The CBSE Sahodaya School Conference kicked off today with the theme Education 4.0 – Reinventing Education 2030 and Beyond. The two-day conference will cover various themes such as community school partnership, school versus education, technology for education, artificial intelligence in education, building learning communities, leadership, creative learning and teacher capacity building.

Principals of more than 800 CBSE-affiliated schools in the country and abroad, academics and senior board officials attend the conference held in Vadodara. A number of skills modules for students in grades 6-8 were introduced on travel and tourism, marketing, media, beauty and wellness, design thinking and innovation. New modules for grades 11-12 in Library and Information Science, Cost Accounting, Early Childhood Care and Education have also been launched.

Science and math practice books have been developed for students in grades 9 and 10 in math and science subjects to strengthen students’ skills and competencies and help them apply the concepts learned in real-life situations and to draw conclusions, the board said.

The CBSE has developed a School Quality Assessment and Assurance (SQAA) framework based on 7 domains covering all aspects of school functioning and can be useful as a tool to achieve individual and institutional excellence. This has been prepared in line with NEP 2020 recommendations, says CBSE.

The board has also developed skill-based practice questions aligned with the NCERT curriculum in the subjects of English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies for grade 10 students to test conceptual understanding and application. .

SAFAL assessment frameworks for grades 3, 5 and 8 have also been launched in language (English/Hindi), mathematics and EVS or science subjects. These include domains, strands, competencies and define learning outcomes at different proficiency levels.

In addition, a Positive Parenting Handbook has also been launched which contains post-COVID challenges and includes topics such as children’s mental and emotional well-being, tween parenting, gender equality and protection from child abuse, children with special needs, e-learning for parents and more, the council added.

Read all the latest education news here

Strong demand in this environment will also be good for accountant earnings. The median accountant in the United States earns $77,250 a year, but compensation can vary widely by location. Areas with many large businesses or high-income individuals who may have more complex tax needs tend to pay more for accounting services. At the top of this list at the state level is New York, the capital of the financial services industry, where the median accountant earns $97,640 ($88,603 in cost-of-living-adjusted earnings).

At the metropolitan level, however, New York City only ranks third on the list of highest-paying major metropolitan areas for accountants. Other places with high salaries include the Bay Area and Metro DC. In all of these locations, accountants are in high demand, with concentrations of accountants well above the national average.

The data used in this analysis comes from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the US Bureau of Economic Analysis. To determine the best-paying places for accountants, researchers at Smartest Dollar calculated the median annual salary for accountants, adjusted for the cost of living. In the event of a tie, the location with the highest median actual annual salary for accountants was ranked higher.

Here are the highest paying US metro areas for accountants.

A 27% rise in premium income and massive gains from changes in its accounting policy along with investment income helped national insurer LIC on Friday report a multiple increase in net income to Rs 15,952 crore in the second quarter from Rs 1,434 crore a year ago. More than 40% of net income comes from investment profits which reached Rs 6,798.61 crore but down from the prior year period when it recorded Rs 6,961.14 crore.

Net income was also boosted by gains from changes in its accounting policy, the country’s financial powerhouse said in the exchange documents.

In the June quarter, which was its first profit after its May IPO with an IPO of over Rs 20,530 crore, the insurer had reported a net profit of just Rs 682.9 crore.

Other reasons for the massive increase in profits were significantly lower commissions for agents and a sharp drop in labor costs.

During the reporting quarter, while he said the agency’s commissions had almost halved to Rs 5,844 crore from Rs 10,896 crore a year ago, his employee costs were well below Rs 16,474.76 crore vs. Rs 24,157.5 crore.

The statement attributed no reason for this. It can be noted that its more than 15 lakh agents bring the majority of its business.

Changes in actuarial liability led to a decline in revenue to Rs 96,088.03 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 1,74,277.93 crore. Similarly, the company’s surplus fell to Rs 16,171.14 crore from Rs 18,356.42 crore The first year bonus, which is an indication of the company’s growth, fell to Rs 9,124, 7 crore for the quarter, up 11% from Rs 8,198.30 crore a year ago, the country’s largest life insurer said.

Net premium income was Rs 1.32 lakh crore from Rs 1.04 lakh crore in the prior year quarter, while total income rose to Rs 2.22 lakh crore from Rs 1.87 lakh crore.

Of this amount, first year premium income increased to Rs 9,175.89 crore from Rs 8,270.91 crore a year ago and renewal premium increased to Rs 56,514.63 crore from Rs 55,342 .62 crore and single premium income rose to Rs 67,021.9 crore from Rs 41,428.7 crore, the company said.

As earnings approached, a section of the media had reported, based on sources, that the state-owned company planned to pay dividends or issue free shares, leading to a surge in share prices. But the company remained silent on such a decision. The LIC counter closed Friday at Rs 628 on the BSE, nearly 1.17% higher but down more than 30% from its listing price of Rs 940.

