Co-Living and Co-Working Segments Set to Increase Footprint in India: JLL-FICCI Report 2019

JLL-FICCI released two reports namely ‘Co-Living - Reshaping Rental Housing in India’ and ‘Co-Working - Reshaping Indian Workplaces’ in Bangaloreon Friday.

“The rising demand for shared renting will propel the market and offer a business opportunity of Rs 1 trillion by 2023 along with the capacity of 5.7 million beds from the previous levels of Rs 458 billion and 3.6 million beds in 2018,” revealed the Co-Living - Reshaping Rental Housing in India.

According to the second report, Co-Working - Reshaping Indian Workplaces, the demand from corporates, start-ups and entrepreneurs has resulted in a huge jump in the co-working space with regards to total office leasing. The share has risen to 12 per cent in the first quarter (January-March) of 2019 from eight per cent level seen in 2018, it added. 6.9 million square feet of cumulative space has been absorbed by co-working segment from 2017 to first quarter of 2019.

Sanjay Dutt, Chairman, FICCI Real Estate Committee & MD & CEO, Tata Realty and Infrastructure Ltd said, “Today millennials constitute a majority of India’s workforce. They are adaptive but expect a drastic change to occur in the way people work. Agile workplaces and a vibrant ambience helps the new workforce deliver better. While the concept has readily been accepted in the metros, Tier II cities are also opening up to this new concept, including Indore, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneshwar, Kochi and Jaipur.”

Juggy Marwaha, Executive Managing Director, JLL India said, “Co-working segment has come a long way in the country and is now riding a maturity curve and getting more established. Operators within this mature market now offer multiple formats to occupiers. These range from entire buildings dedicated to co-working spaces to built-to-suit co-working offices within the conventional workplaces. With the benefits of cost reduction and shared amenities, the segment provides a tremendous business potential to all – developers and occupiers.”

Samantak Das, Chief Economist and Head of Research & REIS, JLL India, said, “The shift in perception amongst millennials to ‘sharing’ instead of ‘owning’ has made the co-living concept popular. For all groups - corporate occupiers, start-ups, entrepreneurs and millennials – renting offers flexibility and savings. Co-working offers cost savings of 20-25 per cent compared to traditional office space leasing. Co-living offers attractive returns; 2-4 times higher than traditional residential yield of 2-3 per cent.”

“With these two innovative segments, Indian office and residential real estate is sure to grow bigger and better. However, stakeholders need to address existing challenges such as issues related to data privacy, the conservative approach of property owners and relevant supply observed across co-working and co-living, respectively,” added Das.

Vijay Rajagopalan, Head – Alternatives Business, JLL India said, “ Factors such as affordability, convenience and community-led living will drive the segment’s growth. While supply is still a challenge, the demand has made the market fascinating for organised operators, owners/landlords and private equity investors.”

Indians Individuals and Enterprises Money in Swiss Banks on the Decline During 2019

Money parked by Indian individuals and enterprises in Swiss banks, including through India-based branches, fell by nearly 6% in 2018 to 955 million Swiss francs (about Rs 6,757 crore) to hit its second-lowest level in over two decades, Swiss National Bank data showed on Thursday.

Aggregate funds of all foreign clients of Swiss banks also fell by over 4% to CHF 1.4 trillion (nearly Rs 99 lakh crore) in 2018, as per the annual banking statistics released by the Zurich-based central banking authority of Switzerland.

However, the ‘locational banking statistics’ of the Bank for International Settlement (BIS), which the Indian and Swiss governments had said last year was a more reliable measure for deposits by Indian individuals in Swiss banks, showed a greater fall of 11% for 2018.

According to the SNB, its data for ‘total liabilities’ of Swiss banks towards Indian clients takes into account all kinds of funds of Indian customers at Swiss banks, including deposits from individuals, banks and enterprises. This includes data for branches of Swiss banks in India, as also non-deposit liabilities.

The funds, described by the SNB as ‘liabilities’ of Swiss banks or ‘amounts due to’ their clients, are the official figures reported by the banks and do not indicate the quantum of the much-debated alleged black money held by Indians there.

The official SNB figures also do not include the money that Indians, NRIs or others might have in Swiss banks in the names of entities from different countries. The SNB data had shown the total liabilities of Swiss banks towards Indian clients rising by over 50% in 2017 to CHF 1.01 billion (Rs 7,000 crore), reversing a three-year downward trend.

However, the quantum of such funds has fallen again in 2018 to CHF 954.71 million, which includes about CHF 15 million held through fiduciaries or wealth managers. This is the second-lowest total since CHF 723 million recorded over two decades ago in 1995. The lowest ever amount of CHF 675 million was recorded in 2016. As per the latest figures, the total customer deposits of Indian clients rose to CHF 572 million in 2018, but funds held through banks fell to CHF 104 million, while money parked through securities and other instruments also declined.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor [TKM] Employees Step Up as Green Ambassadors

In its continuous endeavor to address Environment Protection and creating an Eco-Mindset, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) today conducted an activity under ‘ICARE’, an employee voluntary initiative, to support Karnataka State Forest Department by restoring and maintaining the forest area of Bannerghatta National Park, in Bangalore. A group of enthusiastic Toyota employees came together to participate in a host of activities, highlighting the importance of conservation of the biodiversity of the nature for the benefit of the future generation. 

The initiative was undertaken with the objective to create awareness about the importance of flora and fauna conservation to mark the Environment Month. Over 200 volunteers participated in the trail clean up drive, to help beautify the area by de-weeding and mulching, and create a cleaner forest trail for the nature enthusiasts. Volunteers also dedicated their time to build 50 bird homes, make 4000 sapling bags, and sow Bamboo plant seeds in an enormous three-acre land inside the forest, especially for elephants.

TKM’s key social values of sustained community development program aims at creating sustainability in every eco-activity they do. The drive actively involved its employees  to enhance the understanding on the increasing environmental challenges and to take necessary steps to counter it.

In addition to making ever better cars, Toyota is committed towards a greener tomorrow and establishing a future society in harmony with nature. Toyota being a leader in the environmental stewardship started its journey towards greening its energy source since 2015-16 and has made substantial step-up over the years. Guided by Toyota’s ‘Global Environmental Challenge’ 2050 in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, till January ‘19 [in FY 2018-19] - Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) successfully sourced 87% of electricity from renewable source of energy for its operations in Bidadi facility. Toyota has been recognized for its sustainable growth with its core belief “Ever-Better Cars with Ever-Better Technology for an Ever-Better Environment”.

Expressing his thoughts, Mr. Prashanth, Deputy Conservator of Forest said ‘’We would like to acknowledge the dedicated efforts by corporates like Toyota Kirloskar Motor who have come forward to spread the message on Environment Conservation. Global Warming is one of the biggest threat to the planet and it calls for unified action by communities to come forward and do their bit in protecting the environment. Such proactive efforts are significant in saving the nature and also ensuring a clean and green future for tomorrow. We would request more individuals, organizations and communities to step forward and implement necessary initiatives to address the alarming concern of Environment Conservation.”

Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Naveen Soni, Vice President - Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “ Impact of Climate change has reached alarming state globally, Extreme heat wave in several parts of the country, water scarcity, floods, melting glaciers have affected millions of lives already and we need to act fast. By 2020, pressure on India’s water, air, soil and forests is expected to become the highest in the world. We at TKM have always been conscious of the fact that we have a responsibility towards global environment.  The eco-consciousness is inbuilt in Toyota’s ecosystem -from our supply chain to our management and employees to the beneficiaries on the ground ensuring a sustainable impact.

It is very important to inculcate a behavior and attitude change towards the conservation of our environment, not only for us, but for the future generation as well.  We feel overwhelmed that all our employees have come together to be Green Ambassadors.

