India and Indonesia has set an ambitious $50 billion target for bilateral trade by year 2025: His Excellency, Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia

Hyderabad, March 20, 2023.….A Round table meeting with His Excellency Agus P Saptono, Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia held at FTCCI on Saturday morning. It was also an occasion to bid farewell to Mr. Agus P Saptono who will conclude his mission to India on 31 March 2023 and will be going to Indonesia. The Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry(FTCCI) organized a farewell to His Excellency Mr. Agus P Saptono

Welcoming the gathering, Mr. Anil Agarwal, President, of FTCCI said that he has been an outstanding diplomat, representing his country with utmost dedication, passion, and professionalism. He has contributed significantly to strengthening the bilateral relations between Indonesia and India and promoting cultural exchanges and trade partnerships. His tireless efforts have helped foster a better understanding of Indonesia among the people of Mumbai and the neighboring regions.

His role in promoting Indonesian culture through various events, such as the Indonesian Film Festival, culinary fairs, and cultural exhibitions was recalled and lauded.

Indonesia is the second largest trading destination for India in the ASEAN region. Indonesia is eyeing a $60 billion bilateral trade with India by 2025, as the figure has already reached $32 billion last year, said Anil Agarwal.

Speaking on the occasion, His Excellency Mr. Agus Saptano hoped that the Business community from Hyderabad, Telangana will continue extending all their strong commitment and goodwill to explore new opportunities in Indonesia and keep continue working in close cooperation with Indonesia to enhance cooperation in all dimensions to promote the two countries relations.

In the past global economic slowdown, we have been witnessing the positive growth of the Indian and Indonesian economies. Our task now is how to ensure the two giant economies of its region can continue to mutually benefit each other and to continue to make mutual progress for the prosperity of Indonesia and India.

Observed closer relations between India and Indonesia during the past year, including the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and Indonesia established in 2018, which takes both countries’ relations into a new era and provides momentum to make further significant investments in the bilateral tie.

Acknowledging India’s all-round development, we do agree that India has a lot to offer to Indonesia, especially in the areas of IT, Health and pharmaceuticals, Machineries, and automotive sectors. Indonesia and India enjoy a high level mutually beneficial relationship. The average value of bilateral trade between Indonesia and India in last five years has been reaching to around US $32 billion. India and Indonesia has set an ambitious $50 billion target for bilateral trade by the year 2025 as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joko Widodo discussed ways to deepen the cooperation.

India is one of the most important engines of the world’s economic growth. Indonesia’s strong investment commitment under the jurisdiction of our mission has resulted into investments by Indonesian companies such as Japfa comfeed, Gojek Indonesia, Garuda Foods and Nabati Indonesia setting up their base respectively in Pune, Bangalore and Chennai city. While in state of Telangana we do have investments by Indonesian companies such as Mayora Indonesia into Food products and confectionery and Vaksindo into Non-Human vaccines.

We have taken note of the potential promising sectors in the state of Telangana, to be offered such as Information Technology (IT), Life Sciences, Pharmaceuticals, Aerospace & Defence, Food processing, Furniture and etc. With also to have cooperation in the fields of Education and Medical Tourism. Our mission has already started working on the same while in coordination and cooperation with concerned authorities in Indonesia.

India is the largest buyer of crude palm oil from Indonesia and also imports coal, minerals, rubber, pulp, and hydrocarbon in significant quantities. India exports refined petroleum products, maize, commercial vehicles, telecommunication equipment, and oil seeds to Indonesia. There is considerable potential for expanding trade in the areas of automotive components, automobile, engineering products, IT, Pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and healthcare sectors, Given their strategic significance, Infrastructure development, and energy, both traditional and renewable, are key areas of enhancing bilateral cooperation. Both countries should put in place suitable policies to encourage private sectors to make investments in infrastructure and manufacturing sectors.

