Indian Students Accepting ACCA Membership to Work in Leading Global Markets

By Manu Sharma
When it comes to education, Indian youngsters are still holding on to what’s traditional option for them and choosing something that seems familiar to them, like choosing CA to ACCA. However, today’s youth are looking for better prospects in their career and what’s better than a lucrative career in leading markets across the globe.

ACCA (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), which has been responsible is shaping many youth’s career has suddenly looking up in India. Today over 10,000 student in the commerce stream are taking to ACCA fundamental courses to raise in their career. What’s more is that 400-500 students are adding each year.

Talking to the media, Sajid Khan, Head of International Development. ACCA says, “Over the last two or three years have become active in India and investing through our Approved Learning Partner (ALP). Interestingly for us southern states like Kerala, Tamilnadu and Karnataka amount to 50% of the ACCA students doing fundamental courses in India.”

ACCA has also announced a major step forward in shaping the future of accountancy by unveiling major innovations to its Master’s level qualification. The new, ground-breaking design of the qualification draws on an extensive, two-year review and consultation with members, employers and learning providers.

On the professional front, according to Khan, 7,400 approved ACCA members are presently employed in leading organisations and banks globally. India has over 1,100 qualified ACCA members and the numbers are slowing gaining number by adding about 100 over the last two years.

ACCA membership is not accepted not just in the United Kingdom but also in Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, Singapore, Malaysia, China etc.

In April 2016, India chose the path of IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) convergence and introduced Ind-AS (Indian Accounting Standards). Ind-AS is modelled along the lines of IFRS, which is internationally accepted accounting standards, and it upgrades India’s accounting standards to an international level. This has created the necessity for a new, modern day accountant who can understand the dynamic nature of Ind-AS and can successfully implement it.

“The ACCA qualification combines local relevance with international best practice. We are excited to bring these developments to India, as it now stands at the cusp of financial transformation, in order to plug existing skill gaps by providing a truly global qualification,” said Sajid Khan. “By supplementing the accountancy profession with skill sets that have been devised keeping in mind the dynamic nature of the profession and drivers of change like automation and globalisation, we are creating finance professionals who are capable of supporting and driving India’s economic growth.”

Raymond Jack, Executive Director, Finance and Operations added that the new emphasis for the qualification is a major step forward for the future of accountancy. “Today accountants are increasingly being called upon to demonstrate that they are strategic forward-thinkers as they play senior executive roles in business. ACCA has responded accordingly with a qualification that offers the complete and essential blend of technical and ethical accounting competencies mixed with strategic leadership and professional skills required to turn students into the confident, inspiring and trusted business partners that employers need.”

“We’re delivering a qualification that meets the demands of professional accountants in the 21st century, while maintaining the rigorous standards of technical, ethical and professional skills that has established ACCA as the international benchmark for accountancy qualifications,” said Judith Bennett, FEDS (Flexible Exam Delivery Programme) Programme Director, ACCA, at the event.

New developments

ACCA’s latest innovations to the top level of its qualification are new Strategic Professional level exams which will replace the existing Professional level exams in September 2018 and a new Ethics and Professional Skills module, which will be introduced in October 2017.

The redesign enhances the breadth and depth of the qualification, with greater focus on employability and the practical application of core skills in the contemporary workplace and includes:

·         Strategic Business Leader – an innovative case study exam, based on a realistic business scenario. This gives students the skills and technical expertise required by modern business where decisions need to be made, measured and effectively communicated to the wider organisation.

·         Strategic Business Reporting – a new exam exposing students to the wider context of finance and business reporting, giving them the vital skills needed to explain and communicate to stakeholders the implications of transactions and reporting.

·         An Ethics and Professional Skills module - making modifications to the existing ethics module, which ACCA was the first professional body to offer to students in 2008. This new module will equip them with the professional skills that are needed in the modern workplace.

Indian Students Accepting ACCA Membership to Work in Leading Global Markets

When it comes to education, Indian youngsters are still holding on to what’s traditional option for them and choosing something that seems familiar to them, like choosing CA or ACCA. However, today’s youth are looking for better prospects in their career and what’s better than a global career in leading markets across the globe.

