Equifax, Experian, TransUnion to remove majority of medical debts from consumers' credit reports

Equifax, Experian and TransUnion have announced, they will collectively discard close to 70% of medical collection debt tradelines from credit reports.

Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week

TORONTO — Five things to look for in the Canadian business world in the coming week:

Bank income

BMO and Scotiabank will commence bank income season on Tuesday, trailed by National Bank of Canada and RBC on Wednesday, and TD and CIBC on Thursday. Banking pioneers said in January that a monetary bounce back is not too far off, yet that the momentary looks troublesome and spending will not genuinely get until the back portion of 2021 or even 2022.

BoC discourse

Bank of Canada lead representative Tiff Macklem is to talk online to Calgary Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday about what the worldwide pandemic has meant for the bank's monetary standpoint. A new overview by the national bank on shopper assumptions showed that respondents accepted they were more averse to get another line of work on the off chance that they lost their present one.

LTC income

Extendicare Inc. will deliver its Q4 and 2020 outcomes on Wednesday. The organization, which claims or works 71 long haul care offices in Ontario, is dependent upon a proposed legal claim identified with its treatment of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Loblaw results

Loblaw Companies Limited will deliver its Q4 2020 outcomes on Thursday. The supermarket administrator is one of 12 organizations taking an interest in a pilot with the University of Toronto's Creative Destruction Lab to explore different avenues regarding quick antigen tests to screen staff for COVID-19.

Quebecor update

Quebecor will hold a call to examine its Q4 and entire year 2020 outcomes on Thursday. Chief Pierre Karl Peladeau has flagged that he is as yet keen on obtaining Transat AT from his own venture organization after Air Canada said it won't permit more opportunity for it's takeover of the carrier to experience.

This report by The Canadian Press was first distributed Feb. 21, 2021.

The Canadian Press

Corona Virus in Sherwood Park Edmonton Alberta Canada

COVID-19 cases have surged past 2,000 in Canada as the death toll reached 24.

As the number of recorded infections continues to climb, Canada's Public Health Authority notices a new pattern emerging:-transfer inside the group from one Canadian to another, as compared to individuals becoming contaminated after moving abroad.

According to Johns Hopkins University, there are 392,000 instances of the novel coronavirus worldwide, while fatalities have exceeded 17,000. Italy's death rate has doubled in conjunction with the outbreak's epicentre, China.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau received his daily briefing earlier Tuesday, until an emergency session was called for Parliament to sit.Trudeau once again called for immediate need

Only reported cases with a known location by local geographic area are included in the map. Whereas, when you click upon Sherwood Park, you will be able to see the cases as under
Total Count on 25th March 2020 at 3:30pm: 3 Case(s)
https://covid19stats.alberta.ca/

Man dead after altercation in south Edmonton

In an incident that happened overnight in South of Edmonton city where a 21-year-old man is found dead. 
This was possibly done in apartment parking lot located at 122 Street and Whitemud Drive around 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday and emergency crews was called .

 Paramedics attempted to save the man’s life, but he died on scene.

AINP – How to apply

Overview

You may only have one Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) application in process at any time.
Do not re-apply if you already submitted an application under the Employer-Driven Stream or Strategic Recruitment Stream postmarked on or before June 14, 2018. You must withdraw your first application before you can submit a new application.

How to withdraw an application in process

To request the withdrawal of an application, send a letter by registered mail or courier to:
Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program
Government of Alberta
Suite 940, ATB Place North Tower
10025 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta  T5J 1S6
Include your AINP file number in this letter.
The AINP must confirm that your application has been withdrawn before a new application can be submitted.
Exception for Alberta Express Entry Stream applicants: If you have been asked to submit an application under the Alberta Express Entry Stream, but already have an existing AINP application under another stream, you may submit your written request to withdraw your existing application with your Alberta Express Entry Stream application. Your written request must include your existing AINP file number.

Alberta Opportunity Stream

How to apply

Step 1. Read the AINP terms and conditions

The availability of AINP streams and categories is dependent upon application volumes and labour market needs. The AINP reserves the right to close application intake for any AINP stream or category at any time, without prior notice. Further, the AINP may decline to consider applications to closed or suspended streams or categories, regardless of when the applications were submitted. The criteria for the AINP are routinely evaluated and may be subject to change at any time and without notice. Changes to the AINP, including notice of suspension or closure of its streams and categories and criteria changes, are available at alberta.ca/AINP.
The AINP is not obligated to assess/process any applications submitted. Applications to the AINP are treated as an expression of interest, and as such, will be processed according to quality of the application (completeness, eligibility), labour market information, occupational supply and demand forecasting, AINP application volumes, and / or any other factors at the AINP’s discretion. By submitting an application to the AINP you acknowledge and agree that your application may not be processed in the order received, or at all. Further, the decision to assess / process any particular application, and the outcome of any such assessment / processing, is at the AINP’s sole discretion.
Program criteria are eligibility minimums, and meeting program criteria does not guarantee that a candidate’s application will be assessed, processed, or granted. The AINP may choose to assess applications with the most current criteria irrespective of the date of submission of an application.
Candidates must have a strong likelihood of becoming economically established in Alberta and the AINP reserves the right to decline applications if the AINP is of the opinion that the candidate may not economically establish in Alberta.