Today i wish to avail this platform to invite you all to visit the annual trade event “Trade Expo Indonesia 2023” going to be held from October 2023 in Indonesia and being organized by the Ministry of Trade, Republic of Indonesia. Various potential business sectors from Indonesia to be present at Tradexpo will such as Manufacturing, Healthcare and Beauty, Furniture and Home Décor, Food & Beverages, Fashion and Accessories, Medical Equipment, Digital, and Services. With this, we hereby encourage you all to visit this trade event which in long run will help to strengthen our long-standing bilateral relations.

FTCCI officials Mr. Meela Jayadev, Senior Vice President, Mr. V. S. Raju, Past President, Ms. Khyati Naravane, CEO, and Ms. Vijaya Khader, Professor participated.

If the old generation suffered because of scarcity, the present generation is suffering because of abundance: Ankur Warikoo, ISB Alumni, serial entrepreneur, author, educator and content creator

Hyderabad, March 20, 2023...FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) organized an interactive session with ISB Alumni, Ankur Warikoo in the city on Saturday. About a hundred FLO members attended the session. A serial entrepreneur, author, educator, and content creator, Ankur Warikoo was in conversation with Shubhraa Maheshwari, Chairperson of FLO. In a freewheel and half-hour chat, he made interesting revelations of many routine things of life.

For instance, in reply to a question on the rule book on parenting, he said. the only rule book for parenting is to stop being a parent. There is too much parenting, but still, we have so many problems with our young generation. Parenting is the single biggest responsibility on the earth. But it is left to parents to learn on the job. There is no formal training. In many cases, a lot of parents are emotionally not available when the kids need them the most.

Allow children to explore life on their own. God doesn’t teach them. They learn many things by looking at and observing their parents. Being good, doing good, and being inspirational is the best thing a parent can do for his or her child. Because the children are the reflection of their parents.

Further, he observed that the parent’s generation suffered because of the scarcity of things and facilities. but, this current generation is suffering from abundance.

Speaking further Ankur, 42, born in Kashmiri and grew up in Delhi, said the one year he spent studying at ISB in Hyderabad changed his life.

He shared his life journey with the participants. Recalling his stay in Hyderabad, he said, it is a dear city to him. Whatever I am today because of what ISB gave to me, he told his audience. I was born in a middle-class family. I was confused about life. I wanted to become a Space Scientist. It went to the USA to pursue my dream at a very good University. But, I realized that I was not happy. I came back to India dropping myself from the Ph. D in the AstroPhysics program, much to the shock of my parents.

He said, “what you are good at is different from what you are happy with”. I was totally confused. That is when I got enrolled at ISB for management studies. I tried a couple of jobs as a consultant. Then I started a start-up. I built several startups in due course. I stepped down as CEO of my startup. I began my journey as a content creator at the age of 40, he shared.

Ankur Warikoo is now a YouTuber, entrepreneur, and author. He is the former CEO of Groupon India, and co-founder & former CEO of Nearbuy. He is the author of two books–Do Epic Shit, Get Epic Shit Done.

Speaking to Shubhraa he gave three tips to be a successful entrepreneur. Building something that helps people will work for you. Build a good organization culture from the very first day so that culture will bail you out in a crisis. Get prepared to handle when things go wrong, which inevitably go wrong when trying out entrepreneurship. You cannot live an air-purified life. You must get trained to handle the difficulties of life, he said.

Later he answered the questions of the participants.

Earlier welcoming the gathering Shubhraa Maheshwari recalled Nelson Mandela’s famous quotation “the greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall”, she said that success is never easy one. There are no shortcuts to success. We will learn today from Ankur how to deal with failure.

Why do we want to go to Mars? Is their life beyond Earth? Nasa scientist answers

Former NASA scientist, and aerospace entrepreneur, Dr. Anita Sengupta was at the India Today Conclave 20223 in Delhi.

Speaking at the India Today Conclave, former Nasa scientist Dr. Anita Sengupta said that the nature of humanity is to explore and the next phase is exploring space and Mars is the closest one we want to go to.

