Prashant Jain Moves from Siemens to Head GE Steam Power Across South Asian Region

General Electric (GE) on Friday announced appointment of Prashant Jain to lead the global conglomerate’s steam power business in South Asia. Prashant will officially assume the role of Regional General Manager GE Steam Power South Asia and Managing Director GE Power India on April 17, 2019, a company statement said.

He joins GE from Siemens where he was most recently the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Power Generation Services. He succeeds Andrew H DeLeone, who was previously the Managing Director of GE Power India.

Prashant was with Siemens for 17 years, and prior to that he was with Schneider Electric. He has been instrumental in increasing responsibility across energy and industrial sectors, including power generation and renewable energy.

Café Coffee Day has Launched its Exclusive - Coffee Day Square in Hyderabad

The Square complements the city’s rich Nawabi legacy by offering a royal and redefined coffee brewing and culinary experience with international styled presentations, global cooking practices and alternate brewing techniques.

Located in the prime neighbourhood of Jubilee Hills on Road number 10, it also has ‘The Huddle Room’, which is an 8-seater full-fledged meeting room. Spread across 2,750 sq ft, the new Coffee Day Square can host 76 guests at a time.

Venu Madhav, CEO, Café Coffee Day said, “The Coffee Day Square is a reflection of the new and best in coffees and culinary experience. Residents of Hyderabad can take delight in the innovative beverages and appetising food items it has to offer.”

Vertiv Announces Dynamic Online Mode and New, Smaller Modules of High Power Density UPS Family

Vertiv announced a new feature for the Liebert EXL S1 line of uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, adding Dynamic Online mode, which allows operating efficiency of up to 99 percent. In addition, Vertiv introduced 500 and 600 kVA 400V module ratings for the Liebert EXL S1. The UPS family is available now in India in seven capacity ratings from 300 kVA to 1200 kVA, 400V. The UPS is also available in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America in a variety of input and output voltages. Dynamic Online mode is available for Liebert EXL S1 globally.

Vertiv introduced Dynamic Online mode to the Liebert EXL S1 to meet the needs of cloud, colocation and enterprise data centers that cannot sacrifice any level of availability for incremental gains in efficiency. With efficiency up to 99 percent, the Liebert EXL S1 operating in Dynamic Online mode offers substantial energy savings over legacy UPS systems which average 94 percent efficiency, and even improves on modern UPS systems that approach 97 percent efficiency. Over five years, a 1000 kVA Liebert EXL S1 can save more than $230,000 over a same-capacity 94 percent efficient UPS system and more than $140,000 over a same-capacity 97 percent efficient UPS system.

“In the fast-evolving Indian digital landscape, optimization, availability, and energy efficiency are critical elements of IT environments that support 24X7 businesses,” said Vikas Srivastava – director of product management for power, Vertiv in India. “The addition of high efficiency mode and extension of our Liebert EXL S1 UPS line allows our customers access to the best industry UPS systems, and highest levels of availability to their IT infrastructure.”

While in Dynamic Online mode, the Liebert EXL S1 inverter can instantaneously assume the load and maintain the output voltage well within the IEC 62040-3 Class 1 specification. That means systems equipped with Dynamic Online mode can safely transition from high-efficiency (Voltage Independent) mode to inverter mode with a near-zero-millisecond transfer, thus providing absolute load power protection under virtually any input power outage condition.

The new models of Liebert EXL S1 are up to 40 percent smaller than competitive systems and designed to meet the reliability and flexibility demands of the modern data center. Redundant DC variable speed fans enable the UPS to support 100 percent load even with multiple fan failures. Various input/output options add flexibility and reduce capital and installation costs. As with previously released Liebert EXL S1 modules, customers can parallel up to eight units and leverage Intelligent Parallel mode to automatically optimize efficiency at reduced load levels.

The system’s touchscreen interface offers a status-at-a-glance LED light bar, customizable views and multiple security options, while intelligent controls ensure seamless integration with multiple Vertiv and third-party building management and data center infrastructure management systems. All sizes of the Liebert EXL S1 UPS are available with lithium-ion batteries, flywheels, Albér battery monitoring, and LIFE Services.

Blockchain Based Supply Chain Mgt By Student of Nitte MIT, Bengaluru Emerge Winners at Unisys Cloud 20/20 2019 Contest

Unisys Corporation has announced the winners of the 10th annual Unisys Cloud 20/20 contest, one of India's largest and most popular annual student innovation programs. This year's contest featured more than 270 colleges and over 300 projects, as students were challenged to think outside the box and develop innovative ideas.       

The project titled Vesa – Blockchain Based Supply Chain Management by Sarang Parikh, Amith K K, Swathi R and Deeptha M of the Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Bengaluru, was picked as the winner. Eniyanilavan R, Hemachandiran S, Eathindhar M and Gautham A of Sri Manakula Vinayagar Engineering College, Puducherry College, earned second place for their project titled su PILVI. Third place was awarded to Amogh A Rao, Sana Parveen Salar, Suchithra Devadiga and Sharadhi Arun Patil of Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Mangalore, for their project, Smart Telematics System.   

The contest aims to bridge the gap between academia and the IT industry and encourage the participants to create innovative projects with practical application. Disruptive technology trends featured in this year's competition included cloud-based applications and microservices, cloud computing infrastructure, security and multimodal biometrics. After entries opened in July 2018, Unisys shortlisted the top 113 teams and provided them each with a mentor for guidance in project development.         

Winning teams were awarded cash prizes up to 4.25 lakhs and a trophy. In addition, Unisys has offered more than 20 internships and eight job placements to the finalists and winners of this year's competition. 

"Technical contests help build creativity and thinking capacity in students, and I am extremely happy with the impact that Cloud 20/20 has gained over the last 10 years. We are proud that Unisys has played a key role in creating and supporting talent from across the country," said Vishal Gupta, senior vice president and chief technology officer, Unisys. "Cloud 20/20 serves as a platform to equip students with the requisite skills to drive innovation in an ever-competitive industry like the IT industry." 

Sumed Marwaha, managing director, Unisys India and regional vice president, Services, Unisys added, "Unisys has been a torchbearer in technical and innovation led contests. In the last 10 years, Cloud 20/20 has been a platform for thousands of students across India to unveil their talents in some extraordinary projects and innovative ideas around disruptive technologies. This year our focus is on molding ideas to real life solutions. This recognizes that the Indian IT industry is constantly changing and requires these bright minds to create the technology of the future."   

Launched in 2009, Cloud 20/20 has traditionally been a collaboration between Unisys and academia. Over the last decade more than 25,000 teams have participated, making it one of India's most popular technical contests for engineering students. 

Under the Cloud 20/20 umbrella, Unisys has also conducted various programs created for different strata of the IT industry including annual hackathons for freshers, developers and programmers, Tech Series and Tech Connect for experienced professionals across the industry to meet and share ideas and construct a framework for future technologies. These programs also incorporate various trending themes such as virtual simulation, biometrics, artificial intelligence and machine learning.  

Collaborative BIM Workflows Help Lower Cost of the Zhengzhou-Xixia Expressway Project

The CNY 10.5 billion Yaoshan-Luanchuan section of the Zhengzhou-Xixia Expressway is 78.8-kilometers long and is a bi-directional and four-lane expressway, which includes 88 bridges, four interchanges, two interoperability hubs, and two super-long tunnels. The bridge and tunnel ratio is 59.8 percent of the project. The project is critical for developing an efficient transportation network to support the region’s economic development strategy and promote social economic development.

Henan Provincial Communications Planning Survey & Design Institute Co. Ltd. is a one-stop engineering technical service and provides construction, surveying, design, and technical consultancy on highway engineering on projects in China, Southeast Asia, and Africa. The company employs BIM methodologies to improve design quality and efficiency, cultivate BIM expertise, innovate employing BIM data in the highway industry, and reduce the time and capital cost in the design, construction, and operation lifecycle.