Step 2. Review the AINP selection criteria

You must meet all selection criteria.
Your application will be declined if you do not meet the criteria.

Step 3. Review the language testing requirements

To apply under the Alberta Opportunity Stream (AOS), you must submit official test results showing that you meet minimum language standards in English or French.


You must provide official test results from one of the following programs:

• CELPIP (Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program) General Test (English)
• IELTS (International English Language Testing System) General Training Test (English)
• TEF (Test d’évaluation de français) (French)
• TCF (Test de connaissance du français) (French)

The following resources can help you to better understand your current level of language skills or find training to help you improve:

• Edmonton: Language Assessment, Referral, and Counselling Centre (LARCC)
• Calgary: Immigrant Language and Vocational Assessment – Referral Centre (ILVARC)
• Southern Alberta: Southern Alberta Language Assessment Services (SALAS)
• Medicine Hat: Karen Ziemann Consultants (call 403-527-5062)

Step 4. Download the Document Checklist and complete the required forms

Use the Alberta Opportunity Stream document checklist (PDF, 178 KB) to complete the application.

You must complete the following original forms with original signatures:
AINP 010 Alberta Opportunity Stream Application Form (PDF, 222 KB)

• The AINP 010 Alberta Opportunity Stream Application Form includes Use of Representative information
• Use this helpful hints document (PDF, 358 KB) to assist you in filling out the AINP 010 form.

You must complete and provide copies of the following Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) forms:

• IMM 0008 Generic Application Form for Canada (PDF, 645 KB)
• IMM 0008DEP Additional Dependants/Declaration Form (PDF, 434 KB)
  • Complete this form only if you have more than 5 dependents.
• IMM 0008 Schedule 4: Economic Classes: Provincial Nominees (PDF, 612 KB)

The following IRCC forms must be completed by you, your spouse/common-law partner and any dependents over the age of 18:

• IMM 5669 Schedule A: Background/Declaration (PDF, 776 KB)
• IMM 5406 Additional Family Information (PDF, 1.5 MB)
• IMM 5476 Use of a Representative (if applicable) (PDF, 648 KB)

For help in filling out IRCC forms, read the IRCC Guide for Provincial Nominees.

Step 5. Mail the application

Make a copy of your application.
Send your original complete application by registered mail or courier to:
Alberta Opportunity Stream
Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program
Government of Alberta
Suite 940, ATB Place North Tower
10025 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta  T5J 1S6
Applications by email or fax are not accepted.

After you apply

Notification of application

If your application is complete you will receive an email confirming that your file has been received and accepted for processing. This will include your AINP file number.
If your application is incomplete, you will receive an email stating that your file has not been accepted for processing and will list the documents/information missing from your application. You will need to submit a new, complete application. Your original application will not be returned to you. The AINP will not transfer documents from your original application to any application you submit in the future.
If you used an immigration representative to submit your application, your file notification email will be sent to you and a copy will also be sent to your representative.
To check whether the AINP received your application before a notification email is sent, you must send your application by registered mail or courier and track its delivery.

Keep your application information up to date

Submit information that is requested by an AINP officer in the format requested by the officer. The only other information you should submit is documents showing changes to your contact information or employment, work permit status or family situation.
You must maintain temporary resident status and a valid work permit with the federal government.
You must update the AINP with:

• renewed work permit(s), including evidence of Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or evidence of LMIA exemption
• documents that show changes to your address, email and telephone number
• documents that show changes to your employment or family situation

Use these forms to notify the AINP of updates to your contact information or employment or family situation.
You must provide your AINP file number to submit additional information or documents. This file number is included in your confirmation email.
The AINP does not provide confirmation when it receives additional information.
To get confirmation, you must send any documentation or updated information by registered mail or courier and track the delivery.

Application assessment

An AINP officer will contact you by email or phone if information is needed to assess your application and will tell you how to send the information.

Decision on application

You will receive a decision on your application by email. If you used an immigration representative to submit your application, the decision email will be sent to you and copied to your representative.
If your application is approved, you will become a Provincial Nominee and get a nomination package by email. Make sure you read all documents in the package.
The information in the package will tell you and your dependants how to apply for permanent residence to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Learn more about what to do after you are nominated.
If your application is declined, read the reasons given. You may be eligible to submit a request for reconsideration.

