Gameskraft’s New Ad for Rummyculture is What Real Rummy is!

In a bid to capture a wider audience, Gameskraft, India’s fastest growing gaming company, has come up with a path breaking TV commercial for its most successful online game - Rummyculture. As part of its new TV campaign, Rummyculture’s new ad brings to the fore, the very reason Rummy was traditionally played - for fun and entertainment. The ad humorously captures the essence of being involved in playing the game and focuses on the excitement rather than the competition to earn more.

In fact, Gameskraft’s Rummyculture is the first online cash game to come up with a TVC after a gap of two years. The Rummy market had gone on a slumber and had stopped traditional TV advertisements, until Rummyculture’s path breaking TV campaign now. Prithvi Singh, Founder and CTO of Gameskraft, Rummyculture’s parent company, seconds this opinion and says, “Online rummy games were the first movers to advertise as far as cash games are concerned. But that was until fantasy gaming came along and changed the scenario. Now, Rummy is making a resurgence, a comeback of sorts, which I feel is very good for the gaming ecosystem.”

Rummyculture’s new  20 and 10 second TV ads will initially air across most TV channels across Bangalore, Chennai and Maharashtra. The 360 degree campaign will last for 28 days, capturing the attention of the viewers, urging them to loosen the competitive grip and rather enjoy the game. The ad also puts into perspective that online games need not be a single player entertainment. Says Prithvi Singh, “Traditionally Rummy games were played by families, bringing them together. But that whole aspect is lost nowadays as families have grown distant and also for want of time, it has become a single faceted game. Rummyculture brings them together for a nice entertainment session and that is exactly what we have tried to do with the ad. We have highlighted, through the ad, the fact that Rummy can be enjoyed together and families can once again see it as a collective entertainment platform.”

 Launched in October 2017, Rummyculture is the debut game from Gameskraft. In just a short span of time, it has evolved as India’s fastest growing cash rummy platform, with over 1 million active players on its website and Android application. Offering best-in-class gaming experience with complete digital safety, Rummyculture offers multilingual customer support. Free to register, the platform offers generous welcome bonuses to first-time users. 

North Karnataka Origin Surgeon Operates Superstar Rajinikanth’s Brother in Bengaluru

Superstar Rajinikanth visited his brother Sathyanarayana Rao Gaikwad, who underwent a ‘bilateral knee replacement’ surgery at Apollo Hospitals Seshadripuram, Bengaluru. Sathyanarayana Rao Gaikwad, 77, had severe osteoarthritis in the knee and was unable to walk since a very long time.

“Satyanarayana is doing well now and is being declared fit to walk on the same day of the surgery,” said Dr Kiran Chouka, Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon at Apollo Hospitals Seshadripuram, Bangalore.

“India is currently facing a knee ailments’ epidemic.  According to a recent study, more than 10  crore Indians suffer from knee-related problems like loss of cartilage, ACL tear (tear or sprain of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), a major knee ligament) and various types of age-related degenerative arthritis like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis among many others. As the number of such cases rises, incidences of joint replacement surgeries have also seen an upsurge in the past five years.  Osteoarthritis (OA) principally affecting the elderly, OA is the leading cause of disability in individuals older than 65 years and affects 70% to 90% of those older than 75 years. The most common form of arthritis, OA is a debilitating, degenerative disease of the articular cartilage and synovial fluid. Over the last decade there have been many studies looking at the impact of osteoarthritis on function and quality of life. Research has confirmed that knee and hip osteoarthritis are most adversely impactful on an individuals mobility, as well as their ability to perform routine daily activities such as walking in the supermarket, getting around the house, climbing stairs, and even getting in and out of a chair.’’ added Dr Kiran Chouka.

IBM, NASSCOM Foundation Collaborate to Make 2500 Students Job Ready from 23 Colleges Across Karnataka, Haryana and NCR

IBM and NASSCOM Foundation have jointly announced a significant collaboration to launch the New-collar Employability Skills Program – a CSR initiative with an objective to enhance the skills of more than 2500 college students from underserved communities and make them job ready. The program has already on-boarded more than 2500 candidates through 23 colleges in the regions across Karnataka, NCR and Haryana. The aim is to train these students in emerging technologies and provide employment opportunities.

This unique CSR intervention by IBM will engage with students through an on-campus approach in a 204 hour-long blended training model. Students from 23 Tier-2 and Tier-3 non-technical institutions will be skilled on new-age technologies like Data Science, Cloud Computing and Block-chain. The training will also cover life skill and functional English skills. The colleges chosen for the program include Vijaya Evening College, East Point College, Vidya Vahini College, Vivekanand Degree College, Karnataka college Dharwad, Siddaganga College, Siddhaganga Women's College.

“If we want India’s talent base to compete in the global economy it becomes imperative to upskill them. Our collaboration with NASSCOM will help students to better align with market shifts and industry needs. As part of our Corporate Social Responsibility, we are promoting skilling across our programmes for next generation to pursue STEM careers. IBM has been at the forefront and investing in the empowerment of the students to make them future ready and increase the talent pool,” said Rumi Mallick Mitra,  Leader, Corporate Social Responsibility, IBM India Pvt. Ltd.

Ashok Pamidi, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation, said. “This is possibly the first time that a CSR initiative will be working to train the youth from Underserved communities on Future skills such as Data Science, Cloud and Blockchain. We are glad to partner with IBM for this unique initiative which will work towards making these young students job ready for the Industry. A win-win situation for both society and industry. We also would like to take this opportunity to encourage more organizations to come forward and help create uplift the youth from underserved communities by providing them with on the new-age technologies”.

NASSCOM Foundation along with IBM has identified iPrimed and TMI as the training partners for the program. The training will be delivered through a series of online and classroom sessions. The program will also have the students participate in project work and learning events like project competitions, tech talks, Industry leadership talks and Mentorship program etc. All the stakeholders including NASSCOM Foundation and training partners will also assist in providing placement support to these students after the completion of the program.

In March this year, IBM announced a significant engagement in India to advance the skills and careers of more than 200,000 (2 lakh) female students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields. The collaborations began with signing of agreements with three state governments—Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh—and are planned to widen to several other states in the next few months, including Rajasthan. Today over 50,000 girls are being enrolled across 600+ govt schools across the country for the Stem for Girls program to learn coding and new collar skills. The program will enrol hundreds of more schools in the coming months.

IBM new collar skilling initiatives in India also include:

1.   A two-year Advanced Diploma Programme in emerging technologies created in collaboration with the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, which will be available to 100 Industrial Training Institutes (ITI), including 50 all-women ITIs, over the next three years. IBM will also offer internships of up to five months to some students, presenting an opportunity for them to further deepen their skills and understanding in emerging fields such as Cloud and AI. Currently 40 ITI’s have been enlisted to initiate the 2 years diploma program in this academic year

2.   As part of IBM’s ongoing engagement with the Government of India targeting young innovators through the Atal Tinkering Labs initiative, some 4,000 mentors and 600,000 mentees will benefit from a unique AI-powered Mentor Platform. Developed with the IBM Watson cognitive engine, the platform monitors mentor and mentee interactions to provide personalized support to those using the platform. IBM has thus far on-boarded 2,500 mentors, including 300 IBMers, to this platform by collaborating with the national Mentor of Change mission.

HGS Hits $1 Billion in Recovered Payments for Healthcare Systems’

Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) has announced it has recovered $1 billion in denied insurance payments on behalf of healthcare systems, a major milestone in what are some of providers’ toughest claims.

“As macroeconomic headwinds continue to impact the U.S. healthcare market, providers often struggle to walk the fine line between the push for healthier patient outcomes and an unsustainable cost structure. At the same time, the provider revenue cycle is becoming increasingly complex,” said Dan Schulte, Senior Vice President, HGS Healthcare. “Providers need a strong partner to help them pursue smaller insurance claims properly and recover payments that go right back to their bottom line. We’re thrilled to have reached the $1 billion milestone and recover some of the toughest claims for our provider customers.”

The average hospital costs must fall 24% by 2022 in order for healthcare systems to break even, a recent Black Book Market Research LLC survey found. By getting denied insurance claims adjudicated, properly appealed and collected, HGS is able to contribute up to 5% to healthcare systems’ bottom line.

