Persistent Systems in association with MHRD, AICTE, IIT Kharagpur,i4C and Rambhau Prabhodini Mhalgi is co-organizing Smart India Hackathon 2018 – Hardware edition. The 5-day hackathon was inaugurated by Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Human Resource Development, Government of India and Chief Patron - Smart India Hackathon 2018.
In its second year, the Smart India Hackathon has added a new dimension to challenge thousands of technology students in India to craft practical hardware-backed solutions for challenging problems statements as identified by 14 Union Ministries and 10 State Governments. The final rounds of the 5-day Hardware Edition are set to take place across 10 nodal centers in India.
Dr. Anand Deshpande, Chairman and MD, Persistent Systems, Co-chairman, Smart India Hackathon 2018, “Smart India Hackathon is an opportunity for students to go beyond their prescribed curriculum by being innovative and enterprising while solving problems of national interest. We hope this platform will help them boost their confidence and motivate them to take on entrepreneurship and other challenges in life.”
Dr. Abhay Jere, Secretary, Organizing Committee, Smart India Hackathon 2018 says, "It is a proud moment for us as we not only conceptualized but also executed the Smart India Hackathon to establish the world’s biggest innovation model – an endeavor which other countries may want to further replicate. We have received a phenomenal response for the Hardware edition of SIH 2018 and some of the solutions have great potential for success and provebeneficial for India’s progress. We believe that more than 25 start-ups will take root from this initiative and we look forward to the outcome of the grand finale with a lot of enthusiasm.”
Smart India Hackathon 2018 Highlights:
Software Edition – A 36-hour software product development competition was held on 30th and 31st March, 2018
Hardware Edition – A new inclusion, where teams will compete against each other in a 5-day challenge to build hardware-backed solutions held in the month of June 2018
Smart India Hackathon 2018 Hardware Edition Fact File:
This Hardware edition has received over 7500 submissions. This is supported by 14 Union Ministries and 10 State Governments
Over 68 problem statementswere identified by government departments which include environment, agriculture, health among others.
A total of 106 are shortlisted this year for the grand finale and each team will consist of 6 students and up to 3 mentors from industry and/or academia
10 Nodal centers will conduct the finale.
Persistent Systems conducted live trainings on Facebook for students
A family of 9 children and their parents have been rescued from bonded labour and human trafficking in a farm in Marlawadi Village, Kanakapura, Ramanagara District by the Ramanagara District Administration, Labour Department and the Harohalli Police. The family was trafficked from Denkanaikottai, Krishnagiri District, Tamil Nadu and was living and working on the farm for four years.
An FIR (195/18) has been registered at the Harohalli Police Station under section 370 of the IPC (Trafficking of Persons), sections 16, 17, 18 of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 and sections of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016. The police are on the lookout for the owner.
Six of the nine children, ranging from 4 to 17 years worked from 10 am to 6pm everyday taking care of 20 goats and 15 cows, grazing, feeding and milking them. The husband and wife worked from 4:00 am till 7:00 pm daily taking care of the agriculture work on the farm, growing tomatoes and bananas.
According to the statements by the couple, the last two children aged 10 months and two years were born on the farm and delivered by the husband as they were not permitted to go to the hospital. The children have had no access to any medical facilities. They have never received any vaccinations, not even the basic vaccination for polio. None of the children have received any education at all.
In four years the family was never allowed to go outside the farm together or visit their home village. Only the husband, aged around 40, was allowed to go to shops near the farm to buy provisions for the family. “Several times I told the owner I want to leave and put my children in school but he abused us and said it’s not needed. He used to always abuse us using vulgar words saying we are not working well even though we worked from 4:00 am till 7:00 pm on all seven days. When my wife’s brother passed away, we asked permission to go back to our village for the funeral but he did not allow us. He said let the dying die why should you go? In the last four years we have never gone back to our village as a family,” he says.
Last year his mother passed away in his home village but the owner refused to let him go immediately. After repeated requests the owner only let him go but did not give him any bus fare. He had to finally walk to his village and by the time he managed to reach his mother, she was already buried.
The family was exploited and worked all seven days a week. When they were first brought to the farm four years ago by a person known to the owner, they were promised Rs. 65,000 a year as advance. However, this was a false promise and when they first arrived the owner gave them only Rs 20,000 as an advance and thereafter no advance was given in the following years.
After the initial advance, the whole family only received Rs 1,000 – Rs 2,000 a month for their sustenance. The entire family of 11 had to manage all their daily expenses including food with this meagre wage. The prescribed minimum wage for an agricultural estate worker in Karnataka begins at Rs. 304 per person per day. However, these labourers were paid way below this wage.
The District Administration is conducting further enquires with the survivors and will be issuing them release certificates before their repatriation to Tamil Nadu. The Administration is also coordinating with the collector’s office in Tamil Nadu to receive the survivors upon their arrival and for further rehabilitation.
Trafficking labourers, giving an advance and exploiting them are serious crimes with a minimum sentence of 14 years if children are involved and a maximum sentence of up to life in prison under IPC 370 (Trafficking of Persons).
Six technology startups from the NetApp Excellerator Cohort 2, an initiative of NetApp India have graduated at the Demo Day in Bengaluru. The four months initiative launched earlier this year, is an effort to help start-ups create market-ready products and solutions by providing access to the technology companies’ expertise, along with its ecosystem of partners and customers. NetApp has also announced applications for the Cohort 3 are open until August 5 with focus on B2B startups in the data-driven areas of AI, robotics, machine learning and data analytics.
The six tech start-ups are SigTuple, Nanobi, ArchSaber, Anlyz, Dataken and BlobCity have demonstrated their achievements and progress to venture capitalists.
Speaking to the media on the occasion, Deepak Visweswaraiah, Senior Vice-President & Managing Director, NetApp India says, "NetApp had selected these six data driven startups for their cohort 2 of the NetApp Excellerator program. The selected startups received $15,000 equity free grant and access to NetApp facilities, our deep technologies, HR, marketing and other functions has helped them scale to the next level. We are only promoting their startups and don't own any equity in these ventures including their Intellectual Property (IP).
