Dec 1, 2023 | Uncategorized
Adani Gangavaram Port the deepest and the most advance port in Andhra Pradesh in association with Adani Foundation conducted a Mega Eye Camp in Gangavaram, Dallivanipalem, & Nellimukku Villages. The free eye check-up camp was attended by eminent doctors from Vizag along with the Sr. Management of Adani Gangavaram Port.
Since April 2023, Adani Gangavaram Port and Adani Foundation have successfully completed the screening of 619 individuals from villages. The port had also conducted camps for the truck drivers and cleaners who are a part of the logistics fleet. Over 200 truck drivers have availed the free medical camp conducted by the port.
The participants of the eye camp went through a systematic process of checkups. Preliminary diagnosis and consultation for men, women & children was done by the doctors and medicines & reports were distributed free of cost at the camp. The port and foundation started distribution of 294 pairs of spectacles to the people from the conducted camps & additional camps are planned, with a target of reaching a total of 1200 people by March 2024.
Speaking on the occasion Adani Gangavaram Port Limited management said, “This Mega Eye Camp is organized as a part of our CSR Programme to ensure the well-being of the underprivileged people from the communities in our neighbourhood. Under the education initiative, Adani Gangavaram Port has invested in creating infrastructure at local schools over the past year.”
A computer center has been established at ZPHS, Gangavaram, reflecting the organization’s commitment to empowering the younger generation with education and skills. The Adani Group believes in creating a healthy environment for overall growth, aiming for long-term benefits that positively impact lives in the community.
Nov 30, 2023 | Uncategorized
Researchers at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) launched two crucial policy briefs ahead of the much anticipated 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) scheduled from November 30 to December 12, 2023 at Dubai, UAE.
Former climate negotiator, Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri, a Distinguished Fellow at TERI emphasized, “Adaptation is an imperative and absolute must in present times for the Global South. COP28 needs to make the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) integral to climate commitments and action”.
“Climate change demands that energy use must be sustainable; the development imperative of the Global South demands it to be inclusive, just and fair,” Mr Puri added.
Outcome on GGA will be a key determinant for the success of COP28
The policy brief titled ‘Road to Dubai and The Global Goal on Adaption’ reviewed the discussions around the GGA framework to provide perspectives on what could be a robust, equitable, and flexible outcome of the GGA process at COP28. The outcome on GGA will be a key determinant of the success of COP28.
The policy brief underscored that the definition of adaptation should lay emphasis on human and natural systems and not countries. IPCC definition of adaptation emphasizes human and natural systems and not countries. A paradigm shift in the climate regime is needed regarding adaptation. In other words, there is a need to revisit the problem statement. While the approach in climate change negotiations will be country-driven, the GGA framework implementation needs to factor in nuances and a disaggregate picture of vulnerability within countries. Means of implementation, such as capacity-building on data systems, are crucial not only for Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) purposes but also to avoid maladaptation. All indicators, including input, output, and outcome indicators, are important.
The New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG), starting from 2025, is currently in the process of discussion; therefore, it must be based on the needs and requirements of the developing countries, especially considering the need to balance between adaptation climate finance and mitigation climate finance. Along with the Global Stocktake (GST), NCQG must also be linked to the GGA framework. An important outcome of COP28 could be that the global community commits to securing basic universal enablers of adaptation at all scales, for example, universal access to early warning systems.
Energy transitions should be inclusive and consider unique circumstances of Global South
Keeping up with the growing demands for clean energy, TERI researchers also released a policy brief titled “Just Energy Transition Partnerships, Climate Action, and Minilateralism” The policy brief cited the limited success rate of global climate agreements in generating consensus and how developing a more targeted approach to achieving goals, minilateralism has steadily emerged as an alternate approach in climate geopolitics.
The policy brief critically examined Just Energy Transition Partnerships which gained visibility from G7. The brief underscores that the current public cum private financing model adopted by JETPs is not sustainable in the long run. The primary focus on loans rather than on grants and the lack of concessional loans for developing economies make JETPs a non-starter for most countries in the Global South. It is ironic that Global South must take loans to solve a problem that they did not cause. Moreover, there is a mismatch between the funds that have been committed and the actual financial needs of economies for transitioning towards clean energy. Existing JETPs suffer from a lack of interconnection between the energy demand and the supply side. Further, there is also a need to invest in technologies such as battery storage and grids that support flexibility.
The launch of two briefs could not have been more timely, ahead of what is widely considered to be the most decisive COP.
Nov 30, 2023 | Uncategorized
Fortune Institute of International Business (FIIB), together with Inclusive Divyangjan Entrepreneur Association (IDEA), Humanity and Inclusion (HI); is proud to announce their thoughtful initiative, “Purple Bharat Utsav”, a pioneering event scheduled to commemorate World Disability Day on 30th November 2023 at FIIB (Fortune Institute of International Business) Campus, New Delhi.