TKM has been able to prove its eco commitment with continuous improvements in Environmental Performance year-on-year. All our CSR programmes are crafted on the basis of innovation and sustainability. Likewise, this campaign echoes Toyota’s vision and values, where we work relentlessly to ensure protection of the environment as one of its top priority. Through activities like these, we empower our employees to be the change creators in the society and help them grow as a responsible citizen.” Added Mr Soni.

TKM’s volunteering program “ICARE” has gone from strength to strength since its launch in November 2017. The volunteers have addressed various societal issues under thematic areas like Education, Environment and Road safety, thereby impacting lives.

So far, TKM CSR is proud to have enriched 14,37,632 lives through their multifold efforts.  Toyota will further continue its various CSR interventions from a long term development perspective of socio-economic stature of the society, touching many more people’s lives to make a difference in each one’s well-being.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor [TKM] Employees Step Up as Green Ambassadors

In its continuous endeavor to address Environment Protection and creating an Eco-Mindset, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) today conducted an activity under ‘ICARE’, an employee voluntary initiative, to support Karnataka State Forest Department by restoring and maintaining the forest area of Bannerghatta National Park, in Bangalore. A group of enthusiastic Toyota employees came together to participate in a host of activities, highlighting the importance of conservation of the biodiversity of the nature for the benefit of the future generation. 

The initiative was undertaken with the objective to create awareness about the importance of flora and fauna conservation to mark the Environment Month. Over 200 volunteers participated in the trail clean up drive, to help beautify the area by de-weeding and mulching, and create a cleaner forest trail for the nature enthusiasts. Volunteers also dedicated their time to build 50 bird homes, make 4000 sapling bags, and sow Bamboo plant seeds in an enormous three-acre land inside the forest, especially for elephants.

TKM’s key social values of sustained community development program aims at creating sustainability in every eco-activity they do. The drive actively involved its employees  to enhance the understanding on the increasing environmental challenges and to take necessary steps to counter it.

In addition to making ever better cars, Toyota is committed towards a greener tomorrow and establishing a future society in harmony with nature. Toyota being a leader in the environmental stewardship started its journey towards greening its energy source since 2015-16 and has made substantial step-up over the years. Guided by Toyota’s ‘Global Environmental Challenge’ 2050 in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, till January ‘19 [in FY 2018-19] - Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) successfully sourced 87% of electricity from renewable source of energy for its operations in Bidadi facility. Toyota has been recognized for its sustainable growth with its core belief “Ever-Better Cars with Ever-Better Technology for an Ever-Better Environment”.

Expressing his thoughts, Mr. Prashanth, Deputy Conservator of Forest said ‘’We would like to acknowledge the dedicated efforts by corporates like Toyota Kirloskar Motor who have come forward to spread the message on Environment Conservation. Global Warming is one of the biggest threat to the planet and it calls for unified action by communities to come forward and do their bit in protecting the environment. Such proactive efforts are significant in saving the nature and also ensuring a clean and green future for tomorrow. We would request more individuals, organizations and communities to step forward and implement necessary initiatives to address the alarming concern of Environment Conservation.”

Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Naveen Soni, Vice President - Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “ Impact of Climate change has reached alarming state globally, Extreme heat wave in several parts of the country, water scarcity, floods, melting glaciers have affected millions of lives already and we need to act fast. By 2020, pressure on India’s water, air, soil and forests is expected to become the highest in the world. We at TKM have always been conscious of the fact that we have a responsibility towards global environment.  The eco-consciousness is inbuilt in Toyota’s ecosystem -from our supply chain to our management and employees to the beneficiaries on the ground ensuring a sustainable impact.

It is very important to inculcate a behavior and attitude change towards the conservation of our environment, not only for us, but for the future generation as well.  We feel overwhelmed that all our employees have come together to be Green Ambassadors.

TKM has been able to prove its eco commitment with continuous improvements in Environmental Performance year-on-year. All our CSR programmes are crafted on the basis of innovation and sustainability. Likewise, this campaign echoes Toyota’s vision and values, where we work relentlessly to ensure protection of the environment as one of its top priority. Through activities like these, we empower our employees to be the change creators in the society and help them grow as a responsible citizen.” Added Mr Soni.

TKM’s volunteering program “ICARE” has gone from strength to strength since its launch in November 2017. The volunteers have addressed various societal issues under thematic areas like Education, Environment and Road safety, thereby impacting lives.

So far, TKM CSR is proud to have enriched 14,37,632 lives through their multifold efforts.  Toyota will further continue its various CSR interventions from a long term development perspective of socio-economic stature of the society, touching many more people’s lives to make a difference in each one’s well-being.

Sennheiser Launches TeamConnect Ceiling 2- Elevating the Meeting Experience

Sennheiser announced the launch of next generation of its ceiling microphone, TeamConnect Ceiling 2. The new ceiling array microphone is designed to provide improved audio quality for voice and video conferences with automatic adaptive beamforming technology. This technology is patented by Sennheiser and it automatically focuses on the active speaker and follows their voice no matter where they move in the room.

TeamConnect Ceiling 2 sets telephone and video conferences free, making them simpler and more productive while ensuring optimum audio quality. It can be used together with existing analogue conference or integrated into fully digital systems, where it can also be controlled and monitored via the IP network. The ceiling microphone supports Power over Ethernet (PoE), Sennheiser Control Cockpit, Dante Domain Manager and the Crestron control platform via an open media protocol (API). It can also be integrated into media and camera control systems.

Integrated within the discrete microphone array, the 28 omni-directional microphone capsules of  TeamConnect Ceiling 2 delivers excellent audio quality that is free from distracting ambient noise. This enhances the conference experience for remote participants through crystal-clear speech, which ensures stress-free listening and interaction for more productive meetings. It’s an ideal choice for medium-sized to large meeting rooms, where it is unobtrusively (flush-) mounted to the ceiling and powered via Ethernet. For larger or oddly shaped rooms, several ceiling microphones can be combined to ensure best coverage.

Speaking at the launch Vipin Pungalia, Director Professional Segment Sennheiser India said “The TeamConnect ceiling has been one of the most admired product in Biz-comm category. The second-generation ceiling array microphone ensures optimum connectivity and has been created with an entirely new manufacturing process. It comes with Dante and PoE network integration and can easily be integrated into other media control systems using the open media control protocol. TeamConnect Ceiling 2 comes at a considerably lower price with many more features than its predecessor”

With TeamConnect Ceiling 2, the meeting room can be used in a totally flexible way: The tables are free from cables and microphones, chairs and tables can be arranged as desired, and the meeting participants can move about the room freely. Unique on the market, Sennheiser’s adaptive beamforming technology automatically follows the active speaker’s voice, letting people speak naturally – whether they are sitting, standing or moving around the room.

Connectivity and remote management

Bildergebnis für audinate ddm readySennheiser’s TeamConnect Ceiling 2 impresses with flexibility and simplicity. Once installed, the microphone does not require any ongoing maintenance. It can be seamlessly integrated into both analogue and digital environments, featuring the necessary connectors and Power over Ethernet capability. For integration into Dante networks, TeamConnect Ceiling 2 features two Dante ports for redundant operation and supports Dante Domain Manager.

TeamConnect Ceiling 2 can be controlled via the Sennheiser Control Cockpit application. Providing a digital workflow for network-enabled devices from Sennheiser, the software allows centralized administration, remote configuration and monitoring of multiple voice-tracking microphones within the network. Accessible on any device via a browser, Sennheiser Control Cockpit makes TeamConnect Ceiling 2 installations effortless to manage. For integration into larger media control systems, integrators can make use of Sennheiser’s open media control protocol (API) to offer remote configuration, control and monitoring of the TeamConnect Ceiling 2.

