Indian Chamber of Commerce

Critics often complain about increasing unemployment in India. Have they looked at sectors where there is increasing demand for people, yet qualified people are difficult to get? The famous poem ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, comes to mind and the line “Water, Water Everywhere,Nor any drop to Drink” seems very apt in the labour market of today. One such sector where there is shortage in India is the shortage of individuals required for roles in renewables and green construction. The jobs are being generated across the hierarchy- Chief Sustainability Officer, Sustainability Engineer, Environmental Manager, Environmental Auditor, Compliance Specialist, Landscape Architect, Solar Installer, to name some of them. While the demand for green skills is rising by 8% in India, the people with those skills are growing only at a rate of 6%, market data is showing. The ILO estimates that shift to a Green Economy will create 100 million new jobs by 2030 of which 30-35% would be in India, as per various Research Reports, many of these jobs require a solid foundation in STEM skills, with engineers being the most in demand. Operational Management skills are equally important, which helps the organizational restructuring needed to support green initiatives. ESG implementation is no longer a wish list, but a reality. Sustainability Specialists and Transportation Planners lead the strategic initiatives promoting Environmental responsibility and resource efficiency. Soft skills such as Design Thinking, Creativity and Adaptability are highly important for sustainability challenges and fostering innovation.

From wooden cottages to heritage cottages perked on cliffs, travellers are constantly seeking unforgettable travel experiences that provide a local flavour and a home away from home. It is no surprise that India’s homestay market has had a phenomenal growth , after the Covid 19 Pandemic. Homestay in a real sense gives a unique and varied  experience to the traveller  where they interact with the family of the host and get to know about their  culture. A host is always a great source of first-hand local cities knowledge,  by acting as a guide for the traveller, whether be a tourist attraction, local eateries, shopping or any kind of travel guidance/assistance. Most of the  times a stay at a homestay becomes a memory for the travellers, travelling from  other part of the country or a foreign country . Data shows that homestays are a viable option for travellers as well as entrepreneurs , implying demand and supply both growing and enlarging the pie or gross value added, in economic terms. India’s domestic travel market is around $ 35bn at end of 2023, as per rough estimates and 7% of that is homestay market  which is growing in double digits. With post pandemic foreign tourist arrivals surging from 6.4 million in 2022 to 9.3 million in 2023,  the homestay market would be sustained by both domestic and foreign tourists.

However, tourist satisfaction is integral to growth of homestay markets. And for that sustainability of homestay tourism is essential. This sustainability has to be three pronged: (a) Economic (b) Social and (c) Environmental. Economic Sustainability means income earning by the locals and income with equity and diversity. Economic Sustainability also means Infrastructural facilities like access to roads, availability of transportation, uninterrupted power & internet . Social Sustainability is ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ or treating tourists as God by the locals , following Indian culture and tradition . Environmental Sustainability is Environmental Protection and Integration of homestay with environment e.g. eating farm grown food, using waste as compost and zero pollution. We think decision-makers must be concerned with the social and cultural sustainability of the homestay. In order to increase tourism activity, host community must be given the opportunity to engage with travellers, get knowledge of the culture, and gain access to the history and culture of the place. Inadequately trained guides would not encourage tourist flow.  Also,  Safety of the visitors is highly important and for that structuring some homestay rules would be essential for a conducive environment. Finally, upgrading the host-guest communication, improving the enrolment and management of grievances, would lead to sustainable and growing tourism .  Placing a body to ensure fair communication and delivery of promised services would help.

Due to its natural colour and importance jute has become known as the ‘golden fibre’ . The fabric has little impact on the environment and is proven to be very durable and the plants are easy to grow, produce a large crop and do not require various pesticides and fertilizers. The fiber is a relation of the flax and hemp plants and is extracted by a very similar method. Jute has a vast array of uses ranging from carpet backing to re-usable bags. Jute is mainly grown in India in the fertile Ganges Delta where it produces a high yield annual crop.