The solvency ratio, which measures an insurer’s cash flow relative to the amount it owes on total life cover, was 1.88%, similar to the June quarter.

Gross non-performing assets stood at Rs 26,111 crore, down from Rs 26,619 crore a quarter ago and Rs 28,929 crore a year ago. Gross NPAs fell to 5.60% from 5.84% in the June quarter and 6.57% a year ago.

LIC’s 13th month persistence ratio, which measures a customer’s loyalty to the insurer, improved to 70.52% in the reporting quarter from 68.81% a year ago.

Read all Latest business news here

North American confidence recovers slightly in third quarter, but remains second weakest in survey history

SINGAPORE, November 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The latest edition of the Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) from ACCA (the Association of Chartered Chartered Accountants) and IMA^® (Institute of Management Accountants) found that confidence in the economic outlook remained well below the median value over the past decade due to fears of inflation and a business slump.

The third quarter 2022 GECS, the largest regular economic survey of accountants worldwide, can be accessed here. The investigation took place between September 2 and 14, 2022 and collected 905 responses.

Globally, the survey found that nearly three-quarters of businesses are grappling with rising costs, with the highest proportion of respondents reporting increased cost pressures over the past decade. and more than one in three worrying about falling incomes, with a similar proportion pointing to exchange rate volatility. as uncertainty and glimpses of recession dominate the latest economic outlook.

Two developments underscored the precarious nature of the business environment. First, an increase in the number of respondents reporting “problems getting prompt payment”, which reached its highest level in four years. This could be the first sign of an increase in the number of organizations likely to experience cash flow difficulties. In addition, the survey found there has been a notable increase in the number of people reporting ‘problems accessing finance’, the most aggressive monetary policy tightening in 40 years likely to affect liquidity. companies.

The data further indicates that confidence in the economic outlook remains well below the median over the past decade, while the other three indicators that are more closely tied to economic activity – new orders, capital spending and employment – all show further deterioration. Overall, the series is consistent with a slowdown in global growth for the rest of the year, coupled with rising inflationary pressures.

The story continues

“Growing concern about rising interest rates in response to higher inflation and the outcome of policy tightening raises the risk that the global economy will slow more than businesses expect in 2023. “, said Doctor josh henirosenior director of South East Asia at the IMA. Commenting on the prospects of Asia Pacifiche added, “The silver lining in the Asia Pacific market is that monetary policy has remained accommodative where the surge in inflation is within acceptable parameters relative to other regions, which could be why we are seeing a boost in confidence among our respondents.

The survey also notes the growing divergence in trust levels across regions, with low levels in North America and Western Europe contrasting with the more optimistic outlook of respondents from the Middle East and South Asia.

“Our latest survey of global economic conditions indicates clear continuing challenges in the global economy, reflecting the continued economic fallout from the Russian invasion in Ukrainefurther monetary policy tightening in key jurisdictions and a cost of living crisis,” Jamie Lyonshead of skills, sectors and technologies at ACCA said. “One of the main risks will be to what extent and how quickly central banks will seek to tighten monetary policy further in the coming months to rein in inflationary pressures, and whether or not the global economy may slow further. than business leaders anticipate in 2023.”

About ACCA

ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants.

We are a thriving global community 241,000 members and 542,000 future members based in 178 countries and regions, working across a wide range of sectors and industries. We uphold the highest professional and ethical values.

We offer everyone, everywhere the opportunity to enjoy a rewarding career in accounting, finance and management. Our qualifications and learning opportunities develop strategic business leaders, forward-thinking professionals with the financial, business and digital expertise essential to building sustainable organizations and thriving societies.

Since 1904, being a force for the public good has been an integral part of our purpose. In December 2020we have made commitments to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals which we measure and will report on in our annual integrated report.

We believe that accounting is a fundamental profession in society and is essential in helping economies, organizations and individuals grow and prosper.

And through our cutting-edge research, we lead the profession in answering today’s questions and preparing for the future. We are a non-profit organization. Learn more about accaglobal.com

About the IMA^® (Institute of Management Accountants)
IMA^® is one of the largest and most respected associations dedicated exclusively to advancing the management accounting profession.

Globally, IMA supports the profession through research, CMA® (Certified Management Accountant) and CSCA® (Certified in Strategy and Competitive Analysis) programs, continuing education, networking and promotion of the most ethical business practices. high.

Twice named professional body of the year by The Accountant/International Accounting Bulletin, IMA has a global network of approximately 140,000 members in 150 countries and 350 professional and student chapters. Based at Montvale, New JerseyUnited States, IMA provides localized services in its four global regions: the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and Middle East/India. For more information about IMA, please visit www.imanet.org.

