Ravneet Gill Assumes Charge as the New Yes Bank MD & CEO

YES Bank said Ravneet Gill has taken charge as its MD and CEO with immediate effect for a tenure of three years.

“Ravneet Gill has joined YES Bank as MD & CEO today. His tenure as approved by RBI is 3 years from the date of his joining, i.e. March 1, 2019, to February 28, 2022,” YES Bank said.

The appointment of Gill will be subject to the approval of shareholders’ at the ensuing annual general meeting of the Bank to be held in June 2019.

Gill is not related to any of the directors of the Bank and he has affirmed that he is not debarred from holding the office of director by virtue of any order of Securities and Exchange Board of India or any other such authority, the private sector lender said.

YES Bank further said that Ajai Kumar has ceased to be an Interim MD and CEO of the Bank with effect from the close of business hours of February 28, 2019. Kumar continues as a non-executive non-independent director on the board of the Bank, it added.

With this, the bank’s new composition of the board of directors has ten members such as Brahm Dutt, part-time chairman; Mukesh Sabharwal independent director.

MVJ College of Engineering Inter-Collegiate Tech Fest “VERTECHX 9.0” Key Focus on Fighter Bots, Hackathon, IoT Challenge

Vertechx 9.0 is the National Level Technical Fest organised by MVJ College of Engineering. The Fest, which was held today on March 1, 2019, saw more than 1500 students, participated in various competitions that tested them on their technical and innovation skills.

MVJ College of Engineering hosted the inter-collegiate national level technical fest “VERTECHX 9.0” at its Whitefield Campus. The theme for the year was “Tech is Omnipresent” with over 1500 students and 40 colleges participating. Vertechx is a national level technical fest, and a platform for all students from engineering colleges across Karnataka and other states to congregate, showcase and prove their technical excellence in Co-curricular activities.  Competitions like Airborne, Aqua Soccer, E-Animate, Fighter Bot, Hackathon, Ideate, Info graphics, IoT Challenge, Pocket Bike Racing, Puzzle Championship, Drone GP, Speed-O-Track, Voice Controlled Robot were part of the two-day festival. Prizes worth Rs.4 lakhs were won by the participants from different colleges, at different events. The Chief Guest for the event Dr. I K Bhat, Vice Chancellor, Manav Rachna University is a distinguished academician and administrator, who has held many key positions in AICTE and NBA. The Chief Guest pointed out “The Success in Future depends upon a balance of Iteration, Innovation and Disruption. Iteration-Doing the same thing better, Innovation- Doing new things, Disruption – Doing New Things that make old things Obsolete. If you don’t disrupt yourself, it will be a gift to you by someone else” The event undoubtedly rose to the next level, with his presence.

About MVJ College of Engineering: MVJCE ranks high in Bengaluru for its singular dedication to world-class engineering and management education. From being the first (under VTU) to offer Aeronautical Engineering courses, to earning 125 University ranks in the last 10 years alone, MVJCE enjoys a solid reputation among the student community, particularly those with a passion for engineering. Today the college stands proud among the 61 engineering colleges in India and top10 engineering colleges in Bengaluru.

MVJ College of Engineering (MVJCE) Bangalore, (URL: www.mvjce.edu.in) has a 36-year legacy of producing quality industry-ready engineers. We offer courses in B.E. in Aeronautical, Mechanical, Electronics and Communication, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Computer Science, Information Science and Chemical Engineering all of which are accredited by NBA. We also offer B.E. Programme in Aerospace and Civil Engineering. apart from M.Tech programmes in 5 disciplines, and Research Centers in Aeronautical, Civil, Electronics & Communication, and Mechanical Engineering. Every year, around 3500 students study in MVJCE. Till date, more than 21,000 engineers have graduated from MVJCE. For the past four years, MVJCE has been positioned among the top 4 Colleges in the University for the number of University ranks its students have secured. The academic strength of MVJCE is reflected in the constant and excellent results over the past 10 years - above 96% University pass percentage, and 125 University ranks.

MVJCE has established Tinkering lab, Tomorrow’s Engineers club, UAV lab, Astronomy club, Robotics & Industrial automation lab, Entrepreneurship & Development cell, Idea box, Industry Institute Partnership Cell,  Infosys Campus connect programme, NI LabVIEW Academy.

Garmin India Opens New State-of-the-Art Showroom in Bengaluru

Garmin India Pvt Ltd, a unit of Garmin Ltd. has launched its first ever state-of-the-art, exclusive showroom in Bengaluru. The global leader in smart-watches, is extending its offline presence to make a strong connect with the client and cater their after-sell-service requirements.

Located at Sector 3, HSR Layout in the southern part of the tech-city of Bengaluru, near Electronic City, the fully operational showroom displays Garmin’s wide range of popular watches bringing in multiple options for its customers including Vivo series, Fenix series, Edge series, FR Series and newly launched Instinct.

The store was inaugurated in the presence of Mr. Ali Rizvi, National Sales Manager, Garmin India along with business partners and officials from Garmin India.

The showroom is equipped with service centre spread offering one stop solution to its customers, buying Garmin products. The showroom is also furnished with live units display counters of the watches, which helps customers to physically experience and make a choice of the products.

Keeping the fitness tracking as the main USP of the Garmin watches, the store is also equipped with running treadmill and indoor cycling trainer, which helps customers to check the quality and strength of Garmin watches and experience it of their own. They can also feel, differentiate and compare it to other watches or fitness trackers available in the market.

Commenting on the inauguration Mr. Ali Rizvi, National Sales Manager, Garmin India said, “Bengaluru is one of the most important markets for Garmin India and we are excited to announce that Garmin’s watches are the most preferred options for the buyers in the city, given its quality and wide range of our products. Whether the customer is looking for lifestyle watch, fitness watch or other sports watch, this showroom will cater to all the choices and needs of the customers. This is our first step to expand our network in Karnataka state.  We are confident that very soon we would have more touchpoints for our customers in the Southern India region.”

Garmin also offers smart wearable across price points with dedicated devices for golf and cycling activities amongst a range of other products. Recently, Garmin India has launched its first ever lifestyle watch – Instinct in India, a strong and durable GPS-enabled smart-watch with built-in 3-axis compass and barometric altimeter plus multiple global navigation satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS and Galileo) support and wrist-based heart rate monitor.

More Than 90% of Operators Fear Increasing Energy Costs for 5G and Edge: Survey

Vertiv, together with technology analyst firm 451 Research, has released the findings of an in-depth survey which reveals a good sense of optimism about the services 5G will enable and the interplay with edge computing. The majority of telecoms operators surveyed believe the 5G era will start in earnest in 2021 in all geographies, with 88 percent of respondents planning to deploy 5G in 2021-2022.

However, more than 90 percent of respondents believe 5G will result in higher energy costs and are interested in technologies and services that improve efficiency. This is consistent with internal analysis by Vertiv, which finds the move to 5G is likely to increase total network energy consumption by 150-170 percent by 2026, with the largest increases in macro, node and network data center areas.

The survey questioned more than 100 global telecoms operators about the opportunities and potential obstacles of deploying 5G services and the impact on edge computing adoption. Vertiv and 451 Research shared details of the findings at Mobile World Congress on February 27th in Barcelona, Spain.

“In India 5G will add more impetus to the app-based economy and improve user experience. India has the potential to be a global frontrunner in deployment and use of 5G networks, however, there are concerns around investments in deployment by service providers in India. Apart from investment another big concern is the high cost of electricity in India, which is crucial for service providers to manage the operations of networks. In the current scenario of tariff wars between the top three players, we expect the service providers to look for technologies that will optimize running costs when the 5G networks will be deployed.” said Dinesh Dhut, director - telecom, Vertiv India.