India is the largest producer and consumer of jute products in the world. The figure is around 1.97 million MT for India, followed by 1.24 million MT for Bangladesh, our neighbor and second largest producer, but world’s largest exporter. Yet, interest in this fiber is withering away in India due to less interest of people. We need to revive the same. The jute products include rugs, carpets, footwear, wine bottle bags, carry bags, hand bags, wall hangings, jewellery, baskets, coasters, lamp shades, decorative articles and show pieces. Slowly jute is losing market despite the fact that it is reusable, eco-friendly and bio degradable. 92% Jute is used for packaging which is under regulation which says all of food grain has to be packaged in jute bags only. Only balance 8% used for other purposes. However, demand for jute is on a downward trend because of cost competitiveness of mass production from synthetic fibres. Moreover, there are fluctuations in Government Demand for packaging, according to media reports. But, Government of India is keen to develop the sector and has hiked the MSP. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in March 2024 approved ₹285/quintal hike in the minimum support price (MSP) for raw jute to ₹5,335/quintal for the 2024-25 season as against ₹5,050/quintal for the 2023-24. The Government of West Bengal is providing Crop Insurance too, which gives a lot of security to the sector.

We have to think beyond physical safety and include virtual safety in our daily lives . This is because cyber attacks have more than doubled since the pandemic. According to the IMF, size of cyber losses has quadrupled since 2017 to $ 2.5 billion. According to a reputed Security Network around 33% of web users in India have faced cyber threats in one form or the other. Mobile attacks in 2023 were 33 million . Threat techniques used are phishing, ransomware, malware, adware, social engineering etc. To stay safe, we have to follow the basic steps: (a) avoid links in spam messages (b)avoid unknown or suspicious websites and downloading from them (c) avoid disclosing personal information to unknown sources (d) using AI as an Assistant to detect unknown patterns in software which could be virus. By the way, AI can also be used to penetrate a firewall and attack a system (e) Last but not the least, use a Good Anti Virus. But still, we are only safe for the moment: as long we are alert, as long our protective software is updated and as long as we stick to reputed sites and if we face any threat share it with the Cyber Cell of Police , rather than obeying the wishes of the criminal.

In its centenary year, the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has partnered with the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and ARIVAA Sports to inaugurate the "Bengal Pro T20 League" aimed at benefiting cricket fraternity in Bengal. ICC has signed a tripartite MoU with CAB and ARIVAA Sports for a period of 3 years to promote the Bengal Pro T20 League through its extensive network. This league marks the first time that 8 teams for both men and women will compete, with matches scheduled at iconic venues such as Eden Gardens and Jadavpur University at Salt Lake. In the past, ICC has organized various sports events, including the ICC-RCGC Open Golf Championship Tournament in 2021 at the RCGC club in Kolkata. The Bengal Pro T20 League opens a new line for budding  cricketers of West Bengal. 

Today under the New Education Policy we are taught that we can make any line as our profession, if we love that line. And if we are to make Cricket as our Profession, a little bit of Corporate Handholding can do wonders and open a Pandoras Box of Talents.  In the journey of success there are small steps which takes a man or woman forward and towards the top and a person evolves with experience and becomes a leader. Moreover, when one is working in a Team Environment, the task is to identify talent, trust them and nurture them.

It is like a Sci-Fi movie becoming a reality. It helps to connect to people who are not physically present and gives the second-best feeling of being in close touch. The Metaverse actually is an expansive, interconnected digital universe that blends aspects of Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and the Internet to create immersive, shared experiences. It is a convergence of physical and digital worlds, allowing users to interact, play, work, and socialize in many ways previously confined to the world of science fiction. VR puts users in a digital environment, while AR puts digital elements into the real world. Software tools applied are Oculus Rift and HTC Vive for VR, and ARKit for iOS, ARCore for Android in the realm of AR. This living digital universe, where events occur in real-time, is a key feature that software platforms like Second Life and Fortnite creatively utilize.

