Embassy Office Parks REIT, India’s First REIT to Open IPO From March 18-20, 2019

The initial public offering (IPO) of Embassy Office Parks REIT (“Embassy REIT”), the first ever by a Real Estate Investment Trust in India, will open on March 18, 2019 at a price band of Rs 299 to Rs 300. Embassy REIT is issuing Units aggregating up to Rs. 47,500 million (the “Issue”). This Issue will constitute at least 10% of the issued and paid-up Units on a post-Issue basis in accordance with Regulation 14(2A) of the REIT Regulations. The issue will close on March 20, 2019.

The Units of the Embassy REIT are proposed to be listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (the “NSE”) and BSE Limited (the “BSE”, together with the NSE, the “Stock Exchanges”). The Embassy REIT has received in-principle approvals from the NSE and the BSE for listing of the Units pursuant to letters dated October 11, 2018 and October 9, 2018, respectively. NSE is the Designated Stock Exchange for this Issue. This Issue will constitute at least 10% of the issued and paid-up Units on a post-Issue basis in accordance with Regulation 14(2A) of the REIT Regulations. The Manager, in consultation with the Lead Managers, may retain oversubscription in the Issue in accordance with the REIT Regulations and the SEBI Guidelines.

The Net Proceeds from the Issue will be used for (i) Partial or full repayment or pre-payment of bank/ financial institution debt of certain Asset Special Purpose Vehicles (“SPVS”) and by the Investment Entity, (ii) Payment of consideration for acquisition of the Embassy One Assets currently held by Embassy One Developers Private Limited (“EODPL"), and (iii) General purposes.

The Issue will include participation by Strategic Investors in accordance with the SEBI Guidelines.

The Issue is being made through the Book Building Process and in compliance with the REIT Regulations and the SEBI Guidelines, wherein not more than 75% of the Issue (excluding the Strategic Investor Portion) shall be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to Institutional Investors, provided that the Manager may, in consultation with the Lead Managers, allocate up to 60% of the Institutional Investor Portion to Anchor Investors on a discretionary basis in accordance with the REIT Regulations and the SEBI Guidelines.

Further, not less than 25% of the Issue (excluding the Strategic Investor Portion) shall be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to Non-Institutional Investors, in accordance with the REIT Regulations and the SEBI Guidelines, subject to valid Bids being received at or above the Issue Price

Bids can be made for a minimum lot of 800 Units and in multiples of 400 Units thereafter by Bidders other than the units subscribed for by Anchor Investors and Strategic Investors.

Axis Trustee Services Limited is the Trustee to the Issue while Embassy Office Parks Management Services Private Limited is the Manager to the Issue. Embassy Property Developments Private Limited and BRE/ Mauritius Investments are the Sponsors to the issue.

The Global Coordinators and Book Running Lead Managers (GCBRLMs) to the offer are Morgan Stanley India Company Private Limited, Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited, J.P. Morgan India Private Limited and DSP Merrill Lynch Limited. Book Running Lead Managers (“BRLMs”) to the Offer are Axis Capital Limited, Credit Suisse Securities (India) Private Limited, Deutsche Equities India Private Limited, Goldman Sachs (India) Securities Private Limited, HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India) Private Limited, IIFL Holdings Limited, JM Financial Limited and Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India) Private Limited.

Idea Offers One Year of Amazon Prime with Nirvana Postpaid Plans

Idea Nirvana postpaid plan customers now enjoy a one-year Amazon Prime membership with access to unparalleled shopping and entertainment benefits

Vodafone and Amazon already have an existing relationship that allows Vodafone Red customers free access to Amazon Prime membership as part of pack benefits

Amazon Prime offers unlimited FREE, fast shipping on millions of items from India’s largest online store, early access to top deals on Amazon.in, ad-free music listening through Amazon Prime Music and access to unlimited streaming of the latest and exclusive movies, TV shows, stand-up comedy and groundbreaking Amazon Prime Original series through Prime Video

Activate through the Idea Movies & TV app to enjoy the best of Prime – at no additional cost

Amazon and Vodafone Idea announced today that all Idea Nirvana postpaid customers are eligible to receive a year of Amazon Prime (worth INR 999) at no additional cost – providing customers the best in entertainment and shopping: Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Reading and unlimited free, fast shipping on millions of items along with early and exclusive access to deals on Amazon.in.

With this offering, Idea customers with a Nirvana postpaid plan of INR 399 and above can enjoy unlimited streaming anytime, anywhere. They’ll have access to premium movies and TV shows on Prime Video including the latest and exclusive blockbuster Hollywood, Bollywood and Indian Regional movies, top TV shows, stand-up comedies, kids programs and critically acclaimed Prime Original series like International Emmy Award nominated Inside Edge, Breathe, The Remix, Comicstaan, Hear Me. Love Me., Mirzapur, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, multiple award winning The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Homecoming and Four More Shots Please! And with Amazon Prime Music, Idea customers also have access to ad-free music streaming and unlimited offline downloads across tens of millions of songs in over 20 languages to enjoy at no additional cost to Prime membership. Idea customers can enjoy their favorite music hands-free using voice, just by asking Alexa for music based on genre, artist, album, mood, activity or create a playlist/add a song to an existing playlist. In addition, customers can get access to free eBooks and unlimited free 1 and 2 day delivery, exclusive launces, early access to sale events and many more discounts on Amazon.

Vodafone Red and Amazon Prime already has an existing relationship under which Vodafone postpaid customers will continue to enjoy access to Amazon Prime membership (worth Rs. 999) as part of their plan benefits.

Commenting on this collaboration, Avneesh Khosla, Operations Director Marketing, Vodafone Idea Ltd said “Today’s customers are digitally savvy and want more freedom and flexibility in the way they consume content. We understand the need to offer a great content experience to our consumers. Through this strategic relationship with Amazon Prime, we are further strengthening our content proposition and our commitment to offer the best to our customers. It provides them access to an extensive library of diverse and high-quality original content - thousands of movies, videos, TV shows and ad-free music on the go. We are confident that this association will provide both Vodafone and Idea customers a seamless on-the-go shopping and entertainment experience to our customers.”

Gaurav Gandhi, Director and Head, Business, Amazon Prime Video India said, “Prime Video continues to entertain and delight customers across the length and breadth of the country.  We are delighted to partner with Idea and believe that this association will further expand the reach of Prime Video to an even larger base of customers who can enjoy our Prime Originals, Blockbuster Films and other Premium content on a screen of their choice - be it their mobile device, their personal computer or the television in their living room”

Akshay Sahi, Director and Head of Amazon Prime India said, “We are pleased to collaborate with Idea and make Amazon Prime available to even more customers. Idea Nirvana postpaid customers can now experience Amazon Prime as a part of their plan, which provides customers an unparalleled combination of shopping and entertainment benefits. We believe these subscribers will love the many benefits of Prime; from listening to ad-free music across multiple languages on Prime Music, to watching the latest Bollywood, Regional and International video titles on Prime Video, from shopping exclusive deals on items they love most on Amazon.IN, to enjoying free fast delivery on millions of products, and a lot more”

The annual Amazon Prime membership can be activated through the Idea Movies & TV app.  Access to Prime Video is available after downloading the Prime Video app on supported devices. By downloading the Amazon Music App, one can enjoy hundreds of hand-curated Playlists and Stations specially curated by Amazon Prime Music’s editors across moods, activities, genres, artists and decades. They can also avail shopping benefits by logging in with their Prime account details on Amazon.in.

Similarly, one can enjoy hundreds of hand-curated Playlists and Stations specially curated by Amazon Prime Music’s editors across moods, activities, genres, artists and decades, by downloading the Amazon Music app and avail shopping benefits by logging in with their Prime account credentials on Amazon.in.

