Cinépolis Honoured As 'Top 50 Innovators' Of The Year By Big Cio Show & Awards

Cinépolis, India's 1st international and the world's 2nd largest movie theatre circuit by attendance has been awarded as one of the 'Top 50 Innovators' of the year, by Big CIO Show & Awards. The 8th edition of the first-of-its-kind, Trescon CIO is widely labelled as India's most elite gathering of CIO's that recognize the technological innovations which make way for a better tomorrow. Given that Cinépolis is a technologically driven cinema circuit, this award stands as a milestone recognition to its popular association of pioneering revolutionary technologies.Big CIO Show & Awards invited CIOs from across industries to share disruptive technologies introduced by them, which have led to a significant upgrade or transformation in the enterprise, both regional and international. Tapping into the challenging technological climate in the cinema exhibition business, Cinépolis India's IT & Projection Head - Bipin Chaudhary's 'Courier and NOC' project captured him the position of 'Top 50 Innovators' of the year. The disruptive project 'Courier and NOC' is an online digital content transfer solution, developed and implemented by Cinepolis in-house. This introduction has helped the brand with substantial pilferage and revenue leakage stoppage, significant rise in B2B consumer satisfaction and massive upgrade on operational efficiency.

Bipin Chaudhary- Head IT & Projection, Cinépolis India said, 'Representing Cinepolis's technological excellence at the BIG CIO Show & Awards has been an absolute pleasure. We are pleased to present the revolutionary 'Courier and NOC 'project that has been developed in-house and has given phenomenal results. The implementation of this solution has resulted in as much as 40% saving on bandwidth and an improved uptime of as much as 99.99%, registering it as a significant technology introduction. We will continue to innovate to set new benchmarks in the cinema exhibition industry' 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.

Disney’s Princesses Take Over Day 2 of Bengaluru GAFX-2019

The second day of Bengaluru GAFX 2019 kickstarted with stimulating sessions on filmmaking and gaming at the Lalit Ashok. 

Avneet Kaur, Simulation Supervisor at Walt Disney Studios, took Disney fans into the world of asset creation of characters in her segment 'Bringing the Princesses to Life in Disney's Ralph Breaks The Internet'.

Avneet explained that for their 57th animated feature, ‘Ralph breaks the Internet,’ Disney brought a world never-thought of—the Internet. With the creation of a new world, Disney also revamped their 14 princesses.

She said, “The most exciting thing for us at Walt Disney Animation Studios was to recreate our older princesses, created in 2D to read the detail of the newer princesses— Moana and Elsa. We had 80+ animators, with hand-drawn mentor sketches and recreated pencil tests to ensure utmost precision with the characters.”

She also touched upon the details to script. “The script for the 14 princess frames was custom-made and the screenplay were inspired from their one-liners in their original films. Apart from basic research for the movie, the 14 princesses were given special attention to. We worked on extensive case studies and 2D animation references to get the modelling, look, rigging and simulation right.”

The audience got the opportunity to witness the magic behind the scenes as Avneet presented a number of video footage on layout tests, dress and hair tests, pencil sketch tests that were worked into the movie. 

The session drew-in the largest crowd that actively took part in the interaction that followed the session. 

Various other sessions

Developing Indian IP: Route Map

Speakers: Catherine Branscome of Branscome International and Angela Salt, CEO of Salt Content Limited

At the session, ‘Developing Indian IP: Route Map,’ Catherine Branscome, Executive Producer of Branscome International and Angela Salt, CEO of Salt Content Limited, with their experience on developing content for children and adults and films, set on to create a route map for Indian intellectual properties.

The duo discussed the process of creating content that could be helpful for the interested audience. The process, according to Salt and Branscome, involves developing the idea to researching about the idea, understanding the audience, specific age and demographic as well as the ‘sweet spot.’ It is also important to create a mood board and decide the format of the show and genre, they said. They introduced the audience to the business aspect of the process, that involves finance, market, formats and selling point among others. The duo also spoke at length about the conventional details that cannot be overlooked. They highlighted the importance of having pitch materials such as one sheet and pitch bible. The session was followed by Q&A with the audience.

Are you Game for Fame - Tips and Tricks on How to Avoid Shame & Blame in the World of Games
Speaker: Cindy Armstrong of Activision

Changes, opportunities and challenges in the gaming sector were addressed by Cindy Armstrong of Activision in ‘Are you Game for Fame.’

“Millennials are favouring independent creators over big companies. With this, we see a lot of innovation and small groups creating interesting things,” said Cindy. Based on her understanding of the segment she stated that tech, art, and animations have replaced engineering as the toughest positions to fill today.

Providing gaming enthusiasts and IP creators access into the industry, Armstrong said that it is imperative to think outside the box, to explore beyond derivative ideas, and think outside one’s comfort zone.

On what lies ahead for the gaming sector, Cindy said, “the future is filled with both opportunities and challenges. Opportunities such as geolocating combined with AR, Disturbed development and combining AR/VR with gaming applications to help build learning and education apps help expand our field. However technophiles with short attention spans pose as a challenge to the industry.”

What Inspires Us

Speaker: Suresh Eriyat of Eeksaurus

Suresh Eriyat, Indian animator, director and founder of animation studio Eeksaurus, addressed the students and professionals from animation industry on what inspires his studio as well as the animators at the session ‘What Inspires Us.’ Inspiration are taken from films and from the reality,

Our inspirations come from reality, he said. Narrating a number of situations and incidents including his own personal experiences, Eriyat explained it is important for the animators to be observing everything around us. This is also the inspiration behind the films made by his studios, Eriyat said.

World Leading Animation & Games Content - Showcase

Speaker: Owen Hurley, VP - Creative at Technicolor Animation and Games, LA

In his showcase on ‘World leading animation and games content’, Owen Hurley, the VP- Creative at Technicolor, introduced to the crowd the projects that are completed and in-the-making at Technicolor Animation and Games.

During his talk, he spoke about his close connect with India, especially Bangalore. Hurley, who has been working with Indian animators and technicians on various projects, felt that there is a need to reiterate that India is going to be a key player in Technicolour story and the industry. “We started with a workforce of 400 here in India, today we are close to one an a half thousand people working together. It sort of makes me feel like I live in a virtual world because of this rapid growth,” he said.

He also brought to the forefront, initiatives that Technicolor is heading in India. Campus connect with student and faculty visits, lectures and workshops, training, inputs on curriculum along with a 3-month finishing school for select students.

The evening sessions took off with ‘The Making of KGF- Chapter 1: Presentation and Panel; along with Q&A’. Udayaravi Hegde, Managing Director and Praveen Damodaran, VFX Supervisor of Unifi Media (that worked on the movie) spoke to VFX, film-making and art-design enthusiasts. They interested the crowd with different set designs and elements created as part of KGF Chapter 1.

The day also witnessed sessions on ‘Film Making Changed Forever - Genesis - Virtual Production’ by Matthew Plec of Technicolor's MPC Film. ‘Putting the 'Action' in Live-Action’ by Prasad Sutar of NY VFXWaala, ‘The Making of Sir Ridley Scott's Seven Worlds’ by Santosh Gunasheelan, 3D Supervisor at MPC Advertising, New York. ‘Showcasing India - The Journey,’ which was moderated by Anil Wanvari and Munjal Shroff of Graphiti Multimedia and had renowned stalwarts of the industry Indranarayanan from Toonz Animation, Ronak Sanghadia of redchillies.vfx, Milind Shinde from 88 Pictures and Manoj Mishra from DQ, ‘Ubisoft - Global Games IP, India’ by Sashi Menon, Production Director of Ubisoft and ‘Siggraph 2018 Showcase,’ which was presented by Siva Kumar Kasetty.

The day ended with the screening of Krish Trish and Baltiboy, made by A Film by Graphiti Multimedia.

Bengaluru GAFX will conclude on Sunday, 23 June 2019.

