Friday, September 20, 2019

Armani Exchange Introduces Bollywood Star Kartik Aaryan As New Brand Ambassador for A|X Watches


Armani Exchange is pleased to announce a collaboration with Kartik Aaryan for its Fall 2019 watch campaign. A rising star in the Bollywood film scene—the Indian actor and model will represent selected styles of Armani Exchange watches through 2020.

The 28 year old made his acting debut in 2011 and by 2015 rose to fame after winning the Best Actor in a Comic Role at the Stardust Awards. He made his entry in the blockbuster club last year with his release Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety and this year’s hit Luka Chuppi has made him a nationwide youth icon. Since 2018, he has won awards from Vogue Beauty, Zee Cine, PETA India and Dadasaheb Phalke Excellence to name a few.

The A|X Armani Exchange Fall 2019 watch collection features high-impact designs, enlivened by strong tones of white, black, electric blue and khaki. The campaign images were shot in Mumbai by photographer Tarun Vishwa. The new collection will be available in August on armaniexchange.com as well as in select department stores globally and at Armani Exchange stores all over the world.

Corporate Tax Relaxation to Boost Investments Across Sectors: JLL


By Ramesh Nair, CEO & Country Head – India, JLL

Highlights

·         The measure is expected to bolster growth of industrial real estate development in the country
·         Provision on Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) to support the SEZ developers and promote affordable housing segment

The announcement by honourable Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman proposing to slash corporate tax for domestic companies from 30% to 22% comes at an opportune time when the economy needs a boost in investments.

To give strength to India’s amb itious ‘Make in India’ initiative, the government has proposed a tax rate of 15% for new domestic companies incorporated on or after 1st October 2019 and commences manufacturing by 31st March 2023. The measure is expected to bolster growth of industrial real estate development in the country.

According to the announcement, the total revenue foregone for the reduction in corporate tax rate and other relief estimated is at INR 1,45,000 cr. This quantum of money will act as an incentive to the industry in terms of savings and will result into further investments. Moreover, companies will also have a leeway to pass on the benefit to consumers, thereby reviving demand.

T he reduction in Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) to 15% from the existing 18.5% for companies which do not opt for the concessional tax regime will act as a harbinger of growth. However, there will no MAT applicable for units which will opt for new concessional tax regime. This definitely is a welcome move.

This is likely to help the real estate sector and specifically promote affordable housing. The new proposal will also help in promoting the affordable housing segment. MAT provisions are applicable to the profits of the housing projects eligible for deduction under the clauses of Section 80-IBA. Section 80-IBA grants 100% exemption on profits from affordable housing projects, subject to conditions.

This would specifically support developers operating in special economic zones (SEZ). The real estate sector has been demanding the removal of MAT for SEZ developers. SEZs and their development are keys to the growth of the office segment, logistics & warehousing and manufacturing sectors in the country. Their development has in turn contributed significantly to the overall growth of the neighbouring regions and propelled the housing sector.

Water Crises in India; Water Resource Management is the Key


By Sriram Vedire,
Adviser to Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India

The world is facing the worst water crisis, including the Indian States with acute drought, waterlogging and sudden floods. It is imperative for every state to take necessary steps to resolve issues surrounding water resource management. NITI AYOG released the Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) in June 2018 to put forth the prevailing water crisis squarely in the centre of the public policy space. Presenting the efforts made by creating  about 4 lakh water harvesting structures and the encouraging results, a book entitled ‘A distinctive Water Management Story – The Rajasthan Way’ authored by Mr. Sriram Vedire, Adviser to Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, was launched today at Dr. BR Ambedkar International Centre. The book was released at a high profile event graced by Shri Om Birla, Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha; Shri Prakash Javedkar, Hon’ble Minister of Environment, Forest, Climate Change, I&B, GoI; Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Hon’ble Minister of Jal Shakti, GoI; Shri G Kishan Reddy, Hon’ble MoS (Home), GoI; and Shri Sanjay Dhotre,  Hon’ble MoS (HRD), GoI.

This book elucidates the efforts taken by the State of Rajasthan under the supervision and guidance of Mr. Sriram Vedire, a water deprived state for their water resource management, processes and the use of technology for scientific planning. The book throws light on all aspects involved in this greatest challenge and elaborates the steps taken in planning, execution, monitoring and review processes.

While launching his book Mr. Sriram Vedire said, “I am honoured and overwhelmed to launch my 5th book in the presence of such honourable and inspiring personalities. I have tried to bring in the key areas of work on water resource management that we have executed in the State of Rajasthan during the past five years. The enormous results seen in providing water to the poorest of poor in the remotest village in Rajasthan has been one of the most cherishing moments of my life both professionally and personally.”

“The thought behind penning down all the innovative planning and execution practices on effective utilization and management of water resources that we implemented in Rajasthan is with the aim of guiding other states with ideas and effective processes to utilize existing water resources”, he added.

In the book, the author has also addressed the acute shortage of water in the desert state of Rajasthan and how they implemented pioneering solutions in water management by establishing a River Basin & Water Resources Planning Authority with statutory powers to plan water resources management with “River Basin” as a unit. The planning included attacking the problem from both micro and macro levels of planning. Taking river basin as a unit in planning both these micro level (bottom up approach) and macro level (top down approach) are covered in the chapter “Water Management with River Basin as a unit of planning” in the book.

The book is a fine specimen of academic writing, management and practical experience on critical issues States are facing in today’s world. The author’s previous books have been lauded by eminent personalities, especially those who have been catalysts of change in the field of water management programs and sustainable development. The book launch promised an evening of high-level deliberations

The Author, also the Chairman of Rajasthan River Basin & Water Resources Planning Authority, Government of India, has been actively involved in many other water conservation programs like interlinking of Rivers and Urban Water Management, ground water recharge, water harvesting, cleaning of River Ganga to name a few.

Money Mart Financial Services Selects 3i Infotech’s AMLOCK to Strengthen its Global Anti-Money Laundering Solutions Strategy

Money Mart Financial Services, a leading financial services company in North America has selected AMLOCK, a globally acclaimed financial crime detection and management solution from 3i Infotech, to strengthen its anti-money laundering (AML) solutions strategy. AMLOCK’s comprehensive tools will assist Money Mart Financial Services to efficiently manage customer due diligence, enhance compliance processes and seamlessly identify and assess customer risk across its retail network of over 700 locations.

Money Mart chose AMLOCK for its key capabilities in sanctions screening, customer risk assessment, transaction monitoring, effective false positive management and comprehensive case management. AMLOCK ably scores in regulatory compliance with its knowledge capital in meeting regulations in over 35 countries. This is a strategic win for AMLOCK as it expands its footprint in the US.

Krish Narayanaswami, President & Global Head - Banking Products Business, 3i Infotech said, “We are extremely pleased to partner with Money Mart Financial Services in reinforcing their anti-money laundering program by implementing our flagship AML solution, AMLOCK.

Ravikanth Sama, Global Head – AML Practice, 3i Infotech added, “Leveraging our experience in AML implementations across the globe, our objective is to automate AML processes which would reduce human effort and error, and facilitate meeting regulators’ requirements to detect and report suspicious transactions. AMLOCK will help Money Mart maintain up-to-date know-your-customer (KYC) risk assessments, and precisely address the most stringent demands of the anti-money laundering lifecycle, from gathering customer and transaction information to regulatory compliance.”

Sankha Ghosh, EVP & Chief Information Officer and Ray Cliett, Chief Compliance Officer of Money Mart Financial Services added, “We selected AMLOCK for its experience in implementing AML solutions in diversified countries spread across the globe, and its domain competency in AML space.  We believe that AMLOCK will help in strengthening our anti-money laundering program through automated processes which would help in customer due diligence, KYC risk assessment, efficient transaction monitoring and comprehensive case management capabilities.”

AMLOCK is an offering from 3i Infotech, a global information technology company spanning 50 countries with over 1200 customers and backed by more than 5500 employees.

ideaForge Launches NINJA UAV - The Most Reliable NPNT Compliant VTOL Micro Drone

ideaForge, India’s largest manufacturer of UAVs for defence and government applications, has launched NINJA UAV which is the most reliable and robust No Permission No Takeoff (NPNT) compliant Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) micro drone. ideaForge has distilled its extensive experience in delivering class-dominating UAVs to create NINJA UAV for applications such as mapping, surveying, industrial asset inspection and surveillance. Being a micro drone, it has the lowest training requirement in the industry and is the most accessible professional drone.

