NMA urges Buhari to declare emergency in health sector

TO strengthen the nation’s healthcare system and ensuring better access, the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to, as a matter of urgency, declare emergency in the health sector.

The association is also calling for the appointment of a Chief Medical Officer of the Federation as a way of adding extra bite to the co-ordination of the nation’s health delivery.

The National President of the association, Dr. Kayode Obembe, who spoke with newsmen yesterday ahead of NMA’s Physicians’ Week, said: “We strongly await the appointment and assumption of office of the Minister of Health. A lot has suffered in the absence of a Minister of Health for the nation. However, this scenario of leaving this sort of vacuum could have been avoided had our successive appeals for the re-establishment of the office of – and appointment of the “Chief Medical Officer” of the Federation. This office was last held by Sir Dr. Samuel Layinka Ayodeji Manuwa CMG, OBE in the First Republic – the golden era of progressive development in healthcare delivery in Nigeria.”

The NMA chief, who stated that Buhari’s government was wrong in dissolving the Board of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), said: “As we speak today, there is no functional regulation for medical practice in Nigeria due to the wrongful dissolution of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.”

He, therefore, appealed to the President to exempt the medical council from the “sweeping dissolution of other political boards of corporation and agencies of government.”

The association, which urged government to immediately commence the implementation of the 2014 National Health Act, also called attention to the need for a vibrant primary healthcare system in the states to boost immunisation and healthcare.

Obembe noted: “The phrase ‘routine immunisation’ suggests an activity that is taken repetitively without extra effort or innovation and therefore deserves no serious attention. Could this perhaps be the reason why it has taken us long to make the modest achievements so far in preventing vaccine preventable illnesses in our children? Could this be the reason why perhaps some of our state governments seem not bothered about the funding, co-ordination and sustenance of this programme?

Could this too explain why such an important game-changing intervention programme be left to be substantially funded by donor funds? Perhaps, this too, is the reason why few are bothered about the fate of immunisation programmes in the face of donor funds withdrawal. How about the unwholesome and bitter experiences many heath workers have faced, and kept on facing in the field? These and many more prompted us to posit that the change mantra should stir up some effects in us as a people to eliminate the apathy or lack of commitment in all quarters so that we start prioritising activities and programmes in order of importance.

On the need for emergency in the sector, he noted: “Towards fighting this scourge and many other health conditions which embarrass our nation today, the Nigeria Medical Association thinks that the time is ripe to declare a national emergency in the health sector. This will entail putting all machinery in place towards eradicating this embarrassing health situation from Nigeria by adapting a country plan as guided by the WHO measles elimination plan. This plan was endorsed by Nigeria in September 2011 during the sixth session of WHO Regional Committee for Africa.”

Also on the call for immediate implementation of the Health Act, he said: “We also wish to use this medium to restate our earlier call for our country to start the implementation of road-map towards achieving Universal Health Coverage. Today, there is an enabling legislation, which provides guaranteed funding for primary healthcare delivery. This is the National Health Act 2014. What is still holding us back? It is also our position that unless Nigeria embarks on community-based health insurance scheme, the dream of expanding the coverage and achieving the targets set for the National Health Insurance Scheme would still be a mirage.

- The Guardian

Technology may unlock secrets of Egypt’s Wonder of the Ancient World

Experts will use radiography, drone-mounted scanners and thermal imaging in an attempt to answer a question that has puzzled Egyptologists for centuries: how these huge structures were built without the aid of modern technology

Egypt is hoping to uncover the secrets of the only remaining Wonder of the Ancient World – and save its struggling tourism industry in the process.

Throughout 2016, a team of scientists, engineers and architects from Egypt, France and Japan will survey the famous Pyramids of Giza in search of hidden chambers inside the ancient structures. The Scan Pyramids Project is also looking to answer a question that has puzzled Egyptologists and engineers for centuries: how these huge structures were built without the aid of modern technology. 

The team will use non-invasive technologies such as radiography, drone-mounted scanners and thermal imaging to survey the pyramid complex, both to create three-dimensional models of the exterior and to examine the internal structures. The Japanese KEK particle physics institute and the University of Nagoya will use muon radiography, a technique used to scan active volcanoes in Japan, to search for undiscovered voids. 

Of particular interest is the Khufu or Cheops Pyramid – the largest of the three main pyramids and the only remaining Wonder of the Ancient World. 

“I think it’s a noble endeavour,” Professor Salima Ikram, of the American University in Cairo, said. “With the effects of climate change [on the pyramids], it’s good to have a record of the current state.” 

The initiative is not the first in recent times to try to unlock the secrets of the ancient structures: in 1985, the French architects Gilles Dormion and Jean-Patrice Godin led a failed investigation to prove the existence of a hidden network of passages within the Khufu Pyramid. “Previous expeditions in the 1980s didn’t have the technology we have today,” said Hisham Zazou, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism. 

Mr Zazou was also frank that the project could entice tourists back to Egypt, after years of political instability decimated a once-thriving industry. With tourism representing more than 10 per cent of Egypt’s GDP, Mr Zazou “swore an oath” to the Egyptian people that the project would drum up business.

- Independent 

#Startups: The Top 100 Internet Startups of 2015

These and other insights are from a recent analysis of the IoT landscape using Mattermark Pro. Forbes readers often ask for insights into emerging technology startups, specifically venture-backed startups competing in IoT industries.

Mattermark uses a combination of artificial intelligence and data quality analysis to provide insights into over 1 million private companies, over 470,000 with employee data, and over 100,000 funding events. In the interest of full disclosure I’m not today and have never done any consulting work of any kind with Mattermark.

Defining The Top 100 Internet of Things Startups

To find the top 100 IoT startups, an initial query requesting all startups active in the IoT market was completed. Next, advanced query tools in Mattermark Pro were used to filter out all startups that had exited as indicated by their stage status in Mattermark’s data. This filtered out startups who had been acquired, completed an IPO or had exited through other means. The table below is the result of an analysis completed today with Mattermark data. You can download the table here in Microsoft Excel format.

