New Delhi, A new hairdryer made of 23.75 karat gold has been launched.

Dyson has introduced the Dyson Supersonic™ 23.75 karat gold hair dryer. Designed by James Dyson and priced at Rs 37,900, the product is gold leafed using a traditional hand-gilding method and is the first of its kind.

“Gold is one of the most resilient materials in the world and has been used in design, sculpture and architecture for centuries. As an element, I’m fascinated by its properties. Like the engineering process we pride ourselves on, gilding is a true example of meticulous craftsmanship,” said James Dyson in a statement.

Dyson design engineers and model makers first learned the skills for gilding under a master guilder, learning the process and technique to gild. Once learnt, the design and engineering team sought how to scale the process, making it more repeatable and perfecting the surface finish specifically for this application.

“We aren’t afraid to take on a new challenge. We weren’t experts in gold or gold leafing but we broke down the technique into individual steps to understand how each parameter affects the finish and how we could best apply it to our hair dryer.

“Using our expertise in design processes, adhesives, paint and model making, we managed to learn a very traditional skill and translate it to a 21st century application,” said Design and Engineering Lead Britta Stockinger.

(IANS)

About 45 bankrupt companies have been approved for revival under the new insolvency law and this will recover more than Rs 50,000 crore, or 50 per cent of the total claim of creditors, a senior official has said.

“The recovery from these 45 companies approved for resolution is about 50 per cent of the total claims of the creditors, which is very good,” Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) Chairperson M.S. Sahoo told IANS in an interview.

About 1,100 companies have been admitted in the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) since the implementation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) in 2016 and the admission of the first company in January 2017, Sahoo said.

“More than 180 companies have been sent for liquidation. Currently, there are about 800 corporates undergoing CIRP and about 100 cases have been closed on appeal or review as they should not have been admitted in the first instance,” Sahoo said.

Without revealing further details about the recent months, Sahoo said the recovery in 34 companies that were approved for resolution till June end was about 56 per cent, which was much higher than the liquidation value of these stressed assets.

The resolution plans for the 34 companies assure recovery of Rs 49,826 crore against the total creditors’ claim of Rs 89,486 crore, IBBI data shows. With liquidation value of these 34 companies at Rs 21,000 crore, the recovery stands at 237 per cent.

However, the 136 companies sent for liquidation till June end are likely to recover less than Rs 5,000 crore, about nine per cent of the total admitted claims against these 136 companies at around Rs 57,600 crore, as per IBBI data for June quarter.

“Of the 136 companies sent for liquidation, 110 companies were already either in Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) or were non-functional. And, most of these (106) had a resolution value less than the liquidation value,” Sahoo said.

On state-run banks such as SBI and PNB planning to sell their non-performing assets (NPAs) to asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) and others, the IBBI chief said it was a good development as people should have options to select from.

“That is good. People should have options. IBC should be another competitive option to them. In some cases, IBC is better, somewhere Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) is better, sometimes going to ARC is better, somewhere Sashakt scheme is better.”

IANS

Regulation has an unfortunate, negative connotation to it. It brings to mind an authoritarian image with regards to the government. That is definitely not how it should be. It must be accepted that regulation has a great positive impact on society and the economy. The economic crisis of 2008, which was effectively a failure of regulation, forcefully underlines this fact. One needs to see regulation as an enabler, even for businesses, and not as a deterrent.

It is only natural for a citizen to have inhibitions about the regulatory environment. However, such concerns can be allayed if the government ensures that the key elements for an efficient regulatory body are present. An OECD document, “Principles for the Governance of Regulators”, explains that the key elements for “better” regulatory outcomes are: Well-designed rules and regulations that are efficient and effective; appropriate institutional frameworks and related governance arrangements; effective, consistent and fair operational processes and practices; and lastly, high quality and empowered institutional capacity and resources, especially in the leadership.

Given that India has a very peculiar regulatory environment, due to the lack of uniformity and presence of diversity in the structures and functionality of regulatory bodies, it is necessary to not only ensure that the aforementioned necessary conditions are met, but that the regulatory bodies adapt with the dynamic environment and learn from one another. India has multiple regulatory authorities, which have been set up due to three primary reasons. One is for welfare, wherein they have been set up in the public interest; two, to counter anti-competitive forces; and, lastly, to prevent any form of market failure.

India’s regulatory environment took flight only with the advent of the economic reforms of 1991, which implies that the regulatory bodies are at a very nascent stage. For instance, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recently completed 20 years; the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) completed 10 years; while the Central Electricity Regulation Commission (CERC) has also been functioning for 20-odd years.

The tricky role of a regulator is to ensure the participation of the citizens, involve them in the process and enable them in the movement towards a better society and economy. The recent mammoth task taken up by FSSAI with its Eat Right Movement, which nudges the citizens and consumers to change their eating habits, is one example of how a regulatory body has been able to impact social and behavioural change that will culminate in a healthier nation and involves citizens.