The expressway project team faced a variety of challenges to ensure the accurate design of the model and used Bentley’s civil applications to include subgrade roads, bridges, tunnels, and culverts within one model and ensure collaboration across all disciplines in highway design. OpenRoads was used to build a 3D model defining the cross sections of roads and importing data related to horizontal and vertical sections. The project team also used the model for bidding. OpenBridge Modeler was used to build parametric models for bridges with higher efficiency than past work processes. ProStructures was used for models for steel bars in bridges and to detect collisions and errors in design, decreasing the number of errors in construction drawings by 1,350. OpenRoads and MicroStation were used to streamline section drawings of tunnels, set up stations for different tunnel sections, and automatically generate tunnel models. The team developed plug-ins for automatic coding of components, increasing coding efficiency by 90 percent compared to traditional methods. LumenRT was used to produce 3D animation and videos for visualization deliverables. The model was also used to integrate PDF documents and design drawings; and iModels were imported into Navigator to communicate information to construction sites.

The team also addressed how to combine a GIS-based, BIM project management platform with construction management and meet the owner’s requirements for BIM model accuracy, model separation, and member information coding. Using these innovative applications, the project team reduced design errors and changes, provided design feedback, and improved quality optimization of the drawings by 97 percent. In addition, BIM methodologies helped to improve efficiencies in the lifecycle of the project and provide reference for future projects. Reducing the usual design and construction errors resulted in lower construction costs and increased economic efficiency.

Guiting Zhang, director of research and development center for engineering BIM-applied technology, said, “Bentley’s infrastructure products helped us take important steps toward realizing BIM practices for this highway project. In terms of roads, bridges, and tunnels, we improved the drawing quality, reduced construction drawing errors by over 1,350 items and human costs by CNY 200,000, raised modeling efficiency by 50 percent, and created substantial benefits for the owner organization through multiple deliverables. The BIM project management platform combines codes with components, carries multistage data, and controls and manages project construction quality. At the same time, this platform offers a complete database for the later-period operation and management and will bring positive economic benefits to this region.”

62% of Respondents Organizations have Suffered Multiple Attacks: Report by Ponemon Institute

Tenable the Cyber Exposure company, has released the 'Cybersecurity in Operational Technology: 7 Insights You Need to Know' report, an independent study by the Ponemon Institute. The study identifies the true extent of cyberattacks experienced by critical infrastructure operators - professionals in industries using industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT). It found that 90% of respondents stated their environments had been damaged by at least one cyberattack over the past two years, with 62% experiencing two or more attacks.

Key highlights from the study include:
Insufficient visibility into the attack surface: 80% of respondents cited lack of visibility into the attack surface, knowing what systems are part of their IT environments,  as the number one issue in their inability to prevent business-impacting cyberattacks.
Inadequate Staffing and Manual Processes Limit Vulnerability Management: Lack of personnel and a reliance on manual processes were cited by 61% and 55% of respondents respectively as major obstacles in their ability to assess and remediate vulnerabilities.
C-Suite Buy-In Is Key: 70% of respondents view increasing communication with executives and board members as one of their governance priorities for 2019.
The convergence of IT and OT is a reality in today's digital era. But this convergence has connected once-isolated OT systems to a variety of attack paths. This Ponemon study, based entirely on the self-reported experiences and observations of ICS and OT experts themselves, confirms that the threats to critical infrastructure are real, severe and ongoing.

"OT professionals have spoken - the people who manage critical systems such as manufacturing plants and transportation almost unanimously state that they are fighting-off cyberattacks on a regular basis," said Eitan Goldstein, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives, Tenable. "Organizations need visibility into their converged IT/OT environments to not only identify where vulnerabilities exist but also prioritize which to remediate first. The converged IT/OT cyber problem is one that cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure teams must face together."

First National 5G Network is Finally Out with Subscribers in South Korea

South Korea launched the world’s first nationwide 5G mobile networks two days early, its top mobile carriers said on Thursday, giving a handful of users access in a late-night scramble to provide the super-fast wireless technology. Two members of K-pop band EXO and Olympic ice-skating heroine Kim Yu-na were among first 5G smartphone subscribers.

Three top telecom providers -- SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus -- began their 5G services at 11 pm local time on Wednesday, despite previously announcing the launch date would be April 5.

Hyper-wired South Korea has long had a reputation for technical prowess, and Seoul had made the 5G rollout a priority as it seeks to stimulate stuttering economic growth. Along with the United States, China and Japan, South Korea had been racing to claim the title as the first to provide the ultra-fast network nationwide.

But speculation that US mobile carrier Verizon might start its 5G services early forced South Korean providers to hastily organise a late-night launch, Yonhap news agency reported. Verizon began rolling out its 5G services in Chicago and Minneapolis on Wednesday in the US, a week ahead of schedule.

But according to Yonhap, the South Korean launches came two hours earlier. “SK Telecom today announced that it has activated 5G services for six celebrities representing Korea as of 11 pm April 3, 2019,” the country’s biggest mobile operator said in a news release.

First customers

The celebrities -- including two members of K-pop band EXO and Olympic ice-skating heroine Kim Yu-na -- were “the world’s first 5G smartphone subscribers”, it said. Both KT and LG Uplus said they also went live at the same time, with a total of three specially-selected users: KT offered it to the wife of a technician setting up its network on the disputed island of Dokdo, while LG Uplus provided it to a television personality and her racing-driver husband.

For general customers, the services will be available from Friday -- the original launch date -- when Samsung Electronics rolls out the Galaxy S10 5G, the world’s first available smartphone with the technology built in. Verizon’s network will work with Lenovo’s Moto Z3 smartphone.

Rival US carrier AT&T began making its “standards-based” 5G network available to users in a dozen cities late last year. Qatari firm Ooredoo said it offers 5G services in and around Doha -- but does not have devices available to use them -- while Japan is also expected to roll out a limited deployment in 2019 before full services start in time for next year’s Tokyo Olympics.

Experts say 5G will bring smartphones near-instantaneous connectivity -- 20 times faster than 4G -- allowing users to download entire movies in less than a second. The technology is crucial for the future development of devices such as self-driving vehicles and is expected to bring about $565 billion in global economic benefits by 2034, according to the London-based Global System for Mobile Communications, an industry alliance.

The implications of the new network have pitted Washington against Beijing -- whose firms dominate 5G technology -- in an increasingly bitter standoff. The US has pressed its allies and major economies to avoid 5G solutions from Chinese-owned telecom giant Huawei, citing security risks that technological backdoors could give Beijing access to 5G-connected utilities and other components.

Chinese entities, including 1,529 5G patents registered by Huawei, own a total of 3,400 patents -- more than a third of the total, according to data analysis firm IPlytics.South Korea comes next, with its companies holding 2,051 patents, while US firms have 1,368 together. Neither KT nor SK Telecom use Huawei technology in their 5G networks, but it is a supplier to LG UPlus, the companies told the media.

VU Unveils Premium Android Range of TVs Starting at Rs. 14,500

The revolutionary Vu VOD Upscaler is a breakthrough technology to specifically enrich the video and audio playback for VOD (Video On Demand) content like Netflix, Youtube, Amazon Prime and others. High-production VOD content is made with the latest in camera and VFX technology, but in most cases, viewers do not get optimum experience because of internet speed and quality constraints. Vu has developed proprietary upscaling technology that combines multiple advanced machine learning algorithms working in parallel with a state-of-the-art DSP (digital signal processor) to provide the best video/audio playback for VOD content. This gives high-end, cinema quality playback for VOD content.

