Siemens to Acquire C&S Electric for ₹2,100 Crore to Bolster Power Tech

Siemens has signed an agreement to acquire New Delhi-based C&S Electric Ltd, a leading provider of electrical and electronic equipment, for ₹2,100 crore.

The move will strengthen Siemens’ position as a key supplier of low-voltage power distribution and electrical installation technology in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

Under the agreement, the German giant will acquire approximately 99 per cent of the equity share capital of C&S Electric Ltd for around ₹2,100 crore (€267 million).

Closing of the acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals.

Siemens envisions the partnership to pave the way for the establishment of a design and manufacturing hub in India, supporting the export of electrification solutions to fast-developing markets around the world.

The acquisition covers the Indian operations of C&S Electric’s low-voltage switchgear components and panels, low and medium voltage power busbars as well as the protection and metering devices businesses.

Other businesses of the company such as medium voltage switchgear and package sub-station, lighting, diesel generating sets, EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) and the Etacom busbars business will be retained by the owners.

C&S Electric has more than 50 years of experience in India and will continue to operate under its own brand name.

The combination of the portfolios of the two companies will enhance Siemens’ position in the business, enabling it to better serve customers requiring electrification in areas including construction, industry, data centres, smart campuses and other city infrastructure.

Republic Day 2020 : 5 Platforms You Can Use To Read And Explore India’s Journey

January 26, 2020 marks the 71st Republic Day of India. On this day, all those years ago, the country adopted its constitution and solidified its stance as an independent republic. While we have come a long way since then and witnessed immense progress on all fronts, it is important to remember the journey that India, it’s brave freedom fighters and leaders made to help us attain freedom and unbridled growth.

But how many of us understand the relevance of this day and truly celebrate it? Most of us just treat it as a holiday that we spend with our friends and family. This republic day, out of respect to our country, let’s focus on celebrating this day as well as the history of India. How can you do this? Check out the following platforms that will allow you to access relevant content in a hassle-free manner.

1. DB Digital

India’s leading digital products startup focused exclusively on building the best news products, DB Digital provides optimized, engaging and authentic content through its apps - Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, and Divya Marathi. You could leverage these apps to get access to local and customized updates about your city’s initiatives and celebrations on the occasion of republic day and become a smart Indian! 

2. Hubhopper

India's largest podcast distribution, creation, and hosting platform Hubhopper has a lot to offer for Republic Day. Some of the podcasts and episodes you must tune into include – The Indian History podcast, Indra Dhanush Republic Day special by MnM Storyteller podcast, five facts from the 1950 Republic Day by Curry Tamil podcast. These will help you refresh your memory while giving you a sense of pride in India’s rich history. Moreover, since these are audio episodes, they are less immersive and can be listened to while you are on the go.

3. Momspresso

Momspresso is India’s largest user-generated content platform for women that enables them to express themselves through text, audio, and video content across ten languages. Momspresso currently has 18,000 bloggers and over 190,000 blogs and vlogs in multiple languages such as English, Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, Marathi, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Punjabi and Kannada. A lot of this content can help individuals understand the significance of Republic Day and suggest great ways to celebrate this day.

4. Inshorts

A lot of what is happening in the country right now has the power to shape its future. Thus, while knowing its history, it is also important to keep tabs on the day to day developments in India. To stay abreast of the latest news from and about the country, you can check out Inshorts, which is a quick and easy way to increase general knowledge and awareness. The platform offers a quick 60-word summary of the latest news pieces so that you know exactly what’s going on in your country. The platform also has non-intrusive ads which make reading the news pleasant and seamless experience.

5. Editorji

Editorji is another platform that showcases news as well as original content. One can learn a lot about the country’s past achievements and current developments through the authentic content available here. The best part is that the app can be accessed through your phone, tablet or TV so you can read or watch videos from anywhere!

ITI Limited has Launched its Further Public Offering (FPO) Now Open from Jan 24 and Closes on Jan 28, 2020

The strengths of ITI are its diverse products and services offered across sectors, well established relationships with PSUs, the Ministry of Defence and other GoI and state agencies; backed by a strong order book of Rs. 110,511.21 mn as on December 31, 2019 which includes various GoI projects such as ASCON, BharatNet, Network for Spectrum, Smart Energy Meters, Space Programs and E-Governance Projects.

The objects of the issue would be to utilize the Net Proceeds for funding its working capital requirements for FY2020 and Rs 6,072.91 mn to repay loans in full or partially, taken by the company.

Going forward ITI looks to diversify its products and services and leverage their relationship with GoI and various public sector units, modernize its infrastructure and technology as well as team up with innovative technology leaders and startups to support the Make in India and Digital India fillip of the Government.

ITI Limited has appointed BOB Capital Markets Limited, Karvy Investor Services Limited and PNB Investment Services Limited as the book running lead managers to the Issue (“BRLMs”).

Equity Shares proposed to be issued pursuant to the Issue will be available on the BSE Limited (“BSE”) and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (“NSE”), subject to receipt of necessary approvals.

The Net Issue will have not less than 75% allocation to Qualified Institutional Buyers, not more than 15% to Non-Institutional Bidders and not more than 10% to Retail Individual Bidders.

About ITI Limited:

ITI Limited is a public sector undertaking in the telecommunications technology segment. The company has manufacturing facilities in Bengaluru, Naini, Rae Bareli, Mankapur and Palakkad along with an R&D centre in Bengaluru and 8 regional offices in India, which were located at Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and New Delhi as well as 17 area offices spread across the country. The company has a diverse suite of products including defence security encryption products; optical and data network products and passive infrastructure products such as gigabit passive optical network and manage leased line products; multi-capacity encryption units, electrical products such as smart energy meters, smart cards, solar panels, set-top boxes and mini personal computers and Internet of Things products.  Besides offering the telecom solutions and customized support, ITI has a dedicated Network System Unit for executing turnkey projects for installation and commissioning of telecommunication networks. The company intends to upgrade and invest in the technology, through the acquisition of technology from strategic partners with a specific focus on high growth industry segments. The company operates a data centre at Bengaluru and currently also offers its services to government institutions/departments, banks etc.

iQOO to be Launched in India; Promises to Disrupt Premium Smartphone Market

Highlights

* iQOO will focus on superior performance and will be India’s first smartphone brand to provide a 5G-enabled Snapdragon 865 processor with its soon-to-be-launched first product

Following a successful launch in China, iQOO brings its innovation and power-packed tech experience to India. The brand, marking its entry into the country, forays into the premium smartphone segment addressing the needs of today’s data and content hungry generation.  iQOO, as a brand, will be dedicated to the tech-savvy and daring crowd with the highest expectations for smartphone performance.

iQOO is positioned to address the inflection point in the technology ecosystem with 5G around the corner, which will bring in the true value of connectivity. The brand will offer a strong portfolio of devices equipped to manage high-powered applications and use cases. With the brand’s motto “I Quest On and On”, products from the house of iQOO will offer an impressive mix of best-in-class performance, industry-first specs and a refreshed feel to the stock Android user experience.