It is not only about involving the citizens but also ensuring that they are be able to trust the regulatory bodies. As a case in point, TRAI has strengthened its administrative set-up for the purpose of internal audits. Similarly, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) now has an in-house transparency officer to cater to the same concern.

In a similar spirit of improved transparency, the regulatory bodies have adapted themselves to the ongoing increased reliance on technology and shifted to online portals and apps. This has not only made the processes and mechanisms smoother but has also reduced cumbersome paperwork.

For example, TRAI has whole host of online portals and apps, such as TRAI Analytics Portal and the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Portal. FSSAI has also incorporated facets of the online revolution within its system, wherein the licensing and registration of businesses can be done online via the Food Licensing and Registration Systems (FLRS) platform.

Finally, given that the regulatory environment is quite new, it is also crucial to continuously update policies and ensure laws are amended to be in sync with the changing economic and social environment. TRAI recently released a draft of the National Telecom Policy 2018. This is a step that every regulatory body needs to follow.

For India, the regulatory environment is growing, and newer, more innovative techniques are being adopted for the larger social good and to make the economy more competitive. For growth to be sustainable, all the regulatory bodies should learn from one another, adapt to the changing global environment and keep implementing innovative methods to counter issues as they arise. Most importantly, they must function as accountable, transparent and independent authorities.

IANS

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) on Wednesday opened on a positive note during the morning session of the trade.

The Sensex of the BSE opened at 36,936.64 points touched a high of 36,938.74 points and a low of 36,745.80 points.

The Sensex is trading at 36,789.92 points, up by 137.86 points or 0.38 per cent from its Tuesday’s close at 36,652.06 points.

On the other hand, the broader 51-scrip Nifty at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) opened at 11,145.55 points after closing at 11,067.45 points on Tuesday.

The Nifty is trading at 11,104.40 points in the morning.

(IANS)

The Union Communications Minister Manoj Sinha on Tuesday said foreign direct investment in the telecom sector rose nearly five times in the last three years.

Speaking at a seminar here on FDI in the telecom sector, he said India is the second largest telecommunications market in the world with around 1.18 billion customers.

“FDI in the telecom sector has grown nearly five times over the last three years – from $1.3 billion in 2015-16 to $ 6.2 billion in 2017-18 and we look forward to continuous inflow of FDI in the sector,” Sinha said speaking at a seminar here on FDI in the telecom sector.

“In addition to domestic investments in the sector, FDI being an important component of economic growth can play an important role in the sector as it has been doing,” he added.

Speaking at the seminar, Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, noted that foreign investment is necessary not only to supplement domestic capital, but also to secure scientific, technical and industrial knowledge.

(IANS)

The Dena Bank board on Monday approved the merger proposal with Bank of Baroda and Vijaya Bank proposed by the government last week.

The government last Monday announced the merger of three state-run banks — Dena Bank, Vijaya Bank and Bank of Baroda — that will make it the country’s third-largest bank with a combined business of Rs 14.82 lakh crore.

In a stock exchange filing, Dena Bank, the smallest of the three banks proposed to be merged, said the consolidation would enable creation of a bank with business scale comparable to global banks and capable of competing effectively in India and globally.

Dena Bank has a total business size of Rs 1.73 lakh crore and is also under the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on account of its high non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans, which for the Indian banking system as a whole have crossed the staggering level of Rs 10 lakh crore.

“To be more efficient in the changing environment, the banks in the public sector space need to be bigger to meet the credit needs of a growing economy, absorb shocks and have the capacity to raise resources without depending unduly on the exchequer.

“Consolidation would enable creation of a bank with business scale comparable to global banks and capable of competing effectively in India and globally,” the filing said.

“Amalgamation of our Bank with Bank of Baroda and Vijaya Bank would result in a strong amalgamated bank, equipped with financial cushion to deal with post-amalgamation requirements during the stabilisation phase.”

While making the merger proposal last week, Finance Minister Arun Jailtey said the consolidated entity’s capacity to absorb a weaker bank guided the decision “to propose this merger to the boards”.

The government said the amalgamated entity will have a net NPA ratio at 5.71 per cent, which is significantly better than the public sector banks’ (PSBs) average of 12.13 per cent, and declining further.

“The combined business of amalgamated entities would make it second-largest PSB of the country,” Dena Bank said.

This is the second such exercise in the last 18 months. In the previous mega merger, five associate banks and the Bharatiya Mahila Bank became part of the state-run State Bank of India on April 1, 2017, making the country’s largest lender among the world’s top 50 banks.

