Bengaluru City May Plunge into Digital Darkness Due to Indiscriminate Cutting of Fiber Cables by Authorities

India’s IT capital city, Bengaluru is staring at potential blackout of its digital services across-the-board as BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) has resorted to large-scale cutting of Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) of telecom and internet service providers. This random cutting of OFC across areas like Sarjapur Road, Whitefield, Marathahalli, Bellandur, Sarjapur etc. without any prior intimation of telecom and internet service providers is leading to huge outages and inconvenience to the citizens in densely populated areas across the city. Such coercive actions will have huge impact on the connectivity for a State like Karnataka which is popularly known as the IT Capital of India and needs uninterrupted and seamless telecom services.

The telecom industry has made immense investments in setting-up infrastructure in the Karnataka circle to provide fast connectivity to the citizens, as well as to the IT industry.  Over 1,47,200 Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) on approximately 34,700 towers have been installed in Karnataka state to support telephone, mobile and internet communications. This alone equals INR 14,500 crores in network investments. The sector also generates approx. INR 10,000 crores per annum in revenue in Karnataka alone, from which it contributes over approx. INR 1,700 crores to the State exchequer by way of levies and taxes. Such coercive actions from BBMP are expected to bring the entire city to a virtual halt and cause immense setback to its robust digital economy, while bringing no benefit to the BBMP government.

BBMP is treating all over-the-ground cables as unauthorized, though the industry had obtained all necessary permissions and had originally laid them underground. However, the service providers were constrained to lay them overhead with the permission of BBMP as and when the same were unintentionally cut/removed during various civil works carried out by BBMP, BESCOM, BWSSB etc. The disconnection of the cable by BBMP is a huge blow to the Digital Bengaluru plan, which has the potential to cripple essential services including Point of sale purchase applications at retail outlets and various Government services in Bengaluru.

Speaking on the crisis that would bring the city to a virtual halt, Rajan S Mathews, Director General, COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India), stated, “We are deeply disappointed with the unwarranted action by the BBMP to remove the OFC cables, which has led to network outages and caused inconvenience to customers, many of whom are without connectivity. This impulsive action will also impact overall internet connectivity and businesses, especially IT firms in the city. We would once again like to highlight that all our members are fully compliant with the rules and regulations of the concerned authorities. While the industry has been trying to discuss and resolve the issue, BBMP has chosen to remove this key last mile connectivity infrastructure rather than work with telecom companies to find an amicable solution. We once again appeal to the Government of Karnataka and to the BBMP to immediately allow the restoration of the infrastructure and develop a future ready framework to enable deliver world-class digital connectivity to citizens in the IT capital of India. We once again reiterate that we are open to discussing the issue in a threadbare manner for the larger benefit of Bengaluru’s netizens and wide range of essential digital services.”

In a city that takes pride in its digital superhighways, it will also result in a complete communication black-out threatening emergency situations if calls can’t be connected and data connectivity is lost. This action will not only jeopardise the operations of companies/industries at India’s Silicon Valley, but will also have a huge impact on consumers and citizens.

BBMP must stop this retrograde and regressive fibre cutting drive immediately, as it is damaging operations of businesses and individual customers. At present, there is no comprehensive policy in Bengaluru which can ensure smooth provisioning of telecom infrastructure. Hence, Karnataka Government should formulate a comprehensive State RoW policy that is aligned with Right of Way rules dated November 2016 issued by the Government of India to facilitate smooth deployment of telecom infrastructure across the city.

The Right of Way rules, 2016 issued by the Central Government for provisioning of the underground/over the ground telecom infrastructure has enabling features such as no restriction on location of telecom towers, single window clearance mechanism, defined time-period for approvals, appointment of Nodal officers, nominal administrative fees and deemed approval etc. extensively supporting the Digital India mission.

In order to streamline the issue, the telecom industry is ready to help and Municipal body to provide and discuss the best practices being followed in other states regarding RoW rules, 2016.

India’s First 3D LED Screen Launched at ‘Cinépolis Onyx 3D’ at DLF Place Saket, New Delhi

Cinépolis, India’s 1st international and the world’s 2nd largest movie theatre circuit by attendance, today launched, ‘Cinépolis Onyx 3D’, a revolutionary ‘Onyx’ LED technology supporting 3D. The launch reaffirms the brands’ commitment to innovation and offering world class cinematic experience to its patrons. Powered by Samsung, the technology is equipped with advanced cinematic technologies that will transform the experience of ‘going to the movies’.

Cinépolis Onyx 3D LED screen will deliver the most advanced graphics and redefine the cinema viewing experience in India. By bringing the visual power of LED picture quality to the big screen, the new screen will offer viewers more powerful, compelling and memorable content. Backed by brilliant LED picture quality and an infinite contrast ratio, the LED screen will ensure movie clarity like never before.

Cinépolis Asia & Middle East, Managing Director, Javier Sotomayor, commented on the launch, “Since our inception in the cinema industry, we have endeavored to remain at the forefront of innovation and constantly introduce newer technologies. As Cinépolis expands its footprint in India, it maintains a keen eye on the latest digital innovations. We are delighted to once again revolutionise the movie experience with the launch of ‘Cinepolis Onyx 3D’ powered with 3D LED screens.”

The futuristic Cinépolis LED screen eliminates the need for projection-based systems, introducing remarkable enhancement to the movie viewing experience since the industry's commencement. It ensures HDR support, truer blacks, enhanced brightness and sharper sound.

Speaking on the occasion, Devang Sampat, Director – Strategic Initiatives, Cinépolis India, said, “We aim to introduce the most innovative cinema technology in our cinemas to bring movie magic into people’s lives. This new screen has the ability to showcase cinematic content with true black colors and the 3D version of Samsung Onyx truly elevates the experience – making 3D cinema content even more vivid and realistic.”

Cinépolis is poised to introduce innovations and offer unparalleled cinematic experience as it continues to create great moments for moviegoers. Cinépolis cinemas are armed with the latest technology and digital projection systems such as RealD 3D and 4DX, set to offer consumers the best in-cinema experience. The large legroom, a standard in all Cinépolis cinemas is designed to offer utmost comfort to patrons while they enjoy their movie. Uplifting the in-theatre experience, the flagship F&B brand from Cinépolis, Coffee Tree offers a wide selection of gourmet food. The brand also offers a continuous customer engagement program through ‘Club Cinépolis Program’ that allows the patron to earn and burn points on movie tickets and F&B and has exclusive benefits of special screenings, meet & greet with stars and much more.

Cinépolis India has created a strong footprint across 61 Indian cities with strong presence in major metros: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru. Cinépolis extends a contemporary approach which seamlessly weaves the entire range of cherry-picked cinema formats from across the world under one roof offering an unmatched experience to all movie patrons.

Godrej's Interio Index Reveals True Alpha Decision-Makers in Households Across India

About 65% of Kolkata and 58% of Bangalore households involve the entire family when selecting furniture and décor for their homes compared to an all-India average of 45%, according to the latest findings of Godrej’s Interio Index. 

These figures contrast sharply with responses from Hyderabad (55%) and Chandigarh (48%) which reveal women have the final word on home interiors.  The research also highlights cities where the men of the house retain the power of veto; for instance, nearly a third of Mumbai households (31%) and Ahmedabad (30%) believe men are the ultimate decision-makers.

Even in the kitchen, which has traditionally been a woman’s domain, Bangalore (58%) and Kolkata (65%) state they follow a democratic and inclusive approach when deciding on furniture for home.

Godrej’s Interio Index[1] is a light hearted survey designed to understand the decision-making process behind Indians’ choice of home furnishings. It also revealed that while Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Pune, Lucknnow, Bangalore and Mumbai to be more male centric in their home décor decision-making, compared with slightly more feminine-oriented households in Chennai, Delhi, Chandigarh and Hyderabad.

For instance, a third of respondents (31%) in Mumbai are certain of men’s veto on furniture compared to 17% of those who believe women have the final say. In contrast, 48% Chandigarh respondents claim that women have the final say in selecting furniture at home while only 19% respondents observe men sharing the same privilege.