Ulektz, An SaaS-Based Edtech Startup, Ties-Up with BPB Publications

uLektz, a SaaS based EdTech startup announced that it has partnered with BPB Publications, Asia’s largest publisher of computer books, to provide the best quality learning material to students in India and all over the globe.

“The aim of uLektz books is to enable students and professionals across India and the globe with an access to high-end resources and reference materials for higher education and advanced learning. We are delighted to partner with BPB Publications, one of the Asia’s largest computer books publisher. More than 6 lakh students who are on ulektz will access the books and directly get benefited.  The association with BPB publications will now enable access to the best quality technical learning material at affordable prices for our students” said Mr. Sadiq Sait Founder and CEO of uLektz Learning Solutions.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Nrip Jain, Head - Business Development Group, BPB Publications said “With this partnership, BPB will leverage the AI-based SaaS platform of uLektz to promote, sell and distribute its ebooks directly to students and educators. This platform will also help us complement our print books with the Coupon Codes for digital access of the respective ebooks and connect with our customers directly.”

Mr. Nrip Jain further added “The partnership will enable multilevel piracy protection for the eBooks through uLektz Data Resource Management (DRM)”.

There is need to provide quality educational resources for aspiring career professionals across all sectors. BPB publications, has made a significant contribution in spreading IT education in India. uLektz learning solutions’ in association with BPB Publications, will rightly deliver the best of learning materials and quality resource for the students across India and the globe.   

Amazon Prime Video Unveils Trailer for an All-New Season of Amazon Original Series of Comicstaan

Following the big success of Season 1, Amazon Prime Video now brings an all-new season of Unscripted Amazon Original Series – Comicstaan as part of Prime Day 2019 celebrations. The 8-episode hunt for India’s next big comedy sensation returns with all new contestants, packed with new jokes and a double dose of laughter starting July 12, 2019. This season, popular comedians Zakir Khan, Neeti Palta, along with Season 1 host Sumukhi Suresh join the panel of veteran judges from the first season - Biswa Kaylan Rath, Kanan Gill, Kenny Sebastian and Kaneez Surka. The quick-witted host of Season 1, Abish Mathew, will be joined this time by another popular name in the stand-up comedy circuit, Urooj Ashfaq. Being a weekly release, Prime Members across 200 countries and territories can watch the first three episodes of Comicstaan Season 2 on July 12, followed by a new episode releasing every Friday.

Vijay Subramaniam, Director and Head, Content, Amazon Prime Video India, said, “When we first launched the service in India, we identified comedy as one of the most important genres for our customers and we focused on providing a strong selection while also creating a disruptive unscripted format for them. We believe we delivered on this promise through Comicstaan Season 1 - which, in many ways, was a game-changer in the way unscripted comedy content is viewed in India. The show with its pioneering format received a phenomenal response from audiences and encouraged us to push the boundaries of creativity further. So here we are, with a brand new season of this exciting show with fantastic new talent, a new jury panel and newer, rib-tickling jokes.  Our customers are in for many treats this Prime Day with Comicstaan and much more!

Dhruv Sheth, Managing Partner, OML, said, “Our long standing association with Amazon Prime Video continues to grow stronger through successful launches of great new and original content. We are truly proud of the institution we have created in Comicstaan that is not just a show that’s different, funny and engaging but, with the second, it has also become an institute where we are able to discover, hone and present new stand-up comedians to Indian audiences. We are very excited about the new season that is even bigger in scale and talent”. 

ExxonMobil Renews its Partnership with GoMechanic as the Official Lubricant Partner

ExxonMobil Lubricants Pvt Ltd. today announced the renewal of its partnership with GoMechanic - a branded network of technology-enabled service centers - as their exclusive lubricant partner to provide complete car care to customers.

GoMechanic is India's first multi-brand network of car workshops with more than 115 work stations across 5 cities - Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, which enables customers to save more on their service and repair costs as compared to an authorized service centre. The company provides all its workshops management tools and techniques, up-gradation in terms of infrastructure and technical skills. ExxonMobil has been GoMechanic’s exclusive lubricant partner since 2018 and its support has enabled GoMechanic to provide best in class services to its customers and workshop partners. With the efficiency of Mobil lubricants, GoMechanic has been able to serve more than 3, 00,000 cars, till date.

Speaking about the renewal, Deepankar Banerjee, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ExxonMobil’s lubricants business in India, said, “We have had a highly successful partnership with GoMechanic in increasing the reach and availability of Mobil branded lubricants to discerning customers who seek out our brands along with convenience and excellent service for their vehicles. We are extremely happy to extend our partnership with a dynamic company like GoMechanic and look forward to serving an even broader set of customers.”

Kushal Karwa and Amit Bhasin, Co-Founders, GoMechanic, said, “As we scale to further heights, GoMechanic is looking forward to take the partnership with ExxonMobil to the next level. We will launch special 'Mobil powered quick service' facility across all our workshops. This will guarantee the best quality of Mobil products and best service of GoMechanic to all car owners. Car owners can also avail this service facility at the doorstep or free pick up and drop to the nearest GoMechanic workshop.”

ZEE5 Associates with India’s Growing OTT Platform Netmeds.com

ZEE5, India’s fastest growing OTT platform ties up with Netmeds.com, one of India’s most successful e-pharma portals, to treat its users with exciting ZEE5 subscription offers. This will enable Netmeds’ customers to access the unlimited content choices on the OTT platform.

After tying up with players across multiple sectors such as travel and payment gateways, this is a first for ZEE5 – partnering with health-tech company. With this association, Netmeds’ customers making a first- time purchase of medicines or non-prescription OTC products will receive a complimentary ZEE5 1-month premium subscription pack. In addition, existing Netmeds’ customers will receive a flat 30% discount on any premium pack of ZEE5.

Manish Aggarwal, Business Head, ZEE5 India said, “At ZEE5, we are focussed on growth while delivering exceptional value to our viewers. This partnership is in line with ZEE5’s agenda of expanding its reach to a wider set of audience. Our philosophy behind this is that a wholesome menu of entertainment can be the perfect panacea for an unwell person. Netmeds’ customers can now enjoy a hearty dose of entertainment at a special pricing.”

Anand Pathak, Director-Marketing, Netmeds.com said, “Netmeds is thrilled to partner with ZEE5 and offer quality entertainment along with delivering quality medicines across the country. It has been our constant endeavor to keep customers happy by providing affordable healthcare products & services at competitive pricing. And this partnership will further enhance the customer experience by allowing them to avail rich content as a value-added service while purchasing medicines online on Netmeds.com.”

With over 3500 films, 500+ TV shows, 4000+ music videos, 35+ theatre plays and 90+ LIVE TV Channels across 12 languages, ZEE5 truly presents a blend of unrivalled content offering for its viewers across the nation and worldwide. With ZEE5, the global content of Zindagi as a brand, which was widely appreciated across the country, has also been brought back for its loyal viewers.

Top Four Business Intelligence Tools for Small and Big Businesses

Business intelligence tools are the need of the hour and are being adopted across the globe by companies for better insights, serving   from MSMEs to MNCs by keep their data in an organized manner. It allows easy access to data in the form of reports, dashboards and visuals for easy understanding and helps in making well informed decisions. From paper work used to maintain data, the process has shifted with changing trends towards digitalization. Here are top 5 business intelligence tool provider that every company must need to be aware to take you towards the digitalization of data. Let’s examine these tools that can help businesses better use their data and reap the rewards of smart analytics.

Qlik View

Qlik View is one of the fastest BI and Data visualization software, it started the era of analytics solution. Its key feature is powerful data recovery and interactive guide analysis. It is a must for the companies as it is a secured, flexible and consistent with global search as well as data integration along with advanced reporting. It is an easy to learn software, with associated engine, powerful augmented intelligence and governed multi cloud architecture it supports full range of analytics at all scales.

