Tamil Nadu becomes 1st State to Implement Australian e-learning Platform Matific across Govt Schools

• Tamil Nadu becomes the first state in India to announce a large-scale state-wide partnership with the learning platform.


• Over 1.5 million students in Tamil Nadu from various state government schools will now have access to Matific, the mathematics e-learning platform. 

The Tamil Nadu Government took an important lead in digital education in the country by partnering with Australian e-learning platform Matific to encourage an innovative way of learning mathematics for Kindergarten to Class 6 students. The deal marks the company’s first-ever pilot run in the Indian market. Over 1.5 million students across Tamil Nadu will now have access to the Matific platform, featuring thousands of gamified activities and worksheets covering skills aligned to the curriculum. 

Tamil Nadu is a pioneer in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) and rightfully, maths is at the core of all these functions. With the growing number of careers in STEM fields, the importance of mathematics education needs to be the centre of focus. To build upon these skills among students, the state implemented Matific across government schools with the aim of increasing engagement in mathematics and in turn increasing academic achievement. 

Talking about the results, the honourable Minister for School Education, Thiru K A Sengottaiyan said, “The pilot project conducted in over 150 schools across the State using Matific increased students’ results by 25.3%. I am excited to be introducing Matific to students across Tamil Nadu and leading the charge in digital learning across India. We want to make education fun and skill-oriented and believe that Matific can help our students hone their skills and simultaneously add an element of fun into the learning process.” 

“The Tamil Nadu Government under the able leadership of the Honourable Chief Minister, Thiru E Palaniswami has been a front-runner in educational reforms in the country. Under the aegis of the Education Minister, Honourable Thiru K A Sengottaiyan, progressive efforts have been made in the educational landscape in Tamil Nadu, which has been inspiring to other states as well. Being one of the frontiers in the tech landscape, Tamil Nadu has proved to be a promising hub for new- age education as well. Pushing the use of digital technologies in schools will put Tamil Nadu at the forefront of the STEM Revolution in India. We are delighted to partner with the Tamil Nadu Government and encourage the Matific platform across public schools in Tamil Nadu. As the results proved to be extremely promising, Matific is excited to be part of Tamil Nadu’s future success as well.” said Rajeev Krishnan, VP, Matific India. 

With students and teachers looking for new and improved ways to learn and teach mathematics, Matific was able to see substantial improvements in both academic and engagement results. Throughout the course of the pilot, over 150 schools used the Matific platform to teach maths lessons aligned with their local curriculums. The results identified over 21,000 students had been taught using the platform, with an average improvement across Class 1-6 being 25%. 

Piloting Matific has given Tamil Nadu a solid base to ensure the state is the leader in mathematics education in India. By ensuring technology is part of primary education, students will be set to go through secondary and higher education, and into STEM careers, confident and with absolute ease. Continuing to build upon the success of the Matific for Schools Pilot, Matific is committed 

to working with Minister for School Education, Thiru K A Sengottaiyan and is looking to offer the platform in Tamil, ensuring that all students can use Matific in their mother tongue. Matific is excited to become the premier Tamil Nadu primary digital maths resource, available for all schools, students, and teachers into the future and hopes other states across India take up the opportunity to pilot Matific and see similar results in students. 

Matific uses game-based principles to encourage students to learn through discovery while at the same time being aligned with the local curriculum (ICSE/CBSE). Designed by professors, educational experts and curriculum specialists, Matific uses logical sequencing and staging to report on topics for each student, group and class. Used by thousands of teachers worldwide, Matific provides relief to parents and enjoyable experience to students. The company has also recently launched Matific Galaxy in India to address the home market. 

About Matific: Matific is an award-winning math e-learning platform trusted by millions of teachers and students in 60+ countries and localised to 40+languages. Matific has been academically proven to help raise students and also substantially increased engagement within mathematics. Matific combines engaging activities with a rigorous pedagogy ensuring students are kept engaged, whether at school or at home. 

For more information about Matific: Phone: + 91 93 2118 3256 Email: india@matific.com 

Visit Matific website: Matific for Schools: https://www.matific.com/in/en- in/home/?utm_source=pr&utm_medium=release&utm_campaign=in-en- 0520&utm_content=tamil-nadu 

Matific for Home: https://www.matific.com/in/en- in/galaxy/?utm_source=pr&utm_medium=release&utm_campaign=in-en- 0520&utm_content=tamil-nadu 

GBA India Joins Discussion on building Innovation Ecosystem for Assam and Tamil Nadu Govts

Governments have always been enablers of emerging technology ecosystems across the world. For any technology to thrive and achieve mass adoption, a governmental push is a must. For India, to take a pole position in the fourth industrial revolution, a structured and consultative approach towards AI, Blockchain IoT, and ML is the need of the hour. 