Indian Overseas Bank Celebrates International Yoga Day

Indian Overseas Bank one of the leading public sector banks in the country celebrated International Yoga Day across its branches. On this occasion our zonal office in Bangalore also celebrated the event.

R Subramaniakumar, MD & CEO, Indian Overseas Bank said, “Yoga is an age-old practice that boosts the physical, mental, and spiritual health. It is a holistic approach to good health and well-being. People should realize that nothing could replace good health in this stressful life. Bank employees don’t have much time to spend on gym or attend fitness classes, so I urge everyone to practice yoga at least for a minimum of 15 minutes in a day to lead a disease free life.”

Yoga Enthusiasts Attended Free Yoga Sessions at the cult.fit and mind.fit on International Yoga Day

cure.fit, India’s leading integrated healthcare platform witnessed an impressive response from Yoga enthusiasts on the occasion of International Yoga, celebrated globally today. A large number of yoga enthusiasts thronged the cult.fit and mind.fit centres across cities by participating in the free yoga sessions mentored by cult.fit & mind.fit trainers.

With 180 cult.fit and 35 mind.fit centres present across Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur and recently launched in Dubai; cult.fit offered a 50minute session that was curated by their Yoga experts which included a mix of meditation, introduction and basics of Yoga, Suryanamaskaras etc.

At cure.fit, we aim to make group workout fun, daily food healthy & tasty, mental fitness easy with yoga & meditation and medical & lifestyle care hassle –free.  

Castrol India Sows Seeds of Good Health for Farmers with Castrol Khet Aasana

Castrol India Limited, the leading automotive and industrial lubricant manufacturing company in the country, today announced its health outreach programme for the food providers of the nation – the farming community. This campaign will extend specially curated yoga aasanas Castrol CRB Plus Khet Aasana to farmers to help reduce health adversities they face caused by their stressful and laborious schedules.

The results of a detailed independent research, covering over 700 farmers across five regions in India, commissioned by Castrol India this year threw up some startling results.  The study, which attempted to assess health issues faced by farmers as a linkage to the nature of their job and working conditions revealed that physical stress is a concern among farmers currently. 68% farmers reported that they suffer from musculoskeletal problems while digestive issues were reported by over 51% farmers, respiratory problems were raised by over 31% farmers, and another 30% reported suffering from diabetes. In addition to this, the study also found that over 50% farmers face stress and other relative diseases such as hypertension, anxiety and depression. Farmers also subscribed to the myth that farm work is healthy employment, due to which over 65% of them were not undertaking any physical activity to manage their health.

Kedar Apte, Vice President - Marketing, Castrol India Limited said, “Farmers are an important community in India and need to be acknowledged for their tireless efforts to provide the nation with nutritious produce. This, in turn, fuels a healthy population and keeps India moving. Unfortunately, their own health remains out of their consideration. Through Castrol Khet Aasana, we at Castrol India are committed to empower farmers with yoga aasanas to help avoid and reduce unhealthy nuances of their work, enabling them to lead healthier lives. Castrol Khet Aasana is a reiteration of Castrol India’s purpose-driven approach and commitment to care for and contribute to the well-being of our consumers.”

Commenting on the launch of the Castrol Khet Aasana, which took place at Azadpur Mandi, New Delhi today, Hon’ble Union Minister of the State - Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Parshottam Rupala, said, “Keeping in mind the agricultural business and farmers, creating yoga aasanas on the basis of their needs is a good effort in supporting the agricultural sector at large. Our country thrives on agriculture, so I would like to thank Castrol and congratulate them on initiating an activity that helps keep our farmers healthy.”

Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) Shripad Naik said, “We must give more importance to the physical and mental health of farmers and these Yoga Aasanas can help relieve them of stress.”

The research study designed and executed by The Yoga Institute, Mumbai also established that over 70% of farmers showed keenness to learn and embrace yoga as a part of their lifestyle. Keeping their hectic daily routine in mind, 16 Khet Aasanas have been designed to be practised during the day. These aasana sequences have been devised and named to ensure they are relatable to farmers and being byte-sized ensure time investment is minimal. 

Building on the positive impact delivered by Castrol CRB Truck Aasana on over two lakh truckers nationwide, Castrol India plans to conduct Khet Aasana across 2,000 Indian villages with an aim to benefit over 120,000 farmers before end of 2019.

Enterprises Need to Adapt Tech Strategy to Address Increasingly Complex Business Environment: Mindtree Tech Beacon 2019

Mindtree, a global technology services and digital transformation company, has published the fifth annual edition of Tech Beacon, an annual report from Mindtree to offer technology guidance for enterprises.

Tech Beacon identifies a need for organizations to adapt their IT architecture to address evolving business challenges. It also recommends the most important emerging technologies and tools for enterprises to invest in, experiment with or watch for future application (Invest, Experiment and Watch) based on the maturity & production readiness

“Today, with aggressive digital disruption proliferating, the global business environment is transforming faster than ever. It is therefore important for enterprises to better understand how emerging technologies offer a compelling value proposition to keep pace with this dynamic reality,” said Madhusudhan KM, Chief Technology Officer, Mindtree. “Tech Beacon offers technology guidance to enterprises based on the industry requirement, changing business dynamics, and anticipated technology evolution.”

Here are some key recommendations from Tech Beacon:

Systems interacting with systems

·         The challenge behind scalability in micro-services can be addressed with Distributed Architecture and Service Mesh due to its consistent discovery, security, tracing, monitoring and failure handling service.

·         Reactive Autonomic Architecture should be at the top of chief technology officers’ priority list as it simplifies and improves the end user experience by predicting their needs in a complex, dynamic and uncertain business environment and avoids system failure in unplanned situations.

Turning Information into Insights

·         The role of Machine Learning is limited in the data harvesting process. Organizations use humans for manual tasks like data cleanup, outlier removal, etc. There is a need for integrating exploratory data analysis tasks as part of a processing pipeline.

·         Organizations should utilize Lambda and Kappa data processing techniques to generate useful insights from available data. Lambda offers a consistent pattern and a real-time view into the generated insight, storing the data and then generating the insight in the batch layer. Kappa is the next iteration in this evolution, generating insights as the data arrives within its ‘streaming layer.’

Interaction with Humans

·         Organizations are increasingly using conversational systems as a channel to enable machines to interact with humans. These systems offer Natural Language Processing (NLP) and integration capabilities in the IT environment, in addition to mobile and web. Organizations should use libraries like Rasa, Wit.ai, and Microsoft's LUIS, which provide core language processing capabilities and enable “human-like” conversations with existing systems.

·         Enterprises need a renewed architecture to deliver cognitive experiences to their customers, enabling systems to interact with users seamlessly. To enable these cognitive experiences, enterprises should explore computer vision capabilities and tasks such as recognizing objects and characters, combining/matching/analyzing images or video with product details, and even superimposing objects with three dimensional images on to live video. This enables machines to extract data from and understand the content of digital images and video.

·         CTOs, while adopting machine learning and AI in their processes, should also carefully draw in boundaries of interaction and responsibility between humans and machines. Human intervention is often a better solution than one that’s fully automated, where machines have too much control.

Tech Beacon 2019 has put its focus on seven technology categories that will drive enterprises’ technology strategy in the next 12 months: Application Development, Cloud computing, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Conversational apps, Blockchain and eXtended Reality (XR).

It also highlights technologies & tools for these seven focus areas with a recommendation to Invest, Experiment or Watch, based on their maturity and potential to drive business value.

MAHE Top Private Indian University in QS World Rankings

Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) emerged as the top ranked private university in India according to the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking 2020 released on Wednesday.  In the 16th edition of the rankings, Manipal figures in the 701-750 band, up from 750-800 last year, among the 1620 considered universities and 1000 published universities from 82 countries.  MAHE’s performance was among the top 66 per cent in the Rankings this time.

For the 2020 Rankings, QS has analyzed over 93 million citations from more than 13 million papers, 45,000 survey responses from employers and 94,000 survey responses from academics before evaluating 1000 Universities.