Regarding edge and 5G specifically, the survey reveals that a large majority of operators have deployed (37 percent) or plan to deploy (47 percent) edge compute that is aligned with mobile infrastructure – also called multi-access edge computing (MEC).

“This survey brings us clarity on telecom operators’ hopes and fears around 5G and edge deployments,” says Brian Partridge, research vice president for 451 Research. “The two toughest connectivity challenges for supporting 5G topologies were revealed to be upgrading access and aggregation layer networks and adding new backhaul links. Survey respondents indicated that the availability of high quality connectivity to distributed POPs and ease of site acquisition were viewed as the most critical enablers to 5G success. We were frankly surprised by some of these results and believe it brings clarity to the level of transformation the industry now faces.”

In addition to this latest survey, Vertiv has been conducting extensive research in the field, analyzing more than 100 use cases to define four main edge computing archetypes and recently releasing the paper, “Turning on 5G: Using Edge Archetypes to Identify the Most Mature Cases,” to quantify the potential impact of specific 5G implementations.

As well as the important touch-points between 5G and edge computing, the study from 451 Research and Vertiv examines some of the potential obstacles to 5G adoption and, importantly, the measures operators can take to mitigate them, such as Energy Savings as a Service (ESaaS). According to the survey, more than 90 percent of respondents said they are either extremely or moderately interested in ESaaS.

At last year’s MWC, Vertiv developed a global ESaaS contract for Telefónica, covering all facets from initial site assessment to comprehensive maintenance services and fit-for-purpose infrastructure solutions for core and access sites. Together with its partners and customers, Vertiv is developing new infrastructure, software and services to help manage the energy requirements associated with 5G and proactively optimize energy use.

T.I.E Announces Seminar on Research Publications, Grands and IPR on March 8, 2019 in Bengaluru

Technical Institute for Engineers is the professional body society which aims to promote the career growth of teachers and students in order to meet the engineering challenges of the world.

We educate our members and conduct activities to help them achieve their goals. We welcome the people to participate in society to deliver excellence in teaching, pioneering research and to establish a universal standard.

We are happy to announce that Technical Institute for Engineers is organizing a Seminar on Recent Publications, Grants & IPR, On March 8, 2019 at Davanam Sarovar Portico Suites, Bangalore.

This seminar is focused on to understand the process to publish a research paper in a journal, know more about research grants and also about the Intellectual Property Rights.

We have also invited the following eminent personalities as Guest of Honours and Speakers at the event.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Sells 12497 Units During February 2019

Toyota Kirloskar Motor has sold a total of 11760 units in the domestic market in the month of February 2019. The company exported 737 units of the Etios series this month thus clocking a total of 12,497 units.  In the month of February 2018, TKM sold a total of 11864 units in the domestic market and exported 841 units of the Etios series.

Commenting on the sales performance, Mr. N. Raja, Deputy Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “We have seen improvement in consumer sentiments as compared to last month leading to a growth in demand. However, the auto sales is witnessing a temporary slowdown in pre- election phase in addition to factors like tight liquidity condition impacting the buying behavior.

However, we are happy that the Innova Crysta continues to maintain the positive growth momentum in sales as compared to the same period last year.
                                                     
We are delighted with the overwhelming response that the All New Camry Hybrid Electric Vehicle or self-charging electric vehicle has received from customers across India. It is encouraging for us to see that the customers have recognized the enhanced product with advanced Hybrid technology with smart intuitive features unparalleled drive experience, luxury, quality, reliability and safety. We have more than 400 bookings already. We have sold more than 130 units since launch on 18th Jan 2019. We believe customers will understand and appreciate the benefits of clean & green-friendly self-charging electric vehicles. We are capitalizing all our efficiency to reduce the current waiting period for All New Camry Hybrid Electric Vehicle. We would like to sincerely thank our customers for their patience and relentless trust on Toyota products

We expect positive outlook in domestic sales in the month of March, which is generally good demand month for the industry. Additionally, the positive measures announced by the Government in Union Budget with thrust on rural economy will certainly boost the buying sentiments in the upcoming months.” He added.

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During the program’s expansion event at Rajkiya Balika Inter College, students learned and later explained complex scientific concepts such as reflection and refraction, eclipse, and inertia of motion, through simple experiments.

“Cultivating curiosity for science through innovative, fun, and experiential ways is what we undertook as a cause at Agastya. It was incredible to see the students explaining scientific concepts with clarity and confidence,” said Sai Chandrasekhar, Chief of Operations, Agastya. “Agastya is pleased to partner with Honeywell to make learning accessible to the bright young children from underprivileged communities.” 

“Being one of the world’s leading technology companies and a top recruiter of technology talent in India, we understand the importance of science, technology, engineering, and math education and its impact on the global economy,” said Mike Banach, General Manager, Honeywell UOP India. “It is gratifying to see the transformation that the Honeywell Science Experience has enabled among students in previous schools. We are glad to bring this program to students in Noida and Faridabad.”

Honeywell and Agustya Expand the Honeywell Science Experience Pprogram in the NCR

To commemorate National Science Day, Agastya International Foundation (Agastya) and Honeywell India today announced the expansion of the Honeywell Science Experience – an experiential science education program for middle and high school students and teachers of government schools in Noida and Faridabad.

Since the program’s launch in 2016, Honeywell Hometown Solutions India Foundation (HHSIF), the Company’s not-for-profit entity, has supported 25 science centers, 35 mobile science labs, and 3,000 student mentors, benefiting more than 135,000 students and 783 teachers in Delhi, Gurugram, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Madurai, Mysore, and now Noida and Faridabad.

The program’s uniquely scalable, hands-on teaching/learning method fosters child and teacher participation, encourages curiosity, and boosts experiential science education.

Microsoft Shows the “Way to Unlock Full Potential of AI” for India

Envisioning the potential of AI for India, and continuing in its mission to empower India, Microsoft detailed the country’s readiness for AI in a whitepaper titled ‘Age of Intelligence’.  Focus on making India a digital economy, mobile phone penetration, reduced data costs are all collaborating to make for an environment conducive to extend connectivity and services to the underserved segments of the population, Microsoft said in a whitepaper on AI, unveiled at the NASSCOM Technology and Leadership Forum (NTLF) 2019.

The whitepaper titled ‘Age of Intelligence’ outlines challenges and opportunities with respect to AI and how appropriate government policies, technological advancements including growing internet penetration and connectivity help reap benefits of digital transformation in years to come. Furthermore, Microsoft called for the technology industry to actively partner and engage to help realize India’s aspirations in AI, given that many of the initiatives outlined need technology as the backbone to achieve scale, efficiency and sustainability. Cloud infrastructure and rapid deployment of intelligent cloud services will play a key role in driving AI adoption in the country.

Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India said “Our ambition is to enable a human-centered approach to AI. India is currently at an inflection point in the adoption of AI. Building on the four foundational pillars – enabling digital transformation across industries, forging coalitions for innovation, building a future-ready workforce and creating sustained societal impact will unlock and accelerate the potential of AI. All of this should be done within an over-arching ethical framework for AI development and usage.”

In this paper, Microsoft presents an industry point of view on the ‘age of intelligence’ that this world is embarking upon, wherein intelligence will be experienced in every facet: in products and services, in the way individuals communicate, how organizations function and collaborate, and how society and countries evolve. Microsoft AI is a vision for empowerment – for every developer to innovate, every organization to redefine industries and every individual to transform society.

Developers to innovate

Microsoft is democratizing AI and is making the technology used in building its own AI applications available on Azure to empower developers and institutions in solving their most difficult problems.

For instance, a challenge in India relates to inclusion- given India’s linguistic diversity and literacy. This results in a digital language barrier, with services not being easily accessible to all citizens. AI is playing a key role in removing this barrier, by enabling voice recognition, text to speech and translation for all key Indian languages.