Idea Nirvana postpaid customers can activate their Amazon Prime membership in three easy steps:
·       Upgrade to an Idea Nirvana postpaid plan of Rs399 or above
·       Download the Idea Movies & TV app from the iOS App Store or Google Play Store. Generate OTP & validate by entering mobile number
·       Click on the special Idea – Amazon offer banner and activate without any extra cost.

Complaint Resolution Just Got a Lot Easier Across Indian Market

Resolver India, a free online platform for resolving consumer issues announced the launch of Resolver.in. The website enables consumers to connect with companies in a structured manner and helps businesses to understand customer grievances better - thus empowering both to amicably sort out unresolved matters.

The organization has a proven track record and is the preferred resolution tool of millions of consumers in the UK with over 3 million case files closed and a customer satisfaction rate of over 98% in the UK. Resolver India (previously known as Expertily) which is an Indian startup has received funding from Resolver Group UK. Resolver India has also received a seed round of investment from Manish Gupta, Chairman of JIMS and UINCEPT Incubator. Even before Resolver UK invested in Resolver India, the UK website was flooded with over 15,000 queries from India per month. The UK website was visited by over 2.5 lakh people from India in 2018. When someone registers an issue on Resolver.in, they are explained their consumer rights, assisted in preparing, recording their email/ chat communication and create a case file of their complaint, and the next steps in the process of issuing their resolutions. India being the 3rd largest consumer market in the world, Consumer Complaint Resolution market is therefore many times bigger than the UK.

“I am delighted to see Resolver launch in India today. The business promises to help both consumers and businesses all across India resolve all manner of complaints more effectively. I hope to see it soon become a household name in India” said Sir Dominic Asquith, British High Commissioner.

At the launch, Pratyush Singh, CEO at Resolver India said, “Resolver is a free and independent complaints platform allowing consumers to raise issues with organizations efficiently and effectively. Our mission is to break down the walls between consumers and businesses – building trust and understanding through fast, jargon-free issue resolution. Resolver.in is powered by Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) which guides consumers and supports organizations by making recommendations on what their next steps should be and when to take them.”

“We love India - and we can't wait to share what we've learned by helping people across the country get the results they need. We are extremely proud to partner with Pratyush and his team to bring this new tool to India and can’t wait to replicate our UK success by starting to help Indian customers and businesses. With India leading to grow into one of the top 3 consumer markets in the World from $1.5 trillion at present to nearly $6 trillion by 2030 (According to the Jan 2019 Bains- WEF report), we see India as a tremendous opportunity,” said James Walker, CEO & Founder, Resolver Group UK.

Resolver.in is a guided, supported web platform for consumers to create, store and track business complaints with an aim to deliver better outcomes for Indian consumers and businesses. Resolver India expects to initially receive the majority of complaints related to travel, banking, insurance, telecom, and real estate.

“Resolver India explains consumer rights to you, helps you prepare your emails, creates a case file for you, lets you record all your communications, lets you know when to escalate your complaint. This is all automated with zero manual interference, which is the most important thing to deal with a market as big as consumer complaint resolution, in India.”, added Pratyush, CEO Resolver India.

The explosion of India's internet user base, which is expected to reach 627 million in 2019, (according to IMRB), Resolver India sees immense growth potential in the future. In India, Resolver.in aims to deliver better outcomes for Indian consumers and businesses and end the days of hunting around a website to find the “Customer Service” link or waiting endlessly on hold for a customer representative. The website’s streamlined process makes filing an effective complaint as easy as a few clicks.

K7 Computing Appoints K. Purushothaman as The New Chief Executive Officer

K7 Computing Private Limited, today announced the appointment of its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). K Purushothaman joined as the new CEO from the 1st of March 2019.

Purushothaman joins from NASSCOM, where he served as Senior Director for over a decade. In his previous roles; he has been the Head of Communications for Aircel and has also been associated with Hyundai Motor India Limited. He brings with him strong experience of over two decades in Sales & Marketing.

Commenting on the new appointment, J Kesavardhanan, Founder & CTO, K7 Computing said; “On behalf of the entire team; I welcome Mr. Purushothaman to K7 Computing and wish him great success in his new role.” He further added; “As the first indigenous cybersecurity solutions provider; K7 Computing has always been driven by a strong focus on technology. I am confident that with his experience, Puroshothaman will also induce Marketing and Sales focused work culture; which is equally important for the overall brand reputation and growth of an organization.”

Kesavardhanan, who is the Founder of K7 Computing and was also, shouldering the responsibilities of the CEO; will now be the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). As a passionate technologist, Kesavardhanan has always worked closely with the product development teams and with this new role he will get an opportunity to focus on technological advancements and research in a better manner. He has always aimed to establish K7 Computing at the pinnacle of cybersecurity research and development work.

Kesavardhanan has also been appointed as the first CEO of AVAR. AVAR is the Association of Anti-Virus Asia Researchers established in June 1998 with the objective of countering the spread of malware and mitigating its impact. Read more

Commenting on his appointment, K Purushothaman, Chief Executive Officer, K7 Computing said; “It is my privilege to be associated with the pioneer of cybersecurity solutions in India. K7 Computing has a robust product line and superior support services for the consumer segment. Building on this success, I aim to establish K7 Computing as the most preferred brand for the enterprise segment.” He further added; “With the recent repositioning and expansion into the enterprise segment with new offerings; K7 Computing is well positioned to enter into an era of growth and expansion.   I look forward to contribute to this growth and serve our customers with world class products, solutions, and services and ensure them superior levels of security.”

The Data Literacy Project Introduces 18 Free Courses Offered by Qlik

Today the Data Literacy Project, the community dedicated to making society fluent in data, has announced the expansion of its library of resources, with 18 free Data Literacy courses now available from Qlik to help people and organizations around the world understand, analyze and use data with confidence.

Launched in October 2018, the Data Literacy Project includes founding partners Qlik, Accenture, Cognizant, Experian, Pluralsight, Chartered Institute of Marketing and Data to the People, with an overall aim of strengthening the data literacy skills among the workforce in today’s increasingly digitalized economy.

The expansion of the education program, which sees Qlik doubling the number of its courses over the last year, comes as part of the Project’s pledge to create the world’s most extensive library of resource-based learning for data literacy.

“Data-informed decision making is the ability to transform data and information into actionable and verified knowledge to ultimately make decisions,” said Kevin Hanegan, Chief Learning Officer at Qlik. “As the Fourth Industrial Revolution takes hold, data will be its universal language. That’s why we have made a firm commitment to helping organizations globally upskill workers in data literacy, from tackling unconscious bias in how they interpret data, to tips on how to correctly interrogate data, to ensure more robust business outcomes.”

Upskilling the workforce in data literacy is fundamental to unlocking business growth. Qlik’s recent Global Data Literacy Index found that organizations with higher levels of data literacy are associated with 3-5% greater enterprise value - a potential increase for large enterprises of between $320 and $534 million, associated to areas including productivity and growth. Enabling individuals to be data literate - i.e. fully confident in their ability to read, work, analyze and argue with data - when they leave education will set them up for success in the future workplace and help fuel business growth as well.

Self-service Platform Supports Improving Data-Informed Decision Making

The free courses, which are powered by Qlik’s self-service online learning platform and available on the Data Literacy Project website, have been designed to empower everyone with the ability to understand and use data with confidence, as well as help to foster a culture of data literacy and data-informed decision making inside organizations.

In addition to self-paced online learning modules, the following are also available from the Data Literacy Project: a comprehensive data analytics certification, learning resources for professors and students, and a Data Literacy Project individual assessment to receive a training roadmap based on your data persona. Qlik also offers a one day, instructor-led class, which is available worldwide as part of its Data Literacy education program at Qlik.com/GetDataLiterate.

