Friday, August 2, 2019

Garden City - Bengaluru Gets its First Exclusive Finolex House


Finolex Cables Limited, India’s leading manufacturer of electrical and communication cables, today inaugurated ‘Finolex House’ – its first exclusive brand retail store in Bengaluru, the garden city of India. This launch marks Finolex’s foray into exclusive retail format in Karnataka after their foray into Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

The showroom was launched with a customary ribbon cutting by Mr. G Sunder, Assistant Vice President, Finolex Cables Ltd and will serve as a one stop shop for consumers who are constructing or improving homes as the store is designed to offer end to end electrical solutions for a safe home, from range of high quality cables to electrical fittings.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Deepak Chhabria, Executive Chairman, Finolex Cables Limited said, “We are delighted to announce our first Finolex House in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It is indeed gratifying that Finolex continues to be the preferred choice of our esteemed customers. Committed to providing our customers a value for money proposition through highest standard of products, this launch signifies our efforts towards efficiency and providing a one stop solution to our valuable customers.”

Speaking on the launch, Mr. Amit Mathur, Senior Vice President, Finolex Cables, said “With the launch of the sixth Finolex House, the brand gets a step closer to consumers who are seeking not only beautiful but safe homes. Consumers today are paying attention to all aspects of building including quality of electrical fittings to ensure that only high quality products are used. Finolex House will cater to the specific requirement of the discerning consumer offering them quality options under one roof.”

He further added, “2019 is a big year for us as we add around 50 Finolex Houses by the end of 2019 in key Indian cities. Finolex House will have experts who will help consumers with appropriate products for safe and secure homes. Currently the brand retails out of 4000 channel partners across the country, showing our strong retail network.”

With the launch of Bengaluru’s first and the company’s sixth Finolex House, the brand gets a step closer to consumers who are seeking not only beautiful but safe homes. Consumers today are paying attention to all aspects of building including quality of electrical fittings to ensure that only high quality products are used. Finolex House will cater to the specific requirement of the discerning consumer offering them quality options under one roof.

The product range includes Electrical Wires, Industrial Flexibles, 3 Core Flat Cables and Winding Wires, Auto & Battery Cables, Low Voltage and High Voltage Power Cables, Coaxial Cables, Speaker Cables, Telephone Cables, CCTV Cables, Solar Cables, Optic Fibre Cables, Fans & Water Heaters, Switches & Accessories, Switchgear products and LED Lighting Products.

India’s Gaming Destination - Paytm First Games to Raise $25 Million


Paytm First Games, one of India’s leading gaming destination, is in discussion with investors to raise $25 million for further expansion. As the portal plans to add more games for users, the funding will be invested in its technology platform and for building e-sporting events. It also plans to double down on its current team size of over 150 people.

Within a year of its launch, Paytm First Games has become one of India’s fastest growing gaming portals with an annual revenue run rate of $50 million.  It offers more than 300 engaging games including the popular ones like fantasy cricket, fantasy kabaddi, fantasy soccer, rummy, battle center for games of skill, 8 ball pool, ludo, and live quiz. It’s fantasy cricket game, ‘First Captains’ received overwhelming response from users during the recently concluded Cricket World Cup and helped it grow 3x during the tournament.

Sudhanshu Gupta, COO, Paytm First Games, said, “The platform has grown multifold in last one year. We now have about 30 million users on our platform with half of them being monthly active users. On our paid games, people spend around Rs 4,000 on games like Rummy, while the spends are to the tune of Rs 400 in fantasy league, etc.”

TCL's Unveils P8 Series - 4K AI Android P 9.0 TV with Advance AI Function in Indian Market


The Global Top-2 TV Corporation, TCL has come up with a brand new and innovative range of 4K AI TVs that are propelled by the latest Google-Certified Android Pie (9.0) and leverage artificial intelligence to completely transform the TV viewing experience for Indian users. TCL has unveiled P8S, P8E & P8 as part of the series.

P8S Series has 65” and 55” variants and P8E series extends three variants- 55”, 50”, and 43”, P8 will be available 43”, 50” 55” sizes. The first-of-its-kind offering transforms the TV into a seamless gadget, allowing users hands-free controls of not only the TV, but other Smart Home devices like smart fan, robot sweepers, curtains, lights etc. P8S is the flagship model with an advanced league of offering in the Indian landscape with a bezel-less full-screen design and a metallic frame.  P8 model starting from 27990/-, P8E model starting from 29990/-, P8S range starting from 44990/-

Certified by Google Android TV, the latest LED UHD Android Smart DTV utilises AI to deliver an unrivalled experience going beyond simply voice control. The latest TV works seamlessly like a gadget without the use of remote control, owing to AI. Via AI Fairfield Technology, the TV enhances the image and sound engineering to offer the most immersive TV viewing experience. Additionally, with the Sports Mode feature, the TV enhances the perception of an on-going match, giving one of the most dynamic and edgy sports viewing experience.

In accordance to the rise of digitally-savvy consumers, the latest TV by TCL comes integrated with Netflix and YouTube. Furthermore, users can also access the expansive gallery of TCL, owing to its content partnerships with industry leaders like Hotstar, YuppTV, Voot, AltBalaji, and more.

The full range of 4K AI ANDROID TVs represent the future of entertainment in India, equipped with trailblazing innovations in AI technology and Android Pie (9.0) Smart TVs. It also offers dynamic picture and sound quality governed by the AI algorithm. The series from the house of TCL is a testament to the brand’s key focus on the Indian market and will strengthen its foothold in the Smart Home Appliances category. Riding at the back of its unrivalled 38-years of legacy, TCL is driven by a vision of introducing cutting-edge innovations to usher the Indian users into smart and intuitive living. One should anticipate more such launches in the Smart Home appliances technology by TCL.

Geared up for the unveiling, TCL will be hosting live-demo sessions for the audience to showcase the futuristic technology of AI-enabled seamless voice controls of not only the TV but also every connected smart home appliance. Furthermore, the full-range of P8E and P8S series offer a host of such innovations that will be presented at the launch event.

Commenting on the latest development, Mr Mike Chen, TCL India Managing Director said, “We are glad to be hosting the official launch of the P8 Series for the members of the fraternity. Our latest series is going to chart a new chapter in the Smart Home appliances category in India, including the Smart TVs. We have utilised the latest advancements in artificial intelligence to move beyond the status quo offerings in the segment and provide a holistic and seamless experience to our users. We are also excited to host special live-demo sessions for our audience, showcasing just how a 4K AI-enabled Smart TV transforms into a Smart Home gadget, helping users control all of their connected Smart Devices through voice commands. We are excited to serve our audience an experience of the seamless world that we have endeavoured to create with the latest product launch and will coming with more such surprises in the coming time to enable smart and innovative living for our users.”

The latest product launch underlines TCL’s commitment to introducing innovative and affordable solutions in the Indian market that ushers the users into smart and intelligent living. The brand has already launched in the India market AC, Washing machine, Refrigerator. The brand has been consistently following an India-first approach, whether it was sponsoring IPL’s Delhi Capitals to capture the ‘heart’ of the nation or launching GIANT panel factory in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh that allowed the brand to escalate the delivery of innovative products while also creating 8,000 jobs.

Soon after its national launch, TCL emerged as one amongst the leading players in the country. As per the Economic Times, TCL is ranked fifth in the Indian market, in terms of 2018 sales of televisions. With an envious product range that leverages industry-leading advancements in artificial intelligence and IoT, TCL is clearly a consumer favourite for various categories large appliances. The latest launch will further cement its position as the category leader in the country.

Toyota Technical Training Institute (TTTI) Celebrates Graduation of its 10th Batch in Karnataka

Key Highlights

-          Celebrates more than 12 successful years of providing skill training on Global Manufacturing Practices to intelligent students from economically weaker sections across Karnataka.
-          Confers Academic degree to 42 students from rural Karnataka

-          So far, TTTI has trained over 573 students who have been inducted at Toyota Kirloskar Motor & other Toyota Group companies

-          TTTI has been selected as one of the training institutes, under Japan India Manufacturing [JIM] skill transfer promotion program. Under this, Toyota Kirloskar Motor will be one of the Indo-Japanese companies that will help enhance the manufacturing base of India and contribute to Make-In-India and Skill India, through training 30,000 persons over the next 10 years with Japanese-style manufacturing skills and practices.