ACCA (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), which has been responsible is shaping many youth’s career has suddenly looking up in India. Today over 10,000 student in the commerce stream are taking to ACCA fundamental courses to raise in their career. What’s more is that 400-500 students are adding each year.

Talking to the media, Sajid Khan, Head of International Development. ACCA says, “Over the last two or three years have become active in India and investing through our Approved Learning Partner (ALP). Interestingly for us southern states like Kerala, Tamilnadu and Karnataka amount to 50% of the ACCA students doing fundamental courses in India.”

ACCA has also announced a major step forward in shaping the future of accountancy by unveiling major innovations to its Master’s level qualification. The new, ground-breaking design of the qualification draws on an extensive, two-year review and consultation with members, employers and learning providers.

On the professional front, according to Khan, 7,400 approved ACCA members are presently employed in leading organisations and banks globally. India has over 1,100 qualified ACCA members and the numbers are slowing gaining number by adding about 100 over the last two years.

ACCA membership is not accepted not just in the United Kingdom but also in Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, Singapore, Malaysia, China etc.

In April 2016, India chose the path of IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) convergence and introduced Ind-AS (Indian Accounting Standards). Ind-AS is modelled along the lines of IFRS, which is internationally accepted accounting standards, and it upgrades India’s accounting standards to an international level. This has created the necessity for a new, modern day accountant who can understand the dynamic nature of Ind-AS and can successfully implement it.

“The ACCA qualification combines local relevance with international best practice. We are excited to bring these developments to India, as it now stands at the cusp of financial transformation, in order to plug existing skill gaps by providing a truly global qualification,” said Sajid Khan. “By supplementing the accountancy profession with skill sets that have been devised keeping in mind the dynamic nature of the profession and drivers of change like automation and globalisation, we are creating finance professionals who are capable of supporting and driving India’s economic growth.”

Raymond Jack, Executive Director, Finance and Operations added that the new emphasis for the qualification is a major step forward for the future of accountancy. “Today accountants are increasingly being called upon to demonstrate that they are strategic forward-thinkers as they play senior executive roles in business. ACCA has responded accordingly with a qualification that offers the complete and essential blend of technical and ethical accounting competencies mixed with strategic leadership and professional skills required to turn students into the confident, inspiring and trusted business partners that employers need.”

“We’re delivering a qualification that meets the demands of professional accountants in the 21st century, while maintaining the rigorous standards of technical, ethical and professional skills that has established ACCA as the international benchmark for accountancy qualifications,” said Judith Bennett, FEDS (Flexible Exam Delivery Programme) Programme Director, ACCA, at the event.

New developments

ACCA’s latest innovations to the top level of its qualification are new Strategic Professional level exams which will replace the existing Professional level exams in September 2018 and a new Ethics and Professional Skills module, which will be introduced in October 2017.

The redesign enhances the breadth and depth of the qualification, with greater focus on employability and the practical application of core skills in the contemporary workplace and includes:

·         Strategic Business Leader – an innovative case study exam, based on a realistic business scenario. This gives students the skills and technical expertise required by modern business where decisions need to be made, measured and effectively communicated to the wider organisation.

·         Strategic Business Reporting – a new exam exposing students to the wider context of finance and business reporting, giving them the vital skills needed to explain and communicate to stakeholders the implications of transactions and reporting.

·         An Ethics and Professional Skills module - making modifications to the existing ethics module, which ACCA was the first professional body to offer to students in 2008. This new module will equip them with the professional skills that are needed in the modern workplace.

Indians Rank High in Terms of Falling Prey to Ransomware: Norton

About 33 percent Indians have either experienced ransomware themselves or know someone who has. Of those who have experienced ransomware, 83 percent of the victims did so in the past one year alone, indicating a steady rise of this menace. 27 percent of these victims actually paid the ransom to gain access to their files, said the report on India finding announced by Norton by Symantec.  The report which sheds light on the truth about online crime said that in these kind of cases proving that paying the ransom is no guarantee, 26 percent victims paid ransom, but could not retrieve their files or data.