The brand will soon launch its first product for the Indian market in February with many industry-first specifications. The first device from iQOO will be India’s first smartphone running on the latest Snapdragon 865 processor with 5G capabilities. Furthermore, the device will also be backed by robust performance capabilities in the charging, gaming, and design department, providing phone phonetics uninterrupted content consumption.

Expressing excitement at the brand launch, Gagan Arora, Director-Marketing – iQOO, said, “We see extreme potential in the premium segment smartphone market in India and have deep-dived to understand the gap that the consumers face in this segment. We understand very closely that there is an increasing demand for performance delivery devices and smooth smartphone experience, be it using multiple apps, downloading heavy files or just social media. Consumers today look for power-packed performance, and that is exactly what we offer.

We are proud to share the same ethos and values exhibited by today’s younger generation who grew up in the internet era. We are confident that the values of the iQOO brand resonate strongly with this audience. iQOO is a brand that understands, is in-sync and progresses with them.”

With a promise to change the way consumers use their mobile devices, iQOO offers highly personalized, innovative solutions that make it easy for users to get the most out of their device. The essence of iQOO products is speed. Supported by industry-leading 5G technology, the iQOO brand is built for a fast-moving generation. Blending superior performance with sleek design, iQOO handsets are equipped with powerful processors and sharp displays, enabling a seamless user interface experience.

About iQOO

After witnessing a successful launch in China, iQOO has entered the Indian premium smartphone market with a strong brand proposition of unmatched performance. iQOO stands for “I Quest On and On”, reflecting the brand’s relentless pursuit of perfection. iQOO was created to deliver a unique experience to young, technology-savvy consumers, who are under-served by the current smartphone market. iQOO was born to be a challenger, just like its users. iQOO phones are built for those consumers who are naturally skeptical of the status quo and constantly seeking to improve themselves. For those who want to further their ‘quest’ online, iQOO products feature an advanced gaming mode that supports the ultimate experience for mobile gaming.

Sea-Level Rise Could Reshape the United States, Trigger Migration Inland: New AI Study

When Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Texas coast in 2017, displaced residents flocked inland, trying to rebuild their lives in the disaster’s aftermath. Within decades, the same thing could happen at a much larger scale due to rising sea levels, says a new study led by University of Southern California Computer Science Assistant Professor Bistra Dilkina.

The study, published in PLOS ONE, Jan. 22, is the first to use machine learning to project migration patterns resulting from sea-level rise. The researchers found the impact of rising oceans will ripple across the country, beyond coastal areas at risk of flooding, as affected people move inland.

In the US alone, 13 million people could be forced to relocate due to rising sea levels by 2100. As a result, cities throughout the country will grapple with new populations. Effects could include more competition for jobs, increased housing prices, and more pressure on infrastructure networks.

“Sea level rise will affect every county in the US, including inland areas,” said Dilkina, the study’s corresponding author, a WiSE Gabilan Assistant Professor in computer science at USC and associate director of USC’s Center for AI for Society.

“We hope this research will empower urban planners and local decision-makers to prepare to accept populations displaced by sea-level rise. Our findings indicate that everybody should care about sea-level rise, whether they live on the coast or not. This is a global impact issue.”

According to the research team, most popular relocation choices will include land-locked cities such as Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Denver and Las Vegas. The model also predicts suburban and rural areas in the Midwest will experience disproportionately large influx of people relative to their smaller local populations.

Predicting relocation areas

Sea-level rise is caused primarily by two factors related to global warming: added water from melting ice sheets and glaciers and the expansion of sea water as it warms. Within just a few decades, hundreds of thousands homes on the US coast will be flooded. In fact, by the end of the century, 6 feet of ocean-level rise would redraw the coastline of southern Florida, parts of North Carolina and Virginia and most of Boston and New Orleans.

To predict the trajectory of sea-level rise migration, the researchers took existing projections of rising sea levels and combined this with population projections. Based on migration patterns after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, the team trained machine learning models—a subset of artificial intelligence—to predict where people would relocate.

“We talk about rising sea levels, but the effects go much further than those directly affected on the coasts,” said Caleb Robinson, a USC visiting doctoral researcher from Georgia Tech advised by Dilkina and the study’s first author. “We wanted to look not only at who would be displaced, but also where they would go.”

As expected, the researchers found the greatest effects of sea-level rise migration will be felt by inland areas immediately adjacent to the coast, as well as urban areas in the southeast US. But their model also showed more incoming migrants to Houston and Dallas than previous studies, which flagged Austin as the top destination for climate migrants from the southeastern coast.

This result, notes the researchers, shows that population movement under climate change will not necessarily follow previously established patterns. In other words: it is not business as usual.

Sea-level rise could also reroute people relocating from unaffected areas. Counties surrounding Los Angeles, in particular, could see tens of thousands of migrants whose preferred coastal destinations are now flooded choosing alternative destinations.

The results of this study could help city planners and policymakers plan to expand critical infrastructure, from roads to medical services, to ensure the influx of people has a positive impact on local economies and social well-being.

“When migration occurs naturally, it is a great engine for economic activity and growth,” said co-author Juan Moreno Cruz, an economist and professor at the University of Waterloo.

“But when migration is forced upon people, productivity falls and human and social capital are lost as communities are broken apart. Understanding these migration decisions helps economies and policy makers prepare for what is to come and do as much as possible to make the influx of migration a positive experience that generates positive outcomes.”

Fanzart Eagles Emerge Champions at the Pro-League Golf Tournament in a Nail-Biting Finale

Fanzart Eagles, the pro-league golf team owned by luxury designer fan brand Fanzart recently emerged champions in the Pro-League Tournament held at the end of 2019. The tournament took place over a period of 4 months leading up to 8 teams playing the final. Fanzart Eagles, comprising 18 players, all chosen based on their handicap, won the finale match against Team Britannia Bourbon to be declared winners, with 352 points. The competition was a close one.

Speaking on the win, Anil Lala, Founder and Director of Fanzart and team owner said, “We are really proud to have lifted the trophy and appreciate the efforts of our team in securing the win. The team has some fabulous single handicap players like Arun Bajaj, Rahul Bhalla and Prahlad Rao, golfers who have ensured the team logo of a soaring Eagle has touched great heights”.

Accepting the trophy and speaking on the win, the captain of Fanzart Eagles, Arun Bajaj said, “We are glad to have emerged winners in the tournament. Kudos goes to the team for their great work. We faced strong competition from Team Britannia Bourbon who played a wonderful game as well. We hope that this is the first of many wins for us as a team”.