The Mattermark Growth Score shown in the table below and downloadable Excel file is a measure of how quickly a company is gaining traction at a given point in time. It incorporates the Mindshare Score (web traffic, social traction) as well as business growth metrics (e.g. employee count over time, funding). The underlying assumption is that companies who see growth across these signals are shipping product and talking to customers, and are more likely to continue to grow as a result. This score is not meant to provide guidance on which startup to invest in. Rather it’s a measure of momentum across the metrics and KPIs that Mattermark measures.

- Forbes

Mental health detentions up by 10% in England

There were 58,000 detentions under the Mental Health Act in England in the 12 months to March this year a rise of 10% on the previous year, figures show.

Under the Mental Health Act, people with mental health disorders can be admitted to hospital against their wishes for treatment.

The statistics are from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC).

A mental health charity said doctors were being forced to detain patients in order to find them a hospital bed.

The HSCIC report shows that there has been a steady rise in detentions over the past three years.

An additional 4,000 people were detained or sectioned in NHS hospitals and 1,270 in private hospitals from April 2014 to March 2015, compared to the previous 12 months.

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity SANE, said the rise in people detained under the Mental Health Act was concerning - but not a surprise.

She said doctors were being forced to use the Act to get patients a hospital bed for treatment, often sending them to unfamiliar hospitals far from friends and family.

She added: "It is a scandal that you have to be sectioned in order to get treatment.

"What we need is more, rather than fewer, beds where those who need sanctuary and healing can receive help without having to be deprived of their liberty."

Another report from the HSCIC found that one in 28 adults was in contact with mental health services last year in England.

That amounts to 1.85 million people accessing mental health and learning disability services in England in the 12-month period until the end of March.

- BBC

Investment in Technology Startups Key to National Development

The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Peter Jack has called on foreign and local investors to invest in technology solutions developed by Nigerian technology startups, insisting that such investment, will not only boost national development, but will also guarantee fast return on investment.

Jack who spoke at the 'Nigeria Day' during the 35th GITEX Technology Week in Dubai, United Arab Emirate, encouraged international investors to embrace investment opportunities in Nigeria in the area of Information Technology (IT). He explained that IT contribution to Nigeria GDP has doubled in the last five years from 4.5 per cent to 10 per cent, with signs of contributing more to the Nigerian economy.

Jack explained the need to invest in technology startups in Nigeria, adding that young technology startups from Nigeria were capable of disrupting the global technology space with technology solution developed from Nigeria.
"Our concern is to expose the young talent in Nigeria to opportunities that exist in the technology space. Starting from last year, Nigeria became the official country partner of GITEX and that year, we showcased five Nigerian technology startups to share their solutions to the test of the world. This year, we brought 14 technology startups and other established companies from Nigeria to showcase their solutions to the world," Jack said.

According to him, "the Nigerian Pavilion is strategically located in such a way that it catches the attention of every investor that attended this year's GITEX in Dubai. We are giving opportunities for the technology startups to tell the world about the Nigerian technology solutions and how the solutions could address specific and organisational challenges."

We used the occasion of Nigeria Day in GITEX to sell the Nigerian brand and to woo investors to invest in the Nigerian technology market.

This year in Nigeria, NITDA also used the platform of DemoAfrica to showcase our technology startups and out of the 30 startups that participated in the DemoAfrica from across Africa, five finalists emerged and two out of the five were Nigerians. All the Angel investors that came from Europe and America, expressed interest to invest in the solutions of the startups, Jack said.

He added, "We are beginning to see more investors taking interest to invest in Nigeria and that was the reason we decided to showcase more of the startups in GITEX 2015 in Dubai.

Speaking at a panel session on smart city development, Jack told international audience that NITDA has a mandate to develop ICT park in Nigeria, and that as part of the mandate, it has engaged multi stakeholder partnerships to drive the initiative.

"The Abuja Technology Village, which used to be an initiative of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and funded by the world bank, has now been taken a new look because NITDA showed interest in it by relocating the GSM village and some computer companies that were initially based in other parts of Abuja, to the Abuja Technology Village, in a bid to drive the smart city initiative."

In Lagos, we have a flagship investment, in partnership with the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), and the Information Technology Industry Association of Nigeria (ITAN) and the rest of the private sector like Chams Group, to drive smart city in Lagos, along the Lekki free trade zone. We are partnering 21 Century to drive the software application for the smart city and we have also established the office of ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship to coordinate all of our activities towards driving smart city in Lagos, Jack said.

Also, the Chief Executive Officer of Teledom Group, Mr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, while addressing foreign investors, assured them of safety of their investments as well as quick return on their investments.

Commending the efforts of NITDA in attracting investment to Nigeria, Director, Overseas and Domestic Operations, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Ladi Katagum said: “Being the gateway of investment to Nigeria, NIPC will continue to support every effort to woe investors to Nigeria, through targeted investment."

- ThisDayLive

Indian Startups Vie to Win E-Commerce Battle

MADURAI, India—The future of India’s booming e-commerce market is in the hands of small-time customers like 27-year-old Gayathri Rajamansingh.

Each Sunday, the owner of a small hair salon browses the Shopclues website from her home, hunting for bargains. Recently, she fixed on a floral-print sari, a traditional Indian one-piece garment, and clicked “Buy Now.”

Ms. Rajamansingh’s impulse purchase of the 199-rupee ($3.06) sari, set in motion a logistical operation that is complex and costly. Delivering the item involved a three-day, roughly 1,200-mile journey from Surat, in the western state of Gujarat, to her home in Madurai, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. More than 30 people moved the package, through two overnight truck journeys, a long-haul flight and, finally, a motorbike to her doorstep.

It cost Shopclues 45 rupees to deliver the sari to Ms. Rajamansingh, or about a quarter of the item’s price.

India’s Great Parcel Race

Follow a sari from seller to buyer to see the challenges facing e-commerce firms in India.