Addressing the media, Ritesh Chopra, Country Manager, Norton by Symantec says, “Cybercrime isn’t going away and consumers must reject complacency to adequately protect themselves. By adopting a few basic behaviours, we can make big strides in mitigating cybercrime risk.” added Chopra.

In 2015, India was ranked way down at 12^th place in ramsomware attacks this year has moved up to number 4 position globally in the number of attacks. Likewise, among Asia countries, India remain at number 2 position for the number of ransomware attacks.

As a starting point, Norton recommends the following best practices:

Avoid Password Promiscuity: Protect your accounts with strong, unique passwords that use a combination of at least 10 upper and lowercase letters, symbols and numbers to help keep the bad guys at bay. Make it difficult for attackers to access your information by changing your passwords every three months and not reusing passwords for multiple accounts. That way, if a cybercriminal gets your password, they can’t compromise all of your accounts. And if it’s too overwhelming to keep up this practice, use a password manager to help!

Don’t Go On a Phishing Expedition: Think twice before opening unsolicited messages or attachments, particularly from people you don’t know, or clicking on random links. The message may be from a cybercriminal who has compromised your friend or family member’s email or social media accounts.

Do Not Pay the Ransom and Backup: Backing up important data is the single most effective way of combating ransomware infection. Attackers have leverage over their victims by encrypting valuable files and leaving them inaccessible. If the victim has backup copies, they can restore their files once the infection has been cleaned up.

Be in Control When Online: Entrust your devices to security software to help protect you against the latest threats. Protect all your devices with a robust, multi-platform solution, like Norton Security.

Know the Ins and Outs Of Public Wi-Fi Networks: Accessing personal information on unprotected public Wi-Fi is like broadcasting your entire screen on TV – everything you do on a website or through an app, could potentially be exposed. Avoid anything that involves sharing your personal information (paying a bill online, logging in to social media accounts, paying for anything with a credit card, etc.)

Tidy Your (Dis) Connected Home: When installing a new network-connected device, such as a router or smart thermostat, remember to change the default password. If you don’t plan on using the Internet feature(s), such as with smart appliances, disable or protect remote access when not needed. Also, protect your wireless connections with strong Wi-Fi encryption so no one can easily view the data traveling between your devices.

Cybercrime Continues Due To Unsafe Behaviour

Similarly, the report found that consumers who were victims of cybercrime within the past year often continued their unsafe behaviour. For example, while these consumers were equally likely to use a password on every account, they were over twice as likely to share their password with others, negating their efforts. Further, 79 percent of consumers know they must actively protect their information online, but they still share passwords and engage in other risky behaviour. Additionally, close to one in five (18 percent) consumers have at least one unprotected device, leaving their other devices vulnerable to ransomware, malicious websites, zero days and phishing attacks. While quoting various reasons for not protecting their devices, 36 percent said they don’t do anything “risky” online, and 23 percent believed security measures would slow them down.

“Our findings show that people are increasingly growing aware of the need to protect their personal information online, but aren’t motivated to take adequate precautions to stay safe,” said Ritesh Chopra, Country Manager, Norton by Symantec. “While consumers remain complacent, hackers are refining their skills and adapting their scams to further take advantage of people, making the need for consumers to take some action increasingly important.”

Indians Love Public Wi-Fi but Underestimate the Accompanied Risks

Amongst those surveyed, a vast majority (85 percent) of Indians have Wi-Fi in their homes. Proving that thinking about cyber security doesn’t mean you’re secure, people who experienced cybercrime within the past year were more likely to be concerned about the security of their home Wi-Fi network (79 percent vs. 70 percent non-victims), yet less likely to password protect their home Wi-Fi network than non-victims (28 percent vs. 10 percent of non-victims have unprotected networks).

Only 56 percent of consumers knew how to determine whether the Wi-Fi network they are using is secure; this is of concern especially since 22 percent of respondents agreed to have used their neighbour’s Wi-Fi network without their permission. Additionally, when it comes to public Wi-Fi, one in four (27 percent) regularly use public Wi-Fi connections available at airports, coffee shops, etc. Further:

• Nearly two out of three consumers (59 percent) believe entering financial information online when connected to public Wi-Fi is riskier than reading their credit or debit card number aloud in a public place (41 percent).