Having strong relationships with both payers and providers, HGS brings unique and in-depth expertise to provider revenue cycle management. To-date, the company has collected more than $3 billion in accounts receivable on behalf of healthcare systems.

Launch of MOL (MICE ONLINE), One-Stop Tech Aggregator Platform

MOL, an online platform for MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) & Events bookings, was launched today at Le Meridian Hotel, New Delhi. The platform is proudly hosting 100 hotels on their platform with names like Marriott Group, Accor & Shangri-La in the mix. Ms. Tanuja Pandey having over 2 decades of experience in the travel and hospitality industry is the Founder & Director of the platform. She is currently an Advisor in the National Tourism Advisory Council of India, Ministry of Tourism.

The concept and idea of MICEONLINE was selected as a winner by a panel of judges, in a nationwide hunt for ideas from women entrepreneurs by IIT DELHI, WEE Foundation (Women Entrepreneurship and Empowerment) and DST (Department of Science and Technology, GOI). Ms. Tanuja Pandey having won the prize for the best idea at IIT, Delhi raised the entire seed funding from her personal savings into building technology for this platform. Her team includes Kumar Shubham, Co-Founder, who is an ex Hotelier with over 15 years of experience with the hospitality &banking, and has spent a decade with Marriott Group. Shubham brings his expertise on the hotel's side to the business and leads operations of MOL.

On expressing her satisfaction with the launch, Ms. Tanuja Pandey, Founder & Director MOL said; “A platform like MOL is an absolute necessity for India where businesses and MICE activities are rapidly growing. Presently MOL is the only platform which caters to MICE & Events online. It caters to Business to Business market with estimated savings of at least 6-10 % on the annual expenditure of corporates. MOL will provide easy and transparent business for clients. MOL simplifies the bulk booking process, providing the clients with a uniform rate for bulk rooms. Clients will appreciate the speed and efficiency in responses, in addition to sourcing for all other event needs on one platform. Corporates can also use the MOL app once the event is finalized and be in complete control of their own events. Clients will get direct access with hotels and thus hotels will get exposure to a higher number of clients and can market their offerings and product to wider, global audience, more leads.

Mr. Kumar Shubham – Co-Founder adds; “This is the future of MICE and Events. Having spent a decade in the hotel industry I know that this platform is going to create a difference in way revenues and booking patterns of MICE groups are managed at the hotel end. This platform will also address the low demand periods of a hotel and proactively push them to the platform maximizing revenue. The hotels can also reach out to wider number of clients, run their promotions and market themselves more effectively on a global platform to the right customer.

Ms. Tanuja’s belief in her idea and constant hard work brought in an Indian angel investor who also believes in this project and has reposed complete faith in her capabilities to make MOL into an unprecedented success story. Another angel investor from Singapore is also evaluating this platform. MOL is looking at raising funding in the coming future to boost their expansion into Asian markets with offices in Singapore & Dubai by Q1/Q2 of FY 2020-21.

Jio Fibre Officially Kicks off September 5, Plan Starts at Rs 700

Jio Fibre will be available from 5 September 2019 onwards and the data plan will start from Rs 700, says Reliance Industries CMD Mukesh Ambani. He further says that Jio Fiber's mixed-reality device to be available for commercial purchase soon at an affordable rate.

JioFiber speeds will start from up to 100 Mbps for the basic plan and go all the way up to 1 Gbps for premium plans. A basic plan will cost ₹699 a month offering 150 GB data, while the top plan will cost ₹8,499 offering 5,000 GB data, the company said on Thursday.

Reliance Jio Fiber rolls out commercially on September 5 across India. Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Mukesh Ambani announced a bunch of freebies and offers under the Jio Fiber Welcome Offer. How can you avail these Jio Fiber offers? What are the various Jio Fiber plans and their price? How to register for Jio Fiber?

Here are some frequently asked questions and their answers.

What is Jio Fiber?
Jio Fiber is a new optical fibre-based broadband service by RIL. The service aims at setting new standards in broadband speeds in India at an affordable price.

Jio Fiber would roll out commercially on September 5. The data plans would start at 100 Mbps and go up to 1 Gbps. Detailed Jio Fiber plans would be revealed on September 5 Ambani also claimed JioFiber plans will be priced at 1/10th the global rate.

Is Jio Fiber available in my city?
Currently, Jio Fiber connections are available in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Surat, Vadodara, Noida, Ghaziabad, Chennai, Bhubaneshwar, Bengaluru, Agra, Vizag, Jamshedpur, Patna, Punjab, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Haridwar, Meerut, Port Blair, and many other cities.
Reliance Jio has received registrations from over 1,600 towns and is planning to reach out to more towns and cities gradually.

What are the prices for these Jio Fiber plans?
Earlier information revealed at Reliance AGM indicates Jio Fiber plans with 100 Mbps data speeds could be priced at Rs 700, whereas the most expensive plan with 1 Gbps data speed could be priced at Rs 10,000. Detailed pricing of other available data plans would be unveiled on September 5.

What if I have consumed my monthly Jio Fiber data plan? Will the speed be reduced?
Jio Fiber base plan starts at 100 Mbps speed for Rs 700. Currently, under the Preview Offer, users are provided with 100GB data at 100Mbps. Upon consumption of the monthly quota, users can recharge their Jio Fiber data plan with a booster pack that offers 40GB additional data.

Can I recharge my monthly Jio Fiber data plan twice a month?
As of now, users under beta testing can recharge their Jio Fiber monthly data plan only once. After the 100GB quota is exhausted, these beta users can recharge their connection with a 40GB booster pack that can be recharged multiple times, depending upon consumption.

I am a Jio Fiber preview user. Will I have to set up a new connection after the commercial rollout?
No. Existing Jio Fiber preview customers do not need to request for a new broadband connection.

Do existing Jio Fiber preview users need to pay the deposit again?
Existing Jio Fiber users were asked to pay Rs 4,500 as a security deposit while setting up the connection. These existing users do not need to pay any kind of deposit again. Users would only need to pay additional data plan charges starting September 5.

Where can I choose my Jio Fiber connection or recharge my data plan?
Customers can recharge their Jio Fiber connection on the Jio Fiber website or the MyJio app.

Do I need to pay any deposit for Jio Fiber?
Yes. New Jio Fiber customers need to pay an up-front amount of Rs 2,500 as a refundable deposit for the Jio Fiber Router.

Will Jio provide a router as part of the package?
Customers are required to pay an upfront amount of Rs 2,500 as a security deposit for Jio Fiber. The package would only include the router. Users need to pay additionally for a data plan as required.

What is the Jio Fiber Helpline number?
For any assistance on connectivity, internet issues or information on data plans and other Jio Fiber services, customers can dial 18008969999.

What are the various offers under Jio Fiber Welcome Offer?
As part of the Jio Fiber Welcome Offer, Reliance Jio would offer an HD LED TV or a 4K TV alongside a 4K set-top box for customers who opt for the annual plan called Jio Forever Plan.
The Jio Set-Top Box would allow Jio Fiber users to access television services and also enjoy the console-like gaming experience. Jio Fiber customers can also avail the benefits of consuming content from premium OTT platforms.

Will I be able to use Wi-Fi with Jio Fiber?
Yes, Jio Fiber router supports Wi-Fi.

Will calling be free on Jio Fiber landline?
Yes. At the RIL AGM, Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani revealed that customers would only pay for the data and calling would be completely free from home to any Indian mobile or fixed-line operator. For international voice calls through Jio landlines, customers will only have to pay Rs 500 per month, which will be 1/5th to 1/10th of existing tariffs.

How do I register for Jio Fiber?
Go to Jio Fiber Registration Website or log on to fiber.jio.com

Enter your address for the Jio Fiber connection.

Enter the Full name, mobile number and email id.

Once entered, click on ‘Generate OTP’.

Enter the OTP that you receive on your registered mobile number.

A Reliance Jio executive would then set up a meeting to verify all the information and share other details.

Is it possible to get a Jio Fiber connection at my work address?
Yes. Jio Fiber connection can be set up at both home and work address. While registering on the Jio Fiber website, customers are given an option to enter their Home or Work address.

