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AICTE, YOL join hands on International Happiness day 2023

21 March 2022, Delhi. On the occasion of World Happiness Day, a webinar was conducted by AICTE in collaboration with NHRDN ( National Human Resource Development Network) and YOL an ed-app that arrests and reverses brain drain.

The agenda of the webinar was
1) Happiness and
2) Identification of gives and gets between the ‘industry’ and ‘academia’ to promote innovation.

PM Modi Ji had recently expressed his serious concern about the excessive usage of mobile phone screens accounting up to 6 hours, daily by students which leads to ‘consumption’ of mind that adversely impacts ‘creation’.

The webinar was chaired by Prof . Anil Sahasrabudhe, who has earlier been chairman of AICTE and is the current chairman of NETF, NAAC, and NBA. Speaking on the occasion, He said, “This colonization of minds by the apps must be rescued and retrieved to spur innovation. Trillion-dollar valuations of popular social media companies hold our mind-share captive which accounts for 50% of their valuation. Phones are an unavoidable accessory of life and the mind. “

He further said, ” Last year through adequate research and guidance we enabled the introduction of an app titled YOL on the same phone screen that arrests and reverses the brain drain. YOL reverses that as it engages with the left brain and right brain of the student and shows how it is being navigated and shared across a student’s own life aspects. It calibrates the mind. It has been color-coded and intuitively enables navigation while balancing IQ, EQ, right brain, left brain, mindshare, mind map, happiness index and improves the spatial and temporal aspects of cognition.”

On the occasion, through a Recorded message, Prof T G Sitharam, Chairman of AICTE said, “ This random and ambiguous screen time of over 6 hours is the major cause of stress, loss of attention spans, misbalancing of emotions, promotion of deceit at a very subtle level and its adverse impact on the endocrinal system. We are gearing the education system for ‘creation’, reversing the ‘consumption’ of the mind. YOL was introduced in our APH and our administration with the educational institutes helps us meet the emphasis laid in the new education policy on Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning. Our enzymic activity is all based on the ‘retention’ and depth of ‘feeling’ followed by ‘expressing’. That ‘retention’ and ‘feeling’ and ‘emotion’ is being replaced by emotiCONS without depth. So the mind, the body and the environment is under threat. We are continuing to address this issue through Indian knowledge system and examining how to further reinforce deepen and improve the adoption of YOL.”

There was a roundtable organized between the academia and industry comprising of leaders from both.

Industry was represented by SV Nathan, the CHRO of Deloitte India and president of NHRDN, delivered a keynote address on the subject of “what can education and industry give and take from each other?”.

The others that supported this coming together of education with industry were Dhananjay Singh, Director General, NHRDN, Dewang Neralla, CEO NTT DATA, Prem Singh, CHRO, and JK group. Deewakar Gupta, AWS, jointly they noted that. “This bridging of the gap of social and emotional learning will provide us better and reinforced students. We shall work with AICTE to create a tandem that supports AICTE with latest technologies, mentorships, internships, and assignments for R&D. Under the guidance of the past and current chairman it is amazing to see that the transition of guard at AICTE has not only been seamless, rather like a concert it is managing the steering the cadence of reforms with immense speed and certitude.” A panel discussion above on the subject of ‘gives’ and ‘gets’ from education was moderated by Dr. Mamta Rani Agarwal.

The webinar addressed the issue of what Education wants and can deliver for the corporate world and vice versa.

Academia was represented from North, East, West, and South by eminent vice chancellors Prof R Velraj- Anna University, Prof Padmakali Banerjee – SPSU, Prof. Niranjan Patel – Sardar Patel University, Prof. Nupur Das-Secretary North Bengal University. A panel discussion comprising the above was moderated by Prof Rajendra Kakde. Each of the VCs lauded this new initiative by AICTE of introducing the app and confirmed that they would embrace it.

Dr. Mamta Rani Agarwal said, “Let industry and academia join hands and share a symbiotic relationship by communication, connect, collaboration, and creation.”

Yogi, the founder of the app said that “UN’s ranking of India on the 136th position out of 145 countries is a joke considering that these entire global rankings are based only on 3000 responses collected from each country. Bhutan has refused to participate in the survey and we have written to the honorable Prime Minister pointing to this flaw. The next set of rankings will be announced today and we are curious”.

