220160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">Plane falls, captured in perfect timing, How? Exact time? With a video opened? And a blast took place after crash. I'm not getting this whole thing. Looks like it was filmed for news. May Allah bless all souls who died &amp; bless injured with speedy recovery. Ameen <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rawalpindi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Rawalpindi</a> <a href="https://t.co/Y5cdKDxzGH">pic.twitter.com/Y5cdKDxzGH</a>- ارم احمد خان (@IramAKhanPK) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1155967104861892611?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

A Pakistani Army plane crashed into people's homes during a training mission, killing at least 18

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/50393455.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> 
Another year ends today. Looking back we see this year as the year of innovations. Science and Technology made real what were earlier conceived merely as sc-fi fiction- from driverless cars to making the closest match of a robot to human. India too saw the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/India-to-be-the-biggest-consumer-of-IoT-devices-in-the-planet-in-five-years-Nasscom/articleshow/47643246.cms">advent of Internet of Things</a>. We saw MI and <keyword id="6486191" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Fitbit">Fitbit</keyword> pushing in a big way during the holiday seasons. Indian startups like SenseGiz, GetActive, Fin, Lechal have been early movers in the Indian wearables space, but they will now have to brace-up for stiff competition from global brands. Smart Grid has been slow to take off, with one major deployment in State of Maharashtra. But, cell phone based agriculture pumps and GPS enabled telematics for fleet management especially for cabs and school busses have seen good deployment. 
 Looking at the trends, consumer <keyword id="1967280" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="IoT">IoT</keyword> grew at a faster pace than the industrial IoT. 
 
Analog Devices played a major role in the growth. Somshubhro Pal Choudhury, MD, Analog Devices India, talks about the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Here-iswhy-India-should-keep-evolving-for-IoT-era/articleshow/48694789.cms">Indian scenario</a>, trends, global scenario, some predictions of 2016 and the next big thing in IoT. 
 
1. Where is the world positioned in the IoT space? 
 
IoT is making descent <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Rise-and-rise-of-Internet-of-Things-in-India/articleshow/47643581.cms">progress across multiple verticals globally</a>, albeit at different pace for each. 
 
Below are a few examples of different market verticals and how IoT is shaping up in these verticals. 
 
• Smart Watches and Wearable – This vertical has taken off with wide range of fitness gadgets and smart watches. The volume is in consumer centric gadgets today. The market for remote healthcare and disease management and tracking with clinical grade devices is slower to emerge. 
 
• Smart Homes and Appliance - There are varied use cases. The driver for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/5-must-have-smart-home-appliances-for-an-efficient-hassle-free-life/articleshow/47528817.cms">Smart Appliances</a> is primary returns, warranty and scheduled maintenance more than anything else. The dream of Smart Homes has been on the radar for more than 2 decades now, but it will still be only for high-end homeowners who can afford it. 
 
• Smart Meters/Smart Grid - Already close to 50% of the homes in US have smart meters and Europe is deploying in a huge way. Asia is slow in adoption. In India it has happened only in the state of Maharashtra for a large scale deployment of the tune of 3M meters. 
 
• Smart Buildings- Focus is more on energy management and security. We are seeing active deployment of energy management scenarios with automated HVAC and lighting control based on occupancy worldwide. 
 
• Transportation – Mostly focused on fleet management of cars, trucks, busses via telematics. Several consumer centric gadgets and IoT solutions are available all around the world today in terms of plugging into the OBD2 port of the car and analytics to understand and schedule maintenance. 
 
• Smart City - Primary driver would be Smart lighting to reduce energy usage first and foremost followed by security/surveillance. There is a big push worldwide to move to LED street lights and connected smart lights will give additional benefits along with this LED switchover. 
 
• Industrial Automation – It would be a slow start in terms of IoT getting into the current Industrial Automation systems, but monitoring of the equipment to predict failure, asset tracking etc. are already starting to happen in a large way. 
 
2. Where is India positioned in the space? 
 India has two plays in IoT. First, the business opportunities of <keyword id="3190305" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="IoT-in-India">IoT in India</keyword> and second is talent availability and ecosystem that is being leveraged globally. 
 