Universities are evaluated on six performance indicators: Academic reputation, Employer reputation, Student-to-faculty ratio, Citations per faculty, International faculty ratio and international student ratio. Four of the indicators are based on ‘hard’ data, and the remaining two are based on major global surveys – one of academics and another of employers – each the largest of their kind.

In the subject-wise QS World University Ranking announced earlier this year, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences was ranked in the 201-250 range in the   Pharmacy and Pharmacology discipline. Kasturba Medical College, Manipal was ranked in the 351-400 range in Medicine, an improvement of 50 ranks from the previous year’s rankings.

Commenting on the rankings this year in general and the QS World Rankings in particular, MAHE Vice Chancellor, Dr H. Vinod Bhat said, “We have been working hard on every performance indicator and the results have started showing. We hope to improve our position in the world rankings in the coming years, and of course do better in the Indian surveys”.

In the NIRF national rankings, MAHE was placed at No. 9 and recognized as one of the top 10 Universities in India. A number of other ranking agencies in India, have in their 2019 surveys, found MAHE to be the best private university in the country. THE WEEK for instance, has for the fifth consecutive time ranked Manipal as the best private university in the country and Education World has ranked MAHE top private university for the fourth successive time.

Rivigo Launches National Freight Index to Bring Transparency to the Road Freight Marketplace

In a bid to transform the logistics sector in India, Rivigo, a technology-enabled logistics company, launched the National Freight Index (NFI) today. With this, Rivigo aims to bring transparency to the previously opaque industry. This first-of-its-kind barometer of the road freight market in India is based on a Rivigo rate exchange, which gives a live spot rate on over 7 million lane and vehicle type combinations in the country.

NFI offers an aggregated picture of both live rates and historical trends of spot price movements in the road freight industry. The index is represented in two main forms: In terms of actual freight rates condensed to INR per ton-km and in terms of relative movement with respect to a base month.

Commenting on the launch, Gazal Kalra, Co-Founder, Rivigo, said, “We are excited to announce the successful launch of the National Freight Index. In the existing logistics market structure, there are high inefficiencies due to information asymmetry, which leads to a great loss of value. NFI will enable unrestricted access and sharing of freight rate information. This will bring transparency in the market and propel the logistics sector towards efficiencies and growth.”

Both the index and the exchange are based on Rivigo’s machine learning and economics powered pricing algorithms, which are continuously improving on accuracy. The rates on the exchange and index are computed using millions of data points from historical transactions, current market dynamics, micro market insights and other factors - with the ultimate purpose of giving a fair and precise representation of the state of the spot market in the country.

The Indian road freight market for 2018 is estimated to be in the range of USD 150-160 billion. About USD 130-140 billion of this is the Full Truck Load (FTL) market. Within this, Rivigo estimates that the spot freight market is about USD 110-130 billion and is growing at 9%-10% per year. Efficiency of the spot freight marketplace will determine how this growth is compounded and National Freight Index will empower all stakeholders to realize its full potential.

QuEST Global Acquires Dakota Moon to Solve Complex Engineering Problems in SCM

QuEST Global, a global product engineering and lifecycle services company, acquired Dakota Moon Enterprises LLC, a Nevada based engineering and supply chain services provider to the aerospace industry. The acquisition will enhance capabilities of QuEST Global in providing comprehensive supply chain solutions to OEMs and Tier1 suppliers in engineering essential industries like Aerospace & Defense, Transportation (Automotive and Rail), Power and Industrial, and Oil & Gas. With this acquisition, QuEST Global believes that it will be able to improve the operational efficiency of its customers, which in turn will help them solve the complex challenges faced in terms of supply chain delivery, cost and quality of products.

Founded in 1992 by Jerry Kelso and Mary Beth Bonkowski, Dakota Moon Enterprises is headquartered in Henderson, Nevada, USA. Over the years, the company has built a strong reputation under the leadership of Mary Beth, Jerry Kelso and Jim McQueeney, who joined Dakota Moon in 2016 as its President, by providing supply chain management solutions to leaders in the aerospace industry. Their services and solutions include supplier recovery management, supplier development management, procurement management, program management and staffing support.

Dakota Moon brings more than two decades of experience in managing the manufacturing industry’s delivery performance and an extensive network of engineers with strong supply chain fundamentals. It believes that the existence of long-term and deep-working relationships with its customers and its ability to dive deeply into the manufacturing issues of suppliers have ensured faster delivery and improved product quality for their customers.

Mary Beth Bonkowski, CEO and Founding Partner, Dakota Moon said, “We are excited about the acquisition of Dakota Moon by QuEST Global. The combination of both companies brings great opportunities for our customers and employees. Our capabilities in providing customized supply chain solutions and QuEST Global’s solid foundation in providing supply chain services and expertise in convergence of mechanical, electronics, software and digital engineering innovations, will help us to deliver world class supply chain solutions to customers across diverse industries. We are confident that by leveraging the deep relationships of both companies with customers and quick turnaround time, we will be able to add unmatched value for our customers.”

Ajit Prabhu, Chairman & CEO, QuEST Global said, “We are constantly looking for outstanding talent and capability to provide innovative services and solutions to our customers. The inclusion of Dakota Moon into QuEST Global will enable us to provide comprehensive engineering and supply chain solutions to our customers. We strongly believe that the investments we are making to enhance our engineering capabilities, use of digital technologies and enterprise software solutions will help our customers solve complex engineering challenges in their respective industries. As a trusted thinking partner to our customers, we are committed to provide end-to-end engineering solutions that will help redefine their engineering strategy from a long-term perspective.”

OEMs and Tier1 suppliers are facing severe pressures to ramp up production as they need to continuously improve supply chain and operational excellence. With the added capabilities of Dakota Moon, QuEST Global believes it will be able to take the pressure off its customers through supplier management solutions like supplier development, supplier recovery management, capability and capacity analysis, BoM analysis, should cost analysis and value engineering.

Town of Florence and Subex Establish IoT Security Lab in Collaboration

Subex, a leading Internet of Things (IoT) and critical infrastructure security solutions provider, has announced a partnership with the Town of Florence, Arizona to establish an IoT security lab in Florence. The lab is an extension of the ongoing work that Subex is undertaking in securing the critical public infrastructure of the Town of Florence.

The lab will serve to raise awareness on cybersecurity issues for citizens of Florence, lawmakers, businesses and other stakeholders. The lab is comprised of physical and virtual devices, connected networks and systems, and subsystems that raise awareness of various aspects of cybersecurity. It will also enable decision makers, students and city officials to get first-hand experience in these matters and help them use that learning and awareness to promote cybersecurity. The lab will evolve to reflect changes in the threat environment, security practices and strategies, device architecture and network changes and more to stay relevant to all stakeholders.           

Through an earlier agreement, Subex is already providing end-to-end cybersecurity to the Town of Florence to detect, repel and remediate advanced threats to its most basic and vital technological systems. When Florence deploys its smart cities technologies, Subex will continue to be the cybersecurity partner of choice for all projects coming under the plan.

The lab was inaugurated by leaders and officials from Florence and Subex at a Cybersecurity symposium organized in Florence today.

Commenting on the inauguration, Brent Billingsley, Town Manager of Florence, Arizona, said that “We expect the lab will be a huge success with the young people of our community. Students can extend their learning outside of the classroom, by getting a hands-on experience with the basics of computing and coding. The lab will also provide them with an understanding of how smart sensors can improve and enhance their lives. They will get to learn all of these things, within the existing framework of cybersecurity, which is so critical to the success of this type of operation.”

“I am confident that this lab will prove to be immensely useful in raising awareness on cybersecurity across Arizona. In a world where the security environment continues to be threatened by the emergence of new threats in various forms, it is essential for all stakeholders to maintain the highest levels of situational and operational awareness.  This lab is a significant step in that direction,” said Vinod Kumar, Managing Director and CEO, Subex. 