However, the startups from the second cohort of NetApp Excellerator or the third will continue to work in the data-driven areas of artificial intelligence, analytics, cloud & machine learning, he said.
He goes on to say that mentoring and interacting with the startups have proven to be a great learning experience for us. This year, we saw a diverse mix of startups with respect to gender, stage of evolution and geography - a proof-point that increasing numbers of startups recognize the importance of our data driven business model.
The program received close to 450 applications for the Cohort 2, from around 250 that registered for the cohort 1. Of these, 10 were shortlisted to participate in a rigorous boot camp that concluded with the six being selected for the cohort 2. Below are the startups that graduated from the cohort 2...
SigTuple
SigTuple builds intelligent screening solutions to aid diagnosis through AI-powered analysis of visual medical data. They are building an artificial intelligence (AI) platform called Manthan, which helps them analyze visual medical data efficiently for their customers. Manthan enable Sigtuple team to work on five major high-volume, screening processes of the health care industry – analysis of peripheral blood smears, urine microscopy, semen, fundus & OCT scans and chest x-rays.
They are working with pathology labs and hospitals to get data for developing our solutions. Each of their solutions is built in partnership with a medical institution and specialists so that the product scope and roadmap are in line with the requirements of the final users.
DataKen
Dataken’s Data Science Platform with cognitive capabilities provides Ingest, transform, visualize and analyze capabilities to deliver actionable proactive and predictive business insights across segments. With highly scalable computational, storage and machine learning capabilities along with 250+ industry adaptors are designed to deliver results in complex ecosystem. The platform’s capability has empowered business and operations team to extract, configure and analyze data to meet business demand, real-time.
Dataken’s platform provides one-stop solution to meet the future demand of organizations embarking on IoT, SDN, NFV, LTE, Social commerce and data monetization. The business layer provides 100+ out-of-box solutions for communications, banking & finance, insurance, health care and manufacturing sectors to accelerate their outcome.
Blobcity
BlobCity provides its customers with end to end data capabilities by making storing and processing diverse data easy. Most analytic products today are required to collectively analyse data of diverse natures, BlobCity offers real-time analytics over this diverse data. For the analysis of transactional data at the speed of transactions, one needs a real-time analytics system. Example in case could be ATM fraud detection, where your analytical algorithm needs to analyse possible fraudulent nature of an on-going ATM swipe, before the machine actually dispenses the cash.
Unlike ATM’s, not all systems need analytics at real-time. If you want to analyse stock market data of the previous day, compare it with a year’s trend and then take a position when the market opens next day, you need a system that can perform this analysis with low-latency to be able to complete analytics for all stock quotes before the markets re- open. Depending on the nature and complexity of the requirement, the term low-latency covers processing times from a few milliseconds to even several hours. BlobCity’s analytics solutions are extremely well suited for such requirements and support high volume of transactions without compromising on analytics speeds.
Nanobi Data & Analytics
Nanobi delivers analytical insights to clients that help them better understand their customers. Their analytical solutions deliver measurable business impact across revenue upside, cost optimization and end-consumer delight to clients in the healthcare, BFSI space.
Their powerful LiquiData Platform integrates data warehousing, business intelligence, predictive and prescriptive analytics into a single visual stack thereby allowing their clients the ease, efficiency and flexibility of using a one-stop platform to serve their analytical requirements. With a “nanomart” based data architecture and a rich API framework, solutions are built speedily and in easy to consume modules. Nanobi’s platform has built-in conversational bots, which makes it easy for anyone across the enterprise to use analytics to drive decision-making.
Anlyz
Anlyz is a next-gen security product with granularity and visibility of enterprise threat landscape, using machine/deep learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to address enterprise cybersecurity needs.
In the current ecosystem, information is the most valuable currency. Anlyz’s wheels are constantly in motion, scanning the slightest digital cues to keep information safe for their clients. Equipped with advanced cyber capabilities like machine learning, AI & sophisticated hunting, Anlyz is geared to take on threats to predict and prevent attacks even much before they happen.
ArchSaber
Founded in Feb 2016, ArchSaber automates the diagnosis and prediction of issues occurring in a large and complex IT stack. ArchSaber helps enterprises by giving real-time diagnosis of an incident including comprehensive details, from root cause(s) to the critical services, so the resolution can be handled immediately before it becomes an outage.
The firm does deep analytics over finely grained data and ensures that clients get clear causalities amongst events, depicting the domino effect in form of a cause & impact graph.
Cigna’s, India business, Cigna TTK Health Insurance, a joint venture between U.S.-based global health services company, Cigna Corporation and Indian conglomerate TTK Group, today announced the appointment of Prasun Sikdar as its new MD and Chief Executive Officer following regulatory approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). He succeeds Sandeep Patel, former MD and Chief Executive Officer, who will take over as Chief Strategy and JV Officer for Cigna and will serve as Director on the Cigna TTK Health Insurance Board.
Prasun will be responsible for building upon the company’s already strong position in India. He will continue to focus on delivering innovative products and services to the company’s growing customer base. With his deep experience in partnerships, he will also be working with the leadership team to further expand the company’s distribution channels, while enhancing the brand and creating long-term value for the organization and its customers.
Jason Sadler, President, International Markets, Cigna said: “We are delighted to have appointed Prasun as we continue to grow at a fast pace across India and deliver products and services to improve the health, well-being and sense of security of our customers. I am confident that his passion for innovation, as well as his rich and diverse experience, will add immense value and strengthen our market position in India.”
Prasun brings more than 22 years of leadership experience in financial services and deep insurance knowledge to Cigna TTK. Before joining Cigna TTK, Prasun was Group President and Global Head at Yes Bank, where he managed and grew key bancassurance and mutual fund alliances and partnerships. Prior to this he was a founding member and Senior General Manager – Chief Sales & Distribution at ICICI Prudential Life Insurance. During his 17 years with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, he worked across several portfolios including Operations & Underwriting, Bancassurance, Agency, Alternate Distribution, Health Business and Sales Strategy. Before ICICI Prudential Life, he has been associated with GE Capital (SBI Cards) and Citicorp.
