Bangalore, 5th August 2022: The subject areas of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), together with the arts, life skills, and communication, are a good place to start when learning more about how early childhood curriculum and programming related to STEM.

The Indian environment in technology is changing rapidly and the next generation of the youngest country need a boost in their skill development, STEM can be the core of their education in understanding the newest technology and how is it working. The more the understanding, the more they will be able to create newer things and create a better India, the Nation of tomorrow.

Early STEM education encourages children to become confident and engaged learners as they progress into primary school and beyond, going beyond only knowing how to count or recognise the alphabet, these are the conventional abilities assumed to help children transition to school. Sharp observational abilities, critical thinking, and problem-solving are fundamental components of the STEM inquiry-based learning method, but they are equally crucial to all sectors of changing educational curricula that place a greater emphasis on using knowledge than on simply memorising it. In order to support early STEM education, develop metacognitive skills, and promote positive learning dispositions in the children’s future school years, parents and teachers should begin encouraging children’s natural curiosity and assisting them in deriving meaning from their explorations of the world around them.

Understanding the children’s interests is mostly accomplished through watching and listening to them as they go about their daily activities. Developing children’s motivation to engage in a scientific investigation requires taking into account their interests. Teachers should use STEM inquiry to help students think about what they already know, what they anticipate will happen during activities, and how to try new things. What most young children do is engage in discussion with you by having at least two back-and-forth exchanges and posing queries beginning with “who,” “what,” “where,” or “why,”. They describe the action taking place in a picture. When prompted, they state their first name and most of the time speak well enough for others to comprehend, said Uttam Panda, Founder, MADDY.

A recipe book or science kit is not necessary for STEM education, nor is expert knowledge. Pay attention to your child’s inquiries, and then let your own curiosity and inquisitiveness take over. By modelling real interest, participating actively, and letting kids design their own learning paths, educators can encourage STEM learning in their students. Teachers can act as the young scientists’ lab aids! It’s crucial to provide a rich learning environment to encourage discoveries and dialogues. Developing your own knowledge through training programmes like Little Scientists can help you generate resources and improve curriculum design.

He further elaborated that you have the chance to pique the youngsters’ curiosity by saying something like, “I wonder how long it would take for all this ice to melt.” Alternately, you may add, “I would want to learn how we could stop the ice cubes from melting so quickly.” This can serve as a starting point for future investigations or raise new inquiries. The child may start their own research by taking the glass of ice cubes outside to melt in the sun.

Engineering, technology, math, and science provide students with engaging, hands-on learning opportunities that build strong learning dispositions. They improve teamwork, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills in scientists. Teachers and educators can emphasise how commonplace activities like bug hotels and gardening aid in children’s development of STEM skills.

STEM fluency is demonstrated by early starts and immersion in everyday life, just like learning a language. Children are better able to develop ideas and ways of thinking when they have hands-on, inquiry-based experiences in the early years that include them in many different places, times, and activities. They might even produce a radish.

About MADDY

MADDY is the one-stop platform to put together the 3 aspects of STEM Products, STEM Programs, and STEM Training together with continuous innovation that would bring out a radical change in the education system prevailing all over the world by implementing STEM.

MADDY is introducing innovative world-class products to the market; designed and developed in India for integration of technology and Education. Besides these diverse engagements, our primary focus is always education. Engineering is art when learned rightly added by the latest technological trends in the world.

Website: https://www.maddy.world

Why is a Hitachi Inverter air conditioner required in the monsoon season?

Why is a Hitachi Inverter air conditioner required in the monsoon season?

The monsoon is loved by all as it gives relief from the scorching summer heat and mother nature looks more beautiful during this season. However, the season also brings humidity, which plays havoc on your health. With technologically advanced Hitachi air conditioners that aim at simplifying life, you can get rid of these problems within a matter of minutes.