• 70 percent say public Wi-Fi is useful for checking emails, sending documents, and logging into accounts on the go, and 80 percent of the business travelers agree.
• 45 percent of consumers connect to a Wi-Fi network using VPN regularly; others can potentially allow a hacker to steal data as it travels on the network.
• Despite half of respondents believing they are likely to have their identity stolen after entering account or personal information on public Wi-Fi, in order to gain access to public Wi-Fi consumers are willing to give in to actions such as answering a survey question (58 percent), installing a third-party app (35 percent), provide access to files while online (21 percent) or even turning off security software (19 percent).

E-Commerce Player Flipkart Slightly Impacted by Demonetisation Drive

By Manu Sharma

Flipkart, India’s leading e-commerce player has been slightly impacted by the Prime Minister’s Demonetisation drive. Sachin Bansal, ‎Exec Chairman and Co-Founder at Flipkart addressing the Global Mobile Internet Conference (GMIC) 2016 in Bengaluru says, “The move slightly impacted us but not very much. We have always seen a 50:50 ratio between cash and digital payment and with this move, all transactions are now on digital payment. So our customers, who were paying cash on delivery are now gone for digital payment. We have been pushing our new payment platform - UPI - and anyone with a bank account can set up our UPI in just 5 minutes and start transacting.”

PhonePe Internet Pvt. Ltd, owned by Flipkart, aunched its Unified payment interface (UPI) platform earlier, as it seeks to take on the likes of Paytm and Freecharge for a piece of India’s fast-growing digital payments business. 

Bansal was addressing a questions raised by Vikram Chandra, Consulting Editor at NDTV on impact of monetization in India, Bansal says the Jan Dhan Yojana has opened a number of accounts in rural India but not many have left any money in their accounts. But the growth of smart mobiles in the country will help the Indian e-commerce industry grow. The government should give subsidiary on smart mobiles to the poor. Also the fast growth of technology has enabled the mobile prices to drop considerably for someone with an small income can now afford a smart phone, he said.

If the e-commerce bubble with burst?
Reacting to Vikram Chandra’s question If the e-commerce bubble with burst?, Bansal says micro level shopping will also go digital but is still small in India, compared to China and US with 10%-12% growth in online shopping while it is only 2% in India but the efficiency and management principals are much better here and we will attract a lot more consumers shortly. Presently, we are thriving on technology which is an integral part of our company and so will continue to invest in data science and artificial intelligence going forward.

MNC Players Don’t Scare Me

MNC players like Amazon, Alibaba are here to stay but we are not scared of them. They are catering to the elite high income group. But in India localization is important. Like I always say don’t follow the NASA model but follow our own Indian ISRO model going forward. This is the way to success in India.

Microsoft & Telangana Inks MoU To Explore Use of Cloud, Mobile & Machine Learning

The Government of Telangana has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Microsoft Corporation India Private Limited. Under the MOU, Microsoft will help the Government explore cloud, machine learning and mobile based solutions to improve citizen services, education, healthcare and agriculture in the state.  

The Government of Telangana has been an ardent promoter of ICT solutions, particularly in the fields of agriculture, citizen service delivery, education and healthcare. Having crossed the magical figure of 7 crore online transactions through MeeSeva, the Government of Telangana is miles ahead of other states with its robust citizen service delivery platform. The State has also launched an innovative ICT enabled solution for government schools called TS-CLASS (Telangana State Computer Literacy and Skills in Schools) to revolutionize the way students are taught. Additionally, the Government, in collaboration with various partners, has deployed IoT enabled solutions such as healthcare teleconsulting for remote geographies and online marketplace cum support platform for farmers.

Jayesh Ranjan, Secretary, ITE&C, Government of Telangana, said, “The Government believes that ICT is the key to building not only a stronger economy but also an efficient and effective governance system. Through this partnership of ours with Microsoft, we are confident about bringing in advanced solutions pertaining to our initiatives under Digital Telangana program.”