What are other offers available with Jio Fiber?
Other than an HD LED or a 4K TV with the Set-Top Box; Reliance is offering a fixed-line service for international calling known as Jio Home Phone. The service would offer international calling with ‘lowest fixed-line rates’.
Moreover, existing Jio GigaFiber users and new Jio Fiber customers would also get an International calling pack at Rs 500 per month for making calls in USA and Canada.

Jio Fiber customers can also avail the benefits of consuming content from premium OTT platforms.

What is the Jio Fiber First Day First Show feature?
As a part of this bundled offer, customers can watch movies at their homes on the same day the movie has been released. Reliance plans to roll out these benefits starting mid-2020.

Xtep Introduces Scientifically Designed Affordable New Range of Sports Shoes for the Indian Market

Hong Kong headquartered global sportswear brand Xtep International Holdings Limited has for the first time unveiled its sports-technology lab through virtual live streaming from Bengaluru.

The Sports Science and design innovation lab derives insights from deep research of active users of Xtep sports shoes everyday. The R&D guides the design ergonomics of Xtep’s mass affordable and functional sports fashion range for consumers with different foot shape, walking/running styles, body types and weight. The collection includes variety of running shoes and sportswear available across five stores in Bengaluru.

Commenting on the sports technology lab, Dr. Jason Tak-Man Cheung, Chief Scientist and Senior Director of Xtep Innovation lab said, “Xtep has established an international design team led by highly experienced designers from Europe and U.S. who formerly worked for global sports brands. The Group has also cooperated with the Dow Chemical Company to develop SoftpadTM, a world-leading new technology shoe insole exclusively used by Xtep, and is working with leading international fiber material developers, such as the Dow Chemical Company, Toray and 3M, to apply leading materials in its footwear and apparel,” Jason says.

Xtep R&D has made functional footwear innovation affordable for every Indian thus lending an impetus to the Fit India movement launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 29th August 2019.

Xtep Sports range pioneers the Athletech revolution – athleticism fueled by technology – where technology can be used to make scientifically designed sports shoes affordable and accessible to all to fire up the dormant athlete in every human.

In line with this, Xtep Group aims to drive a cultural shift in fitness by making the Xtep ‘Sports-Life’ philosophy a reality in India. Sports in Life makes Life a (breezy) Sport hinges on the premise that Sports is not merely a lifestyle choice but integral to life itself.

The company plans to touch ten stores in India by Dec 2019, within nine months of opening of its first store in Bengaluru in November 2018. For Xtep group the move underpins India as one of the fastest developing strategic global market amongst BRICS nations.

India’s high population density and increasing purchasing power parity presents Xtep an opportunity to expand its market base. Xtep Group recently acquired E-Land Footwear, which owns brands such as K-Swiss, Palladium, Supra, PLDM and KR3W to broaden its product portfolio for emerging markets such as India.

About Xtep International: Listed on June 3, 2008 on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, XTEP is a leading PRC-based professional sports brand providing stylish and functional products. It is principally engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, sales and marketing, and brand management of sportswear products, including footwear, apparel and accessories. Xtep is a constituent of Hang Seng Global Composite Index and Hang Seng Composite Index Series. For more information, visit Xtep’s corporate website: www.xtep.com.hk.


Xtep Unveils Limited Edition Moon Landing Shoes

On this occasion, Xtep also announced the launch of the spacesuit inspired "Moon Landing" shoes for the India market from December 2019. Priced at Rs 7,000, the Limited Edition cross over shoes marks the launch with the Chandrayaan 2 landing on the dark side of the moon on September 7, 2019.

Chandrayaan 2 is an Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) mission comprising an orbiter and a soft lander carrying a rover due to the landing on the Moon on September 7, 2019. The primary objective of Chandrayaan 2 is to demonstrate the ability to soft-land on the lunar surface and operate a robotic rover on the surface. 

HERE, Hyundai Motor America Collaborate on Tools to Seamlessly Connect Consumers to Local HMA Dealers and Services

HERE Technologies, a global leader in mapping and location platform services, today announced that Hyundai Motor America’s information technology unit, Hyundai AutoEver, will utilize HERE Location Services to develop location-aware web and mobile applications. The applications increase the ease with which consumers engage with Hyundai dealers and services across the United States.

Software developers at Hyundai AutoEver are now able to integrate HERE Location Services into Hyundai’s various web and mobile eService solutions. This includes HERE data and software to power the “find my dealer” function and various location-based services across Hyundai’s web, mobile, smartphone applications and customer service portals.

“Digital connectivity is reshaping the automotive customer experience inside and outside of the vehicle,” said Charity Rumery, Head of Automotive and Industrial at HERE Technologies. “We are proud to work with our longstanding partners at Hyundai to deliver customers the information they want at the right time and location, based on the flexible and cost-effective suite of APIs within HERE Location Services.”

HERE Location Services consists of enterprise-grade APIs and SDKs including geocoding, voice guidance and routing algorithms, live traffic data, map content, points of interest and more. The HERE platform is currently used by numerous FORTUNE 500 companies across industries as well as developers at startups, small businesses and public sector agencies around the world.

Hyundai AutoEver is responsible for all telematics R&D in North America and delivers world-class technology solutions for the Hyundai Kia Motor Group. Hyundai AutoEver worldwide has more than 2,200 IT experts working in 22 domestic work sites, as well as in various locations across eight countries.

HERE Technologies is the leading global provider of location data and platform services for the automotive industry. HERE standard and high definition maps are used by the automotive industry for all levels of vehicle automation, from ADAS to Level 5 systems. HERE Connected Vehicle Services combines live data, advanced location analytics and software to make driving more informed, safer and enjoyable. The HERE Open Location Platform is where the entire industry can contribute data to and access differentiating products and services, including the first automotive services based on real-time vehicle sensor data pooled from multiple car brands.

Sky7 Ventures Invests in India Based Healthtech Startup Abita Innovations

India based healthtech venture Abita Innovations receives an undisclosed amount of investment from an Ann Arbor-based global incubator and an early-stage fund Sky7 Ventures. The startup, Healthtech uses its integrated tech ecosystem to automate and optimize practice management for its partner medical practitioners, simultaneously providing the patients a standardized and superior in-clinic experience. The company is currently working with 30+ doctors across 3 cities that are using its proprietary platform and services under its first product exclusively built for Dentist named Doc32.  In addition to the monetary support the fund will help the startup in further enhancing its technology interface, develop strategic ties in US & UK markets and scale up its operations in Indian and global markets.

Vineet Katial, Managing Director of Sky7 Ventures and founding member, Detroit TIE angels said “India’s healthcare sector is set to surpass $200 billion by 2020, currently it is a highly fragmented market suffering from a dearth of qualified doctors to serve the semi-urban and rural markets. It is exactly where the healthtech companies can contribute the most by enabling the practitioner and also driving change in the way people consume healthcare. Abita Innovations has a great team with experienced doctors, top management graduates and tech experts, I am looking forward to the collaboration and working with a business that we feel is built around pretty strong fundamentals”

In his address at TIECON Detroit also Mr. Katial apprised the audience about the innovative work the startup was doing in leveraging artificial intelligence and related technologies to improve patient’s understanding and connect them to the right providers for a superior dental care experience. Hitesh Kakrani, CEO of Abita Innovations, an IIM Lucknow alumni and having work experience with Fortune 500 companies like P&G said “We are very excited to have Sky7ventures and Vineet by our side as we look to disrupt some traditional business models in the healthcare space using some great technology. Vineet has been our mentor throughout and has helped us tremendously in building this business ground-up. It was simply great to have him guiding us and now to have a formal deal with Sky7ventures is exactly the sort of motivation we need to take our operations to the next level”. 

Airtel Outlines Its Digital Entertainment Vision with Airtel Xstream

Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), India’s largest integrated telecommunications services provider, today announced the launch of its converged digital entertainment play: Airtel Xstream.

Airtel Xstream is part of Airtel’s vision of building a world-class digital entertainment ecosystem for Digital India and make it accessible to customers through innovative devices and exciting applications. Over the coming months, Airtel plans to roll out a range of exciting solutions to cater to the entertainment needs of every customer segment of India that is getting transformed through rapid adoption of high speed data services.