According to the data, this contrast in decision-making styles is prevalent even in the different rooms within the home. In the living room, men have the final say in Ahmedabad (23%), Chennai (39%), and Bangalore (26%) compared to women, 11%, 23% and 13% in each city, respectively. For the same room, in Chandigarh (32%), Delhi (36%), and Hyderabad (39%) women dominate furniture decisions compared to men 17%, 13%, and 9% in each city respectively.

According to Anil Mathur, Chief Operating Officer, Godrej Interio, the Interio Index, in a fun way, helps determine the gender towards which decision-making is skewed across India cities.

“As per our data, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Mumbai tend to take an ‘alpha male’ approach with 29%, 26%, and 29% respondents in each city claiming men make most of the bedroom furniture decisions compared to 6%, 13% and 19% respondents in each city who claim it is the women who decide. When it comes to decisions about the same room, in Chandigarh (54%), Hyderabad (61%), Kolkata (31%), and Chennai (37%) it is the women who have the final say compared to men 28%, 25%, 15%, and 22% in each city respectively. This is a reflection of a larger trend towards collective decisions in a domestic environment,” he said.

“As a brand, our objective is to maintain consistency in the quality of our products and services, and the attitude with which we tend to our customers. At Godrej Interio, we make a conscious effort to appeal to all members of the family, giving equal importance to both men and women,” he concluded.

Amazon.in Announces Summer Sale Starting 12 Noon on May 03, 2019

Amazon.in has announced its annual Summer Sale from May 04 to 07, 2019. Prime members will get early access to the sale starting 12 noon on May 03. With thousands of deals on Smartphones, Consumer Electronics, Fashion, Large Appliances, TVs, Sports & Fitness and more, customers can shop from over 170 million products across hundreds of categories on Amazon.in.

“As the most trusted and visited ecommerce destination, we look forward to celebrating every occasion with our customers. Amazon Summer Sale has been curated to offer everything customers are looking for this season and more! With great deals, instant discounts, no cost EMI and convenient exchange options, customers can look forward to celebrating the joys of summer on Amazon.in.” said Manish Tiwary, Vice President - Category Management, Amazon India.

Customers shopping during the Amazon Summer Sale can enjoy great deals across brands such as OnePlus, Apple, Samsung, Realme, OPPO, Xiaomi, Levi’s, Arrow, Hush Puppies, Symbol, UCB, Puma, Vero Moda, Fossil, US Polo, Being Human, Jack & Jones, Wrangler, BIBA, Aurelia, JBL, Bose, Sony, LG, BPL, TCL, Bosch, Whirlpool, Voltas, Nivia and more. Extra discounts will be offered on Amazon Echo devices, Fire TV Stick, Kindle eReaders and more throughout the Summer Sale.

Customers shopping during the Summer Sale can save more by getting extra 10% instant discount with SBI Debit & Credit cards. Customers can shop for more than 10 crore products with no-cost EMI using Bajaj Finserv EMI card and select Debit & Credit cards.

Suez Water Technologies & Solutions Leverages Digital DNA to Meet India’s Energy Production Requirements

Greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants have been a critical challenge for India and it is a challenge that needs to be addressed head on given the country’s increasing demand for electricity. For example, electricity consumption grew from 375.39 billion kilowatt hours in 2000 to 1.108 trillion kilowatt hours in 2018. Additionally, electric power generation grew from 529.12 billion kilowatt hours in 2000 to 1.311 trillion kilowatt hours in 2018. The aspiration for rapid economic growth leading to industrialization, accelerated urbanization, and mechanization of agriculture is responsible for this growth in demand.

As part of India’s growth in solar energy, Adani Mundra Solar PV Limited manufactures solar cells for the Indian market. To obtain successful operational and financial performance, Adani Mundra Solar PV’s 1-gigawatt solar PV cell manufacturing project requires the continuous and reliable production of ultra-pure water 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Ultra-pure water (UPW) systems are often referred to as the “life blood” of modern solar cell production facilities. The cell products will encounter UPW on many occasions during their production cycle, and any disruption of service and/or “out-of-spec” water can seriously compromise their yield, costing perhaps millions of dollars in lost production.

Suez Water Technologies & Solutions (SWTS) is the worldwide industry leader in the UPW systems business to both the semiconductor and solar industries. SWTS’ patented UPW generation using membranes and filters produces 1-gigawatt-capacity PV cells and modules for solar power plants, enabling the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. Adani Mundra Solar PV contracted SWTS to design, engineer, procure, supply, erect, commission, and performance test a new solar PV manufacturing facility. The facility was required to produce 1,560 cubic meters per day in UPW production, plus 2,280 cubic meters per day in the UPW loop. This was made more complicated for SWTS because of the need to take influent flow from an existing 20 milliliters-per-day seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plant, which has a high total-organic-carbon (TOC) -5.9 ppm, very high chlorides (380 ppm), and very low hardness/alkalinity, which would cause severe corrosion in carbon-steel and stainless-steel materials. As a result, this project required innovative, one-of-a-kind thinking in both materials, manufacturing techniques, and in new, improved design modeling and project delivery methodologies.

Using a variety of Bentley applications, including OpenPlant, AutoPIPE, Navigator, ProSteel, and STAAD, SWTS created and implemented a digital model for managing this project. From performing structural analysis of polypropylene (PP) tanks to performing stress analysis, performing detailed civil, concrete, and tank design, managing multidiscipline design reviews, and producing detailed bills of materials directly from the digital model, SWTS was able to revolutionize their digital workflows and leverage the digital DNA they have created. Moreover, remote offices were connected via Bentley’s Connected Data Environment (CDE), based on ProjectWise, to ensure that the latest version of drawings and deliverables were always shared by the customer and site teams.

SWTS realized significant ROI by implementing these technologies and techniques. Savings include approximately USD 70,000 through optimized pipe routings and reduced field rework and 30-percent savings in resource hours during the design modeling phase (USD 35,000).

Utilizing Bentley software also lessened the civil, structural, piping, and cable tray site execution time by 60 days, resulting in a flawless construction of civil foundations, concrete and steel structures, equipment, piping plus allied supports, cable tray, and instrumentation within the stipulated project schedule.

A Suez Water Technologies & Solutions Engineering spokesperson said, “Bentley as a single solution provider successfully paved the way for analysis, modeling, designing, detailing, and documenting in a more prudent way, which met SWTS’s patented ultra-pure water generation using membranes and filters for solar power plant execution, on time and with high quality. SWTS’ efforts to industrialize their project delivery have enabled the company to reinforce its position as one of the world’s leading providers of UPW systems.”

Despite Brexit, Indian Investment in UK Raises to £48 Billion

The number of Indian companies investing in the UK registered a jump over the previous year despite the ongoing uncertainties around Brexit, according to a new report tracking Indian investments in the UK.

The annual ‘India Meets Britain Tracker’ released in London on Wednesday finds that the number of Indian companies doing business in Britain has increased from 800 in 2018 to 842 in 2019, with a combined turnover of £48 billion.

The report, published by business advisory firm Grant Thornton UK LLP and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), revealed a more than doubling of the Corporation Tax paid by these companies to hit £684 million, up from £360 million in the previous year.

“The headline figures in the Tracker are startling. They are testament to the strength and entrepreneurialism of the Indian business community, with some companies growing by more than 100% year on year,” UK minister for investment Graham Stuart said at the launch.

The minister pointed out that the figures are likely to see a further jump from next year, when the UK’s Corporation Tax, from the current level of 19%, will drop to 17%.

“We will always welcome Indian investments and we recognise India’s importance as one of our most critical bilateral investors,” he said.

Among some of the other highlight figures from the Tracker, 24% of Indian companies in the UK have at least one woman on their board, up from 19% last year, and they employ an estimated 104,783 people in the country.

“The report brings out in such graphic terms the contribution that Indian businesses are making to the UK. We all wondered how the Brexit process would have affected the investment sentiment from India and now we have the answer – Indian business retains its positive outlook towards the UK,” said Ruchi Ghanashyam, the Indian High Commissioner to the UK.

The report, now in its sixth year, provides a tracker of the fastest growing Indian companies in the UK with turnover of more than $5 million, year-on-year revenue growth of at least 10% and a minimum two-year track-record in the UK.