Indiahacks 2016, World's Largest Developer Confluence Attracts Over 50,000 Developers

IndiaHacks 2016, one of the world’s largest developer confluence hosted by HackerEarth in association with Altimetrik, has attracted over fifty thousand developers till date. The massive event commenced on January 8, 2016 with an Artificial Intelligence programming contest and Fintech hackathon – two out of the nine technology tracks scheduled for the month-long code fest. The event has seen over one lakh registrations for the various tracks. On an average every developer is participating in more than two of these contests. More than 25% of developers are from outside India with the event continuing to attract more participants from the coding community. 

As one the fastest growing community for developers in the world, HackerEarth is conducting Indiahacks to encourage programming and celebrate the spirit of hacking among coders. The month long code fest will see a combination of online hackathons and programming contests. There are three programming tracks around Algorithms Programming, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning. These tracks will have developers solving complex programming problems by using concepts of algorithms, data structures, data science, artificial intelligence etc. Additionally, there will be six online hackathons in the domains of FinTech, IoT, Gaming, Open Source, Online Commerce, Travel and Transport. These hackathons will see developers build unique and interesting products according to the themes in less than 48 hours.

Hacks will be evaluated based on parameters like uniqueness of the idea, usability of the hack, code quality, design etc. The top 20 shortlists from each of the tracks will be invited to an offline conference, where they will get another 24 hours to build on their hacks and pitch to a panel of judges. The winners of IndiaHacks will be decided at the offline developer conference on March 19th & 20th, 2016 in Bangalore. The winning team will be rewarded with a fully paid trip to San Francisco. Other exciting prizes include X-box, GoPro Hero 4, and HackerEarth goodies.

Altimetrik is a business transformation and technology solutions company, part of the $100 million Vattikuti ventures. Through their ‘new methodology’ that is based on the fundamentals of Design-Thinking and Design-led Engineering, Altimetrik is at the epicenter of powering the next wave of  IT and business transformation. It is this outlook that led Altimetrik to sponsor HackerEarth’s IndiaHacks 2016, as a major hiring and outreach opportunity to nurture young talent and give programmers and coders the opportunity to transform themselves into ‘Design Engineers’.

Supporting Quotes

Sachin Gupta, CEO & Cofounder, HackerEarth

“HackerEarth aims to be the largest developer community that helps developers to improve their programming skills, compete against the best and network with each other. The objective behind conducting IndiaHacks is to bring thousands of developers together, foster innovation and showcase some of the best minds in the developer community. The massive amount of registrations we have seen this year is overwhelming and is a testament to our vision in making HackerEarth the largest developer community in the world. We are delighted that compared to last year, IndiaHacks 2016 has seen a 20X increase in participation.”

Madhavan Satagopan, Chief Technology Officer, Altimetrik

“As a transformational company, 2016 is set to be a very exciting year for Altimetrik. To name a few such exciting initiatives – We're already in the process of scaling our business across sectors and even expanding our footprint. Our 'new methodology' which we also call our 'secret-sauce', requires an extremely crucial ingredient – Design Engineers. Thus, given that Altimetik hires only through hackathons and ideathons, we envision this synergy with HackerEarth as an unconventional hiring platform and the citadel for innovation where Altimetrik will find the right talent that has both the Design Engineer’s aptitude and attitude. We are confident that IndiaHacks 2016 will be able to help us in our future endeavor to create a better digital world.” 

About HackerEarth

HackerEarth is the fastest growing community of developers in the world. Developers engage on the community to learn new programming concepts, improve their technical skills, discover relevant jobs, and compete in programming challenges. HackerEarth also provides a platform for recruiters to discover the best technical talent through this community of developers. By democratizing talent sourcing, HackerEarth is making it more objective and skill driven – where each of its developers are indexed and ranked by their skills and automatically validated by mining their online social and professional data.

A video has been released online by so-called Islamic State, which it says shows the killing of five men who it claimed had been spying for the UK.

A cloaked militant speaking with a British accent seems within the 10-minute film, threatening attacks within the GB.
He says this can be a message for Prime Minister David Cameron.
A young boy is additionally seen speaking in English and talking concerning killing unbelievers. The info video has not been severally verified.
In the video, a number of the boys say that they're from Raqqa in Asian nation and another says he's from port, Libya, however none say they're from the united kingdom.
BBC World Service geographic area editor Alan full general aforementioned the video shows 5 men creating what's claimed to be their confessions however they seem to be "speaking underneath the foremost extraordinary duress".
"They could also be entirely innocent," he added.
One says he had been asked to supply data concerning the placement of IS militants, presumably in order that they may be targeted by air strikes, our correspondent aforementioned.

US stocks had their worst annual performance

U.S. stocks had their worst annual performance since 2008, closing out a rocky year that tempered investors' expectations for gains in 2016.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, a basket of 30 stocks, lost 2.2% in 2015, while the broader S&P 500 fell 0.7%.

