Market Watch

Vineet Nayar Decolonising education has to be a priority focus area if we want our children to be free from past influences and become doers and explorers rather than followers. Unless we fix the education system in India and bring the freedom to think and act to every child in rural India, can we really call ourselves decolonised? The government seriously intends to make decolonising education a reality for future Indian generations. This intent can be brought alive through a substantial increase in allocation for education in the upcoming budget. Such an allocation will be a strong signal by the government that our education system can be decolonised entirely. There are other reasons why the budget allocation for education will have to break new ground. Balancing the budget is a tough ask with competing demands to keep economy going and jobs increasing. This is less about balancing the budgets and more about creating the right balance between solving short term pains and investing for long term prosperity. Driving education transformation on mission mode through Nipun Bharat is a great strategy. However it needs ideas and funds to become a reality on the ground for millions of children. I am […]

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LIVONIA, Mich., Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — According to a new report from Escalent, a top data analytics and advisory firm, a critical driver of electrified fleet adoption is raising awareness of grants and subsidies. However, almost six in ten fleet decision-makers are not aware of the financial assistance available. While fleet decision-makers expect to learn about battery electric vehicle (BEV) grants from dealerships, word of mouth is the leading source of education. Dealership: 35% expected to learn about grants from this source; 19% became aware through their dealership Word of mouth: 18% expected to learn about grants from this source; 27% became aware through word of mouth "Fleets have enduring, trusted relationships with their dealer; however, in this scenario, they aren’t exactly living up to their end of the bargain," said Lucas Lowden, insights consultant and program lead of Fleet Advisory Hub at Escalent. "With a significant gap in expectations vs. reality for decision-makers, dealers have an opportunity to educate their customers on the availability of funds to spur BEV adoption. Dealers need to remember it’s not just about electrifying vehicles. It’s also about charging infrastructure, which is an even bigger part of the investment, and it’s […]

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Author of a rental ad with false photos of an apartment promotes the narrative that Lviv will allegedly be in Poland soon Russian Telegram channels shared screenshots from OLX.ua Ukrainian online advertising platform. The publication informs that a two-bedroom apartment is for rent in the city of Lviv, Pekarska Street, on the second floor. The description of the apartment caused a passionate reaction of Russian propagandists. It states that "if the city’s territory is transferred to the jurisdiction of another state, a lessee is obliged to fulfill his/her obligations in full under the current lease agreement." In addition, there is a caption below that renting this apartment is a "unique opportunity to move to Europe in one day." The photos of the apartment are attached to the ad. On one of them, the flag of Poland reading "Ready to return Lviv" in Polish is allegedly hanging on the wall in the apartment. Although such an ad was indeed posted on OLX.ua site, it is fake. The author of the publication gets confused in the apartment details. First, it is stated that the apartment is on the 2nd floor and a bit lower – on the 8th. The author of […]

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“Somehow we’ve flown under the radar, but we are a highly profitable business that is growing fast," … [+] Courtesy of Windsor The coming year looks to be another challenging one in fashion retail. Year-over-year, women’s specialty fashion retailers grew only 3.8% through November, basically keeping pace with inflation which was running 3.9% at year-end in women’s fashion. “This year will bear challenges for apparel companies, like other discretionary product categories, arising from a mild recession in the U.S. and weaker economic prospects in many parts of the world,” S&P Global reported in an outlook across a wide range of consumer product categories. “Apparel companies will likely resort to promotional pricing to drive sales and clear excess inventory.” The inevitable result of which is to put pressure on profits. However, there is one bright spot for fashion retailers: dressing people for the things they are dying to do after being held hostage at home due to the pandemic. “When consumers emerged from the pandemic, they eagerly exchanged their sweatpants for dressier attire. We have seen apparel manufacturers and retailers who cater to occasion-wear benefit from consumers’ pent-up demand for in-person activities, including special events and travel,” shared Sarah Wyeth, […]

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Newswise — Washington D.C. — The Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS) is looking for highly motivated graduate students for a paid, part-time fellowship that provides the opportunity to directly participate in advancing food safety or nutritional sciences. As the fellowship is a means to expand experiences while not adversely impacting progress towards completion of a Master’s or Doctoral degree, this opportunity is intentionally a part-time offering. This fellowship may run between 8 weeks and 12 weeks and may occur anytime between May 1 and September 30. IAFNS is a nonprofit, scientific and educational organization. As part of our educational mission, IAFNS offers and freely shares many events and webinars with students. Summer Research Opportunity Fellowship IAFNS is committed to ensuring that the opportunity to apply to this fellowship is open to a diverse pool of qualified applicants — not exclusive of those typically underrepresented in nutrition, toxicology, chemistry, food microbiology, risk assessment and other science fields, such as women, ethnic and racial minorities, low-income households, or from non-traditional backgrounds. Learn more. This is a unique opportunity to work with scientists in government, industry and academia as a paid apprentice to learn more about how […]