With the humidity skyrocketing, the monsoon season becomes the perfect time for bacteria, fungus, mold, and germs to breed. Humidity levels go up during the monsoon season, which increases the risk of mold growing in your home. You may discover that your home is damp, that your clothes never seem to dry, and that there is a foul odor. Installing a Hitachi air conditioner can reduce the humidity in your room.

Why Should You Use a Hitachi Inverter Air Conditioner During the Monsoon Season?

Controlled Humidity Level

For that pleasant and dry feeling, the humidity in your room should be less. During the rainy season, however, it increases significantly. Hitachi’s Expandable Inverter Technology helps you to reduce it. Hitachi’s Expandable Inverter AC can increase its compressor’s rotation per minute (RPM) from the standard rated RPM as and when required, according to the actual ambient conditions outside and load requirement inside the room. Its technology stems from Tropical Inverter Technology which uses a Seamless Cascade Vector DC Inverter System that gives better performance than any other non-tropical inverter AC. The Hitachi Expandable Inverter air conditioner provides comfort during high humidity without compromising on its performance.

It gives off clean air.

The biggest problem faced with the onslaught of the monsoon is dirty air conditioner filters. This results in unclean indoor air and increased energy costs. In addition to its Expandable Inverter Technology, which regulates the humidity level in the room, Hitachi’s iClean+ Auto Filter Cleaning Technology provides clean air all the time. The brush sweeps the dust by moving the stainless steel-coated filter from its home position to the dust collector box position. The dust catcher, which is located on the top of the dust box, sweeps the dust into the dust box. Once the cleaning is over, the brush moves back from the dust collector box to its home position. The auto-cleaning brush moves twice over the dust catcher to increase the dust transfer capacity. Thus, the auto filter cleaning ensures that there is no dust left on the filter. And so, the air that meets the AC is free from dust, and the air coming out of the AC is always clean.

Hitachi Cooling and Heating India promise the perfect combination of innovative technology, quality, durability, energy efficiency, and comfort. And you deserve nothing less than perfect.

Harbinger Group Appoints Avinash Lele as Chief Growth Officer

Harbinger Group Appoints Avinash Lele as Chief Growth Officer

Harbinger Group, a global technology provider of software products and services, today announced the appointment of Avinash Lele as its Chief Growth Officer.

Avinash will be responsible for increasing sales through crafting successful sales strategies, directing, guiding, and managing sales teams, and optimizing the end-to-end leads-to-closure process. He will report to Dr. Vikas Joshi, Chairman and Managing Director, Harbinger Group.

Avinash is an industry veteran with over three decades of experience serving at prominent CXO and board-level positions at leading companies like L&T Infotech, Cybage Software, and Hexaware Technologies. Before joining Harbinger, he was a board member and President at iOPEX Technologies. Avinash is an alumnus of The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania where he studied Advanced Management and the Northwestern University for Corporate Law.

On his new role, Avinash said, “I am happy to join Harbinger at an exciting stage in its growth journey. Its rich history of developing world-class products and carving out a niche as a leader in the eLearning and Content space, position it well for moving into the next orbit.”

Dr. Vikas expressed his thoughts, “Harbinger group has embarked on a growth journey fueled by its unique strengths in product engineering and eLearning. We are excited to have Avinash on board at this critical juncture. His rich experience of leadership in crafting win-win deals, providing world-class account management, and leading large sales organizations will help Harbinger and its customers alike.”

Avinash is based in Princeton, New Jersey.

About Harbinger Group

Harbinger is a global technology company that builds products and solutions that transform the way people work and learn. For 30 years, it has been innovating alongside organizations that are in the people business – serving the Human Resources, eLearning, Digital Publishing, Education, and High-Tech sectors.

Harbinger understands that building a great product requires in-depth knowledge of the user, the nuances of the business, and expertise in technology – that is why the company provides both end-to-end Product Development and Content Creation services. Its pedigree in eLearning and building next-generation products has fostered a culture of continuous learning. The company experiments with new technologies easily embrace new ideas, and creatively applies them to its customers’ products. To learn more about Harbinger, please visit www.harbingergroup.com.