Mr. Yogi has earlier been a leader at Microsoft and has been awarded at the British Parliament for his work on happiness his work has been recognized by UN in addition to AICTE which has granted approval to his app; YOL for introduction across all higher ed institutions.

Prof. Phoebe Koundouri, Ambassador UN SDGs and member evaluation committee for Nobel Prize was the guest of honor and sent her message lauding the initiative and congratulating the participants committed to taking on record the work in the space of happiness in India.

Luis Gallardo, the President of the World Happiness foundation extended his warm wishes to all.

Evanssion partners with ExtraHop to provide regional businesses with enterprise-grade security and cloud scalability

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 21, 2023– Evanssion, a leading cybersecurity and cloud-native value distributor, is pleased to announce its partnership with ExtraHop, the leader in cloud-native network detection and response, across the Middle East region. Through this partnership, Evanssion’s customers and partners will be able to leverage cutting-edge network detection and response (NDR) solutions from ExtraHop. In response to an increase in cyberattacks this past year, there has been a widespread deployment of NDR solutions to eliminate blind spots and inspect east-west traffic for threats and anomalies. When used in conjunction with EDR and SIEM solutions, NDR fills in the gaps that other tools may miss, detecting threats across the entire network from data centers to remote locations and in the cloud.

A recent report from MarketsandMarkets, published in January 2022, projected that the global network detection and response market would grow from $1.1 billion in 2021 to $3.3 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 24.7% during the forecast period.

Fouad Tawk, Area Vice President for the Middle East, Turkey, and North Africa at ExtraHop, said: “ExtraHop can help enterprises stop breaches 84% faster with cloud-scale machine learning across cloud, hybrid, and distributed environments. With ExtraHop Reveal(x), Evanssion can deliver an enterprise-class NDR solution for the modern SOC, so security teams can unlock complete 360-degree visibility, real-time detection, and intelligent response to act with confidence and speed.”

“We are confident that this partnership with ExtraHop, the leader in NDR, will drive change and impact customer experience to easily adopt the best cyber defense practices,” said Ahmed Al Qadri, CEO of Evanssion. “This partnership is a great opportunity for ExtraHop to showcase their value proposition to our enterprise customers and partners.”

CUMI Inks MoU with DRDO’s RCI Laboratory for Ceramic Radome Technology

Chennai 21 March 2023: Carborundum Universal Limited (CUMI), is a pioneering organisation in the field of material sciences and part of the 120-year-old Murugappa Group today announced that it has signed a Licensing Agreement for Transfer of Technology (LAToT) with DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat (RCI) Laboratory for technology to manufacture “Ceramic Radomes (GELCAST Process) Technology” used in missile systems. The LAToT was handed over at AERO INDIA 2023 in Bengaluru on 15 February 2023 in the presence of Honourable Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh.

Ceramic Radome Technology is considered state of an art missile technology world-over. Since missiles undergo extremely high surface temperatures while travelling through the atmosphere, ceramic is considered as optimal radome material. The design of ceramic radomes for defence activities requires deep expertise and stringent testing at every stage to ensure reliability and accuracy.

Research Centre Imarat (RCI) is a premier laboratory of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex, DRDO spearheading R&D in a wide range of Avionics Systems for diversified defence and aerospace applications.

“It has been exciting to witness India’s growing prowess in the defence manufacturing sector, which is a major goal of the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ or ‘Make in India’ initiative. With our strong legacy of being in the material sciences industry for almost 70 years, CUMI is honoured to play a part in shaping India’s destiny by contributing to a strong and self-reliant defence sector. Our operations are completely made in India – from mineral sourcing and processing to research and testing, CUMI is completely localized with 100 percent end-to-end integration in the country,” said Subbu Venkatachalam, Head of Marketing, Carborundum Universal Limited. “We are grateful to the team at DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat Laboratory for the opportunity and look forward to a continued association.”

