ICICI Bank Organizes 152 Coin Exchange Melas in Karnataka; Coins and Currency Worth over Rs 1 Crore were Exchanged

ICICI Bank, India's largest private sector bank by consolidated assets, organised 152 coin exchange melas at is various branches in Karnataka. These melas were held across 45 cities and towns in the state. These melas were part of a nationwide campaign where over 2100 coin exchange melas were organised by the bank at its branches over a two day period across the country.  

ICICI Bank periodically organises coin exchange melas to offer a free facility of exchanging notes with coins to the general public. These events are much-awaited and receive an overwhelming response from people from all walks of life. Anyone can avail this facility free of cost.

The melas in Karnataka saw a participation of over 5200 people, where they exchanged coins and fresh currency worth more than Rs. 1 crore.

ICICI Bank has 4,852 branches and 13,780 ATMs spread across the country as on June 30, 2017.

ICICI Bank services its large customer base through a multi-channel delivery network of branches, ATMs, call center, internet banking (www.icicibank.com), mobile banking, banking on Facebook & Twitter and ‘PocketsbyICICIBank’ the country’s first digital bank on mobile. 

ICICI Bank Ltd is India’s largest private sector bank by consolidated assets. The Bank’s consolidated total assets stood at US$ 153.0 billion at June 30, 2017. ICICI Bank's subsidiaries include India's largest private sector insurance, asset management and securities brokerage company, and among the country’s leading fixed income players. It is present across 17 countries, including India. 

Amazon.in’s ‘CheckFit & Garage’ for Automotive Spare Parts & Accessories

Amazon.in announced the launch of “Checkfit & Garage” feature to simplify the process of identifying and purchasing suitable automotive parts & accessories for cars & motorcycles for mobile customers. This new feature helps customers identify suitable automotive parts and accessories for over 5,000 vehicles from a database of nearly 4,00,000 replacement parts & accessories. Amazon.in has also tied up with service providers to offer free fitment services in Bengaluru, Gurugram and Delhi thereby offering a seamless end-to-end experience for automotive parts.

The easy-to-use feature allows customers to register their vehicle details such as brand, model and variant under “My Garage” on Amazon.in. Once the customer adds a vehicle to the Garage, on searching for a certain product, the “check fit stripe” feature will indicate if the product will actually fit the vehicle type. This will give customers assurance before the final purchase decision.  Fitment suggestions will appear on all products covered under ‘CheckFit’ across categories such as headlights, brake pads, seat covers, air filters and tyres to name a few. Amazon.in has added selection from Bosch, Ceat, Shell and other leading parts & accessories manufacturers providing automotive products.

Commenting on the launch of the new feature, Suchit Subhas, Category Leader – Automotive & Appliances, Amazon India, said, “Buying auto parts & accessories online has been a cumbersome experience with customers relying on hours of research to purchase a product that fits in their car or motorcycle and then spending a few more hours scouting for reliable mechanics to install the parts. We worked customer backwards to create a database of close to 3,00,000 auto parts for over 5,000 cars & motorcycles to allow customers to easily shop for parts that fit their vehicle. Furthermore, we have partnered with verified service providers in Bengaluru, Gurugram and Delhi to offer free fitment services thereby simplifying the shopping experience for customers. In less than 3 months of piloting this feature, we are humbled to see more than 11 lakh customers adding vehicles to the ‘My garage’ feature indicating its usefulness.”

Amazon.in launched its automotive category in 2015 with a selection of 22 thousand products. Over the last 2 years, the company has increased selection to 30 lakh products across a range of cars and motorcycles. Amazon.in provides customers with a genuine product guarantee from across the largest selection of brands such as Bosch, Philips, Shell, Castrol, Ceat, Apollo to name a few.

U2opia Mobile Reycreo Focuses on Game Distribution in Frontier Markets

U2opia Mobile announces the launch of Reycreo, a platform geared to help game discovery and adoption in frontier markets. The Reycreo vision has been tailored to provide a progressive gaming experience for early adopters in these markets. Subscribers to Reycreo have an option to dive into an all – you – can – eat offering of over 500 browser-based bite-size games. This also serves as a simplified initiation to the world of gaming.

All the games on Reycreo portal are played online at www.reycreo.com. The platform has games across categories including – Action, Arcade, Adventure, Puzzles, and Logic. Users can play all the games on any browser anytime without downloading. A wide range of games can be played on any device, anywhere, any number of times. With multiple language support, users get a great gaming experience on their mobile data or Wi-Fi connection.

Reycreo is currently live in South Africa, India, Malaysia, Cameroon, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Indonesia, Bissau and Kenya. The mobile gaming market has huge potential in the frontier markets. By 2020 the mobile gaming industry is expected to cross $2bn in MEA and $30bn in Asia Pacific, which indicates that in next three years, the market may grow up to 60%.

U2opia is actively signing up strategic partners to introduce downloadable freemium and premium games with a specific focus on localized gaming content along with global favorites.