Many Indian e-commerce startups spend as much as 30% of their net sales on logistics, according to New Delhi-based consulting firm Technopak, way more than the 11.7%Amazon.com Inc. spent delivering packages in the U.S. last year. In China, market leaderAlibaba Group Holding Ltd. doesn’t shoulder any shipping costs, which are split between merchants and buyers.

Indian e-commerce firms must figure out how to turn a profit in a country fraught with logistical obstacle—including bad roads, shoddy trucks, monsoon floods, corrupt state border officials, overcrowded airports and complicated tax rules. Shopclues made money on Ms. Rajamansingh’s sari—33.40 rupees—but overall, it doesn’t make enough to cover wages for employees or rent for its offices. Like its competitors, Shopclues relies on investors to stay afloat.

Most have deep pockets thanks to a flood of cash from venture capitalists looking to build the Indian equivalent of Alibaba.

With over $3 billion in the bank and a $15 billion valuation, Flipkart Internet Pvt., the country’s biggest e-commerce player, is the world’s most valuable shopping startup. Jasper Infotech Pvt.’s Snapdeal has raised $1.5 billion and is valued at $5 billion, according to Dow Jones VentureSource. Amazon plans to invest $2 billion to expand its India operations.

Jostling for position, these players offer steep discounts on everything from smartphones to refrigerators. They are prepared to risk losses on deliveries to far-flung patrons like Ms. Rajamansingh in the hope they will become loyal customers.

India is a few years away from an e-commerce boom like the one that took place in China, according to Credit Suisse Group AG. China’s market exploded to $458 billion in sales last year from $7 billion in 2007. India’s e-commerce market is currently worth $4 billion, Credit Suisse reckons.

But India faces a greater challenge getting people hooked up to the Internet. More than one billion people—almost 85% of the population—were still without Web access as of 2013, according to a report by McKinsey & Co.

Delivering cheap saris across the country on airplanes in a few days’ time doesn’t make economic sense, said Mohit Tandon, head of strategy at Delhivery, a logistics company that transports roughly one-fifth of all packages ordered online in India. Though more expensive than trucks, air shipping is popular with e-commerce firms eager to get a hold on India’s potentially vast market.

“The wall of cash can make people do irrational things,” said Shopclues Chief ExecutiveSanjay Sethi. Shopclues tries to keep a tight control on its costs and doesn’t sell most items at a loss, in part because it has only raised $130 million, Mr. Sethi said.

The torrent of investment cash has started to slow and some backers are beginning to ask e-commerce companies to show they are working on profitability, said Avnish Bajaj, managing director of Matrix Partner’s India operations. Indian e-commerce startups aren’t expected to turn a profit immediately. Amazon only began to flirt with profitability after 20 years.

Shopclues says it is focused on achieving profitability in the next year. It makes roughly 10 rupees in gross profit for every 100 rupees in sales, Mr. Sethi said.

Flipkart has said it wants to be profitable by 2017, and Snapdeal is aiming to reach profitability in the next two to three years. Neither company has detailed their plans to achieve this. Flipkart and Snapdeal wouldn’t comment on logistical costs.

Investors say that Indian e-commerce companies must make more money off customers. The average size of an online sale in India is around $20, compared with the global average of around $100, research firms say.

Shopclues is nevertheless modeling its business on shoppers like Ms. Rajamansingh.

“Our price-point play is the masses,” said Mr. Sethi.

Raising prices or delivery costs may turn away shoppers like Ms. Rajamansingh, so Delhivery believes e-commerce players will end up ditching air travel for trucks.

“People have to move to that model,” said Delhivery’s Mr. Tandon. “Right now, it’s just who blinks first.”

Write to Sean Mclain at sean.mclain@wsj.com and Newley Purnell at newley.purnell @wsj.com

How to check if your emails are being tracked

You might not realize it, but there are now email-tracking tools that make it easy for people to see when you open an email, what you click, and where you're located.

"Emails appear no different to your contacts, but you get data when, where, and how a contact interacts with your message," says a cheery video advertising Bananatag, an email-tracking service for Gmail designed for job seekers, advertisers, and those working in public relations.

In response, a handy new tool called Ugly Email shows you when your emails in Gmail are being tracked, and it starts working before you click anything.

When Ugly Email is installed, a tiny little eye symbol appears next to any email in an inbox that is being tracked by tools like Bananatag, Streak, or Yesware.

Installing Ugly Email is easy. First you'll need to make sure you're using Google Chrome as your web browser.

Next click this link to take you to Ugly Email on the Chrome Web Store, click the "Add to Chrome" button, and you're all set.

Any email arriving in your Gmail inbox will then be vetted for tracking tools, and the Ugly Email team promises that it is "actively working on adding more" email-tracking services to its list.

Ugly Email just showed up on Product Hunt, so if you're looking for a similar email-alert service that has been around for a while longer, you can always try out PixelBlock, which does the same thing.

- IndiaTimes

How to run Android apps on your laptop or desktop

Android has a large, vibrant ecosystem of applications. From Heartstone to Plex to Twitter, Google Play is home to over 1.5 million mobile apps, according to AppBrain.

Wouldn't it be great to run all these apps on your computer, too? Now you can, thanks to Android Runtime for Chrome.

What is Android Runtime for Chrome?
Simply put, Android Runtime for Chrome (or ARC, for short) is a software package that lets users run Android apps inside their web browsers.

Google announced ARC last summer, and initially designed it with Chromebooks in mind. The idea was to bring popular Android apps to Chrome OS, which is still largely limited to running web apps. And while many popular services, like Instagram, have Android apps, not everyone offers a full-featured web-app equivalent. This fact alone made ARC a potential boon for Chromebook owners.

Then earlier this month, Google released an update to ARC, which lets users run Android apps within the Chrome browser on OS X, Linux and Windows as well.

By some measure, using ARC is a little like running a Java app in a browser in that it's a virtual environment that lets users run a certain class of apps across multiple platforms. As it turns out, Java is the programming language of choice for Android app development.

