When pollution masks join the list of essential Diwali items, its time to introspect the air condition of Delhi. The air-purifiers’ sale rose to a new high as people became more and more concern for their health. Let’s know more about the new emerging market.┬а
Diwali 2018 was notorious for Delhi. The capital scored the lowest on Air Quality Index (AQI). People ridiculed the order given by the Supreme Court. They don’t want clean atmosphere as they are keeping their home atmosphere clean by air-purifiers.┬а┬а
Demand in the Market
Mask sellers had a bumper Diwali, with sales overshooting last yearтАЩs figures already.┬аSangeet Singh, a mask seller in Gurgaon, tells us, тАЬOf course, itтАЩs nothing to be happy about, because we have to breathe in the same air. But we knew over a month ago that it would again be a bumper Diwali for us. Closer to the festival, we ran out of masks almost every second day.тАЭ┬а
This year, the sale began a month in advance. Usually, people ask about the price, effectiveness and durability of the purifiers. This time, they were well aware and came with a clear mindset.┬а
Till last year, 80-90% of the people who came to us just had queries. They asked about the price and whether air purifiers were effective. Sales were limited to a few customers. This year, that has changed. Awareness has increased and most who come to the shop end up purchasing.
A seller from Gurugram
Nowadays, the price is not on mind but effectiveness and durability is.┬а Since air purifiers sell for over Rs 10,000, earlier, customers would often haggle over the price, which has ended now. тАЬPeople┬аwould ask if there is any discount on the product or not,тАЭ recalls Vinesh, who owns an electronics showroom in south Delhi, adding, тАЬBut this year is different. People donтАЩt ask about discounts. Their queries have changed to which model is most effective. Our sales for air purifiers increased three-fold this year. Masks were always popular, but 2018 is when air purifiers became a popular buy for Diwali.тАЭ
Exponentially growth in market
According to Amazon, in 2016, people bought 4 times more air purifier than they bought in 2015. In 2017, sales increased by 5 times that of 2016. In 2018, October sales eclipsed the September sale by a huge margin of 450%. It is seen that cities like Mumbai and Delhi are the main contributors of this growth.┬а
Why the market is increasing at this rate?
A very simple reason – prevention is better than cure. According to WHO, in 2016, 1.1 lakh children died due to air pollution in India. So, it is obvious that people don’t want to risk their lives. Since they cannot control the outside, but they can control their house.┬аThough instead of buying these purifiers on one hand and spending lavishly on firecrackers from another hand doesn’t sound logical.
Supreme Court ordered bursting of only ‘green’ fire-crackers on Diwali and that too between 8-10 PM only.┬а Delhites ignored the call and are paying the price.┬аThe overall AQI was recorded at 302 at 11 pm in Delhi, which fall in the very poor category.┬а
Image Source: ANI
A thick haze engulfed the national capital with the air quality deteriorating to the “very poor” category.┬аThe overall Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 302 at 11 pm.┬аThe air quality started deteriorating rapidly from 7 pm. The AQI was 281 at 7 pm. It rose to 291 at 8 pm and further deteriorated to 294 at 9 pm and 296 at 10 pm, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
#Delhi's Anand Vihar at 999, area around US Embassy, Chanakyapuri at 459 & area around Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium at 999, all under 'Hazardous' category in Air Quality Index (AQI) pic.twitter.com/QX7z5UYOl9
The Supreme Court had allowed bursting of firecrackers from 8 pm to 10 pm only on Diwali and other festivals. It had also allowed manufacture and sale of only “green crackers”, which have a low light and sound emission and less harmful chemicals. But, all vanished into smoke. Shops sold banned crackers. Some vendors gave an option of home delivery to dodge ban.┬а┬а
Worst Air Quality of Year
After Diwali, due to our ‘over-smartness’ Delhi recorded the worst Air Quality of the year.┬аThe Delhi Air Quality Index is around 574 at present. Air Quality Index entered in ‘severe’ category at 2 AM after midnight on Thursday.┬а
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”. Above 500 is “severe-plus emergency” category.┬а
Several areas showed a spike in the air pollution. Areas like Anand Vihar, ITO and Jahangirpuri recorded very high pollution levels.┬аAccording to the CPCB data, the 24-hour rolling average of PM2.5 and PM10 were 164 and 294 micrograms per cubic metre respectively.┬а
Why Should Innocent Suffer?
A “very poor” AQI essentially means that people may suffer from respiratory illnesses on a prolonged exposure to such air. Just imagine what ‘severe’ AQI can do? It can seriously trouble healthy people and seriously affect people with ailments.┬аIn recent weeks, Delhi doctors have reported an increase in patients with respiratory problems.┬а
Since the atmosphere is shared by all, even law-abiding, eco-friendly people would also suffer the same fate as the culprits. Due to some care-less people, now everyone would suffer. As smog engulf the capital, visibility would decrease. This might cause accidents. People would feel nauseating condition as well as choking of their lungs. Old people and children would develop respiratory diseases. Just because of few, the innocents would have to suffer.┬а
Everyone is aware of the consequences of the pollution. Everyone knows that it invites diseases. And everyone thinks that their piece of pollution won’t matter. But, what they don’t know is – it matters.┬а
Hyderabad is hosting 8th Global Entrepreneurship Summit between 28-30 November 2017. This year is the first time it is being hosted in South Asia since its inception in 2010. NITI Aayog, in the partnership with the Government of the United States of America will host the annual Summit. The Summit will be addressed by The HonтАЩble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi. The US delegation will be led by Ms. Ivanka Trump, Advisor to President Trump. Around 1500 entrepreneurs across the globe are selected for attending this Summit.