NINJA UAV is manufactured under stringent ISO 9001:2015 certified processes with quality inspections at every stage of the manufacturing process. Each UAV undergoes strict flight testing, drop testing, endurance and range testing and EMI/EMC compliance and functional safety checks.

NINJA UAV can be ordered here https://www.ideaforge.co.in/ninja-lp/. ideaForge is now happy to welcome new partners who wish to increase their global footprint. To become a partner, register here https://www.ideaforge.co.in/partner/.

“NINJA is not only our lightest drone yet, but it punches well above its weight. Built for reliability, the NINJA inherits our decade-long Military design expertise to ensure safe and compliant flights. It comes with our class-leading fail safes for Low Battery, High Wind & Communication Disruption, which makes sure NINJA returns home in adverse situations,” said ideaForge Co-Founder & CTO, Mr. Rahul Singh. “NINJA has been built to see how far we can push ourselves to bring the performance & reliability from our larger Drones into this brand new product class, no matter if you’re doing a surveillance flight, inspecting your organisation’s critical assets, monitoring the progress of your large-scale infrastructure projects or surveying land for your next endeavour.” Watch this video here https://youtu.be/_pkYk6e8cHs to know about NINJA UAV.

Using ideaForge’s NPNT Compliant NINJA UAV, users can apply for flying permissions on India's Digital Sky portal, and also log their post-flight data online. This significantly reduces the barrier for entry for customers, as it reduces the time to apply for approval from 30 days with multiple government agencies, to almost immediately using an intuitive web application.

Civil Aviation Requirements’ (CAR) NPNT standard is the world’s first all-digital process for acquiring automated flying permissions for UAVs and thus ensures that enforcement is built-in. ideaForge leveraged its indigenous R&D capability and technological prowess to build the most reliable micro drone that is ready to fly in the Digital Sky.

About ideaForge
ideaForge is India’s largest manufacturer of drones for defence, homeland security and industrial applications. Founded in 2007 by IIT-Bombay alumni, the organization has a consistent market share of over 90% in Security & Surveillance segment. The organization is a licensed manufacturer of UAVs approved by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

ideaForge is the first organization to indigenously develop and manufacture Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) UAVs in India. It is the pioneer in the UAV industry in India and has multiple IPs to its credit, including the then world’s lightest autopilot in 2009. Currently, the organization has deployed over 700 systems and has trained over 1200 pilots in services including Indian Army, Navy, Air-Force, all CAPFs (CRPF, BSF, NSG, etc), State Police Forces, Indian Railways, TAFE, NTPC, DRDO, L&T and many more.

A vertically integrated organization with in-house R&D, design, software, manufacturing, services and training operations, ideaForge delivers world class end-to-end solutions for an array drone of requirements in defence, homeland security and enterprise sectors. The company is continually innovating and experimenting to transform its aerial platforms, to offer greater performance, higher reliability and autonomy.

CSS Corp’s Manish Tandon Recognized as the CEO of the Year at CMO Asia Awards 2019


CSS Corp, a new-age IT services and technology company, today announced that its CEO, Manish Tandon, has been honored with the prestigious CEO of the Year award at the 2019 CMO Asia Awards held on 15th August in Singapore. The award is an acknowledgment of his role in transforming CSS Corp into a new age digital services organization and upscaling its  credibility in the global IT industry.

Manish’s deep understanding and expertise in IT services coupled with his tremendous leadership skills have played an important role in boosting the growth and future aspirations for everyone at CSS Corp. Manish joined CSS Corp in 2016 and has been instrumental ever since in introducing new measures that have established operational stability and driven innovation. Under his vision, CSS Corp has emerged as a new age services provider that offers differentiated value propositions and award-winning solutions, aimed to solve challenges and deliver incredible customer experience to clients.

CSS Corp added another feather in its cap by also bagging the 2019 CMO Asia Awards for Excellence in IT/ITeS Sector. The company was recognized for its unique outcomes-driven services proposition that fuses world-class operational expertise with best-of-breed technology solutions.

On receiving the award, Manish Tandon, Chief Executive Officer, CSS Corp said, “It is an honor to receive the CEO of the Year award from the prestigious CMO Asia group. It is truly humbling when your work is recognized by industry veterans. I would like to thank the entire CSS Corp team who took the leap of faith with me and tirelessly helped in delivering the best to all our stakeholders. I also appreciate our customers for their trust and confidence in CSS Corp as we move ahead on this transformation journey. The Award for Excellence in IT/ITeS Sector goes on to show that the team at CSS Corp is breaking conventions to reach new heights in innovation.”

Speaking on the award, Sunil Mittal, EVP & Chief Sales and Marketing Officer said “We would like to congratulate Manish for this very deserving felicitation. We are fortunate to have him as our CEO. We will continue to echo his vision and mandate to achieve greater heights with innovative solutions that will drive the wheels of the industry from the forefront. These awards are a testament to CSS Corp not only being the partner of choice for clients but also for employees.”

The 10th CMO Asia Awards is a premium forum bringing elite marketers, brand custodians, advertising and creative honchos together under one roof. The awards aim to reward the best organizations and individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the industry.

Hindware Titania Chimney with MaXX Autoclean Technology Launched Price Starts at Rs 45,990

Hindware Kitchen Ensemble, the leader in the Auto clean chimney segment, launched “Titania Chimney” powered by revolutionary “MaXX Autoclean Technology.

MaxXX Autoclean technology facilitates temperature reaching up to an impressive 180°C, thrice more effective and powerful than conventional auto clean chimney. Hindware Titania Chimney is an amalgamation of state-of-the-art technology and ergonomic design, and is a beautiful addition to modern kitchens.

Alongside this aesthetically appealing proposition, the star product is equipped with additional features such as Oil Resistant Rotor, which provides seamless operation to retain the airflow and operate at a low noise throughout the lifecycle of the product.  Grease absorption coating on motor housing, coupled with 180°C Autoclean, ensures a cleaner and healthier chimney from within.

The chimney is available in three sizes, Titania 60 cm, 75 cm and 90 cm, at the price point of MRP 45990 INR, 47990 INR, and 49990 INR respectively.

Manhattan Associates Opens New India Facility at Brigade Tech Gardens in Bengaluru


Manhattan Associates Inc. has announced that it has expanded and enhanced its Indian operations with the opening of a new facility in Brigade Tech Gardens. This investment increases Manhattan’s footprint in India and reflects the company’s strong commitment to the country. The new facility was inaugurated on September 18, 2019 in a dedication ceremony hosted by company executives.

Over 1,400 Manhattan team members will be located in this new 170,000 square foot facility. Designed by NBBJ, a world-renowned architecture, planning and design firm based in Seattle, the 26 acre campus offers amenities like a health and fitness centre, a wide range of dining options, a retail plaza, a hotel, apartments and a conference centre.

“We are excited to move our world class talent to this world class facility,” said Eddie Capel, president and CEO of Manhattan Associates. “This new office reflects Manhattan’s commitment to providing our employees with a state of the art work environment and gives us ample room to grow as we continue to invest in this important region.”

“Our new office is designed to promote agility, openness and collaboration. It will provide a fertile and creative environment for developing the industry’s preeminent supply chain and omnichannel commerce solutions,” said Ushasri Tirumala, senior vice president and general manager of India for Manhattan.

Receive up-to-date product, customer and partner news directly from Manhattan Associates on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook

Manhattan Associates: Manhattan Associates is a technology leader in supply chain and omnichannel commerce. We unite information across the enterprise, converging front-end sales with back-end supply chain execution. Our software, platform technology and unmatched experience help drive both top-line growth and bottom-line profitability for our customers.

Manhattan Associates designs, builds and delivers leading edge cloud and on-premises solutions so that across the store, through your network or from your fulfillment center, you are ready to reap the rewards of the omnichannel marketplace. 