About Fanzart Eagles

Fanzart Eagles is one of 20 major pro-league teams that participated in the tournament. It has 18 players, chosen on the basis of their handicap. Among the other major brand teams were names such as Britannia, Prestige, Kirloskar and more. The team is backed by luxury designer fan brand Fanzart, which strongly believes that as a luxury brand, the association with this sport is a great one.

Team Members of Fanzart Eagles

Arun Bajaj, Prahalad Rao, Liam Timms, Viren Goyal, Adit Morzaria, Rahul Balla, Sandeep Kulhalli, Madhavi Reddy, Uday Kumar B, Mohan Jayaram, Vikash Kumar Vikas, Karan Malik, Kanwaljit Singh, Devendra Gupta, Sunil Bhatija, Dr. Suresh Naik, Rajat Goenka, Subbiah Kalappa.

About Fanzart

Since 2012, Fanzart has risen to prominence as a pioneer and leader in the luxury designer fans segment. With showrooms across the country, Fanzart is a name to reckon with in the luxury interior segment with its niche offerings. The products are also shipped internationally and have made a mark for themselves.

Kohler Introduces Smart Home Kitchen and Bathroom Products, Solutions and Enhanced Experiences at CES 2020

Kohler Co., a global leader in design and innovation of kitchen and bath products, has announced additions to its smart home offering and KOHLER Konnect portfolio. Kohler will introduce five new products this year at CES: Moxie showerhead and smart speaker, Aquifer Refine water purification system, Setra touchless faucet with KOHLER Konnect, DTV Mode shower system, and new Touchless Toilet technology.

KOHLER smart home products are designed to provide comfort, convenience and enjoyment at home. The KOHLER Konnect portfolio integrates innovative product design and quality craftsmanship with personalization options and command controls for gracious smart kitchen and bathroom experiences.

“As technology integrates more fully into our lives, it’s important to develop ways that it can help make things we do every day more comfortable and enjoyable,” said Larry Yuen, group president, kitchen and bath at Kohler Co. “Kohler applies our industry heritage and passion for innovation to provide specific solutions in the kitchen and bathroom – such as smart kitchen faucets that offer hands-free experiences, unmatched sound quality for music in the shower, or a range of innovative intelligent toilets that enhance your comfort in the bathroom.”

Features and personal preferences are managed through the KOHLER Konnect application for iOS and Android devices. Powered by the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, KOHLER Konnect offers support in select products for Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit. 

New additions to the KOHLER smart home offering on display at CES 2020 include:

Moxie showerhead + smart speaker: The new Moxie showerhead and wireless smart speaker blends the sophistication and design excellence of Kohler Performance Showering with a powerful range of impactful sound designed by Harman Kardon. The showerhead features a full coverage spray and delivers the benefits of connected bathroom technology with its portable smart speaker and built-in voice assistant. The portable in-shower smart speaker and voice assistant delivers outstanding natural sound balance with remarkable detail and provides hands-free control that performs seamlessly in the shower, in the home or on the go.

Aquifer Refine water purification system with KOHLER Konnect: Aquifer Refine water purification system can be easily installed into any kitchen, offering a convenient way to use the highest quality water every day at home. With three-stage filtration, the Aquifer Refine eliminates harmful contaminants from kitchen water such as lead, mercury, select pharmaceuticals, bacteria, viruses and other contaminants. It features Wi-Fi connectivity to monitor water usage and filter life, built-in leak detection and optional auto-replenishment of filters via Amazon Dart.

Setra touchless kitchen faucet with KOHLER Konnect: Kohler adds to its touchless and connected kitchen faucet portfolio with Setra, offering reliable touchless on/off operation through a state-of-the-art sensor and on/off and measured dispense operation when paired with a voice assistant. Setra also monitors water usage and lets consumers track consumption in the KOHLER Konnect app.

DTV Mode digital shower system: DTV Mode provides a simple push-button control of Kohler’s industry leading digital shower with an integrated temperature dial. DTV Mode is available in three popular configurations – bath/shower, dual shower and bath only. Create customized bath presets, adjust maximum temperature for added safety and remotely start your shower or bath all from the app.

Touchless Toilet: The new Touchless Toilet offers touchless flushing through the integration of a sensor placed in the flush lever of the toilet. By simply placing your hand in front of the lever, users can flush without spreading bacteria. The flush lever features a sensor light, adjustable through the KOHLER app.

In addition to new products, CES 2020 attendees can participate in interactive demonstrations of KOHLER smart home products introduced at past shows and available for purchase in 2020 including:

Verdera Voice Lighted Mirror: The Verdera Voice Lighted Mirror features a high-quality grooming mirror, efficient adjustable LED lights for precision routines like makeup application and skin care, a motion-activated wayfinding nightlight, and hermetically sealed speakers that maximize stereo sound quality. Verdera Voice was named a CES 2018 Innovation Awards Honoree.

Sensate touchless kitchen faucet: The Sensate touchless kitchen faucet with KOHLER Konnect allows users to turn the water on or off and dispense measured amounts of water through manual control, motion-based interactions or simple voice commands. Sensate was named a CES 2019 Best of Innovation Awards Honoree.

Numi 2.0 intelligent toilet: Numi, Kohler’s most advanced intelligent toilet, offers exceptional water efficiency, personalized cleansing and dryer functions, a heated seat and high-quality built-in speakers. The dynamic multi-colored ambient lighting and audio enhancements on Kohler’s flagship intelligent toilet create a unique experience for homeowners. Amazon Alexa built into the product provides access to tens of thousands of skills and simple voice control of Numi’s features. Numi 2.0 was named a CES 2020 Innovation Awards Honoree.

DTV+ shower system: The DTV+ showering system brings water, sound, steam and lighting together to deliver the ultimate customized spa-like experience for any preference and member of the household. A touch-screen interface allows every element to be controlled and customized. Add KOHLER Konnect with voice and app control to access presets, make adjustments or use water saving features.

PureWarmth heated toilet seat: The PureWarmth heated toilet seat offers a slim design with three warm temperature settings for comfort and an integrated adjustable nightlight. The PureWarmth heated toilet seat can be controlled using the PureWarmth app to adjust temperature, timing of the heat, as well as lighting duration and ambiance.

KOHLER automatic standby generators: KOHLER automatic standby generators are permanently installed outside a home similar to a central air conditioning unit. They attach to existing natural gas or propane lines and turn on automatically within seconds when the power goes out. Standby generators can power an entire house, from essentials like the refrigerator, sump pump, lights and water heater to conveniences such as TVs, computers and more.

YES Bank Launches “XLrate Savings Account”, Offering Higher Returns for Customers

YES Bank launched XLrate savings account, in line with the Bank’s endeavor of offering valued added product and initiatives, curated especially for customers looking for higher returns. This smart savings account transfers balances above Rs. 1 lakh from the saving account automatically into a Fixed Deposit (FD), thereby offering a higher interest rate on the surplus funds. The amount in excess of Rs. 1 lakh in savings account will be swept out into a FD for a tenure of one year, one day (minimum FD amount of Rs. 25,000).

