“Karnataka Strongly Promotes Startups All Along,” Santosh Laad

Our government strongly promotes startups with technological expertise all along, and events such as India Gadgetz Expo (IGE) 2016 are the perfect place for all industry players to meet, said Santosh Laad, Labor Minister of Karnataka at the inauguration of the IGE 2016 at the KPTO, Whitefield near Bengaluru. Addressing the function, the minister stressed on platforms like IGE that are the perfect place for future innovations and investments in the industry and improves everyone’s daily lives.”

Since its successful debut in 2014, India Gadgetz Expo (IGE), India’s biggest consumer tech event, has become the single biggest consumer tech show in the country. Founded as an initiative to promote innovation and showcase futuristic technologies, IGE is a prime consumer tech event in India with participation and attendance from Indian and global brands and startups. Now, IGE is back for its 3^rd edition at the KTPO Exhibition Centre, Whitefield, Bengaluru from October 14-16, 2016. IGE 2016 promises to host a vast audience consisting of established industry leaders, hardware startups which are supported by the Government of Karnataka and the general public. The central theme of IGE 2016 is the “Future is Here”.

The inaugural ceremony was kicked off by delegates from the Government of Karnataka including  Santosh Laad -  Labor Minister of Karnataka,  Anil Laad -Karnataka Congress MLA,  R K Srivastava - Managing Director, KEONICS and Ajitabh M Jerath, Regional Director, Gionee. 

India Gadgetz Expo 2016:

There are more than 200 brands that will be participating at this year’s edition of IGE and keeping in line with the theme “Future is Here” they will be showcasing their latest technological innovations, revealing their new products and speaking about their involvement in the consumer tech space. With more than 85 exhibition stalls also planned out, industry watchers will get a hands-on chance to engage with the who’s who of the tech world. Some of the key brands that are expected at IGE 2016 are Gionee, Apple, Timex, Oppo, Intex, Lenovo, Epson, BSNL, Reliance Jio, Creative and many more.

Additionally, there are more than 60 hardware startup brands that are being supported by the Karnataka Government and will also be present at IGE 2016 to showcase their innovative products/services. The hardware startups are selected by Revvx Hardware Accelerator. These startups belong to varied industries such as Robotics, Automation, Electric Vehicles, Drone Manufacturers and many more.

Sanjivv Kumar, IGE Founder, said – “The 3^rd edition of IGE promises to be the biggest in the consumer tech space in India. Thanks to the enthusiasm and interest by so many well-known brands, the startup community and the Karnataka Government, we have been able to put together a fabulous lineup of exhibitors and panel discussions this year. There is something for everyone at IGE 2016, right from Virtual Reality to electric vehicles, and we are so excited to host this event for a wide range of audience from the tech industry.”

Insightful panel discussions with participation by some of the prominent industry personalities and thought leaders also promise to make IGE 2016 high eventful. With 11 panel discussions scheduled over the 3-day event, and participation by more than 50 industry leaders who will be sharing their experiences, data points and opinions about the most pertinent topics, IGE will be a vastly educational experience for everyone involved with the event. The panel discussions are planned around fascinating topics such as – Vehicle Technology, Women Leaders in Technology, Smart Cities in India, Growth Hacking and more.

Additionally, there is a 36-hour ‘Hackathon’ also scheduled for IGE 2016. Organized by HackMania, the hackathon received over 500 registrations based on which 300 of the best registrants were chosen based on their prior experience. The theme of the hackathon is ‘Social Innovation’ and the average age of the participants is 24 years. While they will be permitted to use a combination of hardware and software solutions for their innovations, they will also have 15-20 mentors who will be present to aid them. The winner of the hackathon will receive a cash prize of Rs. 1,00,000.

IGE 2016 also has in store the Inspiring Indian Innovation (I3) awards to recognize and honor excellence in the technology industry. These awards will look to highlight the Indian innovators who have made a mark in their respective domains, based on their creativity, design, product or impact.

VMware & AWS Announce “VMware Cloud on AWS” Hybrid Cloud Service

VMware and Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com company have announced a strategic alliance to build and deliver a seamlessly integrated hybrid offering that will give customers the full software-defined data center (SDDC) experience from the leader in the private cloud, running on the world’s most popular, trusted, and robust public cloud. VMware Cloud™ on AWS will enable customers to run applications across VMware vSphere®-based private, public, and hybrid cloud environments. Delivered, sold, and supported by VMware as an on-demand, elastically scalable service, VMware Cloud on AWS will allow VMware customers to use their existing. VMware software and tools to leverage AWS’s global footprint and breadth of services, including storage, databases, analytics and more. For more information on VMware Cloud on AWS, visit VMware Cloud on AWS.