All the content on one platform, delivered across screens: Airtel Xstream brings one of the widest entrainment catalogues – hundreds of satellite TV channels, tens of thousands of movies and shows in English, Hindi and multiple Indian languages, millions of songs, plus access to all the popular OTT entertainment apps on one platform. It enables customers to access all this content across the screen of their choice – TV, PC, and Smartphone with a unified User Interface.
Future Ready platform for connected Homes: Airtel Xstream devices will come with capabilities beyond world-class entertainment and will be the IoT gateway for enabling a range of solutions for connected homes.
Exclusive benefits for Airtel Thanks customers: Airtel Thanks customers will enjoy exclusive benefits on Airtel Xstream, including free access to premium content from Airtel’s content catalogue plus offers on a range of other services.       

Adarsh Nair, Chief Product Officer, Bharti Airtel said: “Airtel is on an exciting mission to provide a broad array of digital services and platforms that can form the foundation for a rising India. As part of our digital entertainment play, our vision is to truly massify digital entertainment and make it accessible to more and more customers through innovative platforms.

Today, we are announcing India’s first converged entertainment platform Airtel Xstream that brings together your favorite content including Live TV, video, music, news, and sports across an OTT smart stick, internet enabled set top box and handheld devices. Digital India is transforming the way content is being consumed over internet connected devices. Airtel Xstream will cater to needs of a new generation of consumers who are looking for seamless and converged entertainment across multiple screens at home and on the go.”

With the launch of Airtel Xstream, Airtel has become the first company in India to enable a seamless digital entertainment experience, with a unified user interface across all screens. Airtel has rolled out a new range of Airtel Xstream connected devices that will make any TV a smart TV and will be available to customers starting today. Airtel Xstream devices offer blazing-fast performance and slick viewing experience through solid product engineering, deep design excellence coupled with strong device specifications. 

Future Generali India Insurance Appoints Anup Rau as CEO and Managing Director

Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited (FGII), the general insurance arm of the joint venture between retail game-changers Future Group and global insurer Generali, has appointed Anup Rau as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director.

A seasoned professional, Anup has a career spanning over 23 years of which the last 19 years have been with the Insurance Industry. He has the unique distinction of heading both Life and General Insurance companies. He joins Future Generali India from Edelweiss General Insurance where he was the CEO and was also the CEO of Reliance Nippon Life Insurance prior to that. He has also had successful stints in leadership positions in HDFC Life and ICICI Prudential Life.

Anup has pursued his MBA in Marketing from the University of Mumbai after his Bachelors with Honours in Economics from the University of Delhi.

On welcoming Anup Rau to Future Generali India Insurance, Rob Leonardi, Regional Officer for Generali Asia said, “We view India as an important and fast-growing market for our business in Asia. Anup’s vast experience and understanding of retail, combined with his expertise in strategic digital initiatives within the industry, will be a huge asset for Future Generali India. We are confident that Anup will take forward the strong legacy of his predecessor to new heights.”

Anup Rau commented on his joining, “Future Generali P&C business is respected in the industry for its range of innovative and customer-friendly products and the quality of service,  on both the retail and corporate side. I believe that FGII is poised to make the leap to the next level on the firm foundation set over the past decade. I look forward to leading the company in what promises to be a very exciting next few years.”

Simplilearn, Purdue University Join for PG Online Courses in India

Simplilearn, a global e-learning provider of digital skills training, today launched a new online course: the Postgraduate Program in Data Science, co-developed with Purdue University and in partnership with IBM. The Postgraduate Program in Data Science will be offered in India and will equip aspiring data science professionals with the skills needed to jump-start their career - ranging from programming languages like R and Python to machine learning and more. By 2021, IDC predicts Data Science and cognitive computing spending will reach $52.2 billion. Data Scientist is one of the hottest professions. IBM predicts demand for Data Scientists will rise by 28% by 2020.

This collaboration provides the most comprehensive Data Science program -- leveraging Purdue’s academic excellence in Data Science; IBM’s content, tools and certification; and Simplilearn’s award-winning curriculum and Blended Learning approach. Program participants will use a combination of self-paced videos and live virtual classes with significant hands-on exposure to ensure practical, industry-aligned learning. Class sizes will also be limited to foster maximum interaction. Program graduates will receive several highly prized certifications and will be granted Purdue University alumni status.

“In today’s dynamic and ever-evolving ecosystem, data is the most valuable asset any company has,” said Anand Narayanan, Simplilearn’s Chief Product Officer. “As a result, the demand for skilled data scientists who are adept in technical, analytical and business concepts has never been higher. Simplilearn’s comprehensive Data Science program in partnership with Purdue provides all the core skills that professionals need to succeed in this field.”

Data science has multiple applications. Industries such as healthcare, e-commerce, and banking are already harnessing data and AI to gain competitive advantage.

“With data playing a significant role in businesses and organizations around the world, there is an increasing demand for data scientists with industry-relevant skills,” said Gerry McCartney, Executive Vice President of Purdue Online. “We are happy to collaborate with a successful online training company like Simplilearn to provide professionals with the required competencies in a program that leverages Purdue’s internationally recognized educational expertise.”

Kesh King Shampoo Infuses ‘Ayurvedaasan’ for Healthy Hair Ropes in Shilpa Shetty as its New Brand Ambassador

Kesh King, the leading ayurvedic hair and scalp care brand from the house of Emami Ltd., announced the introduction of Bollywood diva and Yoga fitness icon, Shilpa Shetty, as its new brand ambassador for its shampoo.

Shilpa’s dedication towards staying fit and healthy admirably synergises with Kesh King’s brand ethos of ensuring a stress free ayurvedic hair care solution. Shilpa Shetty joins the elegant league of Kesh King Brand ambassadors comprising of stars like Juhi Chawla, Sania Mirza, Huma Qureshi and Shruti Haasan, who have been endorsing the brand from time to time.  To mark the onset of this new journey, Kesh King Shampoo with its inherent ayurvedic benefits of Aloe Vera and 21 ayurvedic herbs, also launched a brand new TVC.

Kesh King Shampoo’s new TVC comes with a new messaging of “Hair fall ka aayurvedasan” which is a healthy, ayurvedic solution to control hair fall, which is quite similar to the health benefits of yoga for the body.  The shampoo has dual benefits, as it reduces hair fall and promotes soft and silky beautiful hair.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms. Priti A. Sureka, Director, Emami Limited, added, “Shilpa is an elegant and versatile actress with a rich legacy of work. She is a true fitness enthusiast who has equally carved out a niche as an entrepreneur yet being a really hands-on-mother. We are extremely glad to have her on board for Kesh King shampoo. In today’s day and age, Indian women undergo anxiety for her falling, damaged, dull and lifeless hair due to daily stress, improper diet, pollution, seasonal changes and many other reasons. Like yoga which benefits the body, Kesh King shampoo with its natural ingredients like aloe vera and 21 ayurvedic herbs offers the best hair health benefits to control hair fall and also make it look beautiful.” 

The storyline of the new Kesh King Shampoo TVC shows Shilpa practicing yoga with her friend highlighting the hair fall issue of the latter. Shilpa advises the friend about the need to make ‘Ayurvedasan’ a part of her life’s routine – introducing Kesh King Shampoo to her, which offers the ayurvedic and natural benefits of health and life to one’s hair – a benefit which almost equals the goodness that ‘yoga asanas’ give to one’s body.

Speaking about her association with Kesh King shampoo, Bollywood actress, Shilpa Shetty, further added, “I have always been a champion of ‘fitness’. Practising yoga for a fit body, mind and soul is a way of life for me. When I got to know more about Kesh King, I was pleasantly surprised to find that with its proven ayurvedic benefits, Kesh King is going to offer me the healthy benefits of ‘hair yoga’ for a hair fall free, lustrous and healthy crowning glory. I am happy to be on board with Kesh King.”

Recommended by International hair institute, Kesh King Ayurvedic shampoo has aloe vera and 21 ayurvedic herbs that not only reduces hair fall but also transforms dry and rough hair into soft, silky shiny hair. The Kesh King brand portfolio includes ayurvedic medicinal oil, shampoo, conditioner and ayurvedic capsules. 

The new Kesh King Shampoo TVC featuring the brand ambassador Shilpa Shetty has gone on air recently in its key markets.