Cigna TTK is one the fastest growing health insurance companies in India and has created a niche in the health and wellness sector by offering its customers innovative products and services. Since commencing operations in 2014, the company has established a significant presence in the market and has fostered new partnerships with leading financial institutions. In 2018, Cigna TTK was recognized as the Best Health Insurance Company at the Indian Insurance Summit and was certified as a ‘Great Place to Work’.
Commenting on his appointment, Prasun said: “I am honoured to become part of the Cigna TTK family and am excited to have the opportunity to lead this respected organization. Health Insurance continues to be a fast-growing segment and I see tremendous opportunity for Cigna TTK to support access to health and wellness. I look forward to building a superior customer experience, delivering profitable growth for the organization and enabling the expansion of quality healthcare to millions of people in India.”
With the FIFA season in full swing, Xploree AI keyboard, the smart mobile keyboard app by KeyPoint Technologies, has introduced FIFA themes on the app. There is a total of 9 themes representing 8 participating countries as well as one common theme for soccer fans. The themes are designed as per each team’s national flag to represent the individual countries that are participating in the FIFA World Cup 2018.
Xploree has been constantly enhancing the user experience of their smart keyboard based on customer usage patterns and feedback. So, if you are chatting with your friends, sharing updates on FIFA or discussing the matches, then Xploree smart keyboard with FIFA themes is the best app for all your chat sessions.
Xploree is the world’s 1st mobile keyboard application that understands user’s intent and gives real time recommendations. Currently, on 20 million devices, Xploree allows users to receive relevant recommendations and content while they chat, search, browse apps, etc. The keyboard understands and identifies user intent, preferences, interests and maps them to real time discoveries. The app’s brand partnerships and the ability to bring value to users with 150 global and Indic languages, is being leveraged by brands across all verticals, to establish direct engagement with consumers, including those associated with this FIFA season.
The brand enjoys immense consumer satisfaction due to their superior quality products, promptness and service levels. Melorra is the only jewellery brand to have invested in the latest CAD (Computer Aided Design) technology, enabling high precision and accuracy to execute & convert computer sketches into virtual 3D models. The models are then rendered with real material input. Equipped with the latest technology,
Melorra leads the modern gold jewellery space with marque collections for any outfit. It is also one of the leading jewellery brands that showcases 12 different collections in a year to excite the consumers with their edgy and fashionable fine jewellery to keep up with the changing wardrobe.
Melorra, India’s first fashion inspired fine jewellery brand has branched out to 25,000+ pin codes and is ready to expand its presence in the country to bridge the gap between jewellery and fashion. Modern day consumers demand accessories which allow them to stand out from the crowd. This increasing demand to appear fashion conscious has paved the way for Melorra to expand their realms across the country catering to a wider audience. Melorra is one of the fastest growing fashion inspired fine gold and diamond jewellery brand that styles jewellery for the contemporary wardrobe inspired by fashion trends.
Melorra has a strong presence in Tier 1 cities and has recently in April 2018 enhanced its accessibility across smaller pockets of the country. Banking upon its strong distribution operations, the brand allows consumers to enjoy the luxury of home delivery in the fine jewellery space. From Itanagar to Kanyakumari, Melorra offers Cash on Delivery to all pin codes in India and hopes to bridge the jewellery-wardrobe mismatch of the modern woman.
Melorra has rapidly expanded and made a mark in the Indian jewellery segment with a high net promoter score (NPS) of 50+. One of its key success factors are the brand’s fine jewellery design creations. They are unique, stylish & refreshed every month with new collection launches. Melorra aims for customer satisfaction in all aspects from quality to style and closely works with fashion stylists to meet the changing jewellery needs of a modern woman.
Commenting on the brand’s growth Saroja Yeramili CEO & Founder of Melorra.com, “Melorra was conceptualized to disrupt the Indian jewellery segment. Traditionally the Indian jewellery market is heavily dominated by traditional wedding jewellery pieces which cannot be adapted to suit modern day casual or workwear restricting the option to wear fine jewellery. Melorra aims to redefine the dynamics of everyday gold jewellery by creating fashion inspired/ forward master pieces that endeavours to amplify the country’s fashion quotient.”
GAMERZ LOOP is a new sports-centric immersive and interactive entertainment center. One of the largest indoor entertainments is now at the heart of the Central Bengaluru (Kamaraj Road, next to Commercial Street). All elements of fun - be it food, games or celebrations - are under one roof. Offering fresh Virtual Reality experiences, glow-in-the-dark indoor paintball, indoor net cricket and so much, Gamerz Loop is now the absolute favourite fun destination for the shoppers in Commercial Street.
What’s more, there are a host of delectable treats to savour at the Café Amore, which is the only A/C food court in Commercial Street, conveniently placed inside Gamerz Loop. With brands like Kapoor’s Café, Chicking, Gelato and more, Café Amore is where hungry shoppers come to fill up their appetite. If you feel hungry after all that gaming, you can enter I cafe called ‘Café Amore’ where you can expect to lose yourself in an eclectic menu.
Bengaluru has not only been long known as the Silicon Valley of India, but is also immensely popular for its entertainment, music and food culture. The launch of Gamerz Loop going to give the city, many reasons to cheer as we bring to Bengaluru, a never seen before gaming experience with fresh concepts, powerful simulative technology and innovative design
If you’re looking for an adrenaline-pumping celebration, will also accommodate up to 400 people for private events, team building activities, corporate outings and birthday parties. With special packages, it’s a great option for celebrations with a difference. Whether you want to improve your sports skills, spend an active weekend with friends or just unwind with the family, Gamerz Loop is a place that has it all.
Gamerz Loop is ideal for all ages above 6 years. Teenagers, Couples and entire families are sure to have great fun. Gamerz Loop is also ideal for Corporate get-togethers, Team Outing, Team Building, Birthday Parties etc., considering that great food and fun are just a snap-of-a-finger away.
Gamerz Loop has a beautifully designed Kid’s Zone that comes with a special go-kart zone where kids can try their hands at driving. Professional care managers are available to keep an eye on the high-spirited lot!