Accessing the Metaverse is not a problem. For a fully immersive experience, VR headsets like Oculus Quest 2, HTC Vive, and Sony Playstation VR are popular choices. Augmented reality experiences can be felt through smartphones and tablets using ARCore for Android and ARKit for iOS. For more advanced AR, devices like Microsoft HoloLens and Magic Leap offer a more sophisticated experience. Familiarising one with the 3D space of the Metaverse is essential. Tools like Google Earth VR and various VR exploration games can help users get accustomed to moving and interacting in a three-dimensional virtual environment. Some Metaverse platforms have their own unique interfaces. VR controllers allow for natural interactions in virtual spaces, for example voice and text chat through Platforms like Discord. Some VR platforms allow teleportation to move around virtually. Platforms like Altspace VR and VRChat offer a variety of environments for meeting and interacting with people from around the globe. The revolution is that an Indian can interact with a US citizen, through their Images or Avatars in the Metaverse. Platforms like Sansar and TheWaveVR specialize in hosting virtual meetings or virtual conferences. LinkedIn VR and platforms like Spatial provide environments for professional networking, workshops, and meetings in a virtual setting. Platforms like Mozilla Hubs and Engage offer spaces for educational seminars, lectures, and cultural exchanges.

Medical devices play a critical role in modern healthcare systems, being part of the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of diseases and medical conditions. However, 70-80% of India’s medical device requirements are met through imports and very little is manufactured at home. The Indian medical devices market was valued at approximately $10-12 bn in 2020 and is projected to increase to $50 bn by 2025. India imports medical devices primarily from the USA, Germany, China, and Japan. Realizing the problem of high import dependency and to keep technology affordable, the Government of India approved the National Medical Devices Policy on 2 May 2023. The policy introduces several key initiatives to streamline regulations, foster innovation, attract investments, develop human resources, and develop Indian brands of medical devices. However, the manufacturing of various devices needs approval by various  approving bodies. The Medical Devices (Amendment) Rules 2020 encompass various aspects of device regulation, such as classification, registration, manufacturing and import, labeling, sales, and post-market requirements. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has its own categorization based on domestic standards.  It may be ideal to have a separate law and regulatory body which would take care of medical devices end to end along with import tariff rationalization and competitive domestic pricing.

AI has become a powerful tool for media houses when it comes to news. Empowered by ML based recommender systems, news and media outlets can fast check and cross verify large amounts of data in real time. This is thousand times the speed of a human. AI has empowered media houses with the generation of large amounts of data and accurate digital storytelling.  AI enabled data labelling and data annotation are going to make news posts reliable, easily retrievable and deployable for any future use. Completely automated book publishing is already underway and tech smart tools enabled publishing houses are going to play a critical role in future. Pattern recognition, speech to text synthesis and vice versa, content synthesis , sign language production enabled text and image description plus automatic subtitling are slowly but slowly revolutionising visual arts , movie industry and audio visual components for media houses.

However, the same tools which make AI enabled media praiseworthy raise some concerns:

· They can be used to serve misinformation

· They can be used to plagiarise original information and sometimes give inappropriate information

· They can be used to generate deepfakes

· Statistical Language Processing give 50% accuracy and 50% errors which is very high error .

Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is a digital form of currency note issued by Central Banks of different countries . It is a form of digital bank money that can be distinguished from reserves or settlement balances held by commercial banks with  RBI. It is a RBI liability, denominated in an existing unit of account, which serves both as a medium of exchange and  a store of value. Like cryptocurrencies, a CBDC exists only in a digital form such as file or a token, but unlike them, it is backed, controlled and maintained by the authority of RBI. Digital currency offers significant advantages, in the areas of financial inclusion and cross border payments, in addition to benefits such as smoother transactions and reduced costs compared to cost of managing physical cash. The RBI started its e-rupee pilot in December 2022 but transactions averaged only 25,000 a day by the end of October 2023, even though its use case was significantly broadened by linking it to the popular United Payments Interface (UPI),  However, from December 2023,  some large private and state-run banks  started increasing the use of CBDC, particularly for employee benefit schemes.  As a result transactions topped 1 million per day. Also, the user base has been steadily growing to about 4 million users currently, up from 3 million, 2 months ago .