With this account, customers can now avail easy liquidity through the auto sweep in and sweep out facility and can also link multiple deposits to the savings account. In case, the account balance falls below Rs. 25,000, the shortfall is adjusted from the FD linked to that saving account. The deposits are broken in multiples of Rs. 1 on a last in first out basis, therefore only the amount of shortfall actually needed is swept out from FD to Savings account and the remaining amount continues to earn higher FD interest.

Some key benefits of XLrate saving account:

Higher interest rate of 5% on savings account balances below 1 lakh
Balance above 1 lakh is swept out to FD with minimum amount of INR 25,000 and will earn 7.25%p.a* interest as per prevailing rates. (rates are subject to change). Senior Citizen enjoy markup of 0.5% on FD, earning  7.75% rate of interest on Savings balances above 1 lac
Easy liquidity through Auto-sweep in facility from Fixed Deposit
Free complimentary Family account,
Free unlimited cash withdrawals at YES BANK ATMs
AMC waiver on Demat Account for the first year
Waiver on select locker services for the first year
Convenience of free & unlimited NEFT/RTGS transfers through NetBanking and YES Mobile, YES BANK’s mobile banking app.
Free UPI transactions through YES Mobile.

Citi- NCPA Aadi Anant Music Festival Announces its 9th Edition at the Chowdiah Memorial Hall on Feb 8, 2020

The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) and Citi India recently announced the ninth edition of the much-awaited Indian Music festival – ‘Citi-NCPA Aadi Anant: From Here to Eternity’. The festival will feature some of the most respected maestros of the classical music fraternity which include, Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pt. Niladri Kumar, TM Krishna, Shri. R. Kumaresh and Smt. Jayanthi Kumaresh amongst others.

The travelling Indian music festival will showcase its most awaited concert in Bengaluru on (Saturday), 8th February 2020 at Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Bengaluru. The concert will feature renowned maestros - T. M. Krishna (vocal), R.K.Shriramkumar (violin), Praveen Spars (mridangam) and ChandrasekaraSharma (kanjira). In this recital, T. M. Krishna and his group will present an array of forms: padam, varnam and svarajati composed by some composers belonging to the period (prior to 1765 AD), which is before the rise of the revered trinity of Carnatic music: Thyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri. After the Chennai performance, the Citi-NCPA Aadi Anant festival will travel to Pune.

As trendsetters in their respective fields, Citi and NCPA constantly strive to work towards preserving Indian heritage and music. Citi-NCPA Aadi Anant celebrates the concept of Eternity through artistic traditions that are perpetuated from one generation to the next, in an uninterrupted manner through the age-old institution of the Guru – Shishya parampara. The festival will give audiences an opportunity to engage with Indian culture through some of our country’s oldest forms of music and enjoy current renditions of age-old compositions.

Mr. Khushroo N. Suntook, Chairman, National Centre for the Performing Arts said, “We, at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, recognize the importance of arts in our lives, especially for the young minds. Be it nurturing the young artistes or showcasing iconic works of legendary maestros or fostering newer audiences, we are relentless in our pursuit to preserve, promote and propagate performing arts. As we complete 50 years in the service of performing arts, it is a matter of great pride to have with us on this journey, Citi, our esteemed patron and partner for over the last twelve years. It is indeed gratifying that with a shared passion to nurture India’s great heritage, we have been able to join hands and walk the same path undertaking several initiatives to sustain the ‘Guru-shishya’ tradition”.

Ashu Khullar, CEO Citi India, said, “We are proud to be a longstanding partner of a globally acclaimed institution like the NCPA. Respect, discipline and determination are qualities that are exemplified through the ancient Guru Shishya Parampara, and are qualities that we as a society, must emulate. The Aadi Anant Festival reaffirms this tradition and showcases Indian music through the ages, providing a platform for young talented musicians to demonstrate their mastery over India’s vibrant past and colorful future. We are delighted to partner with the NCPA on various initiatives that further this cause.”

Commenting on the festival, Dr. Suvarnalata Rao, Head Programming – Indian Music, National Centre for the Performing Arts said, “The Guru-Shishya parampara nurtures the training and transmission of knowledge from a teacher to the student through the oral –aural system. It is an integral part of Indian music tradition from ancient times. The Citi-NCPA Aadi Anant festival celebrates and fosters this age-old tradition for the posterity. We are thankful to Citi India for their long-standing support towards nurturing our great Indian heritage”.

In addition to the festival, Citi India and NCPA have collaborated on various CSR initiatives in the field of Indian and Western Classical Music. With the intent of keeping alive the age-old Guru-Shishya tradition, both institutions are committed supporting musicians at every level, ensuring that they have the opportunities and skills to experience and pursue Indian classical music.

Program 1: Support to Gurus: Under this scheme 8 Gurus receive financial support to train three promising disciples each, in the traditional format of one-on-one teaching. The program is free of cost for the disciples.

Program 2: Scholarships to Young Musicians: This scheme is meant for talented amateurs (age group: 18-30) in the field of Hindustani music (vocal –dhrupad & khayal, instrumental music –melody & percussion). A total of nine scholarships are given annually based on the quality of performance in a live audition.

Program 3: Introducing Music Training to School Children: This program trains school children in Indian Music, working in 9 schools with approximately 600 students.    

Altroz, India's New Premium Hatch Unveiled with Gold Standard in Safety, Design, Technology and Driving Experience

Key highlights:

* GNCAP 5-star rated Altroz (India’s safest car in its category) enters the premium hatch segment
* Altroz is Industry 1st, fully BSVI ready diesel hatchback

Marking its entry into the premium hatchback segment, Tata Motors today launched – the Altroz. The Altroz will be available in five trim levels across all Tata Motors authorized dealerships at an introductory price starting from INR 5.29 lakhs for the petrol version and INR 6.99 lakhs for the diesel version.

The Altroz is the first vehicle developed on the new ALFA architecture and the second vehicle showing the Impact 2.0 design language. With its striking design, bouquet of industry-first features and the most recent achievement of Global NCAP 5-star rating, it has set the GOLD Standard in Safety, Design, Driving Dynamics, Technology and Customer Delight. All set to entice customers, Altroz will come with 6 different factory-fitted customizable options.

According to Mr. Vivek Srivatsa, Head - Marketing, Passenger Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors, “We are delighted to announce the launch of our premium hatchback – The Tata Altroz. The Altroz is already a product that we are proud of as it is the second Tata as well as Indian car, to have received a 5-star Global NCAP rating. It is a landmark product and is a true representative of the Gold Standard in Safety, Design, Technology, Driving Dynamics and Customer Delight. We are confident that this product will not only deliver the best driving experience to our customers, but also set new benchmarks as we set foot into the premium hatchback segment.”

