#AnuragBatra

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Anurag Batra, founder Exchange4media – “The divine hand in TV ratings is leading to ratings losing its sheen”

Anurag Batra is the Chairman & Editor-in-Chief of the BW Businessworld Group and the Founder & Editor-in-Chief of the exchange4media Group. Dr Anurag Batra has been writing on media for two-plus decades and is the Founder of exchange4media and the Editor-in-Chief of BW Businessworld. Dr. Anurag Batra, in his latest article discusses about the TV rating mechanisms that are prevalent in the industry in the present era and how that had changed from the mechanism in the earlier days.

The ratings mechanism in the past has seen manipulation of data manually and there is a worry that this time too there is a similar chance. We need to ensure that the data is not tampered again. The worrying questions need to be answered honestly and in a granular way. “The advertisers and marketers and media planners and media buyers in my view should take the new ratings with a pinch rather than a fistful of salt and also ask more questions of the ratings mechanism’s board”, Dr. Anurag Batra says.

In his opinion, “The new Chairman of the ratings body is a man who is the most seasoned and very respected and someone who can reach out to all stakeholders. He has an envious job, and I am sure he will do the right thing as his intent is right. In the past, the CEOs of this ratings mechanism have been either clueless or in one particular case have been accused of actually manipulating. Walking out of ratings en masse by news channels is an option. However, that may not be an answer to this ratings maze”.

Dr. Anurag Batra analyses that the current mechanism of ratings is muddying the waters and bringing disrepute to itself and all the stakeholders must get together to get meritocracy. “The right practices should be resumed rather than continuing the current way of doing ratings. Someone needs to ask the right questions after all coincidences are not so co-incidental. The divine hand in ratings is leading to ratings losing its sheen. It’s time to bring the credibility and sheen back”, Anurag Batra concluded.

Also Read:

Anurag Batra, Chairman, BW Businessworld shares advice for budding entrepreneurs

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Shrink in television news viewership: Dr. Anurag Batra brings the truths and myths to the limelight

Anurag Batra, the journalist and serial entrepreneur analyses the reasons for the television news viewership universe not growing. According to the editor in chief of BW Businessworld, if the stagnation or the shrink is indeed true, rather than blaming everyone else and the business media that reports it honestly, the television news promoters and CEOs and editors have to introspect the matter. The first 12 months of the pandemic in 2020 created a winner for news channels and a loser for cinema halls — and by that extension — Hindi and Bollywood cinema.

According to the expert, “In the first one year of Covid-19, people, citizens, and viewers were glued onto television news channels for information on Covid, to understand what was happening around them and to get updates and solutions. The pandemic was a huge event that had audiences glued to television news, eager to know what was in store for them. To the credit of news channels, they rose to the occasion, news reporters, cameramen, and TV broadcast newsroom professionals worked overtime to make sure that they were sharing news in real-time and in the public interest”.

Contrary to this, cinema halls were shut down because of the Covid restrictions and audiences were not able to access them, irrespective of whether they were multiplexes or single theatres. Over-the-top (OTT) became the mainstay of entertainment. It made viewers discover content on all the platforms and got them accustomed to OTT in the safe confines of their homes. As the face-to-face or physical economy returned, thanks to the vaccination drive by the Indian government and because of Covid subsiding, the experiential economy came roaring back.

In Anurag Batra’s view, “Weddings, hotels, restaurants, airlines, malls, parties, schools, and offices — all reopened with a vengeance — but cinema halls in north India did not seem to conform to this trend. There seemed to be a dearth of movie-goers thronging the theatres for Hindi movies and Bollywood content. However, in contrast, South Indian cinema continued to offer one hit after another and South Indian blockbusters became bigger and bigger, thanks to their record collection at the box office and drew in record footfalls at the cinema halls”.

This has made Anurag Batra wonder at what was going on and what the reasons were for the differential performance of Bollywood vis-à-vis south Indian cinema. In fact, in mid-February 2021, when the coronavirus wave subsided and restrictions were relaxed for a while, he went to a multiplex in south Delhi to watch a movie and only saw six other viewers apart from him in the hall. It made him think about it. Anurag Batra also acknowledges that at the same time, news channels continued to do well and their revenues continued to be steady. In fact, it grew in the first 21 months of the Covid pandemic.