Toyota Technical Training Institute (TTTI), an institute designed to train bright talents from the rural corners of Karnataka, has celebrated its 10th convocation ceremony and conferred academic degrees to 42 students from the outgoing batch of 2016-19. The academic honors were handed over by Chief Guest, Mr. Ajay Kumar Jain, Chairman/Managing Director, PPAP Automotive Ltd., & President, Toyota Kirloskar Suppliers’ Association, along with Mr. TAKAYUKI KITAGAWA, Consul General of Japan, Bangalore and senior management representatives from Toyota Kirloskar Motor – Mr. Masakazu Yoshimura – Managing Director,  Mr. Vikram Kirloskar, Vice Chairman, Mr. Shekar Viswanathan, Vice Chairman and Whole-time Director while proud parents, friends and relatives watched from the sea of audience members who turned out for the event.

For an industry that is struggling with a dearth of entry-level talent, TTTI inculcates world- class skills training to youth from the economically weaker sections of the society in rural Karnataka and provides a comprehensive three-year program that focuses on their holistic development with knowledge, skill, body and attitude. With a structure that ensures the highest standard of education, the curriculum offers a unique blend of complete learning experience, along with basic subjects, recreational activities and comprehensive training on automobile assembly, automobile paint, automobile weld and mechatronics. In addition, students are given practical training by applying the world renowned ‘Toyota Production Systems’ to the various manufacturing processes at the Toyota plant in Bidadi. Since its inception, the institute has trained over 573 students who have been inducted at Toyota Kirloskar Motor and other Toyota Group companies.

Congratulating the students, Mr. TAKAYUKI KITAGAWA, Consul General of Japan, Bangalore, said “I am very much pleased to be a part the 10th Convocation Ceremony of Toyota Technical Training Institute, which is helping shape a brighter future for the talented youth from economically disadvantaged backgrounds in Karnataka. We encourage more OEMs to follow this example so that they provide standard employable skills for more Indian youth. This would also definitely narrow the skill gap existing in the country and contribute to equalizing the skills required in the dynamic and ever evolving auto industry. This kind of initiatives will be facilitated by the collaboration in the area of skill development and technical exchanges among factories concerned.”

Appreciating Toyota’s vision in making the industry tomorrow ready, Chief Guest, Mr. Ajay Kumar said, “India is a young country and we have some extraordinarily talented youngsters who must be nurtured and provided with the best possible training and opportunities to excel in the competitive society. We need more corporates like Toyota Kirloskar Motor to support Government’s Skill India initiative to create better opportunities, and platforms for the development of their talents. I would also like to congratulate the faculty and staff at Toyota Technical Training Institute for their efforts towards enhancing the skill set and employability of the rural youth and applaud all the outgoing students a bright future and a successful career.”

Congratulating the students, Mr. Atsunori Komeie, Senior Vice President said, “Toyota strongly believes that we have greater role in India than just manufacturing and selling the safest and environment-friendly cars.  It goes beyond the core of our business to build a talent pool that can create a sustainable business environment. In-line with our commitment to the industry, Toyota Technical Training Institute has been a significant arm of Toyota for more than a decade. Our aim here is to create and nurture a best-in-class pool of talent through a curriculum, which not only develops talent but also benefits the entire industrial ecosystem with a workforce that imparts soft skills, ethics and principle. Therefore, it is indeed a proud moment for all of us when TTTI graduates excel in their career and leave a lasting impression on international platforms like World Skill competition etc.

We, as a corporate, will continue our commitment towards achieving the common goal of Skill India mission. TTTI is a great reflection of this belief, and illustrates Toyota’s dedication to fully supporting India on its way to self-sufficiency in the auto industry. Through our robust skill development curriculum, we will not only aim at adding value to every employee’s skill set, but also build a strong work force for the industry as a whole” he added.

Established in the year 2007 as a part of Toyota’s social initiatives, the first batch of students from TTTI received their academic degrees in 2010 in the gracious presence of Dr. Abdul Kalam, Former President of India. The institute is a fully residential school. The objective of TTTI is to develop good corporate citizens equipped with Toyota specific methodologies and create learning opportunities for the deserving individuals. This year TTTI has expanded intake capacity from 64 to 120 students including 5 girls.

During the course, TTTI students also got an opportunity to participate in the National Skill Competition & World Skill Competition (Skill Olympics) in three categories namely - Mechatronics, Car Painting, Prototype Modelling. In 2017, at the 44th World Skills Competition held at Abu Dhabi, Mr. Kiran, employee of Toyota Kirloskar Motor won the bronze medal in the Prototype Modelling Skill, Mr. H Varun and Mr. T A Anand Kumar who are also alumni of TTTI and employees of TKM, ranked sixth in the Mechatronics Skill category.

Indian-Aus Entrepreneur Wins Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award


Indian-Australian Entrepreneur Aamir Qutub has won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award category in the Business Excellence Awards (GBEA) in Australia.

Established in 1986, and managed by the Geelong Chamber of Commerce, The Business Excellence Awards are the oldest continuously running business awards in Australia. Justin Giddings – CEO of Avalon Airport won the Business Leader of the Year and Aamir Qutub (CEO, Enterprise Monkey) won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. "With a record number of entrants participating in the Geelong Business Excellence Awards, and going through a stringent judging process, the Awards are now more competitive than ever. Ask any of the winners, they’re absolutely worth winning" says Ben Flynn, CEO Geelong Chamber of Commerce.

Aamir is the founder & CEO of Enterprise Monkey (a digital solutions agency), Tech Investor and Co-Founder in 6 startups.  Aamir is also the member of Ministerial Advisory Committee to the Minister for Planning in Australia. Aamir was appointed as the General Manager of ICT Geelong (local IT Industry Cluster) at the age of 25. Aamir was the founding Secretary of Pivot Summit - Australia’s largest regional tech conference.

Aamir was brought up in Aligarh city in Uttar Pradesh. He did his Bachelor of Engineering from Aligarh Muslim University in India and immigrated to Australia at the age of 23 to do his MBA from Deakin University.

“I applied for around 150 office jobs but couldn’t get any due to the lack of Australian experience. I used to work as a cleaner at the Avalon Airport and distribute newspapers in midnight to pay for my living and fees.” Aamir says.

In 2012, Aamir got an internship opportunity with ICT Geelong. Impressed with Aamir’s exceptional performance and passion for digital transformation, he was asked by the board to step up as the General Manager of ICT Geelong at the age of 25.

Prior to that Aamir was elected as Gen. Secretary of AMU Students’ Union 2011 (India). As Secretary, Aamir organized the first ever recruitment drive in AMU which resulted in the placement of 2000 students in 30 companies. His passion towards technology contributed in digitization of AMU campus by the introduction of free WiFi and Smart Classrooms. He also developed strong bureaucratic and political connections which empowered him to lobby some National Policies for the welfare of Students.

In 2014, Aamir founded Enterprise Monkey – a web & app solutions company in brother in law’s garage in 2014. “I started with $2000 in savings” says Aamir who led his company to establish in 4 countries with YoY revenue growth of 300% in first 3 years.

Enterprise Monkey has established itself as a leader in web and app space and now growing it’s leadership in Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality and Internet of Things space. The client list includes NASDAQ listed companies as well as seed stage startups.

Gartner Says Worldwide Smartphone Sales Will Decline 2.5% in 2019



Worldwide shipments of devices — PCs, tablets and mobile phones — will total 2.2 billion units in 2019, a decline of 3.3% year over year, according to Gartner, Inc.

The mobile phone market is set to record the worst performance of these device types, declining by 3.8% (see Table 1). “The current mobile phone market of 1.7 billion shipments is around 10% below the 1.9 billion shipments reached in 2015,” said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner. “If mobile phones don’t provide significant new utility, efficiency or experiences, users won’t upgrade them, and will consequently increase these devices’ life spans.”

The trend for lengthening mobile phone life span began in 2018 and will continue through 2019. Gartner predicts that high-end phone life span will increase from 2.6 years to nearly 2.9 years through 2023. Gartner estimates that sales of smartphones will decline by 2.5% in 2019, which would be the worst decline ever.

5G Phones to Represent 51% of Total Phone Sales in 2023

Earlier this year, mobile operators launched 5G services in parts of the U.S., South Korea, Switzerland, Finland and the U.K., but it will take time for carriers to expand 5G coverage beyond major cities.

By 2020, Gartner estimates that 7% of global communications service providers will have a commercially viable wireless 5G service. This will mark significant progress from 5G proofs of concept and commercial network construction work in 2018.

In the first half of 2019, several phone manufacturers released 5G-enabled smartphones. To improve slowing smartphone sales, mobile manufacturers are looking to introduce more affordable 5G-enabled phones in 2020. “In 2020, 5G-capable phones will represent 6% of total sales of phones. As 5G service coverage increases, user experience will improve and prices will decrease. The leap will occur in 2023 when we expect 5G phones to account for 51% of phone sales,” said Mr. Atwal.