SOURCE Institute of Management Accountants

Attachments

Summary of major revisions to the emergency action plan:

This Operation DREF update aims to update stakeholders on the status of the implementation of Operation DREF Flood since its launch on 04 July 2022. The operations update also highlights challenges encountered by the implementation team and informs of a free extension of two deadlines. (2 months. The overall deadline being 5 months with a new end date of December 31, 2022, instead of October 31, 2022, to allow the NS to finalize all the remaining activities within the framework of the implementation.

The main activities that remain to be implemented are the following:

• Communication activities

• The finalization of voice cuts for messages in local languages ​​and their radio broadcast in several languages

• The radio program on Radio Côte d’Ivoire and for Television (MEDI TV, Nouvelle Chaîne de Côte d’Ivoire (NCI)) and the reporting activity on the activities within the framework of the production of the documentary film

• The transfer of the last two cash installments to the beneficiaries.

• Compilation and entry of accounting documents

• Post-distribution monitoring

• Workshop on lessons learned

• Narrative and financial reports

This request for extension follows the delay in the implementation of activities mainly due to the following reasons:

• SN’s delay in starting activities after DREF’s approval following the staff strike during the first weeks

• The very limited self-financing capacity of the NS, which did not allow the financing of the first activities before the transfer of funds

• Cumbersome administrative procedures for signing documents

• Delay in CEA’s involvement in field activities due to cumbersome and slow administrative procedures, which had a strong impact on the process of defining/validating the selection criteria and finalizing the lists of CASH and Kit Wash beneficiaries with the community

• Late start of communication activities (two months from October). This delay in the start of communication activities is explained by the cumbersome financial procedures.

• Conflicting key priority with other ongoing operations requiring the same operational and financial staff.

Only a few racing fans have the privilege of cheering on a local driver at their home Grand Prix, and Mexican fans crammed into the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez didn’t waste a second of their luck in Friday practice.

Not only did Sergio Perez receive cheers every time he walked to the famous Foro Sol, the section of the stadium built from a disused baseball grandstand, but the crowd was thrilled even when they caught a glimpse of their man on the big screens.

Even Perez’s face in the F1 opening titles shown before each session received the usual applause.

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So it was the least Perez could do but be competitive, albeit based on a rather limited Friday race, generating enough hope that he could at least make the podium, if not more.

But that’s just the start and Friday’s data was more limited than usual. Pirelli’s check on FP2 for another tire test meant the usual race sims were largely lacking, with those stuck around the disruptions in FP1 unlikely to be as representative as the teams tinker with the cars ahead of FP3.

But what we can say is that Ferrari and Red Bull Racing seem to be closely linked at this stage, and Mercedes is probably also in on it.

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc dominated FP1 in pure pace, separated by just 0.046 seconds. It was more than what separated Perez from Max Verstappen – the Red Bull Racing team-mates set identical times just 0.12 seconds behind the leading Ferrari.

They were all tightly bonded in the brief simulation race stints they also undertook.

Lewis Hamilton saw his fast lap on softs disrupted by a red flag, but his second attempt on worn tires resulted in a lap just 0.142 seconds off the pace. He failed to string together stints, however, so his theoretical race pace is unclear.

But George Russell, who skipped FP1 to give Nyck de Vries his mandatory run, topped FP2 with a lap that was almost 0.8 seconds quicker than Sainz’s best effort in the first hour. That’s roughly in line with historic levels of track evolution on what is still a dusty, slippery circuit at the start of the weekend, being a converted public road, and it gave the Briton the confidence that Mercedes was in the mix.

“I’d like to think it’s definitely [a] podium [that’s] possible at least,” he said, according to the F1 website. “It’s probably one of our best Fridays of the year, if not our best.”

It’s still early though. Final practice will give us a much clearer picture of what to expect for qualifying and the always tricky race.

A DIFFICULT JOURNEY FOR THE MACHINES

The low air density of Mexico City, which is about 2.2 kilometers above sea level, causes all sorts of problems for Formula 1 cars, which are not designed to perform better in a finer atmosphere.

The lack of downforce produced by the cars, despite using what would normally be their maximum downforce bodywork, was evident in the slides and slides experienced by all drivers as they struggled for pulling.

This generation of cars is prone to understeer at low speeds, and the low air density means almost every corner on this circuit could be classified as slow given the lack of air rushing through the aerodynamic components. , regardless of how fast the car is actually moving. . Understeer is therefore an important problem to be solved via the configuration in FP3.

But it’s also taxing on the brakes and drive units given the 22 per cent reduction in cooling, and you may have noticed most cars running with maximum cooling louvers to cope with the conditions.

The turbocharger is also under higher stress here as it attempts to maintain pressure inside the internal combustion engine – again, without the benefit of regular cooling.

Both Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson had brake problems during FP1, with Lawson’s brakes catching fire spectacularly after coming to a stop on the track with a hydraulic failure towards the end of the session.