Commenting on the latest development, Devita Saraf, Chairman & CEO quoted: “The revolutionary VOD Upscaler technology has been in development for more than 3 years, with 107 man years of engineering effort to create it.  Vu makes television for the new- age consumer who wants to experience detailed picture quality and sound clarity, beautiful aesthetics and a world of content. Having customer- centric approach has led Vu to the unwavering loyalty of the customers- high net worth individuals and young professionals”

Vu stealth launched the revolutionary Vu VOD Upscaler technology with its Premium Android range of TVs. In addition, more than 3,000 units have been installed in the month of March. Vu has received raving reviews for its picture and audio quality – some even rating it better than Samsung and LG. Vu has the legacy of information technology which gives it the unique capability to create a technology like the Vu VOD Upscaler, which converges information technology into televisions.

Vu makes televisions for the new age, with capabilities in display and audio technology as well as a strong background in IT and software. The cold fusion of the best in display and audio technology is enhanced with software for better quality content and control. Vu has long been leader in the television industry - pioneering new technology and raising the bar on what we expect from home entertainment and the Vu Upscaler technology is available in the following new launches:

Vu Pixelight TV - Next Generation

Vu Pixelight 4K TV comes equipped with revolutionary technology that delivers upscaled picture and sound quality for streaming Video on Demand (VOD). Vu puts more control in your hands with the Pixelight Remote with 4 Hotkeys to instantly access built in Premium Licensed apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube, and an apps menu with plenty of Indian apps and content too, for example Eros Now, Hungama Play and many more. The Vu Pixelight HDR technology delivers vivid and clear visuals which, added to built-in Dolby Audio and DTS technologies, makes for an immersive entertainment experience.

Available in: 43” (Rs. 30000), 50” (Rs39000), 55” (Rs. 42000), 65” (Rs. 66000)

Vu UltraSmart TV

The Vu Ultrasmart Full HD TV (Available in 32,43,49) comes loaded with licensed Netflix, Prime Video and YouTube apps - all immediately accessible on its 4-Hotkeys remote. With a unique Smart Interface, the Vu Ultrasmart offers an enjoyable and easy way to access smart content. The High Bright Panel and built in Dolby and DBX-TV audio deliver incredible picture and sound quality, all housed in a sleek piano design body.

Available in: 32” (Rs. 14,500), 40” (Rs. 21,000), 49” (Rs. 31,000)

Vu Premium Android

The new age Vu Premium Android 4K TV is powered with HDR 10 & Dolby Vision technology, which helps upscale details by maximizing contrast and color accuracy to deliver immersive 4K HDR picture quality without losing details. Combined with built in high-quality Dolby MS12 Audio and & DBx-tv, Vu delivers wider soundstage audio clarity to your content. The Vu Premium Android 4K TV runs with Android 8.0 OREO which enables access to the entire Google Ecosystem along with certified apps like YouTube, Hotstar etc through Vu ActiVoice remote which creates a more engaging and effortless opportunity to use videos & apps in the fastest way.  The Titanium grey material with OD22 slim design perfectly complements modern living room decor while minimising visual distraction and focusing more action on the content.

Available in:  43” (Rs. 35,000), 50” (Rs.41,000), 55” (Rs.47,000), 65” (Rs.72,000)

Vu Televisions

Founded in 2006 in California by Devita Saraf, Vu Televisions is the leader in the premium television segment and the largest seller of 4K TVs in India. In FY 2018-19, Vu installed 1.5 million TVs across India, thus becoming the highest selling 4K TV brand and clocking in revenues worth Rs 1000 crore. In 2018, Vu launched the world's largest television - the Vu 100. At present, Vu stands tall among the top-selling brands in the country and surpassed Panasonic to emerge as India’s fourth-largest TV brand. Vu is recognized for industry’s best after sales service, with ISO 9001-certified 24/7customer support centre.

For more details: www.vutvs.com

Ugadi 2019, Amazon Usher in the Festivities with the Latest Styles

Traditionally celebrated in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Ugadi is the culmination of the New Year. Bring in this New Year with your traditional style on point, as you indulge in the festivities with your family and close friends. Narendra Kumar, Creative Director at Fashion shares the latest trends from the Spring Summer Collection 2019 from Amazon Fashion.

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Ethnic with a twist: An anarkali is the ideal style for an ethnic piece that is also stylish, but you also want to wear a cooler fabric for the summer. A cotton anarkali is the perfect solution to beat the heat in style. Choose cooler colours or neutral colored styles and elevate your outfit with brightly colored jhumkas.

Recommended Products:
Biba Women’s Cotton Anarkali
W for Women Anarkali Kurta
FabIndia Women’s Anarkali Kurta

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Flower Power: This summer season, embrace the floral print to reign in the festivities. Stock up on kanjeevaram and georgette sarees in bright summery pastels such as pale yellow or sky blue and pick a blouse in a basic color. To amp up your saree, you can even pick a saree with a lace border or light shimmer. Pair it with nude pointy-toed heels and a neutral colored clutch to complete the look.
Recommended Products:
Craftsvilla Georgette saree
Craftsvilla Kanjeevaram Saree
Nirja Silk Kanjeevaram Saree
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Jazz up your Palazzos: Leggings and churidars can take a break. You can wear your kurtas over palazzos this summer. Experiment with patterns, polka dots and stripes instead of donning plain bottom wear and choose a plain colored kurta instead. Pair this with tassel earrings for an Indo-western look.
Recommended Products:
Aurelia palazzos
Biba palazzos
W for Woman Palazzos

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Go Chunky: The delicate appeal of a woman wearing an oversized ring or a multi-layered necklace has undergone a revival this season. Instead of dainty pieces being layered, chunky jewelry will be the stacking piece of choice. Make a bold statement with your jewelry this season while opting for gold in a true celebration of Ugadi.
Recommended Styles:
Voylla Ring
Shaze Heidi three-toned Ring
Accessorize Choker Necklace

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Sole Mates: Footwear just got an upgrade with kolhapuris. A top hit this season are colorful kolhapuris. Make a confident statement with that add definition to your festive attire.
Recommended Styles:
Bata Women’s Wedge Kolhapuri Slippers
Step N Style Kolhapuris
Do Bhai Women’s Kolkhapuris

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Clutch It: A nude clutch is the perfect addition to your look. While you’re choosing brighter colors for your outfit, you can tone it down with a nude clutch. Choose a clutch with hints of shimmer to add a dash of glam.
Lino Perros Women’s Clutch
Accessorize Women’s Clutch
Russo Milano Women’s Clutch

Tata Motors Announces Three-Months Free Engine Health Check-Up Service Camp for Commercial Vehicles

Key Highlights:
• Nationwide Free Engine Health Check-up Service Camp from 1st April – 30th June 2019
• Organized at 1500+ dealer and Tata Authorized Service Stations (TASS) across India
• Offers discounts on select Spare Parts and Coolant
• Creates awareness about Tata Motors’ Sampoorna Seva comprising of  26+ initiatives for an enhanced after sales experience

Reaffirming its commitment towards providing best-in-class services to its customers, India’s leading Commercial Vehicle brand Tata Motors’ has launched first-of-its-kind three-months long Free Engine Health Check-up Service Camp from 1st April – 30th June 2019. The service camp is aimed to educate customers and drivers about the importance of engine and vehicle maintenance. The company will be organizing this service camp across 1500+ dealer and Tata Authorized Service Stations (TASS) for all commercial vehicles customers across the country.

Devoted towards the comfort and wellness of our truckers, Tata Motors will be organising workshops to explain the benefits of vehicle maintenance such as fuel efficiency, maximizing vehicle performance and enhancing return on investment. This initiative will be supported by esteemed company vendors namely Cummins, Bosch, Lucas, Delphi, Fleet Guard, SEG, Turbo Energy, Tata Toyo, Banco and Alkraft by their presence in the campaign.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. R. Ramakrishnan, Global Head Customer Care, CVBU, Tata Motors Limited, said, “We at Tata Motors aim to provide consistent quality service, backed by new technologies, to ensure our customers have a pleasant after sales experience. The objective of the Engine Health Check-up Service Camp is to assist our customers and channel partners in improving the efficiency of their vehicles. We believe such initiatives will enable us to build a strong connect and to enhance customer satisfaction.”