Microsoft Power BI

Microsoft Power BI is one of the best yet simple interfaces. It serves multifarious purposes of analysts, IT as well as developers. It comes in two forms: Power BI Services, an SAAS deployment and Power BI Desktop, on the premise based version. This comes up with business analytics service that enable fast and well informed decisions. One of its key feature is it comes with Live 360-Degree view of data.

Tableau Server

Tableau server is the largest data community with remarkable visualization capabilities along with high performance and mobile friendly functionality. It has embedded analytics for individuals as well as organizations. The key feature is the approach of the company is the give their customers flexibility to have access over data where ever they want.

Domo

Domo is an SaaS business management suite. It performs at both micro as well as macro level analysis of data for better and in-depth insights. It provides rapid speed, unlimited scale of users and enterprise security and control with in- built collaboration tools that allows access of right data at right time on any device. 

Leading Agri-Tech Company CropIn Releases SmartFarm App on iOS

CropIn has released the ‘SmartFarm’ app for iOS users, in addition to the existing version that is available on the desktop and Android.

SmartFarm is a complete farm management solution that monitors the pre-harvest farming processes. The solution leverages weather advisory, satellite image processing and insights strengthened by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to enable efficient operations, and to improve traceability and output predictability. This empowers agribusinesses to enable data-driven farming in their operations by tracking, managing and monitoring every step - from input to execution – all in one place.

SmartFarm is validated by a number of organizations in the agriculture value chain — from farming companies, agri input firms, and seed production companies, to crop insurance providers and governments. Major brands that use SmartFarm to improve their farming processes and associated outcomes include McCain, Syngenta, BASF, Government of Karnataka and the World Bank.

With the introduction of the mobile app on iOS, SmartFarm will now be accessible on iPhone/iPad devices. This version of the app will equip the heads of agribusinesses to have complete visibility of near-real-time farming operations and enable access to actionable data insights on-the-go to make timely decisions. With the release of the SmartFarm app on iOS, CropIn is crafting a holistic solution that makes monitoring the entire farming process extremely easy.

No proposal to Close MTNL, BSNL: Telecom Minister Prasad

The government on Wednesday said there is no proposal to close state-run telecom companies BSNL and MTNL, and a comprehensive plan for their revival is under preparation.

“No proposal of closure of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) is under consideration,” Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad informed the Lok Sabha.

In a separate reply, he said there was no such proposal under consideration for BSNL as well.

“Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and Deloitte were engaged to facilitate the preparation of the revival/ restructuring plan of BSNL and MTNL respectively. Pursuant to their recommendations and approval of respective Boards, a comprehensive revival plan for BSNL and MTNL is under preparation,” Prasad added.

The loss making telecom firms have approached the Department of Telecom for immediate help as they are facing financial stress, which has aggravated due to the tariff war triggered by the entry of Reliance Jio.

According to data shared in the Lok Sabha, the market share of MTNL in the two circles where it operates has declined to 6.95% at the end of 2018-19 from 7.37% in 2016-17.

BSNL’s market share, despite cut-throat competition, increased to 10.72% from 9.63% on pan-India basis during the same period.

“The telecom sector is facing financial stress due to stiff competition and reduction in tariffs. The gross revenue of two private operators ie Airtel and Vodafone/Idea has also reduced in FY 2017-18 and FY 2018-19,” Prasad added.

The minister said there was a delay of some days in payment of salary in the last five to six months at MTNL due to shortage of funds arising out of mismatch in revenue inflows and liability outflows, but now no salary payment is pending.

“The salary to BSNL employees is being paid regularly. However there was some delay in the salary paid for the month of February, 2019,” Prasad said.

Coolpad Cool 3 Plus Launched with Dewdrop Display, Helio A22, Dual Security; Price Starts at Rs 5999

The Indian youth demands more than just functionality from smartphones. Millennials are increasingly looking for a seamless design, ground-breaking innovation along with value for money. Understanding these demands, Coolpad, a leading global smartphone brand established by Yulong group has launched the Coolpad Cool 3 Plus.

The smartphone that runs on an MT6761(Helio A22), Quad Core 2.0 GHz Clock Speed coupled with 3 GB RAM, and a stunning 5.7” Dewdrop screen, is being launched in the Indian market at an unbelievably competitive price range. Designed keeping in mind the millennials, Coolpad’s Cool 3 Plus will be available in two young and bold colors including Ocean Blue and Cherry Black. Cool 3 Plus will be available in two storage variants, i.e 2GB RAM/ 16GB storage, and 3GB RAM/32GB storage. Priced at INR 5,999/- and INR 6,499/-, respectively, the smartphone will be available for booking on Amazon.in starting 2nd July.

Speaking on the new launch, Coolpad India CEO, Fisher Yuan said, “We are thrilled to launch the Coolpad Cool 3 Plus which will transform the definition of budget smartphones in the country. While designing the smartphone, we have kept in mind the needs of young millennials who look for products that exceed their expectations. The Indian smartphone industry is at a cusp of innovation and with the launch of our latest product, we aim to provide Indian customers with the best of technology and upgrade the smartphone era. To further this, we will soon be launching 5G-ready smartphones in India with 800+ patents under its name.

We are confident that the smartphone will appeal to the Indian masses and help Coolpad achieve its overarching goal to become the most loved smartphone brand and hit the 3 million smartphones mark by the end of FY 2019.”

Commenting on the marketing strategy for the smartphone, Pankaj Updahyay, Online Business  Head, Coolpad India, said, “The Coolpad Cool 3 Plus is set to be a gamechanger in the Indian budget smartphone market. Therefore, it is essential for us to make the phone accessible to each and every one. Launching the phone through India’s leading online shopping destination, Amazon.in, will give us exponentially enhanced visibility. The Cool 3 Plus will be available on Amazon India from 2nd July and we believe that the sales will skyrocket on the back of the website’s vast reach and customer base along with our hard-to-miss prices.”

The young and innovative brand, Coolpad has already established its presence in online as well as offline Indian market with a wide range of smartphones under Coolpad Cool, Coolpad Mega and Coolpad Note series. With the launch of the Coolpad Cool 3 Plus, it will further underline its presence as a  brand that holds innovation at its core and is consistently experimenting with technology to offer a premium range of smartphones to its customers.  As Coolpad’s vision is aligned with that of Make In India, 100% manufacturing of the Coolpad Cool 3 Plus will be carried out in India.

 The Coolpad Cool 3 Plus is a multitasker that delivers a performance like no other in its price bracket. What really makes the Coolpad Cool 3 Plus stand out of the crowd is the fact that it offers truly premium features such as its 5.7” Dewdrop screen at a highly competitive price range. At 8.2mm thickness, it is extremely lightweight and portable. Further, its advanced fingerprint sensor offers 12% faster unlocking for people who are on the go. Finally, the phone comes with USB OTG (On-The-Go) which can allow tech-savvy users to connect their device with a keyboard, card reader, U-disk and more.

Enhancing the convenience delivered by the smartphone, the brand has inculcated high-performing auxiliary features including 5.0 Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, gravity sensor, light sensor and proximity sensor.

Coolpad Cool 3 Plus launched through a grand event on June 26, 2019, at New Delhi. The launch event witnessed the presence of Coolpad’s leadership team and featured a demo zone for guests to experience the product.

Manipal Health Partners with Nasscom to Enable Technology Enabled Newer Healthcare Delivery Models

Manipal Hospitals, one of the nation’s leading healthcare providers, today announced its collaboration with NASSCOM Center of Excellence to capitalize on the multiple benefits of advanced technologies for improved healthcare delivery.