Among these Accord Healthcare Ltd, Milpharm Ltd and Secure Meters (UK) Ltd have been consistently recorded as fast growing ever since the Tracker was launched in 2014.

Anuj Chande, Partner and Head of South Asia Group at Grant Thornton UK LLP, noted: “Given the continuing uncertainty driven by the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU), it is encouraging to see that Indian investors continue to invest confidently in the UK and in fact, there are now more Indian businesses active in the UK than ever before.”

“The fall in the value of sterling has also had a role to play, making UK assets increasingly attractive to overseas investors. ”

Three companies in this year’s Tracker reported growth of more than 100%, with the fastest growing of these being TMT Metal Holdings Limited, with a growth rate of 649%.

McKinsey Report Indicates India Internet Users on the Rise by 40%

With data costs falling by 95% since 2013, India will see internet users rise by about 40% and number of smartphones to double by 2023, McKinsey said in a report.

It also expects core digital sectors to jump two-fold to $355-435 billion by 2025.

The report ‘Digital India - Technology to Transform a Connection Nation’ by McKinsey Global Institute said the country is one of the largest and fastest-growing markets for digital consumers, with 560 million internet subscribers in 2018, second only to China.

Indian mobile data users consume 8.3 gigabits (GB) of data each month on average, compared with 5.5 GB for mobile users in China and 8-8.5 GB in advanced digital economy of South Korea. Indians have 1.2 billion mobile phone subscriptions and downloaded more apps, 12.3 billion in 2018, than residents of any other country except China.

“Our analysis of 17 mature and emerging economies finds India is digitising faster than any other country in the study, save Indonesia -- and there is plenty of room to grow: just over 40% of the populace has an internet subscription,” it said. While a government push has helped digitise the economy, private sector firms such as Reliance Jio has helped bring down data costs by more than 95% since 2013, it said, adding the cost of one gigabyte fell from 9.8% of per capita monthly GDP in 2013 (roughly $12.45) to 0.37% in 2017 (the equivalent of a few cents).

“Private-sector innovation has helped bring internet-enabled services to millions of consumers and made online usage more accessible.

Samsung Unveils World's Largest 14 Metre Onyx Cinema LED Screen at Swagath Theatre in Bengaluru

Samsung along with group company HARMAN has launched the World’s Largest Onyx Cinema LED Screen in India’s tech capital Bengaluru at the iconic Swagath Cinemas, which will now be rechristened Swagath Onyx Theatre. Academy Award winner, musician and philanthropist, AR Rahman inaugurated the new theatre today.

With a 14 metre screen, the largest Onyx Cinema LED screen format in the world, Swagath Onyx Theatre on Bengaluru’s MG Road will offer powerful, captivating and larger-than-life visuals, transforming the cinema viewing experience for cine lovers. Globally, there are only two other 14 metre Onyx Cinema LED screens installed by Samsung to date, in Malaysia and China.

At 618 seats, Swagath Onyx Theatre is also the world’s largest theatre that is equipped with an Onyx Cinema LED screen. Acoustics in the theatre have been dramatically upgraded with JBL Professional cinema loudspeakers from HARMAN.

The Onyx screen is 3D applicable with active 3D technology for all 618 seats in the theatre.

With the introduction of this new technology, Samsung will transform cinema viewing experience with HDR support offering unparalleled picture quality. With Onyx Cinema LED, movie lovers will get unparalleled picture quality, true colours and greater vibrancy and accuracy, exactly how the director intended it to be seen.

The 14 metre Onyx Cinema LED Screen in Bengaluru was unveiled in the presence of Moon Goo Chin, Corporate Vice President, Consumer Electronics Business, Samsung India; Puneet Sethi, Vice President, Consumer Electronics Enterprise Business, Samsung India; Prashant Govindan, Head – Professional Solutions, HARMAN India and SAARC; Kishore P, Director, Swagath Group of Cinemas and AR Rahman.

“Samsung is the only brand offering an end-to-end movie experience, from stunning visuals through Onyx Cinema LED Screens to phenomenal sound from JBL Professional by HARMAN. Onyx Cinema LED at Swagath Onyx Theatre in Bengaluru will revolutionize cinema viewing experience for film lovers in the city and across India. This is a remarkable milestone for Indian cinema and a testament to our consumer-centric approach,” said Puneet Sethi, Vice President, Consumer Electronics Enterprise Business, Samsung India.

“The current wave of cinema is replete with great visuals, rich soundtracks and background score. The new Onyx Cinema LED powered by JBL’s iconic sound will transform cinematic experience for movie goers. This mighty combination of a revolutionary screen and legendary sound will truly elevate the content and we are excited for Indian cinephiles to experience this epic offering,” said Prashant Govindan, Head – Professional Solutions, HARMAN India & SAARC.

At the inauguration, HARMAN global ambassador and award winning musician & composer,
AR Rahman said “With Samsung’s ground-breaking Onyx Cinema LED Screen technology and HARMAN’s iconic JBL audio, movie goers in Bengaluru will immensely enjoy their experience at the theatre. I have worked with HARMAN and used JBL Professional systems for many years, and I can confidently say that they truly do justice to the music I create. There is no sound like JBL sound, so it makes sense that the brand is powering this amazing new way to enjoy movies and music.”

“At Swagath Cinemas we take pride in our heritage yet strive to provide a futuristic cinema viewing experience to our customers. Our association with Samsung to launch the World’s Largest Onyx Cinema LED Screen in Bengaluru is testimony to our commitment to movie lovers across India,” said Kishore P, Director, Swagath Group of Cinemas.

The large 14 metre screen offers powerful, captivating and larger-than-life visuals with greater attention to detail. The screen is capable of delivering true colors with HDR support with greater vibrancy and accuracy along with sharp contrast, higher levels of brightness and great viewing angles that are unaffected by ambient light; eliminating optical distortion and interference. The disruptive technology is a breakthrough in the cinema industry, which has been relying on projector-based system for decades.

The latest Onyx Cinema LED screen comes equipped with an array of solutions including Onyx VIEW, Onyx 3D and Onyx SOUND, providing a uniquely immersive experience.

The sound system at Swagath Onyx Theatre is comprised of Onyx Sound, an innovative audio solution that incorporates industry leading products from the HARMAN family of brands including Crown amplifiers, BSS signal processing, and JBL Professional’s loudspeakers and exclusive Sculpted Surround technology. The Onyx Sound reproduces today’s dynamic soundtracks with stunning clarity and detail.

The system includes six JBL AM 7315 screen array loudspeakers, four JBL 9300 cinema surround loudspeakers, eighteen JBL 9350 + four JBL SCS 12 high impact cinema surround loudspeakers, six JBL AC28/26 used as underfills for the balcony area and nine JBL 5628 dual 18" cinema subwoofers. Processing is provided by a BSS networked audio system, and the entire system is powered by 31 Crown DSi amplifiers.

Apart from the new Onyx Cinema LED Screen, Swagath Onyx Theatre in Bengaluru has also upgraded its overall look and feel inside the theatre with refurbished interiors and comfortable seats, even as it retains its heritage look on the outside.

About Onyx Cinema LED

The Onyx display easily accommodates any venue configuration while delivering unmatched visual quality, technical performance and reliability over traditional projectors. The screen maintains its advanced presentation capabilities in ambient lighting conditions, regardless of the featured on-screen content. It also allows theatre owners to utilize their theatres for corporate events, concerts and sports event viewing and gaming competitions.

Onyx SOUND: The screen offers state-of-the-art Onyx surround sound experience, the result of research and co-development by HARMAN and Samsung’s Audio Lab, bringing scenes to life through clear and precise audio. This innovative audio solution solves the challenges posed for center channel audio when incorporated with a solid cinema LED screen, which does not allow for the placement of loudspeakers behind the screen, which is the common placement in traditional cinemas.  When combined together with JBL’s Sculpted Surround technology, Onyx Sound creates a seamless, immersive audio experience for viewers, regardless of their seat location, that further enhances the already stunning visuals offered by Onyx.

Onyx VIEW: Combined with an infinite contrast ratio and specialized low-tone greyscale settings, Onyx VIEW delivers brighter and more detail-rich content. The screen delivers High Dynamic Range (HDR) to cinema, showcasing on-screen contents at peak brightness level – nearly 10 times greater than that offered by standard cinema projectors (146fL versus 14fL). The display delivers improved uniformity, free of optical distortion and interference. It is industry’s first DCI-certified cinema display available in 5, 10 and 14 metres width.