The S&P's loss ended three years of double-digit gains for the index, but was far from the nearly 40% dive it took in 2008, a year of financial crisis.

The year wasn't grim across the board. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 5.7%. Netflix and Amazon.com, the top-performing stocks in the S&P 500 in percentage terms, rose 134% and 118%, respectively. The consumer discretionary sector, which includes stocks such as Starbucks and Expedia, led the S&P 500 with an 8.4% gain.

But broadly, the market struggled. While an extended slump in commodity prices helped drag the stock market into negative territory this year, six of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 posted losses.

"I see more headwinds than I do favorable factors" next year, said Keith Bliss, senior vice president at brokerage Cuttone & Co.

New Year's Eve trading didn't help. On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped another 1% to 17425.03. The S&P 500, which fell 0.9% to 2043.94, was up for the year as of Wednesday's close, but Thursday's losses pushed it into negative territory for 2015. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.15% to 5007.41.

Markets are closed Friday for the New Year holiday.

Shares in Europe mostly performed well in 2015, but many investors had expected sharper gains. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 6.8% this year. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index ended up 9.4% in a roller-coaster year in which the index plunged over 40% in late August.

U.S Stocks Post Worst Annual Losses Since 2008

U.S. stocks had their worst annual performance since 2008, closing out a rocky year that tempered investors' expectations for gains in 2016.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, a basket of 30 stocks, lost 2.2% in 2015, while the broader S&P 500 fell 0.7%.

The S&P's loss ended three years of double-digit gains for the index, but was far from the nearly 40% dive it took in 2008, a year of financial crisis.

The year wasn't grim across the board. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 5.7%. Netflix and Amazon.com, the top-performing stocks in the S&P 500 in percentage terms, rose 134% and 118%, respectively. The consumer discretionary sector, which includes stocks such as Starbucks and Expedia, led the S&P 500 with an 8.4% gain.

But broadly, the market struggled. While an extended slump in commodity prices helped drag the stock market into negative territory this year, six of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 posted losses.

"I see more headwinds than I do favorable factors" next year, said Keith Bliss, senior vice president at brokerage Cuttone & Co.

New Year's Eve trading didn't help. On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped another 1% to 17425.03. The S&P 500, which fell 0.9% to 2043.94, was up for the year as of Wednesday's close, but Thursday's losses pushed it into negative territory for 2015. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.15% to 5007.41.

Markets are closed Friday for the New Year holiday.

Shares in Europe mostly performed well in 2015, but many investors had expected sharper gains. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 6.8% this year. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index ended up 9.4% in a roller-coaster year in which the index plunged over 40% in late August.

 

HR Thought Leaders Debate 'Managing Employees, Expectations and E-space" at the Annual HR Conclave Organised by Jindal Global University

The 2^nd HR Conclave on “ Managing the Three Es: Expectations, Employees and E-Space” was hosted by the Centre for Leadership & Change, O.P. Jindal Global University in association with Career Development and Placement Division supported by HR Club of Jindal Global Business School.

With increasing integration of the world and fast advancing technology, managing diversity and building capability to deal with disruptive technologies of the future are foremost challenges for the human resource professionals of today, opined HR experts at the conference.

Delivering the inaugural address Prof. C Raj Kumar Founding Vice Chancellor, O. P. Jindal Global University said, “HR departments should guard against the deterioration of the ethical edifice of the organisation. Organisations of the future will be judged by their ethical fabric.” Prof. Kumar emphasized that “HR professionals today and in the future must move away from a focus on money making. This is a people’s era and the focus should be on human resource.”

Balancing the three Es- Expectations, Employees and E-Space in any organisation becomes an imminent imperative. Management of these becomes both an art as much as science , while  conventional wisdom may provide a few answers, chances are that un-conventional paradigms will have to be found and exploited. Both the parameters as well as the drivers of success will have to be re-calibrated and re-defined opined most thought leader at the conclave.

Dr. Sanjeev P Sahni, Principal Director, Jindal Institute of Behavioural Sciences (JIBS) laid emphasis on the changing role of HR professionals, “HR is a strategic partner and the face of any organization, it plays a central role in the organisations growth. HR should not be seen as a cost but as an investment and organisations have to be careful not to let the emerging, interactive and innovative technologies diminish the importance of HR.”

 

Mr. Prakash Pathak, Director  Career Development and Placement Division, O. P. Jindal Global University said, “The conclave touched upon many pertinent issues related to the main theme. Organizations being the place where people spend almost half their lives, the employees expect some validation of their education, skills, time and more importantly their value as a person and human being. The organizations, on the other hand, expect the job well done and achievement of targets and goals. The conclave deliberated on this issue with the effect of technology and E space in this fast changing world. The conclave also reflected upon the rising of ‘Specialist’ vis-à-vis a ‘Generalist’, especially in this age of millennials. It was a pleasure listening to the views of various eminent speakers on this topic of relevance.”