Pietro Fittipaldi and Jack Doohan later retired with engine problems in the respective cars of Kevin Magnussen and Esteban Ocon.

Magnussen will serve a five-place penalty for an engine component change, while Ocon has got away without penalty so far by switching to the power unit he used last weekend.

Cooling management is always a major part of getting through the Mexico City weekend, and whoever can handle it best could end up with an advantage in the race.

A LESS COST-THAN-EXPECTED CRASH IN PIRELLI-CONTROLLED FP2

Coming out of FP2 is normally a blow for a race weekend given that this is when FP1 configuration changes are validated and race simulations are undertaken. This is when we have the clearest sense of competitive order.

But given that Pirelli commandeered the entire session – and extended it by 30 minutes – for a tire test in 2023, Charles Leclerc’s damaging smash won’t be paid beyond long hours by his mechanics to fix the car overnight.

As was the case last Friday in Austin, the Pirelli-focused tire test was largely useless for the teams for the rest of the weekend. Changes of set-up are prohibited and each driver has his driving plan defined by the tire manufacturer.

He puts more emphasis on FP1 and much more on FP3, which Leclerc will probably have no trouble getting into.

The only concern for the Monegasque is that the accident may have been heavy enough to cause him gearbox or engine problems, although Ferrari have said they do not expect any penalties for the repairs – a good thing considering the competitiveness of the leading pack. start of the weekend.

COST CEILING DOMINATE FRIDAY DISCUSSION

Off-track was unsurprisingly dominated by the announcement before testing that Red Bull Racing had agreed to serve a penalty for exceeding the budget cap last season.

According to the rules, part of accepting a deal also means admitting guilt – a surely punitive experience after Horner has spent the past month accusing rivals or defaming him and the team even after the FIA ​​discovered that RBR had exceeded the cap three weeks ago.

The team was found to have “inaccurately excluded and/or adjusted costs totaling £5,607,000” across 13 different accounting items.

This meant the team had exceeded the cap by £1,864,000, or around AU$3,376,000, or 1.6% of the total cap.

Red Bull Racing accepted a penalty consisting of a fine of almost AUD 11 million and a 10% reduction in development time.

For reference, F1 has a sliding scale of development allocation based on championship position. The championship-winning team spends the least time in the wind tunnel or uses computer simulation software, while the lowest-ranked team gets the most.

The interval between each team is about 7%.

A 10% cut to Red Bull Racing’s allocation means that interval more than doubles.

Based on the current championship standings, RBR will get 19% less development time than Ferrari and 27% less than Mercedes.

Williams, in last place, will get more than 82% of Red Bull Racing’s time in the wind tunnel, compared to 64%.

It also means that even if Red Bull Racing were to fall to second place in the championship, they would still have less development time than any team at the top of the standings.

The reduction lasts for 12 months from October 26, meaning it will affect the development of next year’s car and the team’s 2024 design.

Christian Horner described it as “draconian” for these reasons, and although some teams would have preferred something more severe – future team cost cap allocations were not reduced, for example – it does no doubt the penalty will be stinging. This will have a big impact on how the team does business over the next 12 months.

It is also important that the penalty is sufficient to prevent other teams from betting on an infringement in exchange for a penalty.

Toto Wolff, his Mercedes team most affected by the breach given the proximity of last year’s title fight, felt the punishment itself was lenient but sufficient given the damage to the reputation of the team. ‘crew.

“I think what you see is that beyond the sporting sanction and the financial fine, there is also reputational damage, and in a world of transparency and good governance, that no longer the case,” he told Sky Sports.

Most important, however, was that the FIA ​​stood firm in ensuring the team carried a penalty.

“They didn’t bat an eyelid,” Wolff said. “They just went through the process…I think they’ve been absolutely good at assessing [it]. I know how rigorous they have been with us throughout the year.

“It was a difficult process, and when I see 13 positions that were wrong, with us it was not the case.

“It’s just good to see that there is a penalty, whether we think it is too low or too high.”

Portland, OR, Oct. 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — According to the report released by Allied Market Research, the pediatric radiology market generated $5.6 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $8.8 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 4.7% from 2022 to 2031. The report offers a detailed analysis of the changing trends in the market, major segments, major investment pockets, value chain and regional landscape. , and competitive scenario. The report is a useful source of information for major market players, new entrants, investors and stakeholders in developing strategies for the future and taking action to strengthen their position in the market.

