Though adopting English as a medium of communication has greatly helped India thrive globally, increasing success rates of vernacular medium students in the country have highlighted the importance of acquiring knowledge through mother tongues. India, with over 20 separate official languages, and hundreds of unofficial languages, is extremely linguistically diverse. Indians are extremely proud of their mother tongues, and their usage has helped in strengthening cultural identities throughout the country. Though adopting English as a medium of communication has greatly helped India thrive globally, increasing success rates of vernacular medium students in the country have highlighted the importance of acquiring knowledge through mother tongues. Moreover, research has also shown that when concepts are explained using familiar words and phrases, it leads to improved interpretation. Former President of India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam has promoted the teaching of science to children in their local languages. Further, the New Education Policy of India has emphasized education in local languages for primary classes. As mobile broadband data has now become affordable, more Indians have access to the internet. According to Google's 2020 report on India, about 85 per cent of online video viewers in the country prefer content in Indian languages. Therefore, the demand for content in local languages is increasing day by day. Google also claims that the number of internet users browsing in Indian languages is expected to reach 536 million over the next four years. Clearly aware of the trend, the Indian government and various ed-tech platforms are planning to use the range of linguistic diversity in the innovation space. Tracking the interests of multilingual viewers, ed-tech platforms are planning to design their content in multiple languages, such as Hindi, Tamil and Bengali. Regarding higher education and research, science, technology, and medicine are increasingly being taught in local Indian languages. Recently, a medical curriculum in Hindi was launched in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The decision came as a boon for many Hindi speakers who had aspired to enter the medical profession but who previously felt excluded from doing so. "Learning a regional language helps one to think and research broadly. Students studying in a regional language can do research better instead of being bookish from an exam point of view. ", says educationalist Jayprakash Gandhi. The ongoing experiments of adopting tribal language as a medium of instruction in several states in India is also a large step towards eliminating the language block in learning. The new India believes that language should not be a barrier, but instead, a facilitator in acquiring knowledge, and the steps being taken to promote regional languages are allowing more of India's citizens to take advantage of the country's competitive education programs. 

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced the squads for T20 international and ODI matches against Zimbabwe on Friday, naming Nurul Hasan Sohan as the captain. He was given the captaincy for the Zimbabwe T20 series only as the original T20 captain Mahmudullah Riyad was given a break. Mahmudullah, however, made the way into the ODI squad, which was also simultaneously announced for Zimbabwe series. Even though Sohan was given captaincy for just one series, the BCB seemed to have a special plan regarding his leadership once the senior players will retire from this format. No senior players, however, were included in the T20 squad for the Zimbabwe series. "You can say it's a new brand of Bangladesh team. Sohan will lead the side, which we informed Mahmudullah. No senior players were included in T20 squad for Zimbabwe series. Shakib took a break from the series earlier, Tamim retired from this format while Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim were given break," BCB's Cricket Operations Chairman Jalal Younus said after a closed-door meeting with Mahmudullah regarding T20 team and its plan on Friday. "We actually want to see how the new players perform without any senior players. Let's see what will happen," he added. Bangladesh will play three T20 Internationals and same number of ODI matches in this series. All the matches will be held at the Harare Sports Club. Experienced batsman Mushfiqur Rahim, who was granted a leave for the recent tour of the West Indies, returned to the national side for the ODI series while pacer Hasan Mahmud, who last played an international match 16-month ago, made his way into both squads after regaining full fitness from an injury. Youngster Parvez Hossain Emon, who is still uncapped, made the cut in the T20 squad. The three T20 matches are scheduled for July 30, 31 and August 2 while the ODIs are slated for August 5, 7 and 10. The T20 matches will begin from 5 PM (Bangladesh Time) and ODI matches start from 1.15 PM (Bangladesh Time). The T20 team will leave the country on July 26 while the ODI squad will leave on July 30. T20 Squad: Nurul Hasan Sohan (Captain), Munim Shahriar, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Liton Das, Afif Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Parvez Hossain Emon ODI Squad: Tamim Iqbal (captain), Liton Das, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat and Taijul Islam. Source: BSS AH

Reliance Retail has entered into a franchise agreement with Gap Inc to bring the American fashion brand to India. Gap will return to India the second time after parting ways with Arvind Fashions in 2020.   Reliance Retail will be the official retailer for the fashion house in India, mixing exclusive stores and digital commerce platforms. “The partnership is aimed at leveraging Gap’s position as a leading casual lifestyle brand, and Reliance Retail’s established competencies in operating robust omnichannel retail networks and scaling local manufacturing and driving sourcing efficiencies,” Reliance Retail said in a press release about the long-term agreement.   “At Reliance Retail, we pride ourselves in bringing the latest and best to our customers and we are happy to announce the addition of iconic American brand, Gap to our fashion and lifestyle portfolio. We believe that Reliance and Gap complement each other in their vision to bring industry-leading fashion products and retail experiences to their consumers,” said Akhilesh Prasad, CEO, fashion & lifestyle at Reliance Retail said in the release.   Adrienne Gernand, managing director of international, global licensing and wholesale at Gap Inc, said that the company looks forward to growing the Gap business across key international markets.   “Partnering with regional experts, like Reliance Retail in India, allows us to deliver our relevant, purpose-driven brand to customers around the globe while continuing to diversify our business portfolio through our partner-based model,” said Gernand.   Reliance Retail is a subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL), which is the holding company of all retail companies under the Reliance group. RRVL reported a consolidated turnover of Rs 199,704 crore and a net profit of Rs 7,055 crore for FY22.   Gap first came to India in 2014 through a franchisee agreement with Arvind Fashions and exited six years later.   Source: Business Standard