Product managers should ensure high-end phones are differentiated by application integration with other devices, rather than relying just on 5G hardware evolution.

Contraction of the PC Market in 2019

While worldwide PC shipments totaled 63 million units and grew 1.5% in the second quarter of 2019, there is still uncertainty for PC demand in 2019. PC shipments are estimated to total 257 million units in 2019, a 1% decline from 2018. “The ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China — and potential imposition of tariffs – are likely to impact the PC market this year.”

Following a strong Windows 10 migration among businesses in the second quarter of 2019, Gartner analysts maintain that 75% of the business PC installed base will have migrated to Windows 10 by the beginning of 2021. “Product managers need to continue promoting the end of Windows 7 support in 2020 as an incentive to migrate to Windows 10,” concluded Mr. Atwal.

5 Companies Helping you Unlock the Next-Level of Customer Engagement



As the time-tested market proverb goes, “Customer is the King”, brands are virtually nothing without the support of their customers. We have seen global brands enjoying a cult following, having customers evolved into ‘brand patrons’ or graduate to ‘brand evangelists’. At the helm of this aspirational transition is brands offering their customers an unparalleled experience till they build substantial brand equity and mindshare; everything else is clockwork from thereon.

In their bit to delivering and exceptional customer experience, businesses of today are not left alone to fend for themselves. In fact, some of the leading companies are leveraging the latest advancements in AI and digitalization to enable businesses to elevate virtual user assistance to the next level. Let us have a look at some of the revolutionary platforms that are positively affecting the end-user experience on behalf of their clientele with their trailblazing approach:

1.      LogMeIn’s Bold360, AI-powered customer engagement: Customers now expect consistent, high-value, in-person, digital experiences. Therefore, businesses need to adopt a multifunctional approach to meet this demand and deliver improved levels of customer experience consistently. To the same end, LogMeIn- one of the world’s top 10 public SaaS companies- is helping companies embrace this era with their AI-powered customer engagement platform, Bold360. As the industry’s most tightly integrated AI chatbot and live-agent workspace, Bold360 allows bots and humans to work hand-in-hand in creating the best possible outcome for the consumer. By leveraging the power of AI, Bold360 helps personalise and enhance every interaction, regardless of where it takes place, allowing companies to deliver better and more consistent customer experiences seamlessly across both AI and agent-based interactions. Channelizing the best capabilities of humans and bots, Bold360 delivers ground-breaking intelligence with out-of-the-box simplicity and helps agents do what they do best – be human. 

2.      DASH.MENU, revolutionizing diners experiences with FIDEOS: Stepping into a fancy restaurant and not understanding what to order or the order turning out to be completely different from what one may have imagined triggers a huge buyer’s remorse. This may result in a volley of social media backlash and perhaps complete abandonment in the future. However, DASH.MENU helps restaurants, food delivery, and cloud kitchen platforms resolve this challenge with the help of FIDEOS. Dash.Menu entices customers with short food-videos (FIDEOS). Before placing an order, customers can ‘sample’ their food through bite-sized 15 seconds short snippets of how their meal is prepared or would look once served. This takes away the guess-work in ordering and allows restaurants to upsell the food or highlight every distinctive ingredient or culinary skill that goes into the creating of the masterpiece cuisines. It also takes the boring printed menu cards out of the picture, thus, improving the overall dining experience of a customer. Dash is already being used by elite restaurant chains like Marriott, Le Meridian, ITC Hotels, Mamagoto Restaurants, and Taj Hotels among others.

3.      Amplify.ai, because every interaction matters: The primary pain point of any digital business is to engage and acquire its prospective customers over the internet. They have to do it while also understanding the needs of their current customers and fulfilling them optimally. Amplify.ai, world’s first and only enterprise-class, AI-driven customer engagement platform, delivers the same. Rather than driving customers towards a digital platform, the platform takes conversation precisely where the customer is – might it be another website (with conversational display ads) or social media. Amplify.ai is able to gauge the perception of every prospective and current customers with their interactions (including likes, comments, and reactions over the social media) and then adopts the most optimal strategy and extensive personalisation to achieve the desired results.

4.      Haptik, Conversational AI: Customer service as an operational segment demands substantial amount of time and money to be invested in training and management of queries, 80% of which are repetitive in nature. Still, problems such as long wait times, erratic communication standards, unintentional errors and high attrition rates plague customer service operations for enterprises the world over. Chatbots are an ideal option to optimize customer engagement in the most cost-efficient manner as they can cater to a large number of queries offering consistent user experience, 24x7. They can be easily integrated into an enterprise’s existing customer engagement infrastructure without significant expenditure. Additionally, chatbots procure valuable data during each conversation with a user, thereby assisting enterprises with strategic decision making through valuable insights. Haptik’s bots have helped enterprises across sectors to make customer service scalable, easy and optimized, and the unique Bot+human hybrid approach ensures complex queries are immediately re-routed to experts while the bots reduce the workload by effectively resolving simple or repetitive queries. The inclusion of chatbots has empowered enterprises to improve their customer service processes significantly both internally and in terms of external engagement, creating a win-win situation for all enterprises and users alike.

5.      TRELL, an idyllic platform for content creators & brands: Fondly referred to as the Video Pinterest for India, Trell is a community-based platform pivoted around enabling lifestyle discovery through video-based meaningful content in various Indian languages. As a platform hosting over 4 million users, Trell bridges the gap between users looking for meaningful content around lifestyle inspirations and content creators or aspiring influencers who wish to create visual collections of their travel and lifestyle experiences. The superior tech-enabled platform makes it easier for content creators to engage with a highly engaging community of 1 Million Monthly Active Users on the mobile app. This is achieved through video blogging and other mediums, made seamlessly accessible by the superior tech platform that TRELL offers. With the help of user-generated content, Trell serves its community with personal anecdotes and fascinating snippets related to a place, as well as local tips, DIYs and tips and tricks. Till date, the content creators on TRELL have generated over 1.6 Million original and meaningful content pieces around lifestyle. 

Mindtree Joins Hyperledger to Accelerate Blockchain Development


Mindtree, a global technology services and digital transformation company, announced that it has joined Hyperledger, an open source collaborative effort created to advance cross-industry blockchain technologies. Joining as a general member enables Mindtree to accelerate the development of its capabilities around Hyperledger and offer industry-specific blockchain solutions to prospective clients.

Hosted by the Linux Foundation, Hyperledger is a multi-project, multi-stakeholder effort that includes 14 business blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. Hyperledger enables organizations to build industry-specific applications, platforms and hardware systems to support business transactions by creating enterprise-grade, open source distributed ledger frameworks and code bases.

Mindtree has made strategic investment in Blockchain space since 2016 and Hyperledger is a very important part of that investment. As a general member, Mindtree experts will have access to training materials, whitepapers, use cases and solutions shared through the Hyperledger community network. Additionally, Mindtree will have access to the talented community within Hyperledger to build a strong pool of engineers and architects with in-demand skills in the Hyperledger technologies. Joining Hyperledger would help Mindtree in evangelizing the existing Hyperledger blockchain-based solutions or in developing new solutions.

“Enterprises are seeing strategic value and want to adopt Blockchain to reimagine some of the current process areas and implement futuristic solutions. With this membership, we will be able to assist our customers in realizing their vision in implementing these solutions.” said Madhusudhan KM, Chief Technology Officer, Mindtree. He added, “Joining the Hyperledger community is a further extension of Mindtree’s effort to build a strong domain expertise around enterprise Blockchain-based solutions that deliver enhanced transparency, security and traceability for our clients across many industries including retail, manufacturing, banking, insurance, airlines & hospitality.”

“Mindtree’s large global footprint and ongoing investment in developing blockchain expertise make it a natural fit for our growing community,” said Brian Behlendorf, Executive Director, Hyperledger.  “As enterprise blockchain adoption accelerates, companies that are committed to helping companies put the technologies into production will be a vital part of the ecosystem. We welcome the work Mindtree will do on this front."

The Hyperledger community includes more than 270 organizations, including large technology companies, startups, service providers and academics.

International S.T.E.A.M CONCLAVE 2019 to be Held on Aug 3-4, 2019


Bengaluru-based LIFE -Leadership Initiative for Educators is all set to give an artistic twist to STEM on the 3rd and 4th of August, with INTERNATIONAL S.T.E.A.M CONCLAVE 2019 in association with GyanPro and St Joseph’s College, Langford Road. The two day S.T.E.A.M initiative includes the 3rd LIFE EDUCATORS CONFERENCE and S.T.E.A.M Experience Labs.