Download a free sample report- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/15380

Report coverage and details:

Report cover	Details
Forecast period	2022–2031
base year	2021
Market size in 2021	$5.6 billion
Market size in 2031	$8.8 billion
CAGR	4.7%
Number of pages in the report	290
Segments Covered	Type, application, end user and region
Drivers	Increased prevalence of pneumonia in children
	Increase in malnutrition rate
	Increase in the number of pediatric clinics and doctors
	Increase in the number of diagnostic laboratories with qualified personnel
	Increased R&D activities for the development of advanced pediatric radiology tools
	Increased installation of advanced radiology tools
	Increase in investments in the pediatric radiology sector
	New product approvals and product launches
	Increase in the number of private pediatric hospitals
	Health facility improvements in developing countries
Opportunities	Emerging healthcare market in developing and low-income countries that lack access to basic healthcare
	Increased risk of pandemics and communicable diseases
Constraints	High cost of advanced pediatric radiology and shortage of qualified and experienced sonographers worldwide

Covid-19 scenario:

• The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant decline in the growth of the global pediatric radiology market, due to the implementation of lockdown in many countries.
• The pharmaceutical industry has faced challenges to focus on R&D activities, including the development of pediatric radiology. The entire healthcare industry has focused on vital and COVID-19 related products during the pandemic.
• There have been delays in product approvals and launches, which have further restricted market expansion. Additionally, most clinical trials have been postponed to prevent the spread of infections, which has slowed down the drug development process.
• However, the market is gradually recovering in the post-pandemic period.

The report offers detailed segmentation of the global pediatric radiology market based on type, application, end-user, and region. The report provides an analysis of each segment and sub-segment using tables and figures. This analysis helps market players, investors, and new entrants determine which sub-segments to rely on to achieve growth in the coming years.

Based on type, the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) segment is expected to manifest the highest CAGR of 5.2% from 2022 to 2031. However, the others segment held the largest share in 2021, contributing more than two-fifths of the world’s paediatrics. radiology market, and is likely to maintain its leading status during the forecast period. The report also analyzes the ultrasound segment.

Based on the application, the cardiology segment is estimated to witness the fastest CAGR of 5.7% during the forecast period. However, the other segments held the largest share in 2021, accounting for more than a third of the global pediatric radiology market and would rule till 2031. The report also provides analysis of oncology, orthopedics and medical other segments.

On the basis of end-user, the hospital segment held the largest share in 2021, accounting for more than three-fifths of the global pediatric radiology market, and would rule till 2031. However, the clinic segment is estimated specialties will experience the fastest CAGR of 5.3% during the forecast period.

For a purchase request- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/15380

Based on the region, the market in Europe was the largest in 2021, accounting for almost a third of the global pediatric radiology market, and is expected to maintain its leading status over the forecast period. However, Asia Pacific is expected to show the highest CAGR of 5.7% from 2022 to 2031. Other regions analyzed in the study include North America and LAMEA.

Key players of the global pediatric radiology market analyzed in the research include Fujifilm Holdings Corporation, Canon Medical Systems, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., AgfaHealthcare, Carestream Health, Inc., Hitachi Healthcare, Medtronic Plc., Canon Medical System, Siemens AG. , and Canon Inc.

The report analyzes these key players of the global pediatric radiology market. These players have adopted various strategies such as expansion, new product launches, partnerships and others to increase their market penetration and strengthen their position in the industry. The report is helpful in determining the business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and developments of each market player.

Reports on trends in the healthcare industry (book now with 10% discount):

Palliative Care Market – Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2030

Healthcare Chatbots Market – Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2030

Upper Limb Prosthetics Market – Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2030

COPD and Asthma Devices Market – Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2030

Vascular Disease Devices Market – Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2030

Oral Cancer Treatment Market – Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2030

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AMR introduces its subscription-based premium online library Avenue, designed specifically to provide a unique and cost-effective solution for businesses, investors and universities. With Avenue, subscribers can benefit from a comprehensive repository of reports on over 2,000 niche industries and over 12,000 company profiles. Additionally, users can get online access to quantitative and qualitative data in PDF and Excel formats, as well as analyst support, customization, and updated versions of reports.

Access the report library anytime from any device and anywhere. For more details, follow the link: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access

“We have also published some syndicated market studies in the same field that you may be interested in. Below is the title of the report for your referenceconsidering the impact of Covid-19 on this market which will help you to assess the aftereffects of the pandemic on the short and long term growth trends of this market.

About Allied Market Research:

Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business consulting division of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global corporations as well as small and medium enterprises with unrivaled quality of “market research reports” and “Business Intelligence solutions”. AMR has a focused vision to provide business insights and advice to help its clients make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market areas. AMR offers its services in 11 industry verticals, including Life sciencesconsumer goods, materials and chemicals, construction and manufacturing, food and beverages, energy and electricity, semiconductors and electronics, automotive and transport, ICT and media, aerospace and defense and BFSI.

We maintain professional relationships with various companies which helps us to extract market data which helps us to generate accurate research data tables and confirm the utmost accuracy of our market predictions. Allied Market Research CsEO Pawan Kumar helps to inspire and encourage everyone associated with the business to maintain high quality data and help customers in every way possible to achieve success. All data presented in the reports we publish are drawn from primary interviews with senior managers of large companies in the relevant field. Our secondary data sourcing methodology includes extensive online and offline research and discussions with knowledgeable industry professionals and analysts.

