Niti aayog 7 pillars

WASHINGTON: The series of pathbreaking and ambitious reforms unleashed by the Modi government in the last few years will make India a very competitive and productively-efficient economy in the long run, a top Indian official said on Friday. "There is a great positivity about India," NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant told in an interview here as he wound up his three-city US tour for a series of interaction with academicians, innovators, startups, corporate leaders and government officials in Boston, New York and Washington DC. People here believe that the fundamental reforms that have been gathered out in India across the economy, including GST, in terms of ending crony capitalism with the bankruptcy code, in terms of real estate reforms through RERA and in terms of direct benefit transfer, "will make India a very competitive and productively-efficient economy in the long run," Kant said. "India's story has just begun," he added. "Our process of urbanisation, infrastructure creation, … [Read more...] about India’s story has just begun: Amitabh Kant

Prices of 21 formulations or medicines that are under price regulation have been raised to ensure their availability. This would be a one-time increase of 50 per cent above the present ceiling prices, reports Sohini Das. Image used for representational purpose.Photograph: Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters. The government has for the first time invoked the Drug Price Control Order, 2013 (DPCO, 2013) to raise the prices of 21 formulations or medicines that are under price regulation to ensure their availability. This would be a one-time increase of 50 per cent above the present ceiling prices. The pharma industry has been lobbying for this for almost two years, citing a steep rise in prices of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) or bulk drugs largely imported from China. The prices of APIs have gone up in the range of 5-88 per cent, depending on the products. API prices constitute 40-80 per cent of the formulation cost. For some medicines like paracetamol, the API cost is around 80 per cent … [Read more...] about Why prices of vitamin C, antibiotics could shoot up

        Strap: The 17th Rangmahotsav by Maharashtra Cultural Centre, to be held from Dec 18-22, presents a platform for amateur and experimental theatre enthusiasts to showcase the premiere of their plays Story: On December 9, Maharashtra Cultural Centre was awarded Dr Shriram Lagoo’s ‘Natyadharmi Puraskar’ for its 54 years of service to theatre. Known for its constant endeavours in the world of theatre, MCC’s 17th edition of Rangmahotsav will be on December 18-22 at Jyotsna Bhole Sabhagruha, Shukrawar peth, 7pm onward. Vedant Ranade, member of the group, shares, “This year, we lost Arun Kakde, the pillar behind Mumbai’s experimental theatre movement. To honour his memory, in a manner he would have appreciated Maharashtra Cultural Centre will honour his legacy through an award in Kakade’s name, Swargiya Arun Kakade Smurti Puraskaar, to those who tirelessly work behind the curtains as backstage members, make-up artistes, … [Read more...] about An honour for those who work behind the curtains in memory of Arun Kakde, pillar of Mumbai’s experimental theatre movement

John Burke has been a regular visitor to India over the past decade, but ‘unbelievably’ this was his first time at NH7 Weekender, the music festival sponsored by Bacardi, where Burke heads global marketing. Bacardi has been the chief sponsor of the festival over the past decade, in line with its philosophy of connecting with consumers on a cultural level. “Every market has different regulations around content censorship or access to media, so we’ve learnt to adapt,” says Burke, referring to how they handle Indian regulations that don’t allow alcohol brands to advertise directly. “The key thing is we build brands which have cultural meaning for consumers and flexibly use channels to communicate in different markets,” he says. The company is using insights from the market to understand what are the moments when the brand has a higher relevance to consumers, and as a brand, how it can add value to make that occasion better. Burke, who has … [Read more...] about Bacardi’s bet on marketing through experiences

By Harsh Vardhan Chain se sona hai toh jaag jao (if you want to sleep in peace, you got to wake up). The punch line from a television show back in the day somehow features in any conversation revolving around sleep, but marketers today might want to disagree with the thought. So much so that a sleep solutions start-up WakeFit recently launched a ‘sleep-internship’ that offers participants Rs1 lakh for simply sleeping nine hours a day for 100 days on the trot. Arun Iyer, founder and creative partner at Spring Marketing – the company associated with the campaign – tells BE, “It’s sort of strange but we have never realised the significance of sleep. In fact, many of our role models often speak about how they only sleep for a few hours to stay focused on the job and drive maximum output – I am not sure if that’s very encouraging. I believe we need to urgently inform the world of the health hazards they are exposing themselves to by … [Read more...] about How brands are waking up to the big sleep economy