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Tata Motors Announces its Cutting-Edge EV Tech Brand ‘ZIPTRON’

Highlights

* State-of-the-art Electric Vehicle Technology to propel future of eMobility in India
* A new benchmark in the EV industry with class-leading zippy performance

Tata Motors has announced its state-of-the-art electric vehicle technology ‘ZIPTRON’, which will power a range of aspirational Tata Electric Cars, starting with a new launch in Q4 of FY20. ZIPTRON, a soon to be introduced EV powertrain technology, is a building block towards Tata Motors’ consistent strive for commonality, to drive economies of scale and to make new technologies affordable for the Indian consumers. It embodies distinctive characteristics: efficient high voltage system, zippy performance, long range, fast charging capability, battery with warranty of 8 years, and adherence to IP67 standard.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Guenter Butschek, CEO & MD, Tata Motors said, “We are proud to present this state-of-art technology brand – ZIPTRON, which has been designed in-house while utilizing our global engineering network. At the heart of our future EV line-up, this technology will deliver a thrilling driving experience to our customers aspiring to go-green. Rigorously tested across 1 million kms, ZIPTRON technology is well proven, advanced and reliable. With this technology, we hope to usher in a new wave of eMobility in India and accelerate faster adoption of EVs, supporting the Government’s vision.”

ZIPTRON Technology
ZIPTRON technology comprises of a highly efficient permanent magnet AC motor providing superior performance on demand. It also offers best in industry dust and water proof battery system meeting IP67 standards. Further, ZIPTROP utilizes smart regenerative braking to charge the battery while on the drive.

ZIPTRON Freedom 2.0
With the launch of ZIPTRON, Tata Motors also rolled out the ZIPTRON Freedom 2.0 campaign. This campaign aims at highlighting how this technology breaks existing barriers and provides freedom from pollution, addresses range anxiety, and offers electrifying driving performance.

Toyota Kirloskar Invests in a Better Future of Primary Healthcare in Rural Karnataka

Key Highlights

TKM upgrades the Primary Healthcare Centre at Byramangala with state-of-the art medical equipment and improved healthcare services benefitting over  20,000 patients
TKM also installed an advanced Water purification unit offering clean drinking water to local community at Byramangala and also cater to medical purposes
The new Primary Healthcare Centre is now equipped with 26 diagnostic units essential to provide  primary health care services  like medical gas pipeline system, autoclave, OT table & OT lights , Ambu bag, nebulizers, ECG machine etc.

In line with its mission to strengthen the healthcare infrastructure of the local communities, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, today, inaugurated the Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) at Byramangala upgraded with state-of-the art medical equipment and advanced healthcare services to benefit the residents in the community of Byramangala. The refurbished PHC was inaugurated by Mr. A Manjunath, Hon’ble MLA, Magadi Constituency along with other senior Government officials and senior management from Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Mr. Masakazu Yoshimura, Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Mr Shekar Viswanathan, Vice Chairman & Whole-time Director and Mr Naveen Soni, Vice President, Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

As part of the government-funded public health system, Primary Health Centre (PHC) are state- owned rural health care facilities in India.  The PHC at Byramangala was built by the community in 1983, in Ramanagara Taluka, about 40 kms from the city of Bangalore and over 2 kms from the Toyota Kirloskar Motor plant at Bidadi. Since its inception, the Primary Health Centre at Byramangala has been offering healthcare services to residents from 4 Gram Panchayats and 30 villages. However, due to its dilapidated condition, the centre was under-utilized and was not able to provide required facilities to the patients.  The Primary Healthcare Centre at Byramangala caters to the health needs of 20000 rural population. Currently, the no. of outpatients are 50-60/ day; Delivery cases are 3-4 /month and Day care 10-15/day. With the newly constructed upgraded facility 15% increase in number of patients is expected at the centre.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor took up this project, under its CSR initiative in 2018 and constructed 4908 sq. ft. of the building as per the guidelines specified by Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS), with an investment of over Rs. 35 million to upgrade the centre and equip it with the best healthcare facilities. This upgradation of the health centre will benefit a larger number of patients in the community and help them avail advanced healthcare facilities at affordable cost.

The company also installed an advanced water purification unit at the Healthcare Centre premises bringing clean drinking water to the community. The newly-installed water purification unit not only caters to the general public for domestic purposes, but also to the ailing patients whose water requirements are more specific to medical needs for healthy recovery and prevention of possible water borne diseases. With this initiative, Toyota has been able to effectively support the affordability of required quantity & quality of water by contributing towards reduction of 92% of the total cost for such water being sourced through other vendors. Toyota installed water purification unit has four differential dispensing modes to achieve right use of such economical water source ensuring no water loss, negative ion water for medical purposes and high standard water for domestic use.

Addressing the inaugural function, Mr. A Manjunath, Hon'ble MLA, Magadi Constituency says, “We are thankful to Toyota Kirloskar Motor for extending the support in addressing the gap of quality healthcare services in local community. The dedicated support from the team at TKM and their investment will help us cater to the healthcare requirements and build a sustainable community here. The private sector has emerged as a vibrant force in India's healthcare industry, lending support in terms of providing quality healthcare infrastructure and skilled medical professionals.

We are happy that the community members of Byramangala and nearby region will be able to avail quality healthcare facilities, which will further help in reducing the health ailments in the region. The government authorities have been working tirelessly to ensure accessibility to quality healthcare systems across the region.”

Inaugurating the upgraded Primary Healthcare Centre, Mr. Masakazu Yoshimura, Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “It is very rightly said that Good Health is true wealth. Accessibility to proper healthcare facilities and lack of basic primary healthcare infrastructure have been a challenge for the rural community in India.  However, the condition is improving now with dedicated intervention from Government in improving public healthcare services. We are glad to have undertaken such initiative under CSR to reconstruct the Primary Healthcare Centre and install advanced water purification unit at Byramangala. This upgraded PHC will prove to be a benchmark for other PHC in local communities in rural Karnataka.  We will continue to extend the necessary support to further enhance the healthcare infrastructure in villages.  With this new PHC, we are confident that we will be able to offer advanced healthcare services to more rural population at an affordable cost. We are indebted to all the community members for their support in this endeavor.”

As part of Toyota’s CSR intervention, so far, the company has installed a total of 37 water units since 2012 [one in Varanasi, one in Vaishali and remaining are spread across Bangalore, Mandya and Ramanagara dist.] catering to around 6000 beneficiaries per unit. Toyota has recently initiated school health programme to address the malnutrition, anaemia and eye problems of government school children in Ramnagara district. In this project, TKM is aiming to cover 10,000 school children.

Toyota remains committed to bring in more enriching and sustainable CSR projects for the holistic development of the community members. Thus, effectively contributing to the underlying cause of positive societal development and bring in a change towards transformation of the larger community.
Overview of TKM
Company name Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited
Equity participation TMC: 89%, Kirloskar Systems Limited (Mr. Vikram S. Kirloskar): 11%
Number of employees Approx. 6,500
Land area Approx. 432 acres (approx.1,700,000 m2)
Building area 74,000 m2
Total Installed Production capacity Upto 3,10,000 units

Overview of TKM 1st Plant:
Established October 1997 (start of production: December 1999)
Location Bidadi
Products Innova, Fortuner manufactured in India.
Prado, Land Cruiser and Prius imported as CBUs.
Installed Production capacity Upto 1,00,000 units

MulticoreWare Joins Forces with Uhnder to Help Accelerate Automotive Radar Development for Use in Autonomy and Mobility


MulticoreWare Inc. revealed today that it has a broad collaboration with Uhnder to help drive both software and hardware development of Uhnder’s radar technology. This collaboration entails MulticoreWare operating offshore development centers (ODC) for Uhnder and working with Uhnder and its customers on radar related development and support.

Uhnder is developing the first digital automotive Radar-on-Chip (RoC). The Uhnder RoC operates at 76-81 GHz and uses Digital Code Modulation (DCM) that offers 4D High Contrast Resolution (HCR), which delivers range and accuracy not possible with other solutions currently on the market.

MulticoreWare offers development, porting and optimization of computation intensive algorithms running on Multicore CPUs (Central Processing Unit), DSPs (Digital Signal Processing) and GPUs (Graphical Processing Unit). The Uhnder ODC at MulticoreWare continues to hire dedicated engineers for Uhnder to perform chip development, DSP software development, algorithm development and testing associated with the Uhnder Radar-on-Chip.

“Because of MulticoreWare’s flexibility and agility, plus their ability to quickly scale, we’re able to work with them on high-value projects that span the gamut from chip to hardware to software to testing.” said Manju Hegde, CEO and Cofounder of Uhnder,

MulticoreWare’s complementary ecosystem supports Uhnder’s activities across the board. In addition to the ODC operations, MulticoreWare has collaborated in several key product development efforts. MulticoreWare has a proven track record in object detection and tracking using radar data through traditional imaging algorithms and neural network based algorithms.