The partnership will leverage the benefits that IoT and AI can bring to the healthcare sector. They aim to deploy emerging technologies, to ensure better delivery of healthcare.
The two companies have identified the following major areas of collaboration:
1.       Manipal Health will closely with NASSCOM CoE in evangelizing the digital healthcare solutions adoption by the healthcare delivery organization, through NASSCOM CoEs, flagship initiative LHIF (Lifesciences & Healthcare Innovation Forum).  LHIF is a collaborative innovation platform consisting of Start-ups, Medical Device Companies, Pharma Companies, Insurance Companies, Academia and government representatives. This forum helps in peer group collaboration, deliberate on contemporary topics around technology adoption, policy level challenges, disruptive delivery models etc.
2.       Under the co-creation program, Manipal Health works closely with NASSCOM CoE in identifying latest health tech products and solutions available in the eco-system consisting of Startups and Technology companies, to meet their internal business needs and address their operational challenges. This co-creation program helps Manipal Health in sourcing innovative solutions at affordable cost and with quick implementation time frames.
3.       NASSCOM CoE, provides access to latest innovations emerging in the Indian eco-system that can be leveraged by Manipal Health for adoption. In turn Manipal Health provides mentorship to the healthcare startups in designing their solutions and scaling up their business, by providing access to their experts and giving them the opportunity to work with them through co-creation program.
4.       Work together on social impact projects that benefit the corporate social responsibility objectives of Manipal Health.

Speaking on the occasion, Sanjeev Malhotra, CEO, NASSCOM Center of Excellence, said, “This partnership with Manipal Hospitals is reflective of the synergy between healthcare and technology today. The Center of Excellence is fostering innovation across leading industry verticals, and healthcare is one such industry at the forefront of digital transformation. Through this partnership, I am hopeful that we can accelerate Manipal Hospitals’ endeavour to be a leader in adopting digital technologies for enhanced patient care.”

As per Dr. Anoop Amarnath, Chief of Clinical Services, Manipal Hospitals, “Technology is the only means through which healthcare can be delivered to a wider audience. As India moves towards universal health coverage, this partnership between Manipal Health and NASSCOM CoE, will enable technology-enabled healthcare models to reach out to the truly deserving.”

Quantum Expands Offerings with New Line of Distributed Cloud Services and Cloud-Based Analytics Software

Quantum Corp. has announced Distributed Cloud Services, a new line of operational services and storage-as-a-service offerings. Quantum Distributed Cloud Services are designed to enable customers to redirect valuable IT and engineering resources to focus on meeting business goals, improving the overall user experience and maximizing the return on investment for storage, while maintaining the control and security of an on-premise infrastructure. These services are powered by Quantum’s new Cloud-Based Analytics (CBA) software, which serves as a central hub where Quantum products are designed to connect to send log files and other telemetry data about their environment, making them part of the Quantum Distributed Cloud.  Quantum’s global services team is then positioned to proactively manage the customer’s environment, either as an operational service or as a pay-per-use Storage-as-a-Service offering.

“I regularly meet customers with a wide range of interests – from making movies, to studying the environment, or providing a secure venue for a sporting event – but they have one thing in common: they want to focus on their business rather than the data storage that supports it," said Jamie Lerner, Chairman and CEO, Quantum.  “We’re seeing more customers who want the simplicity of cloud computing, but the performance and economics of on-premise storage.  With Quantum’s Cloud Based Analytics, all of our systems securely join a distributed cloud that can be managed by the customer or Quantum resources anywhere globally.”

The Need for Distributed Services and Cloud Services

Leveraging and capturing value from digital data has become central to the success of many businesses today, which are increasingly challenged to create more, study more, and develop more with fewer IT and engineering resources.  These businesses are looking to others to manage their data storage infrastructure so they can focus on their core mission.

Cloud-Like Simplicity with On-Premise Control: Quantum Operational Services

Quantum Operational Services, a new line of proactive managed services, are designed to provide cloud-like simplicity with the benefits of on-premise control.  Using Quantum Operational Services, Quantum works with its customers to manage day-to-day storage operations,  with the goal of providing better uptime via proactive monitoring and analysis. These services can create a better user experience for internal and external customers.

Key Benefits:

Eliminate the burden storage management places on IT and engineering resources
Reduce downtime and improve the user experience
Maintain the control and security of an on-premise infrastructure
Maximize storage ROI

Quantum Storage-as-a-Service Offerings

For customers who want all the benefits of Quantum Operational Services, delivered with a pay-per-use subscription service, Quantum is also introducing a new line of Storage-as-a-Service offerings.  Leading Quantum products can now be purchased via a predictable, pay-per-use pricing model with no data access fees.

Key Benefits:

Reduce upfront acquisition costs
Reduce operational and administrative resources and costs by only paying for storage used
Eliminate unplanned capital spend and forklift upgrades
Improve control and security with an on-premise infrastructure
Avoid data access fees or unpredictable charges
Reduce downtime and achieve better performance

Quantum Cloud-Based Analytics Software

At the core of Quantum’s new services is CBA software.  Quantum designed CBA software to enable customers, partners and Quantum’s support team to proactively manage and monitor their environments across the globe from a central hub.  Many of Quantum’s largest media customers, enterprises, and some of the world’s largest service provides are using this software to actively manage their Quantum products and technology today.

Customers who opt to send data to Quantum’s CBA software can choose to monitor their environments themselves, or Quantum can proactively monitor and manage their environments for them via the Distributed Cloud Services.

Availability

Quantum Operational Services and Storage-as-a-Service Offerings are generally available today. Cloud-Based Analytics software is available today across most of Quantum’s product lines, and customers can start sending data to CBA software today and access their content via a web-based portal at no charge.

Innoviti Uses ML-Based Path Predictor Tech to Dramatically Improve User Experience of Google Pay Payments

Leading payment solutions provider, Innoviti Payment Solutions, announced a significant upswing in the volume contribution of the fast-growing UPI payment platform to its overall payment transaction processing in offline retail stores after introduction of ML-based Path Predictor technology.  Path Predictor, a patented technology of Innoviti, uses Machine Learning to decipher patterns lying deep within millions of transactions passing through Innoviti to create models that dynamically and in real-time select the best path for a UPI transaction, leading to dramatic change in UPI success rates and a seamless consumer experience. Since introduction of this technology, over the recent 3 months of Q2 2019, UPI@POS transactions at Innoviti have grown to contribute nearly 2% of Innoviti’s overall transaction processing volume.

This technology was also used by Innoviti to enable Google Pay across its stores and the combination of UPI through Google Pay and Path Predictor has led to volumes climbing to nearly 10% for several stores.  The convenience from this seamless experience is visible with a nearly 21% repeat monthly usage of Google Pay by consumers for their daily purchases in such stores.

In offline retail, where card acceptance through POS is a must, the checkout experience using UPI was less than optimal due to high transaction failure rates.  With the addition of Path Predictor, Innoviti has crossed this hurdle and looks forward to a multi-fold surge in Google Pay and other UPI-based payment formats in the coming months.

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Sajith Sivanandan, Business Director, Google Pay and NBU, India said, ““Our vision is to enable fast, seamless, and secure payments for our users anywhere, at any time, whether they are paying other users, buying products or services online, or shopping at a retail outlet. The offline ecosystem forms an important part of this objective and we're excited to partner with Innoviti and facilitate this across the country.”

Mr. Rajeev Agrawal, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Innoviti said, ““We are very excited by the upsurge we are seeing in customer usage of UPI-based payments at physical stores after the rollout of the Path Predictor tool. With rapid increase in payment transactions and increase in number of payment types, conventional technology approaches are unable to deliver desired consumer experience. Innoviti has been investing deeply into data sciences and machine learning to push the technological edge for our customers to the next level. We are delighted that our machine learning strategy coupled with superior integration with Google Pay is showing results for our merchants”

Google Pay has been deployed by Innoviti across 12,000 points of acceptance including in large pan-India retail chains like Reliance Retail, Vishal Megamart and others. It is being extended to Innoviti’s entire merchant base in a phased manner.  Across India Innoviti processes 5B$ of payments annually from over 1000+ cities, with a throughput per point of acceptance of 7000$, 2X of India’s average (as per RBI data).  Innoviti provides payment solutions to merchants doing digital billing, by integrating their billing and payment operations into one seamless flow. 

