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With the introduction of XProtect® Rapid REVIEW, Milestone’s customers will be able to accelerate investigations and find what they are looking for with speed and accuracy. Powered by BriefCam’s video analytics technology, hours of video recordings can now be reviewed in minutes, bringing enhanced decision-making and momentum to any investigation. Milestone’s XProtect Rapid REVIEW is an intelligent video analytics solution that allows security operators and investigators to efficiently search through hours and hours of video recordings and pinpoint exactly what they are looking for in mere minutes. Powered by the innovative BriefCam® video analytics technology, XProtect Rapid REVIEW is an add-on product that is seamlessly integrated into Milestone’s XProtect Smart Client. The product is available from 27 October 2021 and is supported on all paid XProtect VMS products. “XProtect Rapid REVIEW is an ideal solution for Milestone XProtect customers, looking to enhance their VMS investment with premium forensic video analytics. BriefCam is thrilled to tap into a segment of the market not currently addressed, through Milestone and its vast partner ecosystem,” said Gili Rom, VP Strategy and Alliances at BriefCam. Commenting on the launch, Sandesh Kaup, Country Manager, India, and SAARC, at Milestone Systems added, “Public security is an integral part of our smart cities initiative and video forensics is in high demand in India. Integrating VIDEO SYNOPSIS® and Milestone’s XProtect, a day of security footage can get reduced into just one minute video clips. This leads to a significant reduction in the effort and cost required to review any stored video. This greatly benefits our police and forensic investigations to identify evidence, and use data generated insights for swift action and continued safety.” Bjørn Skou Eilertsen, Chief Technology Officer at Milestone Systems, said, “Clearly, XProtect Rapid REVIEW is an important tool for our customers to help them speed up their investigation and in general work smarter with their VMS. Bringing the best solutions for our customers is our key focus.” XProtect Rapid REVIEW enables highly accurate, cross-camera video searches and filtering, based on an expanding suite of classes, attributes, behaviors and visual layers that help investigators pinpoint people, objects, and behaviors of interest. The unique VIDEO SYNOPSIS® technology gives the operator the ability to visualize objects simultaneously that appeared at different times within the video. “The launch of XProtect Rapid REVIEW is a strategic partnership to bring video analytics closer to our core product and add further value to our customers’ XProtect investment,” said Eilertsen. “We want to enable businesses and governments to harness the power of data insights, which can help them address scarcity of resources, security threats, and other challenges. Sometimes we may find that the best option is to integrate analytics in XProtect. That said, openness is built into Milestone’s DNA, XProtect remains an open platform VMS, and we continue to deliver the video management solutions that best solve customers’ needs through strong partnerships with our technology partners,” concluded Eilertsen. Delivering a seamless experience requires a deep integration of analytics technology. Milestone XProtect is one of only a few VMSs to have a level 4 integration to BriefCam analytics, making XProtect Rapid REVIEW functions available directly from within the XProtect Smart Client. This ensures a seamless experience providing the user with a single user interface experience, from where they can manage their investigation. BriefCam® is the leading provider of video analytics software that enables people, companies, and communities to unlock the value of video surveillance content. Delivering accurate, flexible, and comprehensive solutions, BriefCam’s video analytics platform provides valuable insights for accelerating investigations, increasing situational awareness, and enhancing operational intelligence. VIDEO SYNOPSIS® technology is a registered trademark of BriefCam, Ltd.  

