PRAGATI 2019: The National Technical Innovation and Business Plan Competition at SFIT

How Does the Blockchain Work? Blockchain technology explained in simple words

Blockchain technology is probably the best invention since the internet itself. It allows value exchange without the need for trust or a central authority. Imagine you and I bet $50 on tomorrow’s weather in San Francisco. I bet it will be sunny, you that it will rain. Today we have three options to manage this transaction:

1. We can trust each other. Rainy or sunny, the loser will give $50 to the winner. If we are friends, this could be a good way of managing it. However, friends or strangers, one can easily not pay the other.

1. We can turn the bet into a contract. With a contract in place both parties will be more prone to pay. However, should either of the two decide not to pay, the winner will have to pay additional money to cover legal expenses and the court case might take a long time. Especially for a small amount of cash, this doesn’t seem like the optimal way to manage the transaction.

1. We can involve a neutral third party. Each of us gives $50 to a third party, who will give the total amount to the winner. But hey, she could also run away with all our money. So we end up with one of the first two options:trust or contract.

Neither trust nor contract is an optimal solution: We can’t trust strangers, and enforcing a contract requires time and money. The blockchain technology is interesting because it offers us a third option which is secure, quick, and cheap.

To read the full article, please visit:

https://medium.com/s/story/how-does-the-blockchain-work-98c8cd01d2ae (Accessed on March 5, 2019)

Legends of Artificial Intelligence (Marathi)

Source: Loksatta dated 4 March 2019

Skills needed for future job market

India finds itself at a unique advantage when compared to other nations due to its young population. However, a young population is both an opportunity as well as a problem depending on how the advantage is utilised to boost the economy. The rapidly growing population indicates the urgent need for skill development in order to enable the growing population to have meaningful employment. An education that places an emphasis on imparting skills over rote learning and memorisation is necessary to ensure that the youth are gainfully employed.

For India to maintain its stature of being the largest provider of skilled programmers and technologists, we will have to ensure that its populace is skilled accordingly so as to remain competitive in the global arena. What follows are five important skills that will continue to be in high demand in the Indian job market in the years to come.

CODING

Coding or programming in languages such as Javascript or Python has consistently been a skill that is in high demand. Many companies in the past few years have produced both hardware and software that feature augmented reality and machine learning. Individuals who possess the skills required to create, design and refine applications that make the most of these technologies and application programming interfaces, will be able to consistently secure rewarding employment.

MACHINE LEARNING

Machine learning (ML) being a branch of Artificial Intelligence (AI), has proved itself to be one of the most important technological developments in the last few years as it facilitates algorithms and programes to continually learn and improve their efficiency with time. Individuals possessing a sound understanding of machine learning will ensure that they become integral components of both emerging and established corporations.

MOBILE DEVELOPMENT

Companies are constantly in need of mobile applications that make their product or service accessible to the growing target audience. An exciting direction in which mobile applications are currently headed in is integrating technologies such as augmented reality like Pokémon Go. Applications such as these blend elements from the environment around users making the content appearing on screen more engaging.

SEO/SEM

Companies are constantly on the lookout for individuals with digital marketing skills in order to be able to better their presence and visibility across the internet. This skill has an obvious advantage as greater exposure to users across the internet would result in more customers and thus revenue.

CYBER-SECURITY SPECIALISTS

It is no surprise that cybersecurity and information security are one of the highest paying and most wanted skillsets. Ransomware attacks such as WannaCry along with hardware vulnerabilities that were exhibited in MeltdownandSpectrehave become the new norm in modern society. As the world continues its reliance on outsourcing services such as cloud computing providers, coupled with internal networks that are vulnerable, the need for businesses to staff a skilled security team is of utmost importance.

These emerging skillsets will be evolving at an exponential pace and wrapping one’s head around them to stay ahead of the curve is essential. A young population can only become an asset if sufficient job opportunities are created and the youth is skilled enough to meet the aspirations of the populace.

The government has struck the right cords with ‘Skill India’ and ‘Make in India’ as well as providing the policy framework under ‘Ease of Doing Business’. However, a lot more needs to be done if we are to fully utilise youth potential. With focus on acquiring the required skillsets, the possibilities that lie before a youthful India are unlimited.

(The author is founder of Indian Institute of Digital Education)

Source: The Time of India dated March 4, 2019

Centre plans to colour code generic medicines

In a move to promote low-cost generic medicines, the government plans to colour code such drugs to enable consumers to differentiate between generic medicines and other drugs and take an informed decision while purchasing them from chemists. Apart from colour coding, the government is also considering use of symbols to make generic medicines easily identifiable.

The proposal to colour code generic medicines was discussed at a recent Drugs Consultative Committee meeting. The coding system is likely to be similar to that used in food products to differentiate between vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. The government is expected to soon draw a detailed proposal on the matter, which will be put out for stakeholder consultations.Of late, the health ministry has taken various measures to encourage the sale of generic medicines over branded ones. For instance, it has made it mandatory for pharmacies to have separate shelves for displaying generic drugs and asked doctors to prescribe drugs by generic names in legible handwriting. The drug regulator has also asked companies to print generic names on their labels in a font which is two font sizes larger than the brand name. The government is also strengthening the backend supply chain to promote Jan Aushadhi stores, which sells only generic drugs. At present, there are over 3,000 such stores across the country.