IoT business opportunities in India are just starting. Consumer has been a slow start compared to the other developed countries. 
From an India context, here is a quick analysis of the potentials moving forward. 
 
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/50393496.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> 
 
From an ecosystem and talent standpoint, IoT ecosystem in India is illustrated in Figure below. The Ecosystem for IoT in India has exploded in India, comprised of large Industry MNC OEMs, the IT Services Houses/Systems Integrators and Startups supported by other entities. 
 Almost all the major MNCs with design centers in India are doing IoT development from India. Significant portion of software, cloud, embedded software and systems integration work are being done out of India owning to the readily available talent base. Few companies have taken the initiative of running the entire IoT engineering from India like Analog Devices., whereas companies like Cisco have the <keyword id="6377036" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="smart-cities">Smart Cities</keyword> initiatives being run from India. All <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/IT-and-Telecom-lead-Novembers-Job-Market/articleshow/50187803.cms">IT and systems integration</a> houses have an active ‘IoT Practice’ group now, focused on IoT enabled top-line or bottom-line growth for their customers. The opportunities Business Transformation with IoT woukd take off like it happened with IT and Business processes in the last 2 decades with India at the forefront. The IoT community has imbibed India’s rapid transformation into a startup nation and 200+ startups could be broadly classified under IoT Service, IoT Components, IoT Platforms and Design Services. The ecosystem has a strong IoT enthusiast community, the second largest after Silicon Valley. Indian Electronic Semiconductor Association (IESA), and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), Bangalore are holding regular IoT Information, assistance, funding and mentorship sessions. IOT and hardware focused incubators are getting active and Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeiTY) has come up with IoT vision document for IoT in India. 
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/50393502.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> 
3. When will we see an IoT boom in India? 
 
The ecosystem and talent boom is already happening as mentioned above. In terms of deployment and proliferation of IoT in a large scale, it would still take a few years. While the automation of rural pumps and telematics for fleet management and security are already happening, the Smart City security and LED Street light would probably come next along with energy management in commercial and retail spaces. We are hoping that the new factories for #MakeInIndia would be Smart Factories but it is likely that equipment and services business might go to global player’s more than Indian ones. We are also starting to see the need for Pollution monitoring, even monitoring the color of the smoke that is coming out from the chimneys. 
 
The IOT enabled business models are changing in a big way from CAPEX to OPEX, more a services business. This plays to the strength and DNA of India. We love to play in the pay as you go model with opex and that creates a lower barrier to entry. Still somebody has to pay for the Capex and currently this funding is the missing piece. 
 
4. What is holding it back? 
 
A range of opportunities now open up in terms of monitoring different situations in industries, retail etc. and the first thing that needs to be done is education about the possibilities and then a Return on Investment calculation. The next phase is usually a pilot followed by evaluation and deployment. In that case it is no different than any buying pattern for any B2B sale. I would re- iterate to the myriad of IoT companies in India that IOT as not a unique technology and solution, but in essence culmination of different technologies and solutions that have been developed over the past decade, bringing them together in the most cost effective way which will solve a business problem (increase revenue, new business models or reduce cost) at a fraction of the original cost. That is why I believe the systems integrators and the IT houses that have so successfully embarked India on the IT world map, would have a major play in IoT globally. 
 
5. What is the next big thing in IoT? 
 
We will be hearing more about successful deployments of IoT in 2016 compared to the promise of use cases and a range of pilots that are currently ongoing. We now know about the possibilities with IoT. It is now a question of running Return on Investment calculations, doing a pilot and finally deploying it in large scale, on a case by case basis, from vertical to vertical. 
 
6. What are the factors that are driving the space in the world? 
 
The concept of IoT is not a new. Smart Metering has been active for the last 10 years and Analog Devices has close to 40M meters with Radio enabled smart meters globally deployed. What we are seeing now is that all the components of IoT like sensors, edge node, connectivity, gateway, cloud infrastructure, data analytics solutions etc. readily available, have come down incredibly in cost, development tools and solutions exist and it has become fairly easy to provide a fully integrated sensor to the cloud solution at a low price point up and running in a short time frame. So the business case for an IoT enabled solution is far easier now and talent exists to bring the solutions together rapidly. 5 years back, the same solution would have cost 10X more and implementation time would be 10X more. The other most interesting driver is now with all monitoring of the data, the business models are changing from Capex to Opex with a services centric approach and this is true business innovation enabled by technology. 
 