The Conclave saw three plenary sessions. The first session was on “Defining the New Age Workforce and the Contours of Changing Technologies.” Followed by a session on the “The impact of the ever expansive E-space on employees and their expectations-how easy or difficult to meet?” while the third revolved around the theme “Expectations from the workforce- an organizational perspective”.

Speaking at the conclave Dayanand  Allapur, Vice President and Head of Human Resources, Capagemini Business Services said “Whether we see it as a disruption or opportunity, technology has changed lives forever and HR professionals have to be tuned to adapt to the changing world”

Allapur noted, “Just by looking at how the smartphone and flooding of apps have changed the way people read or buy their clothes, displacing thousands of people from their traditional business set up in the process, can explain how disruptive technology can be. Adapting to new-age technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence is the need of the hour.”

Disruptive also refers to the paradigm shift that the HR professionals are currently experiencing due to the changing technologies and market needs, Chaitali Mukherjee, managing principal, leadership and talent consulting practice, Korn Ferry India, said at the event.

Similarly, managing diversity in the workforce in terms of gender, age or nationality are some of the other challenges for the HR professionals of today, said Deepak Chawla, head, human resource, Reliance Infrastructure.

Being the custodian of an organisation';s culture, HR professionals today face the huge challenge of offering "customised approach" to fulfill the needs of the employees with different culture and capabilities, suggested Sandeep Chaudhary, practice leader, compensation consulting, Asia Pacific, Aon Hewitt.

 

Mr. Pankaj Dubey, MD & Country Head – Polaris India Pvt. Ltd, Mr. Prakash Bisht, GM HR, ICICI Bank and Mr. Pranav Jyoti, Partner-HR,Askmebazaar.com among others, also shared their views on emerging challenges for HR on the occasion.

 

Tech Mahindra takes Grameen Koota Live with Temenos T24, Boosting Delivery of Financial Services to Low-income Households

Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Temenos (SIX: TEMN), market-leading provider of mission-critical solutions to the financial services industry and Tech Mahindra, a specialist in digital transformation, consulting and business re-engineering announced that they have implemented Temenos T24 for Microfinance and Community Banking for Grameen Koota Financial Services Private Limited (Grameen Koota). With a modern core banking structure that affords higher levels of automation and flexibility, Grameen Koota can now achieve its mission to reach a larger client base.

Over a period of nine months, Tech Mahindra and Temenos implemented T24 across 270 branches in five states to migrating a 1.1 million-strong customer base, consisting of 2.3 million loans and equipping Grameen Koota with the capability to achieve a daily loan disbursement for 10,000 customers. T24’s scalable architecture improves operational efficiency, streamlines Grameen Koota’s Management Information System, and enables access from remote locations, empowering growth across a wider geographical range and to more diverse rural communities.

T24 for Microfinance and Community Banking is specially configured for the specific requirements of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and is a robust platform for Grameen Koota’s multiple solutions and offerings such as credit, insurance, pension and non-financial services such as healthcare.

“Revamping our infrastructure with T24 is an important step towards accelerating operational efficiency and achieving growth targets. We can now become more customer-centric with the help of a versatile back-end system,” said Mr Udaya Kumar, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Grameen Koota. “The credit for achieving the successful transition to Temenos T24 in such a short period goes to the dedication and hard work put in by Mr Arun Kumar B, Head of IT and his team members," he noted.

“Our deep expertise in implementing T24 and business understanding of Micro-community business served in providing a scalable solution to customers’ growing demand,” said Ravi Vasantraj, Global Head BFSI Competency, Tech Mahindra. “Customers are at the heart of all that we do and we are honoured to be a part of Grameen Koota’s vision to enhance financial inclusion in India.” 

“MFIs who want to thrive in a fast evolving landscape need mission-critical solutions to succeed,” said Martin Frick, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Temenos. “Our award-winning T24 will fuel Grameen Koota’s ambitions in propelling India’s rural communities to a more progressive future. We want to continue expanding our proven track record and support MFIs in growing their market share and business scope.”

Temenos is the world’s largest provider of MFI core banking solutions, with over 220 clients. T24 offers a complete front-to-back office, CRM and product lifecycle management software platform that powers core banking operations for financial institutions from new starters, to established intermediaries entering a new market, to very large mass market retail banks. T24 has been consistently ranked as the first or second best-selling core banking software platform worldwide for the past 14 years (International Banking Systems Sales League Table).


About Temenos

Temenos Group AG (SIX: TEMN), headquartered in Geneva, is a market leading software provider, partnering with banks and other financial institutions to transform their businesses and stay ahead of a changing marketplace. Over 2,000 firms across the globe, including 38 of the top 50 banks, rely on Temenos to process the daily transactions of more than 500 million banking customers as well as over USD 5 trillion in assets. Temenos customers are proven to be more profitable than their peers: in the period 2008-2012, they enjoyed on average a 32% higher return on assets, a 42% higher return on equity and an 8.1 percentage point lower cost/income ratio than banks running legacy applications.