To provide a wholesome after sales experience, Tata Motors provides its customers with over 26 initiatives, including:

• Customer Care App: A single window mobile application, which gives access to a host of features including emergency SOS, Service Booking facility, Maintenance tips, Service History, Dealer location GPS Trip Meter etc.
• Tata Alert: Tata Alert offers you 24 x 7 breakdown assistance & support for your Tata vehicle, so that your business functions nonstop.
• Tata Zippy: Tata Zippy offers the shortest possible uptime of new vehicles, which come in for repair so that your journey to success faces no delays.
• Tata Kavach: Tata Kavach ensures that your business never goes off-track by offering the shortest possible uptime of vehicles, which come in for accidental repair.
• Service Onsite: To meet tight project schedules, tippers are deployed on-site, which are away from town-based dealers or TASS, get on-site service through on-site packages.
• Mobile Service Van: With this service, customers can avail quick services at their doorstep.
• Mobile Workshop & Container Workshops: 250+ Mobile Workshops and 550+ container workshops that are equipped with all tools and equipment, providing onsite service to vehicles across India, to save time and cost of repair.

Tata Motors continues to invest in its products and sales & service network, redesigning, developing & deploying modern dealerships, with an aggressive customer centric approach of anticipating customer requirements. With over 1800+ touch points across the country, the company hopes to significantly improve customer experience and convenience, while also improving penetration and driving quality, thereby building strong, lasting relationships with its customers. 

Synechron Prepares for Next Phase of Growth with New Global Head of Operations

Synechron Inc., a leading Digital IT Consulting firm for financial services, has today announced the appointment of May Yang as Global Head of Operations, as the firm prepares for its next phase of expansion following rapid growth over the last four years where the company doubled in size. Yang will report directly to Synechron’s Co-founder and CEO Faisal Husain and will work alongside Synechron’s global teams to support corporate operations and help take Synechron’s business to the next level. Her role will be focused on creating a more streamlined approach to day-to-day global operations to aid in unlocking talent, cutting down sales and onboarding cycles, and creating greater parallel structure across the business.

Yang’s appointment comes after nearly a decade contributing to Synechron’s operational growth, most recently as Chief of Staff following 8+ years of sales and operational experience in the London and Singapore markets. In her new role, she will be focused on lending that experience at a global scale by creating greater collaboration and coordination across all geographies. The role’s priorities will include driving corporate governance and efficiency in the bench, recruitment and talent management, as well as advancing global operational initiatives across Synechron and enhancing global employee experiences and engagements.

Prior to her tenure at Synechron, Yang served as a Consultant at Searchasia, where she worked with both local and multi-national companies on the search for middle-to-senior-level talent across the Oil & Gas and IT&T industries. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the Nanyang Technological University with study abroad at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.

“I find it extremely rewarding to work for a company that with such a high level of commitment for its employees and quality client delivery alike. As I step into this new role, I’m energized to work with the global teams to continue to streamline Synechron’s global operations and to help support our business objectives,” said May Yang, Global Head of Operations at Synechron.

Faisal Husain, Co-founder and CEO of Synechron said, “As an industry, the race to a 2020 vision includes big goals for growth and digital transformation. While Synechron is helping its clients accelerate these initiatives, it is important for us to maintain that vision internally. May’s long history with Synechron, her proven impact in local markets and understanding of our business make her a natural fit as Global Head of Operations to create more operational efficiencies and standardization of processes globally.”

vivo Announces Partnership with PUBG MOBILE Club Open 2019

Today, vivo announced a partnership with the world’s leading mobile game - PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDSMobile (PUBG MOBILE) by Tencent Games and PUBG Corporation as the title sponsor of the upcoming PUBG MOBILE Club Open 2019, one of the biggest mobile gaming tournaments in the world.  vivo will provide the official smartphones for the PUBG MOBILE Club Open 2019, which players from ten regions across the globe will be leveraging to battle their way through the Spring & Fall Split, for the total prize pool of $2.5M USD. This global partnership reinforces vivo’s commitment to bringing an ultra-smooth gaming experience to connect with consumers through meaningful partnerships.

Sharing his thoughts on the partnership, Mr. Nipun Marya, Director-Brand Strategy, vivo India said, “vivo thrives to be at the forefront of the eSports industry to best serve its consumers. The partnership with PUBG MOBILE is a key milestone especially given that it is a leading mobile game developed by Tencent Games and PUBG Corporation that has millions of fans globally. PUBG MOBILE Club Open 2019 is a strong opportunity to showcase vivo’s vision of ‘enjoying the extraordinary’ by bringing global players a true gaming experience like no other. This global partnership will unfold and strengthen vivo’s position in being an innovative and stylish brand that always puts our consumer experience first”.

“We are excited to partner with vivo, as they have a strong reputation in being innovative and putting the consumer’s needs first. As an innovative brand ourselves, this partnership highlights our dedication to bring the best experience possible to our players and fans around the world. This partnership is just the beginning, we want to continue building a strong portfolio of partnerships with industry-leading companies, such as vivo, to provide the best mobile gaming experience possible,” said Vincent Wang, General Manager of Global Publishing Department, Tencent Games.

The PUBG MOBILE STAR CHALLENGE 2018 was watched by over 230 million viewers and drew in over 5,000 live attendees at the global finals in Dubai. The qualifying round of PUBG MOBILE Club Open 2019 will begin on March 22, 2019. The Spring Split Global Finals will be hosted in July this year, with the Fall Split Global Finals following in December.

Mobile Apps Are Projected to Have the Most Impact on Business Success By 2020: Gartner

As user application touchpoints increase in frequency, change in modalities and expand in device type, the future of app development is multiexperience, according to a recent survey* by Gartner, Inc.

“Development platform vendors are expanding their value proposition beyond mobile apps and web development to meet user and industry demands,” said Jason Wong, research vice president at Gartner. “The result is the emergence of multiexperience development platforms, which are used in developing chat, voice, augmented reality (AR) and wearable experiences in support of the digital business.”

Most Common Enterprise Applications

Despite the web browser continuing to serve as the most popular application touchpoint, mobile apps are on the rise. As immersive devices such as smartwatches, smartphones and voice-driven devices permeate the industry, the modes of interaction (type, touch, gestures, natural language) expand across the digital user journey.

Among enterprises that have developed and deployed at least three different types of applications (other than web apps), the most common are mobile apps (91 percent). “These figures are higher than any other application types we asked about, and suggest that the maturity of mobile app development is necessary for expansion into other interaction modalities,” said Mr. Wong.

Conversational applications are the second-most widely developed type of application type at 73 percent for voice apps and 60 percent for chatbots, according to the survey. “This reflects the natural evolution of application functions to support the digital user journey across natural language-driven modes and devices,” said Mr. Wong.

Technology Behind Multiexperience Development

Cloud-hosted artificial intelligence (AI) services are the most widely used technology to support multiexperience application development (61 percent of respondents), followed by native iOS and Android development (48 percent) and mobile back-end services (45 percent). “This is consistent with the rise of conversational user interfaces, image and voice recognition and other AI services that are becoming commonplace within apps,” said Mr. Wong.

Business Impact Behind Multiexperience Development

Contrary to the perception that mobile apps are in decline, they are in the lead for applications projected to have the most impact on business success by 2020, according to respondents. Following mobile apps are virtual reality (VR) applications and AR applications. “Although respondents indicated a high level of development activity for chatbots and voice apps, very few thought they’d have the most business impact by 2020,” said Mr. Wong.