7. How is the Indian IoT space different than global IoT space? 
 
Adoption of IoT in India will follow the same principles of ROI calculation for each case. In India it would be easier to get customers on an opex based services model, provided investors can fund the actual deployment. The ROI for IoT in India needs to be measured differently compared to the developed world. The term coined by IOPT – Internet of People and Things is more relevant here. While in developed countries, IOT to get data from the field will require a wireless sensor network and automated collection of data on a regular basis as labor is so expensive. In India, what we need is cheap sensors, connected to mobile phones and a way to manage a labor pool to regularly get data on the vital conditions. A mobile and people based approached would work best in India. 
 
(Image credits: Indiatimes, Analog Devices India)

MD of one of India’s biggest tech innovating firms says IoT R&amp;D has exploded in India, and better days are coming!

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/54168492.cms" />At a time when India is moving faster towards becoming a more technology-friendly country than ever before, the 'Digital India' dream doesn't seem too far from turning into a reality. However, a lot of work needs to be done on the ground for increased technology adoption, and lone efforts by the government or academia may not be enough to pull off this dream by the set target 2020. It's here that companies like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Intel-launches-7th-Gen-core-processor/articleshow/53944384.cms">Intel</a> have stepped in and made their contribution relevant. They are assessing the current state of technology adoption in India, identifying the barriers coming in the way of technological advancement and arriving at solutions needed to accelerate the adoption of technology among Indians. 
 
In doing so, Intel particularly is striving to take real solutions, which could solve pertinent problems being faced by Indians, to the market to see the impact it can make. It's also fostering an ecosystem of sorts to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Digital-India-This-is-what-Intel-is-doing-to-educate-India-through-its-disruptive-technologies/articleshow/52292554.cms">create awareness about technology</a>, find ideas, nurture them and create customized solutions that can help the country. Here’s how: 
 
Through <keyword id="3633111" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ifdi">IFDI</keyword> challenges 
The company is back with its Innovate for Digital India Challenge 2.0 this year with the aim to inspire grassroots innovation and harness local talent, by inviting makers across India to build solutions to accelerate India’s digitization and commercially develop their projects on Intel architecture. 
 
In the pilot phase starting today, 20 entries from the submitted applications will be selected to pitch their conceptual prototype and business plan to an expert panel in Hyderabad. 10 shortlisted from here will receive a Rs 3 lakh grant per team to create minimum-viable products based on Intel Architecture in an 8-10 week accelerator program at the T-Hub incubator in Hyderabad starting November this year. Each top 10 team will be mentored by a panel of cross-industry experts, advised by design and user experience firms, and receive engineering support and product kits from Intel. After this journey, the top 10 teams will hit the Demo Day, where they will present their prototypes built on Intel architecture to a panel of technology experts, venture capitalists and industry experts. Based on the strength of the proof of concept, the top 3 teams will be identified and granted go-to-market support for 4-6 weeks with a grant of up to Rs 5 lakh. The top 3 teams will showcase their go-to-market solutions to a panel of experts at the grand finale, where a winning team will be selected and receive a grant of up to Rs 20 lakh. 
 
The focus of this challenge will be on solutions that can integrate the IoT, Datacenter or Cloud to enable digital transformation experiences in the spaces of agriculture innovation, healthcare access, E-governance, Education, financial inclusion and sustainability - areas where India needs real solutions. 
 Sandeep Aurora, Director, Marketing &amp; Market Development for Intel South Asia says - "As these solutions get prototyped, the help the participants would need would be to be connected with the right mentors, to get the right guidance, the right hardware platform, and the most critical part would be for them to get market access. A lot of <keyword id="6433408" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="innovations">innovations</keyword> often die down because they do not get market access. With IFDI, the top projects will build prototypes; they will have access to mentors from industry and engineers from Intel.” 
 