Leadership Initiative For Educators (LIFE) is a dynamic initiative that focuses on educational leadership and organizational cultures. It aims to create an ecosystem for educators to create compelling visions for future and charter a clear evolving road map.

The Conference on 3rd of August seeks to traverse across 5 tracks namely Leadership,Pre-Primary, Elementary, Secondary and Higher Secondary and will feature ‘Steam’inent speakers across the world including :

2019’s chosen theme ‘S.T.E.A.M’ focuses on an interdisciplinary and hands-on approach to learning. An artistic extension of the STEM approach, being ‘S.T.E.A.M savy’ is the new-age window to building 21st Century skills.

‘NCERT has shifted focus to experiential learning and making it child centric, while reviewing the National Curriculum Framework. The S.T.E.A.M. Conclave is based on the same principles to make learning of these subjects integrated with hands-on, project based activities.’ - Preethi Vickram, Convenor, S.T.E.A.M. Conclave, Founder- Director, L.I.F.E.

'The National Education Policy, 2019 stresses upon the need for holistic and integrated approach to education. With S.T.E.A.M. I see that this has been addressed. All educators should look at learning about the benefits of this approach so we can bring up our children to be innovative, creative and socially responsible.' - Dr. M.K. Sridhar, Member Drafting Committee, NEP and Member Secretary, Former Karnataka Knowledge Commission. Dr. Sridhar is one of the speakers of the 3rd LIFE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE to be held on 3rd August.

The S.T.E.A.M Experience Labs on the 4th of August, in association with GyanPro Educational Innovation, will be set as thematic zones to offer a ‘hands-on’ experience to S.T.E.A.M, for students,their parents and educators across all levels.

GyanPro has emerged as a S.T.E.A.M propeller and envisions on creating a parallel science education program to make Science fun, inspiring and interactive for young children.

GyanPro researches, teaches & promotes conceptual learning of science. It supports K-10 STEAM education by collaborating with diverse partners, leveraging local and regional resources, to empower science education by inspiring children to learn and experiment with Science. By utilizing evidence-based instructional practices, connecting in and out-of-school learning, facilitating effective science communication and mentoring students, we seek to kindle scientific temper by honing reasoning skills and logical thinking amongst children.

GyanPro has worked with more than 250 schools across India in bringing creativity to formal education for children through STEAM based Learning Aids, Atal Tinkering Labs, Science Fests, Science Shows, workshops, etc. and touched the lives of more than 300,000 beneficiaries.

“Hands-on approach to learning is the truest form of learning, whether it is at school or at home and this has been vouched today by the CBSE and the National Education Policy (NEP). We, at GyanPro, are immensely happy that we are working towards the same goal. ”

- Dr. Supreeth Kittenkere, Founder & CEO of GyanPro Educational Innovation.

The two-day S.T.E.A.M Conclave will be conducted at St Joseph’s College, Langford Road on 3rd and 4th of August.The prestigious St. Joseph’s College is not only hosting the event as the venue partner but is also the resource-provider through its student-interns.

Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Ritesh Syal Joins as Nutanix India Channel Head for the Enterprise Cloud Leader


Enterprise Cloud leader, Nutanix (NASDAQ: NTNX) has confirmed the appointment of Ritesh Syal as its new Head of Channel Sales for India. The announcement follows the recent signing of India and SAARC Vice President and Managing Director of Sales, Balakrishnan Anantharaman, and is a clear sign the industry veteran is already stamping his mark and energy on the Nutanix India business.

With more than 15 years of Channel and Sales management experience, Syal is ideally suited to take the Nutanix Channel business to the next level.  His knowledge and insight of the India software and cloud market combined with a track record for rapidly expanding tier one and two partner organisations make him an ideal asset for Nutanix as it strengthens its Go To Market, GTM, channels.

Before joining Nutanix, Syal was Director and Head of Channel and Alliances for Oracle India where he grew the top level partner organisation and channel alliances and developed extensive GTM experience with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Systems Integrators (SIs).

Prior to Oracle, Syal was National Business Manager for Public Services at SAP, responsible for the Healthcare and Education / Research verticals nationwide. He has also held senior leadership roles at EMC, where he was the Key Partner Director, and APC, part of Schneider Electric.

“Channel is a key priority for Nutanix in India” said Balakrishnan Anantharaman, Vice President and Managing Director of Sales for India and SAARC, Nutanix. “Ritesh’s appointment reaffirms our commitment to extending our partner ecosystem and to bringing increased choice right to the doorsteps of India’s businesses.”

Speaking on his appointment, Syal said: “I am delighted to be joining Nutanix at such an exciting time for the company and the industry. Being part of a high growth leader and one unwilling to accept the status quo offers limitless opportunities for the channel and for India’s enterprises.”

Syal’s appointment is part of a continuing expansion for Nutanix in India and follows the recent signing of Balakrishnan as Vice President and Managing Director of Sales for India and SAARC.

Trend Micro to Deliver Transparent, Inline Network Security with Amazon Web Services Transit Gateway


Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, today announced the extension of its industry leading network protection to the cloud, now available on Amazon Web Services (AWS) Marketplace. This was delivered in response to the operational challenges enterprises often experience with available network security solutions. It will first be available for AWS Transit Gateway, with multiple deployment models planned to follow.

“Cloud security is the highest priority for AWS, and we are committed to helping customers achieve the highest levels of security in the cloud,” said Dave Brown, Vice President, EC2 Compute & Networking Services at Amazon Web Services, Inc. “As companies move and scale their infrastructure in the cloud, they are looking for ways to easily insert and manage security appliances in their network topologies. With AWS Transit Gateway, Trend Micro’s security solution is now available to 230,000 buyers through AWS Marketplace and will help our shared customers address their network security needs in the cloud.”

Trend Micro’s security solution was built to accommodate the growing amount of network teams being tasked with extending their security to the cloud. It does so by utilizing the AWS Transit Gateway, which simplifies the routing between Amazon Virtual Private Clouds (Amazon VPCs) and on-premises networks by acting as a hub that controls traffic routing among all connected spokes. For customers with particularly demanding network traffic, the option to deploy on FPGA accelerated instances will be available with Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) F1.

“We consistently hear from customers that they face significant operational hurdles with today’s firewall-based approaches to cloud network security,” said Steve Quane, Executive Vice President of Network Defense and Hybrid Cloud Security at Trend Micro. “They introduce operational complexity, are disruptive to deploy and are inefficient, due in large part to complex networking requirements that are cumbersome in the cloud. Trend Micro’s approach removes these operational challenges. With transparent deployment into the network fabric, it delivers scalable security and continuous visibility, while eliminating the need to rearchitect and avoiding application disruption.”

“We’re very excited about what Cloud Network Protection would allow for our network security in the cloud,” said Alex Tarte, IT Security & Risk Manager and Chief Information Security Officer of Copa Airlines. “This solution will allow us to have frictionless security operations for our business applications while meeting the scale and performance demands of our business.”

Trend Micro Cloud Network Protection, available today, will be listed on AWS Marketplace. It leverages the power of Trend Micro Research, including the Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) bug bounty program, to spot advanced targeted attacks, vulnerabilities and exploits, and easily integrates with other security tools.

Dineout’s Great Indian Restaurant Festival all Set to take Place for the Second Time this year in August!


Things to look forward to in 4th Edition-
8000+ restaurants offering FLAT 50% off on total bill, food bill, drinks bill, buffets and meals under Rs. 199 coupons
Gourmet Passport members get early access to GIRF deals on 24th July. Deals for all open on 27th July
Top rated restaurants across 17 cities of India
GIRF Unplugged, first ever on ground event in 3 cities

Highlights of Feb 2019 edition –
2.5M diners used GIRF deals, generating a revenue of over 350Cr
Every second a table was reserved at participating restaurants
Over 4.2L people dined out on 24th February alone
Delhites saved around  Rs. 50 Cr. during GIRF

If you love eating out and enjoy exploring new cuisines then August is going to be your month of more. India’s largest dining out platform - Dineout has announced their ‘biggest ever food & drinks festival’ – Great Indian Restaurant Festival (GIRF) for the second time this year. The festival is slated from 1st Aug-1st Sep giving Flat 50% off deals on Total bill, food bill, drinks bill, buffet and coupons spanned across 8,000+ restaurants in 17 cities including Surat, Nagpur, Kochi and Ludhiana where Dineout will be launched soon. Diners can additionally get 20% cashback on their restaurant bills using Dineout Pay. Along with exclusive cashback offers from HDFC Bank and bonus JPMiles from JetPrivilege every day.