Hikvision India, the leading provider of innovative video security products and solutions, has participated in the recently held FSAI Maha Yatra, organised by the Fire and Security Association of India (FSAI). There were three events organised under the aegis of the FSAI Maha Yatra, including Fire & Security India Expo (FSIE) – (virtual on-line expo); India Fire & Security Yatra (IFSY) – (on-site and the virtual conference at 21 chapters in 21 cities); and FIST Awards 2021 (on-site and virtual – 21 chapters) were organized as a part of the FSAI Maha Yatra. Hikvision India has won the Product of the Year Access Control Systems (Hardware-Software) award at the Finest India Skill & Talent (FIST) Awards in the access control category. The first day of FSIE event was inaugurated by Dr. Vikram Singh, Former DGP of UP. This was preceded by a welcome address by Suresh Menon. National President, FSAI highlighting various attributes of all the three events. This was followed by an introductory talk by Ms. Rakhi Deepak, national Secretary, FSAI. Dr. Singh also chaired the opening session and covered various nuances on how to handle the safety, health and security relevant concerns likely to crop up while educational institutions are getting geared for reopening. Commenting on the Hikvision’s participation in the FSAI Maha Yatra, Ashish P. Dhakan, MD and CEO, Prama Hikvision India Pvt. Ltd., said, “Hikvision India had proactively participated in the FSAI’s Maha Yatra to present its latest technologies and product innovations in the Indian security market. It is one of the most unique onsite and virtual expo platforms for the fire and security segments. We were happy to showcase the latest products and innovative technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), Big Data and IoT. We won the most coveted FIST Award in the access control systems (hardware/ software) as Product of the Year Award. This is an affirmation of our faith and conviction in the research and development to drive the excellence and innovation. FSAI Maha Yatra has added value through FSIE, IFSY and FIST Award events.” India Fire & Security Yatra (IFSY 2021) events were also organised in the on-site & virtual format across 21 Chapters. IFSY had allowed one to one interaction with the visitors present physically at the venue. In every city the chapter/ subchapter had organised the technical seminars during the day. IFSY 2021 was successfully organised at 21 locations (Goa, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Surat, Vadodara, Amaravathi, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Indore, Jaipur, Lucknow, Nagpur, Nashik, Raipur and Vizag) across the country concurrently. Hikvision India representatives participated in the conference through presentations and panel discussion at these 21 locations. Pramod Pandurang Sawant, Hon. Chief Minister, Goa has kindly presided over the above function as chief guest and inaugurated the proceedings from Goa. Finest India Skill & Talent (FIST) Awards distribution function were also held online. Awards in different categories were given away splitting across 21 chapter level venues across the country. Hikvision India won the Product of the year Award in the access control system (software/ hardware). The FIST Awards function witnessed a number of leading industries, other manufacturing units and other establishments like medicare establishments, hospitality sector, educational institutions, commercial as well as residential sectors etc. However, uniquely this year the programs could be executed across the country at its 21 chapter wise locations through both online and offline (physical) modes. In parallel, they had also been streamed parallel across the nation (virtually).  

Johnson Controls, the leading global player for smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, selected Tempered Networks to provide best-in-class secure communications and network management for its OpenBlue services, further advancing cybersecurity leadership for the company’s smart buildings technology ecosystem. The agreement allows Johnson Controls to deploy Tempered Airwall as a core component of OpenBlue service offerings to protect building automation customers worldwide. OpenBlue serves many different industries including commercial and civic workplaces, hospitals, schools, campuses, and stadiums. “The acceleration of digital transformation means our customers are realizing the benefits of operating smart buildings that are increasingly data-enabled and require the strongest levels of cybersecurity,” said Vijay Sankaran, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Johnson Controls, “By leveraging security technology from Tempered Networks, we enable smart buildings with industry-leading secure remote access technology and AI-driven security insights to help OpenBlue customers manage risk and simplify network management, allowing them to deliver a great occupant experience.” “We enable smart buildings with industryleading secure remote access tech and AIdriven security” CTO, Vijay Sankaran   Tempered Airwall will be integrated into OpenBlue Bridge technology, a gateway for secure edge to cloud communications. “We are enabling Johnson Controls technicians to securely access and manage equipment at a customer site from anywhere using zero trust software defined networking and military-grade encryption, rendering building systems invisible to unauthorized users and potential attacks,” said Jason Christman, Vice President and Chief Product Security Officer at Johnson Controls. Johnson Controls new OpenBlue services that leverage the Tempered Airwall platform will be available globally and addresses clear demand for improved cybersecurity and management. “Critical infrastructure is being hacked daily because digital transformation has made it vulnerable. The network solutions that worked in the past, like adding yet another firewall, are no longer effective”, said Keith Beeman, CEO of Tempered Networks, “With Airwall’s native zero trust platform, building automation systems can now be safely and optimally managed from anywhere.” The integration of Lynwood, Washington-based Tempered Network’s security technology further advances OpenBlue Services leadership in cybersecurity, building on recent partnerships with Pelion and DigiCert to provide advanced secure device management and digital trust for smart building technology.  