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by CB Hall, Vermont Business Magazine More than three months since Amtrak and the Vermont Agency of Transportation extended the northern reach of the Ethan Allen Express by 68 miles, from Rutland to Burlington, ridership on the train is exceeding expectations. Adding the new mileage to the existing 200-mile route between New York and Rutland – an increase of around 33% – led to a 51% increase in ridership in August, the first full month of the new service, compared to ridership in August 2019, the last pre-pandemic year.

According to Dan Delabruere, director of the agency’s Bureau of Railways and Aviation.

In July, when the service was launched, total train ridership exceeded ridership in July 2019 by more than 5,000; In August, the gain was over 3,000.

In Vermont, the Ethan Allen stops in Ferrisburgh, just outside the city limits of Vergennes, and Middlebury and Castleton, in addition to Burlington and Rutland.

The train offers one of three transit options supported by VTrans on the Route 7 corridor, the other two being buses that run from Colchester to Bennington to the Amtrak station in Rensselaer, New York, just outside of Albany.

Asked if there are any plans to add stops at Shelburne and Brandon to the train’s route, as has been discussed on occasion, Delabruere said VTrans will “monitor any future requests for stops , but focuses on new service stops in Burlington, Vergennes and Middlebury. for the moment. “

Williston-based passenger rail advocate Carl Fowler called the serviced extension an “unambiguous success”.

The patronage numbers “have blown projections,” he said.

“I think we’re struggling with ridership,” said Melinda Moulton, recently retired as executive director of Main Street Landing, longtime owner of Burlington’s Union Station and a leader for decades. efforts to restore passenger service to the Queen City after a 69-year hiatus.

“Back when Howard Dean was Governor of Vermont, we were both featured on NBC’s national news as America’s ‘fleecers’, for getting $1.5 million to alter the old Union Station for Amtrak service. I said to the interviewer, ‘People love trains, and they will ride them. Well, here we are, 25 or 30 years later, and we have an Amtrak train in Burlington .”

Faster times ahead?

Timing was another issue, however.

On its maiden voyage on July 29, the train left Burlington five minutes late; he left his first stop, Ferrisburgh-Vergennes, about 15 minutes late. Fowler, who was on the train, told VBM he left Middlebury 22 minutes late – but arrived at Rutland on time.

Fowler’s seemingly odd accounting is explained by the timetable, which gives the train 71 minutes to travel from Middlebury to Rutland, just 34 miles away.

This “filling”, a common practice in Amtrak scheduling, inserts extra time on segments terminating at a key station, in this case Rutland, to facilitate arrival at the advertised time, for the relatively large number of customers anticipating this arrival.

An analysis by Massachusetts-based railroad advocate Ben Heckscher found that “the train took an average of 47 minutes to travel between Middlebury and Rutland in August” and concluded that “at least 20 minutes of time should be removed from the schedule for this segment.”

In total, the schedule calls for a Burlington-Rutland trip of an equal duration of two hours, and a Rutland-Burlington trip of one hour and 59 minutes. Both times are well over the hour and 40 minutes that served as a benchmark in planning the service’s launch – and matched the time it took the defunct Rutland Railroad to jostle its first Green Mountain Flyer train between the two. cities in 1940, Fowler said. .

Delabruere told VermontBiz that a possible reduction in travel time “will be evaluated next summer, after the train has gone through different seasons.”

And after?

With the long-awaited launch of Burlington behind it, the top priority for VTrans’ passenger rail program is to expand service on the Washington, DC-St Albans Vermonter, the other state-sponsored train, north to to Montreal.

State efforts to restore this connection date back to 2012, if not earlier, but have encountered repeated challenges, including the creation of a pre-clearance station at Montreal’s Central Station. US and Canadian officials agreed in 2015 to build the facility, but it has yet to be built.

“The work that is done in Canada is not something that we can demand, require or direct,” VTrans Secretary Joe Flynn said at a meeting of the Vermont Rail Advisory Council last December.

An Oct. 3 letter from VTrans’s director of policy, planning and intermodal development, Michele Boomhower, to the Federal Railroad Administration listed several other priorities for consideration for a federal rail passenger subsidy program.

Priorities included an additional eight-mile extension of the Ethan Allen from Burlington Union Station to Essex Junction, the Vermonter stop for the Burlington area.

Extending the Ethan Allen north to Burlington naturally sucked some of Vermont’s patronage out of Essex Junction, given the two cities’ proximity to each other. But the new ridership numbers clearly show that attendance in Burlington far exceeds that loss.

Connecting the two points with the Ethan Allen by no means makes the Vermonter’s stop at Essex Junction redundant, as the two trains follow very different routes as they head south, their only common destination being Penn Station in New York.