“We firmly believe that data literacy should not be a skill beholden to a few individuals. That’s why we are taking direct action to instill data literacy more widely across all businesses through the free data literacy courses we offer,” said Hanegan. “Only by making sure that students and organizations have the basic building blocks in place to grapple with and analyze data for future, will we stand them up for success in The Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

US FDA -Approved TMS Technology Comes to Aid of Depressed, OCD, Addicted Patients in India

From Agarbatti to Neurocare, the Mysuru-based NR Group have grown many folds over the years. To cure depression, OCD, addiction patients in India, MindfulTMNeurocare uses advanced Transcranial Modular Stimulation Technology that is US FDA-Approved. After opening its first clinic last year in New Delhi followed by Chicago, the new clinic will be open in the city from Friday. The team are eying to open 100 clinics over a span of 10 years.

An estimated 300 million people around the world suffer from depression, among them 56 million are Indians. “This latter figure constitutes nearly 4.50% of the population - considering this percentage is set to increase because of the demands on mental health placed by urbanisation,” said Dr Vijay Mehtry, a consultant psychiatrist based in Bengaluru.

Mental health professionals blame rapid urbanisation for isolation of individuals and the increase in suicidal tendencies. According to Dr Ajit Bhide, the former president of the Indian Psychiatric Society, industrialised Japan, which has some of the highest suicide rates in the world, can be compared against agrarian Bhutan, where people are not exposed to expectations and are therefore generally satisfied.

“The problem in India is that we have extraordinary proportions of anomie in the country,” Dr Bhide said. Psychologists describe “anomie” as a condition in which society provides little moral guidance to individuals.

“People in urban areas have a high degree of comforts and are usually paid fat salaries, but with little time to spend that money,” Dr Bhide added. “Reversing the rising trend of urban mental deterioration means enforcing a value-based education, strengthening family values and other social relationships.”

Pavan Ranga recognising the human brain as an elaborate and three-dimensional electrical circuit where faulty sectors cause mental disorders, he adds that he sought a means to stimulate the neural network to fix disorders. “In a depressed patient, we can see neuron sets which show subdued activity. By using TMS technology, which uses large wand emitting magnetic waves, we can actually trigger or light up darkened neuron areas to effectively cure depression,” he said.

Ranga expressed confidence that patients with depression can be cured following 25 to 30 sessions over a one-month period. Each session would last for 19 minutes. About 25 to 30 session treatment would cost about Rs 1 to 1.5 lakh.

“In addition, TMS cannot directly address suicide yet – but it can help to address mild and medium forms of disorders,” Ranga concludes. 

Brigade Group Invests Rs 100 Crore to Enter into Co-Working Space - BuzzWorks in Bangalore

Real estate firm Brigade Group is entering the co-working business through the brand BuzzWorks, under which it plans to roll out 2,200 seats in the next two years. The Bangalore-based real estate player has proposed an initial investment of Rs 100 crore for the fiscal year 2019-20.

BuzzWorks will initially launch more than 200 seats at Whitefield and Malleswaram at the Brigade Metropolis and Brigade Gateway campuses totalling 15,000 square feet. Later, the firm plans to offer co-working spaces in locations such as Kochi, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Hyderabad as well.

"BuzzWorks will be a natural extension of our commercial office portfolio and a forward integration for our business," said Nirupa Shankar, Executive Director, Brigade Group.

The Bengaluru-based group started off as a commercial space developer in 1986 and later expanded to other real estate segments including residential and hospitality.

With co-working segment gaining traction, big companies now comprise about half the clients. This has prompted many real estate firms such as RMZ Corp and Embassy Group to enter the business with ambitious plans.

India has more than 200 players operating over 420 co-working spaces across the country, according to Anarock Property Consultants. The consultancy has forecast twofold to threefold growth in this segment in the next two years alone.

Besides, it has said that with office rents rising across India, co-working spaces are likely to grow at least 30% year-on-year in terms of space occupied, with Bengaluru, National Capital Region and Mumbai, followed by Hyderabad and Chennai, offering the best prospects for growth.

The company also has 18 mn sqft of residential development to its credit and plans to launch another 9 million sqft by the next financial year. It has 0.5 million sqft of retail space and around 781 hotel rooms under construction.

Brigade Group has intensified its focus on the commercial real estate market. Brigade Enterprises has 11 million sqft of office space under various stages of construction. It has a partnership with Singapore-based private equity firm GIC Singapore for commercial properties.

Mindtree Inaugurates Silicon Valley Re-Imagination Center to Help Clients Look Beyond Digital

Mindtree has inaugurated its new Silicon Valley Re-imagination Center with the objective of collaborating with the best of the valley ecosystem - including its thriving startups, world leading academic institutions and innovation centers of large technology partners - for the benefit of its global clients. The center is designed to help Mindtree’s clients look beyond the current generation of digital technologies to fundamentally reimagine their business models, processes, offerings and experiences with a focus on modern artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. It will host board of directors, CxOs, and operational teams to drive highly impactful business reimagination initiatives. The center will also be the hub for Mindtree’s high-tech and media business that serves some of the pioneering companies driving the adoption of beyond digital technologies.

Many enterprises that have done successful digital transformation initiatives are wondering what is next. Advances in modern AI technologies have created an exciting opportunity to transform business processes, liberating human talent for more creative purposes by going beyond just digitization. The core systems of many enterprises are decades-old and have been enhanced with digital techniques like API-fication to support digital transformation initiatives. However, enterprises have an urgent need to rebuild core enterprise systems with micro-services and server-less architectures where security and AI are woven into the very fabric of these systems. Further, the combination of the internet of things (IoT) and modern AI is creating the opportunity for many industrial enterprises to rebuild their business models, business processes and products. Enterprises need the support of the world’s best technology ecosystem and talent to drive these reimagination initiatives.

“Mindree was born digital and is an established leader in the digital space,” said Rostow Ravanan, CEO and Managing Director of Mindtree. “We are being proactive in looking at what comes beyond digital and helping contextualize it for the benefit of our global clients. We have the unique advantage of serving some of the world’s most advanced technology providers and working collaboratively with newly emerging startups, as well as world leading academic institutions that are doing cutting-edge research in these areas. We expect our Silicon Valley Reimagination Center to be at the forefront of the next wave of reimagination that comes beyond digital by leveraging these advantages.”

“Our global clients in many industries are wondering, ‘What would a Silicon Valley startup company do if they were entering our industry today,’” said Dr. Satya Ramaswamy, Executive Vice President for Mindtree’s Enterprise Reimagination business. “Having already completed several digital transformation initiatives, they see further opportunities for competitive advantage that AI, blockchain, IoT, quantum computing and other emerging technologies offer, and don’t want to be left behind. Our new Silicon Valley Reimagination Center has created an exciting space for our global clients to work closely with the best of the Silicon Valley ecosystem, help them connect the dots, and achieve that vision.”

Mindtree has established partnerships with a growing network of Silicon Valley startups. Additionally, Mindtree in July 2018 established an endowed faculty scholar position in artificial intelligence at Stanford University’s School of Engineering. The position is designed to further accelerate the development of AI to solve complex problems. Engagements in the new center will combine these with world class business domain knowledge, technology, creativity and contextual knowledge of client businesses and systems to drive reimagination initiatives in a consulting-led approach.

Mindtree’s March 13 inauguration event had several notable attendees including Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise; Prof. Jennifer Widom, Dean of School of Engineering at Stanford; Ambassador Sanjay Panda, Consul General of India: and representatives of elected officials from both the U.S Congress and the California legislature, and leaders from Mindtree’s clients and partners.

Tata ACE Gold Celebrates its 1st Anniversary in Indian Market

Celebrating the successful one year completion of its most popular small commercial vehicle- Tata Ace Gold, Tata Motors, India’s largest commercial vehicle player today announced a host of customer-friendly offers on its entire range of Tata Ace vehicles and other Tata SCVs. The schemes will focus on improving earnings of the consumer and offer them lucrative savings on their purchases with Tata Motors until March 31, 2019. Since its inception, the vehicle has been a preferred choice of over 2 million customers, making the brand a leader in the Mini Truck segment with a 66% market share.