ISPP PDM Programme is holistic: Amarjeet Sinha

ISPP PDM Programme is holistic: Amarjeet Sinha
  • Amarjeet Sinha, former Advisor to the Prime Minister delivered the inaugural address at the ISPP Orientation
  • 61 Scholars including 32 women in ISPP’s 4th batch – Class of 2023

New Delhi: Setting up the cornerstone for the year 2022-23, the Indian School of Public Policy (ISPP) began its week-long Orientation for the Class of 2023 on 1st August. The Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy, Design & Management (PDM), a one-year Programme, formally begins on August 6th, 2022, at the New Delhi campus.

Former Advisor to the Prime Minister and noted Public Policy Practitioner and author Amarjeet Sinha delivered the commencement speech.

In an insightful address, Mr. Sinha emphasised the significance of community-driven social development as a sure-shot way to bring about impactful changes. “Think of public policy practice as plumbing. Identifying the issues and rectifying them on a local level is what makes A policy practitioner’s efforts a success,” he said. Praising ISPP’s PDM Programme, he placed hopes for a better future with young policy leaders in the making. “I wish there were courses such as this when I was a student,” Mr. Sinha added. After an engaging question-answer round, he wished ISPP Scholars the best for their journey ahead.

The founding Dean, ISPP, Dr. Shubhashis Gangopadhyay presided over the Orientation. He engaged the cohort with his trademark wit as he talked about public policy and what it means to be a policy thinker. In a follow-up session, Dr. Gangopadhyay gave an overview of ISPP’s theme of SPELL (Skill, Political Economy, Ethics, Leadership, and Lifelong Learning) curriculum and pedagogy that the School follows.

Co-founder & Director, ISPP Dr. Parth J. Shah, held an interactive session as he nudged the Scholars to think critically. “You will not just learn about public policy in one year at ISPP, but also about ramifications of even good intentioned policies and unintended outcomes,” Dr. Shah said. He also took the Scholars through the story of ISPP, beginning in 2018 when the School was just a seed of an idea… the idea was to democratise public policy education and training as well as build state capacity, with Indian solutions for Indian challenges. Dr. Shah described the ISPP Oath for Policy Practitioners.

The 61 Scholars from the 4th batch, in the Class of 2023 come from 18 Indian States and share one common passion: of bringing the ‘public’ back into public policy. For the second consecutive year, there are more women Scholars than men.

Sharing a collective experience of their first week at ISPP, Aditya Sinha from the Class of 2023 said, “The Orientation has given us a glimpse of what we can expect in the coming 12 months. ISPP is bringing not only world-class education to India but also ushering us into an age of specialisation. We get to have lunch with CEOs and Presidents of think tanks, share views with policy stalwarts, and have reflective sessions with the ISPP Leadership. I am really excited by the wealth of education, experience, opportunities, and networking that lies ahead.”

The guest speakers included Dr. Sekhar Bonu, DG, DMEO-NITI Aayog; Mr. Rakesh Ranjan, Mission Director, Aspirational Districts; Ms. Karuna Gopal, Head of Policy, BJP Women’s Wing; Ms. Vini Mahajan, Secretary, Jal Jeevan Mission, Government of India; and Ms. Yamini Aiyar, President, Centre for Policy Research.

The Class was also introduced to faculty members during the Orientation week including award-winning industrial designer Amit Krishn Gulati, noted Political Commentator & Policy Analyst Sanjaya Baru; Dr. NC Saxena, former Secretary, Planning Commission, Government of India, among others.

With a 100% placement record for the three earlier batches of 110 Scholars, the Careers Support team along with ISPP founding batch alumni Himanshu Burad and Prachee Mishra introduced the Class to prospective career options.

To know more about the Indian School of Public Policy, visit ISPP Website: www.ispp.org.in

For more information, contact Nidhie Raj Singh, Lead-Communications, ISPP at nidhie@ispp.org.in

Zimyo is taking the start-up ecosystem to the next level with its ‘Start-up Program.’