“Our team in India has delivered world class software solutions for video compression and Image processing use cases. As we scale, our current team, as well as new additions will have the opportunity to work on exciting frameworks for Sensor data processing frameworks and deep learning” said AGK Karunakaran, CEO and Cofounder of MulticoreWare, Inc.

Benjamin May, MulticoreWare’s Business Unit Head for Autonomous Vehicle and Automotive (AVA) said, “We are excited to support Uhnder and continue to augment their very talented engineering team long term as we scale together and bring on new customers”

Airtel Payments Bank Launches ‘Bharosa Savings Account’


Airtel Payments Bank announced the launch of its latest innovation - the Bharosa Savings Account, which has been designed to serve the unique needs of underbanked and unbanked customers and contribute to the government’s vision of financial inclusion.

Besides offering convenient banking services, Bharosa Savings Account offers free Personal Accident Insurance cover worth Rupees Five Lakhs on maintaining abalance of just Rs 500 along with one debit transaction per month. Customers will be also eligible for cashback - if they decide to receive government subsidies in their Bharosa Account or if they make cash deposits in it.

Bharosa has been designed on the basis of extensive market research. Through this innovative account construct, Airtel Payments Bank aims to create formal banking behaviours of usage and transactions through a bank account, all accessed through a point more close to the underserved.

Mr. Anubrata Biswas, MD & CEO, Airtel Payments Bank, said, “We are delighted to launch Bharosa Savings Account—a truly innovative, differentiated and relevant offering designed to address the needs of the financially underserved. This product stands apart in the Indian banking sector in being user-need focused, developed after months of extensive research, and designed to introduce millions of consumers to formal banking. It is an important addition to our existing bouquet of easy, accessible and convenient banking solutions that are aimed at serving Government of India’s vision of financial inclusion.”

The benefits of this product will be further amplified through a structured roadway for phased introduction of other features linked to formal banking. To begin with, this product is available at over a quarter million banking points. Bharosa Savings Account customers can also withdraw cash, check their balance or access a mini statement of their account at over 6,50,000 AePS enabled outlets across India.

Airtel Payments Bank was the first payments bank to launch operations in India. It offers convenient digital banking services to customers through a network of 500,000 neighbourhood banking points spread across the 29 states of India. 

Mr. Anubrata Biswas, MD & CEO, Airtel Payments Bank, said, “We are delighted to launch Bharosa Savings Account—a truly innovative, differentiated and relevant offering designed to address the needs of the financially underserved. This product stands apart in the Indian banking sector in being user-need focused, developed after months of extensive research, and designed to introduce millions of consumers to formal banking. It is an important addition to our existing bouquet of easy, accessible and convenient banking solutions that are aimed at serving Government of India’s vision of financial inclusion.”

The benefits of this product will be further amplified through a structured roadway for phased introduction of other features linked to formal banking. To begin with, this product is available at over a quarter million banking points. Bharosa Savings Account customers can also withdraw cash, check their balance or access a mini statement of their account at over 6,50,000 AePS enabled outlets across India.

Airtel Payments Bank was the first payments bank to launch operations in India. It offers convenient digital banking services to customers through a network of 500,000 neighbourhood banking points spread across the 29 states of India. 

Best Career Options for Tech-Driven Individuals

India is a fast-emerging behemoth in the international scenario. The rapidly digitizing nation is home to more than 1.36 billion people, or about one-fifth of the global population. Out of this, 27% of people fall within the age bracket of 0-14 years and 10-24 years each according to a recent UN report. Simply put, more than half of the country’s population is aged less than 25.

This young, rich, and dynamic human capital has become a boon in disguise for the country. At present, the entire global market is experiencing a paradigm change with the ever-increasing influx of digital technologies. This development has opened new avenues for India’s tech-driven individuals. They can carve a remarkable career for themselves both nationally and internationally, addressing the widening skill gap in various fields.

So, here are some of the best career options where the skill gap is massive and so is the scope of growth:

Cybersecurity: Simulated training through Cyber Range

Cybersecurity is currently one of the most promising careers with international exposure. The industry is facing an acute shortage of skilled professionals. According to a recent research by ESG and ISSA, around three-fourth of the global organizations are impacted by the cybersecurity skills shortage. This presents a brilliant prospect to tech-driven professionals in India to seize the opportunity. However, the field itself is quite dynamic and continues to become more so with the rise of embryonic technologies in the global IT infrastructure. This is where simulated training approaches like Cyber Range, such as the tech solution provided by Cyberbit, are bringing about a sizeable difference.

It is enabling the industry go beyond ‘Baptism by Fire’ approach and ensure that the in-house SOC of an organization is well-prepared for all impending threats. Similarly, the solution is being deployed to educational institutions, thereby preparing the upcoming industry professionals with up-to-date first-hand knowledge and training.

Data Analytics: The Growing Power of Data-led Approach

As they say, data has now become the new oil. To bring things into perspective, the generated data will reach 44 zettabytes and by 2025, we will be generating 463 exabytes in a day – which is equivalent to 212 DVDs in a day. This exponential growth of data is enabling organizations to make informed decisions and bring greater efficiency to across-the-board processes. The Big Data industry itself is expected to become worth $40.6 billion by 2023, growing more than four-fold from its market size of $8.5 billion in 2017. The swiftly evolving market has a lot of opportunities for Indian tech-driven individuals. So, data analytics is a field that one must look forward to.

However, it is not easy to organize this exponentially increasing data and understand its relevance. Some unconventional approaches, such as ‘’Qlik Academic Program,’’ are bringing about positive changes. The free-to-use online program aligns well with the concepts of data mining, database management, and programming on an academic level. Qlik also offers product-agnostic Data Literacy and Data Analytics Certifications. Same goes for online platforms such as SkillUp Online and its certified courses on data science. They are helping India’s youth and professionals to be job-ready, equipped with essential skills in advanced analytics and data literacy.

Education: Shaping the beautiful minds of India

India’s human capital cannot be optimally tapped without bringing about positive changes in the field of education. According to a UNESCO UIS report, 69 million teachers will be required only for achieving universal primary and secondary education by 2030. Out of this, 3 million recruitments will have to be done in India. A similar demand will be experienced in the higher education. Thankfully, we have the opportunity to train our own young minds – as well as that of other countries – for the futuristic world that we’re about to step in. However, a strong interdisciplinary academic foundation needs to be laid in order to do so. This is where certain tech-driven approaches, such as ONVU Learning, are adding value to overall ecosystem.

Using its lesson observation and teacher reflection, the AI-driven surveillance solutions provider extends unique learning and teaching aids for a classroom, enabling educators to drive an all-round academic progression of their each and every student. The approach builds on 360o lesson recording which non-intrusively provides in-depth insights to an educator vis-à-vis their individual training methodology, classroom practice, and behaviours. With AI technology, it further paves the way for superior self-directed professional development of a teacher, which is otherwise not possible.

Marketing: Setting the Narratives Right

As the all-new digital market starts to shape up, there is a growing requirement of marketing professionals all across the globe. If you believe that you have the right marketing skills in you, now is the time for you to enter the field. Marketing itself is a broad field that has all-embracing dimensions that range from SEO and Social Media Marketing to Public Relations and Corporate Communication alongside others. There are several certified courses on every subset of marketing available online.

However, the sheer nature of the field also needs the convergence of all communications to collectively drive positive results. This is where solutions like LogMeIn, which creates meaningful interactions and drives better outcomes for both customers and businesses, are proving to be a game changer. Also, interaction and collaboration is a crucial element of marketing. So, the unified communication solutions provider, which envisions driving avant-garde technologies towards people with its simplistic solutions, enables marketers operating on multiple levels to join their forces with quick, easy, and data-driven communications. By doing so, they also drive superior personalization for their customers.

Today, India is at a crucial juncture. It must pre-emptively take calibrated measures to seize the global opportunity that currently prevails. This can only be done with the group effort of the government bodies, private organizations, and the people (including both current working professionals and the upcoming ones), thereby skyrocketing India in the ripe global digital market.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Zendesk to Further Expand its Singapore Product and Engg Teams


Zendesk, Inc., a San Francisco-headquartered customer experience and engagement software company, has solidified its position as one of Asia Pacific’s (APAC) fastest-growing technology companies with the expansion of its Singapore office. Today, the company announced that in partnership with the Economic Development Board (EDB) it will invest in and develop local talent that will see its product development and engineering team double over the next three years.