Microsoft India will work with the Government of Telangana to support the development of cloud and mobile-based solutions and support the use of machine learning and advanced visualization to help solve challenges in the fields of education, agriculture and healthcare.

Speaking on the occasion, Anil Bhansali, Managing Director, Microsoft India (R&D) Pvt. Ltd., said, “Over the past year we have experimented with cloud, mobile and machine learning based solutions for better citizen connect as well as to help students, farmers and patients in India. We are delighted to bring many of those learnings to Telangana and explore new use for these world-class technologies. We believe technology should empower every Indian, and today’s MOU will take us further in that journey.

Mastercard and Ratnakar Bank Launch QR Code Payments in India

Mastercard has announced the Indian launch of Masterpass QR, a safe and secure Quick Response (QR) mobile payments solution. Masterpass QR enables mobile banking users to safely pay for face-to-face purchases using their smartphone or feature phone. 

Shoppers can make fast, simple and secure digital payments at any place where Masterpass QR is accepted, which means that they no longer need to carry cash or their physical bank cards to make payments. Ratnakar Bank Limited (RBL Bank) is the first bank in India to integrate the Masterpass QR service into the OnGo digital wallet, its mobile platform powered in conjunction with India Transact Services. The OnGo wallet will host a virtual prepaid Mastercard that customers can use for cashless transactions, including for paying taxi and auto rickshaw fares.

Masterpass QR’s low cost and easy-to-deploy technology is designed to ensure that even the smallest merchants can participate, whether they are in a major city or a remote area. This offering is a reiteration of Mastercard’s commitment to support the Government’s vision of a less-cash society, while working to ensure no one gets left behind in digital adoption.

“The digital payment industry is fast transforming and continuously evolving in India. Our focus is to innovate new, safe and secure technologies that bring the benefits of electronic payments to even more merchants, banks and consumers.” says Porush Singh, Division President - Mastercard, South Asia. He further adds, “With Masterpass QR, we are advancing the use of cashless payment methods to limit the flow of cash in the economy and take decisive steps toward realizing the dream of Digital India.” 

Ravi Goyal, CMD, AGS Transact Technologies Limited and Chairman, India Transact Services Limited said, “Ongo and Mastercard’s joint initiative further strengthens our brand’s commitment to provide end-to-end capabilities for enabling seamless payment solutions. Given the Government’s impetus to cashless economy and its digitization, our association will bolster the way consumers transact. We are extremely delighted to present such a first-of-its-kind global integration product with Mastercard.”

Sujatha Mohan, Head, Digital Initiatives, RBL Bank said, “At RBL Bank, we have always strived to be at the forefront of cutting-edge digital payment solutions for our customers. We are bullish on products that simplify the payment process and eliminate the need for cash

Participate in its Samsung’s Global Tizen Mobile App Incentive Program to Win $10,000

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has announced the launch of the Tizen Mobile App Incentive Program, Samsung’s first initiative to support Tizen’s global developer community and expand its mobile app ecosystem. Developers are invited to submit Tizen mobile apps for an opportunity to win $10,000 or more.

“As a committed leader of the Tizen platform, we strive to further benefit, expand upon and evolve the Tizen ecosystem,” said Woncheol Chai, VP of Global Product Management, Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics. "We’re excited to launch this new incentive program to help develop and bring the best of mobile apps to the Tizen community as well as provide customers with a better mobile experience.”

The new program will run from February through October 2017, and developers who create mobile apps for Tizen, such as gaming, social and lifestyle apps, are eligible to apply. Every month, each of the top 100 apps downloaded from the Tizen store and pre-registered to participate in the Tizen Mobile App Incentive Program will win $10,000. 

Apps already available in the Tizen store, as well as new apps, can be entered to win. All developers must do is ensure they register their apps for participation by visiting incentive.tizenstore.com. Individuals can begin applying to participate in January 2017. The winners will be notified on the 10^th of each month starting on March 10, 2017 and ending on November 10, 2017.

The announcement was shared today at the NASSCOM Game Developers Conference, India’s largest confluence of game developers. For more information on the new incentive program.