Bengaluru First Indian City to Feature in Top-Ten Destinations for Cross-Border Investors Across APAC in 2019

CBRE South Asia Pvt. Ltd, India’s leading real estate consulting firm’s Asia Pacific Investor Intensions Survey 2019 findings revealed that Bengaluru – the capital city of Karnataka- for the first time has featured in the list of top ten destinations for cross-border investment across Asia Pacific. The survey revealed that India was among the top five preferred markets in APAC on the back of the launch of the first REIT (Embassy-Blackstone) and the resulting improved market transparency. The drivers for this trend were new infrastructure and potential growth opportunities in the market.

The first REIT by Embassy Group and Blackstone Group LP was launched in India in March this year and it is expected to catalyse investments in the country. Improved investor sentiment in office assets is likely to expose potential quality buildings as a fundraising avenue for developers and also propel major corporations to lease / purchase space in these developments.

Commenting on the findings of the survey Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO, India, South East Asia, Middle East and Africa, CBRE said, “Bengaluru featured as the first Indian city in the list of preferred investment destination on the basis of its growing reputation across the globe as the home base to several international corporates. The city with a significant talent base and world-class infrastructure is also popular for offering several investment grade options in office, retail as well as residential segments.”

On the overall positioning of the Indian real estate market in APAC, he added, “A stronger interest in office properties followed by industrial & logistics, multifamily, hotels and retail were the preferred sectors of investment in APAC. There is significant scope for investment in India and the rising consumption and growing demand in the logistics sector, particularly, will continue to stimulate investors to seek opportunities in this market.”

Other key findings of the survey:

-      In almost all the geographies across APAC, the lack of investible stock for sale remains a major challenge for investors. The acquisition of numerous institutional-grade properties by long term buyers in recent years has constrained the availability of assets in developed markets, particularly Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.
-      Despite the risk factors at the forefront of investors’ concerns, buyers continue to seek higher returns and are focused on value-added and opportunistic deals in the emerging markets such as India. This rising interest has propelled Bengaluru into the top ten destinations for cross-border investors for the first time since the survey began in 2014.
-      More investors in APAC are considering lending against assets rather than taking equity
-      positions as loan to value ratios tighten and banks adopt a more conservative attitude towards real estate financing. Other niche sectors attracting investor interest in APAC include retirement living, supported by ageing populations in Asia; data centres, driven by the increasing use of cloud computing; and healthcare, underpinned by demographic change and the emerging focus on wellness.

Some key facts about Bengaluru:

Bengaluru is considered as one of the fastest growing cities in India with the presence of important players from the areas of information technology, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and other sectors. In the past two decades, it has transformed from being a ‘Pensioners’ Paradise’ to India’s ‘Silicon Valley’ and has become the hub of research and innovation.
·         Known as one of the key investment destinations in the country, Karnataka’s Ease of Doing Business ranking was eighth across India in 2017, ahead of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
·         On the Social Progress Index 2017, Karnataka ranked second after Delhi.
·         While Karnataka is the leading state in the machine tools industry, Bengaluru alone produced 60% of machine tools (in terms of value) in the country in 2018.
·         Bengaluru was ranked first on the 'Best place to live and work' list by Mercer in 2018.
·         In 2017-18, the total real estate investment in Bengaluru was almost USD 800 million, this investment more than doubled annually in 2018-19. Commercial assets were a prominent choice for investors.
·         Bengaluru ranked second on the Global Startup Ecosystem Growth Index by 'Compass' Infrastructure in 2018.

ClearTax Launches ‘Quick GSTR-9’ Product for Speedy GSTR-9 Filing

Bangalore based Financial-Technology platform ClearTax, has announced a ‘Quick GSTR-9’ product for GSTR-9 compliance. This product is tailored for less complex businesses to help them finish filing in under 10 minutes. It can populate GSTR-9 return form using the GST portal’s auto-computed GSTR-9 summary and the data from GSTR-3B filed by the business; resulting in a 5x productivity improvement as compared to the portal itself.

Tax consultants usually have more than 50 businesses for which they need to prepare and file GSTR-9. GSTR-9 is a complex return form, and tax consultants are struggling to put together the information required for their clients. Since the deadline for GSTR-9 is fast approaching, businesses and tax practitioners are pressed for time to finalize their GST returns. They need to focus on current financial year compliance as well. Simpler businesses have fewer transactions and their filing should be simple and less complex. To help consultants file GSTR-9 quickly and leaving more room for compliance for complex businesses, ClearTax has launched a new ‘Quick GSTR-9’ product in its GSTR-9 module. This product ensures ITC is claimed as per GSTR-3B, by doing a critical comparison between GSTR-9 auto computed values (based on GSTR-1) and GSTR-3B.

‘Quick GSTR-9’ will fill more tables in GSTR-9 form than what the portal can do and it also has a checklist that can be used to do a fast review. It can be used for filing for businesses that belong to the service sector and have fewer complexities; have exempted supply or purchase, have no difference in GSTR-1 & GSTR-3B or those who have only a few transactions, are new businesses or are required to file nil returns.

ClearTax is also offering its other intelligent features in the ‘Quick GSTR-9’ product. It has a specifically tailored reduced version of ClearTax’s 5-point checklist to help a faster review for a CA. Besides, users can switch to full scale mode at any point in filing process. Full scale mode enables ClearTax’s 19 point checklist for validating GSTR-9 filing, detailed Excel tool download with data of GSTR-1 & 2A reconciled for FY17-18, monthly comparison of both GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B returns with financial statements, and more.

Speaking at the launch Archit Gupta, Founder and CEO, ClearTax, said “ We saw how pained CAs were with GSTR-9 filings. The launch of ‘Quick GSTR-9’ was the outcome of our interactions and deep work with CAs and tax consultants, who expressed the desire to have a fast and easy product for filing of businesses which were not complex. They wanted that the results should also be quickly verified. Our checklist helps in making sure data prepared is accurate. It is helping CAs manage their time and resources better. This super easy and quick filing makes ClearTax’s ‘Quick GSTR-9’, the best possible way to file GSTR-9 for simple businesses.”

Airtel Gives Lakshadweep its First 4G Network Across India

Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), India’s leading telecommunications services provider, announced the launch of its 4G services in the pristine Lakshadweep Islands. Airtel is the first mobile operator to launch high speed data services on the tropical archipelago, which is now connected to the digital superhighway.

Airtel’s 4G services will enable local residents to enjoy digital services like HD quality video streaming, superfast downloads and uploads, high speeds internet browsing on Airtel’s state-of-the-art 4G network. It will also give a major boost to the local economy. Lakshadweep is also a popular tourist destination and visitors will also be able access seamless mobile broadband connectivity over the Airtel 4G network. Starting today, Airtel 4G is LIVE across Agatti, Bangaram and Kavaratti to begin with and will be gradually expanded to other islands of the archipelago

With today’s launch Airtel’s high speed 4G network covers the length and breadth of India. From Andaman & Nocobar to Lakshadweep and Leh/Ladhakh to Kanyakumari, it is serving customers with world-class mobile broadband services and contributing to the Government’s Digital India vision. Airtel has also taken the lead in expanding its high speed networks to the remotest corners of the North East and empower citizens in the region.

Commenting on the launch Smt. Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary – Department of Telecom, Government of India said: “I would like to congratulate Bharti Airtel on the launch of 4G services in Lakshadweep. This is yet another milestone towards building a digitally enabled India and empowering every Indian through access to digital services. The Government remains fully committed to supporting the telecom industry in their endeavor.”   
             
Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel said, “We are truly proud to become the first operator to launch 4G services in Lakshadweep and put the last remaining remote territory on the digital superhighway. Airtel 4G now reaches the farthest corners of India and empowers customers by connecting them to the world of digital services. Mobile broadband is also an important economic enabler, and Airtel 4G will also add to Lakshadweep’s growth, connecting customers and businesses. We remain fully committed to building a Digital India and invite everyone to experience Airtel 4G, which has been consistently rated as the fastest network by multiple platforms.”