Some countries have been forward-thinking and have had a positive messaging on blockchain — Estonia, Dubai, Singapore, to name a few. Even when countries like the United State were dithering on a pan-country blockchain policy, Delaware took the lead in framing blockchain policy guidelines. In India, states like Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala have been at the forefront of blockchain adoption, but a national blockchain policy is nowhere in sight.

 





I had the privilege to join one of the brainstorming sessions organized by Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency (TNeGA). TNeGA is a State Nodal Agency, formed to support and drive all e-Governance initiatives of the Government of Tamil Nadu. The agency has a "Center of Excellence" tasked to create low cost, scalable and indigenous solutions for the Tamil Nadu government. 

Assam government's e-Gov division, too, has been forthcoming and want to make the most of blockchain, artificial intelligence, internet of things, and machine learning. GBA India will be conducting a workshop on Blockchain Technology organized by the Information Technology Department, Government of Assam on 19th August, 2019 to discuss the potential of this technology and thereby enable the stakeholders of State Government Departments to leverage the benefits of this technology in the field of e-governance and other sectors for socio-economic development of the State. 

The Workshop is scheduled to be held at Assam Administrative Staff College. The session is from 1 PM to 4 PM, wherein Officers of various Departments of Government of Assam and technical personnel from the Departments shall participate. 

[caption id="attachment_133140" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Sharat Chandra[/caption]

The above content is authored by Sharat Chandra from Lattice80 Global 100 Blockchain Influencer | Thinkers360 Top 20 Global Thought Leaders & Influencers on GovTech President, GBA India www.gbaindia.org 

Tamil Nadu formulating New Industrial Policy to Suit Present Tax Regime

The Tamil Nadu government is in the process of formulating a new industrial policy to suit the present tax regime, a top official in the industries department said on Friday.

Since the current policy is VAT-based, the government is in the process of formulating the post-GST
policy to boost further growth of the industrial sector, principal secretary to government, industries department, N Muguganandam said here.

He was speaking at the inauguration of Aerospace Tool Design and Manufacturing Programme, a 'Skill India' initiative by Boeing Company, at GRD Institute for Technological Resources, a unit of Lakshmi Machine Works (LMW).

Stating that Tamil Nadu the best human resources at the world-level, resulting in best and quality products, he said the state has become one of the most preferred destinations for global investors.

LMW chairman and managing director Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu said the first batch of 32 students inducted
in the programme would undergo a 12-month training. The programme was aimed at providing quality technical education and developing skilled manpower and LMW would continue to support such programmes to ensure that the skilled workforce was able to deliver high-quality products for the aerospace
industry in the country and the region, he said.

The programme curriculum, designed by Learning Links Foundation, would include classroom sessions, hands-on training and lecture sessions by industry experts.

Boeing India Pvt Ltd director (Supply Chain Management) Ashwani Bhargava said aerospace was different from other sectors as quality and safety were important and cannot be compromised. PTI NVM NVG

Tamil Nadu, IIT-Madras Ink MoU to Use AI, IoT, Blockchain and Drones for its Citizens' Needs

Government of Tamil Nadu's e-governance agency TNeGA (Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency) has collaborated with Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBC DSAI ) at IIT-Madras to support its data science and Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-related challenges, which pertain to its citizens' needs.

RBC DSAI, an inter-disciplinary centre for research in AI, has signed an MoU with TNeGA to contribute towards various aspects of governance, including (but not limited to) education, healthcare, and agriculture, says a press release from IIT-Madras.

With this coolaboration, the state governments is aiming to tap the power of AI, Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain and drones in addressing the needs of their citizens.

Tamil Nadu government is the first state government to collaborate with a premier research institute such as IIT-M for harnessing the power of AI and Blockchain in areas of health, education and agriculture, said Santhosh K Misra, CEO, TNeGA.

The move comes after Tamil Nadu government released its new e-governance policy aiming to offer all services online by 2023.

The collaboration will take up five channels of engagement. The first step is to support research related to data science for the government and e-governance. Secondly, through projects, the collaborators will develop products which will have decision support systems and provide insights for governance.

IIT-Madras as well as RBC-DSAI have agreed to work with TNeGA on the above broader scope and provide complete support to TNeGA.