Sumesh Menon, Co-Founder and MD, U2opia Mobile said, “With Reycreo, our ambitions are to handhold first-time gamers through the exciting myriad world of game content. We are cognizant of challenges of high-speed bandwidth, handset compatibility and access to payment channels that are in some ways curtailing rapid game adoption. Reycreo is working towards solving for these systematically.”

Bangalore Candidates to Represent India at the WorldSkills Competition in Abu Dhabi

Team India gears up to participate at the biggest exhibition for skills, WorldSkills Competition popularly known as “Skill Olympics” in the world, which will be organized in Abu Dhabi from October 14 to 19, 2017.  More than 1200 competitors from 70+ countries will compete across 50 skills at this biennial competition.

Varun Hanumanth Gowda hails from a small town near Bangalore and is one of the brightest candidates. After his bachelor’s degree in Mechatronics, he was fortunate to get a maintenance job in Toyota, a leading automobile company. An agile and friendly worker, Varun is known as a ‘problem solver’ amongst his team members and is recognized for finding unique solutions for technical issues in the line machines. He says that he is ever-ready to learn and challenge himself for the most difficult tasks. This passion encouraged him to participate in the World Skills selection rounds. After winning a gold medal at IndiaSkills 2016, he is now aiming to win a medal at WorldSkills 2017 with his team mate.

Thathimakula Arumugam Anand Kumar is passionate about his studies and is known amongst his peers for his creative thinking. He has always been applauded for his efficient problem-solving skills during his three-year Mechatronics course at the Toyota Institute. After joining as a maintenance member in Toyota, Anand was very passionate to make his mark and kept practicing Kaizen in various areas and gained the ‘Best Kaizen Mind’ title in his department. He participated in Asia Pacific Skill Contest 2015 where he won a Bronze. At the IndiaSkills 2016 his team won a Gold medal. Anand believes in learning and sharing his knowledge with everyone around him. Presently his team is preparing vigorously for the WorldSkills competition.

Marshal Lazar Wilson is a professionally qualified tool and die making engineer from NTTF, a technical training institute in Bangalore. A creative boy from his childhood, he enjoyed drawing, do-it-yourself concepts and was always interested in using different computer softwares to hone his creative skills. After finishing high school, he developed a deeper interest in design and wanted to turn his passion into his career. His degree in Mechanical Engineering Design-CAD from NTTF offered him that special training which gave him direction for his future. Marshal has participated in various boot camps of AUTODESK and his presentation was amongst the top five design concept presentations.

Mohit Dudeja who is 20 year old, holds the position of an Assistant Pastry Chef at India’s first specialised baking school, Lavonne Academy of Baking Science & Pastry Arts. An alumnus of Lavonne, he graduated with a diploma in Patisserie offered by the institute in affiliation with City & Guilds, London in 2016. Following his training, he interned at the Trident Hotel, Mumbai for three months before returning to his alma mater to serve as a team member of pastry chefs. A stellar feat for a professional as young and as talented as Mohit, he has been to Korea to enhance his skills in Sugar Art, for his participation at WorldSkills 2017. Mohit has also competed in various national and international competitions such as JPC, India and WorldSkills UK. He loves practicing yoga and likes participating in marathons.

Kiran Sudhakar is an ITI Electrician from Karkala, Karnataka. He is a 19-year-old technocrat who loves to play cricket and listen to music. His aim has always been to work hard and do whatever it takes to perfect his skill and thus, he participated in the IndiaSkills competition where he succeeded by winning a Gold medal. His next aim is to compete at the international level and bring a gold medal for the country.

Nitish Kumar who is 20-year old, studying Fashion & Apparel Design at the Army Institute of Fashion & Design (AIFD), Bangalore. He is born with a painter's brush in his hand. Adept at using both physical and digital paint, Nitish has a keen eye for detail and a flair for balanced art and design. His nimble fingers and neat execution have earned him the sobriquet of a "Magician". Nitish has designed and executed several murals in various media at his college. He has won an international gold medal, two national gold medals and one bronze in painting during his school days. He has also been a part of the design team that won the national level fashion competition at IIT, Mumbai in 2015 and was fortunate enough to present a portrait of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to the late President himself. His journey to the World Skills competition, Abu Dhabi has been exciting which motivates him to improvise his skills every day.

National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has been spearheading India’s participation under WorldSkills since 2011. For the upcoming competition, WorldSkills India has selected a team of 28 competitors, who will compete in 26 skills ranging from car painting, brick laying, hair styling, beauty therapy, proto-type modeling, auto body repair, visual merchandizing, mobile robotics, CNC Turing, welding among others.

Congratulating the candidates representing India at WorldSkills 2017,  Manish Kumar, MD & CEO, NSDC said, “On behalf of NSDC, we would like to congratulate the candidates for being selected as one of the finalists to represent India at the WordSkills competition. Representing India on a global platform is a matter of great pride and honour for all our competitors, many of whom come from very humble background. We are elated to see them develop and utilize their skills with dedication, enthusiasm and passion. We are confident that Bangalore candidates and all others will perform their best at the competition and make India proud.”