Syed Khaleel, Founder of Gamerz Loop Said “ Gamerz loop is a one of kind experience centre for families and friends to have a memorable and shared experiences whilst using technology to bring them together. Our experience is all about mind and body where customers interact within the virtual environment as one of a kind with basic to extreme experiences. We do this in various ways with 25 of our attractions with quality entertainment in mind and diverse special events and attractions. Our guest also visit the food court expecting friendliness, cleanliness, service with quality and fun right in commercial street. At gamerz loop we take pride in serving our guest with pomp and galore”.
Gamerz loop is committed to create wholesome and awesome experiences. We are one of its kind family entertainment centre because we provide thrilling to light hearted yet distinctive experiences for our guest irrespective of age groups. Gamerz loop has changed the way people celebrate birthdays and parties because at gamerz loop every guest is special and adorable hence we make every moment memorable too. We can provide amazing birthday or get together experiences for as low as Inr 15000/- for 3 hours with games. We have party halls right at commercial street cross roads that can accommodate around 400 people. We invite one and all to come and experience us.
Whether you’re a PS-4 obsessed gamer or just somebody looking for a nice play to hang out with their friends, Gamerz Loop is clearly the next place in your bucket list.
Address: Gamerz Loop, 286, 2nd floor, Commercial Plaza, Kamaraj Rd, Sivanchetti Gardens, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560042
Price for games - Inaugural offers-5 games @ 299
http://www.gamerzloop.com/
Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL), the country’s second largest car manufacturer and the largest exporter since inception launched the innovative, Emotional and Recalling Brilliant Moments with Hyundai Campaign to celebrate 20 Years of Sales and Production in the Indian Market. To celebrate Hyundai’s legacy and thank over 5.5 Million valuable customers, emotionally connecting Brilliant Moments with Hyundai (BMH) campaign will invoke nostalgic memories to connect with all Hyundai customers. The Brilliant Moments Campaign will provide a unique experience through various experiential Marketing, Sales and Service Initiatives at all Hyundai Touch points and invite the customers of SANTRO, ACCENT and i10 to share their brilliant moment stories.
In Phase I, between June 27 to July 31, Hyundai will release two emotionally connecting films ‘The Deal with ACCENT’ and ‘Army with SANTRO’ and will be promoted on Social Media and digital platforms. The customers of iconic Hyundai brands – SANTRO, ACCENT and i10 would be invited to share their Brilliant Memories with Hyundai through the microsite www.BrilliantMoments.in, special letter boxes at the Hyundai dealership network, email on entries@brilliantmoments.in and Whatsapp (8130121212).
In Phase II, Top 10 #BrilliantMoments stories shared by the Hyundai customers would be made into individual films and promoted on the microsite www.BrilliantMoments.in.
In Phase III, Top 10 Brilliant stories would be promoted for voting and the top 3 films with highest votes would be chosen as winners. The Winners will be gifted Hyundai cars at a mega event in presence of our corporate brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan, domestic holiday for 10 couples and 1000 gift vouchers for lucky winners.
Speaking at the launch of Brilliant Moments Campaign, Y.K Koo, MD and CEO, Hyundai Motor India Limited said “ As we set our vision for the next 20 years to become the Most Beloved and Trusted, Modern Premium Brand, attain Market Leadership and be a Great Place to Work, we want to thank and extend gratitude to all our customers who entrusted us with their Love, Trust and became a part of this beautiful journey in the past 20 years.”
He further added “Since the launch of SANTRO in 1998, Evolution of a Revolution has been the DNA of Hyundai. As a Dynamic and Modern Premium Brand, with a strong philosophy of Making in India for the World, our products have redefined the auto industry and are a true expression of Hyundai’s Innovation, Global Technology-led Execution and our Futuristic approach towards clean and connected mobility solutions. We would like to continue this successful journey for the next 20 years and realize our vision of becoming Lifetime Partners in Automobile and beyond.”
To commemorate these 20 years and trust in Brand Hyundai, the Customers of SANTRO, ACCENT and i10 can avail special service offers during the month of July 2018:
- Free comprehensive car inspection
- 10% discount on spare parts
- 20% discount on mechanical labour, oil and value added services
Sasken Technologies Ltd., (formerly Sasken Communication Technologies Ltd.), a leading product engineering and digital transformation solutions provider, recently sponsored and participated in LiveWorx 2018 held from June 17 to 20, in Boston, USA. At the event, Sasken who is a Certified ThingWorx Ecosystem Partner, showcased its expertise in Digital Services and demonstrated its Asset Performance Management and AR-based Field Force Productivity solutions for Industrial IoT (IIoT).
Increasing customer economic value, personalization expectations and need for smart, connected products are forcing companies to re-think their next generation of industrial products and traditional methods of manufacturing. The focus is to produce dynamic and customized products for every consumer at faster rates with lower production costs. Sensor driven IoT technology is enabling industries to face challenges in their physical to digital journey. Industrial manufacturers across the globe are now looking to get real-time view of operations, which will help them make quick and informed decisions thus increasing operational efficiency and productivity.
"Digital is a business transformation enabler for our customers in the Industrials, Manufacturing, and Transportation verticals,” said Raman Sapra, Executive Vice President and General Manager – Digital Services, Sasken. “Sasken’s strategy is pivoted around building Digital capabilities in the B2B segment to drive the Digital transformation journey of our customers. We have built strong practices in the form of Digital Platforms, Mobility, UX/UI, IoT, AR/VR, Analytics, and Blockchain. Through these capabilities we enable our customers to implement Digital Transformation solutions that help them create new business models, deliver exceptional customer experience, and achieve superior levels of operational efficiency. At LiveWorx 2018, we were delighted to showcase our comprehensive set of capabilities in the Digital space to customers and partners," he added.
Sasken’s has enabled customers to increase productivity, reduce downtime, drive profits, and achieve enhanced end-user satisfaction. It has partnered with customers to address complex needs around IIoT platform development and roll-outs, modernizing legacy applications, cloud enabling automation and control systems, enhancing field force productivity, and building intelligence across machines, devices, and plants.