Most enterprises rely on VMware to run applications in their vSphere-based private clouds, and often these same customers are also running applications on AWS. Increasingly, these customers have asked both companies to make it easier to run their existing on-premises environments alongside AWS using the VMware software and tools they’ve come to rely on.

VMware Cloud on AWS is a jointly architected solution that will integrate the world’s leading private cloud and the world’s leading public cloud. VMware Cloud on AWS is powered by VMware Cloud Foundation™, a unified SDDC platform that integrates VMware vSphere, VMware Virtual SAN and NSX virtualization technologies, and will provide access to the full range of AWS services, together with the functionality, elasticity, and security customers have come to expect from the AWS Cloud. This new service represents a significant investment in engineering, operations, support, and sales resources from both companies. It will run on next-generation, elastic, bare metal AWS infrastructure. Customers will have the ability to purchase services through their existing VMware commercial agreement and use their existing VMware software investments to secure additional loyalty discounts for their VMware Cloud on AWS hybrid environment.

“VMware Cloud on AWS offers our customers the best of both worlds,” said Pat Gelsinger, CEO, VMware. “This new service will make it easier for customers to preserve their investment in existing applications and processes while taking advantage of the global footprint, advanced capabilities, and scale of the AWS public cloud.”

“Our customers continue to ask us to make it easier for them to run their existing data center investments alongside AWS,” said Andy Jassy, CEO, AWS. “Most enterprises are already virtualized using VMware, and now with VMware Cloud on AWS, for the first time, it will be easy for customers to operate a consistent and seamless hybrid IT environment using their existing VMware tools on AWS, and without having to purchase custom hardware, rewrite their applications, or modify their operating model.”

Availability

Available in mid-2017, VMware Cloud on AWS will be delivered, sold, and supported by VMware as an on-demand, elastically scalable service. Pricing will be made available closer to the general availability date.

Bengaluru Remains the Number-One Innovation Eco-System in India: Priyank Kharge

More than 20 winners of the India Innovation Growth Programme showcased their technologies at the Bengaluru Technology Expo. These included technologies from Bengaluru like SpeedLink, a portable Wi-Fi router that combines upto 8 different cellular networks (2G, 3G, 4G) from any vendor and provides the sum of all the bandwidth capacities as one super-fast Internet connection and a portable, intelligent, non-invasive, non-mydriatic, low cost Fundus camera (eye care device) that helps in pre-screening of five eye diseases namely cataract, diabetic retina, glaucoma, cornea issues as well as refractive index measurements.

The Bengaluru Technology Expo was inaugurated by Priyank Kharge, Minister of IT, BT and Science and Technology, Government of Karnataka. During his keynote address the Minister lauded IIGP has the longest private-public partnership and stressed the need for more such initiatives. Kharge also said that, “Bengaluru remains the number-one innovation eco-system in India.” He added that development was not just about an idea, but making ideas and innovation happen.

IIGP enables Indian innovators and startups to get connected to industry partners not only in India but across the globe. 12 innovators were taken to Silicon Valley during September 25-30 this year to provide them an exposure to the global innovation ecosystem and get on an accelerated commercialization path. Subsequently, Swati Tiwari of Arcturus Business solutions, a Noida based startup was connected to Texas based Austin Energy who recently tested the solution developed by Arcturus for inspecting power transmission lines from the air using drones and breakthrough imaging software. Several awarded startups also participated in an Indian innovation led start-ups to Nairobi organized by FICCI earlier this year. As a consequence of the visit, one of the awarded companies under the IIGP viz. Aakar Innovations which has developed low cost biodegradable sanitary napkins has signed MoUs for partnership with Banapads from Uganda; Zana Africa from Kenya and Dreamline Business Centre from Kenya.

45 international and domestic business agreements were announced at the event with leading industry partners under IIGP2016 including Saab Group, BAE System, TATA Housing and Austin Energy. The innovators also participated in an investors’ meet to explore further opportunities for collaboration.

The IIGP has provided a platform for nurturing innovation in the country, as seen in the rapid rise of applications—receiving over 7000 applications since its inception. The IIGP focuses on a “Mind to Market” strategy byoffering extensive training modules that are suitably structured to help participants gauge and streamline their existing capabilities, as well as formulate and implement appropriate business strategies. With its emphasis on capacity building and technology commercialization, IIGPhas helped several participants in their quest to find suitable business partners in India as well as internationally. This has resulted in over 500 business engagement agreements being signed between innovators and industry partners/investors. The total revenue generated by the participating companies under the programme is US$ 860 million.

Since the inception of IIGP, there are several innovators who are not only able to commercializetheir technology but have also generated exports. In the periodbetween 2013 to 2015, the total exportturnover of the innovators was Rs 181 crore (approx.US$30million).