What has been worrying him was the fact that the viewership of news channels and television viewership as per ratings research, is not growing. In Anurag Batra’s view, the reasons that the TV news audience is not growing and the reason that Bollywood is not being able to pull audiences into the cinemas are:

· Sticking to old formulas of doing content, no freshness, no reinvention and not investing in content that is deep. Re-invention needs to happen for both Bollywood and television news fast and at a scale.

· New challengers are chipping at the existing Players. New talent ideas have to be given more credence and experiments with content and boldness of content have to be showcased and if it works, be expanded on.

· Need younger leaders, both in the television news domain in all functions, especially editorial and in Bollywood.

· Both have to stop taking shortcuts.

· Viewers are consuming video content online from news startups that are not linear but only Digital and bold and honest. In n Bollywood, where newer directors are experimenting with bold themes and scripts and taking up taboo issues that are real and appeal to audiences.

“The scale has to be multiple times where it is now and the content and delivery have to be scaled up. In news channels, Indian news broadcasters have to learn from my favourite TV news channel CNN, how they invest in their people, how they cover an event and how the anchors are brands that are nurtured. They are not dependent on one face for pulling in audiences. South cinema can inspire Bollywood by its sheer scale, quality of production, investments and marketing blitzkrieg”, Anurag Batra says. He concludes by advising the media industry to not fall prey to the people who benefit from this, the people who want to game the news channel ecosystem.

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Exchange4media Group And Anurag Batra Launches First Ever Party Spokespersons 50 Rankings

Anurag Batra One of the youngest media moguls from India, Anurag is a serial entrepreneur and a mentor to many successful entrepreneurs. He is a man of many talents and someone who adorns many hats. Anurag Batra is also an author, an angel investor and a TV show host and the founder of the iconic exchange4media group and Chairman BW Businessworld group. In a first-of-its-kind initiative launched by the exchange4media group 50 Party Spokespersons were ranked and honoured for their work as political advocates of their respective political parties.

At the event held at India International Centre on April 28, veteran political spokesperson and Member of Parliament, Sudhanshu Trivedi was awarded the first place in the list that saw 5 non-BJP Spokespersons in top 10. Randeep Singh Surjewala and Abhishek Manu Singhvi of Congress were ranked at no. 3 and no. 5 respectively followed by Raghav Chadha of AAP at no. 6, Priyanka Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena at no. 7 and Anurag Bhadouria of Samajwadi Party at no. 10. Amongst BJP leader Sambit Patra bagged second rank, Gaurav Bhatia was at no.4, Syed Zafar Islam at no.8 and Shaziya Ilmi was no.9.

The selection process was based on the criteria of quality of argument, uniqueness of points, presentation style, credibility and visibility. The winners were selected after a long exhaustive screening process by the editorial board of exchange4media which included Dr. Anurag Batra. The awards were preceded by an insightful conference that included fireside chats with founder Dr. Anurag Batra and panel discussions with other judges, covering topics related to political discourse in the country as well as dealing with brickbats and criticism that political spokespeople are often exposed to for their work in public sphere.

Also forming part of discussions was the evolving role of political spokespersons and the need to distinguish cacophony and communication. The first of its kind concept to recognise men and women involved in political life who serve as the public face of their parties, a job that often comes with more than a fair share of criticism was lauded by Dr. Anurag Batra among other attending spokespersons and dignitaries.

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Dr. Anurag Batra Discusses Why The Tv Ratings Issue Continues To Rage On

One of the youngest media moguls from India, Dr. Anurag Batra is a serial entrepreneur and a mentor to many successful entrepreneurs. Dr. Anurag Batra, Founder, exchange4media Group and Editor-in-Chief of BW Businessworld, asks pertinent questions on why the ratings issue continues to rage on. In his latest article, Anurag Batra speaks on the unanswered questions about the TV ratings.

“It’s been 10 weeks since the ratings have resumed for individual news channels. Ratings and measurement are supposed to bring order and give a currency for performance and measurement for all stakeholders. However, instead, the ratings have turned out to be baffling and bemusing. The ratings in the current form leave a lot many questions unanswered rather than answering and regaining credibility”, Anurag Batra says. The current regime seems to be taking off the sheen of ratings and raises a lot of questions about the mechanism, he analyses.