3D Onyx Cinema LED: This screen makes 3D movie content more realistic through enhanced brightness and consistent colour amplification. Glass-wearing viewers can now have the benefit of watching subtitle texts, images and even minor visual details with unprecedented clarity.

Lowe’s India Fast Tracks Process to Offer IT Jobs to Jet Airways Employees

Lowe’s India, a Bangalore based retail technology and analytics centre for Lowe’s Companies Inc with over 2000 associates in India is extending support to the recently affected employees of JET Airways for its IT division. The sudden shut down of the airline’s operation has left many employees of Jet Airways unemployed. Staying true to its purpose, Lowe’s India has always served to help people where they live and observing the current status of sudden unemployment, Lowe’s India has taken an initiative to announce hiring with a fast-track process.   The employees of JET Airways can apply across IT positions of Lowe’s India.

Taking a step further, Lowe’s India also wrote to Jet Airways HR on partnering and placing their employees directly.

“Lowe’s India is a part of an eco-system and during an employment crisis such as this, we believe as a good corporate citizen that we will do what matters to people and communities around us. We are reaching out to the technology employees of Jet Airways directly and so far, we have seen a good response, both from their employees and third-party companies servicing Jet as a client. We are scanning the resumes and are open to Jet reaching out to us to partner for placements said James Brandt, SVP & Managing Director – Lowe’s India.

Interested candidates can send their resumes to india-careers@lowes.com, with the subject line “Jet IT” and Lowe’s team will fast-track the process to schedule a meeting with selected candidates.

Blueprint Tech Bags ‘HR Cloud Partner of the Year 2018’ Award at SAP India Partner Summit 2019

Blueprint Technologies has announced that it is the recipient of the prestigious ‘HR Cloud Partner of the Year 2018’ Award at SAP India Partner Summit 2019.

The SAP Partner Awards are presented annually to the top SAP partners that have excelled in developing and strengthening their alliance with SAP to drive customer success. The nominations for the SAP Partner India Summit Awards are based on field recommendations, customer feedback, and various other performance indicators including internal SAP sales data during the period FY 2018-19.

At the award ceremony, Rony John, CEO, Blueprint Technologies said, “We are delighted to have been recognized by SAP for our contribution in implementing customised SAP SuccessFactors HR packages, to address specific talent management needs on the cloud for both large enterprises and SMBs. We would like to thank SAP for their continuous support and hand-holding in accomplishing our dreams together.”

A steering committee composed of regional and global SAP representatives determined winning partners in each category for General Business and Strategic Alliances for the Indian Subcontinent.

Parvesh Ghai, Vice-President – Strategic Alliances and Channels, SAP Indian Sub-continent said, “Our esteemed partners play a pivotal role in extending our market reach and strengthening our brand. I congratulate Blueprint Technologies for receiving the ‘HR Cloud Partner of the year 2018’ award. I am confident that our partner engagement activities will further strengthen our business alliance and enhance service delivery for our customers.”

Blueprint Technologies (BPTERP) is a pioneer among premier IT and ERP consulting houses in India.  Employing an innovative approach, BPTERP’s mainstream business focus on SAP, SAP S/4HANA, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Concur has enabled India’s leading E-commerce, Travel, Healthcare, BFSI and many consumer brands solve complex IT, HR and business problems and create real revenue generating value.

Infraero Pioneers the Use of Digital Twins to Increase the Safety and Efficiency of Brazil’s Airports

Infraero, Empresa Brasileira de Infraestrutura Aeroportuária is one of the three largest airport operators in the world, managing 54 airports across Brazil. It facilitates more than 100 million passengers each year, accounting for nearly 60 percent of Brazil’s air traffic. Infraero is creating a parametric 3D model and database of Londrina Airport’s underground, land, and above-land information to improve its business intelligence and operations.

Londrina Airport will be the first in Brazil to have a digital twin. The final product will include 3D modeling of 20 buildings, one take-off-and-landing runway, two aircraft yards, taxiways, and access roads—a total airport surface area of 920,354 square meters. Infraero is going digital to improve its business intelligence and decision making.

By leveraging digital DNA to manage its assets, Infraero can take a more preventative approach to maintenance, effectively use airport space, and improve airport safety. Maintenance teams will be able to utilize real-time monitoring and control of assets for improved efficiency of remote asset management. The model will serve as a large-scale information repository to improve performance and obtain data more efficiently.

The digital engineering information, or digital DNA, of the project was modeled using Bentley’s design software. MicroStation’s point-cloud import feature enabled the team to model the entire airport via point clouds and conduct point-cloud studies to verify the existing facilities. OpenBuildings Designer was used to model existing buildings, such as the passenger terminal, cargo terminal, and fire station. OpenRoads was used to create the geometric project and runway system surfaces map: a comprehensive model of take-off and landing runways, taxiways, and service roads. When complete, the comprehensive building and infrastructure model will serve as a basis for future airport expansion projects, enable effective maintenance, cut maintenance costs, and increase asset availability. The live model will also facilitate a range of studies: passenger flow, demand and capacity, layout changes, and launch studies for new commercial areas.

Infraero has already experienced savings of BRL 540,000 per year with improved information management. The company plans to expand its use of BIM methods in the operation and maintenance phase of its other assets. The Digital Airport Pilot Project at Londrina Airport will serve as a model as the other 53 airports managed by Infraero seek to effectively leverage their digital DNA.

Patrícia Oliveira, BIM champion, Infraero, said, “[Bentley’s software enabled] comprehensive digital modeling [to] promote integration and collaboration across different areas of the company. [This will] benefit all business sectors [and offer] consistent and up-to-date information to all stakeholders.”

Londrina Airport is the first airport in the region to effectively leverage its digital DNA to improve business intelligence, asset management, and operations; it serves as an example for other airport owner-operators in the region that seek to promote safe and high-quality airport infrastructure.

GS Caltex India Ropes in Cricketer Shikhar Dhawan as Brand Ambassador

GS Caltex India, a 100% owned subsidiary of GS Caltex Corporation, South Korea has signed on cricketer Shikhar Dhawan as a brand ambassador in a strategic move to establish itself as a major player in the premium lubricants category in the country.

As part of the association, Shikhar Dhawan will be the face of GS Caltex India for the company’s premium lubricants range & new business initiatives.

Speaking about the importance of this strategic alliance, Mr. Rajesh Nagar, MD & CEO, GS Caltex India Pvt. Ltd. said, “It’s a perfect match in more ways than one, especially since both Shikhar and GS Caltex are Smart Performers and setting new benchmarks in their respective fields.

GS Caltex stands for smart technology, premium quality and smart performance, qualities that are embodied by Shikhar on the cricket field. He is an aggressive and flamboyant player and his success as a cricketer in both the international and domestic circuits mirror the qualities of our premium performance-oriented product offerings. We are delighted to welcome Shikhar to the GS Caltex family and hope to maintain a long and significant relationship with him.”

Mr. K Madhu Mohan, GM-Marketing, GS Caltex India Pvt. Ltd further added, “We are happy to have Shikhar onboard as our new brand ambassador. Shikhar joining the GS Caltex family is a great way to increase significant brand consideration by establishing superior-performance and premium quality of our lubricants. With his explosive and power packed performances on the cricket field, we believe Shikhar personifies our core value proposition of Smart Technology for Smart Performance. We are sure that our association with Shikhar is significant and would further enhance our engagement with our consumers across the country.”

Speaking about the collaboration, Shikhar Dhawan said, “I am extremely delighted and proud to be a part of the GS Caltex family. GS Caltex is a well-established name in the lubricant industry and globally recognized brand for its high-performance products. I look forward to an exciting innings together.”

About GS Caltex India.

GS Caltex India is a 100% owned subsidiary of GS Caltex Corporation, South Korea. The company is currently doing business in high quality premium lubricants manufactured from its own Group II plus base oils imported from its Yeosu Refinery, South Korea. The company has also expanded into other businesses like Polymers, Polypropylene and petrochemicals. GS Caltex India has a very impressive range of high-quality finished lubricants and supplies to large businesses including major global OEMs.