For now, ARC is still in beta, so you may encounter bugs and some apps may not work properly. While the current release is primarily for Android developers to test their apps and see how well they run, any daring soul can download ARC and try it out for themselves.

How to get Android Runtime for Chrome
All you need to run ARC on your computer is the latest version of Google Chrome. If you're using a Chromebook, Google recommends using the latest "stable channel" (non-beta) build. From there, you can get the necessary ARC Welder add-on for Chrome via Google's Chrome Web Store, and installing it takes only a couple of clicks. The download itself isn't that big, either: it's a shade under 12MB.

Running apps
Once ARC Welder is finished installing, it's almost ready to run Android apps (called APKs) from your computer.

Getting the APKs is the hard part, particularly if you aren't a developer and don't have any apps of your own making to try. You can't readily download APKs from the Google Play Store directly to your PC, so you'll have to hunt down APKs using other means. APK mirror sites are one option, but that route is a risky proposition rife with potential security issues and other pitfalls.

Instead, your best bet may be to try extracting apps installed on your phone and then copying them over to your computer. Various options exist on Google Play; just do a search for "APK extractor." Many APK extractor apps are free, so you can try a few before you settle on one you like. We used the aptly named APK Extractor from Meher for our own testing and liked it.

You'll also need a way to get the APK off your phone and onto your computer, and you can do this either over a USB connection or via a cloud storage service like Dropbox.

If you're on a Mac and choose to go the USB route, you can use the free Android File Transfer app to access files stored on your device. However, depending on where your extractor app stored the APK, you may not be able to get to it this way. Instead, you may need to download a file manager app like Astro to locate the extracted APK. Once you locate the APK, you can transfer it to your computer via email or via Dropbox or other cloud storage service.

Now that you have an APK to try, launch ARC Welder from Chrome's in-browser app picker, or through the Chrome App Launcher that appears in the OS X dock, Linux dock or the Windows taskbar. The first time you open ARC Welder, it'll ask you to pick a folder for it to store files. Once you do that, you're ready to rock.
Click Add your APK and find the APK you saved to your computer. Select it, then press Open. ARC Welder will ask how you want to run the app (in portrait or landscape mode, in tablet or phone mode, etc.). Select the options you want, then click Launch App.

A work in progress
Now, as for how the apps themselves work in the Chrome browser, we tried the official Twitter app, and amazingly enough, it works almost flawlessly. Until it doesn't, anyway. In our testing, we were able to browse our Twitter feed, post tweets, view pictures - all the usual stuff.

The app ran fairly smoothly on a late 2012 MacBook Air, and it looked good, although the typography was a little light compared to the regular desktop site, so some things were hard to read. It responded to mouse clicks as if they were finger taps, and even let us scroll up and down using OS X's two-finger scrolling.

We did encounter one hiccup though, when ARC Welder ran into a problem and forced the app to close. It is beta, after all. But still, it's neat to be able to run apps intended for a mobile device on a computer.

While it would be easier to run your Android apps on a tablet or smartphone as they were designed to be used, ARC could be a huge boon for Chromebooks and eliminate the web limitations of Chrome OS. What's more, this could be the starting point of a rich Chrome app ecosystem.


Where does ARC go from here? On some level, ARC seems a little out of place in a world where native mobile apps are the norm and web apps fill most compatibility gaps.

Still, it's unreasonable to expect all developers to hop on the web app train, and for our Chromebook-using friends, having an additional source of apps could be a godsend. Just don't expect it to completely remake the app landscape anytime soon.

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#Report: iPhone 7 may have Intel inside

You likely won't see Intel's infamous "Intel Inside" sticker plastered on the back of the iPhone 7, but that doesn't mean that future Apple smartphones won't contain Intel technology.

Citing people close to the matter, VentureBeat reported that Intel has as many as 1,000 engineers working on a modem that could be used in a future iPhone. The Intel 7360 LTE modem, which supports 4G LTE and 3G CDMA networks, could arrive as early as the iPhone 7, according to the publication.

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said that the 7360 modem will start shipping to manufacturers by the end of this year and will show up in products ready for consumers in 2016, which could result in Apple getting its iPhone 7 modems from both Qualcomm and Intel. Currently, all of the iPhone modems are sourced from Qualcomm.

An all-for-one future
Although Apple won't be using Intel's mobile-based Atom processor on an iPhone any time in the near future, the goal would be to integrate the modem directly onto Apple's A-series processor in a system-on-a-chip (SoC) design. Integrating the modem, processor and graphics together onto a single silicon chip could lead to better battery life, improved performance and faster speeds for iPhone owners.

For Apple, this could also lead to thinner iPhone designs. Integrating components also means that less space is required for each individual component, so Apple could shed thickness or pack in a bigger battery on its next iPhone model.

Intel's role in the equation would be manufacturing these chips. Apple would design the rumored A-series processor, license Intel's intellectual property to integrate the modem directly into the processor design and then send the design to Intel's fabrication labs to be manufactured.

The Intel advantage
The A9 chips inside Apple's flagship iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus smartphones are manufactured by TSMC and Samsung. Even though the A9 chip is a 14nm processor, Apple's partners create the interface with a 20nm design, which isn't as efficient or advanced as Intel's 14nm design.

In addition to a 14nm design, Intel has begun work for an even smaller 10nm design, which could be ready in as little as two years. This puts Intel's timeline ready for production for an A-series processor for the iPhone 8, with the iPhone 7S likely succeeding next year's iPhone 7.

Intel's history with Apple
Infineon, the wireless company that Intel acquired, had supplied 3G modems for Apple's iPhone until 2011. Apple has since switched to Qualcomm as its modem supplier.

Since the acquisition, Apple has hired a number of top Infineon executives, including Intel CTO Bernd Adler. VentureBeat cites conflicting sources as to the reason for Apple's hire. Some speculate that Apple hired Infineon engineers to help collaborate with Intel, while others suggest that Apple wants to design its modem in-house, similar to how it currently designs A-series processors.