“Our competitors are great ambassadors for skills in India and will motivate many in the society to hone a skill and contribute positively towards nation building”, he further added.

NSDC had identified all the competitors through a series of competitions organized at regional and national levels over the past two years. Post which all the candidates have undergone extensive training with Industry partners, which has helped them improve their skills before the competition. Many candidates have also travelled overseas to get trained under the guidance of some of the best trainers and experts available internationally.

Uber Launches uberPOOL in Chandigarh, Jaipur and Ahmedabad

Uber, the ridesharing app that connects riders with drivers to provide convenient, reliable and affordable rides at the push of a button, strengthened its commitment to decongest Indian cities and reduce emissions over time by expanding uberPOOL, an innovative offering, in 3 cities - Chandigarh, Jaipur and Ahmedabad this week, taking the national tally to 12 cities. The expansion strategy is an effort to promote shared mobility in India with uberPOOL allowing people heading in the same direction to take the same ride.

Post the successful adoption of the product in Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Guwahati, Chennai and Kochi, uberPOOL went live in Chandigarh (3rd October) and Jaipur (5th October) followed by Ahmedabad, which will go livetomorrow. Designed to offer first and last mile connectivity, and improved reliability,uberPOOL will also help contribute towards reducing congestion in cities. With more people in fewer cars, uberPOOL aims to decongest roads and reduce emissions and pollution over time. As of March 2017, with 48,259,398 kms of travel saved, uberPOOL has helped in reducing Co2 emissions of 5,352, 000 Kgs.

 Speaking on the launch,  Prabhjeet Singh, General Manager, North, Uber India, said, “At Uber, we are constantly working towards redefining the urban mobility landscape in Indian cities which involves initiatives towards reducing congestion and pollution. We believe that uberPOOL is the future of urban mobility that allows ridesharing using technology, and in the process helps decongest cities by getting more people into fewer cars, letting riders move around their city more affordably and enables first/last mile connectivity. We have received positive feedback from other cities and are confident that as Chandigarh, Jaipur and Ahmedabad embark on their uberPOOL journey, the same will help contribute to the future that we have envisioned - smarter cities.”

According to Uber’s Green Index 30% of rides in Mumbai are on UberPOOL, 28% in Delhi, 29% in Hyderabad, 25% in Bangalore, 18% in Chennai and Pune and 15% in Kolkata. Uber’s ridesharing product has been able to deliver a significant impact in reducing congestion and pollution in several cities.  However, we are yet to reach the fullest potential of this innovation. Therefore, to highlight several such examples from across India and advocate the merits of ridesharing, Uber launched a nationwide initiative, Decongest India, which aims to draw the attention of policymakers on how utilising cars for ride-sharing can complement stressed and overburdened public transport to be part of the solution - rather than the problem.

How does it work:

Selecting the uberPOOL option connects the rider real-time with 1-2 passengers heading in the same direction.

1.     Set your pickup location and destination

2.     Select uberPOOL for the carpooling option and get a fixed fare upfront, so you know exactly what you’re going to pay

3.     Click on “Confirm Uberpool”

4.     Click on “Confirm Pickup”

5.     Select how many seats you need 1 / 2

6.     Confirm seats! You might get matched with other passengers heading in the same direction

7.     Regardless of whether you’re matched or not, the fare will be less than traveling solo

8.     You can choose to use Cash, PayTM, Credit or even a Debit card

Tata Capital and Capital Float Join Hands to Fund Small Businesses

Tata Capital has entered into an agreement with Capital Float to provide Working Capital Loans to financially under-served Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in India.

Tata Capital will be co-lending on Capital Float’s digital lending platform and through this relationship, both the companies have collaborated to offer a unique “Pay Later” product to SMEs. Developed in-house by Capital Float, this product provides the borrower with a credit limit of up to Rs. 50 lakhs for a period of 1 year, pre-defined on the basis of the information shared by the borrower. The uniqueness stems from the fact that the borrower can make multiple drawdowns within the approved limit, which is reinstated from time to time upon repayment by the borrower.

Speaking about this tie-up, Sarosh Amaria, Chief Operating Officer – Commercial Finance at Tata Capital said, “SMEs are integral to the fabric of our economy contributing around 38% of our country’s National GDP. Tata Capital is deeply invested in providing access to credit to small merchants & entrepreneurs through our Supply Chain Finance Business, in which we are one of the market leaders. Our alliance with Capital Float is another step towards strengthening our market position. Providing customized products like ‘Pay Later’ will not only help speed up the loan process and business is Chain Finance business is a superior experience to our customers, but it will also help boost our pan-India presence.”.