ServiceNow Delivers Native Mobile Experiences at Scale for Work

ServiceNow, the company that makes work, work better for people, today announces the launch of native mobile experiences for everyday work across the enterprise with the general availability of its Now Platform New York release (https://www.servicenow.com/now‑platform/latest‑release.html). For the first time, consumer‑like mobile experiences that can make almost any everyday work task easy to do have arrived, making our work lives as simple, easy and mobile‑friendly as our real lives.

Powered by the Now Platform, the leading platform in managing complex enterprise workflows across functions, departments and systems, ServiceNow’s new Now Mobile app makes diverse everyday work tasks simple and easy. Whether it’s fixing an IT issue, ordering a computer, finding a conference room, getting help from human resources, approving purchase orders, travel requests and legal documents, or finding quick answers to questions, the Now Mobile app makes it easy to take care of business on the go.

The New York release also features a new ServiceNow Onboarding app, which makes starting a new job a cinch by combining all of the multi‑departmental tasks involved in getting up and running as a new employee into a single, intuitive mobile experience. Together, Now Mobile and Mobile Onboarding set a new mobile standard for the enterprise, moving beyond single solution apps into workflow mobile experiences that better match how people really want to get work done.

ServiceNow is committed to harnessing the power of its Now Platform in managing complex enterprise workflows with the native mobile capabilities coded into the platform to become the global leader in delivering native mobile‑friendly workflow experiences to enterprise customers at scale. Combined with ServiceNow’s release earlier this year of ServiceNow Agent, the new Now Mobile and Mobile Onboarding apps offer enterprises an unmatched suite of native mobile apps that offer leading features, capabilities and user experiences.

“Just as mobile was at the center of transforming our lives at home, we believe mobile will be at the heart of delivering great experiences at work,” said ServiceNow’s Chief Product Officer Chirantan “CJ” Desai. “Employees today expect their employers to offer native mobile‑optimized tools. Mobile is the way many people want to get everyday work tasks done. The Now Platform enables companies to quickly and easily deliver unmatched native mobile experiences to employees that will unlock productivity and make work, work better for them.”

Reducing complexity for employees with Now Mobile and Virtual Agent

The latest platform release from ServiceNow comes at a time when enterprises are looking deliver better efficiencies and experiences. The intelligent, intuitive Now Platform helps streamline IT, employee and customer workflows, connecting separate systems and processes on a single platform.

Now Mobile and Mobile Onboarding are just two of more than 650 innovations in the New York release.

The New York release also includes innovations in natural language understanding (NLU), which is integrated into ServiceNow Virtual Agent. With NLU, employees can interact with Virtual Agent by using simple human terms to quickly find answers, order items or get help for common problems — all without having to contact the service desk.

These innovations in the Now Platform, coupled with the machine learning capability of ServiceNow Predictive Intelligence, help organizations provide a comprehensive service delivery experience that makes it easy for employees to get the help they need.

PayPal, a global technology platform and digital payments leader with over 20,000 employees, adopted the Now Platform as it began its journey of providing its engineers with the technology backbone needed to connect operations, create a centralized hub for resources and give access to self‑service tools. “Like any enterprise company, PayPal’s engineers use various applications to help manage its infrastructure. With ServiceNow, we now have a single platform that lets us connect digital workflows and have a common engagement layer across our systems of record and apps to provide our engineers with a more efficient and productive work experience. Using the Now Platform, our engineers are freed up to work on more strategic work and focus on our goal of providing customers and employees with an experience that’s as easy, simple and intuitive as the PayPal mobile experience,” said Dan Torunian, PayPal’s Vice President of Employee Technology & Experiences and Data Centers.

“As enterprises move from dabbling with digital to becoming ‘digitally determined,’ it’s clear they need agile platforms that can adapt as fast as they do, at scale,” said IDC’s Program Vice President, Stephen Elliot. “CIOs should consider how mobile‑first applications for work, and associated digital workflows enabled by a unified platform, can provide CIOs with the speed needed to create a truly digital workplace and the experience employees expect.”

Availability

ServiceNow’s Now Platform New York release is generally available today. The ServiceNow Now Mobile and ServiceNow Onboarding apps are available to download on the Apple iOS store and Google Play store.

SAP Concur and Thomas Cook India Strengthen Partnership to Streamline Travel and Expense Management

SAP Concur, the world’s leading provider of expense, travel and invoice management solutions, today announced the commitment of its partnership with Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., a leading integrated travel and travel related financial services company. The partnership is a reiteration of enabling organizations across verticals to completely automate their business travel for employees. SAP Concur in partnership with Thomas Cook India provides a user-friendly, integrated travel and expense (T&E) management solution to help enable an organization’s workforce with a seamless and rewarding experience.

For any business, managing expenses is as important as growing revenue. Today, most organisations in India use manual processes for travel and expense reporting, thereby losing productive hours that can be utilised towards more strategic tasks. To succeed in the digital age, organizations need lean, integrated and most of all, digital processes to support their business and improve the bottom line. Travel and expense management is always challenging, but with such partnerships, a corporate can actually usher in savings by automating manual processes that otherwise would cost additional money and time.

Speaking on strengthening the partnership with Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., Ms. Mankiran Chowhan, Managing Director, SAP Concur, India said, “SAP Concur’s value proposition is simplicity, integrated travel and expense management, and we look at partnerships that help translate these into customer experiences and brand loyalty. Last year, our collaboration saw increased adoption by corporates owing to the integrated offering. Together with Thomas Cook India, we aim to transform the way organisations manage their business travel, expense and invoice in a highly visible marketplace.”

India has emerged as one of the world’s fastest growing business travel markets, with a business travel spend that is likely to touch USD 46 billion by end of 2019, with a projected annual growth rate of 11.5%. A recent report from KPMG revealed that last year, rise in annual growth of business travel spend for India has been the highest among the top 15 business travel markets globally. While India is the seventh largest business travel market globally, it is projected to be amongst the top five travel markets by 2022. Furthermore, India-China-Indonesia (ICI) travel spend is predicted to reach USD 565 billion in 2022 and is projected to be the largest in the world by 2035.

“At Thomas Cook India, we’ve been sustained in strategic ideation that brings value to multinationals, Indian corporates, and SMEs. Our delivery of employee experiences helps eliminate tedious tasks, reduce cost and hence, enable them to work smarter. We are delighted to renew our partnership with SAP Concur as a global reseller which will now enable us to deliver cutting-edge solutions by driving integration and automation - equipping our Global and Indian clientele to better manage their travel expenses and invoice processes,” said Indiver Rastogi, President & Group Head - Global Business Travel - Thomas Cook (India) Limited.

Acer Delivers a Chromebook for Family Fun, Entertainment, Productivity

Acer has debuted with a new Chromebook that provides the performance, portability and battery life today’s families, students and small business owners need in a Chromebook.

“Today we’re offering four new Chromebooks in three sizes, so consumers can get the right Acer Chromebook with the display size, features and technology that fits their lifestyle needs,” said James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, IT Products Business at Acer. “Chromebooks have moved far beyond their original promise of getting computer users online in a quick, secure and easy-to-manage way, now allowing customers to access apps that help with every aspect of their day from budgeting, staying in touch, having fun and taking care of life’s business.”

A Chromebook with a Large, Anti-Glare Display for Maximum Productivity

Acer’s new Chromebook comes with a large display and boosts productivity in a range of environments. The new Acer Chromebook 314 (CB314-1H/1HT) can be enjoyed in bright-light conditions thanks to their anti-glare displays that provide sharp and legible text as well as vivid, clear videos, and photos.

The Acer Chromebook 314’s large 14-inch display is available with up to a Full HD (1920 x 1080 resolution) display with IPS[i] technology and wide viewing angles in both touch and non-touch models. These lines have new designs with thin bezels surrounding the large displays, making the visuals even more vibrant and compelling.

Flexible, Fast Connectivity to Peripherals and Online

The new Acer Chromebooks include two USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 1 ports – one on each side – for charging the Chromebook from the most convenient angle. The ports can also be used to charge the device as well as other products, transfer data quickly and connect to an HD display. In addition, the new Chromebooks each have two USB Type-C ports, two USB 3.1 ports and a MicroSD card reader for extra storage capacity.