Barriers in Developing Multiexperience Development

The top barrier to building compelling multiexperience applications is the need for business and IT alignment, according to nearly 40 percent of survey respondents. More than one-quarter of the respondents identified shortcomings in developer skills and user experience expertise as a barrier. “Skills gap in relation to emerging technologies cannot be overstated when discussing inhibitors to scaling digital initiatives, including multiexperience development strategy,” said Mr. Wong.

Gartner clients can read more in the report: “Survey Analysis: Insights to Kick-Start an Enterprise Multiexperience Development Strategy.” More information on the demand for application services can be found in the Gartner Featured Insight research collection “How to Prepare for the Future of Applications.”  This research highlights insights and best practices on how future application organizations can exploit new delivery, governance and organization models.

#AdvantageGaming - ACT Fibernet Powers GamerConnect as “Official Connectivity Partner”

ACT Fibernet (Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd.) India’s largest fiber-focused wired broadband ISP (Internet Service Provider) today extended its partnership with GamerConnect, India’s largest gaming technology showcase platform as their official ‘Connectivity Partners’. As part of the partnership, ACT Fibernet will work with publishers, gamers and event organizers to provide low ping, jitter free, high speed connectivity to enable participants enjoy a seamless gaming experience. This partnership will extend throughout 2019 across all events of GamerConnect.

GamerConnect has played a significant role in bringing Indian gaming community together under one roof and created a platform to connect with each other, explore the vast ecosystem of gaming and the best of PC Gaming. However, for gamers to have a holistic experience internet connectivity plays a critical role as any lag may affect gaming performance despite best hardware and equipment. ACT Fibernet with its futuristic speed and pioneering technology will ensure that gamers are well connected and have a fulfilling gameplay.

Speaking on the association, Ravi Karthik, Head of Marketing, ACT Fibernet said, “As part of #AdvantageGaming promise, we are committed to providing superior gaming experience to our customers. We are delighted to partner with GamerConnect, the largest gaming technology showcase platform in the country that brings all members of gaming ecosystem together and provide all participants with a seamless gaming experience.”

With more than 10,000 participants, GamerConnect brings a wide range of product launches, PC Gaming workshops and esports tournaments giving boost to the rise of online gaming scenario in India and helping gamers to be professionally equipped.

Commenting on the partnership, Ishaan Arya, GamerConnect said, “At GamerConnect we have worked with industry leaders like Dell, LG, Nvidia and Zotac to build one of the most engaging gaming showcase and experience platforms, having connected with over 20 thousand gamers across 15 events in the last two years. We are very excited to work with ACT to help take the online experience at our events to the next level with fast and stable connections for the thousands of gamers attending our massive lineup of events across the country this year”.

Commenting on the partnership, Vamsi Krishna, Head - Consumer Marketing South Asia, NVIDIA said, “With 19.4% Indian gamers gaming for two to four hours a week and 23.4% gaming for seven to twelve hours a week, according to the State of Online Gaming report 2019, India ranks first in both the categories globally. Observing the changing behavior of gamers and perception about gaming, it is now needless to say that gaming has gone mainstream in the country to a level where it is also being considered as a potential career option. As a part of the gaming ecosystem, we are always working towards facilitating a better gaming experience. Targeting one of the biggest and most crucial hurdles in gaming - low-speed
connectivity - ACT has taken the ecosystem, with this partnership, a step ahead in providing seamless gaming experiences.

“One of the biggest driving factors behind the growth of the gaming industry in India has been a massive explosion in high speed broadband penetration over the last five years. Now with ACT's commitment to gaming we can take the next step towards esports and professional gaming with stable and lag free connectivity which is crucial for today's online gaming experience”, said Deepak Gupta, Country Manager, ZOTAC South-East Asia

With rapid development of digital infrastructure, the online gaming market in India is witnessing an unprecedented growth. The Gaming industry in India is expected to grow at 100-200% in next couple of years.

2019 Cricket Season ‘dineout’ Launches ‘Predict Online & Eat Offline’ Campaign

dineout – India’s leading full-stack technology service provider in the online restaurant-booking space after having launched its ‘predict online & eat offline’ campaign on the sidelines of IPL 12th edition, have already crossed over 10 Cr cashback to users within the first week of IPL .

The new campaign is launched with a focus to bring people together during cricket matches and encourage them to dine-out at their favorite restaurant.

Speaking on the campaign, Mr. Ankit Mehrotra, Co-founder and CEO, dineout said that, “Cricket is like a religion in India, and people love watching it. Through this campaign we are stressing towards a cultural and lifestyle shift. We somewhere feel that the whole era of going out and enjoying cricket matches at a restaurant with your loved ones is fading away. Therefore with this campaign we wish to see change in our lives. We are not just saying to go out and have food, but make more memories over a meal while enjoying your favorite sport at a restaurant.”

‘Predict online & eat offline’ allows users to predict the winning team every day along with the scores for each teams to stand a chance to win upto Rs. 900 dineout earnings every day. The results of predictions will be revealed at the end of every match along with the credit of the earnings won. Earnings worth Rs. 50,000 can be won this season. The top scorer in ‘Predict and win’ will win a trip for 2 to London powered by Ixigo.

Cricket matches in India are an amalgamation of heady adrenaline, excitement and enjoyment. On match days, families and friends come together and are gripped in the fervor of the excitement of the day. Leveraging the upcoming IPL and World cup fever, dineout with its ‘Predict and Win Campaign’ urges consumers to step out of the comfort of their homes and share the cricket excitement with other fans while enjoying the finger-licking.

Flipkart, Amazon, Oyo Followed by TCS make it as Top Workplaces in India: LinkedIn

Walmart-owned Flipkart is the most preferred workplace in India, followed by Amazon and Oyo in the second and third places, respectively, according to a list compiled by professional social media network LinkedIn.

Internet companies dominate the top 10 spots in LinkedIn’s fourth edition of the ‘2019 Top Companies’ list for India.

IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) made its debut at the seventh place, new entrants Swiggy and Zomato were ranked sixth and eighth, respectively.

Uber, another new entrant, took the fifth spot, while, One97 Communications was at the fourth rank and Oil and Energy conglomerate Reliance Industries was at the 10th place.

Others on the list include consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) at 13th, Yes Bank (14), IBM (15), Daimler AG (16), Freshworks (17), Accenture (18), Ola (19), ICICI Bank (20), PwC India (21), KPMG India (22), Larsen & Toubro (23), Oracle (24), and Qualcomm (25).

“This year, half the companies are new entrants on the list, including IT giants such as TCS and IBM that showcase the changing job and hiring landscape,” said LinkedIn India Managing Editor Adith Charlie.

Charlie further said that “The presence of more blue-chip Indian companies such as Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Industries, among others emphasises the fact that these large firms are getting better at attracting millennials employees”.

The report further noted that the majority of companies on the list made new hiring for engineering jobs followed by operations and business development.

The list analysed billions of data points generated by LinkedIn’s over 610 million members around the world to come up with a blended score used to rank the winners in each geography.

LinkedIn ranked the companies based on four criteria -interest in the company, engagement with employees, job demand and employee retention. 

El Nino Effect to Blame for Below-Normal Monsoon in 2019: Skymet

Private weather forecaster Skymet has predicted below-normal monsoon rains during June-September, clouding prospects of higher economic growth in a country whose farm sector is significantly dependent on the seasonal rainfall. The agency has not ruled out drou­ght, though its chances are 15 per cent.

The forecast came a day before the monetary policy committee’s (MPC’s) review meeting to decide the policy rate. Experts, however, said Sky­met’s prediction might not have much impact on the MPC’s decision.

The benchmark indices, which got off to a positive start on Wedn­esday, dived in the afternoon trade following the forecast. The Sensex tumbled about 180 points as jittery in­vestors sold stocks. Skymet attributed the change in its forecast of Feb­ruary, when it had predicted normal rains, to the moderate El Niño conditions prevailing over the Pacific Ocean.