Anil Puri CMD, APS group A second generation entrepreneur, thought leader and an action catalyzer rolled into one – Anil Puri is a rare combination of a visionary, and one who has mastered the art of strategic and tactical thinking to the core. He has been using this combination to seed new ideas and to lead them to their implementation on-ground. This has been a consistent feature of his career. He has rich experience of approximately 35 years in corporate in diverse domains & from functional managerial level to apex as chairman of a corporate group. PSA came to him as a part of inheritance and by choice. He at times spends part of his time in listening to his ops team in their due diligence in understanding the nitty – gritty of the PSS or security design of the client premises. Most of the time his niche experience and deep understanding of the PSS is of immense value to the ops team in unwinding the folds of the system. INTRODUCTION Security standards are heavily context dependent and tailored to the needs of the company and/ or region. Whether it is heavy crime, militias or corruption, security by design (SBD) is needed to protect assets and to ensure that a company continues operating without interference. When a project is in its infant stages with low exposure, the companies take little to no heed, but it is of the utmost importance that your business is prepared for potential risks when the wheels of your project start turning full throttle. PHYSICAL SECURITY & CYBER SECURITY – WHY CONVERGENCE MIRRORS THE PILLARING EFFECT? Cybersecurity/ digital security has become the watchword of the day. Having stepped into the 21st century, the world is heavily dependent on IT infrastructure for carrying out everyday business operations. Be it monetary transactions or information exchange, digital platforms today dominate the world stage. Naturally, digital data has taken the center stage in the grand scheme of things – with more and more devices coming online due to the advent of technologies such as wearables and IoT, and this volume of data is only going to increase. Due to the rather sensitive nature of digital infrastructure, businesses are investing heavily in ensuring the digital security of their IT assets, and with newer, more sophisticated threats on the horizon, this is only to be expected. Malicious elements on the internet are regularly amping up their repertoire of attack techniques. Ransomware, DDoS, and spyware are just some of the many weapons in the arsenal of these malicious players. In order to protect IT resources from such attacks, companies are prepared to invest time as well as money. But are our present security measures enough? True, you can put in place advanced digital security structures, create digital safety and hygiene protocols, and deploy state-ofthe-art technology to ensure that your assets are digitally protected. All this overlooks one of the main chinks in the cyber security armour – the Physical Security. Consider this – you have implemented all the encryption in the world, you’ve created a digitally insulated system that cannot be penetrated by digital means. What if a fire happens to ravage your data servers? Or any unauthorized personnel gains access to secure areas of your computing infrastructure? What happens next? Physical security was, is, and will remain one of the prime avenues by which your cyber infrastructures can and should be adequately protected. Keeping your organization safe against physical attacks is essential to safeguarding your digital assets. This not only helps reduce the risks to your IT infrastructure but also contributes towards protecting your employees as well as related physical property. Yet physical security rarely occupies a position of concern in the minds of most information security professionals. Seeing as physical security has multiple technical as well as administrative components, organizations fail to recognize it as a valid component of cyber security. Physical security must be one of the key components of your digital security plan. Without a well laid physical security infrastructure, your digital security remains half-baked at the best, and dangerously exposed at the worst – most important link in the cyber security chain. WHAT DOES SECURITY BY DESIGN (SBD) IMPLY? An effective physical security system when evolved by design; integrates people, procedures, and technology for the protection of the assets against all possible types of crime; to mention a few – intrusion, thefts, sabotage, malicious human attacks and most vital being the cybersecurity breaches. Hence, the designer or security director should weigh the objectives of the physical security system (PSS) clearly against available resources and then evaluate the proposed design to ascertain how well it meets the objectives of the security program. SECURITY BY DESIGN VS SECURITY BY NUMBERS? As discussed above, security by design takes into account multiple disciplinary approaches to ensure that a building is safe and secure for office, residence or commercial purpose; more so as part of fool proof PSS (physical security system). Sheer deployment of numbers without taking into account the pillars of the asset protection like risk assessment (RA) & risk management (RM) tools, non-integration of selected components of technology will only amount to flooding with human presence amounting to melee, overcrowding and overlapping of job profiles leading to utter confusion and non-accountability. Human error will overwhelm the system with no space for technology and processes leading to erratic & regressive response mechanism – thus vitiating the very principle of detect, deter, delay and respond (destroy) leading to ultimate failure of PSS. WHAT DOES SECURITY BY DESIGN INVOLVE? To design and construct a safe and secure building, a collaborative approach to the design process is required, starting at the conceptual phase of the project and continuing throughout the process. So is the case when we decide to evolve a PSS. It is necessary for all persons responsible for the safety and security of the building components to interact closely throughout the entire design and construction process. This means that all interested parties…