The India Innovation Growth Programme, launched in March 2007, was started with the objective of enhancing the growth and development of India's entrepreneurial economy. The aim of this programme is to accelerate innovative new Indian technologies into markets in the United States and around the world. The India Innovation Growth Programme is the only programme of its kind because of its focus on teaching and using world-class commercialization strategies. Since its introduction in India, the programme has received an overwhelming response from innovators, inventors, scientists and researchers working across diverse sectors throughout India. 

T-Hub's T-Bridge to Connect Indian Startup Ecosystems Globally

T-Hub, India’s largest startup ecosystem builder, in partnership with Uber and TiE Silicon Valley has announced the launch of T-Bridge, a new program that will connect Indian startups with global market opportunities, and help bring global startups to India. T-Bridge will enable startup communities in India and around the world to cross-pollinate ideas, innovate and create channels for knowledge transfer. It will also create a network of mentors, VCs, incubators and accelerators that is advantageous to the Indian startup ecosystem.

Telangana is now recognized as one of the world’s leading destinations for startups within India. The city of Hyderabad offers some of India’s best infrastructure, a large and growing technology talent pool, and a vibrant, cosmopolitan international community.  Of particular significance to innovative tech startups worldwide is Telangana’s great position as a gateway to leveraging India’s massive technology markets. Startups can hit the ground running instead of being buried in red tape. T-Bridge will provide a platform for such fast-track tech companies looking to tap into India’s huge consumer market for technology.  T-Bridge will help startups access UberEXCHANGE, Uber’s flagship startup mentorship program and TiE Silicon Valley’s mentor network.

K T Rama Rao, Telangana Cabinet Minister for IT EnC, MAUD, Industries and Commerce, Public Enterprises, Mines and Geology, Sugar and NRI Affairs inaugurated T-Bridge in association with Uber and TiE Silicon Valley at Uber’s headquarters in San Francisco.

Rao stated, “We have a strong vision to make Hyderabad one of the top 10 startup cities in the world. T–Bridge is one such move towards opening a channel of investment from the world to the state of Telangana. I am proud to open our first outpost in the U.S. in association with Uber and TiE Silicon Valley and believe that this association will forge new partnerships and spur investment and innovation between the two countries”.

Ram K. Reddy, incoming President of TiE Silicon Valley stated at the inauguration, “The Telangana government has been one of India’s most progressive states. The vitality and transformational mindset of its leadership gained quick notoriety within the startup world. TiE Silicon Valley is pleased to host the first T-Bridge outpost in Silicon Valley.” 

Rachel Whetstone, Uber’s senior vice president for policy and communications, said, “Telangana is one of the most progressive states in India; and it has set up a culture of ‘regulatory incubation’ — allowing new ideas and business models to thrive. Today more and more people around the world want to build something themselves. Through initiatives like UberEXCHANGE, our mentorship program for Indian startups, we hope to spur entrepreneurship. Creative partnerships like T-Bridge will continue to strengthen ties between India and the global startup scene.”

Jay Krishnan CEO, T-Hub said, “Since the launch of T-Hub last year, we’ve witnessed a threefold increase in startup activity in Hyderabad. The city is abuzz with over 30 incubators and co-working spaces. There is something happening in every corner. We’re committed to enabling and growing this community and to helping Indian entrepreneurs access global resources. T-Bridge is one such initiative in that direction. We are proud to set up our first outpost in the heart of the startup activity – at Silicon Valley”.

Manipal Education Group Now Offers PG Programmes in Data Science

Manipal University announced that it has commenced its first cohort of full time and part time programmes in Data Science, which will culminate into a PG Diploma from the university.

Simultaneously, Manipal Global Academy of Data Science (a unit of Manipal Global Education Services) announced the launch of short term certification programmes for corporate learners. The offerings to Enterprise clients range from boot-camps for fresh entrants to advanced modules in various aspects of Data Science across BFSI, IT, healthcare, retail, e-commerce and many others.

The Commencement function was marked by great interest from industry participants who attended the event. Organizations like AIG, Bain Consulting, Cognizant, Experian, KPMG, IBM, Goldman Sachs, Gramener, Dell, among others were present through their senior leaders.

Given that various industry estimates suggest that India will require over 200,000 data scientists by 2018, there has been strong interest in the PG Diploma programmes from both freshers and working professionals.

Vinod Bhat, Vice Chancellor of Manipal University said, "The unprecedented demand in this field and the rigor and professional skills that the Manipal educational institutions bring in have made this a much sought after program. As cohort sizes are limited, we have closed admissions for this batch. However, we will announce the next batch dates very soon. For the first batch, we are also evaluating offering them world class certifications with international universities through our recently announced partnership with Coursera.”

To ensure that the programme has strong industry relevance, Manipal Education group has tied up with leading corporates like Experian (a $4.8 billion global information services company), Genpact (a global leader in business process management and services) and IBM’s Big Data University as partners who will help in building the curriculum, provide real case studies for students and participate in the placement process.