In addition to mobile, Intel's processors are also found on Apple's OS X products. Apple transitioned from a PowerPC architecture to Intel's x86 processor in 2006. Now, Intel processors span all of Apple's desktops and laptops, including the Mac Pro, Mac Mini, iMac, MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines.

- IndiaTimes

Bengaluru company aims to beat Google, Facebook with tiny chip

BENGALURU: A tiny chip designed in Bengaluru, the size of a postage stamp, might hold the answer to connecting India's rural population to the internet, an ambitious goal being chased by the likes of Google, Facebook and Microsoft.

The chip, called Pruthvi, powers a system which can use television White Space — or wasted spectrum bandwidth — to beam internet to scores of households. This innovation by Saankhya Labs, is important in today's India, where on one hand the government is pushing its ambitious 'Digital India' programme and on the other, large technology companies are working on similar goals.

"World over regulatory authorities are using or planning to use this spectrum for their respective connectivity programmes. India can take the lead in both technology and the markets for TV White Space-based broadband delivery. And how long can the government not push the envelope... It's got to be expedited sooner than later," said Parag Naik, CEO and co-founder of Saankhya Labs.

Founded in 2007 by Naik, Hemant Mallapur and Vishwakumara Kayargadde, the company has developed a system called Meghdoot, powered by its Pruthvi chip, which can utilize the existing TV White Space bandwidth available in India to provide wireless broadband to remote areas. TV White Space refers to the unused spectrum between active TV channels that are traditionally used for over-the-air transmission using TV towers and rooftop antennas. In India, this mainly refers to the spectrum used by the likes of Prasar Bharti.

The Meghdoot product family consists of a base station and user-side modem that can together provide Wireless Rural Broadband using the TV White Space spectrum from 400 to 800MHz.

The technology does not require line-of-sight, thus ensuring longer range, and can serve up to a radius of 10-15km depending on antenna tower height and transmit power. The range can also be further increased with more powerful and taller antennas.

The company is soon set to conduct field trials across the country in collaboration with IIT-Bombay, IIT-Delhi and IIT-Hyderabad. They are also in discussions with Microsoft to do trials at Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh.

The Meghdoot product line is compliant to the Wi-FAR standard, making the device compatible for use in other countries too. The company is also engaged with partners for trials in the Philippines, the US and Singapore.

- IndiaTimes

How to Use Mobile Technology to Boost Sales

In the fiercely competitive world of sales, first impressions are everything and every meeting matters. If you don’t leave a mark on your client within the first 30 seconds, chances are you won’t get the sale.

To increase the probability of closing deals, employers across the globe are turning to mobile technology, which helps them professionalise their sales force, improve client engagement and ultimately win business, says a new report from SME Advisor Middle East, a publication with a focus on business owners and senior executives across the GCC.

Any profitable organisation is looking for ways to optimise processes, reduce time spent on administrative tasks and focus its resources on building client relationships. Mobile technology is a fantastic medium helping businesses achieve these goals. Latest market data shows that a large number of companies around the world are investing in sophisticated mobile technology – not just for internal operations, but for customer facing functions too. One area that has yielded significant results is sales – Aberdeen research revealed that “23 per cent more firms meet team sales quotas when employing a sales mobility strategy”.

Organisations are using mobile technology to increase the effectiveness of the sales function; helping their employees be organised, consistent and engaging in every meeting. More importantly, they are using such technology to create a seamless link between the sales rep onsite and the business home base. For example, a salesperson can simply access latest prices on a mobile device rather than having to wait to go back to the office and share a revised quotation to the client.

In fact, businesses using mobile technology are enjoying a multitude of benefits. Let’s take a look at some of the advantages that mobile technology offers:

Provides real-time information

How many times do you find that your salesperson has to scour internal sites, PPTs, Excel sheets and old e-mails to get valuable information? Using a mobile device, you can easily assemble and catalogue data into an organised manner. Mobile forms are another popular way of collecting and organising information; they can be used to update purchase orders, alter pricing, record inventory and close sales.

An article on marketingprofs.com explains: “Making pertinent information such as product details, prices, inventory, and Web demos available remotely enables the salespeople to easily access the most accurate and timely information when they need it most. The more quickly salespeople can get to information crucial to move their prospects through each stage of the cycle, the more they will stand out from the competition and ultimately make a sale.”

Manages a customer database

Use an advanced CRM system to manage customer information and update the status of prospective leads. For instance, as soon as a sales member has finished a meeting, they will need to add in all crucial details into the CRM database. This allows for proper client follow-up and a streamlined customer contact systems across the sales floor.

Facilitates account management

Most businesses have a VIP segment of customers who are essentially repeat or loyal clients and account for a large portion of the revenue of the business. These accounts are usually handled by ‘account managers’, who give them individual attention. Mobile devices can help automate the interaction of account managers with these elite clients ensuring that all their needs are fully catered to.

Tracks and evaluates sales performance

With advanced mobile software available today, sales staff can sign in when they start work on their mobile devices and keep a time log of all their meetings during the day. In addition, they can update the status of every meeting online. So, managers are fully up to date in terms of the time spent on a meeting, the primary discussion points and the outcome.

That’s not all. Managers can also track what information is accessed the most by sales staff when interacting with clients, and use this to improve their proposals in the future. In fact, many businesses take advantage of a customised dashboard feature on devices which provides an overview of the progress of meetings across the sales floor including number of meetings attended, number of calls made, number of deals closed, number of leads collected, and so on.

Improves sales productivity

The lesser the amount of time spent on collecting and assembling information means more time spent on selling. It’s as simple as that. Sales staff no longer have an excuse to spend huge chunks of time in the office doing paperwork or sending out e-mails. Experts suggest that the implementation of mobile technology essentially gives up to one extra selling day every month!

Seal the deal: best practices in mobile sales

It is important to understand that simply providing latest gadgets to your sales team isn’t enough to make a difference or give your business a competitive edge. In order to fully maximise the opportunities that mobile technology offers, sales reps need to be trained and informed about key best practices before they begin field work.