Gold Standard of Safety

The Altroz sets the Gold Standard in safety with its 5 Star Global NCAP rating. The car comes with best-in-class safety features such as Advanced ALFA Architecture, ABS, EBD & CSC as standard and Dual Airbags. This comprehensive safety system along with the energy absorbing ALFA architecture ensures that the occupants of the Tata Altroz are recipients of world-class safety.

Gold Standard of Design

Based on the Impact 2.0 design philosophy, the Altroz’s futuristic design consists of modern, intelligent and tastefully crafted interiors. The 90 degree opening doors ensure that there is enough space for passengers to get in and out of the vehicle. The laser cut alloy wheels and premium black piano finish on the interiors result in an unmatched road presence and help the customer arrive in style.

Gold Standard of Technology

Equipped with a 17.78 cm touchscreen Harman infotainment and class leading acoustics, the Altroz also comes with Voice command recognition, Apple Car Play, Android Auto and the Turn-by-Turn feature, ensuring a seamless experience.

Gold Standard of Driving Dynamics

With its powerful petrol and diesel engines along with a fine-tuned suspension, the Altroz truly gives the customer a dynamic driving experience. The Cruise Control feature along with multi drive modes ensure comfortable driving in the city and on the highway.

Gold Standard of Customer Delight

The flat rear floor, rear AC vents, cabin space and 24 utility spaces ensure that the driving experience is convenient and comfortable. Spacious interiors along with a wearable key fob result in a hassle free experience for the customer.

About 92% of Talent Professionals in India Say ‘People Analytics’ is Future of HR: LinkedIn Report

LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional networking platform, today launched the 10th annual edition of the LinkedIn Global Talent Trends 2020 report, which highlights 4 key trends that change the way organizations attract and retain talent.

The report looks at survey results from 7,000 talent professionals, platform data, and interviews with leaders to provide insight into the key topics impacting HR leaders today.

This year’s Global Talent Trends report focuses on how empathy is reshaping the way employers hire and retain talent, with companies working harder than ever to understand their employees more deeply, and better serve them. This year’s 4 key trends are:

Employee Experience
People Analytics
Internal Recruiting
Multi-Generational Workforce

Highest globally, 92% talent professionals in India consider People Analytics to pave the way for the future of HR and recruiting; and 95% of talent professionals in India believe employee experience will shape the future of HR in the coming years.

Report Highlights (includes India data and global data)

I. EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE is the new HR

The employee experience (EX) is everything an employee observes, feels, and interacts with as a part of their company. It represents a wider view of the traditional human resource function, and empathy is at its core. Talent professionals say focusing on EX increases retention and productivity, meets high expectations of younger workers, and attracts more candidates in this tight labour market. Top areas under employee experience that need fixing however are compensation and benefits and an increasing need for simplified administrative processes.

IN INDIA:

●  95% of talent professionals in India consider employee experience to shape the future of HR.
●  77% of talent professionals in India say they’re increasingly focused on employee experience to increase employee retention
●  44% of Indian respondents feel that lack of leadership’s focus and prioritization is a significant barrier to improving a company's employee experience

GLOBALLY:

●  96% of HR and TA leaders say employee experience is becoming more important
●  There’s been a 2.4X increase since 2014 of job titles on LinkedIn with “employee experience”.
●  98% of talent professionals in Australia say employee experience is crucial to HR, and are a global leader, followed by the US, Canada, UK, and Southeast Asia.

II. PEOPLE ANALYTICS GOES MAINSTREAM

Meaningful insights will inform talent decisions at every level of the recruiting cycle, and therefore understanding and capitalizing on analytics is quickly becoming a must-have skill in HR. Companies are applying data to evaluate recruiting channels, identify skills gaps, and assess talent supply and demand. Currently, companies are primarily using analytics to measure employee performance and strategic workforce planning.

IN INDIA:

●  92% talent professionals in India say people analytics will be very important in shaping the future of HR and recruiting (world average is 85%; Southeast Asia (90%) and China (89%))
●  72% of talent professionals in India currently use people analytics for measuring and improving performance in HR operations

GLOBALLY:

●  A 242% increase globally in HR professionals with data analysis skills in the past 5 years.
●  Measuring employee performance, strategic workforce planning, and identifying skills gaps are the most popular People Analytics practices currently in use and in 2025.

III. INTERNAL RECRUITING: YOUR NEXT HIRE WILL COME FROM WITHIN YOUR COMPANY

Organizations are rediscovering how cost-effective it is to recruit their own people. Workplace learning is also helping to build skills internally so there’s less need to import them from elsewhere. Top ways internal candidates are recruited are through jobs on internal job board and hiring managers reaching out to employees they know. Internal Recruiting matters because: Improves Retention; Accelerates New Hire Productivity; and Accelerates Hiring Process.

IN INDIA:

● 96% of talent professionals are placing their bets on internal recruiting to shape the future of HR and recruiting in India.
● 83% of talent professionals in India feel internal recruiting improves employee retention
● 70% of talent professionals in India say employees find internal opportunities listed on an internal job board

GLOBALLY:

●  81% of talent professionals agree that internal recruiting improves retention and better retention may be why companies with higher than average internal hiring see their employees stay 41% longer.
● According to LinkedIn data, there's been a +10% increase in internal hiring since 2015.
● 81% of talent pros agree it improves retention, 69% agree it increases productivity, and 63% agree it retains institutional knowledge.

IV. MULTI-GENERATIONAL WORKFORCE: GOOD TALENT WILL BE AGELESS

Carving out new career paths, offering flexible benefits, developing longevity strategies and promoting informal interactions across generations are some of the ways in which companies are driving a radical explosion in workforce age diversity.  While all generations value companies with purposeful missions, it’s Boomers who are most likely to call it a top priority. Gen Z, meanwhile, is most likely to value training—36% call it a top factor when considering a new job.

IN INDIA:

●  80% of talent professionals in India agree that having a diversity of generations is an important factor in recruitment efforts.
● 74% of talent professionals in India say their company will focus on recruiting millennials in the next 5 years.
●  77% of talent professionals in India surveyed feel that generational differences in management styles is a significant challenge for companies towards maintaining a multi-generational workforce.

GLOBALLY:

● 89% of talent pros say a multigenerational workforce makes a company more successful, and 56% have recently updated policies to appeal to all ages.
●  56% of companies say they have recently updated policies to appeal to a multigenerational workforce.
● Baby Boomers stay 18% longer than the average employee, and Gen Xers stay 22% longer than average (almost 2x longer than Millennials!)