ELCINA and SPGI are delighted to announce their decision to merge and work together for the progress of the electronic systems design and manufacturing industry with SPGI functioning as a focussed group for the security sector, within ELCINA. The decision was taken during the Annual General Meeting of SPGI held on 1 September 2021, at India Habitat Center, New Delhi. The two associations are coming together to benefit from each other’s synergies and the key role of electronics technology in the security industry. Security products market is growing rapidly, estimated at 22% per annum and this growth will sustain upto 2025 and beyond. Globally the electronic security market was valued at USD40.93 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD68.57 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 8.98% over the forecast period from 2021 to 2026. India CCTV market, which comprises the lion’s share in security industry, is estimated at about Rs.10,000 Cr and expected to register a CAGR of 22.35% over the forecast period from 2021-2026. Speaking during the SPGI AGM & Industry Meet, ELCINA President Paresh Vasani said, “ELCINA welcomes SPGI members and we believe that as a leading electronics industry association we will bring great value to SPGI as well as synergies with ELCINA members. In our pursuit of promotion of electronics manufacturing and expanding markets, we look forward to supporting the growth of the security sector and bringing its benefits to SPGI – ELCINA members and the domestic electronics industry at large.” SPGI Chairman, Sanjeev Sehgal, MD of Samriddhi Automations (Sparsh CCTV) informed the gathering, “For last 7 years SPGI has strived to be the voice and representation of India’s Electronics security industry at all public platforms, leading to the successful recognition of CCTV as a sub-sector under the Atmanirbhar Bharat policy. As the industry continues to evolve, it is imperative to take the next steps in the right direction, to advance the interests of all stakeholders at bigger platforms and under a strong banner. I firmly believe synergies with ELCINA will strengthen our mission to drive greater impact towards securing policy support and build on SPGI’s long term vision of elevating India’s Security Industry.” SPGI consists of longstanding players who have contributed to the development of the industry over the last 3-4 decades. Some of its key members including Reliance Electronics, Hanwha International, Bosch as well as MSME’s such as iota international, Securico, Vighnaharta among several others were present for the Industry Meet. Sanjay Agarwal, Sr Vice President ELCINA and MD, Globe Capacitors Ltd and Amrit Manwani, Immediate Past President, ELCINA and CMD Sahasra Group expressed delight at this positive development and conveyed their optimism at this merger which would give a boost to the security industry which was one of the fastest growing sectors in the country. Some of the SPGI members are already ELCINA members and vice versa and SPGI leadership has been working closely with ELCINA over the years. Vinod Sharma, Past President ELCINA and MD, Deki Electronics Ltd spoke passionately about the growing opportunities that were available to electronics manufacturers today and the shifting supply chains which India must capitalize on. Collaboration and cooperation were the mantras that Indian companies must embrace which would strengthen the Indian industry. Shashank Agarwal, Secretary SPGI and MD, Target Security presented the achievements of the association since inception seven years ago alongwith Anoop Sahu, Treasurer SPGI and MD, Hope Security. ELCINA Secretary General Rajoo Goel commented, “We must target a 20-25% share of the global market by 2025 and aspire for a US$10 Bn security products industry by aggressively pursuing export opportunities. We are delighted at the opportunity to work with SPGI members and the security industry members which has synergy with manufacturers and designers of electronic components and products. The strategic importance of homeland security is growing due to the changing geopolitical scenario which challenging our internal security fabric. State of the art security equipment consists largely of electronic components and assemblies which designed using the latest electronics technology.”  

Fortinet® a leading global player in broad, integrated and automated cybersecurity solutions, recently announced an expansion to its FortiCare and FortiGuard security services offerings, adding a new security service called FortiTrust. FortiTrust security services offer user-based licensing across all networks, endpoints and clouds, which traditionally have been siloed. Initial service levels are being offered for zero trust network access (ZTNA) and identity verification, with more offerings forthcoming. Redefining the future of security services with FortiTrust FortiTrust provides security services that follow the user across an organization’s entire security platform, enabling organizations to easily manage and secure across all form factors. Other benefits of the new offering include: Flexible user-based licensing of security services, eliminating the need to track device counts or bandwidth consumption and making it easy to calculate total cost with built in volume discounts. Integrated single license for security services delivers desired use cases across the Fortinet Security Fabric. Easy implementation of new security services allows users to transition across various form factors, enabling organizations with hybrid architectures to shift from on-premises to cloud-delivered security. Easy options to upgrade and migrate between services. Fortinet’s expanding security services portfolio FortiTrust adds to Fortinet’s existing FortiCare and FortiGuard security services portfolio. FortiCare services are available for all Fortinet Security Fabric products. FortiCare offers three levels of services – including Essential, Premium and Elite – all providing 24×7 technical support and timely issue resolution. FortiCare also offers several product and account-based services options to address the unique needs of any organization. Through FortiCare, organizations have access to Fortinet experts to help accelerate technology implementation, provide reliable assistance through advanced support, and offer proactive care to maximize security and performance of Fortinet deployments. FortiGuard Security Services provide organizations different services tied to their Fortinet devices, enabling coordinated and consistent real-time defense for the latest cyberattacks. FortiGuard Security Services are tuned