Speaking at the commencement function, AP Ramabhadran, Sr. Vice President, Manipal Global Education Services said, "With the explosion of data in literally every field of the business world, there is a strong need to train tomorrow's roles in Data Science:  data engineers, data visualizers, data scientists, and business analysts. At Manipal Global – being leaders in the corporate education space with our Academies in Banking and IT – we are focused on creating curricula and learning methodologies that train the students to be productive from the word go. Our corporate partners help us achieve this.

Overwhelming interest from more organizations to partner with Manipal Global helps us to strengthen the professional readiness of our learners and in turn helps industry gain ready talent. This creates a virtuous cycle of contemporary professional talent”.

Speaking about this partnership, Siddharth Shishoo, VP- HR, Genpact said “'Data needs to be deciphered for intelligent insights and it is imperative to build talent in this field for more meaningful actionable insights across industry domains. With our deep expertise in analytics, we are delighted to extend this knowledge through our partnership with MaGE towards the common purpose of building a market-ready talent pool in the analytics world”

The PG Diploma in Data Science is a first of its programme because the first nine months will teach the learners the concepts, give hands-on experience on tools and programming languages as well as familiarising them with real data sets. The last two months will be an internship or live project with various companies. In the full time program, many organizations have expressed their desire to hire the candidates on successful completion of the programme.

‘CodHERS 2016’: A Women’s Tech Hackathon On November 12, 2016

Adobe India has opened the registrations for ‘CodHERS 2016’, its first ever hackathon for women technologists in India. Adobe India’s Hackathon, which saw significant participation from software developers and coders across the country last year, has been launched as ‘CodHERS’ in its 2016 edition and is aimed at encouraging young and aspiring women technologists in India¹. This four-hour long onlinevirtual hackathon will be held on November 12, 2016, and hunt for the brightest women developers and coders in India through a series of algorithmic programming challenges. 

Speaking about the ‘CodHERS 2016’ Hackathon, Abdul Jaleel, Vice President, People Resources India, Adobe said, “With a passion for changing the world through digital experiences, we at Adobe are taking the lead in developing product innovations to help our customers stay ahead in today’s era of digital disruption. We take pride in working with some of the best engineering minds across the globe to drive our innovation agenda, and the stellar contribution of Adobe’s RnD team in India is a testament to the kind of solid engineering talent that the country possesses. Diversity, which fosters richer collaboration, innovation, and creativity in workforce, is crucial for organizational success and core to Adobe’s work culture. Over the years, we have seen more and more women technologies join our engineering teams world over – and this trend is becoming increasingly popular in India as well. With CodHERS 2016, we want to provide an opportunity to women programmers and coders in India to come forth and showcase their talent, and in the process, identify potential women technology leaders of the future.”

Organized in association with HackerRank, Adobe Inida’s ‘CodHERS 2016’ is now open for registrations. The winner will receive an iPhone 7, while the second and third placed participants will receive an Apple iPad Air 2 tablet and Apple iPad Mini 2 tablet respectively. Adobe will also be providing internship opportunities or full-time positions, depending upon the eligibility, to the top 20 contestants.

Cisco's Digitization Initiatives to Enable Smart Cities & Digital India Vision in Maharashtra

Cisco has announced the launch of its India manufacturing operations. At the event, Cisco and the Government of Maharashtra (GoM) also announced new local strategic initiatives to help the digital transformation of the state, which includes the citywide deployment of a smart city framework to roll out  Smart City solutions in the city of Nagpur, digital learning for students and skills development for local entrepreneurs in Dharavi to create an eCommerce hub, expansion of the Cisco Networking Academy® program, and digital education and healthcare initiatives in Fetri village.

The launch of the manufacturing operations took place in the presence of the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis; the CEO of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, Shri Amitabh Kant; Smt. Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India; Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins; Irving Tan, Senior Vice President, Cisco Asia Pacific and Japan; Dinesh Malkani, President, Cisco India & SAARC; and Jun Kim, Vice President, Cisco Supply Chain Operations.

Cisco to manufacture diverse product portfolio to support the Make in India initiative

Cisco will manufacture and roll out a diverse product portfolio in India to support the government’s Make in India initiative. Cisco will use its India manufacturing operations to produce and ship orders for customers in India, as well as for testing, development, logistics, and in-house repair capabilities. 