He adds – “Last year at the IFDI challenge, the top 3 teams took solutions outside India as well. It's that kind of success we want for our top 10 teams this year too." 
 
In 2015, the debut of the IFDI Challenge had received over 1,900 entries. Six of the top 10 teams had achieved the mind-to-market philosophy, by taking their solutions not just to the Indian, but even the global market. The top 3 teams - Jayalaxmi Agrotech, Asha+ and T-Jay – which innovated in the fields of agriculture and healthcare, were provided access to equity investment of up to Rs 2 lakh each. 
 
As Intel gets into another IFDI journey today, the company shared with us some of its learnings from last year that it will use to make this year’s IFDI program more robust - Now, entrepreneurs with existing prototypes will be the focus as against last year when the initiative was relatively broad-based, with only a few prototypes ready to be developed. Also, IFDI will expand the focus areas within which entrepreneurs can explore solution opportunities. The challenge has moved to a relatively virtual model, wherein the shortlisted participants will only be at T-Hub, India’s largest startup incubator, at the start and end of the challenge unlike last year, where the challenge was largely a residential program. Lastly, in a bid to provide quality mentoring as well as market access support to top projects, it will continue to collaborate with the government and industry for its participants to have access to the right advisors. 
 As Challenge 2.0 kickstarted today, <keyword id="875687" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Debjani-Ghosh">Debjani Ghosh</keyword>, MD for South Asia at <keyword id="203959" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Intel-Corporation">Intel Corporation</keyword>, told Business Insider - “This year, the partnership quality has grown because we have DST as one of our partners once again. They are helping shape this program and they will be funding top projects. MyGov is back on board and they have done a fabulous job by providing opportunities to people who are not in the big cities to be a part of IFDI and making this flagship program a national challenge.” 
 
She further added – “We also have a new partner T-hub, an innovative powerhouse. They are doing great things to build innovation capabilities among startups and makers, and I am really excited with what we will be able to do with these kinds of partners.” 
 
Through other ongoing initiatives to foster innovation 
Besides the Challenge, Intel is accelerating hardware design &amp; innovation through Intel India Maker Lab. Infact, from last year’s IFDI Challenge, 7 participants of the top 20 used the Maker Lab to develop their prototypes further. Currently, there are 17 startups utilizing the lab facilities for projects in the areas of education, sports, health, agriculture, BFSI and e-governance across IOT, Cloud, and client compute. 
 
Furthermore,<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Intels-Ek-Kadam-Unnati-ke-aur-has-impacted-the-life-of-this-woman-from-a-village-of-Telengana-in-an-unexpected-way/articleshow/52292695.cms"> Intel is also focusing on innovation &amp; research in association with government and academia</a>. It recently collaborated with think tank Niti Aayog to establish tinkering laboratories and incubation centers for mini makers in 10 primary schools across the country. Intel’s 10 working Atal Tinkering Laboratories will serve as an exemplar for 490 ATLs to be launched by the government. It also collaborated with Department of Science &amp; Technology of Government of India, and Society for Innovation &amp; Entrepreneurship (SINE), IIT Bombay to set up a new collaborative incubation program “Plugin” to support hardware and systems-based start-ups. 
 
As for academia, for the last 15 years, the company has been consistently collaborating to focus on Intel Higher Education Program and Intel PhD Fellowship Program. Through skills development and capacity building programs, it has reached out to 3 lakh students for embedded and IOT skills; and set up 100 IOT centers across Indian academic institutions. Additionally, the company has been providing grants to about 20 top institutes, to help accelerate technology advancement among academia on the latest technology trends and developments. 
 
So much about Intel’s work in the area of innovation and entrepreneurship. Watch out this space in the days to come because we will keep an eye on the top ideas that emerge from the IFDI challenge and highlight the solutions that could really make a difference in solving some of the biggest problems India is facing.