around different customer segments to include individual services for enterprises, bundles for commercial, and packages for SMBs. Leveraging industry-leading threat intelligence from FortiGuard Labs, FortiGuard Security Services offer a suite of market-leading, AI-enabled security capabilities that continuously assess risks and automatically adjust protection across the Fortinet Security Fabric. Updates and additional expansions to these services will be forthcoming. Security services that protect people, devices and data everywhere The proliferation of new devices and edges along with investments in digital innovations continue to expand the digital attack surface. Many organizations are challenged with protecting across their entire infrastructure as the threat landscape has become much more sophisticated and harder to manage with isolated point products and disparate services. This complexity is compounded with different pricing structures for services and multiple licensing models ranging from device-based, hardware-based and user-based that have remained siloed across form factors. Expanding on the Fortinet Security Fabric’s ability to protect people, devices, applications and data everywhere, FortiTrust provides organizations a unified services offering to secure across any network, endpoint or cloud with simplified consumption and one licensing model for all form factors. As a result of Fortinet’s expanded services offerings, organizations can further protect the growing digital attack surface, securing critical devices, data, applications, and connections from the data center to the cloud to the home office and more. FortiTrust Access and FortiTrust Identity FortiTrust’s initial services portfolio includes FortiTrust Access and FortiTrust Identity with additional services options for SASE and CASB planned to be released. FortiTrust Access enables organizations to deploy zero trust network access (ZTNA) with user-based licensing. Zero trust network access (ZTNA) is crucial to maintaining consistent protection, visibility and control across today’s hybrid and highly distributed networks. ZTNA enables organizations to extend secure access controls to applications for any user. FortiTrust Access provides organizations services for ZTNA, including the ZTNA agent and cloud-based orchestration. This further builds on Fortinet’s ZTNA solutions which uniquely identify and classify all users and devices seeking network and application access, regardless if users and their devices are on or off the network or applications are on-premises or in a cloud environment. Another FortiTrust service level is FortiTrust Identity. FortiTrust Identity offers cloud-based multi-factor authentication for identify verification. FortiTrust Identity complements FortiTrust Access, providing the necessary multi-factor authentication recommended for controlling application access. All Fortinet’s services are also available through partners, presenting an opportunity for channel partners to further grow their business and offerings to customers. Rajesh Maurya, Regional Vice President, India & SAARC at Fortinet said, “As the digital attack surface expands with billions of edges that need to be protected, organizations are struggling to support an array of point security solutions and disparate services. Solution and services sprawl has now grown too difficult and too expensive to manage when they are siloed across various form factors. According to Gartner, organizations are moving towards security solutions with integrated services offerings. Fortinet is redefining services by expanding its security services options – which currently include FortiCare and FortiGuard – with FortiTrust, enabling a unified offering with one licensing model for flexible consumption options across networks, endpoints and clouds.”  

Hikvision India, the leading video security solution provider, has recently launched a new Hikvision India Channel on YouTube, the popular video sharing platform on the internet. This channel will evangelize the latest video security products and solutions from Hikvision India. These wide range of videos featured on Hikvision India YouTube Channel will act as a knowledge resource for system integrators, installers, dealers, distributors,’ consultants and end-users, and other security professional community. The newly launched Hikvision India channel on YouTube, is designed to give access to the latest promotional videos, product demos and presentations. In addition, there will be regular updates on events, conferences and CSR activitities. “We are pleased to announce our latest digital initiative. Hikvision India YouTube channel would add another digital dimension to our marketing and promotional activities. We are also happy that our YouTube Channel subscribers’ base has grown to a sizeable number in a short span of time,” said Ashish P. Dhakan, MD & CEO, Prama Hikvision India Pvt. Ltd. He further added, “We are constantly looking at innovative ways to enhance the product and technology knowledge of our customers and partner ecosystem. The YouTube Channel is a valuable addition, which has the potential to deliver, in a convenient video-based format, the latest video content to assist with the product knowledge, technology update and vertical solutions. It would also act as a marketing resource to address the security industry ecosystem. The current initiative is just the beginning of our digital foray on the YouTube channel. We have planned the regular updates and hope to offer video demonstrations of our new products and solutions to spread awareness among security professional community.” Hikvision India is the India’s leading provider of video surveillance products and solutions. Driven by the ‘Make- in-India’ vision, the company manufactures a wide range of video surveillance products at its state- of -the- art manufacturing facility near Mumbai. Backed by 21 RMA centers, the company offers smart IP cameras, HD analog cameras, speed domes, NVRs, DVRs, video management software, access control and alarm systems, encoder, decoders, and other elements of sophisticated security systems and CCTV technology for any security need. Hikvision India offers a diverse set of vertical market solutions including retail, banking, power petroleum oil and gas (PPOG), transportation, education, hospitality, tourism, government, healthcare, pharma, heavy industries and real estate etc.  