Cisco also announced its ongoing commitment to accelerate Digital Maharashtra, including several initiatives to ensure that all of India’s citizens benefit from the power of connectivity. These initiatives include:

Nagpur: India’s First CityWide Deployment of a Smart City Framework enabled by Cisco City Digital Platform

Cisco will roll out Smart City Solutions in Nagpur to enable city-wide network connectivity, Smart & Secure Wi-Fi hotspots, and Smart safety & surveillance solutions. The various citizen services enabled by smart cities architecture, like smart transport, solid waste management, smart lighting, environmental sensors, and smart parking, will be integrated on Cisco’s City Digital Platform. The City Operations Centre will have a single view of all solutions to manage the city with increased operational efficiency and productivity, enabling them to provide quality infrastructure and services to citizens.

Dharavi eCommerce Hub: Bringing Digital Learning and Connectivity to Students and Skills Development for Local Entrepreneurs

At the ceremony Cisco showcased how it was helping digitize Sri Ganesh Vidya Mandir High School by providing the students with a virtual classroom, digital learning and highly secure Internet connectivity. Cisco’s initiative aims to enhance the quality of education through digital learning for academia to connect, collaborate, create and share content with students. After school hours, local entrepreneurs and start-ups will be able to use the school as a platform for local innovation and help make Dharavi an e-commerce hub.

 Expansion of Cisco Networking Academy Program to Support Skill India and Increase Maharashtra’s Pool of Highly Trained Professionals

As part of Cisco’s commitment to accelerating Digital Maharashtra and supporting the Maharashtra State Education Digitization agenda, the company announced plans to establish up to 25 Cisco Networking Academies to train approximately 10,000 students in Maharashtra by 2020. The Cisco Networking Academy program in India has one of the largest programs for Cisco worldwide. Across 186 academies, nationwide, more than 122,000 students have been trained since its inception. The skills-development program is a cloud-delivered, scalable, high-quality program that helps students learn how to design, build, secure and maintain computer networks and prepare for jobs in the digital economy.

Wi-Fi, Smart Education and Smart Healthcare to Digitize Fetri Village
Underlining its commitment to the digital transformation of Maharashtra, Cisco announced a new initiative to digitize Fetri village in the Kato Tehsil of Nagpur district in Maharashtra. With the intention to build a Digital Village, Cisco will deploy key technologies including Wi-Fi, smart healthcare, and smart education in an upper primary government school in Fetri. At the ceremony today Cisco demonstrated how its India manufactured products will play an integral role in Digital India by providing high performance wireless connectivity to get access to quality education. Cisco also demonstrated how patients can be connected with doctors conveniently and efficiently, regardless of distance, through highly secure immersive visual experiences.

Cisco to Collaborate on the Rollout of Broadband Infrastructure

As part of its commitment to help the state realize its vision of Digital Maharashtra, Cisco will collaborate on the state-wide rollout of broadband infrastructure to accelerate the Digital Maharashtra vision. A role model on digital transformation for other states, Maharashtra sees the building of digital infrastructure as the most crucial step toward achieving its vision of a Digital Maharashtra and enabling financial inclusion, e-governance and citizen services

Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, said, “Digital transformation has emerged as the most transformative means to ignite sustainable growth and improve society. Digitization creates economic competitiveness, enables ease of doing business, improves public services, increases GDP, creates employment, and enhances the quality of life of citizens. My vision for digital Maharashtra is to digitally empower every citizen, increase the state’s global competitiveness by creating a highly skilled workforce ready for the jobs of the future, build an environment that stimulates exceptional companies, and enable outstanding public services for citizens. We are happy to partner with Cisco in the Digital Maharashtra initiative and we believe Cisco’s global experience and expertise in digitization will benefit Maharashtra immensely and accelerate the digitization of the state.”

Amitabh Kant, CEO, National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, said “Digitization is not just connectivity. Digitization is the catalyst for industrial growth which has the potential to transform economies. The manufacturing sector is imperative to national development and raising incomes, and India will become a digital disruptor if it embeds, converges and integrates manufacturing and digitization. The government recognizes that Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) can play a seminal role in enabling India’s journey towards becoming a global manufacturing destination. I congratulate Cisco on the inauguration of its manufacturing facility, and I believe this is yet another milestone in strengthening India’s position as a manufacturing hub and accelerating the economic prosperity of the country.”

Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, said, “The vision of the government’s Make in India initiative is to promote manufacturing in India both to enable a Digital India as well as to become an export hub. The government has identified electronics manufacturing as a strategic sector for the country and is committed to create the right regulatory reinforcements which will enable global supply chains to enter India and lead to supply chain acceleration. I congratulate Cisco on the inauguration of its manufacturing facility, and I believe it will encourage the global IT industry to view India as a potential go-to manufacturing destination of the world.” 

Chuck Robbins, CEO, Cisco, said, “Digitization opens up unprecedented opportunities for every country, state and city. High technology manufacturing is convergence of engineering and science. India offers a huge talent pool of highly qualified scientists, engineers and designers along with ease of doing business, geographic location, and proximity to suppliers and customers. Today’s announcement reaffirms Cisco’s long-term commitment to India, a strategic center of country digitization and innovation. We are honored to work with the people of India to accelerate their digital economy, and help further the government’s vision to create sustainable competitiveness and prosperity.”