Sashank Rishyasringa, Co-Founder, Capital Float, said, “Tata Capital is a great fit for us, both in terms of vision and focus on delivering great digital experiences to borrowers. Tata Capital’s extensive expertise in Supply Chain Finance along with our proficiency in developing products customized for SME segments makes this partnership particularly potent from a scalability perspective. We believe new age Fintech companies and established financial institutions need not compete, but can collaborate to widen the financing options available for SMEs. By co-lending with Tata Capital, we can leverage their balance sheet, while they can diversify their portfolio by lending to newer sets of SMEs.”

The unique ‘Pay Later’ product showcases Capital Float’s technological expertise and competency designing innovative working capital solutions for SMEs. Coupled with Tata Capital’s superior digital framework, wide reach and rich experience in this segment, especially while offering customized solutions, this partnership will enhance the customer’s digital journey by delivering a seamless online experience for SMEs in India. Additionally, small enterprises like Distributors and B2B buyers stand to benefit by being able to make quick, hassle-free payments to their suppliers or partners while procuring inventory, thereby facilitating the unhindered growth of their business.

Intas Pharmaceuticals Brings Down Cancer Treatment Cost by 60%

Intas Pharmaceuticals Limited, India’s one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical company, is pleased to announce a big step which will bring relief to large number of cancer patients in the country for whom the drug - Bevacizumab was out of reach till today. Intas’s bevacizumab therapy is priced at Rs. 39995 for the dose strength of 400 mg variant which makes it 60% less than the currently available options.

Every year over 7 lakh patients die due to various types of cancer in India. At Intas we believe in the philosophy of “Patient First”. Hence, in order to relieve the patients from the financial burden associated with the treatment, this cost effective measure is implemented by the organisation. The step is entirely focussed in making the drug treatment accessible to cancer patients in India thus, providing them with a beacon of hope in their fight against the disease.

Bevacizumab is a drug which works by slowing the growth of new blood vessels and is used in treating multiple-cancers like colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer and recurrent glioblastoma (a type of brain tumour). The drug has been available in India since 2004 but the cost has been so prohibitive that as per eminent clinicians of the country they have been able to give this drug to very few eligible patients.

Intas is a leading, vertically integrated global pharmaceutical company from India, having end-to-end capabilities of formulation development, manufacturing and marketing along with backward integration of APIs. Intas’ success and incessant growth focus lies in its clinical execution of successful and strategic moves made in the areas of manufacturing, R&D, Biotechnology and Global operations over the past three decades. Intas has been growing at 27% CAGR over the last 5 years with an even stronger profit growth. Ranked 10^th in the domestic market, the company is one of the top 5 corporates in the Indian Chronic Therapy category. Intas is also present in more than 70 countries worldwide with robust sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure in markets like North America, Europe, Central and Latin America, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Asia-Pacific as well as CIS and MENA countries.

Happy Loans Successfully Disburses 4000 Loans Worth Rs 100 Million in Six Months

Happy Loans, a fast-growing digital microlending venture announced the disbursement of 4000 micro loans worth Rs 10 crore (USD 1.7 million) within six months of launch. With borrowers in 167 cities and 25 states, Happy Loans partners with merchant acquirers, money transfer networks and other partners to offer instant, short-term business loans for small enterprises (SMEs). Happy Loans has successfully partnered with MSwipe, EKO, Itzcash, Payworld, Ongo, InstantPay, Wapo, Farmart and others, creating a total addressable base of over one million SMEs.

Happy Loans enables on-tap borrowing for underserved small merchants through an easy and completely paperless process. Offering loans as small as INR 2000 (USD 30) and for as short as 30 days, Happy Loans helps merchants meet short term cash flow mismatches without drawing on savings or existing capital. Customers can access funds right from their phone, with options such as flexible tenure and daily repayment to reduce the burden of a lump sum repayment.

Commenting on the success of Happy Loans, Manish Khera, Co-founder and CEO, said, “We’ve built a model to give our customers a Happy borrowing experience, unlike traditional methods that require visits to branches, extensive documentation, and signing endless forms. We’ve seen very strong uptake of our loans and with the support of current and upcoming partners, we aim to achieve the Rs 100 crore (USD 15 million) disbursement mark and a prospect base of over 5.5 million merchants by FY 18.”

“Moreover, we are working with both machine learning and blockchain technologies -- emerging pillars of the new banking paradigm -- to offer a Happy experience to our customers.”

Part of the ArthImpact group, Happy Loans was founded by Manish Khera and Gautam Ivatury, recognized pioneers with decades of experience in digital finance. Happy Loans leverages technology to create a new-age, fairer way of banking – fun, accessible by all, and available anytime and anywhere. The company’s loans for India’s 50 million-plus small merchants are less costly and more reliable than informal borrowing.

Amazon Introduces Alexa and the All-New Echo, Echo Plus, and Echo Dot to India

Amazon announced that Alexa, the brain that powers Amazon Echo, is coming to India, along with three Alexa-enabled devices: Echo, Echo Plus, and Echo Dot. Customers who want to help further the development of Alexa and the Echo family of devices may request an invitation to purchase devices beginning today at www.amazon.in. As a thank you, for a limited time, eligible customers will receive an introductory discount of 30% off the purchase price of Echo devices and one year of Prime membership. Devices will ship beginning the week of October 30.