Anil Puri CMD, APS group A thought leader and an action catalyzer rolled into one – Anil Puri is a rare combination of a visionary and one who has mastered the art of strategic and tactical thinking to the core. He has been using this combination to seed new ideas and to lead them to their implementation on-ground. This has been a consistent feature of his career. He has rich experience of approximately 35 years in corporate in diverse domains & from functional managerial level to be the founder of a successful business empire which he now heads as chairman of a corporate group. Security and Safety of schools and education institutes has come to APS Group as a heritage. Huge number of clientele from this domain prompted him to jot down his perception of the current landscape in the light of almost two years of onslaught by COVID 19 into the education ecosystem, constraints of the regulatory authorities and dilemma of parents to continue with on line learning Platform or switch to off line traditional campus learning as was in past. GoI, State Govts and UTs have issued the exhaustive guidelines and advisories on the subject to address and safeguard the health & safety of children volunteering to revert back to school/ college campus environment of learning. Many models globally experimented/ contemplated are available for study and analysis. While authorities are keen to open up and revert back to Pre COVID times but for obvious reasons, the response of the parents has been very reserved and more of reluctance. The prolonged period of virtual learning and loss of near and dear ones due to COVID has emotionally rendered the environment at a loss. Here he shares his thoughts on this live issue . . . Introduction COVID has been both a health and an education disaster. All schools were closed without any hesitation when COVID struck. Cautious reopening has begun at higher levels but primary and upper schools have remained closed for approx 500 days. This is a new ground with no precedents. It requires careful planning, ample funding and flexibility to adjust to difficulties and challenges that arise. After a gap of more than one year, schools have finally started to re-open. Going back to school has elicited a jumble of emotions for teachers, parents, students and administration who wanted to see children back in schools but feared the infection. Most students are thrilled to be back. Economists have shown that human capital skilling, starting with schooling, is far more important than financial capital. Various survey reports of school education also show that 97% of parents in rural households want school reopening, not to mention the educators and economists because India’s human capital is being eroded by the school closure. However, the researchers have also highlighted the need for an extended transition to help teachers and students overcome the scars of the COVID. ‘A business as usual’ approach risks dooming entire age group to functional illiteracy. School opening is a must but should be accompanied by a completely new transitional approach to help students make up for the 500 days lost. Most teachers are also looking forward to offline schooling. Governments response The Central Govt’s response has been highly proactive and balanced keeping in mind numerous environmental and socio-economic factors. MHA has issued a very exhaustive and detailed checklist for safe school environment. The Ministry of Home Affairs vide Order no. 40-3/2020-DM-I(A) dated 30 September 2020, has issued guidelines for re-opening, following lockdown measures put in place for containment of COVID-19 in the country under the under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. Among the activities permitted outside the containment zones is the re-opening of schools and coaching institutions in a graded manner, it has been left open to the State/ UT Government to take a decision in consultation with the respective school/ institution management, based on their assessment of the situation and subject to the following conditions: Online/ distance learning shall continue to be the preferred mode of teaching and shall be encouraged. Where schools are conducting online classes, and some students prefer to attend online classes rather than physically attend school, they may be permitted to do so. Students may attend schools/ institutions only with the written consent of parents. Attendance must not be enforced and must depend entirely on parental consent States/ UTs will prepare their own standard operating procedure (SOP) regarding health and safety precautions for reopening of schools/ institutions based on SOP to be issued by Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education, Government of India, keeping local requirements in view. Schools which are allowed to open, will have to mandatorily follow the SOP to be issued by Education Departments of States/ UTs prepared as above. Accordingly, the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, has prepared the following guidelines/ SOP for re-opening of schools. SOP for health hygiene and safety protocols The Guidelines are divided into two parts: Part I refers to the health and safety aspects for reopening schools. These are based on the prevailing instructions of Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with regard to health and safety protocols, and maybe implemented by adopting/ adapting in accordance with the local situation in all states/ UTs. These SOPs cover every possible aspects of safety protocols such as: SOPs for health, hygiene and other safety protocols ‘before opening’ of schools. SOPs for health, hygiene and other safety protocols ‘after opening’ of schools. SOPs for serving ‘mid-day meal’ in school. SOP for health hygiene and safety protocols before opening of schools It is pertinent to note that many schools have been used as quarantine centers, therefore, it is of utmost importance to properly sanitize/ deep clean all of these schools before reopening them. School re-opening must be safe and consistent and aligned with India’s overall COVID-19 health response, with adequate measures taken to protect students, teachers, other staff, cook-cum-helpers and their families. For…