Zippo Introduces a Stunning New Range of Windproof Lighters in India

 

With a legacy of over 87 years, Zippo windproof lighters have become synonymous with exceptional quality and designs, etching millions of stories world over. Throughout its lifetime, it has remained a timeless collectible for enthusiasts across the globe.

Adding sheen to their collection, Zippo has recently launched a new range of windproof lighters to help bring a unique flair to your summer stories. The lighters in all metal construction, sport eclectic designs and intricate engravings, guaranteed to leave you in awe.

Available in antique silver, copper and gold finishes these lighters come with a lifetime guarantee and are can be purchased at  https://www.williampenn.net/ or in the 28 William Penn stores and 3 shop-in-shop operations across 10 cities.

Zippo: more than a lighter

With over 80 years of history, Zippo has an influential and dedicated fan base. The brand has transcended its functional benefits to become a cultural icon and regularly features in films around the world.

The unique designs, date stamping, affordability and rich history of the Zippo lighters make them a great item to collect.  The number of collectors and lovers of Zippo lighters continues to increase daily. In the United States alone it is estimated that there are around 4 million Zippo windproof lighter collectors and there are 11 official collectors’ clubs worldwide. Choose from an array of new designs available on the William Penn Online Shop https://www.williampenn.net/, and in 28 William Penn stores and 3 shop-in-shop operations across 10 cities.

Telebu is Bringing Enterprise Communication to Political Campaigning for Parties like BJP

Recently, Mr Sachin Kalyanshetti, BJP MLA, (Solapur Constituency) & Solapur District President BJP was facing some communication challenges with the party Cadre. He decided to use Telebu’s product grptalk, in the hopes of communicating with maximum people. Telebu’s grptalk app helped him address his party workers and volunteers for the Solapur Bike Rally. The campaign was initiated after National President's instructions to all BJP states offices. With grptalk, Mr Sachin was able to connect with 3200+ people on single conference call, and address everyone about the upcoming bike rally in Solapur. For the Solapur BJP office, this has been a big win in terms of bridging the communication gap between the MLA and people present at the booths.

With the soon approaching election season, political campaigning has seen its methods and reach change rapidly to accommodate the latest technologies. In this age of digitalization and advanced technologies, yesteryear’s methods of rallies and pamphlet distribution no longer strike the right chord with today’s voters. Understanding the changing preferences and behaviour patterns of their audience, political parties have been quick in adopting the latest technology, in their bid to best reach out to voters in India.

One of the enterprises at the epicentre of tech-enabled political campaigning is Telebu, with its suite of enterprise communication products. With its marquee product, grptalk, the Hyderabad-based company has been working with political parties to help them streamline communication and campaigning. grptalk is a unique audio-conferencing solution that enables 3 to 10,000+ participants on a single PSTN network call to enable high-quality ‘instant conferencing’ (dial-out calls), without any app download, PASSCODES etc.

Commenting on the latest development, Satya Kalyan Yerramsetti, CEO of Telebu, said, “We have been honored to work together with Mr Sachin Kalyanshetti from BJP and facilitate easy communication between him and the party members. Political campaigning has, for long, relied on traditional and offline mediums. However, with the advent of advanced, tech-enabled solutions, we believe it is about time for the sector to be disrupted with the right technology. Ahead of the general assembly elections, Telebu’s suite of enterprise communication products will help different political parties efficiently communicate with party workers, supporters and volunteers, in addition to reaching out to maximum voters. At Telebu, we have been facilitating this transition, helping Indian political parties leverage advanced communication tools and platforms, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.”

Recently, grptalk also received appreciation from the Principal Secretary to Telangana Government (CT & Excise) & IAS officer, Sri Somesh Kumar, who said that the app has made communication with team members easy. Ahead of the general assembly elections, communications technology is going to play a crucial role in enabling seamless communication between the political parties, its workers, volunteers, and prospect voters. Telebu has been working with different political parties to level the playing field by bringing communication technology in political campaigning.

StashFin and Fullerton India Partner for Onward Lending of $15 Million

Online lending company – StashFin and Fullerton India, a leading non-banking finance company (NBFC) with a pan India presence announced their partnership that will benefit both the entities for onward lending USD 15 million. This will enable them to expand reach and create better efficiencies.

Non-banking financial companies like Fullerton India are playing an increasingly significant role in taking formal lending to the remotest corners of the country. StashFin, a digital lending platform, launched by former financial services professionals in September 2016, offers loans ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 3,00,000 with repayment periods starting at three months. Borrowing is made easy, transparent and secure, with the funds deployed either into a bank account or into a Visa prepaid card, with interest charged only on the amount withdrawn. Customers can access the platform either through its website or app. Customers acquired through this partnership can draw funds to the card from the available line 24/7, even on public holidays, bank holidays etc. The product is also a flexi-credit line which the customer can use as and when required as against a traditional personal loan. This gives complete flexibility and independence to the customers.

Fullerton India & StashFin finalised the partnership in order to meet the demand of their expanding target market. Addressing the digitally enabled newer audiences in newer geographies, and providing them a customer-friendly digital on-boarding experience has been the backbone of this partnership, offering personal loans to salaried individuals. With RBI expected to streamline the regulations for NBFCs in order to harmonise them with banks and have a greater say in their operations, the role of NBFCs is expected to increase significantly. It is in this light that Fullerton India and StashFin partnership will construct and sustain the platform in further contributing to India's growth story.

Commenting on the partnership Nishant Jasapara, Head of Digital Business, Fullerton India said, “In the ever changing digital world, our prime objective is to offer our services at the fingertips of our consumers by providing a user-friendly platform. Our audience is now better connected than ever before, and several fiscal incentives and technology initiatives have been targeted at making India a less cash economy. The synergy between Fullerton and StashFin aims to drive the digital experience of the consumers and evolve to one of the finest platforms. The association will help the customers fulfil their borrowing needs online without having to worry about the hassles of logistics or endless paperwork around getting access to finance”.

Tushar Aggarwal, founder and CEO of StashFin feels, that young salaried professionals often require credit but are unable to adequately get access to finance from traditional lenders. "Our mission is to offer them easy and seamless credit," he said. Speaking about the tie-up, he said, "This partnership will help us expand our footprint to the under-served and unserved parts of India." The benefits of borrowing through a platform like StashFin, he explained, are quick approvals, low processing fees, completely secure processes, minimum documentation needed, flexible payback terms and instant disbursal. It can take as little as four hours for a loan to be processed. Documents can be picked up from the customer at her/his choice of place and time. "This is what differentiates us from a traditional lending institution," he pointed out.

Rohini Nilekani,Gates Foundation and Sattva Unveil Flagship Report on the State of ‘Everyday Giving in India’

Rohini Nilekani, renowned philanthropist has today launched a flagship report on the state of ‘Everyday Giving in India’. The research was undertaken by Sattva Consulting, a well-known  social impact consulting firm, in association with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies.

This report is a first-of-its-kind 360-degree mapping of the market, solutions, innovations, challenges and opportunities in “everyday giving” in India—i.e. the ways in which India’s ordinary citizens give their money and time, and engage with social causes. The report has been prepared through a comprehensive market estimation process along with conversations and surveys with key players, experts, individuals and charitable organisations. This report is based on the research study conducted between September 2018 and March 2019 and examines the state of everyday giving in India to understand what it would means to unleash the full brain, muscle and financial power of India’s everyday givers to propel the country’s social development.

One of the study’s biggest findings is the comparatively small percentage of India’s everyday giving that goes towards NGOs. Only INR 3.5k crores goes to NGOs, making it a mere 6% contribution to total philanthropic giving in India.

The report launch was followed by two insightful panel discussions on “Strengthening our citizenship muscle: Everyday giving in a participatory democracy” & “Innovation and growth potential of the formal everyday giving market in India”.

The panel discussions highlighted various themes around everyday giving and the ways of harnessing the potential of India’s  billion givers to enable and support the country’s social development. The conversation also brought up the subject of how everyday giving and citizen engagement can be leveraged as a powerful instrument in the best possible way to overcome key social challenges of the country.