“The nature of humanity is to explore. In the past, we explored continents, next phase is to explore space, and its natural for us to expand as a species and one of the easiest places to get to and set up a colony is Mars. It’s in the nature of humanity to explore and push the envelope,” Dr. Sengupta said.

Dr. Anita Sengupta was at the India Today Conclave 2023 in Delhi. She discussed Mars landings and inventing electric planes on Earth. She was part of the Curiosity mission which landed on Mars in 2012 and was responsible for developing the crane, which landed the rover on the Red Planet.

She led a team of scientists that were part of creating the coldest lab in the universe, which is currently on the International Space Station and being used for cutting-edge research.

Speaking on the chances of finding life beyond Earth, Dr. Sengupta said, “I believe we are not alone in the universe.”

She added that she was working on a cryo explorer for Jupiter’s moon Europa, which has a liquid water ocean, and “I think when we send something to nail through the ice, we will find some form of lifeform. It will not be intelligent like us, but it will be an organism and that will change our perspective. It is not just about Earth that life exists, it could be in many other places beyond our solar system and other galaxies.”

Speaking on space missions headed to outer space, she said that there are plumes that have been seen on one of Saturn’s moons Enceladus, and it is very likely “we could find organic or single-celled organisms in those oceans.”

Talking about her work around hydroplanes researching hydrogen fuel cells for light helicopters that are emission-free, she said that hydrogen fuel cell technology was developed for the space program and is an efficient form of energy storage. “We are going to have our first flight this year and it not only supports aircraft and helicopters but also vehicles operating on diesel. It has the ability to decarbonize ground transport,” Dr. Sengupta said.

Talking about scaling up the hydrogen fuel cell technology, Dr. Sengupta said, “We are starting small to get the product sooner into the market.” Smaller aircraft flying at 10,000-20,000 feet altitude could see the technology being used first.

How Obesity Leads to Spine Problems

By  Dr. Arvind G Kulkarni, ‘Head of Mumbai Spine Scoliosis & Disc Replacement Centre, Bombay Hospital, Mumbai

Patients who are overweight or obese and suffer from back pain or spinal problems may not be aware that it’s their excess weight that is actually contributing to their spine problems. Little do they realize that obesity is like a “vicious circle” because if they exercise, they might experience fatigue, shortness of breath, etc., and if they don’t; then it may cause chronic conditions of the back and spine as lack of exercise contributes to more weight which exerts more stress on the spine.

Basically, for people who are overweight, every extra inch adds strain to the muscles and ligaments in the back as due to obesity the spine tends to become tilted and stressed unevenly to an extent that over time, the back may lose its proper support. Some of the most common obesity-related problems include musculoskeletal and joint-related pains like arthritis of the spine, sciatica, and low back pain from a herniated disc, problems of a degenerative disc, etc.

Obesity aggravates back pain and problems in particular because the extra weight around the stomach pulls the pelvis forward which in return strains the lower back, thus causing pain. Also, the vertebral disc of an obese individual gets weak or damaged much faster causing a variety of problems. So, if we put it in layman’s language, it’s our spine that supports much of the body’s weight. Extra weight means extra pressure and stress on the spine which causes degenerative changes in the vertebral column. And, for those who are morbidly obese, chances of potential injury to the spine is even greater. Excess weight can even worsen pre-existing spinal issues too.

Obesity and Back Surgery

When it comes to obese patients (especially the ones whose BMIs are higher than 30), are certainly at a higher risk for complications and infections during spine surgery as compared to patients who are not obese. They are even at the risk of developing perioperative complications. Though paying attention to shed a few kilos before undergoing back surgery may improve the healing process post-surgery, still it may pose a tremendous risk as the positioning of obese patients so as to obtain adequate surgical exposure during conventional spine surgery gets challenging. Besides, it’s difficult to gain access to a blood vessel to start an intravenous (IV) line in such overweight cases.

But, unlike traditional or conventional spine surgery, minimally invasive spine surgery (MIS) with navigation technique aids in adequate exposure without resorting to larger incisions which means minimal soft-tissue dissection, hence causing a short recovery period and therefore, short hospital stay. Also, pain and blood loss following an MIS procedure is greatly minimized, which allows patients to resume their activities more quickly.