The first question he answers is whether the landing pages viewership be counted as legitimate viewership and should this data be factored in while calculating ratings. In his words, “In the past, a certain broadcaster did it and the then CEO of a ratings mechanism allowed the same and the technical board of the ratings mechanism continued to allow landing page data to be featured as ratings, and allowed it as an input into ratings. I, personally, would strongly urge the stakeholders to reconsider allowing landing pages determined inputs as ‘no viewership�� or its weightage be minimised. The advertiser is paying for engaged and real viewers, not accident-bait viewers who are forced to leave impressions on a certain page”.

The second issue that worries Anurag Batra is the fact that news channel owners who rightly stayed away and criticised such practices of landing pages or other not so best practices have started embracing these practices to stay ahead. “Certain news organisations have even embraced professionals who have been mired in controversy and who they were earlier targeting for malpractices. This is very disturbing. We have to have faith and conviction in one’s own content and the process rather than hiring the same professionals that were once publicly accused of malpractices. This is double-spoken and espouses the low morality of some news media owners and their own eagerness to do well in the short term. Ideally, such professionals should have been singled out and side-lined in a formal way. We need to clean up the system”, Dr. Batra says.

The third issue he discusses is with data collection. A lot of employees of a certain data-gathering agency, which was accused of malpractices or at least the lack of any checks and tampering, have joined a new agency that is supposed to protect and gather data. This is too ironic. This shows the lack of oversight and it seems it is so easy to violate data, Dr. Anurag Batra concluded.

[daily-media]

Anurag Batra - Provides a Structured Platform to Entrepreneurs for Mentorship and Growth

Anurag Batra is the chairman and editor-in-chief of BW Businessworld group. Mr. Batra also founded the exchange4media group and he serves as the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of exchange4media group which includes exchange4media.com, samachar4media.com and magazines like PITCH, IMPACT, Franchisee Plus and Realty Plus. Anurag Batra is also appointed by Government of India as the Chairman of an industry committee formed to come up with a vocational training framework for the media, communication and entertainment industry. At BW Businessworld BW Accelerate is an initiative started by Anurag Batra to provide a structured platform to entrepreneurs for mentorship and growth.

Anurag Batra is the chairman and editor-in-chief of BW Businessworld group. Mr. Batra also founded the exchange4media group and he serves as the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of exchange4media group which includes exchange4media.com – India’s leading media industry website, PITCH – India’s only Advertising, Marketing and Media Magazine, IMPACT – The Marketing Weekly, Franchisee Plus – Business Opportunity Magazine, Realty Plus – India’s leading monthly real estate magazine and samachar4media.com/ – leading media industry website in Hindi.

Anurag Batra is also appointed by Government of India as the Chairman of an industry committee formed to come up with a vocational training framework for the media, communication and entertainment industry. At BW Businessworld BW Accelerate is an initiative started by Anurag Batra to provide a structured platform to entrepreneurs for mentorship and growth.

Anurag Batra in his latest article, articulates his views on the progress made by India as a country in its 75 years of independence. “Talking of progress, India at 75 is a nation that has made giant strides in science and technology. It now strives to establish itself as a leader in the field, evident in the whopping Rs 14,217 crore budgetary allocation for the Union ministry of science and technology for the 2022-23 fiscal. Agrarian India will transform too, with the government investing in another technology-driven Green Revolution. Yes, we are moving in the right direction with science and technology”, Anurag Batra expressed his hopes for the country.

Anurag Batra also highlighted another area where India has made considerable progress – Inclusion. He says that India at 75 values diversity, equity, and inclusion. According to Mr. Batra, India is in a better place with gender equality today and more opportunities are available for women. But there is so much more to be done. He asserts that the focus of the country should be women in rural India, considering that agriculture is still the occupation of a majority of Indians, half of whom are women. “Women comprise 48 per cent of the rural population. Even though agriculture contributes to around 18 per cent of India’s GDP, it is the primary source of income for half our population. We must provide access to healthcare, education and economic development for these women to be able to make a real difference to our society”, says Mr. Batra.

Gender inequality is a global issue. Reports suggest that gender inequality has cost the world $70 trillion since 1990. Anurag Batra expressed his concern that even in developed economies, women don’t earn as much as men and that they are not really equally represented in industry, business and politics. In the developing part of the world, they definitely enjoy less advantages in terms of education and healthcare. A change can only occur when each individual considers himself a stakeholder in gender equity. “Each of us should encourage, support, and mentor young women and help them achieve their dreams. It would be the right path toward creating a progressive world”, Anurag Batra concluded.