The following is a list of important guidelines to bear in mind when briefing your sales force –

 Create customised content

No matter what the medium of presentation is, content is still king. Create a content library with a variety of templates so that it is easy to plug-in relevant information and prepare a raft of proposals. One of the biggest mistakes sales executives make is that they use a standard version of their presentation for a raft of diversified clients.

When it comes to sales presentations, avoid a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach and create a customised template based on the client’s individual needs. In case of back-to-back meetings, ensure that your salesperson has prepared multiple versions of the presentations beforehand.

Produce consistent messaging

Although sales staff are strongly recommended to use different proposals for different clients, the underlying message you are sharing with the customer should be the same. This means that your brand’s value should be reflected consistently across all materials. Have one-on-one meetings with sales members to ensure that they fully comprehend the organisation’s mission and strategic principles.

Another good practice is to break down sales messages into different modules so that the client has time to digest all the information. So, instead of creating a PowerPoint presentation with 10 slides, try to offer one slide with text and one slide with animated infographics to engage the customer.

Stay prepared

Don’t rely on Wi-Fi connection at your client’s office or a public meeting place; make sure that your sales members have the sales presentation saved on their device, which of course should be fully charged. They should refrain from using multiple devices during one meeting or relying heavily on mobile apps to do the work for them – this can cause confusion and waste time. More importantly, this helps keeps the prospective client engaged throughout the meeting.

Be organised

Encourage your staff to research the client beforehand and have an agenda in place for the meeting. Knowing what the client wants and catering to those needs within the presentation is a great way to close a deal. Remember that simply having the information accessible through the device isn’t sufficient, it needs to be organised in a coherent way and be client-friendly.

Follow-up instantly

Sales members shouldn’t wait to get back to the office or until the next day to follow-up with a prospect. They should send a recap of the meeting along with a soft copy of the presentation and other discussion points straightaway.

Ultimately, integrating mobile technology into your sales department will not only boost your bottom line but will also help you build a sales force that is more prepared, confident and organised. Moreover, combining the ease and timeliness of mobile devices with your company’s communication network will give you a robust sales ecosystem, within which your business can prosper. – TradeArabia News Service

Flipkart invests in mobile technology startup Cube26

NGALURU: India's largest e-tailer Flipkart has invested in Delhi-based mobile tech startup Cube26. The company's part of the consortium led by marquee investment firm Tiger Global Management that is investing Rs 50 crore.

The Delhi-based startup develops applications for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and software-based user experience for e-commerce companies to drive traffic and app downloads. It developed gesture technology -- blink to capture -- for Panasonic; the app maps the face and detects the eye of the user to send out a click command when the user blinks his eyes. It also developed the QuickLook application for Micromax that integrates feeds from social media accounts, weather updates and the latest news on a single screen.

"We are using the funds to more double our R&D he adcount to 120 people in the next six months and develop a robust technology platform that provides a faster and slicker mobile experience," co-founder and CEO Saurav Kumar said. The company, founded by Kumar, Aakash Jain and Abhilekh Agarwal in 2012 in California, relocated its headquarters to India in 2013 to leverage on the opportunities in the domestic market. "Mobile hardware is steadily becoming commoditized, and lot of device makers are focusing heavily on software-led user experience and monetization," Kumar said.

Nishant Verman, senior director and head of corporate development at Flipkart, said the company had put mobility at the centre of whatever it did. "Cube26 has a deep understanding of user behaviour on smartphones. Understanding the device experience is critical for flawless user experience on small screens," he said.

Verman said the company had made ten investments so far, but declined to comment on the specific investments. "We are not a VC firm to focus on IRR (internal rate of return), but on innovative offerings," he said.

In June, Flipkart, together with Accel, had invested Rs 38 crore in Bengaluru-based freight booking service Blackbuck, renamed as Zinka Logistics, demonstrating the company's appetite to invest in ventures that are complementary to its offerings. Cube26 software currently resides on more than 5 million devices. The company is set to unveil its first product in the internet-ofthings space, a smart bulb loaded with intuitive, experiential features.

- IndiaTimes

Wyoming's 2nd-largest health insurance company shutting down

CHEYENNE — Wyoming's second-largest health insurance company, which went all in with the new federal health care program, is closing down, forcing about 13,000 of its customers across the state to find new health insurance.

WINhealth, which has been in business since 1996, will shut down Dec. 31, the state Department of Insurance announced Wednesday.

The state will help people and groups covered by WINhealth plans to find new insurance by Jan. 1 and will see to it that outstanding claims are processed until conclusion, state Insurance Commissioner Tom Glause said.

People and groups with WINhealth should not panic, Glause said.

"We will see an orderly wind-down of the business," he said. "During that period, we will also be trying to do an orderly transfer of these policies to other carriers."

The annual open enrollment period for individual policy holders to sign up for health insurance or move to a different insurance provider begins Nov. 1.

Individual WINhealth customers should sign up with a new company by Dec. 15, Glause said.

Wyoming has just three other licensed insurance carriers offering individual coverage.

The news comes nearly two weeks after WINhealth announced it would pull out of the health care exchange program under the federal Affordable Care Act. About 8,400 people in Wyoming were covered by WINhealth under the program.

WINhealth spokeswoman Caitlin Rooney said the federal program both was slow and deficient with helping the company cover people who signed up for the exchange.

WINHealth was expecting about $5 million in federal reimbursements for medical care that the company covered in 2014 under the exchange program, but it was told Oct. 1 that it could expect only $638,000 through the Affordable Care Act.

WINhealth is one of two health insurance providers participating in the federal health care exchange program. The other is Blue Cross Blue Shield.

"We took on a big risk when we decided that we were going to participate in the federal exchange," Rooney said. "And we went all in on that."

WINhealth's main customer base before the federal program was selling health insurance policies to groups and employers, involving about 5,000 people altogether.