Once that is fully available, all services can be offered to all citizens, in the language of their choice. Microsoft is closely working with developers to bring these services to all major Indian languages.

Enterprises to redefine

Enterprises can achieve far more with a comprehensive AI being AI to every application, every business process, and every employee. AI enables organizations to take better-informed decisions by making it easy to derive insights from data, helping them expand customer engagement, optimize operations, and improve offerings. Reimagining business processes with AI also makes work more efficient, saving employees time so they can focus on higher priorities.

Healthcare – Healthcare sector will be transformed through effective use of analytics driven insights decoding the complex data available, which so far remained a significant challenge worldwide. Microsoft has enabled analytics-driven individualized treatment plans based on a patient’s genetic makeup, medical history, lifestyle along with cloud-based solutions to empower healthcare organizations and help them build and deploy compliant, virtual health assistants can provide users with conversational and engaging access to the most relevant and accurate healthcare services and information.

For instance, Narayana Health is looking at new avenues to optimize its operations and augment patient care with technology. One of the ongoing projects being piloted internally is to use Artificial Intelligence to decipher X-Rays to point out any irregularities from a normal X-Ray, which would help doctors save time in diagnosis.

Public Sector-. AI tools enable governments to connect with their citizens more effectively, eliminate waste, and protect sensitive information. Microsoft’s Smart cities – Intelligent technology and Citizen services tools are designed to tackle common challenges such as fee and toll management, traffic optimization, and sustainability as well as help provide citizens with easier access to consolidated government services through tracking, search, and conversational bots.

Education- Technology is creating unprecedented opportunities to connect students to the world around them and help them realize their full potential. Teachers, administrators, and technology innovators are collaborating to solve some of the most pressing challenges in education through AI. Microsoft’s AI is helping in enhancing accessibility in the classrooms and providing school-wide AI insights into student success and risk across entire schools or school districts help educators make informed decisions on how to improve student outcome

As India surges forward with its digital transformation, large and small organizations - both public and private - are waking up to the power of cloud computing, data analytics and intelligence. They are already beginning to use the transformative power of the cloud to improve their lives and businesses.

Society to transform

AI is a powerful tool for increasing access to information, education, employment, government services, as well as social and economic opportunities.

In its work to deploy AI, Microsoft is working with policy think tanks and research organizations such as Niti Aayog (National Institute for Transforming India) and ICRISAT in creating and adopting frameworks to accelerate AI-led digital transformation across sectors. This will help frame the guard rails of where and how AI should be used to instill trust and responsibility across AI-based systems.

India is digitally ready for a comprehensive AI framework aligned to industries long-term strategy. With the size of the market and opportunity for growth it’s imperative to implement AI for India that bring economic, societal and inclusive growth. Microsoft is best positioned to address the current AI needs and ready to support all stakeholders across the entire spectrum including government, businesses, and communities by collaborating with them to accelerate all AI opportunities to drive critical growth for India’s progress.

#AdvantageSpeed - ACT Fibernet Launches High-Speed Fiber Broadband Services in Jaipur

ACT Fibernet, India’s largest fiber broadband ISP (Internet Service Provider), today launched its high-speed fiber broadband services in Jaipur.  Aligning with the company’s new brand strategy ‘Feel the Advantage’, ACT Fibernet has introduced broadband plans that will enable residents of Jaipur to experience the advantage of futuristic internet speed and next-gen technology every day.

As part of this move, ACT Fibernet broadband plans will be available to customers beginning 1st March 2019. ACT Silver plan will offer 100 Mbps speed with 500 GB FUP limit, Likewise, ACT Gold plan will offer 150 Mbps with 1000 GB FUP limit.

In addition to this, customers subscribing to any of the broadband plans for a period of 6 months will get 1-month complimentary broadband internet connectivity along with 300 GB additional data over the subscription tenure. Similarly, on subscribing any of the broadband plans for a period of 12 months customers will get 2-month complimentary broadband internet connectivity along with 1200 GB additional data over the subscription tenure. Further, as an introductory offer, installation charges for ACT Fibernet’s broadband connection will be waived for the first 30 days of launch.

Speaking on the launch Bala Malladi, CEO, Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd. said, “Jaipur being one of the fastest-growing and most progressive cities, with its young population, requires cutting edge & futuristic internet technology. We are happy to launch our services in the city. We believe with our pioneering speed and next generation fiber broadband technology, we will help our customers feel the advantage of speed and explore new possibilities in the virtual space. Our goal is to enable them to have an enhanced home internet broadband experience with streaming, gaming, video calling, and much more in real time with uninterrupted connectivity”.

In India 80% of data consumption happens through fixed line broadband, in homes, offices, schools and other enterprises. According to recent reports, the number of broadband subscribers increased by 6.5 million between November 2018 and December 2018 alone. With the government’s constant and fervent efforts to internet-enabled cities, initiatives such as ACT Fibernet’s will boost the country’s digital adoption.

Senco Gold & Diamonds Pays Homage to the Martyrs in a Unique Way - An Ode to the Nation

Senco Gold & Diamonds, the largest jewellery retail chain from Eastern India, drew up a noble way to pay homage to the martyrs of our country by organizing a Youth Talent Hunt contest in Bengaluru.

Christened “An Ode to the Nation,” the contest—being held in memory of the 41 CRPF jawans who gave up their lives to protect the nation—not only presented the students and youths of Bengaluru with an opportunity to showcase their talents but also to pay their tributes to these brave souls.

Suvankar Sen, Executive Director, Senco Gold & Diamonds, said, “These brave jawans have made the supreme sacrifice, laying down their lives to protect us and our nation. It is our way of saluting these martyrs, however small it is. The platform aims to bring together children, women and especially the youth – who are the future of our country, and mobilize them by inspiring them to contribute further to our nation. We are grateful to our partners and friends who have come forward to make our efforts a success.”

The fbb Colors Femina Miss India South 2019 winners walked hand-in-hand with the children from Gifts of God (Sri Sai Krupa Charitable Trust) to spread the message of unity and show the world that the little children are the future of the country.

St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Bangalore received a cheque of Rs. 50,001 towards Mid-day Meal for the needy students, Vasantharatna Foundation received Rs.1 lakh for the stronger future of martyrs’ families and empowering Veer Naris (War Widows) of our Nation, Honourpoint received Rs 50,001 for the development of the online memorial for Indian soldiers and creating support system for martyrs’ families and Sri Sai Krupa Charitable Trust received Rs. 70,001 for development of the education system for orphaned children.

Dr. Fr. Victor Lobo, Principal, St Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Bangalore said, “Life is a free gift from God, Lived not for oneself but others, Which makes life a gift back to God. It is an honor for us at St Joseph’s College (Autonomous) to host an event for a noble cause like this. The contribution of our soldiers is immeasurable and paying tribute to our martyrs is the least we can do.”

This initiative conceived by Senco Gold & Diamonds in collaboration with St. Xavier’s College (Calcutta) Alumni Association’s South Zone Chapter and St. Joseph’s College Alumni/ae Association with brands like Senorita contributing as the Gift Partner, esplanade the Food Partner and Red FM 93.5 the Radio Partner. The day culminated with spellbinding performances by Walking Violinist Dr. Aneesh Vidyashankar and versatile artist Carlyta Mouhini, aka Maria.