IANS

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will meet the heads of public sector banks (PSBs) on Tuesday to review their performance and to take stock of the sector reeling under non-performing assets (NPAs) and scams.

“Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will chair the Annual Review Meeting of the CEOs of PSBs scheduled to be held on Tuesday in New Delhi,” the Finance Ministry said in a tweet.

The meeting comes in the backdrop of huge losses reported by many of the PSBs in the previous fiscal, various allegations of frauds and scams, identification of higher NPAs, credit related issues and government-induced consolidation.

Last week, the government proposed the merger of three state-run banks – Dena Bank, Vijaya Bank and the Bank of Baroda – into an amalgamated entity through Alternative Mechanism, set up to fast-track consolidation to create strong lenders.

“The meeting is likely to discuss the challenges facing the banks like NPAs and credit growth. Steps taken by banks to recover the bad loans will also be reviewed,” said an official adding that the meeting with banks will happen at Vigyan Bhawan here.

(IANS)

Software major Infosys said on Tuesday that Australian Military Bank (AMB) in Sydney went live digitally on the Finacle cloud platform of its subsidiary EdgeVerve Systems.

“Our Finacle cloud software has enabled AMB offer world class banking experience on digital platform, implemented on the software as a service (Saas) model in 10 months,” said the city-based IT firm in a statement here.

As Australia’s longest serving defence financial institution, AMB has been serving its defence personnel and their families since 1959.

“Our financial software product (Finacle) has enabled the bank gain operational benefits and cost efficiencies besides enhanced security and scalability,” said the statement.

The Finacle solution has replaced the bank’s legacy systems to keep pace with new technology developments and allow a speedy response to market demands.

“The solution also enables open application programming interfaces (APIs) that overcome limitations for the bank’s ability to work with ecosystem partners,” noted the statement.

The bank has been processing about 40,000 mixed transactions per day, with 22,000 card transactions and nearly 7,000 composite payments transactions on average per day on the digital platform.

The system has helped the bank make the origination process simpler and drive the creation of a pipeline of 61 million Australian dollar worth of loans during the first month of using the new software.

“The bank is able to onboard new members and open accounts, complete with transactions enabled, within minutes,” added the statement.

(IANS)

A former content moderator at Facebook has sued the company alleging that moderators who face mental trauma after reviewing distressing images on the platform are not being properly protected by the social networking giant.

“Ex-contractor Selena Scola has sued Facebook for allegedly ‘ignoring its duty’ to protect moderators who deal with mental trauma after seeing disturbing imagery.

“Rather than create a safe environment, it’s producing a ‘revolving door of contractors’ who are permanently scarred by what they’ve seen, Scola’s lawyer Korey Nelson said,” Engadget reported on Tuesday.

According to the lawsuit, moderators at the social media giant under contract are “bombarded” with thousands of videos, images and livestreamed broadcasts of child sexual abuse, rape, torture, bestiality, beheadings, suicide and murder.

The company has said it was “reviewing” the lawsuit and took moderator support “seriously” and pointed to its existing assistance, including “in house” psychological and wellness support.

“We are currently reviewing this claim. We recognise that this work can often be difficult. That is why we take the support of our content moderators incredibly seriously, starting with their training, the benefits they receive, and ensuring that every person reviewing Facebook content is offered psychological support and wellness resources,” Facebook was quoted as saying by Engadget.

The social networking giant has maintained that all of its content reviewers have access to mental health resources, including trained professionals onsite for both individual and group counselling and that they receive full health care benefits, according to The Guardian.

IANS

Terming data privacy and cyber security concerns as biggest barriers to digital transformation, almost half of Indian businesses say they will struggle to meet changing customer demands within five years, a survey by Dell Technologies revealed on Tuesday.

The other half of Indian businesses believe they will disrupt rather than be disrupted, said Dell Technologies’ “Digital Transformation Index” completed in collaboration with Intel.

“It’s an exciting time to be in business. However, only technology-centred organisations will reap the rewards offered by a digital business model, including the ability to monetise the data, identify actionable insights, move quickly and automate everything to delight customers,” said Rajesh Janey, President and MD – India Enterprise, Dell EMC.

Nearly 12 per cent of Indian businesses are digital leaders — 5 per cent more than the percentage of digital leaders in China, said the survey.

“A quarter (25 per cent) of Indian businesses fear their organisation will get left behind within five years while 38 per cent of business leaders are worried they’ll be left behind,” it added.

According to the research, 93 per cent of Indian businesses are facing major impediments to digital transformation.

The top five barriers to digital transformation are: data privacy and cybersecurity concerns, regulation or legislative changes, lack of the right in-house skill sets and expertise, information overload and weak digital governance and structure.

Dell Technologies and Intel surveyed business leaders from 42 countries and benchmarked 4,600 businesses for the survey.

IANS