Airtel 4G services will be available in Lakshadweep to begin with and will be gradually expanded to other parts of the islands. Customers can upgrade to 4G SIM for free and choose from a range of exciting Prepaid and Postpaid plans that come with premium bundled content like Netflix, Amazon, ZEE5 and access to Airtel TV and Wynk Music. Airtel 4G will be available to customers across a range of smart devices including mobile phones, dongles and 4G hotspots.

Airtel was the first private service provider to introduce mobile services in Lakshadweep in April 2008. The 4G rollout is part of Project Leap – Airtel’s nationwide network transformation program.

CSS Corp Wins the Incite Customer Service Awards 2019

CSS Corp, a new age IT services and technology support company announced today that they have won the “Solution Provider of the Year: People’s Choice” award at the recently concluded Incite Customer Service Awards 2019 event. The award ceremony was part of The Customer Service Summit West 2019 event in San Diego, organised by the Incite group. CSS Corp’s Cognitive Customer Experience (CX) portfolio was chosen as the best solution of the year from amongst other leading IT players.

CSS Corp’s Cognitive Customer Experience (CX) portfolio has been built to help brands drive superior customer lifecycle management powered by artificial intelligence and advanced analytics capabilities. The portfolio integrates technologies like chatbots, automation, consumer insights, knowledge management, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and mobile applications through an outcome-based service model to deliver enhanced customer experiences. In a business outcome context, it also enables new revenue opportunities for organizations by leveraging advanced applied analytics to map a customer’s journey, personalize interactions and enable purchase decisions.

Speaking about the win, Manish Tandon, Chief Executive Officer, CSS Corp said, “We are delighted to be recognized by the Incite group for our unique service model that delivers stellar customer experiences. It is a testimony to our underlying philosophy that customers are at the centre of the business ecosystem. Through our cognitive CX portfolio, we are committed to offer disruptive customer service solutions that enhance engagement and exceed expectations. We will continue to invest in developing solutions that enable our customers to dynamically react to the ever-changing customer intent and proactively resolve their challenges”.

The Incite Customer Service Awards unite leading minds at the forefront of customer service and aim to shine a spotlight on the achievements of those who are truly exceeding customer expectations. This year, companies of all sizes from around the world and across industries were part of the evaluation. Entries for each category were evaluated by a panel of judges who shortlisted 8 finalists based on relevant criteria. The People’s Choice Awards results were based upon an evaluation of maximum votes garnered from people who voted from the shortlisted finalists.

Brickwork Finance Academy Announced Eighth Banking and Financial Analyst Certification Program

Brickwork Finance Academy held the seventh convocation of its Banking and Financial Analyst program for the graduating Class of 2019 on Saturday, June 15, 2019 at the Academy’s campus on Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru. The Class of 2020 was also inaugurated on this occasion.

The convocation featured speakers with deep expertise and rich experience in the finance domain. The speakers included Mr. ISN Prasad, IAS, Addl. Chief Secretary, Finance Dept., Government of Karnataka,    Dr. Emandi Sankara Rao, MD & CEO, IFCI Limited, Mr. Raja Kumar IRS, Founder & CEO, Ascent Capital Advisors, Prof. KRS Murthy, Advisor, Brickwork Finance Academy and former Director of IIMB, Mr. Vivek Kulkarni, IAS (Retd), President of Brickwork Finance Academy and         Mr. D Ravishankar, Founder Director of Brickwork Ratings.

Welcoming the gathering, Mr. Vivek Kulkarni, gave an overview of the Academy’s activities - a non-profit organization intending to develop leaders with a deep understanding of finance. He said, “The Academy has completed seven successful years of the certification program and has stepped into the eighth year. The professional value of the program has helped attract students and professionals from reputed backgrounds. Only 5% of the applicants secured admission into the program this year.  Many students have joined reputed organizations after graduating from here”

Delivering the Inaugural Address, Prof. KRS Murthy, widely respected as a doyen of academia, highlighted the implications of the current turbulence in the financial sector for rating agencies. He emphasized the need for developing intelligence backed by facts that could promote a high order intellect and foster wisdom in decision making. The Banking and Financial Analyst program is a focused way to fulfill the needs of aspiring finance professionals. Over the years, this program has developed concise and precise materials focused on emerging requirements. It has developed a tested methodology to provide working executives and young analysts the essentials of the art of finance and practical application through case studies in credit and equity markets.

In his Keynote Address, Mr. Raja Kumar IRS, quoting from his vast accomplished exposure, cautioned the young minds of the surprises that might humble the confidence level, despite the decorated qualifications that one might possess.  He said that only a small percentage of highly accredited fund managers have been successful notwithstanding the wherewithal knowledge level.  He made a passionate appeal highlighting importance of fact based approach to life that would keep at good stead, come what may.  Drawing analogy from the medical profession, he highlighted the importance of data integrity for Rating decisions just as the diagnosis reports helps the doctors to give the right prescription.

Delivering the Convocation Address, Dr. Emandi Sankara Rao, gave an incisive account of the Dynamic and competitive trends in the financial markets. He said, "Integrated risk focused processes & policies to be adopted with great emphasis on analytical simulations, develop dynamic and flexible corporate planning in line with the market conditions, and prevailing policies & regulations, constant innovation and planned execution are the keys to navigating the current turbulence with a success. Young finance graduates should master ways to effectively use technology and AI to simulate meaningful business and risk scenarios and generate insights that support sound, informed decisions."

Mr. ISN Prasad IAS, in his Presidential Address, drew attention to the sensitive role played by Rating Agencies that has far reaching impact on the economy and investors. He made a passionate appeal to the young budding Analysts, to uphold utmost integrity and work ethics and to be honest to themselves as well as with others.

According to Mr. D Ravishankar, “The Banking and Financial Analyst program focuses on Credit, Investment and Risk Management and other areas of finance for building domain knowledge in the practical aspects that are required for a financial analyst. The pass outs helps students to take up a career in the financial services industry, such as Banks, Mutual Funds, Investment Banks, Insurance companies and other financial intermediaries".

Mr. Saurabh Agarwal, the topper of the Class of 2019, formerly Senior Manager & Branch Head with Federal Bank said, ”I resigned from my previous organization, where I was working on SME credit proposals, to join the Banking and Financial Analyst program of Brickwork Finance Academy. This program provided me exposure to nuances of Corporate Finance, Derivatives, Public Finance, Risk Management and Economics. After getting through the rigorous yet fruitful year long program, I now feel confident of working on large corporate proposals and can efficiently relate myself to the ever growing and fast changing world of Finance.”

Student Profile

The Class of 2019 comprised of, primarily Postgraduates - CA, CFA, MBA, etc. from reputed B-Schools such as XLRI Jamshedpur, IIM Kozhikode, NIT – Suratkal, Symbiosis–Pune and SP Jain (Dubai).  About 78% of the candidates are MBAs/Post Graduates, 18% have passed various levels of CA, CFA-US and the remaining 5% are undergraduates. These students are from reputed organizations such as Bank of Baroda, Federal Bank, HDFC Bank, Wipro, Emirates National Bank, Barclays etc.

The current Class of 2020 also has enrolments of experienced finance professionals from reputed organizations such as State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Federal Bank, ICICI, S&P etc. The student community comprised of CAs, CFA-US and MBAs from top B-Schools such as Xavier Institute, NMIMS, Christ University, Manipal Institute Great Lakes, and University of Bath, UK - 67% are MBAs, 30% are CA/CFA–US and 3% are undergraduates.

Nutanix Appoints AWS Veteran Anantharaman Balakrishnan to India Leader Role

Enterprise Cloud OS leader, Nutanix has confirmed the appointment of veteran IT leader Balakrishnan Anantharaman as its new Vice President and Managing Director of Sales for India. The announcement is a clear signal of intent from the enterprise cloud OS leader and reaffirms its continued commitment to the country and increasing focus on India’s top tier enterprises.