More than the aggregate rainfall, the distribution over months and regions is important. According to Skymet, June and July will have less rains. “June is going to have a very sluggish start and deficit rains are likely to spill into July,” it said.

“The second half of the season would see better rainfall. August is exp­ected to be a shade better than Sep­tember, but both months would manage to see normal rains,” it said.

Experts said the adverse impact of the sub-normal rains could be mitigated by the information dissemination system of the government and supply of short-duration seeds to farmers, particularly paddy, which is the main crop in the kharif season.
“Agriculture extension facility will be tested in case the forecast turns out to be true,” Devendra Pant, chief economist with India Ratings, said. He added that short-duration crops of less than 90 days should be supplied to farmers to beat the less rains in the first two months.

Skymet said the negative impact of El Niño could be somewhat neutralised by Indian Ocean Dipole, but it might support rainfall only during the second half of the monsoon season. The agency said eastern parts of the country, along with central areas, were likely to be at a higher risk of being rain-deficient, especially during the first half of the season. Main crops in these regions during kharif are rice, pulses, soyabean, millet, bajra, jowar and groundnut.

Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief economist at the SBI group, said inflation in pulses was negative and if the prediction came true, the rate of price rise could be up in pulses.

Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, CARE Ratings, said Skymet’s prediction was more of a risk factor to inflation than a direct factor to lower the rate. “It is too early to say about the monsoon. It (the prediction) is more like flagging a risk,” he said.

Agriculture and allied activities’ growth is officially projected to fall to 2.7 per cent in 2018-19 against 5 per cent in the previous year.

It said the monsoon at aggregate level could end up at 93 per cent of the long period average (LPA). The range from 96 per cent to 104 per cent of LPA is considered normal.

Jatin Singh, MD, Skymet, said, “The Pacific Ocean has become strongly warmer than average. The model projections call for 80 per cent chance of El Niño during March-May, dropping to 60 per cent for June to August. This means, it is going to be a devolving El Niño year.”

Karnataka Bank Enters Agreement with Bharti Axa Life Insurance

Karnataka Bank entered exchanged a memorandum of understanding with Bharti Axa Life Insurance Company Ltd for distribution of the latter’s life insurance products.

This is the third similar tie-up by the Bank after with PNB Metlife India Insurance Company Ltd and LIC, both of whom continue to provide insurance solutions to the customers of Karnataka Bank.

With 95 years of banking experience and being one among the prominent first generation private sector banks in India, Karnataka Bank is into distribution of life insurance products to its customers for the last 16 years.

The Corporate Agency Agreement was inked at the head office of the Karnataka Bank by Bharti representatives of the Karnataka Bank and the Bharti Axa Life Insurance Company Ltd.

Changing needs

Speaking on the occasion, Karnataka Bank MD and CEO Mahabaleshwara M S said, “Customer’s needs are changing and increasing on day to day basis. It is necessary to stand up to the expectation of customers and work to ensure customers’ delight. The Bank will be able to provide wide choices of life insurance products to its customers across all its 836 branches, supported by the popular customer centric products of Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Ltd.”

Further, he said, “As insurance penetration is poor in India, there is also an emerging need to improve the insurance business penetration. Karnataka Bank is happy to cover the life of more and more citizens and their family members.”

Robust network

Sam Ghosh, MD, Financial Service, Bharti Enterprises Ltd, said, “The partnership is an important part of our growth strategy that requires a robust distribution network. This will possible as Karnataka Bank is having its existence at every nook and corner of the country.”

Vikas Seth, CEO and MD, Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Ltd, said “Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Ltd will strive hard to create customised insurance solutions for the Bank’s customers and is committed to setting a new benchmark in claim settlement process.”

NetApp Accelerates Access to Critical Business Data with Ultrafast Performance

NetApp, the data authority for hybrid cloud, has announced NetApp Memory Accelerated Data (MAX Data) 1.3 supporting the Intel Optane DC persistent memory. The combination of MAX Data and Intel Optane DC persistent memory enables organizations to stay competitive by doing more with their data so they can do more for their customers.

Companies are challenged with using unprecedented volumes of data to achieve real business impact. Taking advantage of data is often easier said than done. New applications such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, real-time analytics, and Internet of Things (IoT), all of which are memory hungry and fueled by massive datasets, compound this challenge. By using a promising new memory tier, NetApp helps customers put their data to work without having to rearchitect their critical applications. MAX Data gives customers the tools to unlock the value of enormous datasets and extend a Data Fabric strategy all the way into their servers with applications and data that are critical to their business.

“With NetApp MAX Data now supporting Intel Optane DC persistent memory, organizations can accelerate data pipelines across an entire enterprise to power applications such as Oracle and MongoDB with the simplicity, choice, and scale necessary for real business impact,” said Joel Reich, executive vice president, Storage Systems and Software, NetApp. “With the volume of data generated and managed across on-premises data centers, IoT devices and sensors, as well as in hybrid cloud environments, having a Data Fabric strategy that spans edge, core, and cloud is essential to business success.”

“Customers can unlock the value of their data stockpiles with the powerful combination of 2nd generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors and Intel Optane DC persistent memory,” said Jennifer Huffstetler, vice president and general manager, Datacenter Product Management and Storage at Intel.  “Working with innovators like NetApp will help us move, store and process more data than ever before.”

MAX Data is the industry’s first enterprise storage solution using Intel Optane DC persistent memory in servers to store persistent data delivering affordable, memory-like low latency and flash-like capacity, without any rewrites required to application code, allowing companies to take full advantage of the benefits of real-time apps.

TECNO Brings the “Power of 3” with CAMON i4; Unveils Triple Rear Camera with 4GB RAM Priced at Rs 11,999

TECNO, a leaqding growing offline camera-centric smartphone brand in the mid-range segment today has taken another step forward by launching its first Triple rear camera smartphone under its popular and massively successful CAMON portfolio in India. TECNO CAMON i 4 is set to become a benchmark in under 12K segment owing to its ‘Best Any Light’ camera proposition.

The device comes with a powerful triple rear camera set-up that comprises of13MP primary rear camera with F1.8 apertures, an 8MP with 120o ultra-wide lens for capturing wide frames and a 2MP live focus lens that allows the camera to capture the subject and the background separately so as to get beautiful shots with the focus on the subject. That’s not all, CAMON i4 also sports a 16 MP AI selfie camera with 4-in-1 big pixel technology for real and clear selfie.

Mr. Arijeet Talapatra, CEO, TRANSSION India said, “Being a young consumer-centric smartphone brand in the most diverse and thriving market in the world, we have received unprecedented love and demand for CAMON series in India which is built on the Indian consumer insight that 89% buyers consider the camera as the top specification while buying a smartphone (source: CMR Mobile Industry Consumer Insights survey 2019).  Over the past couple of years, Indian consumers have seen significant improvements in the smartphone camera technology and while the dual-rear camera trend has been well established in the mid-range segment, going forward in 2019 the key focus will be on multiple cameras and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities that will become a must-have feature on every device in the 7-15K segment.

Speaking about the new smartphone he further added, “Going with the trend, there is innovation and something new in every facet of the CAMON i 4 starting with the triple camera lens to power ultra-wide shots to intelligent AI features that ensure the best picture composition.  The 6.2inch HD+ dot notch screen with rocket charge feature delivers a superlative uninterrupted viewing experience.  We are confident that with this device, we will amaze the consumer and consolidate our camera-centric smartphone brand position in the mid-segment. To strengthen the recently launched smartphones we will be driving in a 360-degree brand campaign #TECNOShineinAnyLight from mid of April which will encompass all touchpoints to reach our target audience.”