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Echo, Echo Plus, and Echo Dot are voice-controlled speakers designed entirely around your voice—they are always ready, hands-free, and fast. Alexa is the brain behind Echo—since Alexa runs in the cloud, the service is always getting smarter. Just ask, and Alexa will answer questions, play music, read the news, set timers and alarms, check the calendar, provide sports scores, control lights at home, and much more. With Echo’s far-field voice control, you can do all this from across the room using just your voice.

In India, Alexa delivers a customised Indian experience, including an all-new English voice with local pronunciations and intonation; support for music titles, names, and places in additional non-English languages; local knowledge; and local skills from Indian developers. Third party developers in India are already building new, localised skills for Alexa, and over 10,000 skills will be available for customers in India, including skills from Saavn, Times of India, ESPNcricinfo, Ola, Freshmenu, and more.

“Tens of millions of customers are already using Alexa, and today we’re excited to bring her to India with an all-new experience designed from the ground up for our customers in India,” said Dave Limp, Senior Vice President, Amazon Devices and Services. “The combination of Alexa and Echo provides customers with hands-free access to music, weather, news, information, and more—just ask.”

Customers in the US, UK and Germany have left more than 100,000 5-star reviews for Echo and Echo Dot—here’s what they’re saying:

·         “I love, love, love Alexa. I use it every single day. I can't even count how many people I have recommended Echo to.”

·         “Echo is easy to setup and easy to use. I love it. Five stars out of five.”

·         “An ingenious device. Already firmly integrated into the family. Become indispensable. Great sound and beautiful design. A must have for every technology freak.”

Amazon Echo—The Hands-Free, Always On Speaker for just ₹9,999

Echo is a hands-free, voice-controlled speaker that allows you to access Alexa from anywhere in the room with far-field voice control. It uses on-device software to detect the wake word, “Alexa.” When Echo detects the wake word, the device’s light ring turns blue and begins streaming the request to the cloud where Alexa processes the request. Since Alexa is built in the cloud and leverages Amazon Web Services, the Alexa Voice Service is always getting smarter and adding more functionality.

2^nd Generation Far-Field Voice Recognition with Beam Forming Technology

Amazon Echo has an array of seven microphones that use beam-forming technology and noise cancellation so it can clearly hear you from across the room. This advanced beam-forming technology combines the signals from the individual microphones to suppress noise, reverberation, the music currently playing, and even competing speech to make sure Alexa clearly hears your request, even when in a noisy room.

Omnidirectional, Room-Filling Sound

Amazon Echo has been fine-tuned to deliver crisp vocals with dynamic bass response. Its 2.5” down-firing woofer, dedicated tweeter, Dolby processing, and 360° omni-directional audio deliver crisp vocals and dynamic bass throughout the room. Echo can stream music directly from popular music services such as Amazon Prime Music, Saavn, TuneIn, and more. Echo is also Bluetooth-enabled so you can stream music directly from your phone or tablet.

Designed to Disappear

Amazon Echo is designed to disappear into your home. Pick from a variety of shell colors and finishes to fit into your home’s décor—choices include charcoal, sandstone, and heather gray.

Manipal Institute of Technology Wins Accolades at AICTE’s Most Clean Campus Awards

Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal University won accolades at the first “Most Clean Campus Award 2017” instituted for Engineering Institutions by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). MIT bagged the third place for the Most Clean Campus in India and the first for Most Clean Campus in South Western Region.    The awards were given away by Dr. Anil. D. Sahasrabudhe, Chairman of AICTE at a function held on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanthi in the College of Engineering, Pune. Dr. B. H. V. Pai, Joint Director and Mr. H. S. Bhat, Executive Manager received the awards on behalf of MIT. AICTE has also planted a tree for each of the awardees at its Head Quarters in New Delhi.

Reacting to the achievement, Dr G.K. Prabhu, Director MIT, also the Pro Vice Chancellor of Manipal University said he was happy that the institute won laurels in the inaugural year of the competition. “We’ll strive to do better the next time,” he said and added, “It is a good initiative started by the AICTE, as it will encourage campuses across the country to be spick and span all the time. 

AICTE, under Swachh Bharath Mission, had invited nominations from about ten thousand institutions across the country to participate in the Clean Campus Award 2017 contest in September 2017. Data on infrastructure, cleanliness, green initiatives, water conservation initiatives, solid and liquid waste management, e-waste management, environment consciousness and development programmes, contributions to the society, student and workforce safety, hygiene and other parameters were submitted. Institutions from 20 states took part and following evaluation the reports were examined by a Jury appointed by the AICTE to select the award winners.