Programmability is the most powerful feature of CBDC. This capability can be used to ensure that digital cash is issued as a targeted subsidy (say for fertilisers) and remain fixed for that purpose. The Reserve Bank of India prefers a centrally-controlled, conventional database infrastructures for CBDC  instead of DLT (distributed ledger technology)-based infrastructure due to the latter’s limitations. While both conventional and DLT-based infrastructures store data multiple times and in separate physical locations, the key difference is in how data is updated. In conventional databases, data is stored over multiple physical nodes, controlled by one authoritative central entity, which ensures better control . On the other hand, in DLT-based systems, the ledger is usually managed jointly by multiple entities in a decentralised manner and each update needs to be harmonised amongst the nodes of all entities. This consensus mechanism requires additional overhead owing to which DLTs enable lower volumes of transactions. Given the fact CBDC is yet to scale up and sustain the bigger scale, centralised databases make sense as of date. It may also be possible that some layers of the CBDC technology stack be on the centralised system and remaining be on distributed networks. The choice of technology architecture for CBDC will need to consider the resource intensiveness, energy efficiency, cyber security, technical stability and resilience, business continuity planning, and good  technical governance.

Robotic surgery, or robot-supported  surgery, allow doctors to do many type of complex processes  with more precision, flexibility and control than that can be done  with conventional techniques. Robotic surgery is usually associated with minimal invasive surgery — procedures performed through tiny incisions. The maximum used clinical robotic surgical system includes a camera arm and mechanical arms with surgical instruments attached to them. The surgeon directs  the arms while seating  at a computer console in the operation theatre. These surgeries have been successfully carried out on eye, knee, kidney, gallbladder, in cancerous conditions, in laparoscopy and hernia operating procedures, in gastrointestinal surgery, as well as in cases related to oncology, urology, orthopaedic and cardiology among many.

AI can improve  robotic surgery by reducing the surgeons’ tension, improving decision making and accuracy. AI algorithms organize the heavy duty surgical procedures by zeroing in on the tools ,  and using superior imaging techniques and computer simulations create a detailed surgical plan that takes into account the patient’s unique anatomy and any possible complications. AI algorithms  also supervise operations, monitor the patient’s vital signs and convey warning signals, where needed. These algorithms and models decide  the trajectory of the robotic arm, give intelligent feedback to the surgeon, adjust the force applied by the arm, enhance the user interface of the console and guide surgical decisions. AI and Machine Learning are used for motion planning, computer vision, force sensing, teleoperation and predictive analytics.. Machine used Surgical Force determination is more accurate than Human determined and in case of any rare Machine Error, the human is always ready to step in. In fact the whole operation processes becomes data analysis oriented by machines which help in human decision making. And the results are good and higher accuracy, the ultimate goal of any surgery . The Robot does not perform the surgery on its own but works as an extension of the surgeon’s hands allowing more accurate and controlled movements which are not affected by any emotion. India boasts of 66 robotic surgery centres with 71 robotic systems already installed till June 2023.

Waste , Electronic, Electrical and Technical devices need to be recycled properly, otherwise toxins are released into the soil, water, air and human tissue which raises the concentration of lead and other harmful compounds. Managing E-Waste in a eco-friendly way is a huge task considering the generation is as high as 40% of the new arrivals together with the accumulated lot and also expensive as the equipment for waste treatment plant, collection cost of E-waste, repairing and maintenance is costly.  The primary step in reducing E-Waste is reducing E-consumption per se which is out of the race for the present day. Rapid product development and forced obsolescence are two key factors and this is encouraged by unbridled consumption of today. In 2023, the consumer electronics industry is expected to generate $75.77 bn in revenue with telephones occupying a share of 58% at $ 44.34 bn. And the craze for annual model change happens in phones. Globally, 53.6 MMT of electronic trash were produced in 2019 and the figure is expected to reach 74MMT by 2030, according to the Global E-Waste Monitor Report. India is he 3rd largest E-waste generator after China and the USA with 3.3 MMT E-Waste generation annually. India also faces the problem of importation/dumping from rich and industrialised countries. In India, E-Waste is covered by a number of environmental laws and rules, but penalties for non-compliance are insufficient and difficult to enforce which enhances the problem. The legislation in India dealing with E Waste is basically preventive and procedural in nature which does not provide any punitive measures for the manufacturer, importer, distributor and user of electronic device , as a result the violator continues to do so. This again is loaded further by electrical waste on all fronts.

In such a situation, we may recommend the following:

(a)    Policy level interventions like creation of E-waste Regulation, Control of their Import  and developing a process  for item wise disposal/recycling. Ideally the process  for disposal/recycling may be aligned to an institutional structure.

(b)   Developing environmentally sound engineering methods for recycling , recovery and disposal with quality standards at each step.