Waste fires – in other words fires that occur in the waste dumping facility or recycling plants – is a very serious global issue. Countries all over the world are suffering from more than one fire per day in the waste and recycling industry. This causes risk of injury to employees, damage to sites and machinery, and damage to reputation. And that’s even before you consider the potential environmental impact. There’s more irony here too – one of the biggest risks for fire at a waste dumping facility is damaged lithium-ion batteries. These batteries are rechargeable and thus designed to be more sustainable! What causes waste fires? As the human race creates more and more waste, recycling has become crucial in the fight for sustainability. Numerous recycling plants are built to deal with all kinds of materials, turning them into something useable again. Many of these materials are combustible – paper and cardboard, for example. The materials are also compressed together in order to save space. A dry, hot spell of weather can also add a rise in heat within this pile. All these conditions combine to make a potentially combustible situation – all that is needed is a spark. This is an example of what’s known in the industry as ‘scalding.’ Heat can build up unchecked in places that cannot be seen or monitored in traditional ways, in the middle of a waste pile, for example. There’s also no smoke to be seen here, since it’s shielded by outer layers of the waste. Danger can come from various places – but increasingly the culprit is rechargeable batteries. In fact, according to a recent WEEE report1 , most severe fires caused by batteries in the last four years caused damage costing an average of €1.3 million. The lithium-ion technology in these batteries works by using different chemicals in separate cells. The ‘walls’ of these cells are quite thin, to make the battery lightweight. When damaged, these can be punctured, or short-circuited combining the separated elements and causing either a build-up of heat, leading to a fire, or even an explosion. Tackling waste fires Traditional methods of tackling the problem are based on reacting quickly to a waste fire once it breaks out. Fire alarms and sprinkler systems are used, and a ‘hotline’ to the local fire services could be prudent. Sites also use sirens and lights to warn people of the danger. However, these measures all come into effect once a fire has started. Technology can now be used to tackle the issue before it happens. In other words, to detect the build-up of heat before the spark has ignited the fire. It succeeds in managing the risks of harm to employees or visitors to the site. It’s also good for the budget – reducing the costs and work to repair any fire damage. Enter Hikvision Thermal cameras are used to monitor temperatures both inside and outside of a plant. These cameras can be configured to raise an alarm when a predefined temperature is monitored, and then again when a higher one is reached. The first temperature limit is for a ‘pre-alarm,’ which will have the camera send a signal once the temperature is higher than normal. The second limit should be configured at a critical temperature, so that it’s clear that immediate action is necessary once it’s heard. Both alarms can be verified by employees monitoring the situation, both on and off-site, using a bi-spectrum camera. This provides live images alongside the thermal ones, giving more context to the issue. Then, armed with verified situational information, appropriate persons can take action to prevent, or put out, any waste fires. This could be one of the employees present on the site, or via a remote monitoring service. Using HikCentral video management software, images can also be sent to managers remotely. They are able to see what’s happening via tablet or mobile, wherever they are. The solution uses smart algorithms to ensure that hot spots caused by sunlight, or cars moving through the site, do not cause false alarms. It can also be seamlessly connected to other fire repressing systems, like sprinklers or automated fire doors. The world of sustainability moves on. In a world where a battery designed to be sustainable can actually cause problems when recycled, looking at the complete picture seems crucial. As is the ability to tackle problems before they happen. Using technology, recycling plants can identify potential fires before they happen. So even if the materials going through a waste site are potential fire risks, these can be effectively managed. It’s a classic example of prevention being better than cure – more relevant than ever to waste fires.  