Another advantage of using navigation technology is that it has reduced radiation exposure- both in the case of the patient and surgical team has been tremendously reduced. Such computer-based navigation technology helps in complex procedures of spinal surgery by guiding accurate screw/implant placement, especially where visualization is limited. Thus, the use of spinal navigation has reduced operative time, thereby, making spine surgery safer, more accurate, less invasive and the preferred choice of both surgeons and patients these days.

Stay Tuned With Spine Health

The best way to avoid weight related spine issues is to start off with a weight loss program. In addition to keeping regular track of BMI scale, patients should chart their weight and waist measurement on regular basis. They should eat nutritious and healthy diet, avoid junk food and restrict emotional binging. Exercising daily can help to shed a few kilos, but as a general rule, obese people should avoid high-impact exercises to protect the spine and joints. With the help of an instructor they can focus on exercises that help in strengthening of muscles. Weight loss surgery is an option for extreme cases. Keep in mind: healthy weight is a way to a healthy spine!

Celebrating the specially gifted, Mata Bhagwanti Chadha Niketan (MBCN) successfully concludes its 24th Annual Day

New Delhi, 20 March 2023: Mata Bhagwanti Chadha Niketan (MBCN), a charitable school for special children working under the aegis of Ponty Chadha Foundation (PCF) successfully organised its 24th Annual Day Function. With the theme – “Atrangi Pathshala”, the event extensively focused on ensuring participation of every child as per their abilities.

With dance performances and other cultural programmes highlighting the theme- “Atrangi Pathshala”, the students enthralled the parents and guests with their scintillating performances.

The event commenced with a welcome address by Dr Vandana Sharma, Director and Principal of MBCN School where she expressed her gratitude while welcoming the honourable guest of honour Mrs Lovely Chadha – Trustee Ponty Chadha Foundation. The same was followed by an annual award ceremony where various dignitaries were felicitated for their remarkable contribution to the organization.

There was also an annual award distribution ceremony wherein the school felicitated the teachers for their contributions and students for their achievements in arts and studies. The event witnessed the participation of over 200+ students.

While Ms Amreen Naseem bagged the award for the Teacher of the Year, Mr and Mrs Sandeep and Nandini Tiwari won the Parents of the Year award and Shivam Verma was recognised as the Student of the Year. Other awards such as Attendant of the Year, Trainee of the Year, Dancer of the Year and award for excellence in creativity were also presented to the respective winners during the felicitation ceremony.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Vandana Sharma, Director and Principal, of MBCN School, said” Social inclusion, independence and acceptance have always been at the forefront of our school and we strive to provide our kids an environment where they can learn, grow and build a life of dignity and pride. We also strive to empower and make our students independent. Our 24th Annual Function – Atrangi Pathshala, is one such initiative where we have ensured that every child gets an opportunity to express and perform as per his/her abilities. We will continue to work towards channelizing our efforts in order to empower the kids in future as well”.

MBCN is an educational cornerstone of providing holistic ground for the well-rounded development of children with special needs. The school provides rehabilitation services and support towards mental health, academic education, life skill development, and behaviour management. The rehabilitation services include early intervention, Speech therapy, Special education, Sports training, Physiotherapy, Yoga Therapy, Occupational therapy, Counselling, and Vocational training.

Since its inception, thousands of children with various disabilities have been rehabilitated in the community and family after achieving their full potential towards self-dependency.

WE Hub launches Project Ujaagar in collaboration with SAFA society to democratize women-led businesses in Telangana.

Hyderabad, India, March 20, 2023 – WE Hub, India’s first and only state-led incubator, by the Government of Telangana, in partnership with SAFA Society, has today launched Project Ujaagar, a new initiative to formalise and improve financial literacy for minority women-led businesses in Telangana. The programme aims to improve the socio-economic conditions of the minority community’s infrastructure and promote entrepreneurship among minority women by providing various programmes and amenities to improve their quality of life.

