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Archives for March 2020

LEVELLING UP! DRIVING BUSINESS GROWTH

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A special session organised by BCIC Membership Expert Committee

St. Francis College, Koramangala

The only source of KNOWLEDGE is EXPERIENCE… Albert Einstein

Experiences and strategies shared by the thought leaders from across industries during the Levelling Up and Driving Business Growth sessions on overcoming the economic distress helped all the participants, gain insights into plans of action for their businesses.

The Bangalore Chamber for Industry and Commerce under the aegis of its Membership Expert Committee, organised a special session on Levelling Up! Driving Business Growth on 13th of March 2020 at St. Francis College auditorium. Thought leaders from across the Chamber’s member organisations discussed the strategies and plans of action during the two panel discussions.

Driving Growth through Innovation and Partnerships was the first panel discussion led by Mr. Devesh Agarwal, President BCIC and Managing Director, Jesons Technologies Pvt. Ltd., with panellists including Mr. Augustus Azaraiah, IBM, Mr. Girish Nuli, Antara Software and Consulting, Mr. Ramesh Saligrama, Bosch Limited and Mr. Badrinath N.R, Singhvi, Dev & Unni LLP participated while Mr. Bharath Shivappa moderated the session. Leaders shared on how their organisations are able to see major positive strides being made through innovation and partnerships. They also discussed the macro strategies that allowed them to dream big, while leverage their existing and new relationships to achieve extended business objectives.

Sameera Fernandes, Co-Chair, Membership Expert Committee & Director – Strategy & Planning – St. Francis College Koramangala moderated the second panel discussion on “Building Future Ready Organisations”, led by Mr. T.R. Parasuraman, Sr. Vice President, BCIC and Jt. Managing Director, Toyota Industries Engines India Ltd., and panellists including Dr. L. Ravindran, Wealthmax Enterprises Management, Mr. Vineet Verma, Brigade Hospitality, Mr. Naresh Pagariya, Kwality Foods, Mr. B. Indushekar, Volvo Group, Dr. S. Devarajan, TVS Motors. This panel focused on the importance of process implementation across organisation to improve the overall contribution of employees in achieving the common shared business objective. The discussions also brought out the benefits of employee engagement and cross skilling to ensure that the teams are ready for the future challenges while working with well spread outsourcing strategies.

The question-answer session after each panel discussion witnessed passionate and concerned voices of the participants, while the panellists sharing their experience and their ideas for most of the questions raised. All-in-all, this special session served as a great eye-opener and a loud wake-up-call for the participants. Networking time, both before the start of the session and post completion was well utilised by the delegates through peer-to-peer interactions and exchange of views on various topics.

Coronavirus scare: Varsities, malls, pubs, cinema halls in Karnataka to be shut for a week

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Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who held a high-level meeting to review the precautionary measures following India’s first COVID-19 death reported in Kalaburgi, announced the decision. 

Coronavirus, Karnataka CM

BENGALURU: The state government has ordered the closure of all universities, malls, cinema halls, pubs, nightclubs and places of entertainment which encourage huge gatherings across the state from Saturday for the next one week to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who held a high-level meeting to review the precautionary measures following India’s first COVID-19 death reported in Kalaburgi, announced the decision. 

The CM said the decision has been taken in the public interest after consulting experts. The CM said universities too will be closed and people have been advised against traveling.

Schools are already declared closed except for students of class 7 to 9 who will attend school only for examinations. The CM on Friday said colleges too will be closed for a week. 

SSLC examinations will be conducted as scheduled. However, government offices will remain open and there will be no change in the ongoing legislative session. “The situation will be reviewed after one week,” the CM said.

Coronavirus pandemic: India suspends all tourist visas till April 15, issues new advisory

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The decision was taken at the meeting of group of ministers held here under the chairmanship of Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.

A worker wearing protective gears sprays disinfectant as a precaution on a train against the new coronavirus at Suseo Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020.

NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday suspended all tourist visas till April 15 in a bid to contain spread of novel coronavirus, according to an official statement.

The suspension will come into effect from 1200 GMT on March 13 at the port of departure.

The decision was taken at the meeting of group of ministers held here under the chairmanship of Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.

“All existing visas, except diplomatic, official, UN/International organisations, employment and project visas stand suspended till 15th April 2020. This will come into effect from 1200 GMT on 13th March 2020 at the port of departure,” the statement said.

Visa-free travel facility granted to OCI card holders is also kept in abeyance till April 15.