Key highlights of CAMON i4:

Experience superior pro photography best in the segment

CAMON i4 is packed with best-in class triple rear camera setup which is an integration of a 13MP primary camera with large f/1.8 aperture and 5P lenses combination are a big leap forward in resolution and color presentation. While 2MP depth-sensing lens is perfectly suited for real portraits and icing on top is an additional 8MP 120° Ultra-Wide Lens, which has the same viewing angle as the human eye. This allows users to capture unrestricted wide-angle photos exactly like what one can see. Additionally, consumers can enjoy AR mode which lets users to create various funny and spicy moments with friends and family. Localized sticker enhances the fun aspect of photography.

The device is also supported with 8x digital zoom that enables users to capture high quality close-up shots event at distance and hence enables clear photography.

For selfie enthusiast, 16MP AI selfie camera equipped with f/2.0 aperture 77-degree wide angle and screen flash which helps in capturing more light for better quality selfies & group fie, no matter what kind of scenes and light conditions you are in. Furthermore, the device comes with 6-level AI beauty mode allowing adjustment as per consumer preferences that scans up to 228 facial points optimized on Indian skin tone for giving more real selfies.

Expand your horizons with dot notch display

The design of the phone realizes every sense of the full screen concept. CAMON i 4 is the first smartphone from TECNO to feature a ‘dot notch’ screen with the front camera embedded at the top of the screen.  The device flaunts 6.22-inch HD+ with an aspect ratio of 19.5:9 and the higher screen-to-body ratio of 88.6% allows users for a super large view for better viewing experiences. The 2.5D glass finish back cover of phone catches the eye with a subtle yet mesmerizing interplay of light & shadow from different angles. The device comes in 4 exquisite colours -  Midnight black, Aqua Blue, Nebula Black and Champagne Gold. With large round curves on the corners and through the unibody design process, the device brings a singular and seamless product experience and a complete sense of grip in hands.

Powerful hardware configuration with latest Rocket Charge feature

CAMON i 4 is not just about superb camera capabilities and good looks but also comes with power and performance. The smartphone uses 2.0 Ghz Helio A22 64Bit QuadCore processor in 2+32GB & 3+32GB storage variant while Helio P22 Octacore processor in 4+64 GB storage variant. The ROM storage memory is expandable up to 256GB. It is a dual SIM smartphone with dedicated microSD card slot and allows consumer to use 4G VoLTE in both the SIM cards at the same time.

The device comes with a long battery life of 3500mAh high capacity battery that lasts even longer through optimization by AI Power management feature of smarter HiOS 4.6 software. Another feather on the cap is ‘Rocket Charge’ feature that gives users 2 hours calling from just 10 min charge.

Future-ready HiOS 4.6 based on Android 9 Pie

CAMON i 4 is equipped with HiOS 4.6 which uses Artificial intelligence to give smartphone users more intelligent & intuitive navigation basis in-depth mining and matching according to people's preferences and habits of using different applications. And in turn optimizes the battery life by intelligently prioritizing the app you use most and adjusting the power saving mode of hardware such as APP, Sensor and CPU.

As smartphone privacy and security are key these days, it comes with advance AI led face recognition technology which provides quick Face Unlock under 0.3 sec.  Another highlight of CAMON i 4 is its unique localized feature of an anti-oil fingerprint sensor that provides hassle free access to the phone under all Indian lifestyle and weather conditions.

Exceptional TECNO smartphones come with an exceptional promise of “111” under which a consumer is entitled to a 1-time screen replacement for six months, 100 days’ free replacement, and 1-month extended warranty on any TECNO device that he/ she buys. The new smartphone is present across 35000+ retail touchpoints and 960+ service touchpoints PAN India.

Registeration Open for Funskool Organizes a Multi-City 'Beylade Burst Challenge'

Funskool India Ltd, India’s leading toy manufacturer, is on a mission to find the next little Beyblader from a series of multi-city competitions across Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Kochi and Chennai. These immersive competitions will engage their mind in a riveting game involving quick thinking, strategy and of course, sleight of hand!

The finalists / qualifiers from each city will then compete with each other in a tight scramble for the glorious title of ‘National Champion’, at the Finals to be held in Chennai on 28th April 2019

The ‘National Champion’ will then go on to represent India, where he/she will bring his blading best as they compete with their rivals from other countries.

Such Finalists from each country will have a face-off at the BEYBLADE BURST ASIA CHAMPIONSHIP on 26th May, 2019, at Seoul in South Korea! The talented winner will claim his/her glory and thereafter get crowned with the coveted title of BEYBLADE BURST ASIA CHAMPION!

Contestants can register at the venue to participate in the competition. Registrations will be on a first come first serve basis.

Register now, to become the ultimate BEYBLADEchampion!!

Programme Details:

Date: (Sat-Sun) April 6 & 7
Time: 3:00PM  Onwards
Age Group: 6-12 years
Contact: MD. SHABBUDDIN
Mobile: +91 9538717391
Venue: Toys R Us  @ Phoenix  Market City, Whitefield Main Road, Mahadevpura, Bengaluru -560048

Tata Hexa Clean India Trail Initiative by Sangeetha Sridhar Reaches Bangalore

The Clean India Trail Initiative by Sangeetha Sridhar, in a Tata Hexa, reached Bangalore today. After covering the western, eastern and northern region of the country, Ms Sridhar is all set to continue her expedition in the southern region. Commenced on the 12th of August, 2018 from the iconic Gateway of India in Mumbai, the Clean India Trail rides on the Swachh Bharat Mission and to spread awareness about Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of a clean India.

As part of the Clean India Trail programme, Ms. Sridhar will drive the Tata Hexa across 150 cities in India, covering around 40,000 kilometers, to conduct a first-hand experiential assessment of toilet and sanitation facilities, the condition of national roads and highways and the safety quotient for solo woman travelers.

According to Mr. SN Barman - Vice President, Sales, Marketing & Customer Support, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, “The Tata HEXA is a power packed, feature loaded and adrenaline pumped vehicle, designed for those with an active and dynamic lifestyle. We are absolutely delighted to partner with Ms. Sangeetha Sridhar on this noble cause and are confident that her vehicle of choice, the Tata Hexa will effortlessly take her through the varied terrains that our country has to offer and will successfully help achieve her mission”

Commenting on this initiative, Ms. Sangeetha Sridhar, said, “I am extremely thrilled to undertake this one-of-a-kind trail. This specially curated trail takes me through different topographies and terrains and hence Tata Hexa suits my requirements. After a lot of research, I chose the Tata Hexa (fondly called Shexa by me), which is a vehicle that offers great reliability and extreme comfort, helping me seamlessly through this journey. It is a matter of pride to do something of this magnitude and I am grateful to Tata Motors for having given the Hexa to me for this journey.”

To mark the 150th year of the Tata Group and the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Tata Motors had partnered with Ms. Sangeetha Sridhar, to drive a unique initiative called the ‘Clean India Trail’.  For the same, Ms. Sridhar has chosen Tata Hexa – the lifestyle SUV from the Company, as her vehicle of choice keeping in mind her requirement of a luxurious and reliable all-terrain vehicle.

Powered by a 2.2L Varicor diesel engine and producing a whopping 154 BHP at 400 NM of torque, the Hexa offers spacious and luxurious interiors, making it the most suitable vehicle for long journeys and her expedition. Keeping the requirements of the drive in mind, the Tata Hexa has been converted into a 24 sq. ft. home on wheels, with a sleep area, kitchen sink, chiller box and work space with charging points for Ms. Sridhar’s gadgets. Additionally, the wide network of Tata Motors authorised service stations across the country will be a call away to help her in case of any service requirements through this journey.

Accenture Helps Del Monte Foods Unlock Innovation and Drive Business Growth with the Cloud

Accenture has helped Del Monte Foods, Inc. gain more visibility into its IT operations, access real-time customer insights to inform decision making, reduce IT spending costs by up to 35 percent, and increase operating efficiencies by significantly reducing the time it takes for its professionals to receive IT capabilities, service and support from weeks to less than an hour.