The project was launched by Dr Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary, ITE&C Department, Government of Telangana, during an event held at WE Hub. The event included a welcome address by Ms. Deepthi Ravula, CEO, of WE Hub, and addresses by Chief Guest Dr Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, and Guest of Honour Shri. Amir Ullah Khan, IAS (Retd.), among others.

The 1.5-month-long intervention programme, consisting of four fundamental tracks conducted weekly, will cover topics such as statutory compliances, business models, marketing and sales, legal and finances, and upskilling. It will also provide tailored programmes at no cost to participants, introduce essential guidance and facilities to promote business, build a strong community of founders, and induce skill development through building a business.

During the launch event, Dr Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary, ITE&C Department, Government of Telangana, said, “WE Hub will validate and support women to scale their current businesses and encourage new ones. The only ask from entrepreneurs is to stay consistent, make use of the opportunities, and advance further in terms of socio-economic status.”

Deepthi Ravula, the CEO, of WE Hub, said, “We’ve observed over the past five years that businesses led by women often lack proper registration, financial literacy, accounting skills, and tools to enhance their operations. Our partnership project, Ujaagar, with SAFA Society and WE Hub aims to tackle these challenges faced by women-led businesses in Telangana. By offering this programme, we aspire to create a robust community of founders who can learn from each other and grow together.”

The programme will target 150 aspiring women entrepreneurs or existing businesses per year and aim to formalise 50% of them. In addition, WE Hub will also be hosting WE Talks monthly or bimonthly, providing further opportunities for learning and growth.

Rubina Mazhar, founder and CEO of SAFA Society, said, “Partnerships help to align goals and complement each other. “The collaboration between WE HUB and SAFA will help SAFA’s micro-entrepreneurs explore business deeper, and WE HUB will attract a new demographic and dimension to its model.”

Over the past 5 years, WE HUB has incubated 3194 start-ups by women founders and successfully engaged with over 5,000 women entrepreneurs, 1247 students, 986 social impact entrepreneurs, and 609 urban entrepreneurs. The incubator has been actively working towards enabling Women-led start-ups across sectors to scale and accelerate through global market access.

KISNA Hosts Cluster Meeting for its retail partners in Karnataka.

Bengaluru, 20 March 2023 – KISNA Diamond and Gold Jewellery from Hari Krishna Group hosted a Karnataka cluster meet for its key retailers in Karnataka. The main objective of this cluster meeting was to offer a platform for an insightful discussion on industry trends and to collaborate with its loyal and long-standing business partners for the successful roll out of KISNA franchise stores.

Kisna from Hari Krishna Group is a reputed jewellery brand since 2005, with a wide distribution to 3,500+ retailers across the country making it the largest distributed diamond jewellery brand in India. KISNA has been growing exponentially by driving business growth through a retailer-enabled franchise model. In 2022, KISNA began its expansion by launching its first store in Siliguri followed by Hyderabad, Hisar, Ayodhya and Bareilly.

The business cluster was graced by Mr Ghanshyam Dholakia, Founder & Managing Director, Hari Krishna Group and Mr Parag Shah, Director, of Kisna Gold & Diamond Jewellery. Engaging discussions took place on the industry overview and KISNA’s product offerings, services and business development. A jewellery exhibition was also organized to showcase a new range of impeccable and unique designs by KISNA for the retailers of Karnataka with an intent to make certified and affordable diamond jewellery accessible to their consumers in the state. Through this meeting, various retailers in Karnataka have expressed interest in creating KISNA brand corners in their stores.

Mr Ghanshyam Dholakia, Founder and Managing Director, Hari Krishna Group. said, “Karnataka possess huge potential for the growth of the Indian economy and it was a privilege to host a cluster meeting for our valued retailers in this region. We are optimistic that the business synergies discussed during the meeting will lead to the expansion and development of the company and the retailers.’’