HyperX Launches Pulsefire FPS Gaming Mouse in India, Winner of RedDot Design Award 2017

HyperX, a division of Kingston Technology launched its HyperX Pulsefire FPSGaming Mouse in India at an MRP of Rs 3,999. FeaturingPixArt 3310 sensor for accurate tracking, Omron switches for fast response times, and 20M click reliability per switch, HyperX’s first gaming mouse is designed to meet the needs of professional and aspiring competitive FPS gamers looking for a precise and consistent gaming mouse. With inputs from top engineers and professional gamers, Pulsefire FPS is the winner of the prestigious 2017 RED DOT AWARDfor design quality and craftsmanship. Starting today, this new HyperX gaming accessory is now exclusively available for a month on Amazon.in and thereafter will be available on major Indian online and retails stores.

“HyperX is a great partner for over five years and we are very happy to now game with the new Pulsefire FPS gaming mouse.” said Ioann “Edward”Sukhariev, NAVI CSGO team member.“The Pulsefire FPS gaming mouse meets our performance needs and has a comfortable design for hours of practice and tournament gaming.” 

For serious players, Pulsefire FPS is built with an ergonomic and lightweight design for either palm grip or claw grip action. PulsefireFPS also provides four DPI presets from 400 – 3200 DPI, all available at the touch of a button. Optimal weight distribution and light weight at 95g for rapid movements. Non-slip side grips help secure the mouse securely in your hand. HyperX Pulsefire FPS features Omron switches and six durable, ultra-responsive buttons that give crisp, tactile feedback on every click. HyperX included a flexible braided cable and large mouse skates for effective smooth glide.

“HyperX is excited to offer our first gaming mouse. After extensive testing, our lab developed Pulsefire FPS to deliver the features gamers want at an incredible price point.” said HyperX. “Gamers are looking for HyperX quality and performance for all of their accessory needs, and now with the Pulsefire FPS gaming mouse, HyperX now offers all the required components for the best competitive gaming setup.”

HyperX Launches Alloy Elite and Alloy FPS Pro Mechanical Gaming Keyboards in India

HyperX, the gaming division of Kingston Technology, launched two new additions to its award winning lineup of gaming keyboards used by eSports athletes worldwide – the Alloy Elite and Alloy FPS Pro Mechanical Gaming Keyboards. HyperX delivers enhanced performance gamers expect with all the components needed for the competitive gaming setup, including Cherry MX Mechanical switches, lighting effects, 100 percent anti-ghosting, and solid-steel frames. The MRPs of Alloy Elite and Alloy Pro are set at Rs 11,000 and Rs 7,499 respectively. Both these new gaming keyboards are now exclusively available on Amazon.in for a month and thereafter will be available on major Indian online and retails stores.

Further raising the bar for personalization and comfort, HyperX reveals the new Alloy Elite Keyboard with Cherry MX Mechanical switches, detachable palm rest and custom lighting features. For TKL keyboard fans and hardcore gamers, the new Alloy FPS Pro designed in HyperX labs will be a perfect match. Customization options for both keyboards can be accessed without the assistance of software as HyperX ensures that gamers connect and play immediately,

Featuring an all-new design, the Alloy Elite Mechanical Gaming Keyboard includes HyperX red LED backlighting, an 18 LED light bar with luminous lighting along with custom modes, and 6 preset LED effects. Alloy Elite is built with a solid steel frame for durability, offering dedicated media buttons, and a large volume wheel along with quick access buttons for brightness, lighting effects, and game mode. Alloy Elite also includes a USB 2.0 pass through, titanium colored and textured WASD keys, and full N-Key rollover functionalities.

 The new HyperX Alloy FPS Mechanical Pro Gaming Keyboard is geared toward users seeking a tenkeyless gaming keyboard option and enables dedicated FPS players to take their gaming to a professional level with its space-saving layout that maximizes desktop space for mouse movement. Designed for professional eSports teams and avid followers that prefer compact size, Alloy FPS Pro is the ideal keyboard for gaming on the go.

“HyperX Mechanical Gaming Keyboards have given me a true competitive advantage from day one. The build quality and features give our team the consistency needed to game at our best each and every time we load in,” said Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo, CSGO team leader, SK Gaming. “Every keypress on our HyperX Mechanical Gaming Keyboards deliver the perfect amount of tension and release to keep out fingers firing off rapid actions. HyperX keyboards have that extra level of comfort, style and convenience to take our gaming performance the next level.”

SAP Leonardo Powers Digital Transformation of India Inc.

SAP SE announced the creation of a digital ecosystem with the SAP Leonardo portfolio exclusively for India. To fuel the trillion-dollar digital economy of India by 2025, SAP is collaborating with technology powerhouses to extend a holistic innovation system and initiatives across industries. The announcement was made at the SAP Leonardo Executive Summit held in Mumbai. 

                                                                                                                                 

SAP Leonardo is a digital innovation system that brings together machine learning, IoT, blockchain, analytics and big data on SAP Cloud Platform using design thinking services. With this offering, SAP will enable companies to rapidly innovate and embed digital innovation into all their applications and business processes.