Glause said WINhealth almost tripled its customer base in two years by selling plans to individuals who signed up through the government exchange program. "The two biggest causes of insurance company failure are rapid growth and undercapitalization, and those are certainly both prevalent here at WINhealth," he said.

Glause said his department and federal officials are working to find another insurer to participate in the Wyoming exchange. It's also possible that WINhealth could be purchased by someone else, he said.

- TRIB

How to Buy Cheap Health Insurance

Is finding cheap health insurance as improbable as encountering a unicorn in possession of the Holy Grail? It doesn't have to be. Here are seven steps you can take to lower your costs.

1. Understand your alternatives to buying individual health insurance
The cheapest purchase you'll ever make is the one you don't make. It's entirely possible that you don't have to buy individual health insurance at all. Depending on which state you live in and what your income is, you might qualify for Medicaid. You can contact your nearest Medicaid office, or go to Healthcare.gov to determine if you're eligible (see step three below for the latter route).

If you have children, there are a couple of avenues to explore. First, many states have expanded coverage for children through the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). To find out if your kids qualify for CHIP, go to the Medicaid CHIP website and answer the questions under "Can I Get It?".

Second, check to see if your children might be eligible under their other parent's coverage. Even if you're divorced, if your former spouse has employer-provided health insurance, your children could possibly be included under their coverage.

2. Know what you need and can afford
Assuming that step one doesn't apply to you, the most important step in finding cheap health insurance is to determine exactly what you need in terms of coverage and what you can afford. If you buy more coverage than you need, you'll spend more than you need to. And as to knowing what you can afford, you can't spend money that you don't have.

Under the Affordable Care Act, every individual health insurance plan must cover 10 essential health benefits. These benefits are:

• Outpatient care (doesn't require admission to a hospital)
• Emergency room visits
• Inpatient care in a hospital
• Care before and after your baby is born
• Mental health and substance use disorder services
• Prescription drugs
• Services/devices to help you recover from an injury or deal with a disability or chronic condition (including physical and occupational therapy)
• Lab tests
• Preventive services
• Dental care and vision care for kids 

While that might seem like a pretty comprehensive list, different health insurers can vary on exactly how they cover these benefits. Think through any specific needs you might have.  

3. Go to Healthcare.govPerhaps the easiest step of all is to go to the Healthcare.gov website and complete an application. It's easy, that is, if you're doing so during an open enrollment period (the next one starts on Nov. 1) or if you have a qualifying life change. These life changes include getting married, having a baby, or losing other coverage. The website, by the way, will help you find out if you have had a life change that qualifies. 

SOURCE: HEALTHCARE.GOV

You'll need to supply your email address first to create an account. The Healthcare.gov website will send an email to you so that you can verify your email address. Once you verify, you can log into the website to complete your application. You'll also be informed if you potentially qualify for Medicaid.

4. Compare costs -- all of themHealthcare.gov will show the health insurance options available in your state along with the premiums and how much (if any) federal subsidies you could receive. The number of choices you have available will depend on where you live. Assuming enough insurers participated in your state, you'll be able to choose between bronze, silver, gold, and platinum plans. 

Now for the tough part. You need to compare the costs of each plan -- and not just the premium prices. The bronze plans will definitely have the cheapest premiums, but they only pay 60% of medical costs versus 90% for platinum plans. When businesses buy products and services, they look at something called "total cost of ownership", which includes all costs associated with the purchase. To truly find cheap health insurance, you need to take this same approach. 

Pull your medical costs from the past few years (ballpark estimates are better than nothing if you don't have this information readily available). Next, calculate how much you would have spent out-of-pocket based on the deductibles, co-payments, and co-insurance, plus what you would spend on monthly premiums with each plan. You just might find that the cheapest health insurance plan in terms of total cost actually isn't a bronze plan -- or even a silver plan.

What if you're anticipating a significant change in medical expenses? Simply adjust your calculations to reflect your best guess as to what your medical costs might be over the coming year. Even if you don't expect a big change, it can be quite useful to perform some "what if" scenarios to evaluate the impact of much higher or much lower medical expenses than you've had in the past.

5. Shop elsewhere
Imagine that you're buying a car. Would you stop shopping at the first dealership? Of course not -- at least, not if you're trying to get the best price. This same mentality applies to buying cheap health insurance. Healthcare.gov is just the first "dealership" to visit.

Your next smart move is to go to an online health insurance broker. One of the largest is eHealth(NASDAQ: EHTH). The company's health insurance website features over 13,000 plans from more than 180 carriers. eHealth isn't the only game in town, though: GetInsured.com andGoHealth, along with plenty of others, offer similar functionality. 

SOURCE: EHEALTH

Another alternative is to go directly to health insurers' websites. Many allow you to obtain quotes online. This might be most helpful when you know of insurers in your state that don't show up on the online health insurance broker websites. You could also contact a reputable health insurance agent in your area to get individual insurance quotes. 

There's one important thing to keep in mind, though -- you can only receive a federal subsidy if you go through a government exchange (Healthcare.gov or your state's exchange), licensed agents with the proper certification, or qualified online insurance marketplaces partnering with a government exchange (click here to see which online sites qualify).

6. Compare costs (again)
As painful as it might be to do so, you'll need to compare costs yet again using the information obtained in step five. Remember the old saying, though: "No pain, no gain."

Could the cheapest health insurance for you be one for which you can't get the federal subsidy? It's possible. The "total cost of ownership" approach mentioned in step four can be surprising. Depending on your medical costs, an off-exchange plan with a very high deductible could be the least expensive alternative for you. 

7. Pick the plan that best meets your needs
In the end, you'll definitely want to revisit step two. A cheap health insurance plan that doesn't meet your needs won't be as valuable as a slightly more expensive one that does meet your needs. 

Also, keep in mind that the cost of anything, including health insurance, goes beyond just monetary impact. For example, continuing to go to the doctor you've had for years might be worth paying more on your monthly premiums. Make sure you look carefully at the provider networks for each health insurance plan you're considering if choice of provider is important to you.