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (Sunday) asked the Bangladeshi peacekeepers to discharge duties accordingly as establishing peace was a noble task, urging them to brand Bangladesh a powerful peace promoting country.    "We expect you will establish Bangladesh as powerful peace promoting country and uphold the dignity of its flag. You have to discharge duty with professionalism, honesty, sincerity and dedication as promoting global peace is a noble task," she said.    The Prime Minister was addressing a function as the chief guest marking the "International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers-2022," held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital.    She joined the function virtually from her official Ganabhaban residence in city. The Prime Minister pledged to play a more effective role in establishing global peace keeping in mind this year's theme "People Peace Progress: The power of partnerships".    She said ensuring global peace is now much more challenging than the past considering the world's contemporary perspective and the fast spreading technology while vested quarters of states and non-states are becoming new threats with advancement.     "For that reason, the peacekeepers in UN peacekeeping missions have to face multifaceted and critical situations. We're preparing our peacekeepers with appropriate training and equipment to face the new challenges in the peacekeeping missions," she said.    The Prime Minister expressed her gratitude to the Bangladeshi peacekeepers as they brightened the country's image through their humanitarian and social works alongside the peacekeeping tasks.    In this connection, she recalled that every heads of the governments and states have highly praised the works of Bangladeshi peacekeepers, in where they went, for their outstanding contribution to promoting peace.  "You have restored the confidence and trust of the local people by extending your humanitarian and social works while you have freed many critical places. As a nation, we're proud of you," Sheikh Hasina said.    The premier also exchanged views remotely with some of the Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers working at different UN peacekeeping missions abroad.    Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq, Chief of Army Staff General S M Shafiuddin Ahmed, and Military Adviser to UN Peace Operations Department General Birame Diop, spoke on the occasion while UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis gave the address of welcome.    On behalf of the Prime Minister, the law minister handed over awards to family members of the two deceased peacekeepers and 14 injured peacekeepers at the function to recognise their noble sacrifice in establishing global peace.    A bravery award was also handed over to a peacekeeper. At the outset of the programme, a one minute silence was observed to show respect to the peacekeepers who sacrificed their lives for the noble cause of promoting global peace.    A short video documentary was also screened at the function on Bangladesh's 34 years journey in the UN peacekeeping missions.  Source: BSS AH

Life Insurance Corporation, which is bound for the nation's largest share sale by March, is the strongest and the largest brand in the country with a valuation of USD 8.656 billion (around Rs 64,722 crore), which also makes it the third strongest insurance brand globally, according to a brand valuation report. According to the London-based Brand Finance, which is a brand consultancy, the market value of LIC will become Rs 43.40 lakh crore or USD 59.21 billion by 2022, and Rs 58.9-lakh crore or USD 78.63 billion by 2027. LIC's brand value also climbed in overall global brand rankings by 32 places to become the world's 206th most valuable brand in 2021, from 238th slot in 2020. According to this valuation, LIC is largest and strongest brand in the country with a valuation of USD 8.655 billion in 2021, which grew by 6.8 per cent from USD 8.11 billion in 2020, when the value of top 100 insurers declined by 6 per cent globally. The corporation ranks first in brand strength amongst the competitor set with a score of 84.1 and it ranks third in brand strength globally after Poste Italiane of Italy and Mapfre of Spain and is also the 10th most valued insurance brand globally, according to the report prepared in November 2021 but is yet to made public.   Interestingly, the state-owned insurance behemoth gained in brand value by 6.8 percent last year, all other top 100 insurers saw their brand value decline by 6 percent from USD 462.4 billion in 2020 to USD 433.0 billion in 2021.   Of the top 10 as many as 5 are Chinese insurance companies, with by Ping An Insurance emerging the world's most valuable insurance brand, despite recording a 26 per cent drop in brand value. The US has two companies in the top 10, while France, Germany, and India have one each in the list. This has LIC becoming the only domestic insurer to rank in top 10 list strongest brands and top 10 most valuable insurance brands. At this valuation LIC could have commanded a market cap of USD 51.2 billion in 2021, marginally down from USD 53.71 billion in 2020 in dollar terms and in rupee terms it could be Rs 37.5 lakh crore in 2021 down 1.2 per cent from Rs 38.2 lakh crore in 2020. The agency forecasts that LIC's value will touch Rs 43.40 lakh crore or USD 59.21 billion by the end of 2022, and become a Rs 58.9-lakh crore or USD 78.63 billion behemoth by 2027. LIC has grown 151 percent since 2014 clipping at 14 percent annually. LIC percentage across all three pillars remains positive between 2020 and 2021 with a notably large growth of 11 per cent in brand performance measures. After four years of steady decline, the brand strength of LIC shot up by nearly 14 points between 2018 and 2021.   Source: The Economic Times  

Igloo Ice Cream-A concern of Abdul Monem Limited, has been awarded with the prestigious Bangladesh Master Brand Award which was endorsed by CMO Asia. The award handover ceremony was held on Sunday at Pan Pacific Sonagaron Hotel in the capital. The award was handed over by World Federation of Marketing Professionals. S.M. Mainuddin Monem, Deputy Managing Director of Abdul Monem Limited received the award alongside G M Kamrul Hassan, Group CEO of Igloo, said a press release.   The award was presented in connection with the independent brand recognition exercise initiated to give recognition to those brands and marketers who have achieved extraordinary success from innovative and effective marketing practices in Bangladesh. The Award was based not only on financial valuation, but by consumer preferences also. The Awards are held to foster marketing awareness in the professional community and inspire aspirations to achieve marketing excellence. The Mission of the Awards is to educate and disseminate the importance of branding in Bangladesh. AH