The company is offering Low Interest Scheme and Personal Insurance cover on purchase of any variants of the Tata Small Commercial vehicles. Under the low Interest Rate Risk (IRR) scheme, the customers will save up to Rs. 1 Lakh in EMI under 1.99% for 3 years and 2.99% for 4 years, which will be valid on Ace HT, Ace Gold, Ace XL, Ace EX, Ace High deck, Mega Cab Chassis, Mega, Mega XL, Zip Gold and Zip XL. The company will also provide Rs. 10 Lakh Personal Insurance under the Tata Delight scheme. These benefits will be available at more than 1224 dealer outlets (3S and 1S) across the country.

On this momentous occasion, Mr. R T Wasan, Vice President, Marketing & Sales, CVBU, Tata Motors, said, “At Tata Motors, we always believe in making customer-centric offerings and maximizing revenues of the transport operators. Standing true to its brand theme of ‘Kaamyabi Kal, Aaj aur Kal’, Tata Ace Gold has successfully delivered on its promise of being a game-changer by offering superior safety, versatile performance in varied conditions, ease of maintenance, comfort and cost-effectiveness to its customers. Tata Ace Gold has proven to be a best seller, contributing to a 64% volume growth of the brand Tata Ace on a year to date basis reinforcing the increasing popularity of the brand among the Indian customers.”

Tata Motors has planned various marketing campaigns to celebrate the 1 Year anniversary of Ace Gold. Along with print, radio and digital promotions; the company has also planned customer meets, Naka Connect programs, Vehicle Demo along with the promotion theme, Loan and Exchange melas, and captive customer melas to connect with the current and potential customers.

Introduced in 2005, Tata Ace has successfully pioneered the concept of mini-trucks in India. The Tata Ace family of vehicles has been constantly evolving, strategically identifying and filling gaps in the market ahead of its time. The Ace platform has so far produced about 15 offerings, based on Engine type, engine power & body configurations. Today, the Tata Ace family comprises of brands like Ace, Zip, Mega and Mint for SCV cargo and Magic, Mantra and Iris for passenger movement in rural and urban areas. Therefore, for steep and hilly terrains to heavy and dense load over long distances, for better power and better torque to better fuel efficiency and durability, for narrow alleys and crowded bylanes to intercity transportation, for captive applications to voluminous goods - there is a Tata Ace to suit every customer need.

NSDC Unveils UNEVOC Centre Co-organises International Workshop on Greening of Job Roles and Curricula

Following National Skill Development Corporation’s (NSDC) acceptance as a member to the UNEVOC Network in mid-2018, the NSDC-UNEVOC Centre was officially launched on 7th March 2019 at New Delhi. Mr. Shyamal Majumdar, Head -UNESCO UNEVOC awarded Dr. Manish Kumar, MD & CEO, NSDC with the UNEVOC plaque, officially recognizing NSDC as a UNEVOC Centre in the presence of Ms. Juthika Pathankar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, international Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) practitioners and other distinguished guests.

The UNEVOC Network is UNESCO’s global network for institutions specialized in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), which are concerned with skills development for the world of work and life. Coordinated by UNESCO-UNEVOC, the network provides an environment for exchange, cooperation and mutual assistance for its members, the UNEVOC Centres.

Members of the UNEVOC Network, called UNEVOC Centres, all have a position within their country that allows them to cooperate with other TVET stakeholders, both nationally and internationally and engage in variety of activities, such as (a)  to improve TVET in member states by promoting and fostering international collaboration and partnerships (b) to develop the capacities of UNEVOC Centres and associated TVET practitioners; and (c) to share promising practices and innovations in TVET

Commenting upon NSDC’s association with UNESCO-UNEVOC, Dr. Manish Kumar, MD & CEO, NSDC said, “Acceptance to the UNEVOC network indicates an important acknowledgement of NSDC’s strength and track record in the Skilling Ecosystem. Through the UNEVOC platform, we will not only gain from each other’s experiences through sharing of best practices and case studies but also access the best analytical tools that can support in building a robust and resilient data-driven approach to planning for TVET across different contexts.”

As a key activity under the NSDC and UNESCO-UNEVOC collaboration, a five-day international workshop on Greening of Job Roles and Curricula was organized jointly by NSDC and UNESCO-UNEVOC was held last week in New Delhi. The workshop sought to address policy and training needs for integrating sustainability and green concepts into occupational standards and fostering an understanding on effectively moving from occupational standards to curriculum planning and design. The workshop also aimed at identifying and addressing gaps in institutional strategies in the context of greening TVET.
The workshop brought together TVET professionals involved in policy planning, standard setting, training and assessments from 15 different countries – Mexico, Hongkong PRC, Germany, Canada, Kenya, Nigeria, Guyana, Zambia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Malaysia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and South Africa.

The workshop involved panel discussions, lectures from experts, group work and site visits. On day-one, participants were exposed to the concepts, approaches and best practices of Greening TVET followed by assessment of ground realities to identify greening challenges and opportunities in different country contexts. The second day initiated with different approaches of Greening TVET standards and curricula.. Day-three covered the aspects of teaching and assessing green skills and competencies as well as quality assurance concepts, followed by a study visit to the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE). On day-four, participants visited TERI School of Advanced Studies and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) at Mandir Marg to observe how greening activities are organized in practice. On the last day, participants reflected and presented the learnings of the workshop. 

Pune based Startup SparesHub Receives funding of Rs 3.5 Crore from Indian Angel Network

Indian Angel Network, Asia’s largest network of Angel investors, has invested Rs. 3.5 crore in Pune-based start-up SparesHub, an automobile parts start-up. SparesHub will utilise the funds for its geographical expansion and to strengthen its technology capabilities. The funding was led by Indian Angel members Neeraj Garg, Harsh Gandhi, and Ankur Agarwal.

Founded by Tapas P. Gupta and Arijit A. Chakraborty, the SparesHub team currently comprises 27 employees. It solves the problem of the unavailability of, and over-expensive, automobile parts which result in a significant loss of time, money, and efforts for car owners in India. Since its inception, SparesHub has been working to disintermediate and digitize the automobile parts industry in India. To this end, it is introducing modern supply chain and logistics methodologies in the industry, and caters to B2B customers. SparesHub works with India’s leading car companies and part manufacturers to make OEM and OES parts available to its customers (multi-brand service centres, service aggregators, fleet owners and insurance companies). Existing investor Holomua Group Inc, also participated in the investment round.

Padmaja Ruparel, President and Co-founder of Indian Angel Network, added, “The decision to invest in SparesHub was taken after a careful assessment of the business, the team’s vision, and its strategy to achieve the same. The company has the makings of a modern tech-based venture, with a unique business model, a strong technological framework, a product that fills a major gap in the market, and of course, a strong team. We are confident that the team will continue to enhance its product and build its USP, and emerge as one of the leading players in its domain.”

Tapas Gupta – CEO of SparesHub, commented, “Our mission is to create a whole new level of customer delight by leveraging technology. SparesHub is challenging the traditional methodologies and bringing in global best practices in the automobile parts supply chain and logistics domain. We are truly grateful for the funding from Indian Angel Network and the faith they have shown in our business model, and we hope for a long and fruitful collaboration with the Network.”

Indian Angel Network is Asia’s largest network of angel investors that invests in early-stage businesses, which have the potential to create disruption. The members of the network are leaders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem with strong operational experience as CEOs or a background of creating new and successful ventures. IAN goes beyond the normal, informal, local club structure of angel groups to a larger institutionalized model because of its nimble but robust, standardized, and transparent processes that allow it to scale across geographies and a large number of members.

Toyota Delights its Customers with Memorable March Campaign in India

In line with the company’s continuous efforts towards enhancing customer delight, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) rolled out its annual sales campaign ‘Memorable March’. Customers can avail exciting offers and benefits which will be provided on select models during the month of March across Toyota dealerships in India.