Dinesh Malkani, President, Cisco India and SAARC, said, “Today's announcement underscores India's strategic importance to Cisco's global operations. We have made significant investments in India since we established operations in the country in 1995, and today’s announcement is another milestone in deepening our commitment to India. Today we lay the foundation for the next chapter in Cisco's development in India, and help strengthen India’s global leadership position in digital transformation.’’

Jun Kim, Vice President, Cisco Supply Chain and Manufacturing Operations said, “Cisco is committed to being the strategic partner to India during this massive digital transition.  The manufacturing of our diverse product portfolio will bring advance manufacturing capabilities to our operations in India.”

Aircel Brings Cheer With Exciting Offer of 1GB @ Rs.22 in Karnataka

This festive season stay online more than ever before as Aircel, one of India’s most innovative telecom players, in its aggressive bid to redefine data consumption, is encouraging its existing and potential customers to enjoy 1GB of 3G data for just Rs.22 with a validity of 28 days.

To avail ‘1GB 3G data @ Rs.22’, all existing and new customers first need to recharge withRs.291 that would give them 2GB of 3G data with a validity of 28 days. These customers, henceforth, can enjoy 1GB of 3G data with every recharge of Rs.22.

Kanwarbir Singh, Circle Business Head – Karnataka, Aircel, said, “Aircel is spicing up the festivities with a whole range of exciting data and calling products. We want our customers to consume entertainment online without worrying too much about the cost. Our latest product innovations are in line with the evolving data and mobile internet scenario in the country. We have been working tirelessly to live up to this expectation of our customers and hence, we’ve redoubled our efforts in offering value for money products to our customers.”

Aircel’s “1GB@22” is designed at creating a digital India with increased data penetration and affordability. With this product, Aircel is focused on offering relevant and value for money products to its customers and help them stay connected this festive season.

Worldwide Shipments of 3D Printers to Grow 108 Percent in 2016

Worldwide shipments of 3D printers will reach 455,772 units in 2016, more than doubling the 219,168 units shipped in 2015, according to Gartner, Inc.'s latest forecast. Despite slowing growth rates after the market's initial growth spurt, the increase in 3D printer shipments over the next four years will see the number of units shipped in 2020 total more than 6.7 million.

"Once a niche market, 3D printing has continued its rapid transformation into a broad-based mainstream technology embraced by consumers and enterprises around the world," said Pete Basiliere, research vice president at Gartner. "The evolution of hardware and software along with an ever-expanding collection of usable materials has driven growth in both the consumer and enterprise 3D printing markets."

3D printing is now experiencing widespread acceptance beyond its application in specialist industries. Today, 3D printing is being used to create prototypes, augment manufacturing processes and produce finished products. Industries in a broad range employ 3D printing to a modest extent. Gartner expects wider and more diverse growth to continue as new technology providers and processes emerge.

Seven technologies constitute the current 3D printer market, with material extrusion forecast to lead the market through 2020, largely due to the low cost of entry-level material extrusion printers. Stereolithography printer shipments will also grow at a rapid rate as new providers enter the market and the range of printable materials expands.

 "The primary market driver for consumer 3D printers costing under $2,500 is the acquisition of low-cost devices by educational institutions and enterprise engineering, marketing and creative departments," said Basiliere. "3D printers are being utilized for several applications and subjects by students in secondary and postsecondary schools where the use of 3D printers can prepare students for many career paths, such as engineering, manufacturing, aerospace and robotics."

 The primary enterprise 3D printer market drivers are the part quality, material advances and the devices' ability to make prototypes, tools, fixtures, and finished goods. Prototyping will remain the primary enterprise use for 3D printers throughout the forecast period, while their use to augment manufacturing will grow to 75 percent of enterprises by 2020. By this time, nearly 65 percent of discrete manufacturers that expect to use 3D printers will be using them to produce components of the products they sell or service.

"Aircraft and aerospace manufacturers have been taking this approach for years, using 3D printers to produce low-volume parts and small lots of parts with complex designs," said Basiliere. "Military organizations, whose equipment often has very long lives, are working with defense contractors to evaluate 3D printing of replacement and modified components on shore and at sea."

From a regional perspective, North America and Western Europe will continue to experience very strong growth in the 3D printer market in 2016; however, their shipment growth rates will continue trailing several regions worldwide. Gartner predicts that the Greater China, emerging Asia/Pacific and mature Asia/Pacific regions will experience a combination of high 3D printer shipments and high growth rates through 2020. This growth will be driven by private-sector and public-sector organizations that recognize the threat that 3D printing poses to native industries that rely on conventional manufacturing technologies.