Zimyo is taking the start-up ecosystem to the next level with its ‘Start-up Program.’

The unrivaled venture Zimyo – a leading HR-Tech service provider, launched its new initiative for young start-ups by offering a free HR and Payroll services suite.

Gurugram: The Indian start-up Zimyo stays true to its promise of providing the highest quality employee experience platform as they launched their very own ‘Start-up Program.’ With the revolutionary growth since its debut four years ago, Zimyo has now taken a step to benefact fellow start-ups that are just starting out.

Zimyo is a stellar HR and Payroll software provider driven by modern AI that incorporates a Recruitment Management, Performance Management, and Employee Benefits suite to fulfill the demands of all SMEs it has indulged. The year 2022 has brought immense success to this HR-Tech foundation, and the revenues are increasing year on year.

Zimyo kick-started its Start-up Program on 15th July 2022, wherein they’ll be offering;

  • Free SaaS subscription for Core HR & Payroll Product Suite, including Mobile App, Employee Self Service, Benefits, etc., for 6 months.
  • Major discounts on other Zimyo modules – Recruitment Management, Performance Management, etc.
  • 18 Hours of dedication to onboarding, including setting up HR processes for the start-up.
  • 4 hours dedicated to ‘Strategic HR/OKR’ consulting.
  • Free HR Templates are provided on the platform for appraisal, emails, job descriptions, offer letter generation, etc., and much more.

To avail the offer;

  1. Visit: Zimyo signup
  2. Signup (Create User ID and Password)
  3. After sign up, login to the account
  4. Go to Subscriptions (on the bottom left side of the page)
  5. Click Manage Subscriptions
  6. Click Upgrade
  7. Select HRMS BASIC + Add the number of users
  8. Select Half Yearly Subscription
  9. Apply coupon code – PRSP2022
  10. Proceed to pay
  11. User validation will take place by deduction of ₹1.

“Our nation is on track toward a perennial ecosystem with initiatives like start-up India in the picture. To help our economy and promote a culture of growth, entrepreneurs establishing start-ups are being offered extraordinary benefits. With a similar vision, Zimyo took it upon itself to offer its product suite to young start-ups as a helping hand,” Kumar Mayank, CEO of Zimyo, shared his thoughts.

Now this successful venture aims to empower other start-ups to achieve prodigious growth through its tech and innovation. The mission is to unshackle professionals from tedious manual work from day 1 with the automated solutions they’re offering.

Zimyo HRMS software is profoundly used by a number of renowned SMBs such as Yash Raj Films, Amity University, Bajaj Capital, Apollo Power Systems, etc. Furthermore, it has onboarded clients from UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Oman to imprint its growth toward foreign lands too.

The unfaltering dedication Zimyo portrays to its customer base and employees has enabled it to carve its name in stone within a short amount of time. Flourishing and advancing with even more zeal and determination, it’s committed to giving fresh start-ups the finest employee experience and engagement platform.

As the SaaS expert Zimyo is aligning with young organizations, it’s enabling them to recruit the best talents from the industry. Other perks of this robust HR solution would be the exhausting rate of employee attrition, scaling up of retention rate, and an upgrade in employee engagement by threefold.

About Zimyo

Zimyo is a paramount HR-Tech service provider with an aim to empower entities around the world with the best-in-class employee experience for their workforce.

With its suite of cloud-based HR, payroll software, a performance management software (PMS), an applicant tracking system (ATS), time attendance systems, and an engagement platform with additional employee benefits, Zimyo claims the highest throne in the HR-Tech industry.

Backed by an end-to-end implementation to renew all the prime metrics, Zimyo software optimizes all necessary steps in an employee lifecycle – from job postings and onboarding to offboarding and every step in between.

A package deal for all HR troubles that assist organizations in augmenting their productivity rates and developing a culture of employee engagement within the workplace.