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“Media mavericks turns to tech as they chart a unique growth course for the Indian economy” – Anurag Batra

Anurag Batra is the Chairman & Editor-in-Chief of the BW Businessworld Group and the Founder & Editor-in-Chief of the exchange4media Group. He is an entrepreneur, journalist, an angel investor and a media observer. Batra talks about the announcement of the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in November 2020, that digital audio-visual content, including films and web shows on over-the-top (OTT) streaming platforms and news and current affairs on online platforms, would be brought within its purview. “The decision evoked a mixed response. Some welcomed the regulation, while others questioned the government intervention, saying it interfered with creative expression”, states Anurag Batra.

Dr. Anurag Batra brings into view that while this is about the growth in digital, facts have proved that ‘digital’ has become too broad a term from what it once was. “Specific attention needs to be placed on some of its aspects, which are now becoming industries in their own right. All the government initiatives simply underscore the tremendous promise the sector holds for the country. Media is the only vehicle that truly and directly reaches consumers. It is a pull medium. Compelling content, engagement and overall entertainment attract people, demanding their time and attention. These attributes in turn provide an opportunity to large companies, institutions, the government, etc. to address consumers and engage with them through messages and calls to action”, affirms Anurag Batra.

Media, hence, is the original direct-to-consumer (D2C) interface. Mediatech is a wave pushed forth by startups and young entrepreneurs with the ambition to take homegrown media and social media platforms around India and beyond. “Right now, they are doing a good job, perhaps because there clearly is a space for it. This industry attracts optimism. That being said, mediatech is not limited to startups but is also being embraced by traditional media companies that now prefer to call themselves content brands instead of broadcast or newspaper and the likes. The move is in the right direction. We focus on the fast-growing Mediaech subsector, look closely at how technology is disrupting some other sectors and the role that leadership plays in moving the baton forward”, concludes Anurag Batra.

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Anurag Batra believes in experiences  than failures

Anurag Batra is a serial entrepreneur, media mogul, journalist and lifelong optimist. He holds a B. Tech degree in Computer Sciences before joining the Management Development Institute MD Gurugram, one of the leading business schools in India. He is a first-generation entrepreneur, after acquiring the iconic business media and magazine brand BW Business World, a 35-year strong media brand as well as the most respected business publication in the country.

Early life

Mr Anurag doesn’t come from a business family. He considers himself an accidental entrepreneur. He feels a lot of things are God’s wish. In that serendipity, one accidental thing leads to another and there is no grand plan. Studying at MDI was one such gift of God.

Anurag met a friend who gave him 63,00,000 to start an exchange for media. He had gone to him for advice on accepting investment from others but he gave the first investment. That’s why Anurag says that life is a series of happy coincidences and then God has a plan for you. He believes that life is the preordained product that is already arranged for you. Thus started exchange for media, a marketplace for B to B e-commerce. In 2001 to start a B to B e-commerce site Anurag was ahead of time. They were pioneers but in media, they were very ahead of time. Because in India it was a very face to face relationship-based business at that time. Anurag and his team tried building 3 years marketplace but the big boys in the industry had their own sales team and they don’t want transparency. The big players don’t want a platform that democratizes. So they started a daily newsletter on media, advertising, marketing and communication. It became the homepage of everyone. Launched the impact which is weekly in the advertising space. Then launched a real estate magazine. Thus they became a media company.

At the age of 18, he would read 3 newspapers, 5 magazines. Anurag Batra considers that his subconscious mind works got him into media and made him a media person. But he feels that it’s all accidental. Once they were in the business then they thought of logical progression of ideas. Other people may ask why don’t you do this and that, it then became a business.

Anurag Batra claims that he is not in the media business in exchange for media. Rather he is in the business of building communities through digital content through magazines, events etc. The point Anurag is trying to convey is that a lot of it is luck, chance or preordained. It is not known to us that the efforts we make show up when it is needed. If you have good intent God makes the example.

Career

Anurag Batra is an entrepreneur of a different flavor. It takes all sorts to make a world, and while most would never confess that entrepreneurship was an all or nothing choice — simply to keep up appearances! — Anurag does the opposite. Unpretentious and sincere, this Dynamic Entrepreneur is a name many will find instantly recognizable, for he is an entrepreneur, media expert and a journalist rolled into one.