All of the new Chromebooks feature a front-facing HD webcam for video chats and Google Hangouts. The convertible Acer Chromebook Spin 311 also has the option for a world-facing camera for capturing 1080p video.

Customers can stay connected to their network with Intel® Gigabit WiFi and a strategically placed 802.11ac wireless antenna with 2x2 MU-MIMO for a fast and reliable wireless connection. Additionally, Bluetooth 5.0 delivers a convenient wireless connection to peripherals.

Performance and Long Battery Life for All-Day Productivity, Fun

All four new Acer Chromebooks deliver solid all-day performance for access to multiple apps and tabs, video streaming and more. Customers can stay updated on social media, handle tasks for work and school, and shop online quickly and confidently using these devices with the latest dual-core Intel Celeron® N4000 or quad-core Intel Celeron N4100 processors. The Acer Chromebook 315 also offers the option for an Intel Pentium® Silver N5000 processor.

The Acer Chromebook 315 can be configured with up to 128 GB eMMC storage and up to 8 GB dual-channel SDRAM.

Acer Chromebook customers can be assured their devices will keep going during the day and well into the evening without having to recharge them. The Acer Chromebook 315 delivers day-to-night battery life lasting up to 12.5 hours1.

Cool, Quiet Designs

The new Acer Chromebooks all feature fanless designs that run quietly, making them great for shared spaces such as in a family room, library or coffee shop. They also have moisture- resistant touchpads to protect the device from unwanted dampness.

The Google Assistant Gets Things Done, Hands-Free

All four new Acer Chromebooks feature the Google Assistant[ii], which allows users to get more done faster and smarter, hands-free. With the Assistant, users can quickly send emails, find documents, listen to music, access their calendar, or control smart home devices, all without switching screens. All they need is to say “Hey Google” to get started.

Easy to Deploy, Manage, Keep Safe; Google Play™ Support

Acer Chromebooks support multiple user sign-on to keep data safe. Family members can share the system and log onto their unique accounts to ensure their projects. Gmail accounts and information are kept away from prying eyes, even if the Chromebook is damaged or stolen. Storage on Google Drive[iii] protects files, documents and photos safely in the cloud, and ensures that the most current version is always available. Chrome OS delivers fast boot times of about 8 seconds as well as heightened security through automatic updates to guard against ever-changing online threats, such as viruses and malware.

The new Acer Chromebooks will support Google Play at launch, so families will have access to Android and Chrome apps for entertainment, fun, learning and more.

Pricing and Availability

The Acer Chromebook 314 will be available in India from December 2019, starting at Rs 42,000.

Exact specifications, prices, and availability will vary by region. To learn more about availability, product specifications and prices in specific markets, please contact your nearest Acer office via www.acer.co.in.

The new Acer Chromebook was unveiled today at the next@acer press event held in Berlin, where the company announced a range of new devices and solutions for gamers, creators, families, students and professionals. 

Acer Introduces Thin and Lightweight Predator Triton 300 Gaming Notebook and Immersive Predator Thronos Air Gaming Chair

Key Highlights

●            Acer’s expanding line of thin Windows 10 gaming notebooks and immersive gaming chairs gives gamers more options than ever
●            The lightweight Predator Triton 300 combines powerful technology and mainstream features in a slim design at mainstream price points
●            The Predator Triton 500 is now available with a blazing-fast 300 Hz display
●            The Predator Thronos Air, Acer’s newest gaming chair, is the perfect gaming cave for hard core enthusiasts. Modular, adjustable and customizable, it gives gamers maximum immersion for their favorite games

Acer has introduced the Predator Triton 300 gaming notebook, a Predator Triton 500 with a 300 Hz display, and the Predator Thronos Air gaming chair. The Predator Triton 300 expands the Triton line with an affordable solution for mainstream gamers who value thin and lightweight designs. The Predator Thronos Air gaming chair gives gamers a fun, immersive way to lose themselves in the game within their very own battle station.

“The Predator Triton 300 completes the Triton line of gaming notebooks, providing a full spectrum of options for gamers seeking thin and lightweight gear,” said Jerry Kao, Co-COO, Acer. “Following the great reception of the Predator Thronos, we’ve created the Predator Thronos Air, allowing more gamers to upgrade their gaming environment for a fully immersive experience.”

“Acer’s new lineup of Predator Triton laptops pack great gaming performance into a remarkably thin design,” said Chris Walker, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Mobility Client Platforms in the Client Computing Group, Intel. “With 9th Gen Intel Core processors delivering the industry leading performance and platform features needed for premium gaming experiences, we’re excited about the technology innovation that Acer and Intel will deliver to gamers everywhere.”

Thin and Lightweight Predator Triton 300 Provides the Right Mix of Size and Power

The Predator Triton 300 is the newest addition to the thin and lightweight Triton line, powered by Windows 10. It is a perfect blend of performance and features, all wrapped up in a slim design for a compelling value. Just 2.3 kg (5.07 pounds), its aluminum chassis features the same subdued matte black design highlighted with blue lights and accents found on other Predator notebooks.

Up to a 9th Gen Intel Core i7 Processor is paired with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 GPU, and 16 GB of DDR4 2666Hz memory (upgradable to 32 GB). For massive amounts of game storage, it will support up to two 1 TB PCIe NVMe SSDs in RAID 0 and up to a 2 TB hard drive. Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX 1650 along with Killer Ethernet keeps the action moving quickly and lag-free.

A bright 15.6-inch Full HD IPS[i] display with a narrow bezel design includes a 144 Hz refresh rate and 3 ms overdrive response time, delivering realistic graphics and colors that pop, highlight every detail and bring games to life. Immersive audio is delivered with Waves Nx, which uses state-of-the-art physical modeling to deliver a realistic and convincing listening experience by virtually mimicking the immersion of ultra-high-end speakers in a perfect acoustically-treated space.

The keyboard includes zoned RGB lighting and dedicated Turbo and Predator Sense keys. In addition, the WASD, arrow and dedicated keys are concave shaped and transparent for ease-of-use.

The Predator Triton 300 also features the superior thermal design found on all Predator notebooks, including dual fans with Acer’s 4th Gen AeroBlade 3D metal fan technology, CoolBoost technology and strategically placed air intake and exhaust vents.

The Predator Triton 500 Is Now Available with a Blazing-Fast 300Hz Display

Now with a blazing-fast 300 Hz 15.6-inch Full HD display, the Predator Triton 500 is a powerful gaming notebook slimmed down to just 17.9 mm (0.70 inches) thin and weighing 2.1 kg (4.6 pounds). It has a durable, all-metal chassis and narrow bezels measuring just 6.3 mm (0.25 inches) for an impressive 81% body-to-screen ratio. The slim Triton 500 can easily be slipped in a backpack or briefcase, but once taken out and powered on, it takes advantage of the performance of up to a 9th Gen Intel Core i7 processor to become a gaming powerhouse.

The Predator Thronos Air Gaming Chair - Acer’s Newest Gaming Cave

The Predator Thronos Air, Acer’s newest gaming “chair,” is a sleek gaming cave for hard core enthusiasts. The steel structure includes a chair, modular desk and monitor arm. It envelops the gamer in a comfortable and encasing cockpit, ideal for total and complete battle immersion. Teal blue lighting emits a soft cool glow, perfect for gaming.

The chair can be adjusted to various angles (130 degrees inside cabin and 180 degrees outside the cabin) for maximum comfort. It even includes a massage function, so gamers can relax after intense gaming sessions. The desk includes an adjustable keyboard and mouse tray, ensuring comfortable typing regardless of seating angle. A foot rest keeps feet elevated.

Capable of supporting up to three displays, the monitor arm can be manually raised and lowered with a handle conveniently located right below the middle monitor stand. In addition, a camera can be positioned right above the middle monitor, making it easy to live stream the action to YouTube, Twitch or Mixer.

To keep the area neat and organized, a platform for a powerful gaming PC is located behind the chair, and a cable management system neatly stores cords and wires out of the way. In addition, Acer offers numerous customization options and upgrades, such as a seat stabilizer to prevent the chair from moving around during game sessions, a cup holder, a headset holder, a USB hub, and a camera.