Any foreign national who intends to travel to India for compelling reason may contact the nearest Indian Mission, the release said, adding that all incoming travellers, including Indian nationals, arriving from or having visited China, Italy, Iran, Republic of Korea, France, Spain and Germany after February 15 will be quarantined for a minimum period of 14 days.

Incoming travelers, including Indian nationals, are advised to avoid non-essential travel and are informed that they can be quarantined for a minimum of 14 days on their arrival in India.

International traffic through land borders will be restricted to Designated check posts with robust screening facilities. These will be notified separately by M/o Home Affairs.

Widespread forced labour by Uighur Muslim detainees in China, finds US report

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The US already bans imports made with forced labour, but a bipartisan group of lawmakers said virtually anything coming from Xinjiang should be considered tainted by the mass repression of Uighurs.

uighur muslims

WASHINGTON: US lawmakers have pushed for a ban on imports from a vast area of northwestern China because of the widespread use of forced labour in a region where the communist government has detained more than a million people in a campaign against ethnic minorities.

The US already bans imports made with forced labour, but a bipartisan group of lawmakers said virtually anything coming from Xinjiang, including goods sold by major American and global consumer brands, should be considered tainted by the mass detention and repression of Uighurs and other ethnic minorities.

“We know forced labour is widespread and systematic and exists both within and outside the mass internment camps,” said Rep.

Jim McGovern on Wednesday, referring to detention centres where the Chinese government is subjecting hundreds of thousands of Uighurs to abusive conditions, torture and political indoctrination.

McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts, is co-chairman of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which released a report that documented forced labour.

It found it in the mass internment camps, on farms in Xinjiang, that produce cotton for the global market as well as factories elsewhere in the country.

The report said major brands, including Coca-Cola, Patagonia and Nike, are suspected of directly or indirectly relying on forced labour.

The commission relied on outside experts, satellite imagery, official reports and accounts from The Associated Press and other media organisations.

Bipartisan legislation introduced Wednesday would treat all goods from Xinjiang, including clothing and electronic goods sold by major US and global brands, as presumed to be banned unless they were certified by Customs and Border Protection.

“It shifts the burden of proof and the presumption that, given these practices and what’s detailed in this report, we should assume that anything that is produced in this region is done so through forced labour,” said Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who is the other co-chairman of the commission.

It’s not clear when Congress would take up the bill.

Legislation that would more broadly address China’s campaign against the Uighurs passed without opposition last year, but the House and Senate must still reconcile different versions and send it to the president.

A report earlier this month from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute estimated that more than 80,000 Uighurs were transferred from Xinjiang to factories across China between 2017 and 2019.

The report said it found “conditions that strongly suggest forced labour” consistent with International Labor Organization definitions.

Separately, the AP reported last week that a sprawling Chinese factor that turns out computer screens, cameras and fingerprint scanners for global tech giants also appears to be holding Uighurs and other ethnic minorities under coercive conditions.

Corporations mentioned in the report have had varied responses.

Coca-Cola said in a statement it prohibits the use of all forms of forced labour and said its sugar supplier in Xinjiang passed an internal audit.

In January 2019, Badger Sportswear, a leading supplier of T-shirts and other apparel to US college bookstores, cut ties with a Chinese company after an AP investigation traced shipments from a factory inside an internment camp in Xinjiang.

Nike said in a statement that it does not directly source any products in the Xinjiang region and has been reviewing suppliers outside the area “to identify and assess potential risks” to Uighurs and other minorities amid reports that some have been sent to other parts of China to work under repressive conditions.

“Nike is committed to upholding international labor standards and we are continuing to evaluate how to best monitor our compliance standards in light of the complexity of this situation,” the company said.

Patagonia said it works with the Fair Labor Association to ensure materials in its supply chain are not produced with forced labour and that none of its finished products comes from Xinjiang.

“We support the Fair Labor Association’s call for an immediate end to forced labour and other human rights abuses against Uighurs in China,” the company said in a statement.

“We’ve been horrified by what we’ve read in the media regarding a systemic, planned effort to force the country’s population of ethnic minorities into lives of factory work and a program to change their basic beliefs.”

A coalition of retailing and manufacturing groups said in a joint statement that they do not tolerate forced labour and that companies are working with experts to ensure the fair treatment of workers in their supply chains.

It called on the US government to create a working group that would find “constructive solutions” but did not directly address the proposed legislation.

“The conditions in Xinjiang and the treatment of ethnic minority workers from the region present profound challenges to the integrity of the global supply chain, including issues of transparency, access, and auditing,” it said.