While discussing the need of streamlining philanthropic giving, Rohini Nilekani, Co-founder of Rohini Nilekani philanthropies said, “This carefully researched report shows us that the giving muscle in India is well-exercised, but could do with some protein shake! In fact, the research tells us that with some streamlining of efforts, India could emerge as the hub of innovation around everyday giving. The report details many recommendations for all sections of society – samaaj, bazaar and sarkaar. We hope this will help many more people and institutions join this journey of everyday giving to achieve our common goal of a good society, embedded in kindness to strangers.”

Victoria Vrana, Victoria Vrana, Deputy Director, Policy, Systems and Giving by All at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said “India has always had a rich culture of giving, and this study is an important attempt to unpack how enabling India’s everyday givers and their solution ecosystem can have a huge impact on human, economic, and social progress in the country”

Aarti Mohan, Co-founder, Head - Sattva Research said “Nearly all cultures have strong traditions of giving and caring for their communities. India, in fact has the most number of people volunteering and donating money in the world, ahead of the USA and China. Growing potential to give is evident from the expanding size and wealth of India’s middle class. We believe this is the apt time to discuss individual giving and citizen engagement in nation building, when the country is embarking on a new wave of governance post the elections of 2019”.

The event saw attendance from leading NGOs, crowdfunding channels, Internet and social media influencers, funders, policymakers and other enablers leading the charge on encouraging giving by common people in India.

About Sattva
Sattva is a social impact strategy consulting and implementation firm that works closely at the intersection of business and impact, with multiple stakeholders including non-profits, social enterprises, corporations and the social investing ecosystem. Sattva works to realise inclusive development goals across themes in emerging markets including education, skill development and livelihoods, healthcare and sanitation, digital and financial inclusion, energy access and environment, among others.

Sattva Research works on research and insights to influence decision-making and action towards social impact in the ecosystem in Asia. They have partnered with organisations such as the Gates Foundation, Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), USAID, AVPN, DFID, GIZ and Rockefeller Foundation to publish research, case studies and insights, and engages sector leaders through roundtables, conferences and impact circles.
 
About Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann and co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

Ather Energy Announces Entry into Chennai Region Along with Charging Infra by June

Ather Energy, has announced its plan to enter the Auto Hub of India, Chennai, in June 2019.  On the heels of its announcement of launching in multiple cities this year, Chennai is the second city the company is entering after its commercial launch in Bengaluru in 2018. With this, Ather enters its rapid expansion phase, and plans to be in 30 cities over the next couple of years.

As in the case of Bengaluru, Ather Energy will be introducing both its products 450 and 340, along with setting-up its public charging infrastructure, Ather Grid, across consumer-friendly locations such as cafes, malls, tech-parks, gyms, etc.  To encourage adoption of EVs in the city, Ather Energy has announced free charging at Ather Points for all electric vehicles for the first 6 months. Ather’s electric and intelligent scooters bring ease of access and convenience to their owners by allowing them to identify charging point locations and their real time availability through the Ather Grid app. This unique model is currently existent in Bengaluru with Ather Grid up and running at 24 charging locations with 31 charging points.

After witnessing tremendous success in Bengaluru with stocks of Ather 450 being sold out till September 2019 in Bengaluru alone, the company today has opened its early access privileges to Chennaites and the rest of India as it ramps up. The “Pre-Order Interest” option on the company’s website gives consumers priority deliveries, early access to book the Ather 450 & Ather 340 and invitations to exclusive events and test rides.

Ather Energy reiterated its commitment to developing India’s charging ecosystem by announcing its pan-India association with Godrej Nature’s Basket recently. The partnership will see Ather Energy setting-up its charging stations - Ather Point - at Godrej Nature’s Baskets’ 35 odd locations across the country.

Holding a special place for the company’s founders and IIT Madras graduates – Tarun and Swapnil, Chennai has become a hotbed of innovation and technology. It was during their time at the institute that the founders decided to build electric scooters instead of battery packs to address the influx of substandard EVs flooding the Indian market.

Ravneet Phokela, Chief Business Officer says, "After a successful launch in Bengaluru, we are expanding across the country starting with Chennai. The launch in Chennai is like a homecoming for Ather, as the organization was conceptualised at IIT Madras. We have already started receiving pre-order interest from enthusiasts on the website. As we enter this exciting market, we are looking at extending the same go-to-market strategy that we employed in Bengaluru, starting with accepting pre-orders, setting up of the charging infrastructure and the Experience Center, followed by the delivery of vehicles.”

About Ather 450: The Ather 450 is designed for city riding conditions, it comes with a top speed of 80 km/hr, a range of 75 km and one of the quickest accelerations for the scooter category of 0-40 km/hr in 3.9 seconds. Also, for the first time in the category, Ather 450 comes with parking assist, which allows riders to reverse into tight parking spots. The key differentiators of the Ather 450 are its intelligent features, seamless charging and ownership experience. The Ather 450 has a 7” touchscreen dashboard that allows onboard navigation with options of alternate routes and saved locations. It comes with the Ather app that enables push navigation from the phone to the vehicle dashboard, remote monitoring of the vehicle’s health and charge status. Finally, with the over-the-air (OTA) updates functionality, the vehicle is capable of improving over time with continuous upgrades and the addition of new features and functionalities.

About Ather Energy: Ather Energy, India’s premium, smart electric vehicle company was founded in 2013 by IIT Madras alumni, Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain. Backed by founders of Flipkart, Tiger Global and Hero Motocorp, Ather Energy has designed India’s first truly intelligent electric scooters - Ather 450 & Ather 340 - powered by a comprehensive public charging network, Ather Grid, built and designed in India.  With 31 charging Points in Bengaluru, Ather Grid is the largest fast charging network for two wheelers in the country. With over 42 patent applications, 127 trademarks and 122 design registrations to its name, Ather Energy aims to provide consumers with the best possible ownership experience. The company currently operates in Bengaluru and will be entering the Chennai market in June 2019, followed by other major cities across the country. 

Atos Named a Leader in SAP HANA and S/4HANA Services by NelsonHall

Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, has announces that it has been identified as a ‘Leader’ by global research and advisory firm NelsonHall in its latest Vendor Evaluation & Assessment Tool (NEAT) for SAP HANA and S/4HANA services.

The report cites Atos’ strengths, including a significant organizational focus on growing HANA and S/4HANA, broad geographic delivery footprint, clearly defined target verticals and geographies, assets incorporating innovative offerings like SAP Leonardo and SAP Cloud Platform and its Breakthrough Partnership with Google Cloud to drive S/4HANA on the cloud.

Atos SAP HANA and S/4HANA  solutions and services span the continuing management and rationalization of existing SAP instances while maintaining focus of the critical shift to HANA.

* SAP Consulting and Digital transformation - preparing a practical roadmap with clearly defined business benefits and technical definition
* SAP Cloud Platform - enhancing SAP Digital Core with agility and taking full advantage of mobility, social, analytics and IOT
* SAP Application Management - application transformation, development and ongoing management of SAP landscape
* Orchestrated Hybrid Cloud for SAP - Modernize SAP landscapes on Atos Orchestrated Hybrid Cloud
* New dimension Infrastructure - most powerful and scalable SAP HANA solution on the market developed by Atos. Certified up to 16TB and 16CPU

Commenting on the research, David McIntire, IT Services Research Director at NelsonHall, said: “Atos’ position as a Leader in NelsonHall’s SAP HANA and S/4HANA services NEAT evaluation is driven by its capabilities to provide end to end services, support client adoption of S/4HANA in the cloud and its ability to leverage analytics and IoT to deliver business cases that drive adoption of HANA and S/4HANA.”

Elaborating on Atos’ role as a leader in SAP HANA and S/4HANA services, Sean Narayanan, Atos Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Business Platforms & Solutions said: “We are delighted to be recognized as a global Leader in SAP HANA and S/4HANA services. SAP HANA has been at the core of our growth strategy since 2016 with the commitment to our clients to deliver business outcomes and an excellent user experience through our proven delivery methodologies and best-in class service management.”

Adani Foundation is Poised to Change the Contours of Education in Jharkhand, Gujarat

Adani Foundation launched the Gyanodaya smart e-learning project in 150 Government Schools of Godda, Jharkhand and has undertaken a major drive to instill confidence in students who are weak in academics in 17 Primary Government Schools in the Kutch region.