New Personalized Rakhis Launched by Chocolaty will make rakhi celebration memorable

New Personalized Rakhis Launched by Chocolaty will make rakhi celebration memorable

The bond between a brother or sister is unimaginable and can’t be described in words. The bond between siblings is awe-inspiring and is celebrated across the world. But when it pertains to India the bond is much more important because there is a celebration known as “Raksha Bandhan” which is dedicated to the siblings’ affection.

This is a very special Hindu festival that is celebrated in India as well as other countries such as Nepal to signify the bond of bond between a brother and one’s sister. The festival known as Raksha Bandhan is celebrated on the day of full moon in the Hindu luni-solar calendar during the month of Shravana that typically falls within the month of August in the Gregorian calendar.

The celebration consists of two words “Raksha” in addition to “Bandhan.” According to Sanskrit definition, the word “Raksha” refers to “the knot or tie that provides protection” in which “Raksha” is the word for protection, and “Bandhan” is the verb that means tie. In all, the festival represents the love that is eternal between brother and sister relationship, but it is not only blood relations. It is also celebrated with siblings, cousins, sisters-in-law (Bhabhi), fraternal aunt (Bua), nephew (Bhatija) as well as other family members.

Gifts are the prime focus of this festival as well as sisters expect amazing gifts from their brothers (siblings) on this day. Over the period of time, people have become more creative with the gifts. People try to give more personalised gifts these days to make the bond stronger. As a result, many innovations have been made available throughout the variety of gifts for rakhi at Chocolaty. The most popular gift site Chocolaty is a great place to start the trend more prominent than ever, with its forthcoming celebrations such as Raksha Bandhan Karwa Chauth Bhai Dhooj Christmas, Valentine’s day among others. Chocolaty.in is the leading Online flower delivery platform of India that has made gifting flowers and other things totally seamless.

In the past it was just thoughtful and meaningful gifts that suited the occasion and interest of the recipient. However, it was recently observed that to offer an experience that is unique in the gift-giving or shopping. This distinctive and memorable move by Chocolaty is now being successfully promoted. Through this website, giving Cake Order Online is also the easiest.

Chocolaty’s Founder said, “What distinguishes our company from the rest is the fact that we don’t plan to expand in terms of number. This growing or changing makes sense once we’ve landed at the position of number one in the market and with a focus on the requirements of our intended clients. Their pleasure and satisfaction is the most important reason for us achieving this level! This is why we even ended up thinking about how to design our own personalised Rakhi online collection. Furthermore, one can have Same day delivery Rakhi through an online portal. Thus, allowing brothers and sisters to enjoy exclusive rakhi designs to celebrate their love.” One can easily order for online flower delivery across India and get the same day delivery.

Chocolaty Introduces special Rakhi Combos

  • Rakhi that includes chocolates. This is actually an extremely requested gift. Rakhi is a time to treasure those happy times by gifting the chocolate bar.
  • Rakhi with flowers or bouquet. Flowers in a bouquet can bring a smile to the face of the sister right away and a box of chocolates can bring her Rakhi celebration sweeter. Rakhi by gifting flowers just one kind of sweet gift siblings can utilise to add joy to their bond. For the long distance siblings, one can choose online flower delivery option from Chocolaty and send flowers within few hours.
  • Rakhi and Puja Thali is a perfect gift to make brothers feel loved and loved on this significant day. It is also a unique perfect rakhi gift if one wishes to Send Rakhi with Sweets Online.
  • The delightful combo with Rakhi along with sweets are a traditional Rakhi present. Rakhi includes Rasgulla, Rakhi with KajuKatli, Rakhi with Gulab Jamun and many other delicious sweets can be paired with a beautiful string of Rakhi. This is the perfect combo to give brother an unforgettable time.
  • Finally, one amazing gift that every sibling would like for sure is the cake. A cute personalised cake makes for the most perfect desert for this day. chocolaty.in is the easiest and the most go to platform for doing cake order online at any hour of the day.