Commenting on this campaign, Mr. N. Raja, Deputy Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “Toyota as a brand has been relentlessly customer-centric, listening to and anticipating what their customers need.  The Memorable March Campaign is a way of expressing our gratitude to our valued customers who have been showing their relentless trust and confidence on Toyota products.  It has been our endeavor to provide the best to our customers in terms of unbeaten safety features, performance, comfort, high fuel economy and unmatched quality with low cost of ownership.

We always work towards exceeding the expectations of our Customers by providing "Best in Town" experience & sustenance of Quality, Durability & Reliability of our products and services.

To further enhance the joy of ownership, the company has introduced exciting offers under the Memorable March Campaign for Toyota customers.

Toyota is also offering special benefits for Government and Corporate employees with the Yaris available in CSD and Innova Crysta G available in GeM. All customers can avail these benefits until March 31st 2019.

“Congratulations to Synechron for building an organization focused on employee engagement and performance,” said Maria Jimenez, Chief Nominations Officer of Business Intelligence Group. “It was clear from analyzing the employee survey data that this is a great place to work and employee feedback is not only listened to; but acted upon. Congratulations to the entire team.”

Synechron Named as One of the Best Places to Work for Second Consecutive Year

Synechron Inc., a leading Digital IT Consulting firm for financial services, has today announced that it has been named a winner in the Business Intelligence Best Places to Work Awards for 2019. Synechron was the winner in the Global Enterprise category. The organization sought to identify companies that are actively working to improve their own performance through efforts to challenge employees in environments that makes work fun and engaging.

This award marks the second consecutive win for Synechron in the Best Places to Work awards. The win also comes as Synechron’s employee and recruitment initiative, Employee 2020, approaches the one-year anniversary of its rollout. Both the awards and Employee 2020 initiative relied on employee engagement surveys and feedback.

John Gaunt, Chief Human Resources Officer, stated “Winning this award for the second year in a row is a true testament to what it means to be a proud Synechronite. We are committed to positive employee engagement and celebrating what sets apart Synechron and its employees that create such a great work environment.”

Top 5 Platforms Solving Critical Business Needs of Fast-Growing Enterprises

Enterprises are cornered with the ever-changing business landscapes and a growing competition, both from the industry incumbents and start-ups. The evolving ecosystem requires enterprises to remain ahead of the curve and always prepared for the unexpected. With the ever tightening grip and growing stakes, several platforms have come up to offer selective services to the fast-growing enterprises. From enterprise communication to cyber-security, tech consulting and more, these platforms are helping India’s fast-growing enterprises better manage their ventures and achieve the aspirational business growth.

Enterprise Communication made easy with Telebu

Effective communication between team members or the business and its key stakeholders is oftentimes the biggest challenge. In the present age, teams are remotely spread out and communicating with disparate teams often results in time lags and other inefficiencies. However, designing communication products for today’s enterprises, Hyderabad-based Telebu offers plausible solutions.

With its marquee product and audio conferencing solution, grptalk, Telebu allows instant conferencing (dial-out calls) for enterprises. The cost-effective solution removes any delays in conference calls, with the participants only having to answer the call from the bridge, not requiring any pin code, password etc. Furthermore, grptalk offers easy connectivity even in areas with low network coverage and easily connecting conference calls anywhere between 3 to 10,000+ participants.

Other enterprise solution products by Telebu include bulk text and voice SMS solution, in-bound and out-bound call centre software, emergency alert system, and API platform. 

A trustworthy tech partner: Cybage

Tech consulting has the potential for opening hidden vistas for the start-ups, mid-size companies and large-scale enterprises. To the same end, Cybage solves complex problems for its clients using new-generation technologies for Cloud, Mobility, E-commerce, Data Analytics, Social Collaboration, and enables enterprise-wide digital transformation.

Working with the world's best Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), the solution by Cybage are focused on modern technologies, and are enabled by a scientific, data-driven system called DecisionMines™ for Digital Excellence. This unique model de-risks the approach, provides better predictability, and ensures a better value per unit cost.

Invoice Discounting & Financing via Priority Vendor

Whether you are an enterprise dealing with multiple suppliers or a vendor fulfilling orders of large companies, invoice discounting and financing can radically transform and optimise everyday operations. Suppliers struggling with no clarity on when to expect the payment, as typically the payments may take up to 60 days once the goods or services are delivered, or enterprises being chased for timely payments, both can find suitable solutions at Priority Vendor.


As India’s largest early payment platform, Priority Vendor not only helps enterprises with e-invoicing but also helps them in securing capital against approved invoices, either through early payments or invoice discounting. Large corporates can further ensure the optimum financial health of their supply chain, by leveraging these solutions. With its AI-engine, the platform offers the most competitive and deep discounts for supply chain financing. 

Artificially Intelligent Cyber Defence with Paladion

Cyber criminals are out on a prowl, and they are targeting present day’s fast-growing enterprises. Since businesses have a lot to lose, i.e. their reputation and important customer data, they make up for the best targets for online nefarious activity. Thus, enterprises of today need to anticipate, detect, and respond to current threats (such as ransomware) and cyber incidents.

To the same end, Paladion leverage AI in its Managed Detection and Response service to provide high-speed cyber defence. The platform not only protects the enterprise from cyber-attacks by quick response but also detects the threats emerging pre-handed.

Securing BYOD for enterprises with Seqrite

The business landscape today is embracing BYOD-led work culture to enhance productivity, ensure seamless interoperability, and improve employee convenience. Employees feel comfortable working on their own devices, while smartphones have become integral to business environments. However, the same enhances security risks due to inadequate security measures or use jailbroken/rooted devices.

The Enterprise Mobility Management portfolio by Seqrite manages the same by offering two cloud-based solutions, MobiSMART and mSuite. The solutions have been designed to provide comprehensive control over mobile devices accessing the network and data of enterprises, helping them be completely secured against multiple entry points to company’s online architecture.

Manipal Hospitals Enters Guiness World Records for Free Screening Health Camp for 623 People on World Kidney Day

India’s leading Healthcare service provider, Manipal Hospitals Bengaluru celebrates as it bags two new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS titles at the same time today. On the occasion of World Kidney Day, the hospital attempted and successfully accomplished two new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS titles of conducting the longest kidney disease awareness session as well as the most number of urine analysis tests.

In line with the theme for World Kidney Day, ‘Kidney Health for Everyone, Everywhere’, the hospital conducted urine analysis test for 8 hours and an awareness lecture on kidney disease for 1 hour. Both the awareness session and urine analysis test witnessed 311 and 623 people respectively, creating two new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ titles on the same day.

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a non-communicable disease that affects 1 in 10 people worldwide. While its severity can vary, CKD is often progressive and needs lifelong medical care. Over 850 million people worldwide are now estimated to have kidney diseases from various causes. CKD causes at least 2.4 million deaths per year and is now the 6th most common cause of death. 9 out of 10 patients who have kidney disease don’t even know that they have it. Between 2 to 7 million premature deaths happen for lack of access to dialysis and transplantation. Despite the growing burden of kidney disease, kidney health is often under emphasized and neglected, leading to late detection. This attempt to enter GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS was made as an effort to create awareness among the general public to look at wellness rather than illness as Manipal Hospitals being a responsible healthcare group.

Both initiatives that won the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ titles were adjudicated and certified by Mr. Rishi Nath, Adjudger, GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS. The largest gathering was addressed by Dr. Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman, Manipal Hospitals Bengaluru on the importance of kidney to our health.

Elated by the achievement, Dr. Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman, Manipal Hospitals Bengaluru said, “It is a matter of great pride for all of us at Manipal Hospitals Bengaluru to be recognized by GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ for our initiatives. We are delighted to be entitled as the only hospital in India to be conducting the longest kidney disease awareness session as well as the most number of urine analysis tests. Through our initiatives we wanted to reach out to as many people as possible on this World Kidney Day to create awareness on kidney disease and we are glad to have achieved our goal.”