Mr Parag Shah, Director, of Kisna Gold & Diamond Jewellery said, “With this business conclave, we aim to bring together our retailers of Karnataka under one platform to interact, learn, grow and explore more business opportunities with KISNA. The company is focusing towards the rapid expansion of its franchise operations and to have the widest KISNA Franchised Retail Chain across the country. We take this opportunity to invite our business partner to become a franchise partner of KISNA Diamond & Gold Jewellery’’

Pvr Cinemas Launches a Sustainability Campaign as Part of Its Commitment to Combat Climate Change

India, 20 march 2023: In a unique and disruptive Sustainability initiative, PVR INOX Limited, the largest and the most premium cinema exhibition company in India (after the merger with INOX Leisure Limited), has joined hands with Bollywood star and passionate Climate Warrior Bhumi Pednekar, to spread awareness among its patrons about the harmful effects of climate change, inspiring them to make sustainable lifestyle choices to help conserve the environment.

The brand has rolled out 6 versions of a multi-media consumer campaign, each featuring one initiative undertaken by PVR, with Bhumi Pednekar giving a “call to action” through the Campaign’s handle #YourTurnToAct. The campaign was unveiled today at PVR Plaza, New Delhi by Ms. Bhumi Pednekar and Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Executive Director, PVR INOX Limited. PVR will be contributing valuable screen time towards this campaign at its pan India theatres reaching every part of the country to promote sustainable behavior among cinegoers.

Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Executive Director, PVR INOX Limited said, “We are happy to partner with one of the finest actresses of Indian film industry and climate warrior, Ms. Bhumi Pednekar, for the noble cause of creating awareness around climate change. As a responsible Corporate Citizen, PVR is committed to making tangible progress towards reducing the ecological footprint by pursuing sustainable activities in its operations, engaging in partnerships that facilitate progress towards decarbonisation of our operations.”

Adding, he said, “In addition, PVR has decided to leverage its position as the leading cinema company to inspire our audiences to make sustainable choices that will reduce the carbon footprint at an individual level to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

The company is making conscious choices as part of its business practices ensuring that it minimizes harmful effects on the environment across its operations. These include a number of initiatives around energy and water conservation like IOT based Centralized Energy Pressure and Temperature Monitoring, Variable frequency Drives in AHUs, Occupancy Sensors in washrooms besides water flow restrictors in wash basin taps to conserve tap water. Xenon lamp Digital Projectors are being replaced with Laser Projectors that consume lesser power. Single-use plastic in F&B served to customers has been replaced by sugarcane bagasse food containers, coated Paper straws made of biodegradable polymers, in addition to paperless ticketing and QR code entry to gain access to its cinemas.

Ms. Bhumi Pednekar, Actress and Climate Warrior who is featured in the film said, “I am thrilled to be a part of a focused sustainability campaign by PVR Cinemas. As leaders in the multiplex exhibition space, their initiatives to reduce power consumption and usage of green measures like sugarcane bagasse containers emphasizes on the need to move towards sustainable living. #YourTurnToAct is progressive and easy to follow. I will always support determined moves to raise awareness around climate change in India and this one touched my heart. There is no Planet B – so the turn to act is now before it’s too late.”

Among various initiatives being undertaken by PVR, one of the recent ones is the introduction of uniforms made from fabric woven out of yarn from recycled PET bottles. In a span of just 9 months, PVR has been instrumental in recycling 38,000 PET bottles on account of enabling 1000 of its staff to wear sustainable uniforms made out of this fabric (65% recycled polyester and 35% cotton). At an all India level, 25 cinemas across 20 cities have completely switched to uniforms made from this fabric. Going forward, all mainstream cinema uniforms will be replaced by these uniforms.

The campaign also showcases various initiatives the company is taking as a responsible corporate citizen to mitigate the impact of climate change and leverage its unique position to reach out to its extensive audience to make them aware of the problem and inspire them to make behavioral changes by adopting sustainable life choices. People are encouraged to use #YourTurnToAct to share how the campaign has inspired them to make sustainable choices.