Zendesk established its footprint in Singapore by acquiring Zopim Technologies in April 2014 to expand the company’s chat capabilities. Since then, its business in the region has grown rapidly, with over 30 percent year-on-year growth. APAC now contributes more than 10 percent of the company’s global revenue, and the expanded regional hub is a key factor in Zendesk reaching its goal of being a billion dollar company by 2020.

Currently, the Singapore product and engineering teams lead the end-to-end development responsibilities for Zendesk Chat. The team is also a key component to the company’s successful globally distributed development model, working closely with Zendesk’s product and engineering teams in San Francisco and Dublin, as well as supporting teams in Copenhagen, Melbourne and Montpellier.

The partnership with EDB will help expand the team’s scope into new initiatives, including some of the company’s recent announcements, such as the launch of its open and flexible CRM platform Zendesk Sunshine; the acquisition of Smooch; and WhatsApp for Zendesk, a new WhatsApp Business API connector. It also firmly positions Zendesk’s Singapore office to play a larger role in driving global innovation that will further impact the company’s growth momentum.

Some of the roles Zendesk will be looking to hire as part of the partnership with EDB include software engineers, product managers, devops engineers, security engineers, user experience researchers, and program managers, supporting the nation’s commitment to bridging the tech talent gap.

Kiren Kumar, Chief Digital Industry Officer, Digital Industry Singapore, said, “Zendesk has become a strong partner to Singapore, having set up a world-class product development and engineering team here. This investment reflects Zendesk’s continued and long term commitment to Singapore, in growing a strong pool of digital and tech talent and providing exciting job opportunities for Singaporeans. This expansion is also timely given the explosive growth and strong market potential of the Asian and Southeast Asian markets.”

Sandie Overtveld, Vice President APAC, Zendesk, said, “A growth in digitally-savvy customers has changed APAC’s consumer landscape, and companies in Singapore have recognised the need to better meet customer expectations with more seamless and personalised experiences. Expanding our capabilities in the region allows us to leverage both local and regional talent, as well as deepen our relationships with regional customers - such as Grab, Circles.Life, NTUC FairPrice, and StashAway - to continue developing solutions that are closely aligned to their needs."

Abhishek Deshmukh, Managing Director of Singapore and Vice President of Engineering, Zendesk, said, “The products and solutions we develop in Singapore are used by brands in more than 160 markets, in 60 different languages, and by more than 1 million customer support agents everyday. The partnership with EDB builds on the commitment we made two years ago, and will further enable us to tap into and invest in Singapore’s world-class engineering talent, and explore opportunities to partner with education and research institutions across the region to complement our focus on global product innovation.”

Zendesk’s newly-expanded Singapore office, located in Marina One and spread across 50,000 square feet, will be the company’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified office, as well as one of the first companies to be WELL certified in Southeast Asia.

The partnership with EDB also supports Zendesk’s commitment to creating great places to work, providing talent with a world-class environment and resources to develop and expand employees’ knowledge and technical capabilities. 

Shine.com Adds IT Service Firm Fujitsu Consulting India to its Portfolio


Shine.com, India’s 2nd largest job search portal has been making significant waves in the country’s recruitment space. Adding another feather to its cap, the fastest-growing job portal has brought onboard the world’s 7th largest IT services company, Fujitsu Consulting India, to its client base. With this, Fujitsu will leverage Shine.com’s active candidate database of over 80 lakh job seekers, approximately 30% of which are unique to the cutting-edge job search platform.

Since Fujitsu was formed in 1935, it has been working with people and organizations around the world to shape the future of society. People join Fujitsu because they share Fujitsu’s passion about Human Centric Innovation and Digital Co-creation. Fujitsu aims to harness the talent of all our current and prospective employees to be able to make a difference and create an exciting future for all.

While Fujitsu has already been working to strengthen its workforce, the company is now looking to move beyond –portal model to cast a wider net and hire from a more diverse candidate pool. Commenting on the development, Zairus Master, CEO, Shine.com, said, “Post augmenting our tech stack to deliver better hiring outcomes for organizations, we have been eyeing robust expansion in our client base. This is why we are thrilled to bring on board an industry-leading organization such as Fujitsu Consulting India. Together with Fujitsu’s highly qualified HR team, we will scope out the most suitable talent to accelerate the company’s progression on its growth trajectory.”

Sumit Sabharwal, Director HR – Fujitsu Consulting India, added, “At Fujitsu, we have been looking to recruit from a wider candidate pool to create a truly diverse team with multifaceted skillsets. To that end, we are aiming to attract and hire more individuals with 3-5 years of experience. Shine.com makes the right fit for Fujitsu Consulting India. The social media voice of the platform is more in sync with today’s need, which will definitely help us gain access to this fresh and driven group of individuals.”

Shine.com leverages technology to deliver seamless hiring experiences for recruiters and candidates. As the second-largest job search platform in the country, Shine.com possesses a unique, granular understanding of niche jobs in every industry. With enhanced job-candidate matching capabilities, it allows candidates to match with the most relevant recruiters and vice versa.

Mindtree Launches Blockchain-Powered Merchant On-Boarding Solution for Banks


Mindtree, a global technology services and digital transformation company, has announced the release of its Merchant On-Boarding solution for acquirer banks and payment service providers. It uses Hyperledger fabric Blockchain technology to enable these financial institutions that facilitate credit card or debit payments to more quickly, seamlessly and securely onboard merchants as customers. Mindtree will debut its Merchant On-Boarding solution at PayThink 2019 on September 18-21, 2019 in Los Angeles, CA.

Acquirer banks and payment service providers need to quickly onboard new merchants as customers so that they can increase the volume of transactions they process and grow their business. However, on-boarding questionable merchants that authorize fraudulent transactions results in charges and losses that impact the bottom line. These institutions urgently need technologies that can mitigate risk and help them comply with regulations such as anti-money laundering, Know Your Customer and Know Your Customer’s Customer.

On-boarding merchants is a complex and risk-prone process, involving significant due diligence checks and third party verification to ensure merchants aren’t involved in fraud. Mindtree’s solution is architected to simplify and streamline this process using Blockchain technology. The automated process also helps reduce operational costs and improves quality control using standardized global best practices.

Mindtree’s Merchant On-boarding solution is developed on a Hyperledger fabric channel – which is a private distributed ledger framework for communication between members for all merchants that ensures secure and private sharing of document approval and information between all dependent stakeholders. Blockchain offers capabilities to enable transactions to be authenticated and authorized, securely and transparently. This ensures that data is transmitted within a secure network and accelerates information sharing across all parties, ensuring data is protected.

“Financial institutions that process merchant transactions need to strike a balance between growing their customer base and preventing fraudulent transactions,” said Manas Chakraborty, global head of Banking, Financial Services and Insurance for Mindtree. “Both acquirer banks and merchants are frustrated with the on-boarding process and want more transparency, more speed, and less time and effort. Blockchain offers an exciting opportunity to eliminate complexity. Mindtree’s Merchant On-Boarding solution eliminates the need for third-party verification each time a merchant is onboarded and provides merchants with more insight into the process than ever before.”

Pune’s First ‘Mind Mastery For Traders’ Workshop Receives Encouraging Response


Mind Mastery for Traders workshop organized by Aarya Consulting has received a tremendous response from a packed audience of stock traders across the Pune City.

The potential audience gathered to hear from a prominent stock trader and founder of Aarya Consulting, Mr Shailesh Mamidwar, followed by a guest speaker – Mr. Anand Kulkarni, Psychologist and Corporate trainer, about the importance of positive thinking and a disciplined trading mindset at The E Square Hotel at University Road.

What is the optimal trading mindset? How do traders train the mind to reach a zen-like state when committing to trading in a volatile market – and inadvertently walk away with returns that forward their goals? These are just some of the questions that were covered at the one-day Mind Mastery For Traders workshop organized by Aarya Consulting as a part of the A Trader Within program, covering the psychological aspects of stock trading.

Not every stock trader is able to reach their full inner potential when trading. The A Trader Within workshop covered extensively, the decision making, the psychology of trading and adapting mindsets to the market so that financial goals can be identified, targeted and achieved.

“I got a lot of insights on trading and the mindset related to it, which are not provided by any other trading institutes that I have come across so far.” Says Amol Fadtare, an active stock trader from Pune.