Metz Launches Infinity Screen Google Certified Android 8.0 Smart TVs on Amazon.in

Premium German brand METZ has launched android 8.0 Smart TVs today in India on Amazon. in. The newly launched TV comprises of 32 inch (M32E6) HD Ready Android 8.0 Infinity Screen TV  @ 12999, 40 inch (M40E6) Full HD Android 8.0 Infinity Screen TV @ 20999, 50 inch (M50G2) 4K UHD Android 8.0 Infinity Screen TV @36999 and 55 inch (M55G2) 4K UHD Android 8.0 Infinity Screen TV @ 42999.

The newly launched TVs are Google Certified Android and are known for their remarkable features including German Technology , premium Aesthetics, Bezel less Infinity Screen ,high resolution, millions of apps from Google play store, YouTube, Hot star, Netflix,  and many more such attributes.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Norbert Kotzbauer CEO METZ Germany & Mr. Victor Wan- MD- METZ India said “We are happy to launch 4 SKU today on Amazon. in. Our products are characterized by incredible German engineering and are simple to operate. Our products are also known for their latest smart functions that allow unlimited entertainment in the living room.”

Speaking about the launch Garima Gupta, Category Leader – Televisions, Amazon India (Designation) said “We are excited to partner with METZ to bring their Android 8.0 Smart TVs for our customers on Amazon.in. With this partnership, we continue to build a strong portfolio of televisions offering vast selection, great value, fast doorstep delivery and an unparalleled shopping experience.”

With the aim of enchanting its customers by its marvel of engineering, performance and durability, METZ, the premium German brand, acquired by Skyworth in 2015, and is all set to unveil its premium range LED TVs.  Metz brand range of UHD, OLED with advanced technology of AI will be made available online on Amazon. in in India.

Meeting the aspirations of Indian customers for latest technology products at the best value will be the Hall mark of Metz brand in India.

CreditAccess Grameen Crosses 10 Lakh Disbursals in Water and Sanitation Loans

Bengaluru headquartered  CreditAccess Grameen Limited (NSE: CREDITACC, BSE: 541770), country’s second largest microfinance NBFC, disburses over 10 lakhs water and sanitation loans.

An in-house feasibility study by CreditAccess Grameen team found that lack of hygiene practices and proper sanitation facilities were the main reasons behind poor health conditions in rural areas.  To counteract the issue, the company had pioneered a three pronged strategy that included creating awareness, imparting training on various aspects of sanitation and providing access to affordable credit for toilet construction to needy customers since 2011-12.

Commenting on this milestone, Mr. Udaya Kumar Hebbar, Managing Director and CEO of CreditAccess Grameen, said, “We remain committed to creating a Swachh India, by enabling access to safe water and sanitation facilities. Our approach of reaching out to people at grassroots level and building a sustainable model ground up has helped us to leverage the programme. CreditAccess Grameen has been continuously working on awareness building at village level, panchayat level, our customer level as well as at schools around our branches about Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) as part of our CSR program using our employees, volunteers, wall paintings and rural street plays.

“In a distinctive sense, sanitation loans are not income generating but it creates a stream of benefits for the borrowers by reducing medical expenses, number of days lost of illness and increasing productivity. So in effect these loans can be classified as income enhancing. Furthermore, to reduce the stress of repayments, even the loan size is kept at just about Rs 15000/-, and we allow our customers to repay in two years” He added.

In the communities where CreditAccess Grameen is actively involved, the impact of its comprehensive awareness program and the affordable credit facility is very evident with people queuing up to avail the loans to build toilets. Customer awareness activities are being executed in assistance with the CSR partner NGO, Navya Disha to educate the masses.  The organization aims to reach more than 2 million people through various activities such as branch staff training, gram Panchayat level awareness programs, customer orientation at group meetings, street plays, district level workshops and orientation programs for high school students.

The Company has received several awards and recognitions for its effort in providing affordable loans to build toilets and access a clean drinking water supply. In the year 2017, CA Grameen received the ISC-FICCI 2017 award for Best Financial Accessibility for Sanitation and also won the SKOCH Resilient India Award 2017 for Sanitation.

QuEST Global Unveils Product Engineering Services and Solutions Center in France

QuEST Global, a global product engineering and lifecycle services company, has opened its engineering center in France. The new center, inaugurated by Ajit Prabhu, Chairman and CEO, QuEST Global, is part of the company’s vision to be the most recognized and trusted engineering services and solutions provider to its customers. By enabling its customers to create new products, open new markets and maximize efficiency, the new center will strengthen QuEST Global’s commitment to solve some of the toughest problems faced by OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers in the region. With this center in France, QuEST Global has expanded its footprint across 14 countries globally. In Europe, the company currently has delivery centers in the UK, Germany, Spain, Romania, Sweden and Italy.

Located in Toulouse, this center aims at delivering comprehensive product engineering services and solutions by converging mechanical, electronics, software and digital design services for the company’s customers across the aerospace & defense, aero engines, oil & gas, power and industrial domains. The center will enable QuEST Global to introduce a host of services and solutions, for its strategic customers like Airbus. This will include the provision of manufacturing engineering services, design and analysis, data analytics, blueprint solutions around block chain, predictive maintenance, nFlow engine around chat bot integration and augmented reality based solution AR360.

Being an innovative global company with local flavor, this center will enable QuEST Global to bring its global domain and engineering expertise to France by adopting its local-global business model. In this center, the company will set up a digital innovation lab specifically for Aerospace & Defense and Aero Engine industries that will showcase the company’s investments in the factory of the future. The innovation in this lab will be fueled by a think-tank team of engineers with digital design and manufacturing expertise.

QuEST Global has been a partner of Airbus since 2008 and has been delivering design engineering solutions with maximum innovative productivity improvements. As a leader in providing premium product engineering services and solutions, QuEST Global is a trusted global player in the industry. The investments QuEST Global is making in the region aim at addressing various new age engineering challenges in France and other European markets.

Bob Harvey, President, QuEST Global said, “In the past two decades, as a trusted thinking partner to our customers, we have scaled our European footprint with a proactive approach of investing in the local markets that have helped us to be close to our customers. The center in Toulouse is a testimony of our deep commitment towards our strategic customers and the local economy where we will be creating employment opportunities and hiring more people over the years. Our unique synergy with customers, the ability to expand in various global markets through our integrated local–global delivery approach and the expertise in converging mechanical, electronics, digital and software technologies helps us solve complex engineering challenges faced by our customers.”

QuEST Global’s European team of over 2300 engineers has been supporting customers in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Poland and Romania with a focus on the Aerospace & Defense, Industrial, Transportation (Automotive and Rail), Oil & Gas, Power and Medical Devices industries. Over the years, the company has grown exponentially in the European region and the offices across this geography play a vital role in the local-global business model of QuEST Global.

Boeing and HAL Celebrate Delivery of 150th Gun Bay Door for the F/A-18 Super Hornet

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) celebrated a milestone with Boeing, with the delivery of the 150th gun bay door for the F/A-18 Super Hornet.

The Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet is a twin-engine supersonic all weather, carrier-capable multirole combat jet delivering cutting-edge, next-generation multi-role strike fighter capability.

HAL has been Boeing’s long-term supplier in India for over 25 years. Boeing awarded HAL the contract to manufacture gun bay doors for the Super Hornet in 2007.