The rakhi festival is fast approaching and the preparations for the celebration have begun with a flurry at Chocolaty. All those seeking unique personalised gifts can visit the website and make orders today. In order to save a lot of time and effort, the company has made shopping for rakhi easy. From sending a photo frame for rakhi to sending rakhi in addition to other personalised gifts, such as coasters, mugs, cushions keys, chocolates, and keychains, Chocolaty has lived up to the expectations of creating something unique and innovative every festival. Another good news for customers is that Chocolaty’s delivery services are available across the country. Chocolaty has made online flower delivery and cake order online quite easy.

Reasons why Chocolaty is growing in the gifting industry

The company puts its attention on the user experience when it comes to the purchase of rakhi through their site. The ease of searching for different categories of rakhis using the drop-down menu and via animated banners was displayed on a large screen to provide a quick overview.

Ethnic Rakhis Feng Shui Rakhis, Bracelet Rakhis, Fancy Rakhis and eco-friendly Rakhis are just a few of the numerous types of rakhis one can purchase. For the perfect Raksha Bandhan celebration even from far away, each Rakhi is shipped with an assortment of Roli and Chawal.

Being aware of what is happening in the gifting market and the market The company has put together an array of gifts that one can get the most appropriate rakhi gifts for brothers. The gift selection includes items such as Personalised Mug, Custom Pen, Geeky Combo, Custom Best Bhai Lamp and One Bro Certificate, One Bro Certificate, Homer Simpson Lapel Pin and many other digital caricatures.

Brothers can also consider gifts for their sisters and the assortment include Chocolate boxes, Custom Sipper Set, Wonder Sis Duo, Green Jade Roller, Stay Beautiful Hamper Rose Gold Custom Bracelet Quirky Gold Toned Earring, Plush Minion Slippers, cakes, flower bouquets, and many more.

After the presentation, Chocolaty opened its strongest point, revealing the arrangement of rakhis along with other products. It includes Rakhi With Chocolates, Rakhi With Dry Fruits, Rakhi With Sweets, Rakhi In A Signature Box, Bhaiya Bhabhi Rakhi Combos.

About Chocolaty

Chocolaty is the pioneer in the gifting industry that has flourished on the Indian market by offering unique gift items (cakes, customised gifts, and combos) for those special moments that aren’t captured in the words. It is one of the emerging startups that delivers quality products across all parts of India. They are the leaders in this sector for online flower delivery and for doing the cake order online and getting its delivery across India.

Gig-economy focused marketplace, VOIZ raises Rs ~15 crore ($ 2mn) in seed funding round

Gig-economy focused marketplace, VOIZ raises Rs ~15 crore ($ 2mn) in seed funding round

VOIZ will use these funds to strengthen technology and expand market presence across India.

Bangalore-based start-up, VOIZ – a marketplace for gig work professionals has raised seed funding of Rs ~15 crores ($ 2 million) led by Omidyar Network India with participation from other investors. The company will use the funds to scale up its technology, on-board more talent on the platform, and expand their market presence.

Founded by Rajesh Bernard, Vineet Patil, and Sandeep Nyamati, VOIZ connects businesses with independent grey-collared professionals for work fulfilment of online jobs like customer service, tele-calling, sales, data entry, recruitment, virtual assistance, tech support, and online reputation management. By making it easier for companies to hire gig workers in more traditional roles, VOIZ is reimagining the entire lifecycle of entry-level jobs.

Launched in July 2021, VOIZ has onboarded 100+ clients including some of the well-known unicorns in e-commerce, edtech, food tech, fintech, and logistics tech industries and has more than 1 lakh+ independent professionals signed up for gig work.

In a report published by NITI Aayog in June 2022, there were 68 lakh gig workers in India in 2020 which is expected to grow to 2.35 crore workers by 2030. A significant segment of this workforce is expected to be in the remote workspace for simple transactional work and VOIZ with its unique offerings in the grey-collar workforce market is poised to take advantage of this explosive growth.

