Sessions on education at India-US Technology Summit emphasise on using technology to empower school educators

(L-R) Mr Anjan Das, Executive Director, CII; Mr Venkatesh Valluri, Chairman, CII National Committee on Technology; Dr Arbinda Mitra, Adviser & Head, International (Bilateral) Cooperation Department of Science & Technology

A galaxy of speakers from India and the US came together to discuss the various ways through which technology could be used to improve pedagogy and make learning more student centric, during Tech-Tonic sessions for kindergarten – class XII (K-12) which were held on the opening day of the two-day India-US Technology Summit, being organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Department of Science and Technology in Delhi NCR.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Vijay Thadani, Chair, CII National Committee on School Education said that the 21^stCentury was all set to witness a unique convergence of technology and education, which was earlier a remote possibility. Technology was now being used to support, supplement and reinvent the existing teaching experience. Shedding light on the changing dynamics of the education sector, he said that students had become the decision makers and commanded what they would like to learn or unlearn. This had led to the need for revisiting the existing teaching practices. While technology had penetrated into the Indian classrooms, it was important for educators to be able to use the new-age tools in an emphatic manner. Empowering them was a must to revolutionise the present education system, he added.

Shedding light on the CII initiatives in this direction, he briefly talked about an on-going CII program designed to train the Teacher Educators to ensure that technology was not being introduced for technology sake but was also being brought into practice to benefit the students at large, across levels.

Ms. Eve Psalti, Director, Partners in Learning, Microsoft USA talked about the various opportunities and challenges being faced by the students, policy makers and educationists at the school education level.

She said that though education is at the forefront of the economic growth across the globe and has generated a lot of interest and investment, youth unemployment continues to be on a rise and one of the key areas of concern. Given the transformation of the very concept of education in India through practices like e-learning and increased dependence on digital content, there is a need to design customized programs and adjust the teaching and learning practices to suit the student needs.

Mr. Amit Kaushik, Practice Head, Education and Skills Development, IPE Global Private Limited focussed his thoughts on the government schools and suggested that the authorities must revisit the existing regulatory environment and design customised solutions to support the needs of students in the urban and rural areas to attain higher levels of excellence coupled with innovation.

Prof. Steve Molyneux, Professor, Global Education Centre for Doctoral Studies; Faculty, Lamar University, Texas, USA and Chief Executive Leadership, Tablet Academy, UK, suggested that educators shouldered the responsibility of generating, feeding and supporting not only the future of individual economies but that of the world. It was, therefore, very important for the present day educators to learn new pedagogies to get the best out of technology in the classroom.

Dr.Vijayan K., Assistant Professor, ESD, NCERT, shared key findings from a recent survey conducted by NCERT, titled National Achievement Survey. He suggested that practices like e-textbooks, e-self assessments for classroom assignments to evaluate day-to-day homework and using technology to enhance the quality of teaching could help revolutionise education at the school education level. 

Mr. Ajith Basu, Chief Program Executive, Agastya International Foundation highlighted certain innovative technology-driven best practices like mobile labs and mobile e-rooms, which were being used by the Foundation to support education at the grassroot level.

The panel discussion was followed by a hands-on session on Class Room of the Future – Flipped Learning conducted by Prof. Steve Molyneux. He started session with an interesting quiz, which highlighted how disruption in technology challenged the existing practices and made way for more advanced and innovative methodologies.

He also shared some key trends shaping the present-day education system like availability of multiple mobile platforms used to access content in diverse formats. He also talked about the emergence of cloud classrooms as an important tool bridging the gap between students across geographies.

Ms. Mansi Kirloskar of Educate India also joined Prof. Steve and shared the importance of community involvement for designing an inclusive academic system.

The session, which witnessed participation of an enthusiastic audience from industry and academia, concluded over an engaging dialogue with attendees sharing their thoughts and best practices.

Inclusive Growth, Competitiveness Top Agenda as Leaders Gather for India Economic Summit

The World Economic Forum, in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), is hosting the India Economic Summit in New Delhi this week on 4-6 November.