As the world deals with unprecedented challenges, FIIB takes a pioneering step in hosting this one-of-a-kind event on World Disability Day. The “Purple Bharat Utsav” signifies Delhi’s premier inclusive festival, curated to champion diversity, acknowledge remarkable achievements in disability, and underscore the significance of inclusivity in today’s society.
“Purple Bharat Utsav” is a one-day festival crafted to spotlight the diversity and talents of individuals with disabilities. The event promises a diverse range of engaging programmes, including insightful round table discussions with corporates and influential opinion leaders. With a primary focus on fostering inclusivity and accessibility across all spheres of life, this event holds special significance as part of the World Disability Day celebrations.
“Through the planned dialogs and showcases throughout the day, our aim is to sensitize organizations to embrace inclusivity as a core part of their approach. Our corporate panel will deliberate on understanding disability holistically to propose a roadmap for disability mainstreaming within organizations. This event is our humble effort to set the stage for recognizing disability inclusion as a key aspect of each company’s DEI framework.”, said Ms. Radhika Shrivastava, Executive Director of FIIB (Fortune Institute of International Business).
Formerly, FIIB had joined forces with the Inclusive Divyangjan Entrepreneur Association (IDEA) through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote inclusive entrepreneurship. This strategic partnership was a testament to empowering individuals with disabilities (PWDs) in the field of entrepreneurship.
FIIB stands at the forefront of championing inclusivity and is proud to host this pioneering event that aims to redefine the narrative surrounding diversity and inclusion.
Nov 30, 2023 | Uncategorized
With a continuous focus on strengthening business quality, Edelweiss Tokio Life has introduced innovative risk management practices including driving a risk-conscious culture across the organization to proactively detect and prevent fraudulent practices.
Subhrajit Mukhopadhyay, Executive Director, Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance said, “Fraudulent incidences are detrimental not only to the business but also to the customer. They have a wide-ranging impact across product pricing, bonus payouts, claim settlement, and more. As an organization, we wanted to be proactive in our fraud-fighting efforts. Be it the use of automation or driving a risk-conscious culture, we have undertaken a score of measures that are enabling us to not only safeguard company profitability but also deliver innovative best-in-class products and services to our customers.”
At the end of FY2023, the life insurer reported a claim settlement ratio of 99.20%*, a 13th-month persistency ratio of 75%, and an NPS (a measure of customer satisfaction) of 54. The company also boasts innovative products across categories in the sector and has been known for trend-setting products like Edelweiss Tokio Life Wealth Ultima, Edelweiss Tokio Life Zindagi Protect, Edelweiss Tokio Life Flexi-Savings Plan, and more.
The company has introduced the unique Certified Risk Assessor (CRA) program for its front-line sellers. This program equips them with the skills to assess risk effectively, making them pseudo-underwriters. It also employs machine learning models to detect and prevent fraud at different intervals of customer journeys, more notably at issuance and claim settlement. It also uses statistical models, and industry intelligence to investigate and resolve cases.
This year, the life insurer was rewarded the Golden Peacock Award for Risk Management practices. The forum received 370 responses for Corporate Governance, Sustainability, ESG, and Risk Management practices. Only 10 organizations, including Edelweiss Tokio Life, were awarded the Golden Peacock Award for Risk Management.
Nov 30, 2023 | Uncategorized
Sophos, a global leader in innovating and delivering cybersecurity as a service, today released two reports about the use of AI in cybercrime. The first report—“The Dark Side of AI: Large-Scale Scam Campaigns Made Possible by Generative AI”—demonstrates how, in the future, scammers could leverage technology like ChatGPT to conduct fraud on a massive scale with minimal technical skills. However, a second report, titled “Cybercriminals Can’t Agree on GPTs,” found that, despite AI’s potential, rather than embracing large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, some cybercriminals are skeptical and even concerned about using AI for their attacks.
The Dark Side of AI
Using a simple e-commerce template and LLM tools like GPT-4, Sophos X-Ops was able to build a fully functioning website with AI-generated images, audio, and product descriptions, as well as a fake Facebook login and fake checkout page to steal users’ login credentials and credit card details. The website required minimal technical knowledge to create and operate, and, using the same tool, Sophos X-Ops was able to create hundreds of similar websites in minutes with one button.
“It’s natural—and expected—for criminals to turn to new technology for automation. The original creation of spam emails was a critical step in scamming technology because it changed the scale of the playing field. New AIs are poised to do the same; if an AI technology exists that can create complete, automated threats, people will eventually use it. We have already seen the integration of generative AI elements in classic scams, such as AI-generated text or photographs to lure victims.
“However, part of the reason we conducted this research was to get ahead of the criminals. By creating a system for large-scale fraudulent website generation that is more advanced than the tools criminals are currently using, we have a unique opportunity to analyze and prepare for the threat before it proliferates,” said Ben Gelman, senior data scientist, Sophos.