“We’re proud of our partnership with HAL. This delivery of the 150th gun bay door for the Super Hornet demonstrates that Indian suppliers are an integral part of Boeing’s global supply chain. This milestone is yet another endorsement of our commitment to India, which is well recognized today, because we’ve been investing and making in India for several years now,” said Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India. “Our investments in India are robust and ongoing, spanning technology, hi-tech innovation, production capacity, establishing a supply chain network, and developing skilling centers for aerospace manufacturing in India,” Gupte added.

“HAL is committed to strengthening aerospace manufacturing in India. This delivery is not just an important milestone for HAL, but also for Boeing and the Indian industry,” said R. Madhavan, chairman and managing director, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. “We thank Boeing for their support and commitment to Make in India,” he added.

Boeing has offered to build a 21st century aerospace ecosystem in India for manufacturing the F/A-18 Super Hornet with Indian partners, HAL and Mahindra Defence Systems (MDS). This production will create thousands of jobs and hundreds of suppliers in India, similar to the largest Boeing aerospace ecosystem that exists in the U.S., to help realize the Make in India vision to its full potential.

Boeing’s sourcing from India now stands at $1 billion with over 160 existing industrial partners who are raising the bar to deliver excellent quality and productivity, and becoming an important part of the company’s worldwide supply chain for some of the most innovative aerospace products in the world.

Cure.fit Raises $120 Million in Series D Funding in Indian Market

Health and fitness start-up cure.fit announced today that it has raised $120 million in the series D round of equity and debt funding. Led by Chiratae Ventures (formerly IDG Ventures), Accel Partners, Kalaari Capital & Oaktree Capital; the new investors Epiq Capital, Unilever Ventures, Innoven Capital and Kotak Mahindra Bank joined the 4th round of funding for the three year old start-up. The fresh investment will fund cure.fit’s expansion plans in India and globally.

Founded in 2016 by Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori, cure.fit, one of India’s highest funded start-ups, has built the world's first integrated health platform that brings together all aspects of healthy lifestyle on one platform. With over 2 million downloads, cure.fit has built an innovative tech platform to manage every day health and built an offline fulfilment network for all its services.

With presence in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi-NCR region, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur and the recent foray into Dubai, cure.fit’s innovative and holistic approach has been adopted by over 500K active subscribers across various offerings with strong cross usage between services. Cure.fit has over 180 cult.fit centres, 35 mind.fit centres and aims to grow this to over 800 centres by 2020. Eat.fit is servicing over 35K meals/day now and doubling every 3 months.

Mukesh Bansal commented, "Health habits of consumers has changed over the past few years and the need for new tech driven approach is a need for a much better consumer experience. cure.fit has created a unique platform and category to help meet this demand and to become the go to destination for all health needs for India. Leveraging deep tech and strong on-ground network, we aspire to service over 100 million consumers over next 10 years”.

“Accel continues to be a strong supporter of cure.fit since their inception. The team has identified a unique customer value proposition (exemplified by best in class NPS) across the health & wellness sector, in a rapidly expanding market. We therefore really appreciate the opportunity to lead another round of investment in the company!”, said Subrata Mitra, Partner at Accel.

Sudhir Sethi, Founder & Chairman of Chiratae Ventures, added “cure.fit in its last 3 years blazed to India’s dominant Fitness and Health Tech Player. Now with the Dubai operations, it’s well poised to take the unique offering to international markets. Another Indian Consumer Brand going global".

“We are proud of our continued association with cure.fit. The leadership team has set high standards to serve customers and deliver great products”, said Vani Kola, Managing Director at Kalaari Capital.

“cure.Fit has emerged as one of the largest and fastest growing health & wellness integrated platform in Asia. Combining seamlessly online and offline experiences, cure.fit technology has created an intelligent, personalised and versatile health companion that takes a holistic approach to physical and mental wellbeing. We are excited on the opportunity to work with the cure.fit team”, said Pawan Chaturvedi, Investment Director at Unilever Ventures.

Investors in Series D funding round include existing investors - Accel Partners, Kalaari Capital, Chiratae Ventures (formerly IDG Ventures) and Oaktree Capital; along with new investors – Epiq Capital, Unilever Ventures, Innoven Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Kris Gopalkrishnan Family Office and Bruno Rachelle Family Office.

Citrix Strengthens Channel Presence, Announces Savex Technologies as New Distributor in India

Citrix has announced its expanded presence across the channel ecosystem in India, through the appointment of its third distributor in the region, Savex Technologies. Designed to drive deeper levels of reseller engagement across the region, the expanded distribution network aims to provide better partner access to secure workplaces, networking and cloud solutions, for their businesses and our mutual customers.

Commenting on the appointment, Raghuram Krishnan, Director-Partner, Citrix India, said “Citrix is glad to welcome Savex Technologies on board and we are confident that our strategic partnership will enhance our presence in the region and help us reach new markets. Savex Technologies’ expertise makes them a natural fit to offer value-added Citrix solutions and services to our India reseller ecosystem. We look forward to a great partnership with them.”

Anil Jagasia – Founder and Chairman, Savex Technologies Pvt Ltd said; "We are pleased to collaborate with a leading technology solutions provider like Citrix and showcase Citrix’s solutions and services to our reseller base. The Citrix portfolio greatly compliments ours, this strategic partnership will enable us to further deliver Citrix technologies into the channel, ultimately supporting our mutual customers and helping to ensure success in this fast-growing market. "

About Savex:  Established in 1988 and continuously evolving since then, Savex is one of the largest Information and Communication Technology distributor in India.  Headquartered in Mumbai, the company is having 39 sales offices, and 42 stock locations, a sales force of over 400 and 7000+ partners in 700 cities.

With 30years of experience in the Indian ICT Industry Savex core strengths lies in selection of Best breed of Products and Solutions, Seasoned Team with knowledge and expertise along with Cutting edge technology and rigorous process control, Savex focuses on solution Selling and Security Services with strong Logistics and ability to deliver in 700 cities in India and globally over 200 countries in local currency. Savex also has a network of over 20000 engineers as part of our extended team.

Under guidance from Leadership Team comprising of Anil Jagasia – Founder and Chairman, Jayant Goradia – CEO and Director, Devang Pandya – CTO and Director, Raunak Jagasia- Director Enterprise Business and Alliance, Mahendra Wahile – Director and Saurabh Naik – Director, company has been able to maintain trust and integrity in the market

Savex Technologies will join Citrix with their existing distributors in the India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Srilanka and Maldives market, who have played a key role in helping partners to capitalize on growing market opportunities. The newly appointed distributor will provide Citrix’s partner ecosystem with increased support in the key focus areas of secure workspaces, networking and cloud, in addition to more enablement opportunities and expanded access to multi-vendor configurations.

Subex Joins GLF’s (Global Leaders’ Forum) Communications Blockchain Network

Subex has announced that it will be a part of the ITW Global Leaders’ Forum’s Communications Blockchain Network (CBN), a blockchain-based consortium which aims to revolutionize the ICT Service Provider industry’s commercial settlement infrastructure. Through its mission to accelerate the adoption of automated settlement applications, CBN represents an opportunity worth billion to the global industry in terms of costs savings and revenues from new products and services.

The ITW Global Leaders’ Forum is a global network of leaders from the world’s largest International Carriers, who convene to discuss strategic issues and to agree collaborative activities, with the aim of upholding the principle of interoperability and ubiquitous international and technological coverage.

The CBN, which is expected to go live in the coming months, will be governed by a collaborative structure. Besides technology providers like Subex, the platform will see support from 11 leading global carriers to ensure this blockchain-based, special purpose mechanism can become a reality.

Blockchain, or distributed ledger technology (DLT), can provide significant benefits that will transform inter-service provider settlement processes by enabling automation and improving security. DLT-based automation can facilitate carriers to settle new types of traffic, underpinning network and service innovation, and save costs.