“There are very few platforms out there building for the future of work. Our vision is to disrupt the grey collar gig workforce economy and create employment for over 3 million independent professionals in the next 5 yrs. We are excited to partner with Omidyar Network India in our next phase of growth. VOIZ believes that the future of work for the grey collared gig workforce space is digital, remote, powered by gig, enabled by gamification that can have a huge social impact in employing mobility challenged workforce across the world” said Rajesh Bernard, Co-founder, and Chief Executive Officer at VOIZ.

“Our supply pool, which is mostly made up of 30+ female, secondary incomes, gives us a big first advantage in delivering quality & quantity. The next thing is how templatized the jobs are to be able to scale significantly, and we are working on it relentlessly as we speak. The tech in this space will mature over the next 3-5 years and we seem to be in the right place at the right time to make a disruption. With ONI coming in, the next 12 months are going to be exciting” said Vineet Patil, Co-founder, and Chief Business Officer at VOIZ.

“We are excited to back Rajesh and the team at VOIZ in their mission to generate livelihoods for thousands of gig workers from the ‘Next Half Billion’ segment. It is bringing into the workforce women who prefer to work from home on flexible projects and equipping them

with the right tools and training. We have been impressed by the depth of offering and the range of clients being served on the platform. We are happy to support them on their goal to become the #1 destination for gig workers in India” said Badri Pillapakkam, Partner at Omidyar Network India.

VOIZ is a ‘future of work’ platform operating in the grey collared segment of the gig work landscape. VOIZ enables work completion of simple online jobs on its platform VOIZ (voizworks.com) via gig work professionals.

VOIZ operates in eight specific business processes: tele-calling, customer service, sales, recruitment, data entry, technical support, executive assistance & online reputation

About Omidyar Network India

Omidyar Network India invests in bold entrepreneurs who help create a meaningful life for every Indian, especially the hundreds of millions of Indians in low-income and lower-middle-income populations, ranging from the poorest among us to the existing middle class. To drive empowerment and social impact at scale, we work with entrepreneurs in the private, non-profit and public sectors, who are tackling India’s hardest and most chronic problems. We make equity investments in early stage enterprises and provide grants to non-profits in the areas of Digital Society, Education, Emerging Tech, Financial Inclusion, Cities & Innovation, and Property Inclusivity. Omidyar Network India is part of the Omidyar Group, a diverse collection of companies, organizations and initiatives, supported by philanthropists Pam and Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay.

On 12th August, Bikaner will honor the real heroes of the city with Bikaner Gaurav Award

On 12th August, Bikaner will honor the real heroes of the city with Bikaner Gaurav Award

Nirvikalp Foundation, in collaboration with citizens of Bikaner, is honoring individuals who make the city proud on national and international platforms in different domains.

Dr. Chandra Shekhar Shrimali (founding director of the foundation) shared with the media in a briefing about the upcoming event. “Bikaner Gaurav Award ceremony will be organized at the historic Gajner Palace Hotel at Bikaner on Friday 12th August 2022. Many native citizens of Bikaner are going to attend this unique ceremony and coming from not only different parts of the country but even from abroad” – Dr. Shrimali added.

Be informed that the unique award ceremony is proudly supported by various business houses and individuals of the city including Bikaji Namkeens group, Lotus – Modi Dairy, Jeevan Raksha Hospital, Bikaner Boys School, Binnani X-Ray, Social Activist Bhikam Chand Pugalia, and many other prestigious brands and individuals.

A poster launch ceremony of the event at Bikaner Boys School was graced by the chief guest Additional District Commissioner A H Gauri and chaired by the Additional Director of Secondary Education, Rachna Bhatia.

Akshay Acharya, founder of Smart Bikaner and an active member of the foundation handling technical division, shared with the media about the digital handling of the event. He mentioned that for the first time in the city, a website has been created for such an event. This website was inaugurated on 1st August 2022 by the honorable Dr. B D Kalla, Minister of Education, Rajasthan, and is accessible at https://bikanergauravaward.in.