ExxonMobil Lubricants Pvt Ltd. has partnered with GoMechanic - a branded network of technology-enabled service centers - as their exclusive lubricant partner to provide complete car care to customers. GoMechanic is an emerging startup currently offering their services in Delhi NCR & Mumbai and plans to further expand to Pune, Bengaluru and Hyderabad by the end of 2018.
Car owners can book services at convenient prices by logging on to the GoMechanic website, the android app or over a call/ WhatsApp. GoMechanic allows people to avail hassle-free, fast, and affordable quality services.
Speaking on the partnership, Deepankar Banerjee, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ExxonMobil’s lubricants business in India, said, “We are constantly on the lookout for disruptive ideas – ideas that solve global problems at a local scale. GoMechanic, which leverages technology to bring transparency in the automobile maintenance and service market, fits into our partnership criteria well.”
The scheduled service offering is priced starting at Rs. 1999/- and varies depending on the customers’ car model. Customers can opt for a free car pick-up and drop-off service or book an appointment and drive to the GoMechanic partner workshop. GoMechanic enables customers to save more on their service and repair costs as compared to an authorized service centre. Gomechanic’s asset light model of business and centralized procurement and supply of spare parts are targeted to save on labour and material costs, adding to the customer’s advantage.
“As a brand, our goal is to provide performance and superior quality which our customers across the world enjoy. Our association with GoMechanic as their exclusive lubricant partner will help us reach a larger audience, giving them an opportunity to experience the superior
quality of the lubricants that we offer”, said Kapil Mittal, Director of Market Development – India for ExxonMobil Lubricants Pvt. Ltd.
Kushal Karwa, Co-Founder, GoMechanic, said, “We are delighted to have Mobil, a world leader in automotive lubricant technology on board as our official lubricant partner. Together, we believe we can provide the most transparent and reliable car repairs solution to our customers. With this association we aim to achieve a strong leadership position in the region’s fragmented automobile maintenance & spare parts market, and build a strong foundation for servicing into other geographies.”
Mobil has also collaborated with GoMechanic to offer a special subscription for UBER drivers across Delhi and Mumbai.
Fullerton India Credit Company Limited (Fullerton India), a leading non-banking financial company with a strong pan-India presence, has partnered with Paytm to enable a hassle-free payment solution for its customers. This collaboration is aimed at enhancing customer experience by empowering users to pay Equated Monthly Instalments (EMIs) as well as their past dues through Paytm, with a single click.
Through this paperless and secured platform, customers will now be able to repay their loan instalments safely and conveniently through Fullerton India’s website or by logging onto the Paytm App. This will enable customers to make the payments swiftly and in a timely manner, thus helping them enhance their credit worthiness. Currently, this service is available for the customers of the urban business of Fullerton India.
Commenting on the partnership, Ms. Rajashree Nambiar, CEO & MD, Fullerton India, said “With the advent of innovative and cashless payment solutions, it is imperative to provide customers with alternate payment channels. We are delighted to announce our collaboration with Paytm which will enable us to provide a seamless payment solution for the growing needs of our customers. Further, this tie-up is a step forward in Fullerton India’s agenda of driving sustainable growth through an evolved end-to-end digitisation process.”
Fullerton India has been committed to improving customer experience through the adoption of digital initiatives. The company has a self-learning chatbot called ASHA – available on Facebook messenger - which provides an interactive medium for customers to apply, submit documentation and receive loan approvals. Fullerton India also has Instaloan, a special Android application for millennial customers seeking personal loans. Bio-metric authentication processes and transaction devices are some of the other unique initiatives introduced by the company in India.
National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India, has collaborated with deAsra Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation, for capacitating training providers with sustained entrepreneurship development of the trainees. The collaboration would support the establishment of ‘Entrepreneurship Support Program’, which is intended to equip placement cells of training providers with self-employment/ entrepreneurial assistance for the skilled candidates.
The association would facilitate training of counsellors/ trainers (termed as ‘Udyog Mitras’) of the envisioned Entrepreneurial Cell, who will handhold skill trainees to nurture their entrepreneurial action plan. This would include various aspects of developing a business model, seeking financial guidance, availing services of banks/ agencies for loans and other statutory requirements. The counselling provided by these Udyog Mitras is proposed to help aspirants in exploring new avenues and facilitating financial support for enhancing employability.
NSDC’s affiliated training centres would also get access to the deAsra platforms, tools and knowledge resources such as the deAzzle mobile app, business guides across industries, trackers, templates, checklists and proposed Interactive Kiosks.
Commenting on the partnership, Manish Kumar, MD & CEO, NSDC said, “NSDC’s collaboration with deAsra will help in building capacity of our affiliated training partners to provide entrepreneurial support to their trainees. Business mentoring from experienced counsellors will enable aspiring youth to start their own businesses. The initiative will not only support small and micro entrepreneurship that can generate large scale employment opportunities, it will also help drive sustainable growth in employment.”
Dr. Anand Deshpande, Founder, Chairman and MD, deAsra Foundation said, “Every year, more than 12 million youth enter working age group, but the challenge remains to generate enough employment opportunities for this growing talent. deAsra endeavors to transform job seekers into job creators through its entrepreneurial support system and other array of services. We believe our collaboration with NSDC would contribute significantly to the Skill India Mission by creating successful entrepreneurs.”
deAsra’s Entrepreneurship Support Program is emerging as one of the key support modules which focuses on identifying the budding entrepreneurs across sectors. It will help Skill India trained candidates to acquire right guidance, facilitate business plans and provide allied services for establishing a new business. deAsra’s alliance with banks will enable mediation with financial institutions for facilitation of funds successfully. The trainees will also be mentored by Udyog Mitras, who will guide the entrepreneur through every stage of his/her business lifecycle, right from set-up to growth. Its network of professional service partners would also support entrepreneurs to connect with Chartered Accountants, Legal Advisors among others.
Skill India’s current training programs comprise a 40-hours module on Employability & Entrepreneurship Skills focusing on Life Skills, Digital Literacy and Financial Literacy. It’s a research-based guidance to establish, manage and grow a business through all the stages; de-risking entrepreneurship to a large extent. deAsra’s Entrepreneurship Support Program will further connect the trainees to Udyog Mitras to transform their dreams into reality.