Since the inception of GES in 2010, it has traveled across the world from Washington D.C. to Istanbul, Dubai, Marrakech, Nairobi, Kuala Lumpur, Silicon Valley, and now finally Hyderabad! The event will highlight IndiaтАЩs enabling environment for innovation and entrepreneurship тАУ including actions by the government to increase the ease of doing business, eliminating unnecessary regulations, and supporting startups.
Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana state, has a strong presence of major U.S. tech firms, a robust startup ecosystem, premier academic institutions, top-notch talent, and supportive government policies in place., Hyderabad, also home to T-Hub – IndiaтАЩs largest startup incubator, has all the ingredients to be IndiaтАЩs next startup capital.
The theme of the event is тАЬWomen First, Prosperity for AllтАЭ. Ivanka Trump addressed first and gave the theme its rightful meaning. She said, “I am proud that for the first time ever, women make up the majority of the 1,500 entrepreneurs selected to attend.”
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“As a former entrepreneur, employer, and executive in a male-dominated industry, I have seen firsthand all too often that women must do more than their male counterparts to prove themselves at work, while also disproportionately caring for their families at home.”
Ivanka stressed on how significant it had been in the past few years for women to be part of the entrepreneurial drive the world had witnessed. She added, “Fueling the growth of women-led businesses isn’t simply good for our society — it’s good for our economy. One study estimates that closing the gender┬аentrepreneurship┬аgap worldwide could grow our global GDP by as much as 2 per cent.”
“Just consider, if India closes the labor force gender gap by half, your economy could grow by over $150 billion in the next three years,” she said.
Ivanka highlighted the difference between women entrepreneurs in the US and developing nations. тАЬIn the United States, within the last decade, the number of women-owned firms has grown by 45 per cent. Even more promising, minority women have started nearly 8 in 10 new women-owned businesses.тАЭ
тАЬToday, more than 11 million women in the United States own businesses. They employ nearly 9 million workers, and generate over $1 trillion dollars in revenue.тАЭ
тАЬHowever, in developing countries, 70 per cent of women-owned small and medium-sized businesses are denied access to capital. The result has been a nearly $300 billion annual credit deficit for women entrepreneurs in the developing world. In some countries, women are not allowed to own property, travel freely, or work without the consent of their husbands.тАЭ
After her speech, PM Narendra Modi took the stage and addressed the Summit. He talked about Goddess Shakti, warrior queens like Rani Lakshmibai, astronauts Sunita Williams and Kalpana Chawla, and sportswomen Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu to connect the dots of the incredible journey Inidian women have charted through the ages in different walks of life. Modi said, “Our space programmes, including the Mars Orbiter Mission, have had an immense contribution from our women scientists. Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams, both of Indian origin, have been part of US space missions.
Image source : Google
тАЬThree out of four oldest High Courts in India are now headed by women judges. Our sportswomen have done the country proud. Our milk co-operatives in Gujarat and the Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad, are examples of highly successful and globally acclaimed women-led co-operative movements.”
Narendra Modi later invited international entrepreneurs to тАШCome, Make in India, Invest in IndiaтАЩ Modi highlighted his New India Vision and said, “To my young entrepreneur from India, I would like to say: each of you has something valuable to contribute towards creating a New India by 2022. You are vehicles of change and instruments of India’s transformation.”
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Today, in the morning, Telangana IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao┬аmoderated a discussion on тАШWe can do it тАФ Innovation in Work Force Development and Skills TrainingтАЩ on boosting women’s participation in the workforce. The speakers were Ivanka Trump, Cherie Blair, Chanda Kochchar and Karen Quintos. Ivanka Trump highlighted the importance of public policy to support women entrepreneurs. Cherie Blair of the Foundation for Women pointed out that capacity, confidence, capital are the three things women entrepreneurs need to flourish. Chanda Kochchar, CEO of ICICI Bank, highlighted the outcomes of ICICIтАЩs training initiative and stated the fact that among the 100,000┬аbeneficiaries of the initiative, 55% were women. She also pointed out that India is the only country where 40% of the banking sector is headed by women. Karen Quintos, CCO of Dell EMC, spoke on the biases that exist in the society and had to be addressed.
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In the afternoon, Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle┬аmoderated panelists who spoke about sports tech startups. Panelists composed of P. Gopichand, Sania Mirza, Chatri, Sityondtong and Mithali Raj. Chief National Coach of Indian Badminton team, P. Gopichand said that sports is beyond winning and everyone who plays the sport is a champion. Tennis Star, Sania Mirza, said that sports donтАЩt need films to popularize sports; we need to love sports for India to become a sporting nation. Chatri Sityodtong, ONE Championship, Chairman and CEO, quoted the fact that storytelling is everything in sports. In the end, Mithali Raj, Indian Women’s Cricket Team Captain, pointed out the need for good infrastructure and facilities so that girls can channel their sporting abilities.
The event will certainly help entrepreneurs to showcase and bring their product to the world stage. The event will also improve IndiaтАЩs reputation as the innovation-friendly country and will help startups to get funded and recognized worldwide.