Earlier this year, Dineout concluded 3rd edition of GIRF in the month of February, which received a massive response of close to 2.5M diners who bought deals and over 350Cr worth revenue generated for partner restaurants, which was 2.5x higher than the last edition. It was the success of GIRF’s 3rd edition that has led to the launch of another one within the same year, only bigger! They are also launching an all-day on ground event - GIRF Unplugged curated by SteppinOut on 3rd Aug in Bangalore, 4th Aug in Hyderabad and 11th Aug in Chennai. With Gourmet Passport - Dineout’s premium membership platform, diners can get a VIP entry to these events along with early access to buy GIRF deals from 24th-26th July. GIRF deals for all can be bought starting 27th July for dining between 1st-31st August at restaurants like Hyatt, Sheraton, Radisson, Mainland China, Social, Lord of the Drinks, Chaayos, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, & more.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Ankit Mehrotra, CEO & Co-founder, Dineout said, “As August marks the beginning of festivities in our country, we want to give people all the more reason to celebrate and what can be better than GIRF. After a successful edition this year in February, where we seated 2.5 million diners across 12 cities, we heard the call from our diners & restaurant partners, raised the bar in this edition by adding more cities, more restaurants and more partners like – HDFC, Jet Privilege, Jio and Diageo. We look forward to this edition that will be #MonthofMore in true sense”

Speaking on the association, Spokesperson from HDFC Bank said, "We are happy to be associated with Dineout's Great Indian restaurant festival for the second time in a row. Dineout has successfully established a strong relationship with its diners with a unique blend of food and cashback and thus creating a strong affinity for the property. So, while GIRF offers great deals, HDFC Bank cardholders enjoy the added privilege of 50% cashback on buying the deals and they also get 30% cashback while paying their restaurants bills thru Dineout Pay.

GIRF is restaurant industry’s first ever food & drinks festival which was launched in 2017 with the idea to promote the dining out culture among consumers and change the way Indians dine out. The festival has been instrumental for both consumers as well as for the partner restaurants. No questions asked Flat 50% off deals, cashbacks, bank offers, partner offers and more at top-rated restaurants are the main drivers behind the success of the festival. For more details regarding the festival, please login  https://www.dineout.co.in/pregirf

So all the foodies out there, get prepared to indulge in GIRF which is going to offer more food, exciting discounts and offers, more restaurants to explore, more cuisines to discover and more memorable experiences!

Nandini Unveils New Milk Now Fortified with Vitamin ‘A’ and ‘D’



The Karnataka Co-operative Milk Producers Federation (KMF) will, starting this Wednesday, supply Nandini milk fortified with Vitamin ‘A’ and ‘D’.

The move to fortify milk with these vitamins came after reports from the Indian Council of Medical Research and National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau indicated that the Indian population had a high burden of deficiency of Vitamin ‘A’ and ‘D’. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had also issued orders to fortify milk as it would be available for all sections of society and hence the micronutrient malnutrition can be addressed.

The ‘+F’ Logo will be printed on Nandini Toned Milk, Double Toned Milk, Special Toned Milk, StandardiSed Milk to indicate the fortification.

Speaking at the launch, Murtyunjaya T Kulkarni, Director, Marketing, said that 49 lakh litres of milk was being distributed across the state at present and all of this would be fortified. “We are also looking at fortifying other milk products in a phased manner. We are testing the stability in our lab,” he said.

Director of Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research Dr C N Manjunath had written to KMF four years ago asking them to have Vitamin A and D fortification of milk.

“At least 60-70 % of the population has vitamin ‘D’ deficiency. Vitamin ‘A’ deficiency is common among children. A survey that we conducted at Jayadeva also showed similar results. Most of our staff have the deficiency,” he said.

He also said that this could be attributed largely to staying indoors and lifestyle changes that permit minimal exposure to sunlight. “This is not only affecting bone health but is also known to be causing cardiac problems. The deficiency is known to be a risk factor for high BP and diabetes.”

The fortification would cost KMF 3-4 paise per litre. However, this burden will not be passed on to the customers said, Kulkarni.

The KMF has tied up with the National Dairy Development Board and TATA Trust for this purpose. TATA trust, under its CSR Activity, will bear the additional costs incurred by KMF for six months.

Cabonline Selects HERE as Mapping and Location Services Provider

Cabonline, a leading European technology platform for the transport industry, has selected HERE Technologies as its mapping and location services provider to support the company’s future growth.

Cabonline is the largest taxi company in the Nordics and its technology platform powers everything from booking to dispatch to payment for multiple owned and affiliated taxi brands across the region. These include Taxi Kurir, Norgetaxi, TOPCAB, Kovanen, Taxi Skåne, Taxi Väst, Umeå Taxi and Sverigetaxi.

Cabonline is now integrating the HERE Location Services suite into its platform, giving it access to accurate mapping, traffic information and routing algorithms.

Kristofer Signer, CTO, Cabonline, said: “With HERE Technologies as our location partner, we aim to further optimize the movement of each of our 5,700 cars as well as enhance customer experience. This is an important part of our work to shape an efficient and scalable technology platform that can support our continued growth.”

Supported by HERE Location Services, Cabonline targets several benefits, including:


·         More precise ETAs for customers and drivers, aided by HERE routing algorithms which draw on real-time, predictive and historical traffic data
·         More precise ride cost estimations for customers
·         Improved driver safety, aided by industry-leading map information that integrates data for taxi driving lanes, speed limits and electric vehicle charging points
·         Improved post-trip analytics

HERE is also well-placed to support Cabonline as it expands in on-demand transportation and logistics. This spring, Cabonline launched jip as a new brand in Trondheim, Norway, with a focus on attracting young professionals. The company also recently launched Reliver, a service for handling return goods that e-commerce customers order but do not want to keep, enabling transporters to move packages during times when cars are not highly utilized.

“World-class transportation requires a world-class mapping platform,” said Stefan Hansen, SVP and General Manager EMEAR at HERE Technologies. “Our visibility into live road conditions, advanced routing algorithms and other location tools enables us to support Cabonline in the effective planning and execution of its daily fleet operations. We look forward to collaborating with Cabonline through the next stage of its growth.”

Texas Instruments Unveils Solderless Robotics Kit for University Education

Texas Instruments (TI) (NASDAQ: TXN) today introduced the newest addition to the TI Robotics System Learning Kit (TI-RSLK) family, the TI-RSLK MAX, a low-cost robotics kit and curriculum that is simple to build, code and test. Designed for the university classroom, the solderless assembly allows students to have their own fully functioning embedded system built in under 15 minutes. Classrooms that may not have access to soldering equipment benefit from the solderless, hands-on kit and curriculum that can be reused year after year.

The launch in India saw IEEE President and CEO, Professor Jose Moura, unveil the product along with Doug Phillips, Director of TI’s Global University Program. The new kit includes the industry-leading SimpleLink™ MSP432P401R microcontroller (MCU) LaunchPad™ Development Kit, easy-to-connect sensors, and a versatile chassis board that turns the robot into a mobile learning platform. Through accompanying core and supplemental curriculum, students learn how to integrate their hardware and software knowledge to build and test a system. For advanced learning, wireless communication and Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities can be added to the TI-RSLK MAX to remotely control the robot or even establish robot-to robot communication.

“Students in today’s classrooms are going to solve our most pressing engineering challenges. With more and more future engineers coming out of India, it is important that students here have access to the latest learning platforms and advancements in technology,” said Doug Phillips, Director of TI’s Global University Program. “With the TI-RSLK MAX, students can quickly understand system concepts as early as their first year through building their own embedded system. This will help create the base knowledge that will benefit students in learning more complex topics covered in the advanced curriculum.”

While addressing the gathering at the launch of the new kit in Bangalore, IEEE President and CEO, Professor Jose Moura said, “I congratulate Texas Instruments for giving a platform to professors and students across the globe that will provide hands-on experience on concepts and algorithms that they have studied in their classrooms. Experimentation is what makes an engineer and TI-RSLK MAX is an addition to an already existing robust module, which is expected to reach out to more than 8000 universities across the globe, out of which over 2000 engineering colleges are in India alone. With the numbers rising every day, the potential to expand the reach of this technology is immense.”

TI launched the TI-RSLK series last year to help universities across the globe keep students engaged from their first day of class until graduation with hands-on, customizable options for learning embedded systems design.  The TI-RSLK MAX completes all tasks and robotic challenges covered in the classic TI-RSLK Maze Edition kit, such as solving a maze, line following and avoiding obstacles. It also provides a user-friendly assembly of the various sub-systems, speeding up the building and testing of the robot.