Turkish Airlines recently released its Aviation Trends India 2017 survey in association with Nielson. The survey revealed the evolving demands of passengers for better experiences during mid to long-haul flights. Conducted online, the survey interviewed respondents to understand their likes and dislikes in the Before Flight, During Flight and After Flight phases of the journey.
The survey also reflected the growing acceptance of airline travel as a preferred mode of travel in India due to the growth of the sector with increased options in the form of airlines, routes and benefits. 50 per cent of the respondents preferred air-travel versus other forms of transport. 99 per cent of the respondents to the survey also expressed a willingness to take a long-haul flight in the next two years. Business class travel also saw a rise with 44 per cent of the respondents travelling business class in the past two years.
The respondents also shared a ‘wishlist’ of services and amenities that they would like to see in mid to long-haul flights in the future. Free and fast internet access and increased seat comfort ranked the highest in the wishlist. A significantly higher percentage of business and first class travelers expressed a need for child care on board and an area for network generation, compared to economy and premium economy travelers.
Sharing his views on the survey and its outcomes, Ozer Guler, General Manager, Northern & Eastern India, Turkish Airlines Inc. said, “The Indian civil aviation sector is on an undeniable growth trajectory. Favorable government policies, economic growth, an upwardly mobile middle-class and competitive air fares have given a rise to a willingness for people to adopt air travel as a preferred mode of transport in India. As such, their expectations and demands for services and ameneities have significantly evolved. The Turkish Airlines Aviation Trends Survey 2017 gives us a glimpse into this changing landscape and allows us to better address our customers demands and needs.”
Key Findings of the Survey
Before Flight:
· Good safety record (98 per cent) and the good reputation of an airline are given paramount importance while booking a mid or long haul flight. Good services on board in economy class, flexibility on luggage allowance and option of checking in at least one piece of luggage at no extra cost are especially important for passengers who have children.
· Own experience (71 per cent), close acquaintances and travel/comparison portals are the top three sources to trust for an airline recommendation. An easy to use website of an airline, travel bloggers/specialized online travel magazines, active digital sources of an airline, easy to use mobile application of an airline, advertising of the airline and reports on TV/radio were of a higher importance among business and first class travelers. All inclusive fares are an additional consideration factor for a majority of the respondents (74 per cent) as well.
· Long queues at the Check-in counter (75 per cent) and crowded waiting areas were the major pain-points for respondents. Insufficient information about possible delays also continues to be an issue for passengers.
· Online check-in via mobile apps/smartphones and automatic check-in service are the top two expectations of travelers regarding the check-in process. Business and first class passengers have higher expectations for automatic check-in services and early check-in opportunities.
During Flight
· Cleanliness of cabin/lavatory (97 per cent), quality of food & beverages (96 per cent) and friendly/attentive/accessible staff (96 per cent) are passengers’ prior expectations regarding a mid or long-haul flight.
· Mobile phone calls and inflight connectivity ranked high on the preference list of respondents (73 per cent), with a majority expressing an interest in using the services only if charges were slightly higher than normal usage tariffs.
· The majority of passengers wish presence of healthy food and the opportunity to drink water at any time during the flight. Also, choice of several menu options, multi-course menu and special food and drinks for children are other expectations of travelers from catering services on board.
· For a majority of passengers (97 per cent), healthy food options were a key factor for them to choose an airline. Also, choice of several menu options, multi-course menu and special food and drinks for children are other expectations of travelers from catering services on board.
· Key among the expectation for pre-landing services are information about customs regulations (96 per cent), information about the expected waiting period for entry (94 per cent) and advice about travel options (92 per cent).
After Flight
· Access to an arrival lounge (96 per cent) and a information desk in the baggage reclaim hall in case of lost luggage (96 per cent) are the two most important services on the ground for Indian travelers.
· Satisfaction with airline services in difficult situations such as damaged luggage (66 per cent), lost luggage (64 per cent), delayed flights (58 per cent) and cancelled flights (55 per cent) were key consideration factors in airline choice.
· Satisfaction with other services such as cabin lighting, cabin temperature, catering quality, in-flight entertainment, comfortable seating etc. are ancialliary deciding factors for passengers when considering an airline.
The online survey, conducted in partnership with Nielsen, reached out to a respondent pool comprised of individuals aged 18 years or older who have used flights as a mode of travel in the last two years and was conducted between 16 to 26 February, 2018.
Otocare, a leading automotive after market product and solution provider based out of Bengaluru, today unveiled more than 50 new products. From air conditioner to waterless foaming wash, the range includes a variety of auto care products in three categories; Cleaning, Enhancing and Protecting. Reasonably priced, the products are initially aimed to provide affordable auto care solutions in South India.
Otocare products are a perfect blend of quality and utility, while being environment friendly at the same time. Under the cleaning category, the waterless foaming car wash ensures that water consumption is significantly less as compared to a conventional car wash. In line with Otocare’s commitment towards a greener world, the new waterless foaming car wash will enable customers to save water, time and promote an environment cause.
With metro cities getting increasingly populated, water shortage has become a pressing issue in India. The recent droughts in some parts of the county is an evidence to the fact that how precious water is. Otocare’s waterless foaming car wash is addressing this issue by reducing wastage of water. Gallons of water wastage can be prevented by replacing the conventional car washing methods with these products.
“We are ecstatic to unveil our new range of auto care products. We at Otocare are responsible for a sustainable ecosystem, and our latest range of products are in line with the same. Made of bio-degradable chemicals, our products consist no toxic-chemicals that can have an adverse effect on the environment”, G. Krishna Kumar, Managing Director, Otocare, while commenting on the launch.
“Despite being pocket friendly, the products are high in quality and utility,” he added further.
Additionally, Otocare announced details about their franchise business Autospa, which helps customers keep their automobiles fresh and odor-free.
Otocare comprises a team of professionals who have worked in automotive after market industry for years. The company is a one-stop-solution for all products related to restoration, preservation and ongoing care of two and four-wheelers.