Through the Gyanodaya smart e-learning project, more than 40,000 children from the tribal districts of Godda are currently reaping the benefits and going forward this project will reach out to more than 1 lakh students in 600 High Schools essentially to bridge the gaps in quality education and complement the traditional teaching methodologies. The Project, which began in July 2018, engages and interacts with students through e-learning videos. The unique element of this module is an assessment which is done at the end of the session and students are given feedback for further improvement. The audio-visual medium makes learning interesting which improves retention and attendance leading to an increase in overall performance.

The Project has received huge encouragement from the District Administration led by District Collector, Godda, Ms. Kiran Kumar Pasi. The project was also recognised by the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Mr. Raghubar Das, as a pioneering project towards improving the quality of education in remote areas of Jharkhand. Adani Foundation is implementing this project with support from Eckovation.

Speaking on this occasion, Dr. Priti Adani, Chairperson, Adani Foundation, said: “By applying technology we are ensuring quality education like smart classes in schools to remote tribal areas, thereby helping students to improve comprehension and building enthusiasm in attending school. This will lead in students excelling in education and becoming better citizens.”

In the Kutch region of Gujarat, Adani Foundation has undertaken a major drive in 17 Primary Government Schools to instill confidence in students who are weak in academics. These Priya Vidyarthi (name given by the Government for students who are academically weak), will be supported under project Utthan initiated by Adani Foundation.

This project initiated in Aug 2018 has been heartily welcomed by teachers, parents and students. Under Project Utthan, special classes are organized in schools to strengthen three fundamentals- reading, comprehension and writing. Students from standard 1-4 are taught in English and the schools have been provided with a smart class library, books and sports equipment for their holistic development. This initiative is a part of Adani Foundation’s commitment to social upliftment and is generating great response.

To provide quality education in 17 primary schools, the state governments education minister Bhupendrabhai Chudasma signed a MoU with Adani Foundation on a trial basis to begin with. Under project Utthan, teachers proficient in English, Gujarati and Kutchi language are giving their services to these schools.

Gartner Identifies the Top 8 Supply Chain Technology Trends in 2019

Gartner, Inc. has identified the top 8 supply chain technology trends in 2019.

Gartner’s top strategic supply chain technology trends have broad industry impact, but have not yet been widely adopted. They might be experiencing significant changes or reaching critical tipping points in capability or maturity.

“These technologies are those that supply chain leaders simply cannot ignore,” said Christian Titze, research vice president at Gartner. “Within the next five years, if half of large global companies are using some of these technologies in their supply chain operations, it’s safe to say that the technologies will disrupt people, business objectives and IT systems.”

The top 8 supply chain technology trends in 2019 are:

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI technology in supply chain seeks to augment human performance. Through self-learning and natural language, AI capabilities can help automate various supply chain processes such as demand forecasting, production planning or predictive maintenance.

“AI supports the shift to broader supply chain automation that many organizations are seeking,” said Mr. Titze. “For example, AI can enhance risk mitigation by analyzing large sets of data, continuously identifying evolving patterns, and predicting disruptive events along with potential resolutions.”

Advanced Analytics

Advanced analytics span predictive analytics — those that identify data patterns and anticipate future scenarios — as well as prescriptive analytics — a set of capabilities that finds a course of action to meet a predefined objective. The increased availability of Internet of Things (IoT) data and extended external data sources such as weather or traffic conditions allow organizations to anticipate future scenarios and make better recommendations in areas such as supply chain planning, sourcing and transportation.

“Advanced analytics are not new, but their impact on today’s supply chains are significant,” said Mr. Titze. “They will help organizations become more proactive and actionable in managing their supply chains, both in taking advantage of future opportunities and avoiding potential future disruptions.”

IoT

The IoT is the network of physical objects that contain embedded technology to interact with their internal states or the external environment. “We are seeing more supply chain practitioners exploring the potential of IoT,” said Mr. Titze. “Areas that IoT might have a profound impact on are enhanced logistics management, improved customer service and improved supply availability.”

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

RPA tools operate by mapping a process in the tool language for the software “robot” to follow. They cut costs and eliminate keying errors. “We are seeing a significant reduction in process lead times RPA technology is used to automate the creation of purchase and sales orders or shipments, for instance,” said Mr. Titze. “RPA technology reduces human intervention and improves consistency across manual data sources within manufacturing.”

Autonomous Things

Autonomous things use AI to automate functions previously performed by humans, such as autonomous vehicles and drones. They exploit AI to deliver advanced behaviors that interact more naturally with their surroundings and with people.

“The rapid explosion in the number of connected, intelligent things has given this trend a huge push,” said Mr. Titze. “The once distant thought of reducing time for inventory checks by using drones’ cameras to take inventory images, for instance, is here.”

Digital Supply Chain Twin

A digital supply chain twin is a digital representation of the relationships between all physical entities of end-to-end supply chain processes — products, customers, markets, distribution centers/warehouses, plants, finance, attributes and weather. They are linked to their real-world counterparts and are used to understand the state of the thing or system in order to optimize operations and respond efficiently to changes.

“Digital supply chain twins are inevitable as the digital world and physical world continue to merge,” said Mr. Titze.

Immersive Experience

Immersive experiences such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and conversational systems are changing the way people interact with the digital world. “In supply chain, organizations might use AR along with quick response (QR) codes and mobile technology to speed up equipment changeovers in factories,” said Mr. Titze. “Immersive user experiences will enable digital business opportunities that have not yet been fully realized within global supply chains.”

Blockchain in Supply Chain

Although supply-chain-related blockchain initiatives are nascent, blockchain has potential to fulfill long-standing challenges presented across complex global supply chains. Current capabilities offered by blockchain solutions for supply chain include traceability, automation, and security.

“Organizations might use blockchain to track global shipments with tamper-evident labels, allowing a reduction in the time needed to send paperwork back and forth with port authorities and improved counterfeit identification,” said Mr. Titze.

Gartner clients can learn more in “The 2019 Top Supply Chain Technology Trends You Can’t Ignore,” which provides an outlook into other emerging trends that m

Softbank Eyes $2-3 Billion Investment in Relaince's Jio; Due Diligence is Currently Underway

Japan’s Softbank is reportedly looking to make a $2-3 billion investment in India’s fastest-growing telecom firm Reliance Jio as billionaire Mukesh Ambani looks to deleverage business by selling stakes.

This comes on the back of reports of Saudi giant Aramco in discussions to buy a 25% stake in Reliance Industries’ refining and petrochemical business for $10-15 billion.

“Softbank has long been seen as a potential investor in Jio,” JPMorgan said in a research report. “For the past 2 years, our conversations with investors have highlighted expectations of Softbank investing in Jio and hence the news flow is not surprising.”

It, however, remains to be seen how much money does Softbank actually put in, what the implied equity valuation is and if the e-commerce venture is included in the Jio entity.

It was reported that SoftBank’s Vision fund is currently undertaking due diligence to buy a stake in Jio Infocomm, which in September 2016 launched pure play fourth-generation or 4G technology-based telecom services and within a span of two years have become India’s third largest telecom company with highest monthly subscriber additions.

Both Reliance and SoftBank spokespersons declined to comment on the matter.

“In our view, for a meaningful de-leveraging, investors would likely want to see an equity inflow of more than $5 billion from a single investor or a combination of investors,” JPMorgan said valuing Jio at $50 billion.

It, however, put implied equity value at $25 billion. Reliance Retail was valued at an implied equity value of $35 billion.

“A potentially smaller equity sale, which although would establish a larger equity value of Jio, would not be seen as a meaningful positive, in our view,” it said. “We also need to see what the potential stake sale would involve. More importantly, from a stock price perspective, we believe the potential investment would have to be an equity investment in Jio and not in the proposed InviT as that would be a quasi-debt investment.”

As of now, Jio is the carriage and content vehicle, while Reliance Retail is the offline retailer. It remains to be seen where the eventual commerce would sit - Jio or Retail, and whether it would be part of any Jio equity stake.

“Overall, we maintain our view that while the earnings environment for the company is deteriorating with downside risks to refining and petchem (petrochemical), stock multiples would keep on moving higher on expectations of potentially large stake sales on higher than current implied equity values for the various businesses,” JPMorgan said.