“Technology is transforming at a far more rapid pace than ever and organizations can no longer afford to wait and watch how the digital technology innovations will change things - they need to take control of doing digital now,” said Deb Deep Sengupta, President and Managing Director, SAP India Subcontinent. “Digital companies are achieving higher revenue and profitability, while simultaneously keeping costs low, achieving significant business value. SAP recognizes the urgency to fast track digitization and with SAP Leonardo, we aim to help our customers drive business transformation.”

Building Intelligent Ecosystem of Partners to Power DIGITAL Innovation:

SAP India has built a consortium of industry and solutions partners to power India Inc. that will deliver real business impact in the digital economy. The partners are spread across six focus areas such as Connected Products, Connected Assets, Connected Fleet, Connected Infrastructure, Connected Markets and Connected People. Through this ecosystem, SAP will deliver innovation capabilities and services that integrate with core business applications so that customers can seamlessly bridge between operating and innovating.

Announcing SAP IoT Connect 365

Connectivity among people, machines, and things is increasing exponentially. Enabling this connect among billions of people and things represents tremendous opportunity for mobile network operators. SAP IoT Connect 365 is a managed, cloud-based service that simplifies IoT connectivity by enabling them to connect with enterprise, governments and people to leverage technologies that can drive out supply chain inefficiencies and sub-optimal asset utilization. With the SAP Digital Interconnect group (formerly SAP Mobile Services) mobile network operators can now capitalize on the growing IoT market with speed, reliability, and ease. SAP IoT Connect 365, delivers choice and flexibility to enterprises, laying the foundation for a well-connected, cost-efficient, and secure environment.

HybridNxT from 3i Infotech to Help Enterprises in their Digital Transformation

3i Infotech Limited, a global Information Technology company, will help enterprises take the first step towards digital transformation by adopting Hybrid Cloud, through the Company’s solution offering HybridNxT. The company has positioned itself as a digital engineering partner of choice for enterprises, who are at the crux of major business transformation; in an industry where 60% of every customer’s business will be on the cloud by 2020 and more than 90% by 2025. The company will also continue to invest heavily in the areas of TaaS, DevOps, Agile, and CT (Continuous Testing framework) to meet the demands of enterprises. 

Mobility, together with new-age technologies like IoT, AR/VR etc., are an imperative part of digital transformation, and 3i Infotech’s offerings will also cater to all levels of the mobility maturity curve, covering Consulting, Design & Development, Data Testing, Support, Data Intelligence & Co-Innovation.

Mohua Sengupta, EVP and Global Head of Services said, “Business is ever so complex and largely fragmented which makes digitisation the future of business. Our digital frameworks are optimized to deliver the much-needed core transformation in businesses. Based on a curated technology stack, the solutions enable easy technology adoption and are effortlessly scalable. They echo our philosophy to ‘Simplify The New’.”

To make the journey on the cloud seamless for enterprises, the company will also provide enterprises an interactive framework -‘CReAT’ - Cloud Readiness Assessment for Transformation, which is based on financial savings, responsiveness, business impact and compliance which will helps customers to take decision on their cloud journey. It will help prioritise which workloads to migrate, as well as decide which applications to re-architect or re-engineer with minimum resources and maximum benefit to business.

 “It’s heartening to know that competent quality engineering experts and partnerships with leading test automation and DevOps tool vendors put 3i Infotech in a very strong position to meet the expectations of modern day businesses”, she further added.

element14 Invests Further by Opening Brand New Office in Bangalore

element14.in, the Development Distributor announce the official opening of its new office in Bangalore, India.  This new office is part of element14’s continued investment and commitment to the region, reflecting the opportunities presented by the Indian government’s economic plan for the market.  The new office houses members of element14’s customer facing teams, as well as global Centres of Excellence in e-commerce, technology and business intelligence.  element14 is locating this global support in Bangalore because of the high level of local talent available within the city. 

Ravi Pagar, Regional Director – South Asia, element14 Asia-Pacific said, “I’m excited about this move to a new office in Bangalore which I view as an important part of our overall global business strategy - being present locally to support the local businesses, whilst also providing direct access to customers through digital channels. The new office will establish more Centres of Excellence in India, thus enabling faster and closer in-region support to our customers. This also means faster turnaround for technical queries and even face to face meetings with the technology experts at element14.”

element14 will be officially opening the office in Bangalore on Friday October 6.  Graham McBeth, President, Premier Farnell, who will join the Bangalore office on this occasion, said, “This is a great occasion and we are very proud of our operations here in India. I believe this is a market that has huge opportunities and we are incredibly impressed with the level of talent available within Bangalore.   Expanding into a larger office will allow us to invest further in new talent, creating new opportunities and helping us meet our objectives, both within India, and globally. I am extremely proud of the service our colleagues based in India provide to our internal organisation, customers and suppliers across the world and delighted to be providing this fantastic new office from which they  can grow the business further.”

element14 is committed to strengthening its position in India as a trusted one-stop source of engineering knowledge and solutions for design innovation. In the past year, the company has invested significantly in the country to ensure that it provides customers with personalized and continuous support.  element14’s has offices in India in Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Kolkotta and Ahmedabad.