With more than 25 years of IT industry management experience, Balakrishnan is suitably placed to help drive the enterprise cloud OS leader’s growth and ambitions in India and his appointment reaffirms Nutanix’s leadership credentials in the county.

His knowledge and insight of the market, enterprise landscape and personalities, as well as a track record for rapidly growing business make him ideally placed to redefine Nutanix’s business in India and drive the enterprise cloud leader’s efforts as it expands its focus to India’s larger enterprises.

Before joining Nutanix, Anantharaman was Head of Amazon Web Services’ Financial Services and Manufacturing Verticals for the Large Enterprise Business in India where he built the India Go to Market segment and helped grow the business significantly during his tenure. Prior to that, he spent 8 years at Dell EMC in a variety of senior sales and leadership roles before finally becoming Senior Director, Global Services Lead.

“We are all delighted to have Bala add his focus, structure and direction to our cutting-edge solutions here in India.” said Neville Vincent, VP, South Asia Pacific at Nutanix. “We took the decision early on to wait for the right calibre of candidate, but the wait has been worth it. The team, our customers and our partners are all relishing the opportunities ahead and have already communicated their immense satisfaction with our choice of leader.”

Speaking on his appointment, Balakrishnan said: “I am delighted to be joining Nutanix at such an exciting time for the company and the industry. When you have built a career on generating growth and then get asked to take a rapidly growing industry leader to an even higher level – you don’t need to stop to think. You jump on board. The battle lines are being drawn as public and private clouds converge. True success will lie with the companies that can drive innovation and value for their customers. On that scale – Nutanix is unmatched.”

Balakrishnan’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for India’s cloud sector. As Digital India continues apace, hyperconverged infrastructure and hybrid cloud are seen as key to keeping the country’s enterprises relevant and competitive in a digital era. So much so that even incumbent public cloud providers are embracing hybrid as a key component of their offering. This knowledge of public and hybrid environments should also provide a unique perspective and advantage as Balakrishnan sets about expanding the Nutanix India Business.

The appointment follows increased investment in its India business by Nutanix including an expansion of its engineering and support operations.

Tata Motors Strengthens Brand Tigor with Automatic (AMT) Variants

Tata Motors has announced the introduction of two new Automatic (AMT) variants to its Tigor range - the XMA and the XZA+. These two new trims, stacked with premium features and effortless mobility of an Automatic will carry forward the style quotient of the Tigor. The XMA and XZA+ will be priced INR. 6.39 Lakhs and INR 7.24 Lakhs, (ex-showroom Delhi), respectively.

Commenting on the expansion of the Tigor range, Mr. S N Barman, Vice President, Sales, Marketing & Customer Support, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit (PVBU), Tata Motors, said “In a constant effort to maintain our growth momentum, we continuously introduce advanced technologies in our products, fill white spaces and offer exciting product interventions to meet the growing aspirations of our customers. This strategy also includes continuously expanding and strengthening our automatic portfolio. We are confident that our customers will appreciate the perfect combination of practicality and convenience these new additions have to offer.”

The two new trims will be offered with a 1.2L Revotron petrol engine and will be available in all the colours the Tigor is currently offered in – Egyptian Blue, Roman Silver, Espresso Brown, Berry Red, Pearlescent White and Titanium Grey.

The XZA+ will be the Automatic (AMT) offering on the top manual trim - XZ+ and will boast of attractive features like the 17.78cm (7 inch) touchscreen infotainment system equipped with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and an 8 speaker sound system by Harman. The exterior will feature 15 inch diamond cut alloy wheels and auto-fold ORVMs with integrated LEDs, which will complement the superior exterior design elements such as the break-free coupe-like roofline and dual chamber projector headlamps with sparkling chrome finish. With its competitive pricing and exceptional value, the XMA variant of the Tigor is set to attract new customers and should set itself apart as the most attractively priced automatic sedan in the market.

Both variants offer driving modes, a Harman tuned music system with Bluetooth connectivity, reverse parking sensors, foldable rear armrest with cupholders, 24 intelligently designed utility spaces for storage. They also come loaded with safety features like Dual Airbags, Anti-lock brakes, Electronic brake-force distribution, Corner Stability Control, reverse parking sensors, speed dependent automatic door locking and engine immobilizer.   

Features like the anti-stall and crawl functions, provides much needed respite in stop-go traffic and during tight parking maneuvers, making these variants convenient to drive, particularly on city roads. The anti-stall function prevents the car from stalling on sudden braking and helps the gearbox quickly downshift, ensuring that the vehicle has sufficient torque.

Launched in March 2017, the Tigor range has maintained a very active lifecycle with multiple evolutions, with the latest one being the introduction of the brand new range in October last year to provide its customers with the latest in comfort and technology. The new generation Tigor carries over the much acclaimed 1.2L Revotron petrol and the 1.05L Revotorq diesel powertrains. The new model also comes equipped with a fully automatic temperature control (FATC) with uniform cooling all around the cabin, a boot space of 419 ltrs with wide and clear opening using an innovative 4 bar mechanism and 24 intelligent spaces for carrying a lot more on the move.

Free Yoga Day Celebrations on World Yoga Day on June 21, 2019

Be a part of the fitness movement and take the pledge with us. Enroll for a free Yoga Class by cult.fit on the occasion of International Yoga Day. The 50minute session being conducted at all Cult and Mind centres across the country will include a mix of meditation, introduction and basics of Yoga, Suryanamaskaras etc.

To book your class for free, download the cure.fit app and Book the Free Yoga Day Special Class at a cult.fit or a mind.fit centre near you in your city.

What: Free Yoga Day Special Class
When: Friday, June 21, 2019
Where: All Cult and Mind centres across the country
Timing: 6.00am to 10.00pm
How to enroll : Download the cure.fit app and book your class today. Limited slots available.

Manipal Hospitals Bengaluru Launches “WE CAN” for Cancer Survivors

Manipal Comprehensive Cancer Care Centre (MCCC), part of Manipal   Hospitals, one of India’s leading healthcare provider unveiled a unique Cancer Survivors support and rehabilitation group  “We Can”,  in an endeavour to instill hope and provide full-fledged assistance for cancer survivors.

This nobel initiative was unveiled by Dr. Somashekhar SP, HOD & Chairman- Surgical Oncology along with his team of oncologists consisting of Dr Amit Rauthan, Consultant ,HOD,  Medical Oncology, Dr Poonam Patil, Consultant, medical Oncology, Dr Ashwin Raj Gopal  , consultant , Surgical Oncology, Dr Shabber S Zaveri, Consultant , Surgical Oncology, Dr Srimanth B S , Associate Consultant ,    Surgical Oncology,    Dr Kakoli,  Consultant, Medical Oncology, and Dr Vadhiraja B M, Consultant [HOD] Radiation Oncology in the presence of cancer survivors.

With an aim to give new hope for Cancer Survivors and to help them cope up with life, this unique group will be a one stop solution which will offer therapy sessions, continuous engagement, counselling and much more.

Sharing their tales of sorrows and joys, many cancer survivors shared details on their emotional journey and their battle against Cancer. Many patients who were successfully treated and are now leading a cancer free life came forward to share their inspiring stories. Case of 56 year old Mrs Parveen Jassawala, who was diagnosed with breast cancer, fought the disease with determination and grit, underwent mastectomy and responded well to the treatment. Today she is leading a cancer free life.

In another heartwarming case, 60 year old Mrs Susan Abraham who was suffering from abdominal cancer was diagnosed and treated with 11 cycles of Chemotherapy. Additionally she also underwent cytoredutive and HIPEC surgery at Manipal Comprehensive Cancer Centre and recovered well.