For more information, please visit www.temenos.com.

                     
About Grameen Koota

Grameen Koota Financial Services Private Limited provides micro finance services to women from rural poor and low income households in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu. The company offers income generation, home improvement, emergency, family welfare, and home construction loans; life insurance and healthcare products; and pension schemes, and non-financial services. Grameen Koota was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Bengaluru, India.

For more information, visit: www.grameenkoota.org


About Tech Mahindra

Tech Mahindra represents the connected world, offering innovative and customer-centric information technology services and solutions, enabling Enterprises, Associates and the Society to Rise™. We are a USD 3.9 billion company with 105,200+ professionals across 90 countries, helping over 780+ global customers including Fortune 500 companies. Our innovation platforms and reusable assets connect across a number of technologies to deliver tangible business value to our stakeholders. Tech Mahindra is also amongst the Fab 50 companies in Asia as per the Forbes 2014 List.

We are part of the USD 16.9 billion Mahindra Group that employs more than 200,000 people in over 100 countries. The Group operates in the key industries that drive economic growth, enjoying a leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, after-market, information technology and vacation ownership.

Bihar Elections: Now focus on Economy

The battle for Bihar is over. The Grand Alliance decimated the BJP-led NDA, scoring a landslide two-thirds majority in the assembly polls. It secured 178 seats in the 243-member House — RJD: 80 seats, JD(U): 71 seats and Congress: 27 seats. The NDA secured 58 seats, with the BJP on its own securing 53 seats. Political analysts are now dissecting the reasons for the NDA's electoral defeat, and along with them economy watchers have come out with views on possible economic impact of the verdict. I think the NDA's defeat in the Bihar elections is unlikely to have any major negative implication on the economy.

Prior to the election results, some concerns surfaced that a NDA defeat may hit the government's reform agenda. It was pointed out that a victory would help the Centre to strengthen its presence in the Upper House where its legislative agenda has been repeatedly blocked. But the fact is that Bihar has 16 Rajya Sabha seats out of which four seats are currently held by the BJP, the other 12 being occupied by Janata Dal (United) MPs. Out of the total seats, five (all JD-U members) will fall vacant in 2016 and six in 2018 (four JD-U and two BJP members). So, a BJP win would have hardly helped clear the current RS logjam, though it is now clear that the NDA will get only one out of five Bihar Rajya Sabha seats in 2016 and one out of six seats in 2018.

In the backdrop of the Bihar defeat, industry experts have urged the Centre to give undivided focus on its economic agenda. According to a global financial house, the importance of the Bihar election is overstated and the incremental economic reforms are likely to continue irrespective of the verdict. According to some others, the elections verdict may even result in a better outcome for the future of economic reforms if the Centre takes this as a lesson that only sticking to the development agenda could help them win. I support these views, but at the same time I think the verdict should not be taken by the Opposition as a mandate to obstruct Parliament.

The PM recently said that the Indian economy is better placed today, with some major economic indicators, including GDP growth, foreign investment, current account deficit, fiscal deficit and revenue collection giving a better picture. There is no denial of this fact. In addition, control in corruption and sign of improvement in Doing Business raking are also positive developments. But there is still much to be done. Exports are down, quarterly corporate results are not showing uptick in sales, manufacturing is struggling, banks' NPA problem is still looming, and so on. Also, issues like power sector woes, bankruptcy norms and rail-road project development need to be adequately addressed.

I invite your opinions. I'd also like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and prosperous Diwali.

Russian millionaire found dead in Washington, D.C. hotel

A prominent Russian millionaire and press minister under Vladimir Putin was found dead of an apparent heart attack in a Washington hotel, according to U.S. and Russian news sources.

Mikhail Lesin, the former head of media affairs for the Russian government who's been accused of curtailing the country's press freedoms, had been staying at Hotel Dupont when he was found Thursday, according to ABC News.

Washington's Metropolitan Police Department said the incident was under investigation and that the identity of the victim could not yet be confirmed.

Police first got the call about the death Thursday morning at about 11:34 a.m. ET, Officer Sean Hickman, a spokesman for the department's public information office, said Friday night.

The Dupont Circle Hotel is located at 1500 New Hampshire Avenue, NW. A woman who answered the phone at the site said it was not hotel policy to give out information on guests.

According to the Russian embassy, Lesin, 57, was found dead in his hotel room, TASS Russian News Agency reported.

Following the news, Putin expressed condolences to the family of Lesin, who had served as a presidential adviser from 2004 to 2009, Sputnik News reported.