CUMI’s focus for the Aerospace and Defence industry has been on making a material difference to safety and protection for man and machine across terrains. CUMI ceramics design, manufacture and test for the highest standards of reliability and safety for critical situations in defence, and CUMI engineers have the acumen and ability to design and manufacture customized solutions to cater for special defence needs. CUMI’s lightweight ceramic ballistic solutions engineered with Alumina, Zirconia-Toughened Alumina and Silicon Carbide, are ergonomic and customisable into various sizes and shapes for use in bulletproof vests. CUMI’s high-performance lightweight ceramic materials enable the highest levels of ballistic and blast-proof protection for armoured vehicles. In addition, CUMI is one of the first companies to produce the ‘wonder material’ graphene for aerospace & defence applications in India. CUMI also brings cutting-edge composite technology for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) including CFRP tubes, panels, and customised composite structural parts for drones.

ITC Fiama unveils the importance of balancing work pressures on World Happiness Day

India, March 21, 2023: Embracing Mental well-being discussions at the workplace has been gaining significance around. Living in a rapidly changing world filled with uncertainty takes a toll on all of us—especially when it comes to our mental health. In an effort to bring happiness and drive positive associations this World Happiness Day, ITC Fiama aims to bring to the forefront possible methods that young India can adopt to manage stress, stay happy and content.

The ITC Fiama and Nielsen IQ’s Mental Wellbeing Survey 2022* throws light on work place pressures affecting millennials and GenZ today, highlighting that mental wellbeing is the key to long term happiness and success. Mental wellbeing, over the last few years, has been gaining significance in everyday life with dialogues around it strengthening momentum. Young adults, globally, are looking to transform their lifestyle with mental wellness at its very core. While this proactive dialogue on handling everyday stress and anxiety is a positive shift, the pressures of managing work stress is a growing concern among the country’s youth.

Key highlights of the survey:

The survey findings indicate that Work and career decisions are key stressors for Millennials and GenZ respectively:

Unlocking the key to happiness – ITC Fiama and Nielsen IQ’s survey on Mental Well-being reveals top De-stressors across key cities for GenZ and Millennials:

It is interesting to note that only 33% of GenZ are willing to seek immediate professional help if they have mental health issues. Young adults are exploring alternatives to de-stress – 43% turn to music to calm their nerves. For millennials, yoga, meditation as well as spending time with loved ones make it to the leading options to calm themselves, while social media has turned out to be a leading de-stressor for housewives who seek content that helps them destress.

Speaking about the importance of mental well-being, Dr. Raghu Appasani, a Psychiatrist and Founder/CEO of the MINDS Foundation states, “We all have mental health issues and at any point in time, we are somewhere on that spectrum.” He explains that the rise in mental illness has exponentially grown in the past decade and observes, “We all are impacted by mental health distress at some point, whether we are rich, poor, young, or old; therefore, we must all become literate in the language of mental health to create an empathetic and compassionate approach to allow those suffering to no longer feel left in the dark.”

Register here for a professionally qualified therapist consultation from MINDS Foundation at a subsidized rate.

*The ITC Fiama Mental Wellbeing Survey was conducted with 870 men and women between the ages of 16-45 years across Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bangalore, in 2022.

Upskilling programmes empowered 2 out of 3 women professionals to return to work after hiatus: Emeritus India Impact Survey

Mumbai, March 21, 2023: 2 out of 3 women professionals felt empowered to return to work after a hiatus by upskilling themselves via professional learning programmes, as per the findings from the Emeritus India Impact Survey 2022. The survey was conducted by Emeritus, a global leader in world-class professional education, to understand how professionals stay job-ready and future-proof their careers with the help of professional programmes from Emeritus.

According to McKinsey & Company’s global report, a “broken rung” prevents women from stepping up in their career ladders as fewer women are promoted in their jobs compared to men. The Emeritus India Impact Survey found that learning programmes can help women significantly in overcoming this invisible barrier – with 82% of the respondents witnessing a positive impact of the programmes within six months of having taken them and 93% reporting being more effective at work after taking up a professional course.

In an encouraging sign that could help close the gender pay gap, the survey also found that reskilling and knowledge enhancement programmes helped about 79% of women professionals to advance in their careers in current organisations, while 61% moved ahead in a new organisation after taking up a programme with Emeritus. Over a quarter of women respondents also reported drawing paychecks higher by up to 50%.

