Man vs machine: Human triumphs over IBM's AI debating system

Companies News:

International Business Machines (IBM) fell short in its latest attempt to prove machines can triumph over man. But it came close.

The tech giant’s six-year-old artificial intelligence debating system, affectionately dubbed “Miss Debater,” went head-to-head with one of the world’s most decorated practitioners. After a 25-minute rapid-fire exchange about pre-school subsidies — during which the female-voiced AI showed flashes of very homo sapien humour — the audience handed the victory to 31-year-old Harish Natarajan.
The unorthodox contest marked the latest highly marketed man-versus-machine challenge. In 1996, IBM created a computer system that beat a chess grandmaster for the first time.

In 2011, its Watson supercomputer defeated two record-winning Jeopardy! contestants. And Alphabet’s AlphaGo famously proved AI can master the ancient and intricate game of Go But debating — which requires creativity and emotive elocution — has proven more elusive.
IBM’s machine — known formally as Project Debater — kicked off Monday’s match-up with a cheeky greeting. “I have heard you hold the world record in debate competition wins against humans, but I suspect you have never debated a machine. Welcome to the future.”


 The event unfolded in front of hundreds of journalists, tech industry insiders and software engineers at IBM’s Think conference in San Francisco. The topic: We should subsidise pre-schools. Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty was among the spectators, who voted Natarajan the victor, but also said her company’s machine better enriched their knowledge.

Essar Steel insolvency case: Lenders to gain more, Arcelor tells NCLT

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Defending itself against Standard Chartered Bank from diluting its bid for Essar Steel, ArcelorMittal on Thursday told the National Company Law Tribunal’s Ahmedabad Bench that lenders would gain more from the deal. The bank alleged that as against an upfront payment of Rs 42,000 crore, in addition to working capital adjustments of Rs 2,500 crore, the LN Mittal-led firm negotiated its bid downwards in collaboration with State Bank of India-led Committee of Creditors (CoC).

The bank said it has been discriminated in ArcelorMittal's resolution plan, which both the firm and the CoC have refuted.

ArcelorMittal told the two-members NCLT Bench, comprising adjudicating authorities Harihar Prakash Chaturvedi and Manorama Kumari, contrary to the bank’s claims its resolution plan was openly negotiated by members of the CoC to include an upfront payment of Rs 39,500 crore as well as a guaranteed working capital adjustments worth Rs 2,500 crore. The company said it was committed to passing on any additional working capital accrued with Essar Steel to lenders at the time of acquisition as valued by an independent auditor.


 "Ordinarily a successor gets the working capital but what we did was to give away this working capital to lenders. Other than Rs 42000 crore, I also complied with Supreme Court (SC) ruling to settle dues worth Rs 7000 crore (in Uttam Galva and KSS Petron) as well as infusing Rs 8000 crore as equity," ArcelorMittal's legal counsel told the NCLT bench.

NAVNEET EDUCATION LTD- YEARLY RESULT

NAVNEET EDUCATION LTD.:

Navneet Education Limited was founded by Gala Group in 1959; and since then has been India’s most loved educational content provider. Navneet also manufactures stationery, general books and children’s books in multiple Indian and foreign languages making it a dominant player in the field of publishing.

Navneet Foundation believes that giving is the greatest form of grace. Since our inception, we continue to touch the lives of millions through our philanthropic endeavors. Our contributions span fields like Education, Healthcare, Disaster Relief, Animal Welfare, and Affordable Housing.

Vikas, Gala, Grafalco, YOUVA, TOPClass and TOPScorer are prominent brands owned by Navneet that are much loved by students and teachers alike. In December 2016, we acquired Encyclopaedia Britannica (India) Pvt. Ltd.’s Indian curriculum division for publishing CBSE textbooks. With this acquisition, Navneet will focus on serving the regional teaching and learning needs with supplemental digital solutions.

Over the decades, Navneet has emerged as the preferred brand for educational products among teachers and students. The immensely popular products like Vikas workbooks, Gala practice books, YouVa full-scapes, are hot favorites amongst the young segment of India. These products are bestsellers not just because of their superior quality but also because of the nostalgic association of 90’s kids


Know More about- Navneet Education LTD Yearly Result

Sun Pharma to settle Dubai firm loans, shift distribution arm to subsidiary

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Seeking to ease investor concerns, embattled drug major Sun Pharmaceutical Industries on Tuesday announced plans to unwind loans of Rs 2,238 crore given to a Dubai-based company, Atlas Global Trading FZC, and transfer the distribution of the domestic formulation business to a subsidiary from a separate entity.

Sun Pharma said the company’s consolidated balance sheet had receivables of Rs 2,238 crore from a non-related party. “This liability was in respect of Atlas assuming the damages on account of Protonix patent litigation settlement entered by Sun Pharma, which was disclosed in Sun Pharma’s annual report for fiscal year 2014,” it said in a statement.

Last month, when investors had asked Sun Pharma Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi about the loan in a conference call, he said it was given to a “non-related” party, but did not give details.


 Responding to Business Standard queries, Sun Pharma clarified Atlas Global or any of its subsidiary was not a related party at any point in time...Read More

With jobs at stake, Jet Airways is casting a shadow on 2019 Lok Sabha polls

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India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi rode to power five years ago on his business friendly credentials and the promise of generating millions of jobs. Now an airline is on the verge of collapse, bringing Modi’s image under attack just months before national elections.

Struggling in a competitive market where basic air fares can get as low as 2 cents, Jet Airways India Ltd., the country’s second-biggest airline, has piled on $1.1 billion in debt and failed to pay loans and salaries. With about 23,000 jobs at stake, pressure is building on Modi for a rescue package as a collapse would mean bad optics in his re-election bid in a poll due by May.


 While Modi is not to blame for the unraveling of Jet Airways -- the airline was brought to its knees because of high fuel prices and intense competition -- his policies to make air travel affordable to more and more Indians didn’t help it either. The fate of the teetering carrier is now part of the opposition’s narrative that businesses are ailing, with the $2.6 trillion economy losing jobs on Modi’s watch...Read More

RP-Sanjiv Goenka group eyes turnover of Rs 40,000 crore in the next 5 years

Companies News:
Fourteen people are zeroing in on acquisition targets for the RP-Sanjiv Goenka group’s fledgling FMCG business. This segment is expected to clock in revenues of Rs 10,000 crore, or about a quarter of the group turnover, in the next five years. According to Sanjiv Goenka, the group turnover in five years would be around Rs 40,000 crore from the present level of Rs 26,000 crore. Power distribution and FMCG are likely to lead the pack, followed by retail, IT and carbon black.

The non-power businesses demerged from CESC —Spencer’s Retail and CESC Ventures comprising FMCG, BPO, realty, and the new entities — are likely to get listed soon. The size of the FMCG business is Rs 500 crore, but the plans are ambitious. An acquisition, for instance, would give it a foothold in a new segment. The size of acquisition being weighed? Goenka makes it clear that he doesn’t want to limit to any size, it could even be Rs 1,000 crore or more.


 An FMCG fund has been started. Like a private equity, it picks up stake in small firms. While the primary objective is to make money, the fund gives an opportunity to acquire the firms. Two investments have been made so far: The Souled Store (which does franchisee printing of clothes for Disney etc) and True Elements (into breakfast cereals)...Read More