The objective for the platform, and the collaborative industry-wide governance framework, is to facilitate development of open-source standards and APIs that enable service-provider interoperability of DLT-enabled services and manage critical infrastructure elements of the platform.

Louisa Gregory, leading the GLF working group on blockchain and Chief of Staff of Colt, said: “For the past 14 months the GLF and its partners have been putting rigour and processes behind this platform and we believe that now is the time to launch. The blockchain-based ecosystem has been tested with resounding success at every stage, and we believe that this platform signals nothing less than the future of ICT financial settlement.”

Vinod Kumar, Managing Director and CEO, Subex said “Digital Trust is increasingly gaining importance in the connected ecosystem and there is an urgent need to simplify inter-service interactions, without diluting the trust within these transactions. This is where technologies like Blockchain can be of great significance. In line with this, Subex is excited to be a part of GLF’s CBN initiative and work together with leading carriers and technology partners towards democratizing trust and simplifying the settlement process by using blockchain.”

Rohit Maheshwari, Head of Strategy and Products, Subex adds, “Subex has been at the centre of enabling digital businesses to effectively partner and transact with each other. Through the open and secure nature of Blockchain, the potential to fundamentally transform the way digital service providers (DSP) interact with each other is now on the table. Subex’s Blockchain based partner management solution is designed to enable DSPs to innovate, launch new services faster and disrupt markets while ensuring safety and security. We are also excited about possibility of leveraging Blockchain for use cases beyond partner management to areas with far reaching use cases for establishing Digital Trust. Therefore, we believe being part of a consortium of leaders like GLF will only propel our R&D efforts in Blockchain and help make it a business reality.”

Tata Motors Conducted the Fourth Edition of ‘TechFest’ and ‘SkillFest’ Programs

True to its moto of ‘Connecting Aspirations’, Tata Motors had recently conducted the Season-4 of Tata Motors Global TechFest and Global SkillFest 2019, an initiative to improve the skill and knowledge of commercial vehicles technicians and service advisors across the globe. The program saw over 7400 technicians and 3400 service advisors’ entries from 29 countries globally, including 801 channel partners from India and 500 from 28 countries globally i.e. Asean, LATAM, SAARC, LHD Africa, RHD Africa and Middle East.

Through this championship, Tata Motors aims to promote a mutual understanding between Tata Motors’ and the technicians and service advisors of their commercial vehicles channel partners. The theme of this year’s edition was to celebrate the technical & advisory skills of participants, allowing them to learn the latest in service technologies, at the same time understanding their training needs, ensuring the highest levels of service quality and delivery. The winners’ won cash prize worth $2000 (1st), $1500 (2nd) and $1000 (3rd) for SkillFest, whereas cash prize worth $1700 (1st), $1200 (2nd) and $700 (3rd) for TechFest.

Commenting on the championship, Mr. R. Ramakrishnan, Global Head Customer care, CVBU, Tata Motors Limited said, “The automotive industry is challenged with acute shortage of skilled manpower, especially technicians. With the transforming nature of the industry, it is imperative that the service aspect evolves correspondingly. The aim of this initiative is to bridge the skill gap in the industry and provide participants with hands-on learning. As a responsible company, we are committed towards the cause of promoting skill development and employment generation in the industry.”

The program familiarizes the participants about various aspects of commercial vehicles through competitive testing on technical know-how, product diagnosis, trouble shooting skills, knowledge on tools equipment usage, safe working practices, knowledge on processes, service IT ecosystems including CRMDMS and customer care APP, customer focused approach, soft skills, and new technological advancements.

The 5-stage competition was based on technical and theoretical tests, which analyses the quality of technicians. Through these evaluation processes, Tata Motors has been able to design and develop advanced training modules to upgrade technical skills and usage of specialised tools, also rewarding and recognising best talent, and thereby creating healthy competition among channel partners. Since its inception, the program over the last four editions has trained and provided exposure to over 20,000 technicians and service advisors of their commercial vehicles channel partners.

FIA Tech Achieves Milestone “20 Million Customers” in June 2019

FIA Tech, a leading fintech company in digital payment & distribution systems for the last mile financial inclusion, has crossed milestone 20 million customers in June 2019. The company has got maximum number of subscribers from states such as West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, UP and Rajasthan who have opted for financial services through wider network of FIA tech.

To further increase the customer base, company is also planning to cross sell key products through their innovative technology platform besides focusing on deepening their presence and adding new customers in the next 2 years.

Commenting the development, Ms. Seema Prem, CEO of FIA Tech said, “Reaching a 20 million customer base is a milestone achievement for us and is a testimony of customers having faith in FIA. With the industry showing upward trend, we are hopeful to see a large base getting added into Indian financial inclusion system enabled by FIA’s cutting edge technology.” “We are aligned to Govt’s larger agenda of enabling financial inclusion to the last mile” She further added.

With a digital payment network spanning 622 districts in the country, FIA Tech provides banking and financial services at the door step of customers in underserved low-income households and minorities in India and Nepal. Profitable since inception, company has seen increased adoption of financial services across its range of products – basic banking services, mutual funds advisory and loan sourcing. Company will soon be rolling out intuitive investing platform for the masses and focus on loan origination for the credit invisible.

Airtel Thanks its Mobile Customers with FREE Hello Tunes

As part of the growing range of exciting benefits under its refreshed #AirtelThanks program, Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”) said the its Postpaid and Prepaid mobile customers can now set their favourite songs as their Hello Tunes (ring back tones) for FREE through Wynk Music app. 

 All 40 million songs from Wynk Music’s library will now be available to eligible Airtel mobile customers as ‘Hello Tunes’ without the monthly subscription charge of Rs 36.

 This exclusive benefit will be available to all mobile customers on prepaid bundles or postpaid plans of Rs 129 and above.

 To get their FREE Hello Tunes customers simply need to download the latest version of Wynk Music app (available for both iOS and Android) and click on the Hello Tunes icon to set their favourite songs as their ring back tone.

Customers can set and change their ‘Hello Tunes’ as many times as they want. One only needs to renew the FREE ‘Hello Tunes’ subscription through Wynk Music every 30 days.

Wynk Music’s extensive library offers popular music in 12 genres and 15 languages, including English, Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Haryanvi, Bhojpuri, Bengali, Oriya, Assamese and Rajasthani.

 Says Sameer Batra, CEO – Content & Apps, Bharti Airtel: “We are happy to offer Wynk Music’s full catalogue as ring back tone on a subscription free basis as part of #AirtelThanks. Wynk Music’s focus has been on leveraging technology and deep data science to deliver a personalized and intuitive user experience. ‘Hello Tunes’ is a product that Airtel mobile customers use to express themselves. Airtel mobile customers can now enjoy their favourite songs on Wynk Music and also at the click of a button set them as their Hello Tune. This is yet other delightful benefit from Airtel to thank its customers.”

 How eligible customers can set their favorite songs as FREE Hello Tunes using Wynk Music   

1.      Download the latest version of Wynk Music or update your existing app to the latest version
2.      Launch the app and click on the ‘Hello Tunes’ icon on the top right hand corner of the app
3.      Search for your favourite song and select as your Hello Tune
4.      Alternately users can play their favourite song and click on the Hello Tunes icon in the music player to set the song as their Hello Tune
5.      Confirm your Hello Tune on Wynk Music app every 30 days to continue enjoying the free subscription

#AirtelThanks is part of Airtel’s motto of winning with quality customers and the refreshed program is designed to deliver exclusive rewards. The new program is tiered in its offering – Silver, Gold and Platinum. Each tier opens a whole new set of benefits for Airtel customers. The benefits are powered by Airtel’s strong partnerships, which go from premium content brands like Amazon Prime, Netflix and Zee5 to Wynk music, device brands and many more.