Suhayma is a 14 year girl from Mauritius. She had sustained a fall in September 2018 in Mauritius. She was diagnosed with fracture of her left femur bone and subsequently underwent a surgery with fixation. Unfortunately, her fractured bone looked abnormal which prompted the orthopedic surgery team to send for further testing. Suhayma, her parents and the medical team were in for a shock when the reports suggested a tumor. The treatment consisted of administering chemotherapy followed by Limb Saving Surgery. The surgery per se was a challenge due to the presence of implant in the cancerous bone and previous surgeries. Bone sarcomas such as Ewing’s sarcoma are rare.

Expressing the need for Cancer Survivors group, Dr. Somashekhar SP, HOD & Chairman- Surgical Oncology, Manipal Comprehensive Cancer Centre said, “Just treating the patient does not complete cancer treatment. Post cancer care and therapy is an important aspect to keep the individual healthy and avoid relapse. Any person who survives a deadly disease like Cancer is no less than a champion! The disease and treatment in itself effects the patient both mentally and physically. Coming out of that phase requires self-confidence, therapy and much needed motivation. Over the years, we constantly felt that more than doctors, patients show positive signs after hearing stories of other cancer survivors and hence we felt the need for launching a support group like ‘We can’. This group is not only for Manipal Hospitals patients but we extend warm welcome to any cancer survivor who want to join us as volunteers and be a part of the network.”

“We Can “Programme will be spearheaded by Mr. Salil Jain, who is a cancer survivor and was treated at Manipal Hospitals 6 years ago. Having undergone the treatment himself while battling for colorectal cancer. He has been working closely with Manipal Hospitals for the to help cancer patients and survivors with their various requirements.

Salil Jain, Cancer Survivor & We Can support Group said, “We are happy to launch “We Can” Support Group in the city. Our aim would be to support cancer survivors and giving patients the hope of revival. It takes a lot of positivity and determination to fight the disease. Through this group, we will support cancer patients and spread positivity around them. The program is structured to take care of the requirements of Survivors on detection, treatment and post treatment. The programme is expected to help Survivors make the right choices of treatment, go through treatment peacefully, bounce back to a good quality of life after treatment and catch early recurrence, if any, for a better outcome of treatment. The programme will be open for all Survivors irrespective of where they get themselves treated.

The entire programme is designed as a 3 step mechanism. On detection - help understand the diagnosis, treatment options, second opinions and tackle the fear and apprehensions of the patient and family about the treatment and its outcomes.

During treatment - Coordinate with the doctors to help go through the treatment, tackle side effects, deal with emotional, physical and medical concerns of the patient.

Post Treatment - Survivorship Assessment, intervention for consequences of cancer and treatment, prevention of new/recurrent cancer and late effects, Surveillance, Co-ordination between primary care providers and Survivorship Care Planning (Diet and nutrition, Physical Activity, Emotional well-being, group activities, etc., etc.)

Speaking on the occasion Dr. Amit Rauthan, HOD & Medical Oncologist said, “Unfortunately, in India due to lack of awareness and lack of symptoms most people come to oncologists at an advanced stage. With the advent of latest drugs and surgical innovations, Cancer can be treated via many forms ie. surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy.  With multimodality, approach cancer can be cured completely. Studies have shown that these new revolutionary treatment options has shown dramatic response which was never seen earlier. It is truly heartening to see improved survival in patients, in what was considered until recently to be incurable cancers.”

Recent advancement in treatment of cancer is Immunotherapy, which can now be used to achieve positive results. It works by allowing the body’s own immune system to fight the cancer cells. The major advantage is that it does not have the side effects of chemotherapy; and in patients who respond, the response can last for very long. Thus, it not only helps cancer patients survive longer with good quality of life, but can also potentially cure some advanced cancer patients

Sharing her thoughts Dr. Poonam Patil, HOD & Medical Oncologist said, “ It is important to stay informed and aware about Cancer. Symptoms like Change in bowel habits or bladder functions, Sores that do not heal, unusual bleeding or discharge, lumps or thickening of breast or other parts of the body, Indigestion or difficulty swallowing and recent change in wart or mole need immediate attention and visit to oncologist.”

Cancer is a disease caused primarily due to environmental and genetic factors. It can affect almost any part of the body. According to National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research (NICPR), an estimated number of around 2.25 million people are living with cancer. 

Atos Strengthens its Supercomputer Portfolio with Launch of New Range of Modular Storage Appliances

Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, has announces BullSequana Xstor, its new range of modular storage appliances, which enables organizations to harness the power of supercomputing now and in the future.

The BullSequana Xstor is a high-performing storage appliance to meet the constant growth in data, which needs to be processed. This offer is scalable to support future storage needs, modular (it can either focus on optimized bandwidth or storage capacity) and cost-optimized. A complete plug-and-play solution, it has been pre-tested and pre-installed for fast deployment and has one single monitoring tool for ease of use.

BullSequana Xstor is one of the first storage systems on the market to be optimized for Simulation, Data Lake , AI and Data Tiering using various dedicated file systems, such as lustre®, CEPH and HPSS.

“With the expansion of the volume of data to be processed and analyzed, companies and research centers need high-performance storage solutions to optimize their research results and manage digital simulations. Our range of highly scalable and modular solutions contributes and supports our customers in their innovation projects. With our new BullSequana xStor offering, we are proving to our customers an improved way to master end-to-end solutions coupling Supercomputing and Data Management." said Agnès Boudot, GM & SVP, Head of HPC & Quantum Business line Atos.

To find out more about the BullSequana Xstor, go to http://atos.net/BullSequana-xstor.

New Mcfee Report Finds Eighty-seven Percent of Companies Experince Business Acceleration from Use of Cloud Services

Key Findings:

Eighty-seven percent of companies experience business acceleration from their use of cloud services.
The majority (52 percent) of organizations experience better security in the cloud than on-premise IT environments.
Organizations are over 35 percent more likely to launch new products, speed time to market, and expand to new markets when they use a Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) to protect their data in the cloud.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 18, 2019 – McAfee, the device-to-cloud cybersecurity company, today released a special edition of its Cloud and Risk Adoption Report, focused on the business impact of cloud services and how organizations around the world are addressing security gaps to accelerate their businesses with the cloud. Cloud services are the most significant advance in IT since the introduction of the internet itself, and most organizations today benefit from the collaboration, scalability and cost-effectiveness enabled by the use of cloud services. With an increasing amount of sensitive data stored in the cloud, organizations are also finding challenges in managing their risk, which holds back many organizations from realizing their full potential.

McAfee surveyed 1,000 enterprise organizations worldwide and combined results with insights from billions of anonymized cloud events seen every month by McAfee’s CASB, MVISION Cloud. The results demonstrate that a wide range of organizations accelerate their business from the use of cloud services. However, there is a striking divide between organizations who have addressed their shared responsibility for protecting data in the cloud, and those who have not – organizations were over 35 percent more likely to launch new products, speed time to market, and expand to new markets with the cloud when proactively addressing security of their data in the cloud through the use of a CASB.

This edition of the McAfee Cloud Adoption and Risk Report also reveals the following:

Most sensitive data is under the IT team’s control: Results showed that 65 percent of enterprise data lives in collaboration and business software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications, 25 percent in infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), and only 10 percent in “Shadow IT” unknown to the IT department.  IT teams are subscribing to these cloud applications themselves, effectively fulfilling many employee needs that were previously unmet or were met through the use of “Shadow IT”.

Gap between secure enablement and cloud adoption: Only 36 percent of organizations said they could enforce data loss prevention in the cloud, and only 33 percent could control the collaboration settings that determine how their data is shared. In the case of IaaS, only 26 percent said they could audit configuration settings, widening the gap between risky and secure cloud adoption.
A minority of organizations experiencing the full potential of business acceleration: Although the likelihood of launching new products, speeding time to market and expanding to new markets is higher when a CASB is part of their cloud security strategy, only one in three companies surveyed are currently using one.