Mr Batra has expanded BW Business World into digital, events, and BW communities, and has launched www. Digital market. Asia, a leading digital marketing website, and www.everythingexperiential.com, India’s leading experimental marketing website, and launch BW hotelier in partnership with hotelier international. BW Smart Cities, a 360-degree editorial platform, will be launched in mid-February 2015. Mr Batra is building the BW Business world business aggressively.

Mr. Batra also founded the exchange4media group and he serves as the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of exchange4media group which includes exchange4media.com — India’s leading media industry website, PITCH — India’s only Advertising, Marketing and Media Magazine, IMPACT — The Marketing Weekly, Franchisee Plus — Business Opportunity Magazine, Realty Plus — India’s leading monthly real estate magazine and samachar4media.com/ — leading media industry website in Hindi.

The Government of India has also appointed Mr. Batra as the Chairman of the Industrial Committee constituted to formulate a Vocational Training Framework for the Media, Communications and Entertainment Industries.

Anurag is also on the core group of TIE’s (The Indus Entrepreneurs), a special internet group focused on Education and Training. He is also advising the government through his white papers on Internet, Media and Television and their impact on society. He also writes a monthly column on Entrepreneurship, in India’s only Entrepreneurship magazine, Dare. He advises many emerging entrepreneurs and enjoys the reverse mentoring process as he learns from these young entrepreneurs. At BW Business-world, BW Accelerate is an initiative to provide a structured platform for entrepreneurs to guide and grow.

Dr. Batra, a very self driven person, believes in experiences rather than failures. In his opinion, if one learns from their mistakes and moves forward, failure has no room!

He is a regular speaker at national and international conferences on the media, the Internet, television, media policy, and entrepreneurship. As a member of the Sales & Marketing Committee of the Delhi Management Association and President of the Northern Chapter of the Franchising Association of India, he has been instrumental in decision making in industry circles.

He is passionate about Magazines and is on the Executive Committee of the Association of Indian Magazines (AIM). He also wants to give back to the industry and his love for teaching comes into play in his position as the Chairman of the Advisory Board of FMCC (Futuristic Media Communication Centre), a leading Media and Communication School in India.

In 2006, the prestigious Management Development Institute (MDI) and Mr Batra’s Alma mater awarded him the “Most Distinguished Alumni of the Decade Award”.Mr Batra believes if you make your hobby your profession, you don’t have to work and life is a blessing.

Traits

“How many of you are on WhatsApp? 95 to 98% people. So today I’m going to talk to you about something called introduction capital”, says Anurag Batra. The reason he talks about WhatsApp is because the old saying was a family that prays together stays together but the new saying is a family that’s on WhatsApp together stays together. He feels the old saying was those who help themselves God helps them, and he thinks the new saying is people who help others, God helps them.

20 years back, Anurag Batra was in a Business School with his friend Amit Kapoor. Anurag grew up in a middle-class family in Gurgaon. His parents had recognition and then he went to engineering school and to a Business School. When he was in the Business School add very limited ambition. His ambition was to join an IT services company in marketing. He almost did that from campus and got through. He was supposed to join it till he met a friend who introduced Anurag to his brother-in-law who was setting up Colliers Jardine in India. That was a turning point. He went to his dad and met the gentleman who told him about Colliers Jardine.

Anurag Batra’s mind changed and he joined Colliers Jardine. Colliers Jardine is regarding a joint venture between HDFC and Ireland affairs. They do property services. But the traditional mindset of land broking when made his parents think otherwise. As a kid he would always read magazine. He used to read a lot of newspapers and magazines. So, with the help of two of his friends, he started of a company called exchange for media. It was started to build a B-to-B exchange for buying and selling of media time and space. It was a failure for the first 3 years and then it evolved into a daily newsletter for the media advertising communication industry. 18 months back Anurag Batra bought business work.

We are in a culture where all of us want to get ahead, all of us have deadlines, dreams ambitions, goals whether materialistic non materialistic. He thinks the notion of helping others may sound little earlier to some of them who may do it consciously or se who does it unconsciously. It may be a notion that is real but all of us are very individualistic. All of us want to do well in life all of us don’t find time for ourselves when you talk about helping others and you know all of us are struggling.

Anurag Batra even in his busy schedule, whatever little time he gets he spent it on introducing people to people. Some of them ask for introduction and some of them don’t ask for introduction and he does it. It is something that he invests his energy, time and mind. The reason Anurag Batra does it is because he like and believe that it’s his duty to help people in some way. He does it because he knows in the past when he helps people, they help me back. It may not be the same set of people but other people.