Finding cheap health insurance isn't as difficult as finding a unicorn or the Holy Grail (or both simultaneously). It can take a little time and effort, but it's an investment that should pay solid returns over time.

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How Cheap Health Insurance Will Cost You

Remember the pre-Obamacare days, when health insurance was optional? These days, if you don't buy into some sort of plan, you'll be slapped with a penalty for noncompliance. On the plus side, under the Affordable Care Act, you may be eligible for low-cost health insurance that just might come in handy should you find yourself in, say, an emergency room-style situation.

Here's the problem, though: Buying the cheapest health plan out there could end up costing you far more than a plan with a higher annual premium. When shopping for health coverage, it's easy to get lured in by those low-premium plans designed for people who magically never get hurt or sick. But unless you've got a crystal ball, you may be doing yourself a disservice by being frugal.

Limited coverage
When you buy an inexpensive health plan, what you're essentially doing is buying limited coverage. Now if you're young and healthy, this may not be a problem, but if you unexpectedly get injured or diagnosed with a medical condition, you may be in for a big-time blow. With some cheap plans, certain diagnostic tests and treatments simply aren't covered. It may boil down to your provider's interpretation of medical necessity, but the lower your premium, the less generous your plan is likely to be, which means you could either find yourself on the hook for monumental costs or wind up in a situation where you're forced to skimp on the care you need to avoid going broke.

In fact, a study found that medical debt is the No. 1 cause of personal bankruptcy filings in the United States. What's scarier, however, is that an estimated 78% of people who file for medical bankruptcy actually have insurance. Furthermore, it's estimated that about 15 million people would deplete their savings to cover medical costs, while another 10 million would find themselves unable to pay for essentials like rent and food as a result of those bills. Even more disturbing is the discovery that over 25 million people are in the habit of skipping doses, taking less medication than they need, or delaying prescription refills to limit their medical expenses.

High deductibles and copays
When it comes to health insurance, deductibles and premiums often have an inverse relationship: The lower the annual premium, the higher the deductible. An estimated 80% of working individuals with health insurance have an annual deductible for single coverage that must be fulfilled before services are deemed reimbursable by their respective plans. In 2014, the average deductible for single coverage was $1,217, though some plans come with significantly higher deductibles. The Affordable Care Act limits deductibles for major medical insurance providers to $6,600 for individual coverage and $13,200 for family coverage as of 2015.

However, there's more than just your deductible to consider. If you take prescription drugs, for example, you may wind up with a higher monthly copayment on a lower-cost plan. Similarly, your coinsurance costs -- the percentage you're responsible for once your deductible has been met -- may be higher with a low-end plan.

Weighing your options
Though choosing a plan with a low annual premium may seem tempting, you need to take a big-picture approach when selecting your coverage. Let's say you're offered the choice of two plans: one with an annual premium of $1,200 and another whose yearly premium is $2,400. Now let's say the cheaper plan comes with a $3,000 deductible and $40 in-office copays, while the plan with the higher premium requires a $1,200 deductible and $25 copays for doctor visits. If you never get sick and don't wind up seeing a doctor during your effective year of coverage, you'll most certainly come out ahead by opting for the lower-cost plan.

But what happens if you do get sick, or wind up in the emergency room with an injury? The median cost for ER services is $1,233, but the upper end of median charges is around $3,400 for a kidney stone. Let's say that happens, and that your ER bill comes in at $3,000 even. Under the low-cost plan, you'd be liable for that full $3,000 out of pocket. Add in the cost of your insurance premium, and you're looking at $4,200 for the year, assuming you receive no other medical services other than your ER care.

Now let's look at the plan with the higher premium. Under that plan, your out-of-pocket cost for your ER visit will be $1,200. Let's assume you have an 80/20 coinsurance setup, which means you're responsible for 20% of your bill once your deductible is met. That's another $360, plus $2,400 in premium costs. In all, you're looking at $3,960, assuming you receive no other medical services that year. In this particular scenario, you'd fare better with the higher-cost plan.

Even if you take your deductible out of the equation, it still might make sense to pay up for a better plan with lower in-office copays and prescription costs. What you'll lose in a higher premium, you might gain in savings on the services you know you'll be using.

Of course, in the absence of that crystal ball, it's hard to know which option will ultimately trigger the best financial outcome. It's really just a matter of how willing you are to take a gamble.


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Mental health stigma campaign starts

A campaign to reduce the stigma around mental health in children has been launched by the government.

It will use school visits and social media to urge young people and parents to talk more about mental health.

Health Minister Alistair Burt said the campaign was "the largest ever" and would include an online hub of mental health information.

Charities welcomed the move, but criticised a delay to a new survey of child mental health.

The Time to Change charity says three children in every classroom experience mental health problems ranging from self-harming to eating disorders.

Online answers

The campaign will also see the launch of the Youth Mental Health Hub website to help children find accurate information about mental health conditions.

Mr Burt will say in a speech later: "This is something that young people have asked for - better information about mental health, tailored specifically for them, online."

He will add the campaign marks the "biggest transformation to young people's mental health and one of the greatest investments the sector has seen".

Meanwhile, the first survey of young people's mental health since 2004 has been commissioned.

Nearly 10,000 people aged from two to 19 and their families will be interviewed to assess the prevalence of mental health issues.

'Generation for change'

Sue Baker, the director of Time to Change, said: "Young people have told us that stigma is life-limiting, it affects friendships and school life, and for a quarter it even makes them want to give up on life.

"This has to be the generation for change."

The charity YoungMinds said it was "very pleased" by the announcement.

However, its chief executive, Sarah Brennan, said the long wait for the survey results would be a major barrier to improving care.

She said: "The news of the much awaited children and young people's national prevalence survey is also welcomed, though we are disappointed that the results will not be available until 2018.

"It is universally agreed by all who care about the mental health of children and young people that lack of data is a major block to effective prevention, early intervention and treatment."

- BBC

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