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(Graphic: The Herring Group) I’m a self-proclaimed numbers nerd, so it’s not surprising that one of the most gratifying projects I do each year is The Herring Group Landscape Industry Benchmark Report. What story does this year’s report tell? Most companies can be a lot more profitable than they are. Before we get into just how much more profitable landscape companies could be, here’s some background on our Benchmark Report, sponsored by Aspire , John Deere and Inova . This year, 151 companies participated, with revenue between $1 million and $120 million. To produce the report, we get income statements from all participants and format them to make them comparable. Then we analyze the data to generate useful insights for the participants. Key results At The Herring Group, we use operating profit margin to measure profitability. Operating profit equals revenue minus direct job expenses, indirect job expenses and overhead expenses (including straight-line depreciation expense). Operating profit margin is operating profit divided by revenue. This indicator measures customer satisfaction, the effectiveness of management and employees and efficiency. I encourage companies to plan for an operating profit margin of 12 percent and settle for anything above 10 percent as an initial […]

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Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) have announced that they are to collaborate on Industry 4.0 and broader digital transformation, aiming to set global best practice for the aluminium industry while improving the sustainability of EGA’s computing operations. Both Microsoft and EGA are members of the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology’s Industry 4.0 Champions Network, which aims to accelerate Industry 4.0 adoption across UAE industry. Under the new agreement, the two companies will work together to progress EGA’s Digital Roadmap, which is already transforming EGA’s operations through digital capabilities such as artificial intelligence and big data. EGA and Microsoft will leverage the power of cloud computing to accelerate and scale the development of new digital solutions, shifting a third of EGA’s server infrastructure and applications to Microsoft Azure Cloud. Through digital transformation and by driving increased efficiencies, Microsoft’s cloud will empower EGA to make substantial energy savings. EGA is estimating to reduce the energy consumption of its overall computing operations by up to 65 per cent and CO2 emissions by more than 80 per cent. EGA will also develop a private Microsoft Azure Cloud at its sites, shifting a further third of its computing to this system, unlocking opportunities […]

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How to tell a compelling digital transformation story that boosts your share price getty Digital startup companies achieve extraordinary valuations in part by knowing how to tell a compelling story, crafting an exciting vision of their future that sends investors and analysts scrambling to jump on board. Established companies embarked on their own digital journeys can capture some of that same magic by learning how to tell their transformation stories in more powerful ways. Step 1: Establish a shared language for digital transformation A major key to success is having a shared, common language for thinking and talking about digital transformation. Such a language can help people across your enterprise view digital transformation in a more strategic and comprehensive way, instead of fixating on individual technologies and tactical implementation issues. Also, a shared language can help people in different roles and silos collaborate more effectively when planning and executing your digital transformation effort. We recommend a digital transformation language built around five key imperatives: Experiences . Using digital technology to create better experiences for customers, employees, and other key stakeholders. Insights . Using digital technology to generate new, actionable insights and activities that create business value and improve competitiveness, […]

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Mr. Mustafa O. Vazayil, Managing Director, Gargash Insurance Services LLC – Mr. M. Rajendran, Deputy Managing Director, Gargash Insurance Services LLC If the first leg of technology transformation, the insurance industry focused on enhancing internal efficiencies, the next leg is laying emphasis on improving customer experience and bolstering data and analytics capabilities, say top management executives at Gargash Insurance Services LLC. Gargash Insurance has been investing significantly in its digital capabilities to become increasingly agile, innovative, and customer-centric. "We are looking to give customers a total solution on our website and decreasing the time lag between choosing a policy to buying one. The customers will not have to wait for a quotation; they will be able to choose a policy online and buy it on the website in just a few clicks. A few insurers are ready with the capability and others are onboarding with us. By the end of March, we will have providers giving customers more choices on our website," said Mustafa O. Vazayil, Managing Director, Gargash Insurance. "There is no better way than to invest in technology to improve efficiencies and match the aspirations of customers." Talking about trends in the industry, M. Rajendran, Deputy Managing […]

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Chief Justice, Kamal Kumar looks on as President, Ratu Wiliame Katonivere delivers his address at the official launch the Online Filing Software of the Judicial Department. Picture: FIJI GOVERNMENT Digital transformation is essential for any nation in order to better serve its citizens and when governments are committed to digital innovation and sustainability, it complements and promotes the effort to achieve all 17 SDGs. President, Ratu Wiliame Katonivere said this while officially launching the Online Filing Software of the Judicial Department at the Grand Pacific Hotel yesterday. “The new e-filing system is an end-to-end system that shall capture all the current physical workflow of the Courts, allowing for greater transparency and efficiency within the judicial system,” Ratu Wiliame said. “With a click of a button the status of case files can be checked, again allowing for easy access to the general public and the stakeholders. Furthermore, service kiosks will be made available so that litigants that are unfamiliar with technology can still be assisted to lodge cases and file documents,” he said. The online filing software is catagorised into two different modules that work effortlessly to provide e-filing services. Module 1 – Online Services (OLS) – caters to litigants, […]

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