Owing to the stigma around career breaks and motherhood penalty (mothers being paid less than fathers) faced by several women professionals, their self-esteem also often takes a hit. The survey found that the learning programmes also helped women participants boost their self-confidence. An overwhelming 100% of the respondents reported an increase in their self-confidence and leadership capabilities after finishing a programme. Women professionals also admitted that learning programmes helped them in developing their business acumen (78%), building and expanding their network (95%), increasing job security (71%), imparting necessary skills required to advance their careers (61%), as well as, helped them thrive and standout in the job market (55%).

Commenting on the Emeritus India Impact Survey findings, Mr Mohan Kannegal, CEO, of India and APAC, Emeritus, said, “At Emeritus we are dedicated to ensuring that everyone in India has access to high-quality, life-changing education. Our partnerships with some of the world’s leading educational institutions have helped us drive significant impact on the careers of professionals when it comes to moving up the ladder within their organisation or even finding new opportunities. The survey results reflect how many women are benefitting in many ways through high-quality upskilling programmes and are able to forge ahead in their career paths.”

The India Impact Survey was conducted in September 2022, with learners who completed Emeritus professional education programmes through its partner schools before June 2022.

Emeritus connects learners through global virtual classrooms, partnering with over 60 top universities to offer online and app-based learning in formats including courses, certificates, online degrees, boot camps, etc. The company has a truly global reach – serving more than 250,000 learners across 160 countries, with programmes offered in a variety of languages.

Aadyam Theatre presents a comedy masterclass featuring Akarsh Khurana and Varun Grover

Aadyam Theatre – an Aditya Birla Group initiative – is proud to present its first-ever comedy masterclass ‘Seriously Funny: A Masterclass on the Point of Comedy’ that will dissect the complexities of comedy in art. The event will feature Akarsh Khurana, in conversation with Varun Grover. Between the two speakers, they have explored and gained mastery in stand-up comedy, music, theatre, film and web series, working as performers, writers and directors. The masterclass, ideal for playwrights, screenwriters, stand-up comics, podcast creators, spoken word artists and of course, directors and actors of any performance medium will be held on 24th March (Friday) at The Habitat in Khar West from 6:30 PM onwards.

Kicking off the event with a brief keynote address the multi-talented Varun Grover will then be joined on stage by the equally accomplished Akarsh Khurana, and together they will explore some of the most pressing questions around creating comedy today. The audience will get a peek into the nuances of comedy as an art form, and hear the two artists speak about the importance of balance between comedy and seriousness and the difference between irreverence and disrespect.

The duo will also share their experiences of writing comedy and divulge some tips on how to ‘write for laughs’ for different types of content, including movies, series, plays, and songs. They will explore how one can and should take their work seriously without taking oneself too seriously. Furthermore, the conversation will touch on the potential of comedy to address serious subjects, and how it can give hope and serve as a vehicle for important topics. The floor will then be opened for a Q&A session so the audience can engage with these brilliant minds and get answers to their own questions about how to be Seriously Funny.

On World Happiness Day, Vedanta Aluminium launches ‘Employee Wellness and Lifestyle Program’

New Delhi; 21 March 2023: On World Happiness Day, Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminum, launches Umang, an Employee Wellness & Lifestyle Program to improve the well-being and happiness quotient of employees and their families. The company announced its partnership with MantraCare, one of India’s top health technology companies working in the realm of holistic health management.

Vedanta Aluminium is one of the world’s largest aluminum producers with expansive operations in Odisha and Chhattisgarh which are run by a vibrant & diverse workforce. The employees work in a highly competitive environment, striving for excellence and pushing the boundaries on innovation. Vedanta Aluminium has world-class townships, well-equipped with gyms, sports complexes, swimming pools, playing grounds, and more, for employees to be able to maintain a high level of physical fitness.

While the company has been conducting sessions on various facets of health, it has now gone a step further to create a structured round-the-year program with the firm belief that holistic well-being can help employees and their families improve their physical health, and boost morale and work-life balance. As part of the Umang program, the company will offer online psychological counseling, physiotherapy, yoga, meditation, weight management, de-addiction, and various other services to employees through an interactive app.