How Intel is helping
build technology in India like no other company

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/533bdf81eab8eaa1030a1aad-524-393/plane-47.jpg" border="0" alt="plane" />AP Photo/Rob Griffith</div></div></div>KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - A police investigation may never determine the reason why the Malaysia Airlines jetliner disappeared, and search planes scouring the India Ocean for any sign of its wreckage aren't certain to find anything either, officials said Wednesday.
The assessment by Malaysian and Australian officials underscored the lack of knowledge authorities have about what happened on Flight 370. It also points to a scenario that becomes more likely with every passing day - that the fate of the Boeing 777 and the 239 people on board might remain a mystery forever.
The plane disappeared March 8 on a flight to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur after its transponders, which make the plane visible to commercial radar, were shut off. Military radar picked up the jet just under an hour later, on the other side of the Malay peninsula. Authorities say until then its "movements were consistent with deliberate action by someone on the plane" but have not ruled out anything, including mechanical error.
Police are investigating the pilots and crew for any evidence suggesting they may have hijacked or sabotaged the plane. The backgrounds of the passengers, two-thirds of whom were Chinese, have been checked by local and international investigators and nothing suspicious has been found.
"Investigations may go on and on and on. We have to clear every little thing," Inspector General Khalid Abu Bakar told reporters in Kuala Lumpur. "At the end of the investigations, we may not even know the real cause. We may not even know the reason for this incident."
Police are also investigating the cargo and the food served on the plane to eliminate possible poisoning of passengers and crew, he said.
The search for the plane began over the Gulf of Thailand and South China Sea where the plane's last communications were, and then shifted west to the Strait of Malacca where it was last spotted by military radar. Experts then analyzed hourly satellite "handshakes" between the plane and a satellite and now believe it crashed somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean.
A search there began just over two weeks ago, and now involves at least nine ships and nine planes.
The current search area is a 221,000-square-kilometer (85,000-square-mile) patch of sea roughly a 2½-hour flight from Perth. The focus of the search has moved several times as experts try to estimate where the plane is most likely to have landed based on assumptions on its altitude, speed and fuel. Currents in the sea are also being studied to see where any wreckage is most likely to have drifted.
Angus Houston, the head of a joint agency coordinating the multinational search effort out of Australia, said no time frame had been set for the search to end, but that a new approach would be needed if nothing showed up.
"Over time, if we don't find anything on the surface, we're going to have to think about what we do next, because clearly it's vitally important for the families, it's vitally important for the governments involved that we find this airplane," he told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.
With no other data available indicating where the plane went down, spotting wreckage is key to narrowing down the search area and ultimately finding the plane's flight data recorders, which will provide a wealth of information about the condition the plane was flying under and possibly the communications or sounds in the cockpit.
The data recorders emit a "ping" that can be detected by special equipment towed by a ship in the immediate vicinity. But the battery-powered recorders stop transmitting the "pings" about 30 days after a crash. Locating the data recorders and wreckage after that is possible, but it becomes an even more daunting task.
Houston said that only once wreckage from the plane was found "we will then be able to narrowly focus the search area so that we can start to exploit the underwater technology devices that will hopefully lead to where the aircraft is on the bottom of the ocean."
Malaysia has been criticized by the relatives of some Chinese passengers on board, who accuse them of not giving them enough information or even lying about what it knows about the final movements of the plane. Some are staying in hotels in Beijing and Kuala Lumpur, courtesy of Malaysia Airlines.
On Wednesday, authorities organized a closed-door briefing in Malaysia for the families with officials and experts involved in the hunt, including the chief of the Malaysian air force.
It was relayed by video conferencing technologies to the relatives in Beijing. Malaysia's civil aviation chief, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, said officials answered all the questions raised by the relatives and that they had "a very good meeting." Several relatives interviewed after session said officials showed them more satellite and other data, but that they were still not satisfied.
"The fact is they didn't give us any convincing information," said Steve Wang, a representative of some of the Chinese families in Beijing. "They said themselves that there are many different possibilities, but they are judging on the basis of just one of them."
Malaysian officials have on occasion given conflicting accounts and contradictory information over the last three weeks. They maintain they are doing their best in what it is an unprecedented situation, and stress they want the same thing as the families, namely to locate the plane as quickly as possible.
___
Perry reported from Perth. Associated Press writers Gillian Wong in Kuala Lumpur, Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, and Kristen Gelineau in Sydney contributed to this report.
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Copyright (2014) Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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