“Accepting the status quo is not an option.”

China has long suspected that Uighurs, who are predominantly Muslim and culturally and ethnically distinct from the majority Han Chinese population, of harbouring separatist tendencies.

Karnataka hasn’t declared coronavirus an epidemic: Commissioner

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Commissioner for Health and Family Welfare Services Pankaj Kumar Pandey urged the public not to believe in hearsay, but only in official communication.

BENGALURU: Social media platforms almost broke into frenzy after a news channel erroneously reported blanket emergency measures in the state on Wednesday. This came in wake of at least four positive cases of COVID-19 in Bengaluru.

Commissioner for Health and Family Welfare Services Pankaj Kumar Pandey urged the public not to believe in hearsay, but only in official communication.

“We have not declared of state emergency. Please do not believe in these kind of news. Offices, schools will stay open. If the situation demands (that they be closed), we will come out with an official communication,” said Pandey in a video that he put out on Wednesday to clear the air.

“On reports that Karnataka Government declared COVID-19 as state epidemic” and announced closure of schools and offices” I would like to say this is completely fake news and there is no truth in it. Any communication will come from the government in the press briefing that takes place every day,” he said.
He assured that no emergency has been declared and the offices schools and other institutions will stay open.

Jyotiraditya Scindia to file nomination papers for Rajya Sabha polls on Friday

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After resigning from the Congress on Tuesday morning, Scindia joined the BJP in presence of party president J P Nadda in Delhi.

BHOPAL: Former Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who joined the BJP on Wednesday, will file his nomination papers for the March 26 Rajya Sabha polls from Madhya Pradesh here on Friday, said a saffron party spokesman.

Earlier on Wednesday, the BJP named Scindia as its Rajya Sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh, where three seats are falling vacant, soon after he joined the party.

After resigning from the Congress on Tuesday morning, Scindia joined the BJP in presence of party president J P Nadda in Delhi.

Madhya Pradesh BJP Media Cell in-charge Lokendra Parashar said the 49-year-old former Lok Sabha MP will file his nomination papers on Friday afternoon.

“Scindia ji will file the nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha polls after garlanding the statues of BJP leaders, including Deendayal Upadhyaya and Rajmata Scindia, around noon on Friday,” Parashar said.

Scindia will arrive in Bhopal around 3 pm on Thursday, he said.

This will be former Congress leader’s first visit to the state capital after joining the BJP.

From the airport, Scindia will reach state BJP headquarters, Deendayal Parisar, where he will be accorded welcome at a function.

Of the three seats falling vacant in the state, two are held by the BJP and one by the Congress.

The day Scindia joined the BJP, the Kamal Nath government transferred collectors of five districts – Guna, Gwalior, Neemuch, Vidisha and Harda.

According to orders issued by Chief Secretary S R Mohanty, Guna collector Bhaskar Lakshkar has been made deputy secretary in the state secretariat in Bhopal.

Similarly, Gwalior collector Anurag Chowdhary has been transferred to the state secretariat.

Scindia represented Guna four times in the Lok Sabha but lost from the seat in the 2019 parliamentary elections.

Gwalior is the native district of the Scindias, erstwhile royals of the princely state of Gwalior.

District collector of Vidisha, Kaushlendra Singh, has been transferred to Gwalior in the same post.

Harda collector S Vishwanathan has been moved to Guna in the same capacity.

Anurag Verma, a deputy secretary in the state secretariat, has been named the new Harda collector.

Jitendra Singh Raje, a 2007-batch IAS officer, has been named the new Neemuch collector.

He will succeed Ajay Gangwar, who has been made divisional commissioner of Sagar.

Meeting on March 14 to decide the fate of IPL

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With more coronavirus cases coming out in the open, the IPL governing council to consider proposals of holding matched behind closed doors.

Former India cricketer Brijesh Patel

CHENNAI: As the Maharashtra government considered the proposal to host all IPL matches in Mumbai behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the BCCI called an IPL Governing Council meeting on Saturday.

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah will be present in the meeting to be chaired by IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel at the board’s headquarters in Mumbai.

Though a final decision on matches in Mumbai is likely to be taken on Thursday, it is understood that the state governments of Rajasthan, Delhi and Karnataka are exploring the option of giving a go-ahead to the IPL if it is played behind closed doors.

Jaipur, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru — host cities — have already reported positive coronavirus cases.

On Wednesday, there were two new cases reported in Mumbai. This leaves Chennai, Kolkata, Chandigarh and Guwahati as IPL host cities to not have any reported any case so far.