Tizen developers can also monetize their apps through mobile advertisements with the InMobi Ad Software Development Kit (SDK). Developers can learn more and download the SDK at developer.tizen.org.

Crownit & YES Bank Bring Unique Digitised Meal Voucher System

YES BANK has partnered with Crownit, the leading merchant discovery and privileges platform, to contribute towards making the vision of a digitally-driven Indian Economy a tangible reality. An innovative, digitised system for companies has been devised to distribute meal vouchers to employees and leverage the ubiquity of smartphones. Now employers can get rid of the shortcomings of traditional paper-based coupons, instead sending out vouchers to all staff, with just one click distribution. 

The revolutionary system by Crownit also includes an app-based digital meal wallet linked with a Meal Debit MasterCard which enables employees to avail unlimited food, beverage & grocery redemption options, both online and offline.

While eliminating the hassle of managing and distribution of paper currency for the employer, there is an integrated dashboard which allows them to update employee details and distribute meal vouchers with a single command. For employees, the solution promises ease of access and use, along with tax savings ranging up to Rs 10,000 per employee per year.

The secured pre-paid instruments with security features and app-based digital meal wallet are accepted at the largest merchant base of 2 lakh plus retail establishments pan India. Cashbacks and Weekly Rush tickets on meal voucher are an additional layer of benefits bundled in for employees. Adding further advantages to the program, Crownit offers weekly prizes like iPhones, Amazon Kindles, branded gift vouchers, international trips and much more on meal expenses.

Commenting on the tie-up, Sameer Grover, Founder & CEO, Crownit, said, “At Crownit, we aim to make all lifestyle spending by users absolutely seamless, in addition to making expenses rewarding by means of cashback points. Voucher distribution by employers is a largely neglected sector of expenditure despite the fact that almost all large companies give out meal coupons to employees. Not only does our program make this process much smoother, but the meal vouchers are all RBI and income tax compliant, fulfilling all regulatory norms. All funds deposited for Crownit meal vouchers will be directly deposited to YES BANK.”

Ritesh Pai, Senior President and Country Head – Digital Banking said, “YES BANK has always been at the forefront of digital payments for which we have partnered with Crownit enabling us to focus on contributing towards digitally driven economy whilst driving delightful customer experiences. This system is a step towards paperless transactions thus being environment friendly along with simplifying the complicated process of distribution and maintenance for employers while delivering multiple benefits for their employees.”

This digitised, app-based program cuts through the hassle of distributing meal coupons by enabling one-click disbursement of corporate vouchers. While employers can instantaneously transfer vouchers to all employees; who in turn benefit by having the coupons secured on their app and Meal Debit card along with the additional advantages which the program provides.  The launch of this new system is thus a win-win for all.

Global Firms & Tata to Set Up IoT and IIoT Tech Incubator in Israel

Tata Group has joined hands with General Electric Ventures, Microsoft Ventures and others to set up a new technology incubator in Israel.

“With the first closing of US$20 million, the incubator called i3 Equity Partners (i3) will focus on developing next-generation IoT (Internet of Things) and IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) technologies,” a Tata statement said here.

Qualcomm Ventures, HNA EcoTech, Pitango Venture Capital, and RAMOT, the business engagement center of Tel Aviv University, are the other partners in the venture.

Essentially IoT, fuelled by machine-to-machine communication refers to microprocessor and sensor fitted gadgets or ‘things’ within a network talking to each other, swapping real-time data to perform specific actions, with computer-connected individuals engaged in remote monitoring.

The Tata Group, along with the other partners, will support early-stage Israeli ventures, enabling them to reach advanced phase of development, and ultimately strengthen their presence in global markets. “The partners, on their part, expect to tap the acclaimed ingenuity and know how of the Israeli tech industry, for growing their enterprises in the field of IoT, which is expected to transform how industry operates and how individuals live, work and play,” it added.

With headquarters at the TAU campus, i3 will be headed by Managing Partners, Noga Kap and Eran Wagner, both Israeli entrepreneurs as well as investors with experience in early-stage investments, and chaired by Shlomo Nimrodi, Chief Executive Officer of RAMOT.