The Burlington-Essex Junction extension would require upgrading of the low-speed track that connects the two towns, winding through Winooski and Colchester.

Currently, only freight trains use the line, which could be considered a rail analog to the freeway connection that I-189 provides between the US 7 and I-89 corridors on the other side of Burlington.

A 2017 study commissioned by VTrans estimated the cost of improving the route at $19.5 million, enough for major upgrades that would allow passenger trains to travel 79 mph on the track – a speed only Fowler called it “ridiculous” due to speed restrictions at the many crossings and curves on the course.

He felt that a lower speed would be adequate and would require less initial investment.

Closing the Burlington-Essex gap doesn’t appear to be anytime soon, but Delabruere said VTrans has no current cost estimates for any upgrades that may be needed.

Either way, the inauguration of the Burlington service bodes well for the future of passenger rail transportation in Vermont.

Aerial view of Amtrak Ethan Allen at Middlebury.

CB Hall is a freelance writer from southern Vermont.

Three children were electrocuted on Thursday when they climbed into a fountain in the newly renovated city of Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi to retrieve a ball. The fountain was renovated by a company whose owners have already been convicted of corruption.

Tbilisi city officials during the opening of Vake Park. (Photo: OCCRP)A 13-year-old girl died, while the other two children were hospitalized, one of them in critical condition.

Vake Park – where the fountain is located – had officially reopened to visitors the previous day, October 12, after a two-year reconstruction project.

“A terrible thing has happened, it’s very hard for everyone,” Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze told reporters. “And the investigation, of course, will determine everything. Everyone, including me, will be held responsible for the crime. If I have committed a crime, I am ready to answer for it before the law.”

In October 2021, a company called LTD Greenservice+ won the contract to renovate the fountain for an amount of approximately 11.8 million GEL, or nearly $4.3 million. In accordance with the requirements of the project, the company submitted six inspection reports to the town hall. The inspections were carried out by private companies commissioned by Greenservice+. All the reports said that the job had been done correctly.

“The rehabilitation works were carried out in accordance with the design and cost accounting documentation”, indicates the report of the final inspection, carried out on August 25.

Greenservice+ won the project despite the fact that in 2018 it was featured in a report by Transparency International Georgia on companies that should be banned from participating in public contracts, as two of its owners have already been convicted of corruption.

In 2007, when Lasha Purtskhvanidze was a district governor in Tbilisi and Koba Kharshiladze was his deputy, in 2007 the two registered a company with a similar name, Greenservice LLC, in the name of acquaintances. The company proceeded to bid and win public contracts while its two secret founders served on the tender board.

Arrested for corruption in 2013, Purtskhvanidze pleaded guilty and was fined, while Kharshiladze was sent to prison for two years.

Nevertheless, Greenservice+, which the two registered in 2010, began participating in government tenders in 2013 – the year of their conviction – and has since won numerous government contracts worth millions of dollars, especially for the renovation of the fountain. Purtskhvanidze and Kharshiladze currently own 33% of the company’s shares.

On October 12, Mayor Kaladze, whose office issued the tender, attended the opening of the renovated park and made a statement to the press in which he singled out the work on the fountain.

“The second stage of work was the rehabilitation of the small waterfall and the round fountain, which was completed and turned out to be magnificent,” Kaladze said. “I’m sure that when the works are completely finished and the main waterfall is rehabilitated, it will be one of the best places to gather, relax and unwind. Also, since many people use this space, we have decided to add a special area for children, where additional new attractions will be set up.

On the day of the tragedy, information celebrating the opening of the fountain was quickly removed from the Tbilisi City Hall website.

OCCRP attempted to contact Greenservice+ director Lasha Purtskhanidze, but his phone was switched off. Later, the Interior Ministry announced that he was being questioned along with other responsible people.

Released on Friday evening, Purtskhanidze spoke to reporters saying the company had been in a fountain test mood for two months and no violations or issues had been observed.

“I really don’t want to say anything, the only thing I will say is that it looks like a pre-determined action, I can’t say anything else, the investigation will already determine that.”

At a briefing today, Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandr Darakhvelidze promised a thorough investigation into the tragedy. Authorities are interviewing people from LTD Greenservice+, city hall employees, teachers and other officials from Public School No. 55, which the children attended. Those responsible for their deaths would be punished with “all the severity” of the law, he added.

According to the tender contract, the Tbilisi Municipal Laboratory, the state agency that oversees construction and civil engineering throughout the city, was supposed to supervise the works to be carried out by Greenservice+. OCCRP attempted to contact lab director Lasha Samkharadze, but his phone was also turned off.

On Thursday night, protesters gathered outside City Hall and later outside Parliament, demanding Mayor Kaladze’s resignation.

As enterprises accelerate IT modernization to accelerate digital transformation and gain business advantage, there is an opportunity to revamp a greener IT environment and application portfolio that will reduce costs and contribute to broader IT goals. corporate sustainability.