Pricing and Availability

The Predator Triton 300 will be available in India from October 2019. Price to be updated.

The new Predator Triton 500 is available in India, starting at Rs 1,65,999.

The Predator Thronos Air will be available in India from November 2019 for pre orders. Price to be shared on request.

Intimate Wear Zivame Continues to Grow at 70%, Announces its Semi - Annual Event ‘The Grand Lingerie Festival’

India's leading intimate wear platform Zivame has announced its semi-annual property ‘The Grand Lingerie Festival’, which is India’s largest online lingerie festival. This event, in line with Zivame being an omni-channel brand, will be across their online and offline retail channels.

This event, which aims to prepare her for the upcoming festive, wedding and holiday seasons, will enable her to shop innovations like Wonder Wire Bra, Shaper Bra, Super soft Marshmallow collection and festive must-have’s like the strapless bra, ultra-low-back bra, backless bra and their famous Mermaid Sari Shapewear etc. at great prices. The festival begins on 4th Sep 2019, 8pm and ends on 8th Sep 2019.

Commenting on the launch of the festival, Amisha Jain, CEO said, “Indian women have many choices when it comes to choosing her attire and look this upcoming festive and celebration season. Our design and product teams have been working very hard to make sure she has the right intimate wear available to pair-it-right with her outerwear, effortlessly (whether ethnic, western or fusion wear). Zivame's Grand Lingerie Festival will aim to fulfil this need with the widest offerings, innovations and collections across all our categories of Lingerie, Shapewear, Sleepwear and Activewear."

Zivame’s revenues have grown 63% in FY18 to Rs. 86.6cr. FY19 has seen 50%+ growth in revenues. Zivame brand’s gross sales reached 220Cr+ run rate at March ’19 exit. Focusing on an omni-channel strategy, the brand plans to double its store count to 60 as well as expand its presence on online fashion portals in next 8 months.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Unveils ‘The Happenin’ New Yaris’ with Added Style, Comfort and an Uber Stylish Dual Tone

Key Highlights

·         The new improved Yaris is loaded with flaunt-worthy features and has been redesigned for extra comfort
·         The new dual tone option adds to the distinctive looks, giving it an uber-stylish and youthful appeal
·         Available in MT & CVT options across four variants
·         Comes with 6 exciting exterior colors – Wildfire Red, Phantom Brown, Pearl White, Super White, Silver & Grey
·         The Yaris now available in grade- J Optional, starts from Rs. 8,65,000 in the Manual Transmission (MT) & Rs. 9,35,000 in the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), same price across India
·         The Yaris grade- V Optional, which offers a New Dual-Tone & Diamond Cut Alloy Wheels, is available at Rs. 11,97,000 in the Manual Transmission (MT) and Rs. 13,17,000 in the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), same price across India
·         Bookings can be made at all authorized Toyota Dealerships across the country

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has announced the launch of the enhanced version of the Yaris-‘The Happenin’ New Yaris’. This stylish enhanced version of the B-High sedan is loaded with flaunt-worthy features and has been redesigned for extra comfort. Built on Toyota’s renowned philosophy of QDR (Quality, Durability & Reliability), this world-class sedan is now more spacious while retaining its luxury and comfort.

In line with its customer first philosophy, Toyota has been listening to customer needs and constantly evaluating the rapidly changing expectations of Indian Car customers to offer the right product to the Indian market. The New Happenin’ Yaris is targeted at young and suave audience who are brand conscious, travel enthusiasts, seeks status and values luxury. Toyota studied the customer feedback and made the improvements in new Yaris in terms of the exteriors and interiors to give a ‘cool and sophisticated’ feel to the millennial car owners. The new dual tone (first in segment) option adds to the distinctive looks of this world-class sedan, giving it an uber-stylish quotient to appeal to the taste of suave young car buyers. Yaris sets a benchmark in the industry in terms of safety features, which has appealed not only men but also woman customers.

Speaking on the launch of the improved Yaris, Mr. N. Raja, Deputy Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “We are happy that our Yaris customers have highly appreciated the value propositions the world -class sedan offers. Toyota Yaris is the first car to offer 7speed CVT option under 10 lakhs in the segment backed by Toyota’s legendary sales and service experience along with the benefits of our value added services (Extended Warranty, Finance, Insurance, Q Service, EM 60, Toyota Edge).  We are delighted to offer ‘The Happenin’ New Yaris’ that is completely in-line with the feedback we have received and customer expectations; to own a sedan which is ‘value for money’ without compromising on the style, safety and comfort. The new Yaris is built on the Toyota philosophy of QDR offering options of 3 or 7 airbags for customers to choose from based on individual needs and preferences, while retaining their aspirations for more advanced features, safety, space, luxury, style and comfort. The low cost of ownership, low NVH levels, better rear comfort with Toyota’s unique sales and service efficiency makes the ownership experience of the new improved Yaris more desirable.

At Toyota, it has been our constant endeavor to set new benchmarks in customer delight. We truly understand and value the expectations of our consumers, to deliver ever-better cars. We would like to thank our valued customers for their continued trust and confidence in Toyota products and hope that the customers would appreciate the new Yaris for its improved features and varied options.”

A true believer of the ‘Customer First’ philosophy, Toyota recently launched ‘Toyota Edge’, an ownership program especially designed for Toyota customers. Toyota Edge provides comprehensive ownership solutions to the customers empowering them to build their own program, and customize it as per their requirements with value-added services including: Toyota Protect (for three years), Toyota Extended Warranty (for five years), Maintenance Plan (for three years), Toyota Accessories and Extended Warranty (for five years) coupled with easy finance options from Toyota Financial Services. This program promises to be inflation-proof as prices of the ownership elements remain unchanged. It also offers convenient monthly installment options to the customers to make payment for the ownership cost of the vehicle.

The bookings for the all-new Yaris open for customers from September, 2019.

New Features of the All New Yaris

·         Dual tone exterior
·         Glossy Black finish (Grille + OVRM)
·         Premium leatherette seat
·         Centre Console Box
·         Leather wrapped steering wheel & gearshift knob
·         Diamond cut alloy wheels

Performance Features

-          Available in 4 cylinder petrol engine with max power of 79 kW (107 PS) @ 6000 rpm and max torque of 140 (Nm) @ 4200 rpm
-          Transmission – 6 speed Manual Transmission & 7 speed CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) fuel efficiency of 17.1 (MT) and 17.8 (CVT)

Safety & Security Features

-          Airbags - 7 [Driver + Passenger +Driver Knee + Front Side (2) + Curtain(2)]
-          Airbags - 3 [Driver + Passenger +Driver Knee]
-          Hill Start Assist Control ­
-          Vehicle Stability Control
-          ABS + EBD + BA ­ ­ ­ ­
-          Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
-          Front & Rear Parking Sensors
-          Front & Rear Fog Lamps  ­ ­
-          ­Follow-Me Home Headlamps ­
-          Driver + Passenger Seat Belt Reminder ­ ­ ­ ­
-          High Speed Alert

Comfort & Convenience Features

-          Roof Mounted Air Vent with Ambient light ­ ­
-          Driver Seat Height Adjust ­ (8-Way Power Adjust)
-          High Solar Energy Absorbing Front Windshield with Infrared Cut Off ­ ­ ­ ­
-          Acoustic & Vibration Control Glass
-          Rain Sensing Wipers­, Rear Sunshade
-          Cruise Control
-          Keyless smart Entry ­ ­ ­
-          Audio, Phone & MID Controls on Steering Wheel ­
-          Electrically Adjustable & Foldable ORVM Adjust Only ­ ­ ­
-          Reverse Camera­
-          Rear Seats 60:40 Split ­ ­ ­ ­
-          Rear Armrest with Cup Holder ­ ­ ­ ­

Exterior Features

-          Dual Tone Exterior Color Combination
-          Piano Black Finish on-Grille ,ORVM, Fog Bezel
-          Projector Headlamp ­
-          LED DRL & Rear Combination Lamps
-          Chrome Grille ­
-          ORVM Turn Indicator

Interior Features

-          2 Tone Interiors with Waterfall Design Instrument Panel ­ ­ ­ ­
-          Seat Upholstery Fabric
-          Leather Package Steering Wheel, Gear Knob
-          Navigation & Gesture Control in Audio
-          Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning Fully Automatic with Temperature Controlled
-          Multi Information Display (MID) + Eco Indicator
-          7.0 LED Touch Screen System, USB, Bluetooth, Remote Control, SD Card, Mirror Link, Miracast, HDMI, Wi-Fi

ELLE Celebrates Fall with New Collection of Watches Inspired by the Effortless Glamour of Parisian Women

This fall, ELLE will debut its latest collection of watches, blending classic jewellery-inspired sophisticated design with an undefinable touch of French joie de vivre. Made for modern women that desire to be fashionably classic, the ELLE range of watches bridges the gap between contemporary and timeless.