The TI-RSLK MAX will be available for purchase in late August and will include the SimpleLink MSP432P401R MCU LaunchPad Development Kit, as well as all additional components required for assembly. To expand kit functionality and learning paths, optional accessories will be available for purchase. Further information about the TI-RSLK can found at www.ti.com/rslk.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Emerson Helps Industry Enable Digital Transformation with New Cybersecurity Lab


Emerson (EMR), a global technology and engineering company, today opened its newest cybersecurity lab to help manufacturers confidently adopt digital transformation strategies, while protecting the integrity of their plant operations, networks, systems and data. The facility, part of Emerson’s larger global cybersecurity network, reinforces Emerson’s commitment to offer the most advanced automation solutions to its customers worldwide.

The new center, staffed by a team of cybersecurity experts in Pune, India, Maharashtra, builds on existing capabilities and further strengthens Emerson’s technology portfolio to support the highest levels of product security across the development lifecycle. The Pune lab will focus on defining security requirements, designing threat models and security walkthroughs, maintaining security practices and simulating cyber attacks in industrial environments to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.

“Cybersecurity is frequently cited by customers as a top consideration for Industrial Internet of Things adoption,” said Lal Karsanbhai, executive president of Emerson’s Automation Solutions business. “Emerson’s investment in a broad portfolio of technologies and services is helping global leaders accelerate their digital transformation with confidence.”

The latest addition to Emerson’s global network of cybersecurity facilities is located at the Emerson Innovation Center in Pune, which houses 900 employees focused on innovating for the future and coordinating training for development engineers.

“Our customers are looking for a partner to help navigate the complex technology landscape so they can design a secure and robust digital ecosystem for their operations,” Karsanbhai said. “This new center further extends our leadership in industrial transformation and enhances our ability to collaborate with customers on the critical element of cybersecurity as they adopt the latest digital technologies to optimize performance.”

Mukesh Ambani, IOC and ONGC CEOs in List of World's Top CEOs: CEO Ranking


Richest Indian Mukesh Ambani, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) Chairman Sanjiv Singh and ONGC head Shashi Shanker are among the 10 Indian CEOs named in the CEOWORLD magazine’s global ranking of the world’s most influential chief executives in 2019.

ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal is the highest-ranked Indian CEO but the ranking lists his company as a Luxembourg-based firm.

While Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Ambani was ranked 49th on the list, Singh was ranked 69th. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Chairman and Managing Director Shashi Shanker was ranked 77th in the list of 121, according to the list published by the magazine.

Other Indian CEOs on the list included State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Rajnish Kumar (ranked 83th), Tata Motors CEO Guenter Butschek (89th), BPCL Chairman and Managing Director D Rajkumar (94th), Rajesh Exports Executive Chairman Rajesh Mehta (99th), Tata Consultancy Services CEO Rajesh Gopinathan and Wipro Chief Executive Abidali Z Neemuchwala (ranked 118th).

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan retweeted a link of the CEO ranking.

“Unsurprisingly, Walmart CEO Douglas McMillon came first in the CEOWORLD magazine’s global ranking of the best chief executives across all industries for 2019,” the publication said. “He is followed by Royal Dutch Shell’s global chief executive Ben van Beurden, and ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal.”

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin H Nasser is ranked 4.

“Sanjiv Singh, @ChairmanIOCL, makes it to the 100 most influential Chief Executives across industries as per @ceoworld magazine,” IOC tweeted.

ONGC also tweeted, saying, “Shashi Shanker, @CMD_ONGC, makes it to the 100 Most Influential Chief Executives across industries as per @ceoworld magazine.”

The 2019 rankings placed BP’s chief executive, Bob Dudley in fifth ahead of ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods into sixth; while Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess ranked seventh, and Toyota Chief Executive Akio Toyoda eighth.

Overall, among the top-10 most influential CEOs in the world 2019, the ninth and 10th positions are held by Apple CEO Tim Cook and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos took the No. 11 spot, followed by the UnitedHealth Group CEO David Wichmann (No.12) and Samsung Electronics Chief Executive Kim Ki-Nam (No.13).

Mr Butler Italia Sodamaker Offers a Healthy Soda for You and the Environment

Mr Butler Italia Sodamaker is a healthy product as you are making your own soda or sparkling beverage from the tap in your home. You can customize your favorite drink by adding a hint of fizz or mixing it with fresh lemonade or fruit juice.

Not just super convenient, Mr Butler Italia Sodamaker is also environment-friendly in that it does not run on batteries or electricity. Further, it reduces the plastic waste you generate in your home, thus contributing to a greener and cleaner plant.

It comes with a CO2 gas cylinder that can make 125 glasses or approximately 25 litres of sparkling soda. The refill cylinders are available for just Rs 130/-, hence a litre of Soda costs you just Rs 4!

Mr Butler Sodamaker does not require Electricity or batteries, and operates on a C02 gas cylinder, that weighs less than 2 kgs. To operate it, one needs to insert a bottle of water and then press the operating panel of the Sodamaker – water is turned into sparkling water/soda within seconds.

The Sodamaker comes with a 500 ml BPA pet bottle and is easy to use. Larger bottles (1 litre) can also be purchased separately.

PRICE RANGE – Rs. 3,400/-- Rs 3,950/- (discounted rates available at Amazon)

AVAILABILITY OF THE PRODUCT – Amazon.in and select retail outlets across the country.

PremiumAV Launches BT-5501; A 5.1 Multimedia Speaker in India


PremiumAV, a leading provider of computer peripherals, has announced the launch of BT-5501, a multimedia 5.1 home theater wireless speakers. These speakers come with a fully functional remote and an auxiliary port for easy connectivity of MP3 players, CD/DVD players, PC, LCD TV or other portable audio devices. BT-5501 delivers superior audio quality with deep, rich bass, giving users the most compelling experience while watching movies, playing games or listening to music.

Boasting an excellent sound quality and an exceptional new-age design, BT-5501 is an ideal combination of style and performance. Equipped with one 4" 30W subwoofer and five 3" 10W SPN, this speaker elegantly crafted to create a statement in any living room. With different connectivity options such as; USB, AUX-in Port and FM, BT-5501 lets users enjoy music in multiple forms.

"We at PremiumAV, always aim to bring Next level technology to our customers. These new products are engineered to outperform every other competitors in their respective categories," said Sanjay Garg, CEO at PremiumAV. "Be at the heart of the movie or gaming experience, BT-5501 will totally immerse yourself with its immersive 5.1 surround sound. This new range of multimedia speaker is specially designed to bring life to your music, movies, and games without burning your pockets."

Price, Availability and Warranty
PremiumAV BT - 5501 attractive and affordable price available on amazon a MRP of Rs. 2,691/ - carrying a warranty of 6 month.

Monday, July 29, 2019

India’s First Multi-Venue, Mega-Science Exhibition ‘Vigyan Samagam’ Begins in Bengaluru



Bringing the world’s major Mega-Science projects together, India’s first-ever, multi-venue mega-science Exhibition, ‘Vigyan Samagam’, was inaugurated today in Bengaluru at the iconic Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum (VITM). Eminent scientist Dr Anil Kakodkar, Member of Atomic Energy Commission and Chairman of Rajiv Gandhi Science and Technology Commission, Mumbai, inaugurated the Vigyan Samagam at Bengaluru. The exhibition will continue at VITM till September 28, 2019.

This multi-venue Science Exhibition is covering four cities - Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and New Delhi and has come to Bengaluru in its second edition. The exhibition, in its 11-month long run, was flagged-off from Mumbai in May 2019.

The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Department of Science and Technology (DST), the coordinating and funding agencies to these projects and the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), Ministry of Culture, having expertise in design and hosting such exhibition, have jointly organized this prestigious Science Exhibition.

Inaugurating Vigyan Samagam, Dr Anil Kakodkar, the chief guest of the inaugural function, expressed his pleasure at the organisation of the event and said, “In order to spread the awareness of the role such mega-science projects play in furthering human understanding at a global level and benefiting national scientific and technological capability and to catalyse engagement of more students, researchers and industry, it is absolutely necessary to highlight the value and impact of such programs to a broad cross-section of society. Vigyan Samagam is a unique endeavour towards the cause and has brought mega-science a step closer to the society.”

Former Secretary DST and Director NIAS, Prof. V. S. Ramamurthy delivered the Keynote Address at the inauguration of Vigyan Samagam at Bengaluru. Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Ramamurthy said, “In the recent decades, India has demonstrated unequivocally that it has the scientific and technological capabilities to contribute to mega-science collaborations and the political willingness to commit the required resource. I am confident that Vigyan Samagam will attract the attention of every one to appreciate the challenge of carrying out research at the frontiers and encourage some of the students to opt for careers in research.”