ServiceNow to Acquire Loom Systems to Help Companies Prevent and Fix IT Issues

ServiceNow, the leading digital workflow company making work, work better for people, today announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Loom Systems, an Israel-based AIOps company. The transaction will extend ServiceNow’s AIOps capabilities, giving customers deeper insights into their digital operations so they can prevent and fix IT issues at scale before they become problems.

“Today, IT departments struggle to meet performance expectations and keep pace with the growth in demand for new, great digital services,” said Jeff Hausman, vice president and general manager of IT Operations Management at ServiceNow. “By bringing together Loom Systems’ ability to analyze log and metrics data with ServiceNow’s AIOps and workflow automation capabilities, IT departments will be able to proactively pin-point and resolve operational issues, enabling seamless experiences for their customers and employees.”

Loom Systems extends ServiceNow’s IT Service Management (ITSM) and IT Operations Management (ITOM) solutions, which help companies unlock productivity and drive operational efficiency on a single platform. With Loom Systems, ServiceNow will increase customers’ ability to apply AI to their knowledge base of issues and fixes for better insights into root causes and allow them to automate remediation tasks, reducing the number of Level 1 IT incidents.

Enterprises undergoing digital transformation often face new problems that can’t be defined in advance. Loom Systems helps automate manual processes, mitigate operational issues in new environments and maintain a high standard of availability for customers and employees. Within hours, IT teams will be able to identify issues that may not have surfaced using traditional log management tools.

“As a strategic partner to the world’s largest enterprises, ServiceNow is enabling digital transformation and driving customer success,” said Gabby Menachem, CEO of Loom Systems. “By joining forces, we have the unique opportunity to bring together our AI innovations and ServiceNow’s AIOps capabilities to help customers prevent and fix IT issues before they become problems. We are excited to join the ServiceNow team to help IT organizations respond at the speed of today’s digital business.”

Loom Systems was founded in 2015 by CEO Gabby Menachem, CTO Ronny Lehmann and Vice President of Product Dror Mann.

Seize This Swipe Season: Tinder Activity Reaches an all Time High Now

It’s 2020, people. And we can’t think of a better time than a new decade to shake up our dating habits. And as it turns out, the beginning of the year is also peak dating season. In fact, Tinder activity reaches an all-time high between January 1 and February 13.

New Decade, New You (and someone else)

During Swipe Season, Tinder members will swipe an average of 100 more times per person than other similar length time periods. And with millions of new people joining Tinder in the New Year, these extra swipes really add up. In fact, compared to other similar 6 week periods, the total number of matches worldwide during Swipe Season 2019 was more than 40 million higher on average. Guess we’re not the only ones who put ‘broaden our dating horizons’ on our New Year’s resolutions list.

So how can you make the most of this Swipe Season 💯? Here are a few hacks to help you change your dating perspective in 2020.

● Stop and smell read the bios. We’re all scrolling so fast these days, it’s easy to miss a gem. If you’re looking for a new kind of connection in 2020, it might be time to slow your swipe. Pumping the brakes on your Tinder routine may give you more time to separate substance from style. In fact, people who spend more time on each profile they pass enjoy nearly double the matches and have nearly 20% more mutual conversations than folks who speed through. So if you want to open your dating aperture, try pausing longer on each profile and taking time to read the bios. You might just pick a better match because of it.

●  Okay, now that the ‘new’ you has opted to take your time on Tinder, what exactly should you be looking for to put those 💯swipes to work? Here are 3 bio breadcrumbs that may lead you to greener pastures partners in 2020.

1.       Look for someone who champions your cause. We know it’s not always easy to find a partner who’s willing to hold your petition clipboard. Thankfully, causes are growing as a connector on Tinder. Climate Change mentions in bios alone increased 80% in the last year. And topics like the environment, social justice, volunteer, equality and of course, politics, all popped in 2019. So come 2020, look deeper into someone’s profile to see if they call out the causes you care about.

2.       Follow the (star) signs. Any person of the Internet has likely noticed the recent resurgence of astrology.. And use of astrological signs in bios grew 16% on Tinder this past year. (In a surprise to no one, Leo’s are most likely to shout their sign from the rooftops). This low-hanging celestial fruit lets you make a quick connection or easily strike up a conversation about wherever Mercury is at these days. Interestingly, 18-24 year olds are 43% more likely to name a star sign. So get in on this star-sign train stat, and watch the Super Likes roll in.

3.       Introduce yourself to an Introvert. In 2019, more Tinder bios mentioned a Myers’ Briggs personality type than called out Game of Thrones, Drake and Stranger Things combined. So if you’re looking for a new kind of common (or uncommon) ground, look no further than ESTPS and INFJs. What struck us most is that Introverts are having a major moment on Tinder. The top 3 most commonly called out MB types on Tinder are Introverts. The rarest type of all, INFJs (they make up 1% of the world), are actually most likely to make their Myers’ Briggs known to potential partners.

Qlik Launches Industry’s First Data Literacy Consulting and Service Offerings to Enable Customer Success

Qlik has launched the industry’s first Data Literacy Consulting Service and Signature Services designed to help organizations adopt a Data Literacy as a Service approach to creating a data-driven culture. These always-on education, consulting and support services will help organizations drive higher data literacy rates while optimizing the value trapped in their data.

“Around the globe, organizations consistently tell us they believe data literacy is essential to their ability to scale data-driven decision making and increase value from data,” said James Fisher, Chief Product Officer at Qlik. “What they are struggling with is how to best blend the people, process and technology elements necessary for a culture to become truly data-informed. Our new offerings, through a proven structure and expert resources, enable a higher level of customer success when bringing data-driven decisions to every aspect of their business.”

The interest in data literacy services as an enterprise-wide value driver has been steadily growing in the past two years. Qlik’s Data Literacy Index data shows that large enterprises with higher corporate data literacy experience $320-$534 million in higher enterprise value (the total market value of the business). This has driven investments in technology to empower employees, which has created unintended consequences that limit data and analytics adoption. In new research co-sponsored by Qlik and Accenture, only 21% of the global working population surveyed reported they are fully confident in their data literacy skills, leading almost two thirds to report being overwhelmed. This has resulted in employees spending at least one hour a week procrastinating over data-related tasks and adding billions in lost productivity per year, estimated at $109.4B annually in the U.S. alone.

This employee resistance adds a new dimension to the adoption plateau organizations face when deploying data and analytics solutions, increasing the difficulty in extracting ongoing value from data. This has driven demand for over 250 Qlik-led data literacy workshops over the last two years. Organizations found these popular workshops valuable, yet CDOs in particular noted they need even more help in creating a widespread cultural shift to data literacy. Qlik has launched these initial services under the banner of a Data Literacy as a Service approach, highlighting the importance of closing this gap and helping organizations address the people, process and technology challenges that can limit success and company-wide confidence in the use of data.