Amazon Prime Video today released the trailer of their new Prime Original series – Comicstaan. Produced by Only Much Louder (OML) and hosted by ace comedians Abish Mathew & Sumukhi Suresh, Comicstaan is a talent hunt to discover India’s next big comedic talent. The show brings together seven of India’s best comedians – Tanmay Bhat, Kenny Sebastian, Sapan Verma, Naveen Richard, Kaneez Surkha, Kanan Gill and Biswa Kalyan Rath, to guide, mentor and judge the budding talent, as they compete each week to win the coveted title. Comicstaan will be available exclusively to Prime members across 200 countries and territories starting July 13, 2018.
Speaking about Amazon’s latest Prime Original series, Vijay Subramanian, Director and Head, Content, Amazon Prime Video India, said, “Comedy is already one the most watched genres on Amazon Prime Video and customers, across age groups & geographies want to see more. Comicstaan will take customers on a hilarious journey alongside some of today’s most recognizable comedians, to search for India’s next big comedian. Unique, fresh and packed with jokes, the series will make you crack up. The future looks funny indeed!”
Ajay Nair, COO, Only Much Louder, said, “Comicstaan is the exciting next step in our long and fruitful relationship with Amazon. It ties all the best parts of Indian stand-up together into something fresh. Getting the country's top comedians to nurture and mentor new talent is an idea that excited us, and it's been extremely rewarding to see it all come together."
Get ready to laugh with Comicstaan – a nine episode series where ten contestants from across the country are chosen to compete for the winning title and mentored by comedian judges who are experts in their respective genres of comedy. Comicstaan is laugh-out-loud funny with carefully plotted jokes, quick witted dialogue and hilarious memorable moments that are relevant in pop culture today. The first four episodes are available to stream on July 13, followed by new episodes weekly.
Amazon Prime Video has the largest selection of latest & exclusive movies and TV shows, stand-up comedy, biggest Indian and Hollywood films, US TV series, most popular Indian & international kids’ shows, and award winning Amazon Prime Originals, all available, ad-free, with a world class customer experience.
To watch Comicstaan and the newest releases in Hollywood & Bollywood, the latest US TV shows, kids’ favorite toons and Amazon Prime Originals, please visit www.PrimeVideo.com or download the Amazon Prime Video app today and sign-up for a Prime membership.
Atlas Copco Oil-free Air and Compressor Technique Service Divisions, leading providers of sustainable productivity solutions held a global sales event in April with over 900 participants from 68 countries. Several product innovations in compressed air and gases were launched for the low, medium and high pressure markets. The new products will set new standards in reliability, energy efficiency and serviceability and are all part of the smart AIR solutions concept.
Smart AIR Solutions are complete air or gas solutions designed to provide our customers with the lowest life cycle costs for their equipment. They combine compressors, blowers and boosters with quality air solutions such as air dryers, coolers, nitrogen generators, filters or energy recovery solutions, fully optimized to operate together in the most efficient and reliable way. Our smart AIR solutions apply for all our customers and not only include products but also services.
A total of 12 new products were launched with each individual product being optimized for the best possible performance in energy efficiency, reliability and air quality.
New low pressure blower ranges include ZB and ZM centrifugal products, ZS rotary screw blowers and ZL lobe blowers. These products are extensions of the existing ranges with new compact designs increasing installation flexibility.
The brand new ZT 90-160 VSD/ ZR 90-160 VSD+ and GA 90+-160 (VSD+) air compressors provide compressed air with significant energy savings compared to previous generations. The new ZH 1000-3150 centrifugal compressors were introduced, extending the flow ranges and energy savings for larger customer, and the new ZP high pressure air cooled pack range for customers requiring pressure up to 42 Bar.
To complete the product launch, three new quality air products were introduced with a new innovative range of MDG rotary drum dryers with a guaranteed dewpoint of -40 0C and minimal energy consumption. New space saving twin filter design, and a new activated carbon tower range.
In order to maximize control and monitoring for complete compressed air systems, Atlas Copco developed its new Optimizer 4.0 central control and monitoring system. It optimizes a compressed air system through a selection of the most efficient combination of air compressors and dryers while assuring supply of the required pressure or having balanced running hours to minimize service intervals.
Moreover, Optimizer 4.0 is fully Industry 4.0 compatible, enabling the Internet of Things and the digital integration of the air compressed system with other intelligent networked devices to improve equipment performance, enhance predictive maintenance and further increase energy efficiency.
ITC Infotech, a global scale, full service provider of technology solutions and a fully-owned subsidiary of ITC Ltd., has been ranked a ‘Leader’ in the Global Outsourcing 100 report, for the 12th consecutive year by IAOP. ITC Infotech has also been identified as a ‘Super Star of the Global Outsourcing 100’ for its ‘Sustained Excellence’ consecutively this year.
IAOP annually produces The Global Outsourcing 100 list to help companies in their outsourcing decisions. This year IAOP continued its focus on programs for innovation and corporate social responsibility as these two elements are central to customer’s outsourcing decisions. IAOP has recognized ITC Infotech with sub-list honors in several categories including Customer References, Awards & Certifications, Programs for Innovation and Programs for Corporate Social Responsibility.
“We are proud to be consistently acknowledged for our excellence in outsourcing services for 12 consecutive years,” said Sushma Rajagopalan, CEO & MD, ITC Infotech. “We are delighted this report recognizes our commitment and excellence in delivering innovative differential solutions and an array of comprehensive outsourcing services. With our continued innovative creations such as Digitelligence@work and innoruption labs, we strive to provide best of class solutions for our clients and enhance their business operations.”
“In today’s economy, it is more important than ever for outsourcing buyers to be able to easily identify and select the right company for their outsourcing needs,” said IAOP CEO, Debi Hamill. “The Global Outsourcing 100 and World’s Best Advisors lists are the essential tools companies reference to make smarter decisions. We are proud to recognize ITC Infotech for being among the highest rated companies in customer references, company awards and certifications, programs for innovation, corporate social responsibility.”