Lack of discipline, impatience, controlling fear on entry, greed and knowing when to stop losses were just a few of the topics that the program’s eminent and proven traders spoke extensively about. Mr. Shailesh also shared one simple trading strategy - Torbit, which works very well if a trader has patience and discipline. The goal of the program was to expand the knowledge of the traders who profited through simple mind exercises, analytics, control techniques, and introspective thinking that helps uncover the secrets that the world’s most experienced stock traders have closely guarded. If you feel you’ve missed out on this grand opportunity you can still catch a glimpse of the workshop on Aarya Consulting’s official Facebook handle.

The program received extensive media coverage from national publishers for its holistic approach and was enthusiastically attended by a select crowd of progressive stock traders from Pune.

Vineet, A professiobal NSE Stock trader says, the workshop not only talks about how you can have effective trading skills but it also talks about your mindset

Mind Mastery For Traders is an extensive program by Aarya Consulting’s founder and mainstay, Mr. Shailesh Mamidwar and Mr. Anand Kulkarni – who are a proponent of deciphering and propagating the skills and mindset necessary for massive trading success.

#AdvantageGaming – ACT Fibernet Launches New Gaming Pack Subscription for Gaming Customers


ACT Fibernet, India’s largest fiber-focused wired broadband ISP (Internet Service Provider), today announced the launch of special ‘Gaming Packs’ for customers. As part of the company’s brand philosophy “Feel the Advantage”, ACT Fibernet with the new offering aims to delight gaming enthusiasts with superior gaming experience through incredibly fast internet speed, optimized routing that delivers low pings and superior network infrastructure that reduces packet losses and jitters.

The Gaming pack is a subscription service for gamers that will be made available in two variants – A-Game Basic(monthly) and A Game Ultra (6 month variant) and is built with many first-to-India features.

Speed on Demand – Launching for the first time in India –gaming pack subscribers can improve their plan speed on demand through their “SpeedBoost” feature. This feature when activated by the customer through the ACT Application or Website, will boost his speeds to 300 Mbps in instantly that will enable downloading large gaming updates or multiplayer gaming with friends among others.

Data Boost – To ensure that gamers and streamers always have sufficient data when downloading gaming updates or live streaming, gaming pack subscribers will get additional data of 200 GB/ month on A-Game Basic pack and 1800 GB added one-time with a validity of 6 months for A-Game Ultra pack

Partner Benefits – To enable the best gaming experience for its subscribers, ACT is bringing attractive offers across gaming eco system via gaming partners - Zotac Gaming for Gaming GPUs, Western Digital for gaming Storage devices, Games the shop for discounts on FIFA 20, Marvels Avengers, Cyber Punk 2077 etc, Western Digital among others. (Details below)

In-game rewards – Another first in India, ACT Fibernet is tying up with gaming publishers to offer special in-game benefits such as faster level ups, performance boosts, access to higher skill levels, discounted purchases from publishers upon signing up via the gaming pack. (Details below)

The Gaming Pack will be available beginning 18 September 2019 across all the cities ACT Fibernet has presence in. A- Game Basic will be available to users at Rs.500 + GST and A-Game Ultra comes at price of Rs.2000+GST.

ACT Fibernet – World of Warship Partnership

In conjunction to the company’s new offering, ACT Fibernet has partnered with Wargaming, a Cyprus-based gaming powerhouse to launch the World of Warship title for the first time in India.

Wargaming has over 200 million registered users and is a pioneer in Free-To-Play industry with over 50 industry awards. Wargaming is now bringing World of Warships to India with ACT Fibernet.

ACT Fibernet has worked closely with Wargaming to bring exclusive in-game rewards, skills and level-ups, that will delight gamers as part of its World of Warships launch in India. ACT Fibernet has also worked closely with World of Warships to optimize routing to World of Warship servers to provide best gaming experience on ACT Fibernet network. Additionally, for the first time, World of Warships has designed and incorporated exclusive ACT Fibernet branded camouflages that will be available for gamers to use in their gameplay. Other gaming pack benefits within the World of Warships game includes exclusive ACT Fibernet branded containers, flags, patches and customizations, in-game credits, doubloons and other discounts.

Speaking on the partnership, Ravi Karthik, Head of Marketing, Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd said, “ACT Fibernet is known to provide the best gaming experience with high speeds, low latency and negligible packet losses. With the gaming industry in India now beginning to grow we believe our proposition of a gaming pack puts together in one place what the customer wants – speeds, data, low pings, in game benefits and offers will meet the needs of gamers and enable a delightful gaming experience”.

We are extremely excited to partner with World of Warships for their India launch. The rich multi-player experience with strategies and quasi real battles provide for great gaming experience which can be enjoyed by diverse age groups. Together we will work to build gaming in India and World of warships to a huge success” he further added.”

Commenting on the association, Victor Bardovsky, Global Publishing Director for World of Warships, Wargaming said, “We are very pleased that from now on Indian gamers will get to enjoy even better and richer World of Warships experience. As one of the leading free-to-play games, we knew the potential and challenges of the local market, therefore we recognized ACT Fibernet as a reliable partner who understands the growing needs of Indian gaming audience. By working together and sharing our experiences, we hope to spread the passion for naval history among players in India, one of the leading naval powers of the modern age.”

Toyota Flags Off the Five Continents Car Drive in India


With a Promise to make Ever-better Cars Together – for Today and Tomorrow, the 5 Continents Drive embarks on its journey in India

* With a quest to discover real India & in-line with Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s commitment to create ever-better cars, the 5 Continent Drive promises to provide valuable insights pertaining to the Indian customer’s needs
* As part of its India leg, the convoy to drive through the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and conclude in New Delhi before the team and driving goes on to other Asian legs
* In February 2019, Toyota embarked on its sixth and final leg of the project in Asia starting from Middle East

Commemorating the illustrious journey of two decades of Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) in India, the 5 Continents Drive embarked on its journey in India, with a promise to make ever-better cars together – For Today and Tomorrow. The 5 Continents Drive is a ‘Genchi Genbutsu’ project (where employees go to the source to get the facts) carried out under the umbrella of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing.

Launched in Australia in 2014, so far, the 5 Continents Drive project has covered four of the world’s continents and moved to Asia for its final stage, earlier this year. As part of the project, Toyota employees drive vehicles under various conditions of the 5 continents: Australia, America (North & Latin), Europe, Africa and Asia through 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, representing the five rings in the Olympic symbol.

The 5 Continent Drive flag-off ceremony took place at Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s plant at Bidadi in Karnataka. The drive was flagged-off by chief-guests, Mr. Yoichi Minamiyama- General Manager, GAZOO Racing Company, Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), Mr. Atsuhiro Okamoto- Executive Vice President, Toyota Motor Asia Pacific (TMAP), along with Mr. Masakazu Yoshimura- Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), and Mr. N.  Raja- Deputy Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), amidst other dignitaries.

From Bangalore, the convoy with employees from TMC & TKM along with its partners, will travel through the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan, and reach its destination - New Delhi, where the drive will culminate late September, 2019. The convoy will be driving Toyota vehicles from the company’s existing model line-up in India.

Speaking on the launch of the project in India, Mr. Yoichi Minamiyama, General Manager, GAZOO Racing Company, TMC said, “TOYOTA GAZOO Racing firmly believes that, ‘On the road we learn how to make ever-better cars.’ 5 Continents Drive Project was formulated to put this maxim to the test. Driven by the philosophy of ‘Genchi Genbutsu’, this project enables us to go behind the wheels under harsh road conditions to gain experience and knowledge of the world's roads, listen to customer feedback, encounter global cultures first-hand, and together find solutions to numerous problems and challenges. Such experiences further empower us to hone our intuition for making ever-better cars in a manner that cannot be replicated at a desk or on test courses, and thereby contribute to the development of human resources.

Since the launch of the 5 Continent Drive Project in 2014, around 520 participants have travelled across continents to take back learnings from the roads to each workplace, in each area, breaking down corporate walls, and learning from the roads. With the commencement of our journey In India, we look forward to understanding the characteristics of the Indian roads and the challenges that will come along with it,” he continued.

Also speaking at the occasion, Mr. Atsuhiro Okamoto, Executive Vice President, TMAP said, “India is a very important market for Toyota and it is with this intent that we wanted to begin the second leg of the 5 Continents Asia Drive in India. Asia is the last stage of Toyota 5 Continents Drive Project. In February 2019, the team embarked to its starting point: the Middle East. Continuing on, the teams will drive east through Asia covering countries like Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and culminating in Vietnam by November 2019.