“This research shines a light on organizations who are leading the charge in cloud adoption, prioritizing the security of their data as they roll out new cloud services and winning in the market because of the actions they are taking,” said Rajiv Gupta, senior vice president, Cloud Security, McAfee. “Organizations often tell us how much faster their business moves when security is addressed in the cloud and it is exciting for us now to quantify this experience and share our data and recommendations with the rest of the market.”

Organizations who want to learn how they can protect enterprise data wherever it resides can tune in to today’s livestreamed MVISION Briefing at 10 a.m. PT titled, “Cloud Security: New Risks, New Rules.” Attendees will have the chance to hear directly from McAfee partners and customers on how they have successfully put a strategy into action to make cloud the most secure environment for their business.  There will also be a replay available for those unable to attend the live session.

Bengaluru GAFX Meet in Gaming, Animation, Visual Effects will be Held from June 21-23, 2019

The Bengaluru GAFX conference, Asia’s largest animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) event, is coming alive in Bengaluru. The 3-day event will be held on June 21, 22 and 23, 2019 at The Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru.

Jointly organized by Government of Karnataka and Association of Bangalore Animation Industry (ABAI), GAFX aims to enrich, energize, inspire and create a vibrant ecosystem in the city and in Karnataka for the graphics industry. A multi-million-dollar global industry that is fueling the world of movies, gaming, and is behind the resurgence of graphic novels and comics, GAFX will identify and build local and national talent and generate jobs.

GAFX conference intends to attract experts, studios, production houses, game developers from all over the world. This biggest event for artists of Games, Animation & Visual Effects Industry will bring together industry veterans, professionals, students, academia, technology partners, animation, VFX & games studios and production houses under one roof to provide exposure to talents as well as subject matter expertise to professionals, artists and students.

Speaking about the event, B.S.Srinivas, Co-chair of Bengaluru GAFX 2019 and Secretary, ABAI, said that, “The Bengaluru GAFX conference has gathered massive response from AVGC experts and enthusiasts across the globe. The event will bring together the best minds in the industry and benefit interested professionals and students. We aim to make the event as helpful and responsive as possible for the benefit of all.”

Eminent speakers such as Pete Draper, PC Sanath, Arielle Martin, Avneet Kaur, Catherine Branscome, Chris Harlowe, Christian Bohm, Cindy Armstrong, JaykarArudra, Matthew Plec, Owen Hurley, Prasad Sutar, Rajiv Chillaka, RK Chand, Sheila De Courcy, and Tushar Kewlani will be taking part in the three-day event.

The conference also plays host to a number of activities including “GAFX ArtAnimathon” - Asia’s biggest art & animation competition. The competitionhas 8 categories to compete for, enabling professionals& students to try for the INR 8 Lakhs+ cash prize& premium goodies. This time it's even bigger with the introduction and indulgence of new emerging technologies like AR/VR & MOCAP.

For the first time, GAFX is conducting ‘Kalayodha-2019,’ a contest exclusively for all digital art centres across Karnataka. Apart from this, a special session called ‘Sketchbook,’ will also be held where artists from various platforms — independent creators of content, independent animation film makers, illustrators, art directors and principal artists from top studios and gaming companies come together to talk about the process of sketchbook where ideas are born.

The event comprises of talks and presentations, film screenings, panel discussions and competitions. The eight categories of competition are as follows: Traditional painting, digital painting, clay sculpting, 3D modelling, 3D character animation, 3D game art, story boarding and story writing.

To know more about GAFX and to register, visit www.gafx.in

ASUS Claims the Second Spot by Laptop Mag; Scored Highest in Innovation

Taiwan-based technology major, ASUS, has climbed to the second spot in the laptop brand category. The findings have been revealed in the Best & Worst Laptop Brands list for 2019 by the major technology publication, Laptop Mag. With a strong focus on innovation, the brand also fared the best in the innovation category, securing a perfect '10 on 10' score.

While ASUS climbed up two spots since last year, the brand has been praised by the Laptop Mag for several additional categories such as Design and Value & Selection. Furthermore, several of its distinguished features garnered praise from the magazine, especially ScreenPad, the world's first intelligent touchpad, and ErgoLift, a unique hinge design that raises the laptop keyboard to provide better ergonomics and more comfortable typing.

One of the brand’s key offerings, ZenBook S13 (UX392) earned laurels by Laptop Mag as the world’s slimmest-bezel Ultrabook with a 97% screen-to-body ratio and NVIDIA® GeForce® MX150 discrete graphics, and ROG Mothership. The laptop is a successful desktop replacement that redefines the gaming laptop form factor with a standing design for increased airflow and a folding detachable keyboard that provides greater gaming flexibility and saves space.

The ranking, along with the appreciation, only cements the spirit of ‘ASUS In Search of Incredible’. ASUS is further committed to pursuing world-class design, innovation, and engineering to deliver the best experiences to customers.

LTTS Held its 24-hour hackathon - Engineering The Change Campaign in Europe

L&T Technology Services Limited, a leading global pure-play engineering services company, successfully concluded its Engineering the Change campaign in Munich with a 24-hour hackathon.

The company’s 16-day pan Europe initiative included a 3,000 km innovation-on-wheels drive covering Greater Manchester & Ellesmere Port (Cheshire) in the UK, Amiens & Paris in France and Eindhoven in Netherlands, culminating in Germany.

A total of 230 visitors, including customers, analysts, industry experts, government officials, local authorities and engineering students attended the drive from Manchester to Munich. They were presented with the latest industry solutions covering domains such as artificial intelligence, digital twin, cyber security, 5G and the Internet of Things.

During the final leg of the campaign through 4 major German cities, including Leverkusen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Frankfurt, LTTS, through its innovation drive showcased demos on leading-edge Industry 4.0 solutions and shared insights on digital transformation across various industries.

The highlight and finalé of the tour in Munich was a 24-hour hackathon on 14th June which received over 250 registrations. 17 teams tackled complex industrial challenges related to factories of the future to reduce workplace risks and errors through Augmented Reality, mobility solutions to reduce traffic congestion in cities using AI & Machine Learning and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) to increase operational efficiency of aircraft using Data Analytics. Nearly 43% of the contestants included technology professionals & freelancers, 30% hailed from the startup community with students also in the mix. The winner of the competition were Munich based collective Intellight who were awarded the top prize of Euro 10,000 for their traffic management solution that uses deep learning algorithms to reduce congestion in cities.

Amit Chadha, President, Sales & Business Development and Executive Director at L&T Technology Services said, “LTTS‘ unique on-the-wheels ER&D campaign spanning 9 cities across Europe has met with an overwhelming response across all locations. This has been an epic odyssey of engineering transformation that brought together industry, academia and the government to create new technologies and solutions in an attempt to improve the lives of the next billion of the world’s population. What is especially praiseworthy is the spirit of creativity and scientific enquiry among the participants that was on display through the exciting proof of concepts.“

NGO CRY Held in Bangalore - World Day Against Child Labour

Child Labour, you have heard about it, now experience it. To observe World Day Against Child Labour, Child Rights and You (CRY) one of India’s leading NGO’s working on child rights has come up with a unique idea to introduce general public to the world of child labour and sensitize them against it.

In a sustained campaign to build awareness around the issue, CRY created an experiential zone that mimicked a working child’s everyday life. Passing visitors from prominent places in the city were asked to walk into a mobile room where an ambiance similar to child labour situation was re-created. Sight, sound and smell were additionally included to instill realism.
                                 
“Child Labour in its many ways is still an acceptable norm in the society. Through this campaign we want to sensitize people against it and make them understand the difficult circumstances a child is put through under labour. It is our effort to reach out to the last child and child labour is one of the battles that we fight. Education and the right to childhood are some of the basic non-negotiable requirements to harness the true potential for the child,” said Suma Ravi, Regional Director of Child Rights and You (CRY).

There are 294745 working children and adolescents between 5-19 years in Bangalore, of which only 35% attend educational institutions. Unless we understand the importance of education and the worth of a child their plight will not improve. The sole purpose of an event like this is to create conversations and raise awareness that makes the impact a more sustainable one.