Under the theme, Redefining Public-Private Cooperation for a New Beginning, the summit convenes against a backdrop of significant economic growth and progress in reducing poverty in most parts of India, but also persistent inequality. The programme is built on three pillars: Boosting Global Competitiveness; Launching a Domestic Systems Reset; and Scaling Local and Social Innovation. More than 700 leaders from business, government, civil society and academia from 45 countries will take part.

• Finance, Corporate Affairs and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley will open India Economic Summit
• The summit is hosted by the World Economic Forum in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry
• More than 700 participants from 45 countries will take part in the summit from 4 to 6 November
• Inclusive growth, competitiveness, health and infrastructure are the focus of the summit

“India’s progress depends fundamentally on the ability of its leaders to take the bold decisions necessary to transform the country’s economy and society. By bringing together leaders from politics, business and across society, we hope the summit will offer an environment where such decisions can be catalysed, and where commitment and creativity can be drawn on to build a future fit for all Indians,” said Viraj Mehta, Director, Head of India and South Asia, World Economic Forum.

“The meeting comes as the new government completes six months in office,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, Director-General, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). “Business leaders are keen to engage with the government and see how it plans to restart the investment cycle, revive demand and convert the first signs of revival into a full-fledged recovery.”

Led by Finance, Corporate Affairs and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, key public figures from India who will participate are: Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping; Piyush Goyal, Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy; Smriti Zubin Irani, Minister of Human Resource Development; Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Communications and Information Technology; and Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry. They will be addressing thematic sessions on the most pressing issues for the country and the administration, such as infrastructure, energy, skills and education, and telecommunications.

Heads of state/government and international public figures who will participate include: Daniel Kablan Duncan, Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire; Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda; Shimon Peres, President of Israel (2007-2014); Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, Vice-President of Ghana;William Danvers, Deputy Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); and Rajiv Shah, Administrator, US Agency for International Development (USAID).

The Co-Chairs of the summit are: Shobhana Bhartia, Chairperson and Editorial Director, HT Media, India; James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways, United Arab Emirates; Yorihiko Kojima, Chairman of the Board, Mitsubishi Corporation, Japan; Anand Mahindra, Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra, India; and Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Documentary Filmmaker, SOC Films, Pakistan.

CII Business Confidence Index Shoots Up Second Time in a Row

Indicating a sharp improvement for the second consecutive quarter, the CII Business Confidence Index (CII-BCI) for July-Sept quarter FY15 has shot up to 57.4, up from 53.7 in April-June quarter and 49.9 in Jan-March quarter this year. During the same quarter last fiscal, the index had touched the all-time low value of 45.7. The number 50 is the dividing line on the index between positive and weak business confidence.

Commenting on the upward march in the value of index, Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, said that “the determination shown by the new government at the Center to provide an impetus to growth along with reviving the ‘feel good’ factor has sent the business confidence index soaring for the second quarter in a row. In order to capitalize on the early signs of improving business sentiments, we must ensure that this momentum is maintained going forward.”

The 88th Business Outlook Survey is based on responses from over 150 industry members. Majority of the respondents (44 per cent) belong to large-scale sector, while medium scale companies comprise another 12 per cent. Around 38 per cent and 6 per cent respectively are from the small-scale and micro firms. Further, 60 per cent of the respondents are from manufacturing and 36 per cent are from the services sector.

The highest percentage (41 per cent) of respondents expected GDP in the current fiscal to expand by 5.0-5.5 per cent, up from sub-5 per cent growth witnessed in the last two years. In fact, 30 per cent respondents expected GDP to grow in a range of 5.5-6.0 per cent in FY15, which indicates that 6 per cent growth is within reach this year. We have already started this financial year on an impressive note with the first quarter GDP recording a growth of 5.7 per cent, up from 4.6 per cent in the previous quarter.

WPI Inflation is expected to average 5.5-6.5 per cent in FY15, which is slightly on a higher side considering the likelihood of a sub-normal monsoon this year. “The management of inflationary expectations through supply-side measures would hold the key for ensuring continued momentum of economic revival”, suggested Mr. Banerjee.

The expectation of higher economic growth in the current fiscal is rooted in optimism about the overall demand situation. A significant 77 per cent of the respondents expected their sales to increase in the July-Sep quarter, much higher than 50 per cent respondents in the previous quarter. Similarly, 49 per cent of the respondents expected their export orders to increase in July-Sep quarter compared to 39 per cent respondents in the previous quarter.