Anurag Batra thinks the notion of helping other seems perfect. He believes in the law of karma. He thinks what matters is intent and sincerity. Helping doesn’t mean that it may come in the form of money or in some material way, it may come in a way that is even more valuable than money, concludes Anurag Batra.

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Anurag Batra on TV rating mechanisms  – “It's time to bring the credibility and sheen back”

Anurag Batra on TV rating mechanisms  – “It’s time to bring the credibility and sheen back”

Anurag Batra is the Chairman & Editor-in-Chief of the BW Businessworld Group and the Founder & Editor-in-Chief of the exchange4media Group. Dr Anurag Batra has been writing on media for two-plus decades and is the Founder of exchange4media and the Editor-in-Chief of BW Businessworld. Dr. Anurag Batra, in his latest article discusses about the TV rating mechanisms that are prevalent in the…

[currentmediasstuff]

Anurag Batra analyses the reasons for the stagnant growth of the television news viewership universe

Anurag Batra analyses the reasons for the stagnant growth of the television news viewership universe

Anurag Batra, the journalist and serial entrepreneur analyses the reasons for the television news viewership universe not growing. According to the editor in chief of BW Businessworld, if the stagnation or the shrink is indeed true, rather than blaming everyone else and the business media that reports it honestly, the television news promoters and CEOs and editors have to introspect the matter.…

[anuragbatra]

Developers need to create more Indian games in e-sports: Vaibhav Dange

e4m Game On summit saw FEAI Founding Director and Member Vaibhav Dange engaging in a virtual fireside chat with Anurag Batra, Founder & Chairman, exchange4media Group

With the gaming and e-sports industry continuing to grow by the day, there is a heightened need of regulating the space and introduction of policies that can work well in the favour of all stakeholders involved in this industry, which is capable of contributing to the Indian GDP in the coming years. The Federation of Electronic Sports Associations India (FEAI) is playing a pivotal role in this direction.

FEAI Founding Director and Member Vaibhav Dange engaged in a virtual fireside chat with Anurag Batra, Founder & Chairman, exchange4media group, at the e4m Game On summit on Friday to discuss the growing industry, FEAI charter, and the way ahead.

Anurag Batra (AB): Please tell us about the charter of FEAI and how are you becoming a catalyst for building the right policy framework, engaging all stakeholders, and growing the domains in e-gaming and e-sports?

Vaibhav Dange (VD): Overall, the gaming industry is increasing globally and of course, India cannot be aloof of that development. Today, we are roughly around 3% in our participation in the AVGC industry. Fortunately, the government has recognized that this is going to be a huge area. And right from the top,the honourable Prime Minister has been commenting on this. From the players’ perspective, the developers’ perspective, to the organizers of tournaments everybody has recognized the potential this sector has. So, this number is going to go phenomenally up from just 3% in the coming years.

So, we thought that this is the right time to make sustained efforts to ensure that India is at the forefront of this development of the AVGC sector, and we are playing our part in ensuring that. We are trying to promote a hybrid model. For that, we would really like the Ministry of Youth Affairs and the IT ministry to define e-sports. The Supreme Court has given some clarity here and that’s where some of our efforts have borne fruit. We want these clarifications and definitions to evolve so that the players can benefit.

AB: As you said, the policymakers have recognized the potential of the sector and how it can contribute to the Indian economy. But as an association, what are your expectations from these policymakers? What would be the right framework for this sector, from a policy standpoint?

VD: We look at e-sports as an important component of the overall gaming and sports industry of India. We have a holistic perspective that caters to all stakeholders: be it the developers who are designing the game or the players playing the game, or organizers organizing tournaments. All of them have different roles to play. So, after looking at the situation from this holistic perspective, we have already drafted a policy paper after interacting with the stakeholders. We are about to submit these draft documents to the government.

How we really look at it is how we can bring Indian games to this arena. We have a very small participation in developing Indian games, which needs to be improved by the developers. We are also looking at a bottom-up approach, wherein we can host tournaments at colleges, universities, districts etc. to really cultivate this culture. The New Education Policy also talks about skill development across sectors. We want to do something on that front as well. We also want to develop frameworks to protect the privacy of gamers and also develop a ranking system. We are also tying up with the government’s Khelo India initiative to promote e-sports further.