In a separate report, HSBC Global Research said RIL’s consolidated adjusted net debt has declined to $33.2 billion in the Q4 FY19 that ended on March 31, from $42.7 billion in Q3.

Edureka Launches Tech Career Guide with Precise Learning Paths for In-Demand Technologies

Aimed at addressing the skill gap in the IT industry, Edureka, a global e-learning platform for trending technologies, today launched their Tech Career Guide 2019 - a one of its kind guide that provides  technology professionals with the precise learning paths for in-demand technologies namely, Machine Learning, Big Data, Cloud Computing, DevOps, Blockchain and Cybersecurity. This 360-degree career guide also touches upon industry outlook, job trends, salaries, and learning hours for these technologies in addition to sharing findings of a survey on the most sought-after technology job roles this year. With the Tech Career Guide, IT professionals who want to upskill will now have easy access to a one-stop solution to build their dream career path: https://www.edureka.co/career-guide.

Vineet Chaturvedi, Co-Founder, Edureka, said, “Today’s IT professionals are already aware of the importance of re-skilling in the fast-evolving industry. What they lack is structured and expertly-curated learning paths to the rewarding job roles which they aspire to land soon. We have observed that while preparing for such roles they often get misled by irrelevant information online or waste too much time finding their own way. We have launched the Edureka Tech Career Guide to fulfill this need and help IT professionals efficiently prep for the trending technology jobs where there exists a huge skill gap.”

The Edureka Tech Career Guide seeks to answer the most frequently asked questions around technology career paths, especially those for emerging technologies while providing credible information based on Edureka’s deep expertise in these technologies. It is the ultimate resource for technology professionals seeking answers on the most searched queries:

Which technical skills are worth learning?
Which job titles are the most rewarding & their industry outlook?
The exact career path to hot technology job roles, recommended learning hours & resources 

As per Web Master global data (2015-18), 34.4% searches have been on how to attain a job role (e.g. data scientist), 30.7% searches have been on specific technology categories, 19.8% on specific tech careers and 15.1% on what courses to take to bag such roles. It is evident from the above data that technology professionals know which technology they want to upskill in – they just don’t know how to go about it in an organized manner. This fact is also supplemented by the sheer number of similar queries received by Edureka on it’s blogs and YouTube channel daily. A dip-stick survey conducted by Edureka, as a foundation for the career guide, also showed the same findings. Only 13.8% of the surveyed technology professionals said they were skill-ready for their dream job, 16.5% of them said that they felt they were not skill-ready, and the remaining techies said they were still up-skilling, often in an unorganized way.

As more and more people search online on how they need to upskill and don’t get anywhere, there is a definite need for a resource that guides IT professionals through a step-by-step process on upskilling. The Edureka Tech Career Guide 2019 aims to offer all this and more to technology professionals who are unsure of the learning path to their dream career. It also gives the recommended learning roadmap to those who have already started their learning journey and provide course correction if needed.  Check out the Edureka 2019 Tech Career Guide here:  https://www.edureka.co/career-guide.

About Edureka:

Edureka is a global e-learning platform for live, instructor-led training in trending technologies. They offer short term courses supported by online resources, along with 24x7 lifetime support. Edureka has an unwavering commitment to help working professionals keep up with changing technologies. With an existing learner community in more than 100 countries, Edureka’s vision is to make learning easy, interesting, affordable and accessible to millions of learners across the globe. 

Bentley Systems Announces Drummond Community High School Team as Winners in First Future Infrastructure Challenge: DEC Hyperloop

Bentley Systems, the leading global provider of comprehensive software solutions for advancing the design, construction, and operations of infrastructure, announced Drummond Community High School of Edinburgh, Scotland as the winning team of the first ever Future Infrastructure Challenge: DEC Hyperloop, which took place April 7 through 9. Hosted by Bentley Institute and Class of Your Own, the challenge included sixth form students, ages 16 to 18, from four schools in the UK whose assignment was to conceptualise a design of a hyperloop transport system and stations for Singapore.

Students from participating schools, The Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School from Greenford, London; Drummond Community High School from Edinburgh, Scotland; King Ecgbert School from Sheffield, South Yorkshire; and More House School from Farnham, Surrey, travelled to Bentley Systems’ offices in London on April 7. They were tasked with creating the hyperloop concept and a presentation to convey their cohesive plan to a judging panel.

The overall winners of the challenge are students from Drummond Community High School, Faye Fulton, Ryan Gordon, Alizah Mughal, and Wiktor Rauba, led by DEC (design, engineering, construction) teacher, Mark Holden. The winning team members and their teacher were awarded a complimentary trip to Singapore from Bentley Systems to attend its annual Year in Infrastructure Conference, which will be held this year October 21 through 24 at the Marina Bay Sands Resort in Singapore.

The four participating schools were selected from 100 schools studying the Class of Your Own Design Engineer Construct! (DEC) learning programme, which is intended to educate students about and encourage exploration of careers in architecture, engineering, and construction.

In the spring of 2018, following meetings with students studying DEC at a higher or advanced level, the four schools were invited to enter teams to take part in the first Future Infrastructure Challenge to mark the 10th anniversary of Class of Your Own. Delivered in partnership with Bentley Systems, the programme will be released as a full curriculum for schools around the world later this year.

Mark Holden, teacher for the winning team, said, “Drummond High School is committed to nurturing big ambition in its students and equipping them for the world and workplace of tomorrow. The school became involved in the DEC curriculum after seeing its success – and the attributes of its students – from across England and recognising how closely this fit our own aims. We have enjoyed several years of unparalleled opportunities and great successes and are delighted that this has led to this collaboration with Bentley and COYO. The development of our team has been incredible to watch, but also the effect on the school community as a whole has been palpable. Knowing that students from our school are taking part in such a huge project, working with such esteemed professionals on this scale is a constant reminder to all of our students of what they can achieve.”

Over the two days prior to the presentation day, the students created their designs using laptops and software provided by Bentley Systems at the offices of four globally recognised companies: Arup, Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners, Turner Townsend, and WSP.

On April 9, the teams presented their concepts to a distinguished panel of judges:

Harj Dhaliwal – Managing Director Middle East & India, Virgin Hyperloop One

Chris Barron – Chief Communications Officer, Bentley Systems, M. Arch., Harvard Univ., board member of the Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure

Professor John Miles – Arup/Royal Academy of Engineering Chair Transitional Energy Strategies, University of Cambridge

Professor Cam Middleton – Laing O’Rourke Professor of Construction Engineering, University of Cambridge

Iain Blight – Director of Station and Building Engineering at HS2

Chris Preston – President of Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (ICES), Bentley’s Inaugural Professor at the National College for High Speed Rail

Sadie Morgan – Co-founder, dRMM Architects; board member National

Infrastructure Commission / Chair of Independent Design Panel for HS2

Andrew Tyley – Partner, Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners

Ian Stilgoe – Vice President Geopositioning Europe, Topcon Positioning Group

Harj Dhaliwal, managing director Middle East and India of Virgin Hyperloop One, said, “We can’t solve 21st century challenges with 19th century technology. As the first new mode of transportation in over 100 years, hyperloop is changing the narrative for mass transportation. It’s great to see the next generation of engineers and designers embracing this technology and the new type of thinking it requires. I have been overwhelmed by the approach to innovation and the out-of-the box thinking the young students have demonstrated. All of them are winners today.”

The teams’ concepts were judged according to feasibility and quality of design, social and economic impact, building efficiency, sustainability, originality, and quality of the presentation.

Chris Barron, chief communications officer for Bentley Systems, said, “It has been a pleasure hosting these talented students, seeing their hyperloop designs, and watching their excellent presentations. It was, in a word, inspiring, not only because of the depth of research they performed, and the thoughtfulness of their designs, but also because they demonstrated that the next generation of infrastructure professionals are ready to face the challenges of advancing our economy and sustaining our environment. Bentley is committed to supporting STEM learning programmes like Class of Your Own, which inspire and challenge students to think creatively about the future of infrastructure and to perhaps even pursue careers in infrastructure-related fields. We’re looking forward to hosting more events like this around the world.”