The revival in domestic and global demand has resulted in a majority (46 per cent) of the surveyed businesses contemplating new investment in the July-Sep quarter, whereas only 10 per cent expected contraction. This indicates that economic recovery is sustainable, provided we maintain the demand momentum, where the monetary stance by the Central Bank will play a crucial role.

The businesses, besides undertaking new investments, have started experiencing a rise in capacity utilization. Nearly half (49.5 per cent) of the respondent firms expected their capacity utilization to exceed 75 per cent in July-Sep quarter of FY15, up from 34 per cent respondents in the previous quarter, which augurs well for the turnaround of the economy.

CII survey has observed a sharp decline in the percentage of respondents reporting increase in inputs costs related to raw materials, energy and employees in the Jul-Sep quarter as compared to the previous quarter, which is in line with the official data specifying the current moderation in inflation rate.

Expectation of recovery in sales, coupled with sharp decline in input costs, has led to a rise in percentage of respondents expecting an increase in profits after tax (PAT) in the July-Sept quarter to 40 per cent as against 36 per cent in the previous quarter. On the other hand, the percentage of respondents reporting a decline in PAT between the two periods declined from 30 per cent to 20 per cent.

A slow pick up in global demand, high inflation and rising borrowing costs are cited to be the top three concerns of the respondents. “While we can do little about addressing the global slowdown concern, all policy options must be explored to tackle the problem of inflation and high borrowing cost. At a time when economic recovery needs to be strengthened, the ideal policy instrument would be to manage inflation through supply-side measures, and make a direct intervention to reduce borrowing costs”, added Mr. Banerjee.

SEBI Chairman calls on CII to develop a roadmap for Integrated Reporting in India

Speaking on Integrated Reporting at the 9th Sustainable and Inclusive Solutions Summit organized by the CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development, Mr U K Sinha, Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India, invited CII to develop a roadmap on integrated reporting for discussion with SEBI. Mr Sinha clarified that SEBI will not regulate disclosures that demand integrated reporting. He stressed on the need to first create awareness and build the environment that is experienced with integrated reporting. He suggested this approach based on SEBI’s experience in the past of gradually improving transparency via various clauses of the listing agreement.

Mr Sinha acknowledged that Integrated Reporting is the next step in the evolution of reporting and that it marks a fundamental change in the way corporates communicate with their stakeholders. Questioning if corporates in India are ready for Integrated Reporting, he said, ‘we will be working along with industry to know in an incremental manner about integrated reporting rather than forcing something from our own side’, while adding, ‘some of you might have seen that when we have moved towards certain aspects of corporate governance we have been very careful also to see that the trade and industry is prepared for the changes.’

Mr Y C Deveshawar, Past President, Confederation of Indian Industry, Chairman, Advisory Council of the CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development and Chairman, ITC Limited, emphasized the importance of rethinking capitalism and the role of reporting in it. He argued that the kind of corporate reporting in India and the rest of the developed world cannot be the same because of the different challenges that exist in the developing countries. According to him, responsible capitalism needs to be progressed with businesses synergizing the creation of shareholder and societal value in three steps; first with consumer value; second with utilizing resources; and third by replenishing resources. ‘By reporting you can stimulate the company to begin to think along these lines,’ and therefore he says, ‘reporting is a good thing, because if you can look at your resources like low hanging fruits, you can begin to utilize your resources better.’

Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, Mr Paul Druckman, Chief Executive Officer, The International Integrated Reporting Council, said that happiness is when there is harmony in what you think, what you say, and what you do. This harmony is missing in what companies are doing. Few businesses, according to him, can point to one voice of execution, and integrated reporting brings that consistency and cohesiveness to the business. He also mentioned that transparency is required but the information should be in context. Being the CEO of IIRC, he says that, ’Integrated Reporting is not about more reporting. It is not an additional layer, it is more about cohesive and concise reporting. Not allowing irrelevant information to obscure the really important issues that are likely to affect the sustainability of the business model in the long term which creates a sustainable environment for us all’. The pilot companies working with IIRC have reported favourably to Integrated Reporting as it introduces them to best practices, helps the business get noticed and also spurs innovation.