Mr. Rudra Shankar Roy, Convener, SXCCAA - South Zone Chapter & Chief Coordinator – ‘An Ode to the Nation’ said, “Today, we all have joined our hands for a cause, not for an applause. This initiative is first of its kind in India where Senco Gold & Diamonds has come together with St Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Bangalore and St. Xavier’s College (Calcutta) Alumni Association’s (SXCCAA) to not only empower the war widows and families of the martyrs’ but also stand beside the orphan children who are the future of this country”

The following guests from various walks of life came forward to express solidarity - Mr. K Unnikrishnan (Father of Maj Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Ashok Chakra) and Mrs. Dhanalakshmi Unnikrishnan (Mother), Ms. Salma Shafeeq Ghori, wife of Major Shafeeq Khan Ghori, Wing Commander M A Afraz (retired), Captain (retired) Naveen Nagappa, Sena Medal, 13 JAK RIF, Kargil War, Major Aditi Mohan (Retired), Lady Indian Army Major, Major Pankaj Adhar (Retired), Mr Saurabh Mukherjee, Deputy commandment of CISF, Regional Head CISB, Col Sandeep Sirohi (Retd), Paratrooper 7 Paras officer, Col Ashok Panghal, Administration K&K sub area, Mr. Rupak Kumar Dutta, IPS, former DG & IGP, Karnataka Police & Member, Karnataka State Human Rights Commission, Dr. K.V Jagadeesh, IPS, DCP (Traffic East), Bangalore, Dr. Fr. Victor Lobo, Principal, St Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Dr. Fr. Melwyn D Cunha, Rector, St Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Mrs. Shashi Shivarudra, Trustee Member, Sri Sai Krupa Charitable Trust, Mr. M Lakshminarayana, ex Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Karnataka, President, St Joseph’s College Alumni Association and Director - B.R. Ambedkar School of Economics, Mr. David Sagayaraj, Vice President, St Joseph’s College, Alumni /ae Association, Mr. J C Sharma, VC & MD, Sobha Ltd., Mr Prakash Raj, eminent Film personality and social activist, Mr. Ranjon Ghoshal, eminent theatre personality, Ms. Carlyta Mouhini, Indo-Brazilian Vocalist & Dadasaheb Phalke Music Awardee, Dr. Aneesh Vidyashankar, Walking Violinist, Mrs. Adrija Sen, Founder, Desh Family, Mr. Rudra Shankar Roy, Convener, SXCCAA - South Zone Chapter & Chief Coordinator - An Ode To The Nation, fbb Colors Femina Miss India Kerala 2019: Jane Thompson; fbb Colors Femina Miss India Andhra Pradesh 2019: Nikita Tanwani; fbb Colors Femina Miss India Karnataka 2019: Aashna Bisht; fbb Colors Femina Miss India Tamil Nadu 2019: Rubeiya SK; fbb Colors Femina Miss India Telangana 2019: Sanjana Vij and Mr. Tanmoy Banerjee, Managing Director, Senorita.

IdeateLabs Forays into Digital Branded Content Creation and Community Building

Over the last two decades IdeateLabs has established itself as one of India’s biggest independently funded end-to-end digital media companies. With offices in Mumbai, Dubai and Singapore, IdeateLab’s has catered to some of India’s biggest brands such as Future Group, HT Media, Hiranandani Group, Tata Teleservices amongst others. In line with the ever-transforming media landscape and varied consumer needs, IdeateLabs is set to introduce a series of new IP’s each designed to cater to a unique consumer base, the first of which is Alcohowl – India’s one and only platform for fine drinking experiences.

Alcohowl follows the philosophy that fine drinking isn’t just about what’s in the bottle, but the story and soul behind every sip. Alcohowl aims at creating the perfect blend of alcohol related events, reviews, tastings and trends to give alcohol connoisseurs a different outlook on the art of fine drinking.

Vrutika Dawda, Director, IdeateLabs calls it a “dynamic futuristic direction,” adding “At IdeateLabs we pride in our ability to combine content and consumer experience to deliver strong results, Alcohowl is one such example of that. It is a wholly niche space, but one that is far too overlooked. We’re in the midst of a cultural shift and as ones’ exposure to global culture and hospitality increases, the demand for unique avenues that provide such experiences will increase as well. Alcohowl is the first of its kind in this sunrise sector that is soon to witness a boom. We’re thrilled with the potential it offers and excited to see where we can take this.”

Vrutika added, “We are committed towards creating communities led by strong content. As a company we intend to focus on community led marketing. Taking that into account we dipped into the fabulous talent pool at IdeateLabs, Pallavi Naidu, one of our own will be fronting Alcohowl as the CEO. With her intrinsic knowledge of the space and the consumer base we’re targeting as well as her exceptional instinct for success, Pallavi is sure to take Alcohowl to great heights.”

Speaking of the platform, Pallavi Naidu, CEO, Alcohowl, said, “Alcohowl is all about the experience of fine drinking. We understand that while there are platforms that focus on food and beverage, none of them exclusively cater to alcohol connoisseurs. With Alcohowl, we not only intend to present them with a unique perspective, but also weave a story around their experience. It is about shifting away from the mundane and diving into a world of niche spirits and drinks. As a brand, Alcohowl will be present at two levels, as a digital platform creating custom content for the consumers in the form of our upcoming E-Magazine and branded videos and as an on-ground experiential platform providing curated experiences through special events and activities”

Currently operating only in Mumbai, Alcohowl is rapidly expanding their presence, starting with Goa, Delhi and Bangalore. Alcohowl will soon be launching India’s first E-Magazine dedicated to fine drinking and partnering with brands and OTT players to create custom content.

NetRack Organized SI Partner Meet for South India Region

NetRack, a leading solution provider for data centers and end-to-end IT server racks, recently conducted a meet up for South India SI partners in Bangalore. The main agenda of SI partner gathering was to have a mind share in addressing challenges and exchange ideas in exploring new opportunities in the market.

NetRack's key SIs from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka states, serving clients among various verticals made their presence at the meet up. The event started with a walk through of state of the art manufacturing plant located in Magadi Road, Bangalore. NetRack's handpicked team of technically qualified engineers delivered innovative product training on design and framework of appropriate solutions that can be customized to meet specific needs of the client.

Interacting with the SI partners, Mr Ravi Raj, Brand Head, Director, Sales Support at NetRack said, "We are delighted to have the crucial people of our business here. Systems Integrators help us to broaden our brand image and cater our products among various verticals and markets. Explaining about the advantages of being associated with NetRack, he further added, "Understanding the technology behind the product is equally important for a system integrator. NetRack offers complete product training for SI partners which help in mutual growth. NetRack's expert team of technicians and engineers, design the solutions to be more scalable, enhance the performance and flexible to meet the growing demands of the data center market. "

Speaking on the SI event, Mr Prashant, Senior Manager at Lantro Technologies Pvt. Ltd. said, "We have been associated with NetRack from last 15 years and the relationship has been extremely good. Products and solutions from NetRack are absolutely fantastic and are widely accepted across various verticals. The factory tour was really a great opportunity for us to experience the newer technologies used by NetRack. Moreover, this kind of events help us to directly reach out to the top-level management and discuss the marketing strategies line up for upcoming days."

Mr Vijay Krishnan, Director at Global Networks said, "Factory walkthrough has been a great experience for us to directly see the sophisticated rack production unit and understand the way NetRack manufactures its high-quality products. NetRack's product training was vibrant and made us analyze the unique features offered by them. We are looking forward to further lay down more business plans with NetRack yielding mutual benefits."

The meet helped NetRack to create a healthy and long-term relationship with their partners. The event was followed by a certification session by Ravi Raj to their partners. The day ended with a cocktail party organized at the resort.

Synechron Launches its Wealth Accelerator Program in Indian Market

Synechron Inc., a leading Digital IT Consulting firm for financial services, has today announced the launch of its Wealth Tech Accelerator program. The launch will help wealth managers leverage technology, data science and analytics solutions that enhance customer acquisition, onboarding and engagement, increase transparency and help their clients plan for retirement.

Remaining relevant in a crowded, disruptive, and competitive marketplace is a challenge prevalent across the industry. Access to better data and analytics, as well as technology such as Natural Language Processing (NLP), Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Virtual Reality (VR), can help advisers and asset managers improve efficiency, relationship management and trust. This means that firms can both continue to meet investor demand while maintaining their competitive edge.