Companies were judged on five critical characteristics for the rankings: Size and Growth as measured in revenue, employees, and global presence, Customer References as demonstrated through the value being created at the company’s top customers, Awards & Certifications, Programs for Innovation and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The aggregate scores from the five areas mentioned determine inclusion on the lists. The final scores are reviewed and allotted by an independent panel of IAOP customer members with extensive experience in selecting outsourcing service providers and advisors for their organizations.
The full version of the Global Outsourcing 100 rankings and lists of categories will be published on June 1, 2018 in a special issue of FORTUNE magazine.
Niki.ai, a pioneer in conversational commerce, integrated Amazon Pay into their app and SDK to facilitate seamless payments for transactions within a single chat window interface. Niki.ai has witnessed over 80 per cent repeat customers using Amazon Pay across 15+ services and 5+ platforms over the past 6 months, creating a unified digital payments success story for both the companies.
Driven by the shared philosophy of customer-obsession, these tech-first companies have joined hands to provide utmost convenience to the users by removing the friction on each step from choosing to discovering to paying for products and services.
With Amazon Pay, consumers transacting through Niki on its own apps (iOS, Android, Web) or on its SDK partners’ apps can use the same payment gateway across multiple services and platforms. Transactions happen primarily through Amazon Pay balance, leading to a one-step checkout. Besides Amazon Pay balance, customers can also use their stored cards on Amazon, thereby reducing payment friction to a great extent.
From the consumer's point of view, this ease of use and freedom of payment were habit-forming, and have led to an exponential growth in the number of transactions being carried out using Niki. About 80% repeat customers were using Amazon Pay to make bill payments, bus, hotel, movie ticket bookings and more, thanks to the lightning-fast checkout experience offered across platforms.
A pioneer in the conversational commerce space, Niki provides a simple and easy to use chat interface to shop for numerous products and services like movie and bus ticket booking, hotel and cab booking, utility bill payments, mobile recharges, local deals and laundry service, to name a few. To the businesses, it provides a plug and play technology in the form of Niki SDK that can be easily integrated everywhere, including operating systems, on messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger, and on the brand’s applications (Android, iOS and web).
With the simple integration, a brand can offer 25+ services provided by 60+ merchants on board, to its customers. The utility of SDK is already evident across sectors with some of the recent tie-ups with brands like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Federal Bank, iReff, Karbonn Smartphones, to name a few.
TPG Capital (TPG), the global private equity platform of alternative asset firm TPG, announced today that it has completed its acquisition of Wind River, a leader in delivering software for the Internet of Things (IoT). TPG’s acquisition of Wind River from Intel was announced on April 3, 2018. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.
For nearly 40 years, Wind River has helped the world’s technology leaders power generation after generation of the safest, most secure devices in the world. The company’s software runs the computing systems of the most important modern infrastructure and is accelerating the evolution from automated to autonomous systems across a diverse range of use cases — from collaborative robots to commercial and military drones, connected cars to the connected factory floor — as well as the intelligent communication networks that support these applications.
The newly independent company will be led by Wind River President and now Chief Executive Officer Jim Douglas. Nehal Raj, Partner and Head of Technology investing at TPG, will serve as Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors.
“Wind River is leveraging the power of IoT, intelligent devices, and edge computing to fundamentally transform critical infrastructure sectors,” said Raj. “This acquisition provides the company with the additional resources and focus needed to further differentiate itself as a market-leading provider of software for Industrial IoT. We look forward to working closely with management to identify and execute on opportunities to invest in organic and inorganic growth.”
“This is an exciting day for Wind River. Through this partnership with TPG, we will have new opportunities to innovate and evolve our industry-leading software portfolio, creating additional value for our customers and partner ecosystem,” said Douglas. “This acquisition is a clear endorsement of the unique value our software provides for accelerating digital transformation across critical infrastructure sectors, and we are thrilled to work with TPG in this next phase of our growth trajectory.”
TPG has a history of partnering with dynamic companies that are changing and enhancing different markets through innovative technology. Across platforms, select investments include C3 IoT, CCC Information Services, IQVIA (formerly QuintilesIMS), Intergraph, McAfee, Mediware Information Systems, Noodle.ai, and Zscaler.
Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and RBC Capital Markets acted as financial advisors to TPG. Ropes & Gray LLP served as legal counsel to TPG.
MobiKwik, one of India’s leading digital financial services platform, announced the appointment of Vinayak N as the Head of the Lending Business at MobiKwik. Vinayak is responsible for kick-starting the lending business for MobiKwik. His role will include designing relevant products to cater to the credit requirements of millions of Indians, forging relevant partnerships, launching the products in the market and ensuring a profitable and sustainable business. MobiKwik is in the process of conceptualizing a portfolio of lending solutions, in partnership with leading banking institutions and NBFCs.
Vinayak has over 15 years of experience with reputed Multinational and Indian Banking & Financial Services companies. Vinayak has joined Mobikwik from Fullerton India Credit Company Limited where he was Head of Alliances and was focusing on both digital and non-digital partnerships. In his earlier stint, Vinayak has held diverse portfolios in risk and product domains at Bajaj Finance Limited. He has also been the Head of Business and Insurance at Capital First, where he launched the cross-sell business.
Speaking on the appointment of Vinayak, Upasana Taku, Co-Founder and Director, MobiKwik, said “We are extremely delighted to welcome Vinayak as a part of the MobiKwik family. Digital financial services in India will disrupt the market just like China. MobiKwik will be at the forefront of this disruption and bring the power of digital credit to the masses. Vinayak has extensive experience in the financial services industry. I am confident that his business acumen and deep risk and control orientation, coupled with digital lending expertise will be extremely beneficial as MobiKwik creates its digital lending portfolio that can address the credit deficit problem in the country.”
“Mobikwik has been the flagbearer of the digital wallet industry with a huge customer base, with varied financial needs. I believe we have a great opportunity to offer credit solutions to the millions of users who have access to the internet and digital technology. We are working on creating an end-to-end lending product portfolio that will provide instant credit solutions to the masses, digitally. We hope to create a best-in-class Fintech lending ecosystem at MobiKwik. We have a great team in place and I am confident that we will be one of the leaders in the lending industry in the times to come”, added Vinayak N, Head- Lending Business, MobiKwik.