What makes our India journey even more special is besides Toyota employees, members from Suzuki Motor Corporation/MSIL will also participate in our quest to discover the real India. Furthermore, the core of the Toyota 5 Continents Drive is reflecting and embodying Toyota’s global corporate initiative ‘Start Your Impossible’ which aims to inspire people, including our employees and stand against challenges and the impossible. We look forward to a fruitful drive in India and wish the team the very best in this journey”, he concluded.

Welcoming the 5 Continents Drive Project team to India, Mr. Masakazu Yoshimura, Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “All through our journey of two decades in India, it has been our constant endeavor to achieve sustainable growth for our business,  employees and our partners. We have always challenged ourselves to create new ways to connect and serve our customers. We believe this project will play an instrumental role in the overall development of our human resources providing them with the knowledge and skill to serve our customers in a better way.

With the philosophy of ‘Roads train people & people build cars’, the 5 Continents Drive convoy will be driving across India’s diverse locations, listening to customer feedback, understanding the nature of roads, reviewing our vehicle standards,  recognizing the value of reliability,  durability & comfort, acquiring the knowledge through ‘Genchi Genbutsu’ & thereby continue making ever better cars in India”.

Further sharing his thoughts on the project and what it means to Toyota in India, Mr. N. Raja, Deputy Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “Toyota Kirloskar Motor always looks at adding value and fostering customer experience to newer heights through its renowned QDR (Quality, Durability and Reliability) philosophy and this project is a step closer towards achieving our goal of delivering ever-better cars and catering to the ever-evolving needs of our customers. The learning garnered through this project will help us strengthen our current offerings and provide future-ready solutions. We are delighted to welcome the 5 Continents Drive Project to India as this project will not only enable Toyota engineers to understand our country better but will also give an opportunity to our dealers and customers in India to interact with them. We would like to thank the team for this opportunity and wish them the very best for the drive”.

In this project, Toyota aims to not only develop employees who are behind the wheel but also inspire its partners and other internal & external stakeholders. The driving teams will share their knowledge acquired with other employees through internal reports once the Asia leg of the drive is over.

Mindtree Develops New Container Acceleration Service Enabling Faster Deployment of Cloud Applications


Mindtree, a global technology services and digital transformation company, announced a new service, InnoApp for Kubernetes, enabling enterprises to deploy containerized cloud applications on Microsoft Azure, accelerating application setup and innovation. The service utilizes Kubernetes, the open source architecture for automating deployment and management of containerized applications.

Containers and container orchestration are one of the most preferred ways of designing and deploying cloud native workloads, be it application transformation based on micro services, data transformation, intelligence-based services, among others. One of the biggest challenges that architects and developers face are the governance issues around architecture, operations, policies and security.

Mindtree’s new InnoApp for Kubernetes service greatly simplifies the process for clients to launch containerized application workloads on Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service. The underlying platform for InnoApp for Kubernetes provides ready to use, industry proven infrastructure-as-code templates to accelerate app modernization for enterprises.

Key components of the service include:

·         Scanning of application code to access cloud readiness, giving insights into which legacy applications can be updated.
·         Provisioning and setup of Kubernetes clusters on Azure with analytics and logging features, automating these processes to add more efficiency.
·         Configuration of a DevOps pipeline that simplifies app deployment and configuration changes.
·         Setup of governance and security policy engines to monitor applications running on Azure Kubernetes Service, ensuring that organizations meet guidelines for risk mitigation and compliance obligations.

Mindtree has also joined the Azure Kubernetes Service program. Mindtree offers its enterprise customers specialized expertise and experience with large-scale client work within the open source modernization ecosystem. The Azure Kubernetes Service program is also part of the new Azure Advanced Specialization Competencies announced at Microsoft Inspire 2019.

“Many of our enterprise customers approach their digital transformation, planning and modernization for key applications in a modern, cloud-native way where containers are a foundation,” said Manoj Karanth, Global Head of Cloud at Mindtree. “They’re interested in the potential for orchestration engines like Kubernetes to help accelerate application development while handling the compliance and security aspects. As cloud platforms are evolving, InnoApp for Kubernetes provides the pathway to help clients accelerate their multi-cloud container strategy using the Azure platform.”

Gabe Monroy, partner program manager, Azure Container Compute at Microsoft Corp. said, “Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service is the next wave of application suite modernization and an important initiative for Microsoft. Customers look to Azure Kubernetes Service to help innovate current business processes, so we look for partners focused on digital transformation that are well-versed in all things Microsoft. We’re pleased to see Mindtree continue with its commitment to providing solutions on today’s latest technologies.”

Clients using InnoApp for Kubernetes can take advantage of Mindtree’s deep expertise in application modernization with its large client base. Mindtree has micro-service experience across several industries, including global travel, hospitality, insurance, manufacturing, retail and finance.

Mindtree experts will attend the Microsoft Digital Transformation Academy September 17-21 in Las Vegas, NV to discuss the service with Microsoft’s U.S. field selling and channel teams.

KITABAY & KOFFEE, Bengaluru’s Book Fair Opens at NGV Club, Koramangala, Sept 19–22


KITABAY & KOFFEE, an upcoming book & coffee event will see visitors enjoying a bulk sale of over 90,000 books along with a variety of freshly brewed South Indian coffee at NGV Club, Koramangala, Bengaluru from 19th – 22nd September 2019 from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm. It’s an opportunity for all readers & caffeine lovers to experience the remarkable amalgamation of books & coffee at one place.

This unique book fair, organized by KITABAY.COM, is the brainchild of Mr. Saurabh Sinha, a Jaipur based entrepreneur who after completing his engineering in Computer Science from Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore in the year 2016 worked with an IT Multinational Company & an Insurance Company. His vision is to provide an online platform which understands the reader’s demands, expectations and provides the finest selection of books at the most affordable prices.

KITABAY & KOFFEE will display over 90,000 new & pre-loved books in over 20 genres to choose from and fit as many books as they can into a box of their choice. It’s a one - time payment of a box where the buyer has the opportunity to pack the maximum number of books into the box of their selection. The individual can choose from 3 different sized boxes at the event.

*      The small box has a min. capacity of 10-12 books at Rs. 999
*      The medium box has a min. capacity of 15-18 books at Rs. 1499
*      The large box has a min. capacity of 30-33 books at Rs. 2499

Some of the finest coffees from the coffee abodes of South India sourced from 100% organic farms will also be available.

Interior Tech Startup Indyro Global Launches ‘POWER PLUS’ Tracks, Wireless Sockets and Switches


Indyro Global, India’s first player in the brand new field of Interior Technology, recently announced the launch of its first and flagship product ‘POWER PLUS.’ The start-up which aims at completely revolutionizing the way we understand power consumption, has introduced the latest product that incorporates a power track which can go up to 6 ft in length, universally adaptive sockets of different amperage, socket enhancer accessories such as LAN adapter etc. The power track can support a load of 5kW and up to 25-30 devices can be connected at a time!

So what exactly is the POWER PLUS?

Moving beyond the limitations of a wall-fixed power outlet, POWER PLUS is the first flexible power outlet system to be introduced in India. It is essentially a long ‘power railway line’ of sorts, which can easily fit along the walls of a space or table skirting and allow users to plug in their devices from wherever they are. The sockets offered by Indyro are universally adaptable, which gets rid of the problem of non-compatibility. Furthermore, the accessories help add multiple utilities to the sockets, which can easily serve as a Wi-Fi adapter or can connect to a LAN cable, adapting to the needs of corporate spaces easily.

Commenting on the innovation the company is aiming to introduce and inculcate, Rohan Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, Indyro Global said, “The 21st century is device-driven, and the restrictions imposed by wall-fixed power outlets are not acceptable anymore. Indyro’s POWER PLUS has been developed after 4 years of extensive research in the interior technology domain to identify the perfect way to optimize the way we access power. Gradually, POWER PLUS has the potential to become the go-to framework in corporate offices, public facilities and residences considering the immense freedom and flexibility it offers. It has the potential to drive a complete behavioural change in the way we meet our power needs.”