As hosts of this mega-science Exhibition, Shri Ranajit Kumar, Head of Nuclear Controls and Planning Wing (NCPW), DAE and Chairman, Apex Committee, Vigyan Samagam; Dr. Praveer Asthana, Head of Mega-Science and INSPIRE Divisions, Department of Science and Technology (DST); and Shri Madan Gopal, Director of the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum were present on the occasion.

On the occasion, Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary DST, addressed the august gathering through video conference and conveyed his best wishes for the success of Vigyan Samagam at Bengaluru. He appreciated the untiring and synergistic efforts of the team behind this mega-science event, which has been very successful in generating interest and attraction for science in our youth on a large scale.

Shri Shivaprasad M Khened on behalf of National Council of Science Museums participated in the event and explained the importance of the exhibition. He said that Vigyan Samgam exhibition has been able to portray the role of India in world science and the contributions of Indian Scientists in various international projects.  He also explained the activities of National Council of Science Museums in popularising science through both indoor and outdoor activities reaching out to the unreached.

On this occasion, an industrial exposition showcasing the products and services of the Indian industry engaged with the participating mega-science projects was also inaugurated.

The three organisers – DAE, DST and NCSM - have planned this mega-science Exhibition of a global stature in a unique way and with a distinct objective. The Exhibition will bring several global, collaborative mega-science projects under one roof and take mega-science closer to the society. The Exhibition will showcase India’s contribution to international collaborations on fundamental science and research, and provide a common interactive platform for mega-science Projects, industry, academia and institutions. The exhibition also aims to connect with school children, students and aspirants who want to pursue fundamental science and research as a strong career option.

After Bengaluru, Vigyan Samagam will reach Kolkata. In its final leg, it will reach to New Delhi where subsequent to the conclusion of exhibition it will remain as a permanent exhibit in New Delhi under NCSM.

Vigyan Samagam exhibition will traverse the visitors through the world from micro to macro, unveiling the efforts of the international community in understanding the Universe.  It will also showcase that DAE not only works on nuclear technologies, but also work on fundamental science and research, in a big way. Vigyan Samagam exhibition will take you through the workings of the Universe. From discovery of the Higgs particle to that of gravitational waves from merger of neutron stars and black holes, these projects throw light on crucial questions related to the origin of the Universe and its evolution through its various stages. The Exhibition will highlight India’s contribution to the world’s science and technology innovations, researches in the areas of space science, nuclear technology.

Iconic International Scientific Organisations to participate:

Vigyan Samagam will have the presence prestigious of organisations such as the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN, ‘Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research’ (FAIR), India-based ‘Neutrino Observatory’ (INO), ‘International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor’ (ITER), ‘Laser Interferometer Gravitational - Wave Observatory’ (LIGO), ‘Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiments’ (MACE), ‘Square Kilometer Array’ (SKA) and ‘Thirty Meter Telescope’ (TMT).

Format of the Exhibition:

The Exhibition will have themed galleries of posters, working models and exhibits, informative audio-visual content and on electronic displays and interactive kiosks will be setup for each of the Mega Science Projects. The inaugural event at each of the four venues will be followed by a two days scientific event comprising of invited talks and lectures by eminent speakers from the field of science, technology and Industry. The audience would include invited members from scientific organisations, industry partners and academia. Coinciding with the scientific seminar, during the first two days at each venue, industry partners working with the participating Mega Science Projects will set-up an expo at the venue to showcase their contributions. As part of project awareness activities, each participating project will be carrying out a week-long activities consisting of popular talks, science demonstrations, interactive quiz programmes, etc.

Connecting with School Children, Students: A key objective of Vigyan Samagam:

In each of the four cities, various engaging activities for school children and students are being taken up. Planned activities include quizzes, essay-writing / drawing contests, and popular outdoor programmes like science awareness programmes etc.

In order to reach out to more people and involve them with this Exhibition, Vigyan Samagam has its website www.vigyansamagam.in and a mobile app Vigyan Samagam. Important talks and lectures will be streamed live through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube of VITM, Bengaluru.

Exhibition will be open on all days, including Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays. At Bengaluru, the timing will be from 10 am to 6 pm.

Trend Micro Expands Presence on Microsoft Azure Marketplace With Deep Security as a Service Offering


Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, today announced the availability of its leading cloud solution, Deep Security as a Service, on the Microsoft Azure Marketplace. Launching at Microsoft’s Inspire 2019 event, this Trend Micro offering enables organizations to combine the benefits of security software-as-a-service (SaaS) with the convenience of consolidated cloud billing and usage-based, metered pricing.

“Our priority is to make cloud security as effortless as possible, which starts by meeting IT users and developers where they are and then offering comfortable usage and pricing options,” said Sanjay Mehta, SVP, Business Development & Strategic Alliances at Trend Micro. “Trend Micro is proud to continue our close relationship with Microsoft Azure as one of its top global security partners. Being part of their consumption-based billing launch for SaaS offerings helps customers looking to secure workloads and containers through their Azure instances.”

Trend Micro’s Deep Security as a Service will provide Microsoft Azure customers a fully hosted security management experience with rapid delivery of innovations.

"Providing Trend Micro’s Deep Security as a Service offering through Azure Marketplace gives customers more ways to enable, automate, and orchestrate cloud security,” said Jeana Jorgensen, GM, Cloud and AI for Microsoft. “Customers can pay for only what they use with Trend Micro’s flexible, metered pricing or negotiate a more traditional enterprise agreement using private offers while enjoying a consolidated bill for software and cloud infrastructure.”

Trend Micro Deep Security delivers a multi-layered automated approach to protect hybrid cloud workloads and container environments against known and unknown threats including malware and vulnerabilities, helping to secure business data and applications all from within one solution. Deep Security consolidates security tools to help lower costs, decrease complexity, and simplify security and compliance.

Going to Study or Work in Germany has never been Easier Due to the Launch of New Service by DAK Healthcare – India (DAK-HI)

Many young Indians dream of going to Germany to work and/or study there. DAK-healthcare is the new service partner in India for the German DAK health-insurance company. This health insurer is now launching a unique and nationwide support campaign for young Indians to make their journey and stay in Germany as easy and secure as possible.

Health insurance in Germany is mandatory and as an international comparison, there is an excellent social insurance system. Those workers designated as “self-employed” pay 15.5% and gainfully employed 8% of their monthly salary. Students pay a flat rate around 80 Euros monthly. With a Health-E-Card all insured costs of a person are covered and paid directly by the insurer. The attending physician sends the invoice directly to the insurance company and the person does not have to do or pay anything out of their own pocket.

While going for work or study in Germany, there are lot of health of health insurance service providers to choose from. However, the “customer service” provided by the companies differs considerably. Among the hundreds of German health insurers, DAK has won the prize for “best customer service provider in Germany” in 2018.

360 Degree Health Protection – 360 HP

DAK has already established over 500 local service centres and a huge network of medical specialists throughout Germany in order to provide its customers with the best possible support. The insured person thus receives a 360-degree health protection for himself and his family members if they live with him. In addition, there are many special programs to cover pregnancy, child vaccinations, sports injury, etc. There also exists a 24/7 service hotline to provide all insured persons with professional and supportive help and answers to urgent medical and insurance questions.

New Service Partner in India - NSP - India

And finally, the best thing is, in order to extend their excellent service to “customers even before they sign the insurance contract”, DAK has decided to co-operate with a German service partner in India having more than 10 years of experience in India and which knows the mindset, idiosyncrasies and needs of the Indian people very well.

Boilerplate/About DAK:
DAK has already established over 500 local service centres and a huge network of medical specialists throughout Germany in order to provide its customers with the best possible support. 

Madhya Pradesh Tourism Holds Mega Roadshow in Bengaluru; Karnataka to Help Boost Year-Round Destinations!


Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board (MPTB) successfully organised tourism road show held at Hotel Taj, MG Road in the city of Gardens- Bengaluru, Karnataka to promote various tourist destinations of the state.

Ms Sonia Meena, IAS, Additional Managing Director, Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Dev. Corp Ltd graced the event along with senior dignitaries from Madhya Pradesh Tourism board. The Road show was an attempt to bring together different stakeholders of the region on a common platform and showcase the tremendous tourism potential that Madhya Pradesh as State possess.

The Roadshow was held on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka. The mega event was a treat to the eyes; the local partners and trade representatives who attended the grand event were in awe of the diverse heritage offered by Madhya Pradesh.