Established in August 2017, RBC-DSAI is one of the few centres in the world for data science and AI applications in various engineering disciplines.

Source - Business Line

Finally, Tamil Nadu To Come Up With A Startup Policy

A research report published in last November said that with four out of five southern states of India -- Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, having a strong startup policy in place, Tamil Nadu lags behind when it comes to supporting startups in terms of having a policy.

Now, after much wait by young entrepreneurs and startups in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, the state government is finally preparing to come up with a policy for startups in the state, reported Business Line.

The process of drafting a startup policy has already begun and for same the Entrepreneur Development Innovation Institute (EDII) has been given the ownership. Currently, EDII is seeking suggestions from industry stakeholders in preparing the draft policy.

For seeking inputs, EDII has just held a meeting with several industry association in Coimbatore and is planning to hold similar meetings in Chennai and Madurai very soon.

In Coimbatore meeting, Shajeevana, Additional Director of EDII said in a statement that Tamil Nadu would get a start-up policy when it releases the MSME policy.

The policy to be drafted is expected to cover startups in technology, manufacturing and in the services space. There are around 600 beneficiaries for NEEDS (New Entrepreneur cum Enterprise Development Scheme).

NEED is a scheme which was launched in the state in 2013 by then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in order to assist educated youth to become first generation entrepreneurs by assisting them to avail terms loans from Banks/Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation (TIIC) with capital subsidy at 25% of the project cost not exceeding Rs.25 lakhs and soft loans with 3% interest subvention.

Around 1,000 entrepreneurs is to be trained each year under this scheme. When this scheme was launched it was decided that under this scheme, at least 50% of the beneficiaries have to be women.

Although, Tamil Nadu is yet to come up with a startup policy nonetheless the state is already a home to many of India's legacy startups such as Zoho, Freshdesk, Bankbazaar and Caratlane, among others. Moreover, in a report called India State Innovation Report published in 2016, the state was among top innovative economies of India.

By preparing a draft policy of its own, Tamil Nadu will join the list of several other Indian states that have launched their own startup policies to encourage entrepreneurship and startups in their region. (Read Here)

Finally, Tamil Nadu To Come Up With A Startup Policy

A research report published in last November said that with four out of five southern states of India -- Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, having a strong startup policy in place, Tamil Nadu lags behind when it comes to supporting startups in terms of having a policy.

Now, after much wait by young entrepreneurs and startups in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, the state government is finally preparing to come up with a policy for startups in the state, reported Business Line.

The process of drafting a startup policy has already begun and for same the Entrepreneur Development Innovation Institute (EDII) has been given the ownership. Currently, EDII is seeking suggestions from industry stakeholders in preparing the draft policy.

For seeking inputs, EDII has just held a meeting with several industry association in Coimbatore and is planning to hold similar meetings in Chennai and Madurai very soon.

In Coimbatore meeting, Shajeevana, Additional Director of EDII said in a statement that Tamil Nadu would get a start-up policy when it releases the MSME policy.

The policy to be drafted is expected to cover startups in technology, manufacturing and in the services space. There are around 600 beneficiaries for NEEDS (New Entrepreneur cum Enterprise Development Scheme).

NEED is a scheme which was launched in the state in 2013 by then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in order to assist educated youth to become first generation entrepreneurs by assisting them to avail terms loans from Banks/Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation (TIIC) with capital subsidy at 25% of the project cost not exceeding Rs.25 lakhs and soft loans with 3% interest subvention.

Around 1,000 entrepreneurs is to be trained each year under this scheme. When this scheme was launched it was decided that under this scheme, at least 50% of the beneficiaries have to be women.

Although, Tamil Nadu is yet to come up with a startup policy nonetheless the state is already a home to many of India's legacy startups such as Zoho, Freshdesk, Bankbazaar and Caratlane, among others. Moreover, in a report called India State Innovation Report published in 2016, the state was among top innovative economies of India.

By preparing a draft policy of its own, Tamil Nadu will join the list of several other Indian states that have launched their own startup policies to encourage entrepreneurship and startups in their region. (Read Here)

Tamil Nadu To Set Up Startup Incubators & Warehouses With Guidance From NASSCOM

Following the steps of Karnataka and West Bengal, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to set aside dedicated warehouses for startups to grow and climb the ladder of success. The warehouses will receive guidance from the industrial body for software companies, Nasscom. The first ‘Startup Warehouse’ is expected to be set up in Tidel Park, which is located in the heart of Chennai.