Estimates show that more than 70% of the Rs 1 lakh crore local pharmaceutical market is dominated by branded generics, whereas patented medicines constitute around 9%.

Last year, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had raised concern about the high trade margins included in prices of branded medicines. Highlighting the role of intermediaries in increasing prices, the anti-trust regulator had asked the government to find mechanisms to promote generic medicines.

In a policy note, the CCI said high margins were a form of incentive and an indirect marketing tool employed by pharma companies.

Even international agencies like the WHO has said increased use of generics can reduce the burden of out of pocket expenditure on healthcare. Currently, essential medicines constitute over 60% of out of pocket expenditure on healthcare in India.

In addition to colour coding, the government is also considering the use of symbols to make generic medicines easily identifiable

Source: The Times of India dated March 4, 2019 

Indian dress for Degree Distribution Ceremony

Source: https://epaper.loksatta.com/c/37269844

Now, companies are deploying robots to decode CVs

As robots tread their way into every industry from hotels to healthcare, how could human resources (HR) and recruitment remain far behind?

With automation gradually seeping into various levels within organisations, resumes are getting increasingly scanned by robots, or rather specialised applicant tracking systems (ATS).

According to TopResume.com, a leading global resume service provider, about 95% of Fortune 500 companies today use ATS software in their recruitment process, with Greenhouse and Bullhorn being some of the most popular ATS that are used. The global industrial robotics market is predicted to reach $41.23 billion by 2020, as per a report by Grand View Research, and robotics in resume scanning is expected to gain greater credence.

In India, however, the usage of ATS by HR departments is rising at a gradual pace. “ATS is not used thoroughly in India as yet. We observe large organisations who undergo recruitment volumes of over 300-500 candidates in a year for junior level positions utilising ATS. Advanced recruitment companies who use technology as a differentiation factor have adopted these platforms too,’’ says Nicolas Dumoulin, managing director, Michael Page India.

“Resumes are being read by tools using natural language processing techniques and software tools,’’ says Aditya Narayan Mishra, CEO, CIEL HR Services.

Experts believe as ATS seeps into the recruitment process, it is becoming vital for job seekers to make their resumes ATS=complaint. According to Nida Shahid, associate director – advisory, SHRM India, resumes in India are often not well optimised for ATS as they weigh low in grammar and formatting.

“Even a LinkedIn profile that is not recently updated may not support an ATS to make the correct decisions. The algorithm works basis the data it is fed and analysed in a format that is readable by the software,” adds Shahid. Experts say ATS is designed to pick out keywords in the resume and analyse if the keywords match with the job description. “Earlier, we would advise candidates to highlight important points, niche skills, experience and education. Now, as a machine will scan through the data, candidates should use keywords that match with the job description,” explains Shahid.  

For example, if the job description says “time management’’, the same keyword should reflect in the resume, instead of something like “managing time’’. 

Moreover, job titles should match those in the job description. If the job requirement reads as “Brand Manager’’, then a resume using the fancier “Brand Evangelist’’ might find no favour with the ATS.

Secondly, the resume should be clear and simple while quantifying the work, as the algorithm gets confused by the use of jargon, says Shahid.

Moreover, candidates should include key information in a concise manner and avoid long narratives, adds Dumoulin. Experts add that neither do the tools undervalue a concise resume that uses keywords sparingly but intelligently, nor do they give more importance to resumes that overuse keywords.

ATS carries a host of benefits for HR teams and organisations. “On an average, one job posting receives about 250 resumes. It’s impossible for an HR person to go through and vet each resume minutely. 

In fact, almost 75-88% of resumes that are received do not qualify for the job that is available. ATS reduces human intervention and thus cuts down the cost to the company. We weave in AI and human insights to predict absolute quality in recruits,” says Umasanker Kandaswamy, joint director and chief operating officer, Bruhat Insights Global.

Kandaswamy explains that ATS optimises the turnaround time for recruiters. He says that companies invest up to Rs 50,000 per hire, which also includes 23 working hours taken to thoroughly screen each resume. 

“The biggest shocker is that a candidate stays up in the market for only 10 days, as they are gulped down by other hungry recruiters.”

Besides optimising the cost of hiring and the time taken, ATS enhances recruiter efficiency by as much as 20%, says Mishra. 

FINDING A MATCH

·         Large organisations who recruit over 300-500 candidates in a year for junior level positions utilising ATS  

·         Resumes in India not well optimised for ATS as they weigh low in grammar and formatting

Source: Daily News and Analysis dated 28 February 2019
URL: https://www.dnaindia.com/business/report-now-companies-are-deploying-robots-to-decode-cvs-2724840 (Accessed on March 4, 2019)