“We hope to provide guidance and mentorship to the start-ups based on our experience of operating across a range of sectors, across multiple geographies. We could also potentially help start-ups scale easily by facilitating better access to market,” KRS Jamwal, Executive Director, Tata Industries, said.

“This collaboration will help us identify and support breakthrough innovations in IoT, and look forward to having early access to new technologies with a focus on high quality products and ideas that will develop through this initiative,” he added.

i3 will annually provide 3-5 high-potential seed and pre-seed start-ups with financial investments of up to $1 million each, access to supportive multinational corporations at all stages of development, and centre of excellence with office space, among others.

The support from multinational corporations would entail technology validation, design, proof-of-concept, later-stage investments and purchase of mature technologies and their distribution in high-potential markets — including China and India, said the statement.

Agencies

Bengaluru Children Get Protein Heath initiative on Children’s Day

QNet, a leading direct selling company in association with Lions Club Bangalore, Kodigehalli marked Children’s Day by inaugurating a health camp at a Government Primary School in Sahakarnagar. The two month long program called the Nutriplus Protein Power Health Camp and is aimed at providing nutritional support to the students of the school by serving them protein shakes every day for two months.

QNet's Nutriplus Protein Power is developed by Dupont, the global leader in innovative soy-based technologies and ingredients is a good tasting, high quality, 100 percent vegetarian source of protein derived from soy. This product has an excellent combination of vitamins, minerals and trace elements in balanced proportion for utilising the protein optimally.

The children’s version which additionally contains Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA), a polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acid, considered to be a beneficial fat is being used at the Health Camp to provide the students aged 6 years and above with the necessary nutrition. Each of the 180 students will be served a protein shake every school day till January 14, 2017.

The Nutriplus Protein Power Health Camp was inaugurated by Lion B Mohan district governor.

Nishchal Churamani, Head – Corporate Communications for QNET in India said, “QNET’s aim is to help create awareness about health, wellness and nutrition through our products and services. During the research and development phase for our products, we realised that Protein Energy Malnutrition (PEM) is a major public health concern in India. As undernutrition is more common in the lower income group, we decided to do something about it by partnering with Lions Club.

Paytm App Now Helps Locate Your Neighborhood Merchants

Narendra Modi’s announcement of demonetization of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, has left many with no other option but to try online payment services and gateways. Taking complete advantage of the new tide, digital wallet companies like PayTm, FreeCharge and Mobikwik are witnessing exponential growth in terms of users.

To give a further push to this momentum, Paytm has announced a ‘Nearby’ feature that will make it easier for users to locate nearby merchants that accept the wallet.

With over 2 lakh merchants included in the first phase, Paytm ‘Nearby’ will carry a directory of over 8 lakh Paytm’s offline merchants and partners across India. People with limited cash can browse through a list of shops & locations near them that offer services like accepting Paytm, adding cash to Paytm wallet, and upgrading accounts by doing KYC.

Sonia Dhawan – DGM, Paytm, said, “At Paytm, our approach has always been to build an ecosystem that benefits both merchants and customers. I am confident that while our customers will appreciate the increased convenience of finding Paytm services near them, our merchants and partners will value the exponential increase in visibility and new business ‘Nearby’ feature will bring.

“This is a great example of how mobile technology can drive business across the retail industry by redefining the hyperlocal space,” She further added.  

Agencies

Tata Power Solar Reigns As Indian Leader in Solar Rooftop Space

Tata Power Solar, India's largest integrated solar company, won the 'D&B Infra Awards 2016' in the project based category for financial and operational excellence in commissioning 12 MW solar rooftop project for R.S.S.B. EDUCATIONAL and ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIETY (RSSB-EES). The awards presented by Dun & Bradstreet (DnB), into its 6th edition, felicitated 22 of India's leading infrastructure companies and projects.

The 12 MW project is the largest solar rooftop plant in the world, set up in a single phase at a single premise. Set up under the Punjab Government's grid connected rooftop solar projects scheme, the plant produces more than 150 lakh units of power annually.