ELLE has long been recognised worldwide as a leader in fashion, beauty lifestyle and women’s empowerment. Since 1945, ELLE’s unwavering mission is to navigate women through life and to make a better world. ELLE’s new range of watches is an inspiring and stylish range of products that are accessible to all.

Through its decades of in-depth expertise in women’s magazines and lifestyle, ELLE has created a range of watches that reflect what women want: they blend effortless elegance, playful refinement and bold combinations -- adding a ‘French touch’ to every silhouette and conveying the effortless charm of a Parisian lifestyle.

This collection ranges from INR 5,495 – INR 9,995/-

The collection features:

Odéon

The fall collection is divided into unique ranges named after places in Paris, the fashion capital of the world. The Odéon collection is an exquisite range of watches suitable for everyday life. Odéon watches pay tribute to the ELLE logo with an “E” shape rose-gold watch lug. Offering a clean, modern silhouette thanks to its mother-of-pearl dial, glitz index and rose-gold watchcase, the watches are paired with a rose-gold stainless steel bracelet or rich navy or pink leather strap.

Romance

The Romance collection is inspired by the passionate yet tender atmosphere that can only be found in Paris. This collection is a perfect gift to oneself to celebrate a personal success or as a heartfelt present for the one, you love, thanks to its romantic rose-gold colour. The heart shape motif, mother-of-pearl dial and pavé crystal top ring is paired with a white or grey leather strap, rose-gold bracelet.

Shades of Blue

Another stunning collection is entitled Shades of Blue. Inspired by the intriguing and romantic deep blue colour of Paris' night sky, this collection highlights the striking contrast of blue and gold, with the bold combination offers an effortless elegance for fall. Details like a blue or white mother-of-pearl dial etched with the "ELLE" monogram add a hint of playfulness and when combined with the leather or stainless steel band, make the perfect finishing touch to any outfit.

Neeco, Tata Communications Enters into Arrangement for IoT Services for Enterprises in Europe

Neeco Global ICT Services announces that it has become a customer of Tata Communications, a leading global digital infrastructure provider, to take to market and deliver Internet of Things (IoT) services for enterprises in Europe. With this arrangement, Neeco will leverage the Tata Communications MOVE platform to offer integrated IoT services to its customers, enabling them to deploy IoT connected devices anywhere in the world.

Neeco has developed a unique set of IoT products and services aimed at global telecom providers, IoT technology vendors, enterprises, and government organizations. These include Trexee, a GPS and GSM tracking solution that offers a complete set of capabilities – including location, acceleration, temperature and vibration – for different sectors such as transport & logistics, waste management construction, agriculture, leasing companies and rental companies.

The Tata Communications MOVE platform enables enterprises to transform how they operate and engage with their customers by capturing, moving and managing information seamlessly and securely worldwide. This platform is underpinned by Tata Communications’ relationships with more than 600 mobile network operators worldwide, and its global network, which connects 4 out of 5 mobile subscribers.

“We are delighted that Tata Communications has chosen to work with Neeco to help accelerate IoT adoption in Europe. We are constantly working on new IoT products that bring additional benefits, reliability and efficiency into various market segments. The IoT is still very much a developing field, with many competing technologies. We feel that this puts Neeco at an advantage because we are able to help design, deliver and maintain IoT devices for our customers as the IoT field continues to evolve,” says David Pátek, founder and CEO of Neeco Global ICT Services.

With a network of over 1,900 local and regional channel partners and association with industry-leading businesses like Tata Communications, Neeco is able to promote, offer, sell and support IoT solutions across more than 160 countries worldwide.

Organizations significantly depend on ICT technologies for growth. This requires the support of trusted ICT companies like Neeco that can supply complex services and solutions like IoT on a worldwide basis. Founded in 2009 by David Pátek, Neeco has built its global success over the past decade by acting as a one-stop ICT shop, providing customers with a single point of contact for all ICT solutions. This simplifies processes and communication while freeing customers from having to strike time-consuming bilateral agreements with partners in each region, helping them become more cost-efficient.

JK Tyre Promoters Take Control of Pledged Shares by Repaying 200 Crore Loan

The promoters of JK Tyre, Bengal and Assam Company LTD - a holding company of the group comprising family members - had borrowed Rs 200 crore from KKR Capital in the month of March 2019.

The amount was borrowed for a period of 4 years with a lock in period of one year by pledging JK Tyre shares owned by the promoters. The loan amount was to be repaid by March 2023.

However in the recent past the capital market had witnessed significant downturn. The JK Tyre stocks did not remain isolated in this situation either.

But despite non-favourable market conditions the promoters decided to return the money and take control the shares pledged with KKR.

While the first installment of Rs 50 crores were returned on 20th August, the remaining principle of Rs 150 crore was returned on 30th August 2019. As on date the entire lot of shares pledged against the sum borrowed from KKR is back with the promoters.

The decision to repay the loan and get the shares back was taken keeping in mind the interest of share-holders and instill confidence in investors associated with JK Tyre; despite odds in the market.

Vaishnavi Group, Katerra Partner for Integrated Offsite Manufacturing Tech at a Residential Project Near Yelahanka

Vaishnavi Group has joined hands with Katerra, a technology-driven offsite construction company to introduce next generation housing construction technology. With the implementation of integrated offsite manufacturing technology and the concept of DFMA (Design for manufacturing and assembly), Vaishnavi Group can now ensure:

* 50% faster completion time
* 90% factory-finished elements including all in-built mechanical, electrical and plumbing services
* 100% offsite manufactured bathroom pods dropped onsite for easy plug and play
* Close to 40% reduction in pollution through minimised vehicular movement
* Close to 29% material conservation, water saved through steam curing, design efficiency and factory planning to reduce material usage at construction site.     

Speaking on the launch of Vaishnavi Serene, Mr. C.N.  Govindaraju, Managing Director, Vaishnavi Group, said, “In keeping with our aim of ‘Building from the Heart’, we have created homes that give people the best use of their living spaces. For instance, our immaculate planning will ensure that a 1,118 sqft 3-bedroom home at Vaishnavi Serene gives the home owner the experience and efficiency of a 1400 sqft home! The quality of construction is unparalleled thanks to the offsite manufacturing technology that is being used. This ensures that the handover of homes will not just be on or ahead of schedule but will be delivered with an impeccable build quality. Further, the impact on the environment is minimal across the board. With Yelahanka being an upcoming growth hub, the infrastructural development currently underway will only serve to make this project a winning proposition for a home buyer”.

Speaking on the collaboration with Vaishnavi as well as the introduction of this next-generation construction technology in a residential real estate project in India for the very first time, Mr. Nejeeb Khan, the Head - Design & Brand Strategy, Asia & Middle East, Katerra, said, “Our teams have worked to design, engineer, factory-manufacture and assemble high-quality housing, built offsite, eliminating many of the common problems associated with traditional on-site construction. Designed and manufactured with precision, we believe in delivering quality homes through technology, ultimately increasing the speed and quality of delivery, while simultaneously being more sustainable by reducing waste, optimised resource utilisation, and minimal environmental disruption. A prime example of this technology is in action at Vaishnavi Serene."

Vaishnavi Serene will showcase Katerra’s unique technology. This project is adjacent to the lush green CRPF Campus in Yelahanka. The project comprises 896 apartments in configurations of 1, 2 & 3-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 635 sq.ft to 1118 sq.ft. It offers potential home owners several firsts in terms of features – from being the first residential project in Bangalore to be built with global off-site technology, to being the first community to offer homes with a new set of specifications and smart sizes to highly enhanced space efficiency along with Vaastu compliance.