Wyde Unveils New Corporate Brand Identity With New Logo

Mphasis Wyde, a leading international provider of policy administration solutions, unveiled its new corporate brand – including a vibrant new logo that is reflective of its broad capabilities, innovative ideas and its evolution and position as one of the leading software and solutions provider in the Insurance industry.

 The insurance industry today is no exception to the consumer expectations that come with the digital age. Customers now expect effortless insurance in contrast to the complex, human assisted experience of yesteryears. The accelerating pace of these and other significant changes such as rich interactive front office, digitalized core business processes, intelligent and predictive analytics, stretching it further to IoT, Machine Learning, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) etc. are changing the way insurance industry executes its business processes. This has led Wyde to realign its focus & position and sharpen its strategy.  To reflect this transformation in its business, Wyde is rebranding and is unveiling its new brand identity today.

Wyde’s flagship product Wynsure, is going beyond just a policy administration software to Digitalized Back Office, Front Office and Surround Services to help their customers lead business transformation in the insurance industry. Wynsure’s modern Front Office combined with their proven core Back Office will accelerate seamless distribution across all digital and assisted channels. This will truly become business transformative and be the leading edge technology for the Group Life and Voluntary Benefits, Individual Life and Credit Protection lines of business.

“Keeping our mantra ‘We Make Insurance Effortless’ in mind, we are launching a new Wyde to bring in highly specialized talent and cutting edge solutions in our areas of specialization,” said Rajesh Makhija, Chief Executive Officer, Wyde. “This is a significant landmark for Wyde and a reflection of our willingness to evolve and invest in this changing market place. Technology Solutions for the insurance market of the future will look radically different; success would require intense customer focus, specialization, tighter collaboration with partners & alliances, and highly valued global talent. Cloud based and Business Transaction as a Service delivery mechanisms are becoming mainstream and we have already seen initial success with our clients.” he added.

Amazon & Green Gold Animation to Bring Premium Kids’ Entertainment

Amazon and Green Gold Animation has announced a multi-year content deal which will make Amazon Prime Video India the exclusive subscription streaming home for all of Green Gold Animation’s future TV episodes and TV movies of Chhota Bheem, Super Bheemand Mighty Raju, which will be available on a streaming platform for the first time ever.  Prime members in India will have also have access to Green Gold Animation’s vast library of top-rated shows and movies like Krishna Balaram, Chorr Police, Luv Kush, Vikram and Betaal and Krishna and the immensely-loved film,Chhota Bheem Himalayan Adventure amongst many others. Green Gold’s merchandise, toys and books are also available on Amazon.in

“Green Gold Animation is a leading creator of premium kids’ content and Amazon Prime Video is delighted to offer a home to their much-loved content for kids and their families.  This partnership will offer Amazon Prime members the very best content for their kids to watch and be delighted by” said Nitesh Kripalani, Director and Country Head, Amazon Video India. “This is the first step to exclusively bring the best-in-class kids’ entertainment to children in India.”

“We are excited that Chhota Bheem, India’s #1 Kids show for last 9 years would now be available on Amazon Prime Video. Indian Kids will now have better Digital experience with our imaginative content as now they can view their favourite show when they want and where they want.”   Rajiv Chilaka, Founder and CEO, Green Gold Animation.

Amazon Prime already offers unlimited free One-day and Two-day delivery to over 100 cities on eligible items from India’s largest selection of products, 30 minutes early access for members on top deals and more benefits for an unparalleled shopping experience. Customers who are not already Prime members can learn more about the program at www.amazon.in/prime.

Fullerton India Announces Special Festival Offers Across Karnataka

Fullerton India, a leading non-banking financial company in India, with a strong pan-India presence announces special offers for individuals planning on taking Personal Loans in the state of Karnataka. With the onset of the festive season, the company will offer a waiver of 0.50% on the interest rates for Personal Loans and will also offer special gifts for high value loans. Additionally a 50% waiver on the processing fees of Personal Loans will be offered to women applicants. These offers will be valid from October 1 till Diwali.

Fullerton India has a strong presence of 67 branches in the state of Karnataka across urban and rural centres. While Personal Loans continue to stay a focus product, the company will also provide Loans against Property, Commercial Vehicle Loans, Business Loans, Livelihood Advancement Loans and Two-wheeler Loans to customers in the region.

Commenting on the announcement, Rakesh Makkar, Executive Vice President and Head – Business, Marketing and CSR, Fullerton India said, “We understand that Dussehra and Diwali are celebrated on a large scale in the state of Karnataka. To complement the season, we have launched attractive offers on our Personal Loans.”

He further added, “The state of Karnataka displays great potential on the business front owing to a growing corporate and manufacturing sector. We will continue to serve our customers in the region through our various products and services.”