"The president has a high appreciation for Mikhail Lesin's massive contribution to the creation of modern Russian mass media," the Kremlin's press service said, RT reported.

Sputnik News said Lesin died in Moscow, although several other media, including Reuters, ABC and the New York Daily News, identified Washington as the location where he died.

It's unclear why Lesin would have been in the U.S.

Lesin's relatives say he suffered from a disease and died because of the heart attack

Lesin is credited with creating Russia Today, the English-language news network backed by the Russian government. Now known as RT, the network "provides an alternative perspective on major global events, and acquaints an international audience with the Russian viewpoint," according to its website.

ABC reported that from 1999 to 2004, Lesin served as Russia's Minister of Press, Television and Radio, often traveling with Putin on official trips.

He then served as presidential media adviser from 2004 to 2009, RT reported.

In 2013, he became head of Gazprom-Media Holding, the state-controlled media giant that describes itself as one of the largest media groups in Russia and Europe. Lesin resigned the next year, reportedly citing family reasons.

Jessica Estepa contributed from USA Today.

Andhra Bank - 972511 - Fixes Record Date for Payment of Interest for Bonds

Andhra Bank has informed BSE that the Company has fixed November 24, 2015 as the Record Date for the purpose of Payment of Interest for Bonds.

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Death on Railway track: Why rains cannot take all the blame?

At least 25 humans died and 50 have been injured when  trains derailed within mins of every other whilst crossing a small bridge in Madhya Pradesh, rapidly earlier than middle of the night on Tuesday. The Kamayani express, going to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh from Mumbai, derailed near Harda metropolis, 160 km south of Bhopal. The Janata specific, en path to Mumbai from Patna, too derailed at the same spot minutes later.

Derailment isn't very commonplace. remaining 12 months much less than 1 according to cent of teach injuries have been due to derailments and mere 0.23 consistent with cent of demise on tracks passed off because of it.

What reasons tracks to dislocate?

normally derailment caused by flash floods takes place in deserts in which ecology can't handle huge amount of water.

Rail tracks can deliver way due to the fact sand is not a robust binder.

however the opportunity of such derailment could be very low, in places like Madhya Pradesh, wherein the soil has clay which supports tracks.
If the temperature differential in a day could be very high then the modern long-welded rails can fracture, theoretically. This possibility is specifically high in March or November months but it isn't always commonplace. Welding flaw, obstruction heading in the right direction or landslide can be other motives.

What does Railway do in rains?

according to a former official within the Indian Railways' mechanical wing, there may be an institutionalised association each time there is a weather prediction for heavy rains.

Monsoon patrolling of tracks is completed by way of the gangman. except, drivers are advised.

"Overspeeding cannot purpose derailments considering tracks are tested with rolling stock walking at 10 in line with cent better speed than normal. besides, in contrast to street, rear wheels of trains are guided by using song and no longer pace in order that they generally do now not soar off the tune."

How can defects be detected via automated structures?

song circuiting can detect defects early with out manual patrolling. it's far, but, feasible to put into effect this handiest on small stretches like suburban systems because of excessive value.

Naga pact yet again shows Modi sarkar's arrogance: Sonia

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government, stating that not consulting the chief ministers of state, state and Arunachal Pradesh over the linguistic communication of the Naga peace accord showed the Centre's 'arrogance'.

"We are literally appalled. The prime minister didn't even take into confidence chief ministers of state,state and Arunachal Pradesh, United Nations agency ar directly affected. Here is another show ofvanity of this government," Gandhi told media persons.

"It is also historic, however what concerning consulting the chief ministers of the states that ardirectly affected," she supplemental.

The Centre and therefore the Nazi Council of Nagaland on Monday with success terminated the dialogue on Naga political issue associate degreed signed an agreement in Prime Minister Modi's presence.

In his statement at the linguistic communication ceremony, the prime minister lauded thecourageousness and knowledge of the Naga leaders and civil society and thanked them for his or her co-operation in reaching the agreement.

Techcircle Startup 2014: Delhi's largest startup-investor forum on July 24, book your seat now!