Hence, we need to put our minds and resources in making our country healthier and fitter by moving our focus from curative to preventive care. This can only happen by creating awareness about kidney health with emphasis on screening for kidney disease.

Kalyan Jewellers Targets 25% Revenue Growth in its Jewellery Purchase Advance Schemes

Kalyan Jewellers, one of India’s most trusted jewellery brands, expects positive impact from the recent ordinance on its jewellery purchase advance schemes. The Government of India had recently promulgated “The Banning Of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Ordinance 2019” targeting entities, which are not subject to any regulatory authority, collecting funds as advances for jewellery purchase.

“The recent ordinance is consistent to the continued efforts to formalise the jewellery sector. The gap that existed in the governance of the jewellery advance purchase schemes has been corrected with sole proprietorship and partnership firms being brought under the regulatory environment. It will result in a level playing field for the industry,” said Rajesh Kalyanaraman, Executive Director, Kalyan Jewellers.

“As a Public Limited Company, Kalyan Jewellers India Limited (“KJIL”) is not affected by the promulgation of the ordinance.  The jewellery purchase advance schemes run by KJIL are ‘Regulated’ and duly approved and sanctioned by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and we file returns in the manner mandated under the Act, with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). We therefore believe that our vast network of 102 showrooms in India and over 650 My Kalyan stores are poised to drive growth for our Dhanvarsha and Akshaya Purchase Advance Schemes,”  Mr. Rajesh Kalyanaraman added.

Kalyan Jewellers had discontinued its earlier jewellery purchase advance scheme in 2014 following the enactment of the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules 2014 ("Rules"). By the said Rules, private limited companies were barred from running conventional jewellery schemes which included paying of bonuses, benefits etc. However the said restriction were not mandated upon jewellers which were partnerships, sole proprietorships, LLP etc. KJIL, thereafter became a public limited company w.e.f June 2016 and since then have been operating the jewellery purchase advance schemes in strict adherence to the rules and regulations.

KJIL presently operates the Dhanvarsha and Akshaya purchase advance schemes. Customers enrolled in the said schemes can pay monthly instalment for 11 months and thereafter redeem jewellery for the total amount paid along with benefits in the manner approved under the Companies Act. Dhanvarsha and Akshaya Purchase Advance Schemes are statutorily compliant and well accepted among consumers. Monthly instalments can be paid by cash, cheques, DD and online payments.

Kalyan Jewellers is eyeing a significant growth in its base of jewellery purchase advance scheme customers. Kalyan Jewellers will seek to position itself as a brand of choice for the customers seeking to avail compliant and credible jewellery advance purchase schemes. “A segment of Customers understand the benefits of availing such schemes and we believe that there is a potential to grow our revenues from our jewellery advance schemes by 25%.

UL Expands Footprint in Bangladesh with Advanced Textile and Leather Testing Facility in Dhaka

\

UL, a global safety science leader announced the expansion of the company’s footprint in Bangladesh with the inauguration of its new Consumer and Retail Services Testing Laboratory in Dhaka. The state-of-the-art, 33,000 sq.ft. facility provides advanced, end-to-end service solutions for the textile, apparel, leather and footwear industries at a single destination.

UL’s pioneering facility seeks to foster innovation, increase market access and enable faster time to market by empowering customers to show compliance with the highest standards for quality and safety. The suite of services offered at UL’s Consumer and Retail Services laboratory include a wide range of testing capabilities combined with solutions for inspections, factory and technical audit, chemical management, sustainability and social compliance for responsible sourcing. The facility is strategically located in the heart of Dhaka, along the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway that is easily accessible for customers.

Sharing his views on how customers can benefit by partnering with UL, Mr. Sarbajeet Mukherjee, managing director of UL’s Consumer and Retail services in South Asia, “Over the past decade since our inception in Bangladesh, UL experts have been supporting the retail industry with world-class testing services and technical expertise. With the global acquisition of Consumer Testing Laboratory in 2016, we are steadily consolidating our presence in the country to address the increase in demand from customers for quality testing services to meet rigorous compliance requirements. Our new innovative facility will enable us to help service our existing and potential customers better. The total solutions we offer here are designed to empower our clients mitigate market risk, strengthen global supply chains and protect brand reputation. We have developed leading edge customer service solutions like fast-track project and digital lab fulfilment systems to reduce lead times and ensure accurate, in-depth test results. Our customers can collaborate with us to test a variety of products as per global standards and regulations to get global market access (GMA) and increase their market share”.

Commenting on the launch of the new laboratory Mr. Suresh Sugavanam, UL’s vice president and managing director for South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa said, “UL’s investment in Bangladesh comes at a time when country is on an ambitious path to meet the export target of USD 50 billion from the apparel sector by 2021, to mark 50 years of the Republic of Bangladesh. Our team of multidisciplinary experts leverage the latest technologies, best-in-class equipment and engage in rigorous analysis of quality and safety parameters to help our customers launch winning products to the market in a cost effective manner”.

UL’s array of testing expertise for quality and safety assurance spans chemical, physical, mechanical,  colourfastness, fibre and flammability – performance and regulatory tests. Sustainability solutions to address chemical safety for environmental compliance include wastewater onsite assessments and testing solutions for Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) programme. UL brings over a century of experience in testing, certifying and inspecting fire, life safety and security products to cater to the needs of factory audits and inspection in Bangladesh.

Azim Premji Foundation to Spend ₹ 52,750 Cr Towards Philanthropy

With this, the total value of his philanthropic endowment contribution is ₹ 1,45,000 crore
Azim Premji, Chairman of Azim Premji Foundation announced on Wednesday that he has earmarked all economic benefits in approximately 34 per cent of the shares of Wipro Ltd worth about Rs 52,750 crore to philanthropy, by irrevocably renouncing more of his personal assets and earmarking them to the Endowment, which supports the Foundation’s philanthropic activities.

In a statement, he said he has additionally earmarked all economic benefits for philanthropic purposes, in approximately 34 per cent of the shares in Wipro Limited with a current market value of ₹ 52,750 crore ($ 7.5 billion) held by certain entities controlled by him. This action is in addition to his earlier donations to philanthropy, which included Wipro’s shares, as well as other assets owned by him.

With this action, the total value of the philanthropic endowment corpus contributed by Premji is ₹ 1,45,000 crore ( $ 21 billion), which includes 67 per cent of economic ownership of Wipro Limited. " Azim Premji’s philanthropic activities have an overarching vision to contribute to developing a just, equitable, humane & sustainable society in India. To enable this vision, the Azim Premji Foundation works directly in education and supports other not-for-profits working in some specific areas through multi-year financial grants ," the statement said.

Helping the disadvantaged

The foundation’s extensive field work in education has been in some of the most disadvantaged parts of India, to help contribute to the improvement of quality and equity of the public (government) schooling system. All this work has been in close partnership with various State Governments. Currently this field work is spread across Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry, Telangana, and Madhya Pradesh, along with some work in the north-eastern states of India. The Foundation’s field strategy focuses on creating and scaling up a network of institutions at the District and State levels, to contribute to improvement in the school education system on a continued and sustained basis.

Education programs

As part of its overall strategy, the Foundation has also set up the Azim Premji University in Bangalore. The University has been established with a clear social purpose of developing outstanding professionals in the domains of education and related areas of human development for the entire country. The University does this by offering various kinds of degree programs, education programs, and conducting research in various fields of human development and social importance.

The initiative to support other not-for-profits by providing multi-year grants was started in 2014 by the Foundation. This enabled the expansion of its philanthropic efforts to domains other than education that are crucial to contributing towards its vision. The grants support efforts of partners that directly or indirectly help create tangible improvements in the lives of deeply disadvantaged, under-served and marginalized sections of our society. In the last five years, these grants have supported over 150 organizations engaged in a range of domains across India.