Fullerton India is also actively involved with community development across the country. Some of the initiatives under its CSR program, Fullerton India – Uday, include Pashu Vikas - cattle care camps, Jeevika – livelihood initiative, Gurukul - basic skill training courses to facilitate the employment of youth, mid–day meals to combat classroom hunger, Jyoti-Save the Eye - a program that focuses on providing underprivileged families better eye care facilities, Niramaya – health check-up camps and Krishi Mitra – organic farming programmes. Since the past two years, the Company has been organising single day cattle care camps across the country under the name – ‘Pashu Vikas Day’. Last year, on November 21, under this initiative around 8,978 cattle were treated across 36 locations in Karnataka, thereby benefitting 4,103 households.

CivilStorm & StormCAD Advance Simulation and Reporting for Stormwater Designers and Managers

Bentley Systems announces the availability of the new CivilStorm and StormCAD CONNECT Edition applications for the analysis and design of stormwater networks. The CONNECT Edition provides a unified, common environment that advances productivity, team collaboration, and project performance. Key new capabilities of the CONNECT Edition releases allow users to:

·         Reduce model development time by automatically determining catchment areas

·         Produce print-ready engineering profiles with improved annotation tables

·         Streamline reporting with custom reports that automatically combine graphs, data tables, color-coded and annotated plan views, and more, into a single report

·         Augment reports with the ability to record video of simulated results

·         Share results and designs easily with team members by publishing i-models to the Personal Share, a CONNECT Edition cloud service

·         Increase productivity with simplified workflows and a modern and intuitive user interface

From land development to highway drainage to city-wide analysis and optimized best management practices and designs, CivilStorm and StormCAD provide an easy-to-use environment for engineers to analyze, design, and operate stormwater conveyance systems, using built-in hydraulic and hydrology tools, and a variety of wet-weather analysis methods.

“The CONNECT Edition releases of CivilStorm and StormCAD deliver improved productivity for storm system designers and managers,” said Gregg Herrin, director of product management, Bentley. “In addition to leveraging the personal and project portals on Bentley Cloud Services for a new connected experience, enhancements such as automatic catchment delineation and extended reporting capabilities make it faster than ever for users to evaluate and communicate the performance of their storm systems.”

Samsung India Expands Rural Presence; Launches 535 Service Vans to Cover Villages

Samsung India has announced the expansion of its service network across the country that will bring Samsung service to every corner of India. This network, which includes 535 service vans, will reach out to over 6,000 talukas across 29 states and 7 union territories. This makes Samsung’s service network the largest in this industry in India.

In addition to introducing 535 service vans, which are equipped with multi skilled engineers, key components, DG sets and key jigs/fixtures for providing quick response and on-spot resolution, Samsung has also added over 250 service points and over 250 resident engineers, ramping up its service network to over 3,000 service points within a month. Samsung plans to add more service vans, open new service centres, appoint brand engineers and further strengthen its service network.

Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Rural Development, Government of India and Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Tourism and Culture, Government of India with HC Hong, President and CEO of Samsung Southwest Asia launched the initiative by flagging off 29 service vans representing 29 states of India from Samsung’s manufacturing plant in Noida.

Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Rural Development, Government of India said, “As digitization and electrification expands into rural India, we are witnessing an increase in the adoption of electronics and mobile products. It is imperative for corporations to support this trend by establishing quality service network for addressing consumers’ needs regarding after-sales service of products in rural areas.”

Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Tourism & Culture, Government of India said, “Samsung’s manufacturing plant, two RnD centers and its design center are contributing in a big way to the economy and technology prowess of Noida and in effect Uttar Pradesh and the nation as well. Corporations that participate in the government’s focus on rural India, whether in product or services, will stand to gain rural consumers’ trust in the long run.”

“Samsung is committed towards providing best-in-class service across the country. With the new service initiative, our customers in rural India will enjoy the same level of speedy and high quality services as urban customers. Our aim is to bridge the urban-rural service gap and we devised a solution which is ‘Made in India’ and ‘Made for India’ which will create unprecedented service delight across the entire country,” said HC Hong, President and CEO of Samsung Southwest Asia.

The vans aim to provide speedy service with reduction in turn-around-time along with assured quality to each Samsung customer in every corner of India.

Samsung continuously strives towards setting new customer service standards and enhancing its customer service network with new initiatives and programmes, focusing on overall customer delight, infrastructure enhancement and premium service delivery.

Samsung started its operations in India 20 years ago in December 1995. Today, Samsung India has two manufacturing units, three RnD centres and a design centre, employing over 40,000 people, with the largest sales, retail and service network by any company in the country. By not only fulfilling its commitment to ‘Make in India’, but also living its promise of ‘Make for India’, Samsung has emerged as a truly Indian company at heart.