In this prestigious event, the foundation is going to honor industrialists, social activists, sportspersons, people associated with art and literature, IT, administration, and new age entrepreneurs who have brought laurels to the city of Bikaner.

Some of the nominations for this award for the year 2022 are Mr. Madan Agarwal (Director of V-Mart), Joyti Jain (TT Ltd), Navratan Agarwal (Director, Bikanervala), Sudha Shrimali (Business Editor, Navbharat Times), Simi Dhamija (Chief Transformation Head, Tech Mahindra), IPS Premsukh Deli, Pushpendra Singh Rathore (DIG, BSF), Rameshwar Vyas (Director, Ranosys Singapore), Magan Rajvi (Arjun Awardee & Ex Captain Indian Football Team), Bharat Ranga (Beginnen Media) and many more.

For more information about the ceremony, please visit https://bikanergauravaward.in

Dancing a fine line: women in Bollywood

Dancing a fine line: women in Bollywood

The position of female performers in Bollywood films’ big dance numbers is the focus of new research at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Bollywood is a multi-million-dollar industry with huge cultural influence and popularity worldwide. Dr. Kooshna Gupta, Faculty of Arts, examined how the dance item in these movies became big business.

The ‘item dance’, one of the main musical numbers of the film usually performed by a female dancer, has become increasingly important for a film’s success. The role has changed over time, says Kooshna whose research covers films from 1988 to 2015.

She examined the characters played by female performers, focusing on the type of dance that is not related to the narrative but is more of an erotic display of women – just there for entertainment purposes. In other words, If you removed the song, the film would still make sense.

She found that the traditional item song, from as far back as the 1950s, used to be performed by actresses who were often newcomers rather than established performers. They were never the heroine of the film, but rather the ‘vamp’ who could be seen drinking, smoking and being openly sexual in ways the heroine couldn’t.

“Because it wasn’t seen as acceptable in Indian society for the heroine to dance or be presented in such a provocative way in a public space,” she says.

These actresses could become an instant success, so the item song was seen as a gateway to popularity. There were some movies which would have been a big flop, but the item song saved the film which of course gave these female performers some power.

This started the process of film companies spending serious money on the production of that one song because selling the rights to TV channels represented around 50 percent of their profits.

Leading actresses, known for their other more ‘serious’ work like Priyanka Chopra, starting to perform these songs, which in turn increased the film’s budget, as they had to be paid more.

Add to that the cost of hundreds of people working behind the scenes – as musical directors, composers, choreographers, dancers, set designers, wardrobe, special effects and lighting – and the item song has become very big business.

Kooshna says there’s long been a paradox between the agency of the item dance performer and her power to earn money and fame, and the way she is achieving it; by performing in hyper-sexualised dances that objectify her for a largely male audience and create an unrealistic image of the ‘perfect woman’.

“We’re always going to have this tension between agency and subjectivity, but if you look at actresses in Bollywood, they have gained something; it’s a space, one place, where they are dominating, making a lot of money and becoming famous.”

However, with increasing attention to rape and violence against women in India and the Nirbhaya case in 2012, several feminist movements and humanitarian organisations pushed for a ban on item songs.

As a result, Kooshna says the censor did at one point ban the songs from TV, but you still have YouTube channels playing 24 hours a day.

However, the fact that these performers are now considered professionals, like any other professional, is progress, she believes.

“So, you can be in a serious film or a Bollywood film and cross genres as a female performer in India now. There’s a kind of flexibility to switch roles, from being a heroine to an ‘item girl’. I think that’s a positive thing.”

This is Kooshna’s second PhD. She first combined her interest in linguistics and the Indian socio-cultural context by focusing on code-mixing in Bollywood films (2009-2014). Code-mixing is a linguistic term that refers to the use of more than one language, in this case Hindi and English, in the course of a single conversation or written text.