Cybercriminals Can’t Agree on GPTs
For its research into attacker attitudes towards AI, Sophos X-Ops examined four prominent dark web forums for LLM-related discussions. While cybercriminals’ AI use appears to be in its early stages, threat actors on the dark web are discussing its potential when it comes to social engineering. Sophos X-Ops has already witnessed the use of AI in romance-based, crypto scams.
In addition, Sophos X-Ops found that the majority of posts were related to compromised ChatGPT accounts for sale and “jailbreaks”—ways to circumvent the protections built into LLMs, so cybercriminals can abuse them for malicious purposes. Sophos X-Ops also found ten ChatGPT-derivatives that the creators claimed could be used to launch cyber-attacks and develop malware. However, threat actors had mixed reactions to these derivatives and other malicious applications of LLMs, with many criminals expressing concern that the creators of the ChatGPT imitators were trying to scam them.
“While there’s been significant concern about the abuse of AI and LLMs by cybercriminals since the release of ChatGPT, our research has found that, so far, threat actors are more skeptical than enthused. Across two of the four forums on the dark web we examined, we only found 100 posts on AI. Compare that to cryptocurrency where we found 1,000 posts for the same period.
“We did see some cybercriminals attempting to create malware or attack tools using LLMs, but the results were rudimentary and often met with skepticism from other users. In one case, a threat actor, eager to showcase the potential of ChatGPT inadvertently revealed significant information about his real identity. We even found numerous ‘thought pieces’ about the potential negative effects of AI on society and the ethical implications of its use. In other words, at least for now, it seems that cybercriminals are having the same debates about LLMs as the rest of us,” said Christopher Budd, director, X-Ops research, Sophos.
For more about AI-generated scam websites and threat actors’ attitudes to LLMs, read The Dark Side of AI: Large-Scale Scam Campaigns Made Possible by Generative AI and Cybercriminals Can’t Agree on GPTs on Sophos.com.
Nov 30, 2023 | Uncategorized
Last week, OnePlus the global technology brand announced the dates of the groundbreaking musical extravaganza, the OnePlus AI Music Festival. Today, OnePlus has announced an electrifying lineup of diverse artists to grace the stage. This gathering will showcase a blend of global talents, promising an unparalleled fusion of music styles and genres.
India’s biggest Independent Artist, Producer & DJ – Ritviz will join the star-studded list of artists. Few Indian artists have experienced the meteoric rise to fame that 27-year-old Ritviz Srivastava has, and even fewer have been able to sustain that popularity. Effortlessly blended elements of Indian traditional music, hip-hop and electronica, he is currently the highest-streamed Indian indie artist on Spotify garnering 1 billion+ streams across audio and video platforms.
Also on the programming is Swedish, Producer and DJ – Diorange. Diorange’s distinctive sonic landscape celebrates different languages and genres, creating a sound that is truly global. With an impressive track record of over 200 million views across various content platforms, his meteoric rise is exemplified by headlining performances at key events in India and Sweden and touring across India.
In the all-star roster is also Kayan – Ambika Nayak’s musical alter ego. A multifaceted artist – singer, producer-DJ, model, actor, and voiceover artist – Kayan effortlessly navigates musical terrains spanning soul, electronic, pop, and R&B. Renowned for her captivating performances, she’s graced prestigious stages worldwide, including NH7 Weekender, Zomaland, YouTube Fan Fest 2023, and the inaugural Lollapalooza India.
Adding to the festival’s diverse soundscape is Lost Stories, comprising Prayag Mehta and Rishab Joshi, dubbed the “Scene Starters” by DJ Mag. Their distinctive amalgamation of ethnic and folk music with electronica has captivated audiences globally. As the first Indians to perform four times at Tomorrowland Music Festival, including sets at Tiesto’s Musical Freedom stage and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike’s Smash The House stage, Lost Stories continue to push boundaries in the electronic music landscape.
The lineup also features the dynamic duo Pro Bros, Sunny Sharma, and Karan Bhalla. Regarded as pioneers in India’s Electronic Music scene, their high-energy live performances have become a hallmark. Their repertoire includes chart-topping releases like ‘Take My Breath Away’ on Tiesto’s Musical Freedom/Spinnin’ Records and ‘F.U.T.S.’ on Chuckie’s label, Dirty Dutch Digital. Along with this, their song with Raghu Dixit, “Sajanaa” has garnered more than 5M+ views and streams. Pro Bros are popularly nick-named as ‘Mashup Masters’ which is only fair because they’ve released 100+ mashups which have been played by 1000+ DJs around the globe.
This curated lineup of artists represents a convergence of global talent, promising an unforgettable sonic journey for attendees at the OnePlus AI Music Festival. Stay tuned for more updates and surprises as the event approaches.