AB: You mentioned earlier in the conversation that there is huge headroom for growth in the Indian e-sports sector. If you have to put a number to this prediction, how much of a scaling-up are you expecting in the next few years?

VD: Today, India has a gaming viewership of around 450 million and most of them, say 48% of them are YouTube Gamers who have said that they like to watch rather than actually play the game. We have more than 500 developers in India. And this number is supposed to triple by 2023. If I may put, it’s like catching a wildfire. So, if we are probably able to create the right regulatory framework and a rights framework, then this can be used to India’s advantage.

AB: From the perspective of private players, there are a lot of issues that they need to deal with when it comes to the side effects of the industry’s growth. Be it no cap on the amount of time that youngsters spend on these gaming platforms to the violence these games have, making them unsuitable for kids. What are your expectations from these private players in this regard?

VD: I completely agree and this remains the biggest challenge for the sector. And it will continue to be so until we see more Indian skill-based games entering the platforms. The developers need to create Indian games, which are skill-based and are not as violent. Many of the conventional traditional games can be crafted for the digital world too. There should be a serious attempt on the part of these private players in educating the players about the side effects and there should be some frameworks in place to guide the community. Only sustained efforts in these directions along with the support from the community can help us fight these ill impacts.

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Recycling Summit for A Greener Tomorrow, An Initiative by Anurag Batra

Anurag Batra says that the Business world is a Business Media platform but business recycling also has an impact on the environment and as we move towards sustainability, the last 21 months have taught us that all of us are more connected and what happened in one part of the world impacts all of us. He thinks the value of sustainability and recycling is becoming more and more important and each stakeholder is taking his or her duty of contributing to a better greener environmentand to a greener economy that is sustainable over time.The recycling summit for a greener tomorrow is an initiative by the BW business world in that direction to be able to contribute to the consciousness of recycling and sustainability. People today can understand the recycling domain and the business domain.When broadly contextualised, we don’t think of recycling as a business and we don’t think that recycling can be done in many forms and with many materials, says Anurag Batra. Thebiggest recycling material is the second most important item, which is aluminium.It is the second most recycled metal globally.Aluminiumcans, industrial scrap and household aluminium are good propositions for creating a business by aluminium recycling.

 Anurag Batra ranks battery as the next big opportunity. Batteries can be broken down into 7 basic identities lead acids, carbon-zinc, alkaline NMIAH,NICAD,lithium-ion and zinc. All these have good market in terms of recycling.

 The other is bookbinding and repair. Old and broken bookbinding is a good business to start from home. A lot of people have started it from home and selling them to printing offices. Next, is the cartridges used for printing. Nowadays people use printers a lot so cartridges have become an important part of our life, especially in a business environment. cartridge refilling businesses are about providing ink and toner cartridge refilling service to your client instead of buying a new one. it is also beneficial for the environment as it contributes to reducing e-waste.

 Construction waste like wood,nails, screws, plaster, drywall concrete rocks, ceramic tiles,flooring, particleboard electrical wires so on can be recycled and used. Construction waste is another item for recycling. Electric wires are conducting material wrapped in plastic insulation. The most common metal use electric wires copper and aluminium. So from electric wires recycling can be done and it can be in the plastic format of polymer.

Most of the hotel restaurants have cooking oil in the kitchens.It is collected and is used in recycling. The major recycling material is e-waste and a lot of people are doing there cycling of it. Then comes, gold,the eco-friendly paper which is being used by a lot of environmentally conscious people. Plastic, tyre, used children’s clothing, wood recycling etc can be done.

 The point Anurag Batra is trying to make is, in our everyday lives, in our business and work, there are opportunities forre cycling.If we take a count there are almost 100 recycling start ups in India. There are large businesses that have been built around recycling but recycling is not just a business. It is a way to make social impact and to make sure that we make our environment more sustainable.

 Anurag Batra also use this opportunity to highlight that the second edition of the BW business world, India’s most sustainable companies in association with sustain labs Paris will be again coming out this year.It is already conducting the jurymeetand will validate the sustain labs Paris research finding sand will bring out the India’s most sustainable ranking. BW business world are doing are bit to make sure that amongst ecosystem they are able to bring out matrix that reward companies that make sustainability and recycling part of their business strategy.

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[india-times]

Anurag Batra believes in experience, rather than failures

Anurag Batra, Chairman & Editor-in-Chief of the BW Businessworld grew up in a middle-class family in Gurgaon. He became a first-generation entrepreneur, after acquiring the iconic business media and magazine brand BW Business World, a 35-year strong media brand as well as the most respected business publication in the country.