The Tidel centre is expected to have 10,000 square-feet of carpet area and a fully functional plug-and-play office space. It will have some 60 to 80 workstations and a minimum of four conference rooms. In addition to this, the centre will have basement car park, 100 percent power backup, cafeteria, central air-conditioning and leased internet lines. The Tidel Startup Warehouse will have Nasscom as its knowledge partner.

“As a major step to support young entrepreneurs, from 2014-15 onwards, this government will make available 10% of space exclusively for Information Technology Incubation Centres as ‘Warehouses for Startups’ in all information technology parks developed by the government. These centres will promote new ventures and assist upcoming entrepreneurs by creating an appropriate ecosystem,” reads an order released by the government.

Once the Chennai Warehouse becomes fully operational, the state government promoted IT parks in Hosur, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Trichy, Coimbatore and Salem will also have dedicated startups hubs.

The Startup Warehouse programme by the Tamil Nadu will help the startup ecosystem in the state to a great extent. It will create awareness amongst new entrepreneurs and help them build entrepreneurial capability through events. The programme will also help in linking mentors and investors with startups.

According to some sources, the startup warehouses in Tamil Nadu will be integrated into Nasscom’s 10,000 startup programme. Last week NASSCOM launched its second startup warehouse in Kolkata after already existing Bangalore startup warehouse under NASSCOM 10,000 Startups program.

Nasscom will have the responsibility of end-to-end programme management of the Tamil Nadu warehouses. According to the order released by the government, “This will be achieved by hiring a dedicated professional team to staff the warehouse to ensure smooth day-to- day operations of the Startup Warehouse.”

A dedicated board comprising one leader from the Tamil Nadu startup community, two representatives from Nasscom and one or more Tamil Nadu government representatives will be set up. The state government representatives will include managing director of ELCOT and state IT secretary.

“It is a great opportunity for Nasscom to be associated with the government to create an ecosystem for tech startups in Tamil Nadu. We will build all our warehouse activities through this and bring Tamil Nadu under the startup radar,” said K Purushothaman, senior director at Nasscom.

Tamil Nadu To Set Up Startup Incubators & Warehouses With Guidance From NASSCOM

Following the steps of Karnataka and West Bengal, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to set aside dedicated warehouses for startups to grow and climb the ladder of success. The warehouses will receive guidance from the industrial body for software companies, Nasscom. The first ‘Startup Warehouse’ is expected to be set up in Tidel Park, which is located in the heart of Chennai.

The Tidel centre is expected to have 10,000 square-feet of carpet area and a fully functional plug-and-play office space. It will have some 60 to 80 workstations and a minimum of four conference rooms. In addition to this, the centre will have basement car park, 100 percent power backup, cafeteria, central air-conditioning and leased internet lines. The Tidel Startup Warehouse will have Nasscom as its knowledge partner.

“As a major step to support young entrepreneurs, from 2014-15 onwards, this government will make available 10% of space exclusively for Information Technology Incubation Centres as ‘Warehouses for Startups’ in all information technology parks developed by the government. These centres will promote new ventures and assist upcoming entrepreneurs by creating an appropriate ecosystem,” reads an order released by the government.

Once the Chennai Warehouse becomes fully operational, the state government promoted IT parks in Hosur, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Trichy, Coimbatore and Salem will also have dedicated startups hubs.

The Startup Warehouse programme by the Tamil Nadu will help the startup ecosystem in the state to a great extent. It will create awareness amongst new entrepreneurs and help them build entrepreneurial capability through events. The programme will also help in linking mentors and investors with startups.

According to some sources, the startup warehouses in Tamil Nadu will be integrated into Nasscom’s 10,000 startup programme. Last week NASSCOM launched its second startup warehouse in Kolkata after already existing Bangalore startup warehouse under NASSCOM 10,000 Startups program.

Nasscom will have the responsibility of end-to-end programme management of the Tamil Nadu warehouses. According to the order released by the government, “This will be achieved by hiring a dedicated professional team to staff the warehouse to ensure smooth day-to- day operations of the Startup Warehouse.”

A dedicated board comprising one leader from the Tamil Nadu startup community, two representatives from Nasscom and one or more Tamil Nadu government representatives will be set up. The state government representatives will include managing director of ELCOT and state IT secretary.

“It is a great opportunity for Nasscom to be associated with the government to create an ecosystem for tech startups in Tamil Nadu. We will build all our warehouse activities through this and bring Tamil Nadu under the startup radar,” said K Purushothaman, senior director at Nasscom.