Speaking about the award, Ashish Khanna, ED and CEO of Tata Power Solar says, "We are delighted to receive this award, which underlines our excellence and leadership in the solar rooftop space. Our win validates the tremendous efforts we put in commissioning this complex engineering project. The 12 MW project meets the highest quality standards by systematic and planned engineering and was executed in a safe manner with zero-incidents."

The award was presented at an event supported by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and given by Mansukh L. Mandaviya, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India. The Infra Awards serve as a platform to honour leading infrastructure projects, which are judged by an independent jury on an array of pre-defined project execution criteria.

Tata Power Solar has been a consistent leader in the solar rooftop space with a cumulative rooftop installation upwards of 117 MW. It was recently ranked the #1 solar EPC rooftop player, for consecutive year, for installations done in the commercial, industrial and residential sector. Apart from the RSSB-EES project, the company has installed several rooftop projects over the last year, especially in the space of education and religious institutions.

Mark Moran Appointed as New Chief Marketing Officer Simplilearn

Simplilearn, a leading professional certification training provider, today announced the appointment of Mark Moran as its Chief Marketing Officer. As the company strengthens its global operations and expands its presence in the U.S market, Mark will oversee its marketing initiatives, communications, and go-to-market efforts.

Reporting to CEO Krishna Kumar, Mark will be based out of San Francisco, Simplilearn’s US headquarters. The company’s renewed focus on its enterprise training business and rapid customer growth had led to three more key appointments earlier this year in U.S and India.    

Commenting on the appointment, Kumar said, “Mark’s experience across leading internet companies and strong track record of driving effective marketing efforts will be highly valuable to Simplilearn. In this phase of our growth, we look forward to his guidance in elevating the Simplilearn brand globally, across enterprises and individual professionals.”

“Simplilearn’s unique focus on training for the Internet economy, in skillsets ranging from digital marketing to cyber security, has already helped over 500,000 professionals stay current and competitive in our rapidly changing economy. I look forward to working with the team on rapidly growing our student body in the US and internationally and to helping millions of professionals advance their careers” said Moran.

A passionate internet executive with two decades of marketing and line-management experience, Mark has successfully driven 9-figure revenue streams for emerging companies and divisions of Fortune 100 corporations. Previously, he headed marketing at Ebates and held executive positions with RealPage and Wells Fargo, among others.

Mark is a joint inventor of Patent 20080082426 for enabling image recognition and the enhanced search of remote content on partner websites and in ad units. An angel investor and startup adviser, Moran holds a BA from Pomona College and an MBA from Stanford Business School.

VCs and Investors to Interact With SuperStartUp Winners 2016

The Superbrands’ SuperStartUps award organizers have been approached by a number of VC Funds and Angel groups interested in ‘participating’ in the program.

“When VCs and Funds came to know that these winners will be chosen by online netizens across 25 cities in India, a number of them have expressed their intention to meet the winners for talks” said Shivjeet Kullar, Council Leader “so we are now able to guarantee if you win an Award you will sit across the table with a VC interested in you!”

To recap - for over 20 years Superbrands has been the definitive honour for top brands across the world. From Australia to Argentina, Germany to Ghana and UAE to USA in over 50 countries over the globe Superbrands has been the ‘Oscar’ of the business world. In India too it has been an accolade that the best companies have sought, won, and used in their advertising and communication. Superbrands aims to work with the burgeoning startup ecosystem by launching SuperStartUps for India.

The SuperStartUp Council in India led by legendary brand builder turned online entrepreneur, Shivjeet Kullar who has over 100 national and international awards to his credit, also features names like Deep Kalra - founder Make My Trip, Sanjiv Bikchandani – the poster boy of the Internet world, Sid Talwar – founder Lightbox turned VC, Prahalad Kakkar - India’s top Ad Film Maker, Valerie Pinto - CEO Weber Shandwick – and Anmol Dar – founder Superbrands India; to name a few.

“As entry to the program is free” says Program Manager Ankur Kayesth “a start up should look at this as a possible ROI– since you only ‘invest’ if you are a winner!”

Today SuperStartUps represents the only international level honor for StartUps and will be judged by online voting. So if you too believe you site has what it takes log in to superstartupsindia.com and enter now.