Although the central government hasn’t issued any restrictions or advisories to the BCCI with regards to the IPL, the onus rests on the respective state governments to take the final call on whether to host it or not.

There are concerned voices in the BCCI that even if one state puts a restriction, they expect the others to follow suit.

“There hasn’t been any advisory from the government and if there is one, we will follow it. But for a tournament that is still weeks away, there is no need to take an immediate call. We will discuss the pros and cons at the meeting. If you look at it, cricketing events across the globe are going on as per plans,” Patel told this newspaper.

Though the IPL has come under the scanner, the Road Safety World Series currently underway at the Wankhede and DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai hasn’t seen any restrictions from the local government.

Even though only retired cricketers are featuring in the tournament, the matches have attracted good turnouts thanks to the presence of Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara among others.

The BCCI believes that with all these activities going on, the IPL is being dragged in only because of its popularity.

There are six more matches remaining in the Road Safety World Series with Pune set to host four of them.

Moreover, the BCCI officials also point out that Indian Super League matches have gone ahead without anyone raising similar concerns, especially at a time when the number of cases is only increasing.

“There are events happening now, which nobody talks about. But for a tournament that is still three weeks away, everyone wants to stop it,” a BCCI official said.

While talks of postponement of the IPL aren’t being discussed as of now, the franchises believe there is not much that they can do. “We have very little say with regards to what the governing council decides. But if they decide that matches will be played behind close doors, then so be it. At least, the season will go ahead. There will be losses, but it is better than not playing at all,” a franchise official said.

As reported by this newspaper, the BCCI believes it can wait until the last minute before taking any decision. But there is acceptance of the fact that their hands will be tied on that front.

Coronavirus patients are stable, showing signs of recovery: Harsh Vardhan

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The patients, the Health Ministry said, expressed their satisfaction with the treatment being given to them.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.

NEW DELHI: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan spoke to a few coronavirus patients admitted at Medanta and Safdarjung hospitals through video calls on Tuesday and said all the people infected by the disease were stable and showing signs of recovery.

Vardhan also called up Health Ministers of Delhi, Haryana, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh as well as Lt Governors of Ladakh, and Jammu & Kashmir to ascertain the status of the COVID-19 affected patients kept in isolation centres in hospitals, the health ministry said.

A total of 61 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the country till now, the ministry said, adding a few more cases were being re-tested for confirmation.

While monitoring the COVID-19 situation from his office in the Health Ministry, Vardhan spoke to a few patients through video calls to enquire about their health and their satisfaction with the treatment being given at the isolation wards.

“While speaking to the patients, he conveyed that though he wanted to visit them personally, he was dissuaded by the hospital authorities from the visit as they felt that such a visit may hinder regular treatment arrangements for the patients,” the statement said.

The patients, the ministry said, expressed their satisfaction with the treatment being given to them.

They also appreciated the role of the government for the timely assistance offered to them and about the regular review of their status thrice a day.

Vardhan also extended Holi greetings to them on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and himself.

Vardhan also spoke to the health ministers and the Lieutenant Governors to get feedback about the condition of the patients and problems being faced, if any, by the states and Union territories in availability of required supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE), masks, etc. and capacity building of health workers, the statement stated.

The Health Ministers and LGs while giving details of the treatment status stated that the patients are recovering well and are stable.

The patients have not at all faced problems during their treatment in hospitals or their stay in quarantine centres.

Vardhan lauded the efforts being made by the states and stated that with consistent and coordinated efforts of Central Government and States/ UTs, valuable lives of not only Indians but also foreign nationals visiting India, have been taken care off.

He also urged them to spread awareness about COVID-19 amongst the general public and persuade them to avoid crowded gatherings as well as follow basic principles of personal hygiene and prevention measures.

Global coronavirus toll tops 4,000 with 17 more deaths in China

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There were just 19 fresh cases reported on Tuesday, the lowest number since the government started tallying infections on January 21, according to the National Health Commission.

Residents go about their grocery shopping at a supermarket in Beijing on Sunday

BEIJING: The global death toll from the new coronavirus passed 4,000 on Tuesday, according to AFP figures, as China reported 17 new deaths. The toll reached 4,011 in the outbreak that has spread to over 100 countries with more than 110,000 cases of infection.

The epidemic has disrupted global travel and forced the cancellation of everything from conferences to sporting events. But in China, new cases have steadily declined in recent weeks, in a sign that the country’s unprecedented lockdown measures appear to be working.

