Seventeen social entrepreneurs were honoured by the Delhi-based School for Social Entrepreneurs India and PwC India on February 5 for graduating from its flagship Social Start-Up Fellowship programme, an initiative supported by PwC India. The graduating class of 2017-18 is working on social enterprises in diverse fields such as livelihood, healthcare, children and women’s welfare, disability and technology, education, policy implementation and community development through arts, cinema and rural development.
“Social entrepreneurship is steadily gaining momentum in our country and we are proud to be part of this journey which for PwC began with its association with SSE India in 2016. We have derived immense value by mentoring SSE Fellows over their nine-month course. The personal experiences gained through these interactions have truly helped in multiple ways, reflecting PwC’s purpose of building trust and solving important problems in society,” said Satyavati Berera, COO of PwC India, speaking on the occasion.
CFA Research Challenge finalists
The CFA Society India declared IIM-Ahmedabad, IIM-Trichy, and IIM-Calcutta winners of the national final of its CFA Institute Research Challenge India 2017-18. The CFA Institute’s annual global Research Challenge provides university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis. Under the rules of the research challenge, B-school students work in teams to research and analyse a publicly traded company. Each team writes a research report on its assigned company with buy, sell, or hold recommendations and later present and defend their recommendations to a panel of industry professionals. Teams of these B-schools will represent India at the Asia Pacific Regional competition to be held on April 25-26 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The 11th edition of the research challenge attracted participation of 55 B-schools including IIM-Indore, NMIMS, Mumbai, AIMS Institute, Bangalore, IIFT, Delhi and IIM-Raipur among others from 25 cities across the country.
They pitched their equity research on four companies — Indigo (Inter Globe Aviation), Hero MotoCorp, Titan and Asian Paints — in brief, time-bound presentations followed by a round of questions from the high-powered jury comprising senior investment professionals of CRISIL and Ambit Capital among others.
“The CFA Institute Research Challenge gives B-school students a unique opportunity with live environment equity research challenges. The rigour of research supported by quality professional mentors, and opportunity of presenting to experienced fund managers, is unmatched,” says Kishor Bagri, director, the CFA Institute Research Challenge India.
Delhi Dynamos football workshop
The Gurgaon-based J. Knitwear Pvt. Ltd (estb.1995), a company which markets the well-known T10 sports brand of activewear and sportswear and is the brand company of the India Football League team Delhi Dynamos, hosted a training session for students at the Kunskapsskolan School, Gurgaon on February 17. Coaches and students from the school and several other schools of Delhi and Gurgaon were invited to learn the finer points of football by Delhi Dynamos star players Edu Moya, Nandkumar and Albino Gomes.
“Most companies hold such events in hotels. But we thought it fitting to hold our promotional event on the sports ground of the Kunskapsskolam School, which is evidently a more suitable venue. We intend to conduct more such workshops for cricket and football soon,” said Bijesh Todi, director, J. Knitwear, speaking on the occasion.
Adani Foundation’s new schools
Adani Foundation, promoted by the Adani Group, the well-known infrastructure industries conglomerate, inaugurated a CBSE-affiliated class I-X Adani Vidya Mandir School and a vocational training centre (Kaushal Vikas Kendra) at Surguja, Chhattisgarh for children and youth of the tribal communities of the area. The school will serve 12 villages in the surrounding mining areas, providing high-quality primary-secondary education to 561 students.
In addition to the CBSE curriculum, the foundation will provide every student free study materials, uniforms, conveyance allowance and mid-day meals.
“As India’s leading infrastructure conglomerate, we understand the importance of providing the right amenities to ensure children receive high quality education and skills development opportunities for a fruitful future,” said Dr. Priti Adani, chairperson of the Adani Foundation, speaking on the occasion.
“We are also heartened to see a substantial number of girl children enrolled in the school. We aim to educate as many girls as possible because we believe that women’s education can bring about a silent revolution in society,” she added.
The Kaushal Vikas Kendra’s state-of-the-art ground plus one structure will skill 1,000 youth across different trades. Its modern campus offers separate hostel facilities for 80 boys and girls and includes electrical, hospitality, fitters and welders, mining skills with simulator, sewing machine operation, computer lab and management education.