Over the next several years, the activities of the foundation are expected to scale up significantly. The team driving the field work in education is expected to grow significantly from the current 1 ,600 people, while the University will expand to have 5 ,000 students with 400 faculty members across multiple programs. Thereafter, another University in the northern part of India may be set up by the foundation. Thegrant-making activities will also continue to expand rapidly, growing three times from its current levels, supporting good work across multiple domains of social importance in India. Overall, this strategy and its expansion aims to contribute meaningfully to developing a more just, equitable, humane and sustainable society in India.

Mahindra and Zee Celebrate International Women’s Day by Empowering Women Farmers with Prerna

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd , part of the USD 20.7 billion Mahindra Group and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), a media and entertainment powerhouse today celebrated International Women’s Day with the release of a nationwide campaign on the Prerna initiative.

Designed to bring to light the challenges that women farmers face and empower them as change makers in agriculture, this campaign highlights how Prerna is a strong change catalyst. Conceived by Lowe Lintas and directed by National Award-winning director Paresh Mokashi, the story of this film is rendered through an innocent child and his mother who is a farmer.

Launched in October 2017, the Prerna initiative was shaped with the intention of transforming the lives of women farmers, providing them with a better social status and respect in society. The key constituents of the program include introduction of gender neutral farm tools for reducing farm drudgery, and dissemination of knowledge and capability for increasing farm productivity. The ultimate objective is to increase overall income, resulting in financial independence and empowerment for women farmers.

Speaking on the campaign, Rajesh Jejurikar, President, Farm Equipment Sector, M&M Ltd. said, “Women farmers are the unsung heroes of our agricultural landscape. They carry a great part of the burden of their family, playing a multidimensional role, despite limited resources and restricted access to knowledge. Through Prerna, we aim to empower them with the necessary opportunities, training and equipment to be better skilled and more productive in farming operations. I am thankful to ZEE for their support in this unique initiative which aims to bring awareness about the role of women farmers through Prerna”.

Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, ZEEL said, “Agriculture is one of the most important sectors for the Indian economy and in fact provides employment to almost 50% of the country’s workforce with women being at the forefront. There is an emerging need to recognise their contribution and to bring these women into the mainstream, empowering them with direct access to knowledge of improved agricultural practices. We at ZEE Entertainment are proud to join hands with Mahindra to launch Prerna – an initiative to recognize, appreciate and empower women farmers”.

The first phase of Prerna was executed over the last 18 months, in over 40 villages in Odisha positively impacting the lives of over 2,000 women farmers. This phase was executed in partnership with the Central Institution for Women in Agriculture (CIWA), a department of the Government of India’s Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the NGO Pradan (Professional Assistance for Development Action), with the introduction of 14 farm implements, reducing drudgery in farming operations.

Currently Prerna has forayed into 60 villages across the key states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka in partnership with the BAIF Institute for Sustainable Livelihoods and Development (BISLD) with the aim of empowering & reaching out to over 6,000 women farmers, as change makers in agriculture. The plan is to work closely with women farmers to improve agricultural practices, introduce farm mechanisation and facilitate peer learning among the women farmer community.

India Saves Rs.149 Cr During ‘The Great Indian Restaurant Fest 2019’

India is a food loving country with each state offering different cuisines to match the preferences of a billion-strong population. Indians were never big on dining out but the scenario is fast changing now.

Based on its recently concluded third edition of the annual food festival – the ‘Great Indian Restaurant Festival’ (GIRF) dineout – India’s leading dining out platform, has released interesting findings which showed that dining out isn’t just for special occasions, it has become a way of life for India’s food connoisseurs. The month long food carnival kick-started on January 28 and offered close to 65% savings on bills, buffet, drinks (including alcohol) at 6000+ restaurants across 11 cities.

This year, GIRF saw an overwhelming response from consumers wherein approximately 2.5 million diners participated, which was 2.5 times more as compared to its previous edition. The restaurant partners generated a total GMV worth of Rs. 350 crores during the month-long festival. Out of these, over 80% diners turned out to be between the age group of 18-34 years, which clearly showcases that Indian millennials are utilizing dining out as a popular form of socializing and are open to experiencing various cuisines & deals.

Following the theme #MonthofMore, dineout’s GIRF invited consumers to indulge in binge eating by offering more food, more discounts and more incredible dining out experiences. The festival also saw other interesting trends wherein close to 13% of consumers preferred dining out at café’s over a pub or a bar and over 4.2 lakh people dined out on 24th February alone, which is more than the population of Iceland!

In terms of cities, Delhi topped the charts where around 30% of the total diners enjoyed meals & deals at GIRF, Mumbai & Bengaluru came a close second and third respectively. Some of the other interesting findings from the festival were –

Delhi had more appetite for pizza than paranthas
Bengaluru leveraged happy hour deals the most during GIRF
Mumbai & Kolkata had the maximum consumption of noodles during GIRF
Delhiites saved around  Rs. 50 Cr. during GIRF, which is the spend of a big fat Indian wedding

“This year, GIRF has captured the imagination of millions of Indian foodies,” Ankit Mehrotra, Founder & CEO - dineout said. “Indian millennials are increasingly discovering the pleasures of dining out and exploring cuisines from all over the world, and we are glad to play a pivotal role in this.  We see a shift towards dining out experiences that bring them closer to friends and family. We look forward to offering foodies across the country more opportunities to combine their love for great deals with their passion for unique quality food and drinks.”

During the festival, dineout also ran several contests to offer foodies a chance to win free prizes and goodies and invited its consumers to share their best GIRF memories on Instagram and stand a chance to win OnePlus 6T every day.

Mounting Cloud Email Threats to Office 365 Require Second Layer of Defense

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, today announced that its Cloud App Security tool blocked nearly nine million high-risk email threats in 2018 as attackers continued to evolve their tactics, highlighting the importance of investing in multi-layered protection for online platforms like Office 365.

The findings from Trend Micro’s Cloud App Security report detail how escalating email threat levels are exposing organizations to an increased risk of fraud, spying, information theft, and spoofing. As email remains a staple communication and collaboration tool globally, it is convenient for cybercriminals to leverage this integral, trusted platform for compromising attacks.

“Organizations are increasingly looking to cloud email services to boost productivity and agility, but the Cloud App Security report reveals that—from credential phishing to business email compromise (BEC) and the use of unusual file types—hackers are employing a variety of new tactics to evade built-in controls, making it critical to invest in a second layer of defense,” said Kevin Simzer, chief operating officer at Trend Micro.

As the report reveals, email remains one of the most popular threat vectors. In total, the solution detected and blocked nearly 9 million high-risk email threats in 2018. This number was even after Cloud App Security was used as a second filter for emails that passed through Office 365. A Trend Micro customers’ detection result is available in the report.

This underscores that sophisticated, multi-layered security is imperative for cloud-based email security as part of the shared responsibility model.

Simzer continued, “Microsoft is a valued partner of ours and by no means the only provider targeted by these evolving tactics. While its internal controls are a great starting point, organizations must take shared responsibility for security in the cloud. Think of third-party email protection as the tires of your favorite car — an essential add-on.”

To improve the tool’s detection rates even further, Trend Micro has added new capabilities that combine Computer Vision and Artificial Intelligence technology to “see” fake websites. This additional technique is applied to suspected phishing emails after filtering based on sender, content, and URL reputation.

The new capabilities sit alongside other Trend Micro email security features. These strategic offerings include AI-powered Writing Style DNA to combat BEC attacks, machine learning-based detection of suspicious email content, sandbox malware analysis, document exploit detection, and file, email, and web reputation technologies. Cloud App Security also leverages the power of the Trend Micro Smart Protection Network, which blocked more than 41 billion email threats in 2018.

Equifax Analytics Joins with SysArc Infomatix to Enable Seamless Digital Lending

Equifax Analytics Pvt. Ltd, a global information solutions provider of predictive analytics, today announced a union with SysArc Infomatix, a world-class lending solutions provider to drive digital transformation in financial institutions across India via their bundled LENDperfect and Interconnect platforms.