Speaking on the occasion Ms Sonia Meena, IAS, Additional Managing Director, Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Dev. Corp Ltd Said, “I am very happy to be in Bengaluru. We are hoping that Madhya Pradesh Roadshow will stimulate the curiosity in the trade people of Bengaluru and they will guide their guests to explore Madhya Pradesh for themselves. We also look forward to meeting with more investors who can invest in the state and make Madhya Pradesh an even more comfortable tourist friendly destination.”

These roadshows are aimed to give a feel of Madhya Pradesh and facilitate a better understanding of the state and provide complete information along with showcasing the culture and the wide range of tourism products and offerings.

Madhya Pradesh offers an assortment of attractions to everyone who love to travel. It is the state with the forest area cover of 77,700 sq.kms filled with Sal Trees & Bamboos. It has numerous wildlife hotspots with 11 National parks & 24 Wildlife sanctuaries such as Satpura Wildlife Sanctuary and Chambal Ghadiyal Sanctuary. The UNESCO world heritage sites of Khajuraho, Bhimbetka & Sanchi are the iconic sites in Madhya Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh is not only home to two Jyotirlingas Omkareshwar and Mahakaleshwar. Burhanpur and Bhopal exhibit the Mughal Architecture. Gwalior and Mandu are the some of the beautiful architectural sites, whereas lndirasagar, Gandhi sagar, Tawa and Bargi are the spellbinding water bodies. Cultural events like Khajuraho Dance festival, Malwa Utsav, Tansen Festival, Allauddin Music fest, Madhya Pradesh spares no effort to leave one in awe of culture and heritage. This only goes to prove that MP is most definitely the melting pots of various faiths, ethnicities as well as cultures. Highlighting the major exhibition participations of the coming phases, Madhya Pradesh Tourism will be exhibiting in the India International Travel Mart - Bangalore and many others. Besides, the exciting calendar for visitors to Madhya Pradesh kick starts with “Pachmarhi Monsoon Marathon”, “Go Heritage Run”, “ Satpura Cycle Safari” and “Adventure Activities at River Narmada” which are very popular amongst the trade people and tourists from various regions of the country.

Resurgence of the Indian Real Estate Sector; Witnesses an Investment of USD 2.7 billion in H12019: FICCI and Vestian


FICCI and Vestian launched a report titled Real Estate Investment in India: A Brief Analysis that portrays the investment scenario in the real estate industry. The report was launched at the FICCI Conference on Real Estate Financing in Mumbai today and talks about the evolution of the real estate sector and the investment scenario thereof. The insights of the report show a major shift in the investment landscape of the real estate sector and its journey from a heavy dependence on banking credit for financing requirements to now, where nearly 80% of the institutional investment is accounted for by private equity investors.

The period from 2015-2018 observed the highest amount of traction in real estate investment in the country and this momentum continues in 2019 as well.  The years from 2015-2018 had investments worth USD25.7 billion being recorded.   
   
2018 was the most popular year and had investments worth USD 7.2 billion, the highest in over a decade. The trend has further continued into 2019 too; and the year has already seen investments to the tune of USD 2.7 billion being made till the month of June.

The investment climate has become progressively relaxed and conducive for institutional investments that has been helped by a host of reformatory measures such as the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amended Act, launch of Housing for All Mission, and easing of FDI rules, leading to increasing adoption of best practices and transparency

Dr. Shrinivas Rao, CEO – APAC, Vestian says, ‘Real estate is one of the most fundamental and influential sectors impacting the overall growth of a country’s economy. A robust and well catered real estate sector assists in strengthening a host of other ancillary sectors and is significant for a growth economy such as ours. This report, we believe,  would not only go a long way in addressing regulatory challenges but also help reflect on  directional  way ahead for the sector’.
He further adds, ‘one of the major trends observed in the last decade has been the rise in institutional investment in real estate, particularly PE investment that has been a key factor in keeping the market confident about its revival. This investment interest from the institutional segment is bound to increase further, given the growth in a number of offshoots, such as - co-working spaces, co- living in the rental housing space, Affordable housing and warehousing & logistics.

Mr. Sanjay Dutt, Chairman, FICCI Real Estate Committee & MD and CEO, Tata Realty and Infrastructure Ltd, says, ‘The Indian Real Estate sector is in a state of nirvana with revolutionary reforms playing charm to attract investments and restore confidence in the sector’.  Encouraged by the potential of the real estate sector which is clearly indicated in the report, he further says, ‘2019 has started on a positive note with approximately USD 2.7 billion of real estate investments recorded in the first half of the year in various asset classes across the country. Improvement in infrastructure, roads, and metros coupled with the increased speed of technology implementation (eg. 5G) will be impactful game changers for the sector and will improve the investor interest in the sector. The launch of India's first Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is another positive move for the sector further building confidence amongst global real estate investors to invest in India’.

Commercial Segment: A Winner
Commercial segment has emerged as the most preferred segment attracting investor interest and has accounted for the bulk of the real estate investment in the country since 2016. Commercial assets received the highest quantum of real estate investments during the period 2015-2019, to the tune of 50% of the total investment value. The most notable deal transacted in commercial segment was Blackstone picking up a 50% stake in Indiabulls’ flagship office properties in central Mumbai—One Indiabulls Centre and Indiabulls Finance Centre—for USD 730 million.  In sharp contrast, the residential segment has been on a declining trend, attributed primarily to the slowdown in the residential market owing to several factors, particularly relating to the regulatory measures and issues such as liquidity crunch, delayed projects and reduced buyer interest.

Increased interest by Foreign Investors
Foreign funds have increasingly bought into the India growth story and have been allocating substantial investments into the Indian realty sector. This is also a further validation that the  reformatory measures undertaken by the government  is not only increasing confidence in investors, but also  making the sector attractive overall. The interest of foreign funds in Indian real estate increased significantly during the years between 2015 and 2019.  Investments which were recorded at mere USD 1.3 billion in 2015, later touched USD 3.3 billion in 2017. Among foreign investors, a number of Singapore-based PE firms such as GIC, Ascendas- Singbridge and Xander are remarkably active in India’s realty sector, particularly towards the south, accounting for majority of the PE investment during the period 2015-2019. Other firms that have shown strong interest in the sector have their base in countries such as USA, Canada, and Abu Dhabi amongst others.

Mumbai ruling the Roost
There has been a healthy competition between the southern and the western regions of India wanting to claim a greater share of the renewed interest from institutional investors. Among the cities attracting real estate investment, Mumbai-based companies garnered the most investments, in terms of both size and number. During 2015-2019. Mumbai attracted investments worth USD 10 billion, accounting for a share of 36% of the total investment. Bengaluru was next in line with USD 6 billion of investments accounting for 21% share, followed by Gurgaon with USD 3.6 billion of investments and accounting for nearly 13% share. In 2019, till June Mumbai has accounted for 52% of the total investment in the country.

Affordable Housing shouldering the Residential Segment
2018 witnessed a revival in the residential market, primarily buoyed by new launches and sales in the affordable housing sector. We believe that this would continue to drive market growth in 2019, that has been further helped by the transparency in the segment and regulatory push through various avenues such as allocation of infrastructure status, benefits under Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana, Credit Linked Saving Scheme and substantial GST rate cut on housing

The changing face of real estate in India: Emergence of new asset classes
Co-working segment has grown exponentially and has been the new trend which is helping commercial real estate market to explore a new era of shared workspaces. At present, there are more than 180 co-working operators in the top eight cities. Office markets in Bengaluru, NCR and Mumbai offer the best opportunities for this trend, followed by Hyderabad and Chennai. The co-working segment is expected to account for a larger share of the market in 2019, portending a major shift in workspace dynamics with technology, innovative space design and flexibility impacting the preferences of new age businesses.

Co- Living spaces that offer an inherent advantage of entailing a hassle free, convenient  plug and play model, is expected to attract more tenants into its fold with the  segment projected to grow manifold in the forthcoming period. Already over 40 co-living start-ups have come up around the country in the past 2-3 years and the segment has been attracting significant interest in venture capital funding too. Nestaway, has been reported to have raised USD 94.2 million while Colive, offering fully managed rental homes, has raised USD 9.2 million. In another big-ticket funding, student housing rental start-up Stanza Living raised USD 10 million in 2018.

Warehousing and Logistics segments are driving investor interest due to strong economic fundamentals, proactive government policies such as implementation of GST and ‘Make in India’ policy, and sustained growth in organized retail and e-commerce. Southern cities like Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad have witnessed substantial interest from investors in recent years. Among major deals, Warburg Pincus invested USD 180 million in Embassy Group for a project in Bengaluru, while Proprium Capital Partners invested nearly USD 100 million in Musaddilal Projects in Hyderabad.

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