One of the most important aspects of POWER PLUS is its easy-to-implement feature. POWER PLUS does not require any kind of re-wiring, breaking down walls or massive renovation work and can fit in smoothly within existing power structures. Thus, it serves as the perfect cost-saving option for dilapidated buildings, heritage structures or other facilities looking for a quick, long-term, innovative and efficient fix to their power framework. Furthermore, POWER PLUS has an element of aesthetic design involved as the sockets and the tracks can be lit according to the user’s preferences and can also be used as efficient advertising options. With POWER PLUS, Indyro has introduced the Interior Technology domain in India emphatically, and has the ability to change the ways in which we viewed the humble old power sockets, forever!

Pre-booking starts from September 29, 2019.

Amazon Original Series - The Family Man Releases September 20 on Amazon Prime Video

Key Highlights

~ Created by dynamic duo Raj & DK (Raj Nidimoru &Krishna DK), The Family Man is set to release on September 20, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video across 200 countries and territories.~

~ Family Man marks the digital debut of Padma Shri awardee and National Award winner - Manoj Bajpayee and stars award-wining talent from pan India, including National Award winner Priyamani, Sharib Hashmi, Neeraj Madhav, Sharad Kelkar, Gul Panag, Sundeep Kishan, Darshan Kumaar, Sunny Hinduja, and Shreya Dhanwantary

~An edgy drama-thriller, The Family Man is the story of Srikant Tiwari (Manoj Bajpayee) who is ‘a middle class guy but a world-class spy’.~

~Prime offers incredible value with unlimited streaming of the latest and exclusive movies, TV shows, stand-up comedy, Prime Original series, ad free music through Amazon Prime Music, free fast delivery on India’s largest selection of products, early access to top deals, unlimited reading with Prime Reading, all available only for ₹129 a month ~

The highly anticipated Amazon Original Series The Family Man, is set to make waves on Amazon Prime Video! Created by the award-winning duo Krishna D.K. and Raj Nidimoru (Stree, Go Goa Gone, Shor In The City), The Family Man is a ten episode series that will be available to stream exclusively on Amazon Prime Video across over 200 countries and territories. The Family man is an edgy drama-thriller series, which tells the story of a middle-class man who works for a special cell of the National Intelligence Agency. While he tries to protect the nation from terrorists, he also has to protect his family from the impact of his secretive, high-pressure, and low paying job. The highly anticipated series is brought to life by some of India’s award winning and highly acclaimed actors, Manoj Bajpayee, Priyamani, Sharib Hashmi, Sharad Khelkar, Neeraj Madhav, Gul Panag, Sundeep Kishan, Darshan Kumaar, Sunny Hinduja, Shreya Dhanwantary and others.

Jay Marine, Vice President - Amazon Prime Video, said “We are incredibly excited about the growth of Prime Video in India. One of the big drivers of our success in India is our Indian Amazon Originals and we are delighted that we will soon be launching our latest Amazon Original series - The Family Man. With a strong storyline, an all-star cast and incredible performances, the show is certain to find audience love not just in India but around the world.”

Vijay Subramaniam, Director and Head, Content, Amazon Prime Video India, said “With The Family Man, Amazon continues to bring distinctive and high quality storytelling to our audiences, reinforcing our commitment to being a home for talent, both in front of and behind the camera. The Family Man is a fast-paced drama-thriller that redefines mainstream viewing by bringing high-caliber creators such as Raj & DK along with an all-star cast including Manoj Bajpayee, Priyamani, Neeraj Madhav, Gul Panag, among others. The show seamlessly couples drama, action, thrill and surprisingly wry humor in a highly binge-worthy 10 episodes. Serious geo-politics forms the backdrop of the drama-thriller, taking The Family Man across the country, as he attempts to serve the nation. Viewers will also get deep insights into very relatable struggles of a Family Man, who attempts to balance both work and family.”

Raj & DK, Producers of the Amazon Original, The Family Man, through their production company, D2R Films said, “We have been wanting to get into long-form storytelling, and were waiting for the right platform. And we found an amazing partner in Amazon Prime! It has truly been a wonderful journey, the start of a new and exciting innings, creating our first show. With The Family Man, we tried a new genre and an approach both challenging and satisfying. We tried our take on geo-politics, blended it into an action-y thriller and added doses of quirky humour that is usually not associated with a serious genre like this. Loosely inspired by present-day events, it is a grounded take on the life of a middle-class guy who is also tasked with the job of fighting terrorism. The Family Man is an ode to the common man - his hopes, aspirations, responsibilities and troubles. In this case, he's also pretty screwed - balancing family and saving the country.”

Synopsis:

Amazon Original Series The Family Man follows the journey of Srikant Tiwari a middle class man who lives his faced paced life with his wife and children in Mumbai. Srikant spends most of his time attempting to strike a balance between the responsibilities of his family while working for a highly secretive special cell of the National Intelligence Agency, attempting to spot and prevent large-scale terror attacks on the country and its citizens. One day, while going about his domestic chores, Srikant Tiwari finds himself caught in a sudden case that demands his full attention which eventually throws his family life upside down.

Facebook: @FamilyManAmazon Twitter: #TheFamilyMan Instagram: familymanamazon

Amazon Prime Video has the largest selection of latest & exclusive movies and TV shows, stand-up comedy, biggest Indian and Hollywood films, US TV series, most popular Indian & international kids’ shows, and award-winning Amazon Prime Originals like Made in Heaven, MIrzapur, Breathe, amongst others all available, ad-free, with a world class customer experience. The service includes titles available in English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi and Bengali.

To watch the upcoming Amazon Original The Family Man and to catch-up on the super successful Season 1 as well as the newest releases in Hollywood & Bollywood, the latest US TV shows, kids’ favorite toons and other Amazon Originals, please visit www.PrimeVideo.com or download the Amazon Prime Video app today and sign-up for a Prime membership only at ₹999 annually or ₹129 monthly.

World’s Smartest Office Building Run on i-BEMS by L&T Tech Services


L&T Technology Services Limited, a global pure-play engineering services company, is pleased to announce the launch of the ‘Smartest Office Campus in the World’ in Israel by the world’s leading technology conglomerate, for which LTTS had been the technology partner throughout the course of the project.

The state-of-the-art building will redefine the future of work by enabling continuous and interconnected intelligent systems based on cutting-edge digital technologies such as IoT, Machine Learning and Predictive Asset Management.

The futuristic campus is being run on LTTS’ smart campus platform i-BEMS (Intelligent Building Experience Management System). i-BEMS is the backbone of the modern smart building. The ingenious system-of-systems facilitates the next level of personalized user and digital experience, occupant safety, air quality monitoring and predictive diagnostics using IoT.

Using i-BEMS, the smart office will help save energy and water while leveraging Machine Learning which will also address areas such as preferred working environment for the employees and their learning and development requirements.

The new office campus offers several unique features for building occupants and facility managers alike, not experienced before in any facility.

- Creating engaging User Experiences

o   Customized apps guide users across every aspect of their work life – from commuting for work to indoor navigation & positioning with easy way to find available meeting rooms, message board to share posts with colleagues, workplace services appointment bookings, food & dining experience with live service and dining occupancy, commute and parking experience with collaborated car pool services, gym services, desk finder and booking, and raising service requests. There are 100+ features accessible by users through a mobile app

o   First ever interactive digital signage screens across every floor of the building that provide occupants with live updates on all major activity in the building. This includes wayfinding, room availability, message board, workplace services & offerings,  food & dining menus with live service and dining occupancy, commute & ride with live traffic views, train & bus timings, car pool services, and many others

o   Occupants can also control the transparency of their window glasses to harvest daylight and maintain their privacy

All of these functionalities can be accessed physically and via the mobile app version in smartphones. LTTS designed the engaging User Interface and User Experience for both the integrated digital signage systems and mobile applications.

-          Benefits for Facility Managers

o   Over 20 systems are integrated with LTTS’ i-BEMS platform. Provides facility managers with a unified dashboard to monitor live system IoT device status, command center for digital signage systems, lighting, HVAC, energy usage, water, security and evacuations, among others

o   i-BEMS captures data from various building devices that helps facility managers with remote monitoring and troubleshooting

Ashish Khushu, Chief Technology Officer of L&T Technology Services said, “We are excited to contribute to the development of the next-generation campus through our i-BEMS framework and UI/UX methodologies that map users’ true needs and facilitate a wide array of customized offerings for the occupants. i-BEMS is seamlessly integrated with critical building parameters such as HVAC and lighting management among others that help in in conservation of energy and sustainable operations. Through this engagement with the world’s leading technology conglomerate, we are delighted to take the next big leap in smart campus experience management.”

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