Synechron’s sixth Accelerator program empowers wealth management firms with technology that streamlines and enhances their offerings, supporting the full wealth management client lifecycle from prospecting and acquisition, through to onboarding, relationship management, client engagement, support, and advice. The program consists of nine Accelerators that tackle pain points including automating highly-manual prospecting and onboarding tasks, delivering enhanced relationship management support, addressing the risk and costs associated with mis-selling and pricing, and keeping up with client demands for more sophisticated and personal products supported by truly digital experiences. The Accelerators also provide solutions that enable real-time, dynamic pricing insights, smart statements and a VR-powered wealth journey.

“Implementing digital strategies is a high priority across our global clients, but we have seen a significant interest in applying technology to enable digital workflows across the wealth management industry. The rise of robo-advisers and a long bull-market means it is now critical for wealth managers to demonstrate complete transparency, while leveraging technology to enhance their offerings and deliver greater client value,” said Faisal Husain, Synechron Co-founder and CEO. “It is for this reason that we invested in our Research and Development teams to find solutions that meet these demands. Our latest suite of Accelerators aims to inspire today’s and tomorrow’s wealth managers and to bring them into the digital age.”

As digital innovation continues to change the way financial services firms do business, Synechron is dedicated to remaining one step ahead to meet these demands. The Accelerators will be available across Synechron’s FinLabs, including New York, Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Serbia, Dubai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Singapore. Firms will have the opportunity to partner with Synechron to build a tailored solution for their business.

Helo Partners with We Are Your Voice to Provide Job Opportunities for Differently-Abled

Helo, India's fastest-growing social media platform, has partnered with We Are Your Voice to help in providing much needed jobs for the disabled and differently abled across Karnataka.

Helo’s latest partnership is its first initiative for Helo Care, the regional social media platform’s larger CSR initiative that aims to harness content in 14 Indian languages for the benefit of the broader community. Helo Care is focusing on giving everyone an opportunity to volunteer for social causes by making a connection between celebrities, key opinion leaders and other creators, with those who need help.

The partnership with We Are Your Voice as well as other CSR efforts moving forward will be featured in the official Helo Care page on the app, which will also highlight all positive content around the initiatives with in-app hashtag #HeloCare. Leveraging the regional social media platform’s wide reach across India, Helo will be launching a wide variety of Helo Care initiatives. Some of the other community causes Helo Care will look to promote is focused around the environment, health as well as arts and culture.

“In line with our mission of bringing together Indian regional communities, and benefit those in need, we are delighted to be unveiling our Helo Care initiative through our initial partnership with We are Your Voice,” said Shyamanga Barooah, India Content Operations Head, Helo. “As a responsible technology platform, we believe in using content for the greater good of the community and would like to invite our users pan-India to contribute to the various causes we will be supporting as part of this initiative.”

We Are Your Voice is an NGO working towards bringing positive change in the lives of differently abled people. In association with the Government of Karnataka and the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, We Are Your Voice, and the Confederation of Indian Industries, recently held  a  job fair for the differently abled at KSRP (Karanataka State Reserve Police) Sports Ground, Near Madiwala Market, Koramangala, Bengaluru .

Several popular celebrities have showcased their support for Helo Care, such as:

https://m.helo-app.com/user/6621109037453197314/publish
https://m.helo-app.com/user/6620760782143864834/publish
https://m.helo-app.com/user/6614682945327562753/publish
https://m.helo-app.com/user/6614407123215564802/publish

Helo is India’s leading regional social media app, available in India in 14 vernacular languages, including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam among others. The app enables one to make new friends, share the latest and top trending jokes, memes, WhatsApp status updates, wishes, quotes, shayari and Bollywood news. The apps popularity lies in the fact that it can help users communicate with their friends and family in their native language.

Tata Motors Drives in the Hexa 2019 Edition with Stunning Features

On the completion of its successful 2 years, Tata Motors enhanced its Hexa range of lifestyle SUVs with the launch of the Hexa 2019 edition.

The Hexa 2019 edition sets itself apart with its style quotient and amps up the infotainment & connectivity offering, making it a perfect choice for the bold and successful.  Based on the Impact Design philosophy, Hexa takes design to the next level with a host of dual tone roof options on the entire range, along with multiple options of alloys on the Automatic, 4*4 and other trims, to bring out the bold yet stylish character of the SUV. Equipped with new exciting features, the 2019 edition of the Hexa comes with Next-Gen technology of 7 inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto connectivity across variants.

According to S. N. Barman - Vice President, Sales, Marketing & Customer Support, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors - “In our continuous endeavor to offer our customers with a superior driving experience, we are pleased to introduce the new Hexa 2019 edition. Our versatile SUV Hexa has caught the imagination of the country with its distinctive on-road and off-road capabilities and has witnessed a strong traction in the market. We are confident that this new edition will help us take forward our brand promise of offering customers aspirational products with the next level of design and technology.“

The Hexa 2019 edition will come in 5 color options with the Dual tone roof in the top end variants in 2 color options - Infinity Black and Titanium Grey, reinstating the Impact design philosophy. This bold statement makes the Hexa stand apart from all the SUVs currently in the Indian market. Additionally, the 7 inch ergonomically placed touchscreen by Harman with Android Auto & 10 speaker JBL system, offers an extraordinary infotainment experience. Adding to this, the new Hexa 2019 edition will offer Diamond cut alloy wheels in the Automatic variants for the cool city sleeker while the manual transmission will be styled with Charcoal Grey Alloy Wheels, to complement the active and dynamic lifestyles of the customer.

Launched in 2017, the Hexa has successfully established itself as a stylish, rugged and feature laden SUV with segment leading off-roading capabilities. True to its indomitable spirit, Hexa has established itself as a comfortable 6/7 seater SUV. On the occasion of the its 2 year completion, the Company also launched a ‘Hexa Exclusive collector’s Limited Edition Coffee Table book’ which chronicles the adventures of Hexa in different terrains and geographies.

Yoyogi Seminar Selects TCS iON PAPER to Transform Spoken English Tests in Japan

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, announced that Sapix Yozemi Group (Yoyogi Seminar), a Japanese cram school chain, has selected TCS iON PAPER to transform the conduct of its spoken English tests and evaluation of candidate responses.

Spoken English tests are increasingly becoming part of entrance exams for many universities and high schools in Japan. The University Admission Common Test, which will replace the current National Center Test in 2021, is expected to include spoken English. To prepare students ahead of time, Yoyogi Seminar has included speaking assessments in all its future tests.

The TCS iON PAPER device will equip the preparatory school operator with the capabilities necessary to conduct these tests, including the test environment, test data delivery, and scoring environment. In addition, it will enable location-independent assessment with the help of experienced English teachers based in India. TCS will on-board qualified and certified English teachers, who will be rigorously trained on evaluating the audio responses, in a proctored environment.

TCS iON PAPER can securely distribute question papers as well as capture students’ audio responses without the need for internet connections in classrooms. This will enable Yoyogi Seminar to conduct country-wide English language tests at centers that do not have access to the internet. The scoring of the audio responses will be powered by TCS iON Digital Marking platform to deliver test results at speed.

The device was first used this month, for Yoyogi Seminar’s Mock Test for first-year high school students.

Toshiro Takamiya, Co-chairman, Sapix Yozemi Group, said, "We have been making efforts to support our students to acquire four key capabilities – listening, speaking, reading, and writing – in English proficiency as is required in this globalized society. By employing TCS' services, we hope that we will be able to introduce better services to our students nationwide."