(c)    Align FDI and Private Investment in Solid Waste Management to E-Waste Management.

(d)   Stringent monetary punishment for non-compliance with rewards for highlighting non-compliance.

Climate change is the single most critical planetary threat that societies face today, as all 4 standard indicators of climate change reached new peaks in 2021-22. Concentrations of GHG reached record levels in 2021 –> CO2 concentrations in 2021 were 415.7 parts per million (ppm), methane at 1908 parts per billion (ppb) and nitrous oxide at 334.5 ppb and so did global sea level rising at an average of 4.5 mm per year. Top 2 km of oceans continued to warm in 2021 and the ocean waters have acidified increasingly absorbing 23% of CO2 emissions. The ecological consequences of climate change are worrying enough but a bigger worry are its socio economic repercussions as it affects production, GDP and public welfare globally. But before that we must understand that main countries responsible for climate change are the developed countries of Europe and US, though they try to blame the poverty and population density of developing countries.

And there are 3 primary causes of climate change: (a) Industrialisation (b) Colonisation and (c) Consumerism. The countries with higher levels of industrialisation are emitting higher levels of carbon. US alone is responsible for 25% of the global GHG emissions followed by China, Europe and the African nations. Ongoing ecological colonization or ownership of natural resources by the developed world also lead to carbon emissions from the developing world. Moreover, according to a UN report, developed countries account for 24% of the world population, but consume approximately 70% of the world’s energy, 75% of the world’s metals, 85% of the wood, 60% of food and 85% of chemicals.

Union Government is working on setting up the 16th Finance Commission over the next few weeks and is finalising  the terms of reference at a time when several states are facing financial difficulties and the Centre is worried over the impact of several  freebies announced across the country without thinking about  the fiscal situation . The Election Commission had once asked the political parties their opinion on standardisation of ‘financial implications of promises to be made in future election manifestos’ and ‘ways of financing them within the available financial space’ and ‘the effect thereof on the fiscal sustainability’. However, the Supreme Court has rightly observed that ‘all promises cannot be equated with freebies …Not only are these a part of the Directive Principles of State Policy, but also are a responsibility of the welfare state.’ Till date there  are various definitions  of what the term ‘freebie’ means . RBI in its June 2022 bulletin classifies provisions of free electricity, free water, free public transportation, waiver of pending utility bills and farm loan waivers as freebies. Another view distinguishes between ‘merit goods’ and ‘public goods’ and defines freebies in the context of providing free power, water and consumption goods.  Then, where is the dividing line between freebie and necessary government expenditure to create demand in the economy as well as help the poor? It is difficult to define . Any expenditure within the budget is acceptable and if financial constraints are not considered while offering some benefits could be labelled as freebie, though the beneficial effect of a freebie cannot be ignored, if it reaches the weak and the vulnerable. Example -Distribution of cycles , scholarship to girl students , helped to narrow down the gender imbalance in education. Hence if the Welfare State remains within budget constraints, perhaps this debate may peter down.

Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence technology that can produce various types of content, including text, imagery, audio and synthetic data. A recent study  by ILO suggests that the most important impact of Generative AI would be to support work rather than fully replace it by Automation. Researchers found that only clerical work is affected by the technology with 24% of clerical jobs highly exposed while an additional 58% at medium level exposure.  Since women are higher in clerical jobs, this raises questions of gender imbalance too. Interestingly, among the other occupations, the highest proportion of tasks with significant exposure to Gen AI moves  within the range of 1-4%, while tasks with moderate exposure never exceed 25%.. Goldman Sachs estimates that shifts in workflow resulting from the use of Generative AI could put 300 million full-time jobs at risk of being completely automated or may result in parts of an employee's job being outsourced to creative AI tools. Generative AI has  a neutral nature, being neither positive or negative by itself . Its socio-economic impact would depend on its use only . If Generative AI is used to fill entry level positions, then one day we would have a mid-level gap which would be difficult to fill. If a cap is given on Automation, perhaps managing the future gaps would be easier.  The truth is always a shade of gray and neither black nor white. While some jobs get destroyed , some get created and achieving a Nash Equilibrium situation is not  possible in the labour market here . To be specific , skill sets made redundant and skill sets in demand are never matching, thus calling for social support policies.