Anil Puri CMD, APS group A thought leader and an action catalyzer rolled into one – Anil Puri is a rare combination of a visionary, and one who has mastered the art of strategic and tactical thinking to the core. He has been using this combination to seed new ideas and to lead them to their implementation on-ground. This has been a consistent feature of his career. He has rich experience of approximately 35 years in corporate in diverse domains & from functional managerial level to apex as chairman of a corporate group. To him, the subject of loss prevention has always occupied central place when planning the security protocols for the shopping malls, warehouses, large shopping complexes, standalone retail stores and manufacturing plants. He has been keenly watching the developments in the loss prevention techniques emerging in this domain. Old adage loss prevention techniques have stood the test of times but have been breached – losses inflicted and profitability hit. However, Emerging innovative technologies have revolutionized the entire perspective of loss prevention. He contributes extensively in framework of security protocols of loss prevention with his ops team before deployment of security personnel at high end shopping malls. Here he shares his thoughts on new landscape which has gradually been shaping in favor of the retailers. Let us see what future holds for loss prevention…   INTRODUCTION Loss prevention has proven to be a dynamic discipline, one that has risen in importance in retailers throughout the world. The function got integrated into senior management levels initially then moved on to the audit committee level and now is the talk of the board rooms. Loss prevention continues to be a major concern for retailers since loss mounts to whooping amounts. Retail shrinkage, or shrink, is a term used in retail loss prevention. It refers to any type of loss identified as missing money or inventory that should be present but isn’t actually on hand or saleable. It can come in myriad forms such as customer theft, damage, bookkeeping errors, internal theft, or vendor fraud. Shrinkage can affect any company, although it is most prevalent in the retail industry. Retail’s evolution from conventional sales in brick-and-mortar stores to multichannel transactions with both online and in-store customers has proven it to be a double-edged proposition. Multichannel retail allows businesses more opportunities to sell. However, it also opens them up to more forms of theft and fraud. The continued renaissance of the global retail industry will require increased innovation to protect employees, customers and products. Traditional security solutions that typically increase friction to deter theft are counter to the new digitally empowered consumer that progressively wants to just scan and go. WHAT CAUSES LOSS? The causes are well identified. However same cannot be attributed to one singular factor. The best way to combat shrinkage is to know where loss is coming from. Some common causes include: Shoplifting: Shoplifting is more than straightforward theft. Price tag swapping also falls into this category, where a shoplifter pays less than what an item is worth because a different item’s SKU is recorded in the sale. This not only includes customers hiding merchandise in their bags and walking out of the store without paying but also altering or swapping price tags and other methods of theft Shoplifting is one of the key contributors to shrinkage. Employee theft: Employee theft is a significant contributor to shrinkage. Theft, fraudulent returns and neglecting to scan items for friends and family lead to mismatches in the inventory levels and can add up to big losses for the business. It can include pocketing cash, discount abuse, under-ringing, sweet-hearting, refund abuse, or the theft of merchandise. Human entry error: Poor inventory management isn’t just frustrating. It can lead to shrinkage as well. Pricing errors due to markups or markdowns, bookkeeping mistakes, and counting, sorting and storing errors during cash handling can cost retailers a lot of money. On its own, shrinkage due to administrative errors doesn’t necessarily mean lost cost – but it does mean lost profit, as you were likely forecasting more revenue than the actual inventory numbers can bring in. Vendor error and theft: Vendors can be subject to the same administrative errors as retailers, which can contribute to shrinkage. Some dishonest vendors can steal from you by not delivering a full order, though this is, by far, not the way the majority act. Vendor theft is not a very large contributor to shrinkage, and many retailers will not fall prey to it. It most often occurs during the delivery and return of merchandise. Finally, 6.6% of losses have an unknown cause. Damage: Accidents happen! Sometimes goods are broken without any theft or administrative error. LOSS PREVENTION APPROACHES Companies tend to rely on time tested strategic, cultural and operational practices in developing an effective approach to loss prevention. Some of which are: Strategic practices Establish senior management commitment to making shrinkage a priority, overseeing an action plan, allocating resources, and monitoring results. (Figures on inventory loss are a closely guarded secret at most companies, but one of the five in our study gives shrinkage data to outside financial analysts so that they can better assess the company’s performance). Ensure organizational commitment from managers throughout the company; otherwise, any attempted solution will be short-lived. The loss prevention department’s role is primarily to lead a cross-functional effort to manage the problem continuously. Embed loss prevention at all levels. Employees throughout the company must take responsibility for reducing shrinkage. The company should see loss prevention as equal to sales in importance. Cultural practices Provide strong leadership and develop a team. Heads of loss prevention must command authority and be passionate and energetic, and they must create and lead multifunctional loss prevention teams. Use evidence-based management. Decisions must derive from detailed and timely data, not intuition. (Most of the five companies’ store managers received item-level shrinkage data every week). Innovate and experiment. Team members must listen and have open minds so that they can stay…