After his undergraduate studies, Batra went to an engineering school and then to a business school. While he was doing his business studies, he had very limited ambition. During that period, his ambition was to join an IT services company in marketing. Just like his wish, he got placement through campus selection. But just before he joined the firm, came the turning point of his life. Through his friend, Anurag Batra met the people who were setting up Colliers Jardine in India. Batra’s mind changed and he joined Colliers Jardine. It was a joint venture between HDFC and Ireland affairs and did property services.

Anurag Batra was a person who is a lot interested in books. As a kid he would always read magazine. He used to read a lot of newspapers and books. He used to think in contrast to the traditional mindset of land broking and his thoughts led him to start the company called exchange4media, with the help of two of his friends. It was started to build a B-to-B exchange for buying and selling of media time and space. It was a failure for the first 3 years and then it evolved into a daily newsletter for the media advertising communication industry.

We are in a culture where all of us want to get ahead, all of us have deadlines, dreams ambitions, goals whether materialistic or non-materialistic. Anurag Batra thinks the notion of helping others may sound little earlier to some people who may do it consciously. “It may be a notion that is real but all of us are very individualistic. All of us want to do well in life, all of us don’t find time for ourselves when you talk about helping others and you know all of us are struggling”, says Anurag Batra. Even in his busy schedule, Anurag Batra spends time introducing people to people. Some of them ask for introduction, but he also does it even for people who don’t ask for introduction. It is something in which he invests his energy, time and mind. Anurag Batra believes that it is his duty to help people in some way.

Anurag Batra thinks that the notion of helping other seems perfect. He also believes in the law of karma. He thinks what matters is sincerity and dedication. “Helping doesn’t mean that it may come in the form of money or in some material way, it may come in a way that is even more valuable than money” Anurag Batra concludes.

[currentmediasstuff]

“Cacophony of opinions and views on Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, just turned shriller” - Anurag Batra

Anurag Batra is a serial entrepreneur, media mogul, a journalist and an eternal optimist rolled into one. He is a B. Tech graduate in Computer Sciences, a degree which he acquired before joining Management Development Institute MDI Gurgaon, one of India's leading Business School. He is a first-generation entrepreneur and he acquired the iconic business media and magazine brand BW Businessworld. Anurag Batra forecasts his views on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its impact on the world economy. According to him, information wars are preceding real conflicts, and then escalating them.

Anurag Batra is a successful entrepreneur, media magnate, journalist and a perpetual optimist rolled into one. He is a B. Tech graduate in Computer Sciences, a degree which he acquired before joining Management Development Institute MDI Gurgaon, one of India's leading Business School. He is a first-generation entrepreneur who acquired the iconic business media and magazine brand BW Businessworld, a 35-year strong media brand as well as most respected business publication in the country.

Anurag Batra forecasts his views on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its impact on the world economy. Russia finally invaded Ukraine on 22nd February, polarising the world into allies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its own traditional allies of the Soviet era like Belarus. According to Anurag Batra, the dissonance of opinions and views on Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, which has been aspiring for a NATO membership, is increasing day by day.

The US remains deeply polarized along political and racial lines. China has adversarial positions open across the spectrum. The world is increasingly divided. “Even as media professionals landed in the war zone, rumours and unverified social media posts began to confuse the actual situation on the ground”, Anurag Batra brings the truth to the limelight. Polarisations are not only typical of geopolitics, where vested economic interests decide who takes which side, says Mr. Anurag Batra. In his opinion, we have been witnessing polarisations in domestic politics on ethnic or racial lines, not just in India but also in the world’s oldest democracy, the United States of America.

India has abstained from the vote on the United Nations resolution on Russia, citing its traditional ties with Russia, as well as nations aligned with NATO.  As India deftly plays the balancing game on the UN vote on Russia and Ukraine, the situation will test India’s resolve and diplomatic dexterity. For the longest time India swore by the doctrine of non-alignment, it is now the time to build a fresh paradigm based on those principles. “India is obviously choosing to adhere to the doctrine of non-alignment, even as we champion peace”, Dr. Anurag Batra says.

In the views of Anurag Batra, information wars are preceding real conflicts, and then escalating them. Years of cultural and ideological conditioning supplemented with incessant fake news has often fructified into hardline opinions and strategies.