Venguswamy Ramaswamy, Global Head, TCS iON, said,  “TCS iON is focused on continuous innovations and the integration of digital technology to drive transformational change in all aspects of the education ecosystem. We are very happy that Yoyogi Seminar has been an early adopter of TCS iON PAPER along with our path breaking location-independent marking platform – TCS iON Digital Marking. This will drive exponential value to the domain of education across stakeholders.”

“We are very honored to partner with Yoyogi Seminar, a leading Japanese college preparatory school that has been devoted to enhancing educational services for test takers for over half a century. TCS, leveraging its global expertise on digital to the fullest, strives to be the partner of choice for education customers in their digital transformation journeys at a time of major industry-wide change, and contribute to the enhancement of educational services in the country,” said Masayuki Nakayama, Senior Vice President, TCS Japan.

TCS iON’s Education platforms have been adopted by institutions worldwide, to benefit from the enhanced security, scale, reduced logistical costs, and shorter processing time. The TCS iON PAPER device was launched in 2018 to introduce digital technology in place of traditional paper-based tests.

About Yoyogi Seminar

Yoyogi Seminar, operated by Takamiya Gakuen founded in 1957 by Yukio Takamiya, is one of the leading college preparatory schools in Japan for students aiming to advance to higher education. It is known for the large pool of prominent lecturers that it consistently boasts since its foundation. With the addition of SAPIX for elementary school and junior high school students to the group in 2009, and operation of Y-SAPIX nationwide, SAPIX YOZEMI GROUP is dedicated to providing integrated educaional services through to college admission. For more information, please visit www.yozemi.ac.jp.

Qlik and DataRobot Announce Partnership to Combine Augmented Intelligence and Predictive Modeling

Qlik has announced a partnership with DataRobot to bring automated machine-learning modeling directly into Qlik, giving business users the power of predictive data decision-making within any analytics workflow. This integration greatly enhances a user’s ability to execute the entire range of data analysis - from historical and current state to future predictions - right within one Qlik instance. The partnership also builds on Qlik’s continued delivery of augmented intelligence and machine learning enhancements that give business users the ability to gain deeper insights from all their data.

“Machine learning is essential in helping users explore the vast arrays of data needed for unique insights that drive outcomes,” said Drew Clarke, SVP, Office of Strategy Management at Qlik. “The integration with DataRobot enhances Qlik’s existing AI and machine learning capabilities by bringing predictive modeling usually limited to data scientists to every business user.”

“We’re investing heavily in our data analytics performance to help democratize decision making across the business,” said Moto Thoda, Vice President of Information Services at Tokyo Century. “Working with innovative solutions like Qlik and DataRobot will help users make better decisions and more accurately predict where our best opportunities are, all through real-world data.”

Enterprises want to democratize data and enable users to make better data-driven decisions while leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning. Qlik already delivers machine learning capabilities through its cognitive engine and platform with Insight Advisor, which auto-generates and suggests the best analytics and insights to explore based on the overall data set and a user’s search criteria. Now by leveraging Qlik’s open platform, extension technology and the open source Qlik DataRobot connector, DataRobot allows Qlik users to develop and democratize machine-learning models.

“Leading enterprises are embracing the need for AI and machine learning, and want help applying these innovations at scale across the business,” said Seann Gardiner, SVP of Business Development at DataRobot. “Automating data analysis and predictive machine learning driven models meets a need data scientists can’t scale to fill, and will enable business users to get more value and understanding from data not otherwise possible.”

The Qlik open source extension and connector enables:

•          Users to prepare and send data with key fields from their current Qlik Sense application directly to DataRobot;

•          Combinations of data from any table within the associative data model, served directly into DataRobot for processing;

•          Users to manage their DataRobot project directly within Qlik, sending executed and scored models directly to their Qlik application.

This seamless integration enables predictive modeling and remodeling within one interface, ensuring the user gets the best model possible for their analysis.

Qlik and DataRobot will be showcasing these enhanced capabilities at the upcoming Financial Services Analytics Summit in New York on March 7.

Route Mobile Launches ‘Omnichannel Platform’, an OCEAN for Enterprise Customers

In today’s highly technology-driven world, connecting with your customers via more than one platform is not only essential but also one of the major driving forces for today’s enterprises. Understanding this requirement, Route Mobile Limited (“Route Mobile”), a cloud-communication platform service provider, has developed ‘Omnichannel Platform’, an offering for enterprise customers. ‘Omnichannel Platform’ is an all-in-one API network solution that offers multiple advantages to its customers. As a single platform, it allows enterprises from various domains such as banks, insurance, e-commerce portals, cab service providers, travel & tourism and airlines to communicate with end-users with the help of multiple channels minus the technical complexity associated with multi-channel messaging services.

As a single API solution, Omnichannel Platform incorporates all existing communication modes such as SMS, emails, voice & OTT channels, allowing enterprises to reach their customers on both traditional and OTT platforms. It has been designed to address some of the key challenges faced in the communications industry today such as hindrances associated with multi-API management, absence of inter-channel links, additional development time, and issues pertaining to documentation, invoicing, and reporting. Along with hyper-personalization of the content, it can also reduce the time to market, enriches data analytics, ensure easy integration, reduce dependency on multi-channel APIs, and maximize user engagement.

Rajdipkumar Gupta, MD and group CEO - Route Mobile, said “Omnichannel Platform is a technology that has been designed to address several needs for today’s businesses. Enterprises such as banks, airlines, and cab service providers need cost-effective, simple and intelligent solutions to maximize customer engagement and Omnichannel Platform offers just that. We will be presenting a demonstration of this platform at MWC Barcelona and I am very excited to showcase features of this all-in-one solution.”

Emirates Serves Over 20,000 Plant-Based Meals on Board During ‘Veganuary'

Emirates served over 20,000 plant-based meals across all classes in January, known to Vegans worldwide as Veganuary. The worldwide movement, to encourage Veganism especially in January has seen on board requests for vegan meals increase by over 40% this month.

The airline caters to all its customers and has a range of dedicated menus for medical or religious meal requirements which are designed with a team of nutritionists and chefs. Vegan meals rank as the third most commonly requested special meal in Economy Class. Last month, travellers voted Emirates as the Best Airline for Vegan Meals in a poll by Vegan News.

Emirates has over 170 plant-based recipes in its kitchen to cater to its vegan customers. Emirates’ team of nutritionists and chefs use the freshest vegetables and unique grains to create the special meals. Known for its regionally inspired cuisine on board, Emirates takes the same approach for its vegan meals with recipes inspired by its destinations. Some of the most popular dishes include Mushroom Ravioli, Vegetable Tagine served with couscous, and a Sweet Potato, Lentil and Spinach Ragout served with steaming brown rice. The meals are served complete with a special selection of mouth-watering vegan desserts such as Key Lime Parfait with date and citrus compote, Moist Chocolate Cake, or a Chia Seed Pudding.

Vegan meals, along with other special meals, are available on all Emirates flights and across all classes and can be requested 24 hours before departure. All the menus on board are changed monthly.

Emirates serves an impressive cheese selection on board and to ensure no customer is turned away, the airline introduced vegan cheese on board in April last year. To date, Emirates has served 18,000 kgs of the nut based cheese.

For customers who are less inclined towards a plant-based diet, Emirates’ regular menus are also whipped up by award-winning chefs. The airline serves over 110 million meals on board each year, with the same attention to detail given to creating delightful dishes in Economy, Business or First Class. Catering for more than 55 million dine-in guests a year travelling to and from over 140 cities across 6 continents, no one understands global culinary trends better than Emirates as it serves destination-inspired cuisine on board the world’s largest flying restaurant.

Adventure Travel Influencer Himadri Garg to Release Maiden Novel ‘Ghoomophiro’ in Bengaluru

India's leading adventure travel influencer, Himadri Garg will release her first fiction novel 'Ghoomophiro- Travel bringing families together' at a formal book launch event to be held at Sapna Book House, Residency Road in Bangalore on Saturday, 2nd March 2019 at 04:30 pm. The book has been published by New Delhi based publishing house, Kalamos Literary Services LLP and is priced at Rs. 199 /- .