“At Nemours, we’ve been addressing the data literacy gap through a mix of technology and training, working closely with Qlik on our approach and rollout. While the initial results have been promising, like many on this journey we now want to scale and embed these capabilities across the organization,” said Rishi Muchhala, Manager of Enterprise Intelligence at Nemours Children’s Health System. “We’re excited to explore these new services from Qlik on our path to creating a fully data literate culture.”

Data Literacy as a Service is a holistic always-on customer success approach designed to drive a data-informed culture by optimizing three components: the value of analytic technology and processes, human capital through a comprehensive, ongoing and product-agnostic data literacy adoption program, and mission-critical analytics with a 24/7 enterprise support foundation. The initial Data Literacy Consulting and Signature Services are available today via subscription, and like other subscription services can be customized over time to evolve with customers’ unique needs.

The new services include:

* Data Literacy Consulting Services – New education, consulting and change-management subscription services to drive and create an organization-wide culture of data literacy. The services include a 6-step adoption framework supported by services to help organizations adopt data literacy, designed and delivered by a team of data literacy experts who are globally recognized in the field of data analytics and science.
* Signature Services – Qlik Signature is a customer success subscription service for strategic customers, delivering a personalized and prescriptive path to success with Qlik experts by their side and aligned with their business priorities. New tailored recurring services span consulting and education to ensure customers always optimize their landscape and continue to drive new value at every step, ensuring they are constantly maximizing the technology and processes that support their ability to read, work, analyze and argue with data.

Credit Saison, Capital Float Join to Offer Digital Financing to SMEs

Credit Saison, one of Japan’s largest financial institutions, has partnered with Capital Float, India’s leading fintech NBFC, to deliver working capital financing to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across India. The two companies have jointly developed a unique co-origination model through which they will both contribute capital to deliver last-mile credit to MSMEs across the country. MSMEs will be able to apply for these loans online and receive approvals within the quickest turnaround time in the industry, powered by Capital Float’s path-breaking technology and credit underwriting platform integrated with Credit Saison’s systems.

Kosuke Mori, Managing Director, Credit Saison Asia Pacific, said, “Credit Saison plans to invest significantly in India and build a loan book of US$1 billion in India over the next few years, a significant part of which will flow into the MSME sector. Our alliance with Capital Float – Credit Saison’s first SME-focused partnership in India – will be a formidable enabler for both entities to deploy a large portion of this capital towards the sector. We have also integrated closely at a technology stack and API level, enabling a seamless experience for the end-borrower.”

The partnership is also unique in that it will operate through a co-origination model. Co-lending of SME loans was pioneered by Capital Float, and has been encouraged by the Hon’ble Finance Minister as a game-changer for scaling up MSME lending. This partnership will be the first instance of a global lender teaming up with an Indian player to address this gap. Capital Float today manages the largest co-origination ecosystem in India.

Sashank Rishyasringa, Co-Founder, Capital Float, said, “Capital Float has already lent INR 8,500 Crore in digital credit across India; we plan to further lend INR 1,500 Crore to MSMEs in the next year, supported by this partnership. Together with Credit Saison, we continue to double-down on MSME segments where credit demand is severely underserved, with a particular focus on Tier 2 & 3 cities. Our focus will be on providing credit to small manufacturing & services firms, followed by small retailers using digital payment modes.”

The partnership between Credit Saison and Capital Float has gone live this month, with plans to scale up rapidly over the coming quarters.

Trend Micro Creates Factory Honeypot and Traps Malicious Attackers

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, today announced the results of a six-month honeypot imitating an industrial factory. The highly sophisticated Operational Technology (OT) honeypot attracted fraud and financially motivated exploits.

The six-month investigation revealed that unsecured industrial environments are primarily victims of common threats. The honeypot was compromised for cryptocurrency mining, targeted by two separate ransomware attacks, and used for consumer fraud.

“Too often, discussion of cyber threats to industrial control systems (ICS) has been confined to highly sophisticated, nation-state level attacks designed to sabotage key processes. While these do present a risk to Industry 4.0, our research proves that more commonplace threats are more likely,” said Greg Young, vice president of cybersecurity for Trend Micro. “Owners of smaller factories and industrial plants should therefore not assume that criminals will leave them alone. A lack of basic protections can open the door to a relatively straightforward ransomware or cryptojacking attack that could have serious consequences for the bottom line.”

To better understand the attacks targeting ICS environments, Trend Micro Research created a highly realistic, industrial prototyping company. The honeypot consisted of real ICS hardware and a mix of physical hosts and virtual machines to run the factory, which included several programmable logic controllers (PLCs), human machine interfaces (HMIs), separate robotic and engineering workstations and a file server.

Trend Micro urges smart factory owners to minimize the number of ports they leave open and to tighten access control policies, among other cybersecurity best practices. In addition, implementing cybersecurity solutions designed for factories, like those offered by Trend Micro, can help further mitigate the risk of attack.

Accenture, Qualcomm Collaborate with InterContinental Hotels Group to Pilot Extended Reality Solution to Transform Event Planning

Accenture and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. have collaborated with InterContinental Hotels Group to pilot a solution that uses augmented and virtual reality to reinvent the event planning experience.

Developed by the Accenture Extended Reality (XR) practice, in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, the XR Event Planner solution places event planners, buyers and hotel sales staff side-by-side in a virtual reconstruction of an event space, allowing them to remotely envision and configure the layout in real-time. Piloted at InterContinental® Los Angeles Downtown, the proof-of-concept recreates the hotel’s iconic Hollywood Ballroom in 3D, including accurate reflections of architectural features, layout, lighting, carpet design, table settings and fabric patterns. Users can modify room layouts, toggle between table and chair configurations, stage placement, decorations and lighting—all while collaborating remotely and adding notes for colleagues or the hotel set-up crew.

The solution represents an important step toward addressing challenges within the meetings and events industry, a $330 billion annual market in the U.S. alone. Currently, booking event spaces can be a slow and expensive undertaking, requiring event planners to scout geographically distant locations. The lengthy timeframe to close a sale results not only in lost opportunities, but also increased booking costs for both property owners, event planners and end buyers. Feedback from focus group testing and market analysis that Accenture conducted shows that the XR Event Planner could increase hotel revenue by up to eight percent. In addition, hoteliers estimate it could reduce sales cycle time, decrease booking costs and improve brand loyalty and brand affinity, particularly with millennials.

“Collaborating with Accenture and Qualcomm Technologies on the XR Event Planner pilot has demonstrated the power of augmented and virtual reality technologies in hotels,” said Jeff Edwards, senior vice president, Global Hotel & Owner Solutions, InterContinental Hotels Group. “This tool equips hotels, such as InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown, to close event sales even faster and increase productivity, while simultaneously helping clients experience event spaces without having to travel, in a new, dynamic way that brings the event to life during the planning process.”