Del Monte Foods’ IT transformation journey arrives at a time when the company is setting the stage for a new era of innovation and growth. In a fiercely competitive market, the leading producer of branded food products realized that it needed to modernize its technology infrastructure to increase its ability to sense and respond to opportunities to capture greater market share by accelerating the speed of product to market.

The project is part of Del Monte Foods’ company strategy of building relevance through product differentiation, expanding distribution into key growth areas, and optimizing the supply chain to increase operational agility.

In less than four months, Accenture helped Del Monte Foods find opportunities to streamline their operations by migrating hundreds of applications including Del Monte Foods’ critical SAP® ERP Central Component system to Amazon Web Services (AWS). This short, seamless migration was possible through the automated tools and the deep experience of the Accenture Cloud Factory, where thousands of large-scale migrations have already been successfully delivered. As part of the transformation, Del Monte Foods is leveraging the Accenture Cloud Platform to automate the management of its cloud services, freeing up company resources to focus on innovating its core competencies of food production and distribution.

With minimal disruption to the harvest seasons, the transition to the cloud has enabled Del Monte Foods to achieve the following:

·      Manage costs by scaling its IT resources up or down quickly and only pay for the computing resources it uses;
·      Have a fluid and responsive organization by consolidating and automating back and front office functions; and
·      Have a future-ready IT platform for automation, analytics and applied intelligence to gain customer insight to inform innovation and accelerate product to market.

“With Accenture as our partner, our move to AWS means that Del Monte Foods now has a more agile operating environment to free up resources for more superior business outcomes, such as ensuring the long-term health of our categories,” said Chad Anderson, Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Del Monte Foods. “Just as important, throughout the entire process, Accenture’s expertise — both in technology and in the consumer goods industry — has helped us build better experiences for our customers by delivering against core consumer trends, such as our consumers' desire to eat healthier foods.”

Key to the migration was the expertise of the Accenture AWS Business Group, which helped develop a comprehensive future-looking strategy for Del Monte Foods to jumpstart targeted solutions for Del Monte Foods’ objectives.

Kishore Durg, Accenture Technology’s cloud and growth & strategy lead, added, “With 132 years of history, Del Monte Foods is a brand that is relentless about adapting and transforming its operations to create relevance at scale to meet tomorrow’s demands. The future belongs to industry-leading organizations like Del Monte Foods who have the foresight to invest in essentials, like the cloud for its agility, and a data-driven backbone for insight-led decision-making, differentiated customer experiences and breakthrough outcomes.”

"We applaud Del Monte Foods and their decision to update their infrastructure in a move to the cloud. Migrating over 200 servers in less than four months has allowed them to be a more agile organization, resulting in a better product for their customers,” said Mike Clayville, Vice President, Worldwide Commercial Sales and Business Development, Amazon Web Services, Inc. “AWS is thrilled to be part of this project with Del Monte Foods and Accenture."

Accenture has worked on 20,000 cloud computing projects for clients, with 80 percent of the Fortune Global 100, and has more than 77,000 professionals trained on cloud technologies and architectures. The company has been innovating in cloud technology for nearly a decade and holds more than 300 granted patents and pending applications across its global cloud portfolio.

Vikas Agnihotri Takes Charge of Google After Rajan Anandan Resigned

Google’s India and South East Asia President Rajan Anandan has put in his papers after an eight-year stint at the American tech giant.

Anandan, also an investor in multiple startups, is slated to join venture fund Sequoia Capital. He will work with Google until the end of this month.

Vikas Agnihotri will take on the interim responsibility. He is currently serving as Google’s Country Director for Sales.

“We are grateful to Rajan for his huge contribution to Google over the past eight years. His entrepreneurial zeal and leadership have helped grow the overall internet ecosystem in India and Southeast Asia,” Google President Asia Pacific Scott Beaumont said in an emailed statement.

Anandan had joined Google from Microsoft India in 2010. Previously, he was also been associated with Dell India and McKinsey & Company.

Anandan will focus on developing ‘Surge’ programme for startups by acting as an investment advisor and mentor to the founders. Surge aims to engineer rapid early progress for startups, by enabling disproportionate access to capital, talent, network and decades of company-building knowledge.

Cadabam’s Group Signs Up with UK’s Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust to Fight Mental Health Disease in India

Cadabam’s Group, India’s largest private provider of mental health services which has been providing its services for 26 years, announced its association with United Kingdom’s Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (NTW) to reduce the treatment gap and enhance the quality of mental healthcare services in India.

Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (NTW) provides mental health and disability services across the North East England, will be working as a ‘Knowledge Partner’ with Cadabam’s Group based in Bangalore to develop above programs through sharing of expertise,  mutual support and training.The partnership offers both organisations an opportunity to share their expertise in the delivery of mental healthcare to different regions.

John Lawlor, Chief Executive of NTW, and Sandesh R Cadabam, Director of Cadabams Group, signed a memorandum of understanding at St Nicholas Hospital in Newcastle to formally launch the collaboration.

Sandesh R Cadabam, Director of Cadabam’s Group, said, “This collaboration will support us in progressing towards standardising our current services and developing new ones along the model of comprehensive care pathways which NTW excels in. I am excited that an association with such an outstanding NHS organisation will bring a quantum leap in the quality and accessibility to mental health and learning disability services across India, as well as providing a huge opportunity for us to mutually learn from each other.”

John Lawlor, NTW Chief Executive, said, “Our Trust is excited to be working with the Cadabams Group. Our partnership is based on shared values, including the importance of compassionate care as well as embracing innovation, and I am looking forward to seeing how it develops and how we can learn from each other. I am particularly pleased that this collaboration will support the delivery of mental health and disability services to some of the most-vulnerable individuals in the regions of India that Cadabams serves.”

WHO's Mental Health Atlas 2017 reveals, although some countries have made progress in mental health policy-making and planning, there is a global shortage of health workers trained in mental health and a lack of investment in community-based mental health facilities.

Moreover, there is an extreme shortage of mental health workers like psychologists, psychiatrists and doctors. In the latest available data, in 2014 it was as low as ''one in 100,000 people''

Talking of the pilot project, disease burden of mental illness in India and optimisation of the efforts being taken, Dr B R Madhukar, Medical Director of Cadabams Group, said, “This partnership as a pilot in Bangalore where about 40 mental health professionals, including counsellors, nurses, clinical psychologists, social workers and other professional staff will be trained by us to handle the basic-to-complex cases of mental illnesses. Post this, we aim to spread the knowledge to other parts of the country, including a few hundreds to thousands of healthcare professionals. In most parts of India, mental health is still considered a stigma and therefore, nearly 70% of the patients are not able to seek or get the right help. Out bigger objective is to reach people in the community where the patients did not have a chance to receive mental health support, ultimately covering districts and states. In this process, we will develop healthcare services and systems, including care pathways and clinical protocols to manage the delivery of healthcare in India.”

Talking on this new partnership Mr Dominic Mc Allister the British Deputy High Commissioner of Bangalore said “Mental health is a growing area of concern globally, and this collaboration lays the foundation for better, responsive and accessible treatment options for local patients. This partnership is a great example of UK-India collaboration in improving access to quality healthcare services. The Department for International Trade (DIT) and British Deputy High Commission Bengaluru are proud to support this collaboration, which brings together specialist knowledge and services from the NHS with Cadabam’s experience in healthcare delivery to provide enhanced local services in mental health.”

As part of the partnership, NTW will provide support for Cadabams to develop new ways of working within areas including addictions, smart prescribing, school mental health, community and home-based care. The organisations were introduced to each other by the British Deputy High Commission-Mr.Dominic McAllister, who supported the collaboration process throughout its development. Considering the benefits this would bring mental healthcare services in India, he was keen for this collaboration to happen so that collectively they could work together and bring about a resourceful outcome benefiting all.