Mobile Repair and Refurbishment Startup Yaantra Raises US$3.1 Million from Carpediem Capital & Duane Park

Carpediem Capital Partners and Duane Park – existing investors at Yaantra, have led the fourth round of equity funding of USD 3.1 million into the company, the company had earlier received USD 6 million funding in Sep 2016. The company has to date raised approximately USD 10 million from investors.

Yaantra sells refurbished multi-brand smartphones with warranty across India and provides on-demand multi-brand smartphone repair services across New Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad. The company has a capacity of repair and refurbish over 100,000 smartphones per month, employs over 700 people, and continues to grow rapidly and profitably. It was an early mover in this niche category and has since consolidated its position as the pan-India leader by far. Yaantra was founded in 2013, by three young entrepreneurs Jayant Jha, Ankit Saraf and Anmol Gupta. 

“We have been growing profitably and at over 25% m-o-m in sales. Yaantra expanded its presence to all major cities in India, and started with expansion to Tier 2 cities and are targeting presence in 25 cities by 2018. We want to provide our customers comprehensive solutions around smartphones and similar gadgets. These include refurbished devices, warranties, quality repair services, easy financing options, and reliable accessories. This round of capital infusion will further boost relationship with our key partners and help maximize the impact of our offerings for our customers, especially around the festive season of Diwali.” said Jayant Jha, co-founder & CEO, Yaantra.

 “Yaantra has significantly differentiated itself and is years ahead than the nearest competition. It is the major player collaborating with leading marketplaces, OEM’s and distributors selling smartphones. Company has also built and benefitted out of its proprietary sales channels like its e-commerce portal Yaantra.com and pan-India retailer network with over 15,000 retailers on-board. Equity infusion at this juncture will help Yaantra explore other key financing and strategic relationships. We are excited to be backing this growth story”, said Anurag Bhargava of Duane Park Private Limited and chairman Yaantra.

Abhishek Sharman, founder & MD – Carpediem Capital Partners said that “Yaantra has established a superior and the largest in-house repair capabilities for smartphones forming the backbone of its different solutions it provides to the customers today. Its business has witnessed explosive growth, driven by strong execution of its agreed strategy by the management team and efficient utilization of the invested capital. Carpediem continues to support Yaantra as it looks to set new benchmarks in this industry segment”.

COMIO’s C2 Now in India Backed with Unmatched Specs and Design Features

COMIO India launches its fourth smartphone – the C2. An all in one handset, the C2 comes loaded with a powerful battery, security features, scratch free back cover and exceptional music quality. The smartphones have been designed keeping the Indian consumer in mind with a range of progressive and user-friendly features and specifications.

Headquartered in New Delhi, the brand caters to the mid-level segment which is the fastest growing smartphone segment in the country.

The C2: Features

• Long lasting battery life: Packed with a power full battery life of 4000mAh that’s built to last long.
• Design: Special focus has been given to design, the C2 comes in a 12.7 cm (5) HD IPS Display and is available in Royal Blue and Royal Black and comes with a scratch free back cover. The side keys and power button come in golden decorative color.
• Security features: Installed with unique security features such as Intruder Selfie, Antivirus and Anti-Theft.
• Camera: Rear Camera 8 MP Auto-focus with flash and selfie camera 8 MP with flash. The camera’s beauty function is another highlight.
• Memory: 3 slots for 2 SIM and 1 Micro SD Card which is expandable up to 128GB memory. 2 + 16 GB internal memory.
• Additional features:  Comes with earphone and smartphone protection case addressing to the convenience expectations of the customer.  Other features include - high-quality music player, 64 Bit Quad Core Mediatek chipset, COMIO UI based on Stock Android and Android 7.0 Nougat.

On the launch, Sanjay Kumar Kalirona, CEO and Director, COMIO India said, “In a very short span of time since our India launch, we have received a tremendous response from our consumers. With the launch of COMIO C2, we are moving towards are vision of becoming leaders in the INR 6-10K (mid-segment). The C2 has been designed keeping the Indian smartphone user in mind, one who is looking for a fully loaded handset at an affordable price point.”

Designed to deliver, our COMIO C2 is a perfect balance of powerful performance, fast connectivity and better battery life. The device is also embedded with the Freezer and Clone Application. The Freezer app allows you to as many applications as you wish without the worry of space constraints whereas the Clone app allows for ease of transfer of data from one handset to another.

COMIO smartphones come with the valuable anti-theft feature preloaded in all handsets. In case of any suspicious activity, SIM based alerts are shared with the registered alternate mobile number. One of the interesting feature of Anti-theft is the image click seek, wherein when someone tries to unlock the device by trying to break the pattern or PIN, the device will automatically take the image of the unauthorized person. This Intruder Selfie allows you to easily see who has tried to unlock your device without your authorization.

Other options include the lock and unlock feature, shutdown blocker, SIM related functions and back up- call logs, messages, calendar & contacts.