Himadri Garg is a travel photographer who started her travel journey with her sister Prachi Garg in early 2007. In the past 12 years, the two sisters have travelled to the most remote and unexplored parts of the country. In the year 2010 she decided to take her passion to the next level with her sister Prachi Garg to help other solo women also chase their travel dreams. This eventually lead to the birth of their travel startup http://www.ghoomophiro.com  . They have been featured across leading news outlets including CNN, Tripoto, SBS, Holidify.

“Bangalore is a city that is very close to my heart. I have done my college education here and have a lot of fond memories from the garden city. I am eagerly looking forward to the book launch and to share my exiting experiences with Namma Bengalurians” said Himadri Garg

Her book 'Ghoomophiro- Travel bringing families together' is inspired by her travel experiences along with her sister. The novel evolves around two sisters Nitika and Kritika who are extremely fond of travelling and plan to celebrate their 25th travel anniversary with their complete family. The book is a conversation between two sisters and the family who are curious about their experiences and different aspects of travel.

With its vivid descriptions, uplifting adventures, the book narrates the tale of a journey that everyone can live with, relate to and inspire anyone to pack their bags and explore the world outside.

An MBA graduate in Advertising & Marketing Communication from Symbiosis International University, Himadri is an evangelist for 'Solo Women Travel'. To promote women traveling, she does her annual solo photo exhibition at Indian Habitat Centre, New Delhi which was a unique and one of its kind exhibition that showcased pictures from her travel. Himadri has represented India at 'Zafigox 2018' an event for women to learn, discover, be inspired, and meet other bold, adventurous, and extraordinary women. The event held in Malaysia last year. Himadri is one of the country's leading adventure travel influencer and has received numerous awards for travel achievements.

Cabinet Likely to Clear Rs 10,000 Crore FAME-II Scheme

The Union Cabinet is likely to clear on Thursday an Rs 10,000-crore programme under the FAME-II scheme for promotion of electric and hybrid vehicles, according to official sources.

The much-delayed FAME-II will be for a period of three years instead of five years as envisaged earlier, and for passenger electric cars, the subsidy will be available only for taxi aggregators.

The Rs 10,000 crore support will be used for subsidies on electric busses, passenger cars to be used by taxi aggregators, three-wheelers and two-wheelers, a source said.

“Under the phase two of the scheme, 7,000 electric buses of prices up to Rs 50 lakh or 40% of the cost, but only on the basis of operational expenditure (opex) and not capital expenditure (capex) model, will get subsidy,” the source said.

However, the number of incentives proposed in the scheme for electric buses may further be subject to competitive bidding among original equipment manufacturers, the source said.

The FAME-II will also provide a subsidy of up to Rs 50,000 for 5 lakh electric three-wheelers and 35,000 strong hybrid and electric passenger cars which are to be used by taxi aggregators.

“There will not be any subsidy for electric cars for private use,” the source said.

Around 10 lakh electric two-wheelers will also get a subsidy under FAME-II, the source added.

“The scheme in its second phase will offer a bouquet of incentives, such as exemption from paying road tax, registration fee and parking charges for various categories of electric and strong hybrid vehicles,” another source said.

The incentives will also cover setting up of charging infrastructure for EVs but no target has been set for electric vehicles (EV) sales to be achieved over the five-year period of the scheme’s implementation.

Indian Auto Company Launches GPS Tracking Device with Panic Button for Public Transport Vehicles in Karnataka

Indian Auto Company (IAC), a New Delhi based DIPP registered start-up offering automotive solutions has announced the launch of vehicle location tracking devices with panic buttons in Karnataka which are both certified as per Automotive Industry Standard (AIS 140) by ARAI and ICAT respectively. Our models are IAC140 and IAC 140 CAN.

According to a new Gazette Notification No. S.O. 5453 (E) & G.S.R. 1081(E) by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) dated 25th October and 2nd November 2018, all public service vehicles and National Permit vehicles need to be equipped with tracking devices adhering to AIS 140 standard from 1st January 2019, which is one of the necessary parameters to obtain a National Permit. As per the notification, all the details have to be ultimately linked with VAHAN portal of the government.

As per data available on government websites, Karnataka has 64 RTOs across the states and more than 3 lacs vehicles registered with National Permit Vehicles apart from vehicles registered for public services vehicles including taxis, buses and others. Indian Auto Company is offering this device through its channel partners spread across the state.

“Our AIS-140 compliant Vehicle Tracking Devices are also IP-67 rated (water and dust proof) which enable vehicles to be tracked on our device agnostic platform both on web and mobile devices ensuring safety and compliance. Citizens can be assured of safe transport with the availability of the panic button in case of emergencies, which can ensure timely response from concerned authorities.” said the Spokesperson, IAC.

“In addition, these devices are duly uploaded on the Government Portal VAHAN and also integrated with BSNL which is offering the backend system connectivity across the state. At the time of installation, the competent authority can check on the VAHAN portal details of the vehicles being registered along with the Vehicle Location Tracking (VLT) device.” Added the spokesperson.

“We have also developed a MIS system for our dealers/channel partners to track their inventory and ease the operations for inventory management, user management, creation of installation certificate” the spokesperson further added.

The device also enables to monitor driver behavior such as over speeding, harsh acceleration, braking, cornering, night driving and other important parameters. This in turn ensures correct driving practice thereby reducing wear and tear of the vehicle, improving fuel efficiency while also helping in overall safety of the driver, the passengers and other road users.

Globally, Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) aims at improving transportation systems in terms of efficiency, quality, comfort and safety and in India, MoRTH has constituted a permanent Automotive Industry Standards Committee (AISC) in 1997 which publishes various Automotive Standards such as the current AIS 140 guidelines which details ITS components required for public transport vehicle operation.

There are additional ports for panic buttons and various other sensors which can be added as per requirements of the user. The same can also be used for safe transportation of children in school buses while commuting to and from school.

This device is also very useful for fleet owners as it offers various benefits to such as, minimizing turnaround time, ensuring route adherence and optimization, checking malpractices such as unauthorized use of vehicle and misuse of fuel. It also increases fleet safety, tracks the vehicle real time in case of theft and improves overall productivity and eventually profitability by ensuring safe driving practices.

In addition to this product, IAC offers other Tracking Solutions for 4-wheelers, two-wheelers, electric vehicles, Assets and personal tracking. IAC also offers state of the art, DVR (in dash camera), Advanced Driver Assistance System, Driver State Monitoring Systems (DSM) products which are enabling road safety and designed to increase the safety of not only vehicle, but also its occupants and other road users.

Jaguar Land Rover India Introduces the Next Generation of its Online Buying Platforms

Jaguar Land Rover India has announced the launch of the next generation of its successful platforms, findmeacar.in for Jaguar and findmeasuv.in for Land Rover. Originally launched in 2016, the two pioneering platforms created the trend of online vehicle booking in the luxury car industry, allowing customers to book New and Approved vehicles online by paying a deposit from anywhere, at any time. It also provides options through which, customers can request for a quotation or book a test drive.

With the emergence of the new generation, the platforms now offer agile navigation, a cleaner and more dynamic homepage with a simple to swipe carousel that highlights the month’s packages and special offers. Customers can select their vehicle from a variety of filters – model, variant and engine, price, colour, availability of vehicles during a specific period and even offers. They can choose to opt for a ready delivery vehicle or order one according to their requirement for delivery at a later date. Customers can also offer their existing vehicle for trade-in and get an estimated value if it meets Jaguar Land Rover India criteria.

Customers can not only use the platform to navigate through the various options, they can also speak directly with our customer care executives through online chat or speak with them on phone should they so desire.