Equifax Interconnect is a cloud based modular, agile and secure decision management system that is designed to help Indian financial institutions to transform complex data and decision strategies into actionable insights.

Equifax InterConnect enables institutions to manage decision policies, data sources, models and analytics effectively, and to respond to market needs swiftly. InterConnect empowers business users through comprehensive management of business strategies and policy rules with limited technical involvement.

SysArc’s LENDperfect is a world-class solution designed by banking experts and seasoned IT professionals to manage and gain visibility over entire loan life cycle.

LENDperfect Retail, Agri and MSME are market-leading solutions that understand the needs of multiple lending institutions. The products have an automated workflow engine to ensure quick TAT and meticulous BPM standards across the entire lending operation.

“Today, the Indian market is travelling through digital transformation and a seamlessly integrate able solution to set up a straight through process is very important” said KM Nanaiah, managing director, Equifax Credit Information services Ltd. and Country Leader, Equifax India and MEA. “This complimentary partnership will bring to Indian financial institutions an integrated flexible platform combining Loan management system and Decision management system with ability to integrate multiple data sources and analytical tools seamlessly.”

Customer satisfaction lies in the ability to process a loan requirement and dispense it within a matter of minutes. The ability to process and sanction an increasing number of loan requests can help garner more applicants looking for quicker credit approval. People are in constant search of new innovative ideas that can ease complex tasks. The need to stay updated and inventive is essential to outgrow competition and earn loyalty of customers, said Mr. Sundar Garg, CEO SysArc. “Partnering with Equifax Analytics takes SysArc one step closer to making lending easy for both borrower and the lender. Data capturing and instant verification is crucial to any loan processing. Much of this vision is fulfilled through the partnership by improving decision support through extensive yet instant underwriting process.

Medvarsity Online and Lecturio.com Sign a Partnership to Enable Digital Education for Medical Colleges in India

Medvarsity, a pioneer in online medical training partnered with Lecturio.com to provide enhanced technology based healthcare learning for medical students. The partnership enables Medvarsity to offer Lecturio’s world class medical content to medical colleges in India. The association aims to provide medical students the opportunity to learn more effectively, improve board performance and become better healthcare professionals.

Lecturio’s platform and learning content complement the learning needs of every medical student and combines modules from some of the best faculty around the world. This allows the institutions to make assignments matching their curricula and learning paths. Medvarsity’s established leadership in medical education in the region and access to a large pool of healthcare focused educational institutions can help drive considerable traction in the region.

Talking about the partnership, Mr. Gerald Jaideep, CEO, Medvarsity Online Ltd. said “The Medical Council of India had mandated all medical education to leverage at least 30% digital learning methodologies. Partnering with Lecturio allows us to introduce an exceptionally innovative platform, combined with extensive content across pre-clinical, para-clinical and clinical subjects that can supplement the existing teaching tools used by colleges in India.”

To come across as credible & reliable professionals, the doctors need to remember numerous medical facts. Therefore, Lecturio’s learning methodology ensures the use of increasing time intervals between subsequent reviews (spaced repetition) of previously learned material in order to achieve long term memorization.

This tie up is done keeping in mind the growing needs of the digital learning and critical healthcare trends & requirements. Digital learning is the new age learning methodology that enables students to grasp concepts quickly, which in turn connects theoretical and practical learning more easily. This also engages in learning more readily, along with enhancing the instructional techniques, leveraging instructor time, and ensuring widespread sharing of knowledge. Digital technologies therefore, permits this through new and better ways, which helps create possibilities beyond the limits of ones imagination.

Commenting on the partnership, Stefan Wisbauer, CEO, Lecturio Gmbh said “We are pleased to be working with such an established player in the Indian market where student predisposition to mobile and online learning as well as the needs of institutions to stay connected to their student’s learning provide fertile ground. Faculty will gain great efficiency in their teaching to help them juggle the mix of teaching, care delivery, research and administration many of them have to handle.”

Medvarsity currently offers online courses for a range of healthcare related subjects, which are designed for medical professionals who are looking to enhance their knowledge and expertise in a chosen field. By partnering with Lecturio, Medvarsity hopes to bring the e-learning content and platform by offering it to MBBS students in India. This is aligned with our strategy to expand medical education beyond professional education and enter the pre-med space through strategic partnerships.

Innovative Metals Recycler, Cosmos Green’s Plans 8 Large Warehouses across India to Store and Recycle Metal

Cosmos Green FZE, a UAE based metals recycler is opening 8 new warehouses in Mumbai, Gujarat, and Chennai at which it will store and recycle metals. From its base in NCR, Cosmos Green is expanding across India. The innovative firm is already recycling 10,000 tons of metal scrap every year and will open warehouses in the mentioned cities because they provide easy access to ports and have ample space.

The vision behind the metal scrap warehouses stems from the realization that metal manufacturers in India extract metal from iron ore leading to pollution and depletion of natural resources. By creating large metal scrap warehouses, Cosmos Green expects to preserve natural resources, conserve energy, and deliver high-quality metal to Indian manufacturers at low cost. The metal scarp Cosmos Green will recycle will be bought from the US and Europe. By 2024 Cosmos Green expects to recycle 1,80,000 tons of metal scrap each month; a significant proportion of the 5,00,000 tons of metal scrap demanded each month by Indian industry.

Funding of $3 million for the Indian arm of Cosmos Green was provided by the promoters and the company is in discussions with private equity firms to raise $120 million in 4 tranches. The planned warehouses will measure 50,000 square feet in area and be equipped with mini furnaces, shredders, and will have ample storage space. Investment in each warehouse will be 2 crores and the remaining capital will be used to purchase machinery and procure scrap. 

Speaking about its expansion across India, Mr. Rajat Kapur, CEO & Founder said “We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished in India in such a short time span. By expanding and creating large warehouses in key parts of India we will be able to recycle metals imported from overseas efficiently and supply metal to manufacturers at a low cost. Our strength lies in our innovative model that’s a win-win for manufacturers, society, the environment, and Cosmos Green. Within a few short years, we expect to supply large quantities of metal to domestic manufacturers through our warehouses and in the process help preserve resources and better the environment.”

Skullcandy Unveils Push Truly Wireless Earphones in India at Rs. 9,999

Utah-based Skullcandy is a young company in the audio space as compared to many of the established names, having been founded in 2003 in the United States. The brand's positioning and design language indicates a modern approach to personal audio products, with unique colours and pop culture-inspired styling. Skullcandy has now launched its latest product in India, the Skullcandy Push. The Push is a pair of truly wireless earphones that come with its own charging case, and is priced at Rs. 9,999. The earphones are available at various offline and online retailers across the country starting today.

The Skullcandy Push is the company's first truly wireless audio product, and is the latest in a trend that is seeing various headphone makers get into the truly wireless product segment. The segment was popularised by the Apple AirPods, which although not the first such product, brought the concept to widespread attention. Skullcandy has been in the wireless headphone space for a while now, and the Push is among the most affordable options from a top audio brand.

The earbuds of the Skullcandy Push are water resistant, and run on Bluetooth version 4.2. The frequency response range is listed as 20-20,000Hz, and battery life is claimed to be up to 12 hours between both the earbuds and the charging case. The earbuds are said to run for 6 hours on a single charge, and the case can top up the battery of both buds once over, providing an additional six hours of charge. You also get Skullcandy's FitFin ear gel fittings for a more secure fit.

Skullcandy also recently launched the Riff Wireless headphones in India, which is priced at Rs. 5,999. We will be bringing you the review of the Skullcandy Push very soon, so stay tuned.

HIGHLIGHTS
* The Skullcandy Push is priced at Rs. 9,999
* These are the first truly wireless earphones from Skullcandy
* Up to 12 hours of battery life is promised with both case and earphones