Across industries, businesses are modernizing their IT infrastructure and using digital tools to increase organizational flexibility, agility and resilience in their efforts to stay ahead of the competition. Through cloud migration and application modernization, companies are creating new customer experiences and services to drive revenue growth while reimagining business processes to optimize operations, reduce costs and enable new ways of work. IDC data shows that 71% of organizations consider application modernization a top priority today, and that proportion will rise to 84% over the next three years.[BRC1] .

Additionally, many are moving beyond application modernization as a one-time initiative and making it an ongoing part of their ongoing IT operations.

As companies move forward in their modernization journey, it is important to factor green IT considerations into the roadmap, given the impact choices can have on overall IT goals. corporate sustainability. “As businesses and enterprises grow horizontally or vertically, they expand their IT assets, whether through the cloud or private data centers,” notes Nalini Manuru, business development manager.[BRC2] at IBM. “As the backbone of expansion, IT has a huge impact on energy consumption, so taking that into account and making it more carbon efficient is essential for the good of the planet, for meet current and future regulatory requirements, as well as cost benefits.”

In fact, data centers and owned IT equipment are a major source of energy consumption and carbon emissions for businesses. According to the International Energy Agency, global data centers collectively consume 200 to 250 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity, which represents 1% of all global electricity demand and approximately 0.3% of all global carbon emissions.

By comparison, a modernization strategy that moves workloads from on-premises data centers to the cloud can reduce energy consumption and associated carbon emissions by nearly 80% and is up to five times more efficient than ‘a typical on-premises data center, has 451 Research/ Report AWS found. This is partly because companies tend to use underutilized or inactive servers. The Uptime Institute estimates that approximately 20% of enterprise servers are unused or abandoned due to insufficient infrastructure monitoring and the absence of a rigorous decommissioning process. There are also opportunities to improve application code and architecture after a lift-and-shift migration to public hyperscaler platforms like AWS.

AWS cloud infrastructure, in particular, has significant energy efficiency benefits. An AWS/451 research report shows that AWS public cloud infrastructure is 3.6 times more energy efficient than the average US enterprise data center, primarily due to more energy-efficient servers and usage servers, more efficient data center facilities and cooling, and reduced power consumption. and the use of renewable energies.

“Reducing IT operating costs and reducing carbon emissions is a complex factor today and it should not be a separate exercise from IT modernization,” says Diptiman Dasgupta, Associate Partner and Executive IT Architect – Development sustainability, for IBM Consulting. “It’s more effective to make carbon reduction goals and green IT a non-functional design dimension similar to security or reliability. »

A framework for success

At the heart of the IBM/AWS partnership is a sustainable application modernization model and a full lifecycle approach to carbon accounting. At the core of the partner strategy are the following capabilities:

Carbon accounting and valuation: The AWS Customer Carbon Footprint Tool provides easy-to-understand data visualizations and reports of emissions from using AWS, providing companies with a baseline accounting of their greenhouse gas emissions. The tool identifies carbon hotspots and analyzes emissions changes over time as workloads are migrated and applications are redesigned. It can also help plan for the future by predicting how emissions will evolve as AWS continues its mission to power operations with 100% renewable energy sources.

Green IT transformation: IBM experts work with organizations to determine the best opportunities for modernization while creating a roadmap and target application architecture that will deliver sustainability benefits throughout the lifecycle. More than a simple “pull and replace” approach, IBM’s application modernization strategy begins with gaining a solid understanding of business needs and the existing application landscape.

IBM experts use manual and automated tools to streamline existing systems to gain a detailed understanding of the landscape and operations, including the precise number and function of applications as well as interdependencies. Companies are guided through the process of selecting the most timely business outcomes, creating an implementation roadmap, designing a target architecture, identifying and measuring goals and outcomes sustainability, and aligning employee skills and business operating models to meet new demands.

Green IT Operations: Using tools such as the AWS Customer Carbon Footprint Tool, IBM and AWS provide ongoing monitoring and measurement of sustainability KPIs, ensuring organizations have complete visibility into their progress. Additionally, partners provide ongoing what-if analysis to monitor potential carbon and cost savings from application optimization options, ensuring sustainability becomes an ongoing benchmark for IT operations success.

The AWS cloud platform itself has inherent sustainability benefits for IT and application modernization. Sustainability is one of the six pillars of the AWS Well-Architected Framework, meaning there are core design principles, operational guidance, best practices, and suggested improvement plans to help organizations achieve sustainability goals for their AWS workloads. AWS also offers a wide range of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), and data analytics capabilities to help organizations achieve their sustainability goals.

“Modernizing applications on AWS increases the benefits of sustainability because AWS is inherently a sustainable platform,” Manuru says.

For more information on the IBM/AWS modernization and sustainability partnership, visit https://www.ibm.com/consulting/aws

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