Rohit Suri, President & Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover India Ltd. (JLRIL) said: “The new generation online platforms offer a seamless purchase experience that greatly enhances the convenience and ease of owning Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles in India.”

Bentley Systems Introduces Mixed Reality App for Infrastructure Construction Projects Using Microsoft HoloLens 2 at MWC

Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading global provider of comprehensive software solutions for advancing the design, construction, and operations of infrastructure, presented SYNCHRO XR, its app for immersively visualizing 4D construction digital twins with the new Microsoft HoloLens 2, which Microsoft announced during a press conference at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Selected as a Microsoft mixed reality partner representing the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, Bentley demonstrated how with SYNCHRO XR for HoloLens 2, users can interact collaboratively with digital construction models using intuitive gestures to plan, visualize, and experience construction sequencing.

Project digital twin data is visualized with the HoloLens 2 via Bentley’s connected data environment, powered by Microsoft Azure. With the mixed reality solution, construction managers, project schedulers, owner operators, and other project stakeholders can gain insights through immersive visualization into planned work, construction progress, potential site risks, and safety requirements. Additionally, users can interact with the model together and collaboratively experience 4D objects in space and time, as opposed to traditional interaction with a 2D screen depicting 3D objects.

Noah Eckhouse, senior vice president, project delivery for Bentley Systems, said, “Our SYNCHRO XR app for HoloLens 2 provides a totally new way to interact with digital twins for infrastructure projects. Users benefit from a new perspective on the design and a deeper, more immediate understanding of the work and project schedule. Instead of using a 2D screen with a mouse and keyboard, the user can now walk around the model with their body and reach out and grab digital objects that appear to co-occupy physical reality. This is a powerful way to review work that is completed and to prepare for upcoming work at the jobsite.”

Menno de Jonge, director of digital construction for the Royal BAM Group, said, “We are currently using SYNCHRO and HoloLens 2 mixed reality solution for the construction site for a large museum project in the city of Rotterdam. The real need for a digital transformation in our industry is about avoiding rework at our construction site. Using this technology, we can easily visualize the construction schedule. Then, we can see if we are behind in schedule, we can flag any potential problems or issues, look into the problems, and get back on track.”

Alex Kipman, technical fellow, AI and mixed reality at Microsoft, said, “The newly announced Microsoft HoloLens 2 is a self-contained holographic computer that enables hands-free, heads-up interaction with digital models. It builds on the breakthrough innovation of HoloLens and is even more immersive, more comfortable and delivers industry-leading value right out of the box with partners like Bentley. We’re excited to work with Bentley, a mixed reality partner, to provide the opportunity for customers to take advantage of the HoloLens 2 and SYNCHRO XR technology to experience a new dimension of creativity and teamwork for their AEC projects.”

Microsoft’s Mixed Reality Partner Program is focused on enabling and supporting solution providers who are committed to building mixed reality solutions. Upon acceptance to the program, Microsoft provides training, technical assistance, sales and marketing enablement, and business planning. 

MAHE Announces Admissions for UG, PG and Super Specialty for Academic Year 2019-20

Admissions are invited by MAHE, one of India’s leading private education providers for various UG, PG and Super Specialty courses with over 300+ programs under 23 different streams, through 25+ institutions. Aspirants can now apply online for the academic year 2019 - 20 by logging on to https://applynow.manipal.edu 

Over 33000+ students from 65 different nations live, learn and play in the sprawling University town thus making Manipal a global cosmopolitan destination for multi-disciplinary education. With the recent prestigious Institute of Eminence (IOE) status by Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), Govt of India (GOI), MAHE is synonymous with excellence in higher education. It is also the only university in India that has more than 5 institutes ranked by NIRF, MHRD, GOI.

MAHE Courses offered:

·         Allied Health Sciences
·         Allied Hospitatility Studies
·         Architecture & Design
·         Arts & Humanities
·         Atomic & Molecular Physics
·         Basic & Advanced Sciences
·         Computer Applications
·         Dentistry
·         Engineering
·         European Studies & Foreign Languages
·         Geopolitics
·         Hotel Management & Culinary Arts
·         Information Science
·         Library Science
·         Life Science
·         Medicine
·         Media & Communication
·         Management
·         Natural Sciences
·         Nursing
·         Pharmacy
·         Public Health
·         Statistics

Admission Criteria and process

·         Admission to the MBBS / BDS / MD / MS / MDS / DM / MCh courses will be on the basis of rank obtained in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and counselling / allotment of seats by Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), New Delhi.

·         For all other courses, prospective students can apply online at https://applynow.manipal.edu. For more information, contact MAHE helpdesk at admissions@manipal.edu / +919243777700.

Merck Launches Cutting Edge Fertility Technologies in India

Merck, a leading science and technology company, launched its cutting-edge fertility technology in India today. The business launched two devices, namely Geri and Gavi, as well as Gems, a complete culture medium suite. This will be made available in partnership with Genea Biomedx, to IVF clinics and hospitals.

This new technology provides an environment that helps to reduce external stresses on the embryos of patients undergoing fertility treatment. Individually-controlled chambers allow the embryos of each patient to grow separately and real-time cameras attached to each chamber reduces the frequency of opening and closing the chambers in Geri. Not only does this allow observation of the progress of embryo growth without removing the embryo from the chamber, it also reduces the impact on the embryo of factors such as changes in gas concentration and temperature.

“Merck has a market-leading portfolio of drugs and offers an array of clinic optimization services. Fertility lab procedures involve various steps and variables which can impact the overall success rate of IVF treatment. The introduction of cutting-edge fertility technology complements our portfolio and promises to decrease manual labor, increases precision and thus optimizes IVF outcomes for patients in India. Studies say nearly 27.5 million* Indian couples are actively seeking solution for infertility and with this technology are in position to offer them better access to world class treatment” said Anandram Narasimhan, General Manager –India Cluster, Merck Biopharma.

Through the expansion of its portfolio of innovative pharmaceutical and technology products that fulfil unmet medical needs in the field of fertility treatment, Merck is aiming to provide broader range of products to help support Healthcare professionals to optimize treatment outcomes and fulfil the dream of becoming a parent.

With this latest addition to its market-leading IVF drugs and services, Merck offers a comprehensive and holistic portfolio that facilitates IVF outcomes delivered by clinicians and specialists in India.

World’s First Blockchain Enabled Commercial Communication Stack, TRUBLOQ Unvieled at MWC19, Barcelona

Tanla Solutions, one of the world’s largest Cloud Communication providers, today launched Trubloq, a first of its kind blockchain enabled commercial communication stack for the telecom sector. The solution has been developed to comply with the new TRAI regulation (TCCCPR 2018), and it empowers individual mobile users to set and manage their communication preferences and consents.

The genesis of this journey goes back to the issues of commercial communication with respect to Trust, Security, Spam, Fraud and privacy breaches which are essentially agnostic to developed and emerging markets. Globally regulators have had middling results to safeguard against Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC) and privacy breaches. This is due to a practice of reactive redressal mechanism on customer complaints.

The Indian telecom regulatory body (TRAI) seeks to converge technology and policy, using emerging technologies – distributed ledger, artificial intelligence and machine learning. This comprehensive regulation is built on two key facets of empowering and safeguarding mobile consumers. With a strong focus on recording customer consent and preferences, the regulation unlocks all good virtues of blockchain i.e. Trust, Security, Immutability and creating a digital audit trail.

Speaking during the launch Uday Reddy, CMD, Tanla Solutions said “Trubloq is a ground-breaking innovation for the telecom industry, powered by Tanla’s blockchain based communication stack. This initiative would perhaps be the largest use case for Blockchain in the world with potential transactional volumes of above 10 billion per month. We are confident that it will empower the billion plus mobile users. It truly is Made in India for Digital India and beyond!”