There were just 19 fresh cases reported on Tuesday, the lowest number since the government started tallying infections on January 21, according to the National Health Commission. All the new infections were in the virus epicentre, the central city of Wuhan, except for two imported cases brought in from overseas.

This means there were no indigenous cases in the rest of the country. The 17 new deaths were all in central Hubei province – 16 in Wuhan, the capital of the province – bringing the country’s nationwide toll to 3,136.
It is the lowest daily toll since late January.

More than 80,750 people have now been infected in China, which has imposed unprecedented lockdown measures to try to control the spread of the virus. But fears are growing that as cases of the disease grow overseas, China’s progress could be undermined by the virus being brought back into the country from other nations.

There have now been 69 imported cases, according to Chinese health officials. The World Health Organization said Monday that more than 70 percent of those infected with the new coronavirus in China have recovered, adding that the country was “bringing its epidemic under control”.

And there were tentative signs in recent days that some of the measures to restrict the movement and gathering of people could be lifted, with some regions reopening schools or announcing dates to resume classes.

Most of the 16 makeshift hospitals opened in Wuhan have been closed — with the last two expected to shut Tuesday. And Shanghai Disney said it was reopening its shopping and entertainment Disneytown zone in the “first step of a phased reopening”, although the amusement park remains closed.

American technology company Apple Inc reopened 90 per cent of its 42 retail stores in the Chinese mainland on Monday with the novel coronavirus outbreak showing signs of abating.

Apple reopened 38 Apple stores which were temporarily closed after the epidemic, state-run China Daily reported.

Only four stores remain closed.

Apple announced closures of all its stores when the COVID-19 outbreak reached its peak in January.

The move to reopen follows Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook’s statement that China is getting the virus situation under control, and Apple manufacturing units in China will reopen.

Contrary to the earlier market forecast that the epidemic will heavily hurt smartphone sales in China, some experts said its negative impacts may be lower than expected, the China Daily reported.

As consumers stay at home for self-quarantine or to avoid infection, they are spending far more time with their smartphones.

They have stronger demand to upgrade their devices that are relatively old or not performing very well, an independent telecom analyst Fu Liang told the daily.

Karnataka traces 2,678 people in contact with coronavirus positive cases

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Karnataka government has asked the IT and biotechnology companies to give a list of employees who travelled to COVID-19 affected countries after February 21.

Passengers wear masks as preventive against coronavirus

BENGALURU: The Karnataka Health Department has traced a trail of 2,678 people who came in contact with the four positive coronavirus (COVID-19) people in the state, an official said on Tuesday.

“Four positive coronavirus cases identified in Bengaluru have left a trail of 2,678 people who came in contact with them,” the department’s Information, Education and Communication (IEC) special officer Suresh Shastri told IANS.

The four positive cases – a family of three and another man – have been quarantined.

A 46-year-old male with travel history to US via Dubai is the first positive coronavirus case in Karnataka, followed by a 47-year-old female, a contact of the first case and a 13-year-old girl, also a contact of the first case.

According to sources, the three are a family and the Health Department does not have the travel history of the woman and the girl.

Though the Health Department has traced 2,666 people who came in touch with the family, until now only two of the contacts of case one have displayed the virus symptoms, the woman and the girl.

The fourth positive case is a 50-year-old male with travel history to USA via London. The Health Department traced 12 people who came in touch with him but none of them have displayed coronavirus symptoms yet.

All the four positive coronavirus cases being monitored at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases in the city are Indian citizens.

As of Tuesday, the number of persons admitted to the institute for selected isolated observation are six, followed by one each at hospitals in Hassan, Dakshina Kannada and Bagalkote.

“As of Monday, 446 samples of symptomatic persons have been sent for testing, of which 389 have returned negative,” said a statement issued by the Health Department said.

As many as 760 people are going through home quarantine across the state while 1,048 people have enrolled for observation.

Across the state, 95,151 passengers have been thermal-screened for the virus till now at the Kempegowda International Airport in the city and the Mangaluru International Airport.

Another 5,368 passengers were also checked for the virus at Karwar and Mangaluru seaports.

Aimed at reinforcing coronavirus prevention measures, the state government added three more Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) laboratories to receive and test coronavirus samples.

A medical college each in Mysuru, Hassan and Shivamogga are also testing the samples.

The state government also sent a bulk text message to all ASHA workers to create awareness about coronavirus among the masses and communities.

Karnataka government also asked the IT and biotechnology companies to give a list of employees who travelled to COVID-19 affected countries after February 21.

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