Speaking about the program, Mr. Rahul Sharma, CEO, of Vedanta Limited – Aluminium Business, said, “Our people are at the heart of our aspirations to be a world leader in aluminum. We believe that happy employees create happier workplaces, more cohesive teams and high-performance working culture. We have created several policies and welfare programs designed to help our employees lead healthy and balanced life. Through Umang, we are now expanding the ambit to enable our employees and their families further in leading happier and more fulfilling personal & professional lives.”

Mr. Himanshu Jain, CEO of MantraCare, Vedanta Aluminium’s partner in the corporate wellness & lifestyle program, adds, “We are pleased to announce that Vedanta Aluminium, India’s foremost aluminum company, has partnered with MantraCare to provide wellness solutions to their employees. At Vedanta, the health and well-being of their workforce is a top priority, and this partnership with MantraCare will help them achieve their goal of a healthy and engaged team. MantraCare’s expertise in providing personalized wellness solutions and their focus on mental health will complement Vedanta’s existing initiatives and help employees lead a more wholesome lifestyle. We are excited to be working with Vedanta and look forward to a fruitful partnership.”

This collaboration will see the rollout of a comprehensive wellness program that focuses on the physical, mental, and emotional health of Vedanta Aluminium’s employees. MantraCare’s team of experts will work closely with the company to tailor the program to meet the specific needs of its people, ensuring that it is inclusive and accessible to all. The program will be rolled out in phases, starting with an assessment of the employees’ health needs and preferences, followed by a range of activities, workshops, and resources designed to support their overall well-being.

The company’s initiatives towards ensuring a conducive, growth-oriented work environment for its employees have resulted in several top industry accolades. It has been conferred with the prestigious ‘The Happiest Workplace Award 2022’ by Happy+ in association with Business World and has also received the esteemed ‘Great Place to Work’ certification for FY23.

Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminum, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminum i.e., 2.27 million tonnes in FY22. It is a leader in value-added aluminum products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 2nd in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) 2022 world rankings for the aluminum industry, a reflection of its sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminum smelters, alumina refinery, and power plants in India, the company fulfills its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminum as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow. www.vedantaaluminium.com

BitBNS Unveils New Identity as BNS

Delhi, March 21, 2023: BitBNS – one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in India, has rebranded itself as BNS. The revamped brand pledges to offer customers a smooth and user-centric experience. By adopting this new identity, the crypto exchange intends to present a more comprehensive outlook on cryptocurrencies.

As part of the rebranding, BNS recently launched a video campaign to recognize the real-life superheroes – the delivery executives of popular brands – who work tirelessly to deliver food, medicines, and other essential items to people’s doorsteps. This approach was refreshing and relatable, as it highlighted the common man’s struggles and showcased how cryptocurrencies can help simplify their lives. The video is available on BNS’ Youtube channel and is titled – ‘Crypto & Bitcoin Vlog with Delivery Boys. You can check out the video here.

The video series consists of interviews in which delivery executives were quizzed by Team BNS on their understanding of cryptocurrencies and how they can be used in their daily lives. The crypto community seems to be elated at the fact that most of the delivery executives not only had a basic knowledge of cryptocurrencies but also knew about several altcoins. It was also great to see that they were open to learning more about cryptocurrencies and were willing to explore the possibilities of investing in them in the future.

Gaurav Dahake, Founder & CEO of, BitBNS said, “ The primary reason for rebranding BitBNS to BNS is to present a more holistic view on crypto as BNS can stand for multiple things such as blockchain n scalability, bitcoin n stablecoins, blockchain and smart contracts, and so on. It encompasses the entire spectrum of what can be achieved through blockchain, which will help make our lives much simpler. Our aim is to contribute our efforts to drive further adoption around blockchain, thus providing a much broader, holistic, and global view of growing the Web3 ecosystem.”

He added, “This campaign is a small effort to recognize the hard work and effort the delivery executives put in on a daily basis to serve the masses. It highlights the strong future crypto has in India, how it can help simplify lives, and how BNS is contributing to it by making crypto accessible to all.”

The campaign has received a lot of appreciation from viewers, especially from BNS users who are excited to be associated with such a thoughtful and market-leading organization. This positive feedback can be seen in the comments section of the campaign’s YouTube videos, where users have praised BNS for their innovative and relatable approach to introducing cryptocurrencies to the masses.