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Techcircle Startup 2014: Delhi's largest startup-investor forum on July 24, book your seat now! With the angel & seed investments perking up almost 33 percent in Q1 2014-15; Modi-led Government forming a Ministry of Entrepreneurship; SEBI issuing a consultation paper on crowd-funding; and early stage investors seeking tax exemption on angel investment, it's clear that it's looking for the startup world. We explore what's in store for entrepreneurs in North India, what's driving the ecosystem in this part of the country, ideas disrupting the market & much more at Techcircle Startup on 24th July 2014 at The Lalit, New Delhi Key highlights of the event: •   Ashish Kashyap, CEO - Ibibo Group, on what are the interesting opportunities in internet & his M&A strategy. •   Learnings from India's fastest growing pharmacy retail chain, as well as the bold transition he made from being a top manager for twenty-five years to an entrepreneur - Ashutosh Garg, CMD Guardian Lifecare •   Mahesh Murthy, Partner - Seedfund to advise young entrepreneurs on company building. •   Opportunity to walk into offices of much sought-after companies & VCs, Techcircle Walkabouts, on July 23, take you on an experiential tour to offices of One97 Communication, Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Advisory Services, Snapdeal in New Delhi. Seats are limited, book your slots in advance with Ipshita/Sandeep at register@vccircle.com or 0120-4171111. Last date to register for Walkabouts: July 17th 2014. Click here to know more •   Generate interest about your big ideas through Nasscom 10,000 Startups powered Techcircle Showcase, a curated platform for innovative startups to make presentations on their business ideas to an audience comprising leading technology focused venture capitalists, seed and angel investors. Click here to apply or write to Ipshita/ Sandeep at register@vccircle.com or 0120-4171111. Last date for receiving applications is 9th July, 2014. Wish to join the buzz, share your thoughts with us on twitter at #TCStartup Click here, for more details on the conference agenda To prevail early bird discount, click here for registration or write to Sandeep/ Ipshita at register@vccirlce.com or call 0120-4171111. For branding, kiosk & display opportunities, write to shikha.gupta@vccircle.com.    Key Speakers Ashish Kashyap CEO ibibo Group Ashutosh Garg CMD Guardian Lifecare Mahesh Murthy Partner Seedfund Sunil Goyal Founder & CEO YourNest Capital Advisors Alok Mittal Managing Director Canaan Partners India Ankit Pruthi Founder & CEO Unicommerce Akshat Ghiya Co-Founder & Director Karma Recycling Alexander Souter Co-Founder Overcart.com Ankur Singla Founder & CEO Akosha Bharat Sethi Founder & CEO PosterGully.com Ishan Gupta CEO EduKart.com Manish Singhal Founder & CEO LetsVenture Nirmal Singh Founder & CEO Wheebox Samay Kohli CEO GreyOrange Srikant Krishnan Co-founder dMACQ Tanuj Mendiratta Co-founder & CEO Appiterate Vibhu Bhushan Co-founder GradeStack       * more speakers joining For suggesting agenda and nominating speakers, write to prateek.kathpal@vccircle.com Agenda For detailed agenda click here    Registration Fees (Including Unwind/ Cocktail Session) STANDARD FEE PER ATTENDEE Entrepreneurs/ Companies/ Startups - INR 8000 + S.Tax (12.36%) Investors/ I-Bankers/ Consultants/ Others- INR 10000 + S.Tax (12.36%) Early Bird Discount: 20% till 10th July 2014 Entrepreneurs/ Companies/ Startups - INR 6400 + S.Tax (12.36%) Investors/ I-Bankers/ Consultants/ Others- INR 8000 + S.Tax (12.36%) Fees (Without Unwind/ Cocktail Session) STANDARD FEE PER ATTENDEE Entrepreneurs/ Companies/ Startups - INR 6000 + S.Tax (12.36%) Investors/ I-Bankers/ Consultants/ Others- INR 8000 + S.Tax (12.36%) Early Bird Discount: 20% till 10th July 2014 Entrepreneurs/ Companies/ Startups - INR 4800 + S.Tax (12.36%) Investors/ I-Bankers/ Consultants/ Others- INR 6400 + S.Tax (12.36%) Exclusive offer for VCCircle Premium Subscribers*: Avail an additional 5% discount over and above the offered discount. (*Terms & Conditions Apply) For online registration: Click Here Download offline registration form : Click Here For Group Discounts kindly contact Ipshita/ Sandeep at   0120-4171111.             C-125A, Second Floor, Sector - 2, Noida - 201301, Phone: 0120-4171111

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31 Days Of Completely Realistic Summer Fun For Kids

31 Days Of Completely Realistic Summer Fun For Kids

PARENTS July 7, 2014 HEALTH STYLE HOME WOMEN TASTE WEDDINGS TRAVEL PARENTS DIVORCE POST50 TEEN OWN GPS FOR THE SOUL 31 Days Of Completely Realistic Summer Fun For Kids Here Are The Worst States For Working Parents How To Really Change Your Kids' Lives This Summer What I Try To Remember When My Daughter Sounds Unhappy At Camp Continue reading The Funniest Tweets From Parents This Week Continue reading Little Girl's Adorably Vicious Plan For Her Older Brother's Stuff Continue reading How To Threaten Your Children Effectively Continue reading A British Nanny's 5 Reasons Why Modern Parenting Is In Crisis Continue reading The Terrible Thought I Had During My Postpartum Depression Continue reading What It Looks Like When Kids Learn To Write, All Over The World Continue reading Received this from a friend? Sign up for alerts from The Huffington Post here. Forward  •  Unsubscribe Huffington Post, 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003