Designed to be used across multiple devices, including mobile phones and tablets, the pilot solution extends the traditional consumer digital journey from smartphone AR to a more immersive head worn device, including Nreal AR glasses and HTC Vive Focus Plus VR headsets – both powered by the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ Platform.

Raffaella Camera, global head, Innovation & Market Strategy, Accenture Extended Reality, said, “The Accenture XR practice is continuously exploring ways to reimagine how people and organizations alike interact with the world around them through the latest immersive technologies. Our XR Event Planner is a prime example of this principle in action, with the potential to fundamentally transform how the event planning industry operates.”

As a strategic initiative of Accenture, the Accenture Extended Reality (XR) practice uses human-centered design principles, deep industry knowledge, global scale, and expertise in combinatorial technologies such as AI and IoT, to help global 2000 companies imagine, create and deliver impactful XR experiences to unlock new business value.

Brian Vogelsang, senior director of product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc, added, “Qualcomm Technologies invents the technologies and tools that transform industries and lives. We believe that XR has the potential to revolutionize the enterprise and we’re proud to work with Accenture and InterContinental Hotels Group to bring the benefits of immersive computing to the event planning industry by harnessing the power of our Qualcomm Snapdragon Platform.”

Qlik Acquires RoxAI to Extend Qlik Sense’s AI Capabilities with Advanced Alerting and Intelligent Automation

Qlik has announced the acquisition of RoxAI and its Ping intelligent alerting software to deliver actionable, self-service alerting and workflow automation capabilities that enhance analytics users’ and systems’ ability to proactively monitor and manage their business data in real-time to make faster, insight-driven decisions.

Organizations are looking to accelerate business value through data. However, data is always changing. Ping’s self-service intelligent alerts, integrated with Qlik’s leading analytics platform, can immediately notify users through mobile, email and social channels of material changes in their data and the context, triggering decisions and actions immediately. And with Ping, any user can design and create their own advanced alerts around their own use cases – based on their existing dashboards and data – without needing a developer or administrator.

“The limitation of most analytical dashboards and applications is that you have to go there to know what’s happening, or what’s changed,” said Mike Capone, Qlik CEO. “What we need is full cycle integration between changes in the data, to analytics, to alerts and notifications that are immediately sent downstream to users or other systems. The combination of Qlik Data Integration, Qlik Data Analytics, and now RoxAI and Ping will provide customers with a real-time intelligence loop that drives actions.”

Modern data analytics encompasses an entire workflow, from initial data preparation and integration (Qlik Data Integration), to AI-driven insights (Qlik Sense®), to sharing and operationalizing findings. With Qlik Insight Bot™, Qlik already augments the user’s ability to explore data within their workflow via conversational analytics. With RoxAI and Ping, Qlik expands the ability to deliver real-time, data-driven insights for action where and when it can make a difference to business success.

In the future Qlik plans to integrate Ping with workflow and robotic process automation (RPA) solutions through APIs that will further accelerate business value of customer data. Further, enhancements are planned to include the capability for “proximity-based alerts”, where, for example, an online shopping vendor can automatically alert a regional manager with performance insights when they arrive at a store location.

Ping can augment analytics user’s intelligence through:

* Self-service alert design and creation directly within their analytics dashboard
* Advanced managed alerting based on statistical trending and outlier evaluation
* Predetermined or ad-hoc sharing of alerts with colleagues directly from mobile or email
* Time-based trend evaluation with a historical repository of metrics data
* Guided live data exploration via mobile or desktop based on alerts that go beyond initial data reports to drive immediate action

“As data is democratized, users want to not only understand data, but use it in real-time to manage their business by exception and automate business workflows,” said Ranjit Bahia, Founder of RoxAI. “We’re excited about the opportunity for Qlik’s analytics user base to now benefit from intelligent alerts that drive action.”

RoxAI and Ping are well known to the Qlik ecosystem as an existing partner, and as a Trusted Extension Developer (TED) accredited solution, users know it is validated by Qlik for quality and functionality, leveraging Qlik’s open API framework. Ping is also already in deployment at multiple Qlik customers such as Benjamin Moore & Co., who are seeing the positive impact on their ability to get more value from their data that lives in Qlik.

Ping is available today and will be packaged as a Qlik value-added solution in the first half of 2020. By integrating these capabilities with Qlik Cloud Services and triggering workflows within 3rd party automation technologies, Qlik will deliver the most robust end-to-end solution to accelerate business value from data.

About Qlik

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, one where everyone can use data to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. Only Qlik offers end-to-end, real-time data integration and analytics solutions that help organizations access and transform all their data into value. Qlik helps companies lead with data to see more deeply into customer behavior, reinvent business processes, discover new revenue streams, and balance risk and reward. Qlik does business in more than 100 countries and serves over 50,000 customers around the world.

Kaspersky Reports Fall in Cybersecurity Threat Incidents in Indian Market for 2019

Kaspersky in a recent media event in Bangalore stated that India has shown positive progress in their fight against cybercriminals. The Country reportedly saw a fall in the number of threats in 2019 as compared to 2018. According to Kaspersky's KSN reports; from 2018 and 2019 there has been a moderate decrease in the number of attacks targeted at India.

38.8 percent of the overall Indian Kaspersky users were attacked at least once by web-based attacks in 2019 as compared to 2018 when it was 40.4 percent. These threats include file-less malware, social engineering attacks and other attacks that were targeted through the world wide web. The total number of unique threats detected by Kaspersky products in the year 2019 was 142,250,268.

The local threats or local infections detected in India by Kaspersky products in 2019 were around 231,142,762, bringing the country on the 69th rank worldwide as compared to 2018 when the attacks detected were 297,477,131 and India was in the 47th place worldwide. These attacks usually happen due to major spreading of malware via removable USB drives, CDs and DVDs, and other "offline" methods.

India also ranks 14th worldwide in the number of attacks caused by servers that were hosted in India, which accounts for 8,064,950 incidents in the year 2019.

Mr. Dipesh Kaura, General Manager for South Asia, Kaspersky said, "In my opinion cybersecurity is the most troubling area for any large enterprise. With Kaspersky's comprehensive portfolio of cybersecurity solutions, we are in a position to help organisations to mitigate or respond to any kind of dynamic threats. We want to strengthen our position as a security solutions partner rather than just a point product organisation. The plan is to create more awareness, more mindshare, and dependability on Kaspersky. We also have a very robust plan to engage with our channel partners so that we can work together to combat cyber threats and build a safer world together."

Mr. Saurabh Sharma, Senior Security Researcher, Global Research and Analysis Team Asia Pacific (GReAT APAC) said, "In India, we did see a decrease in the number of adware and malware attacks, however, there has been a huge increase in Riskware attacks from 28 percent in 2018 to 39 percent in 2019. The presence of riskware on your machine will allow threat actors to use that legitimate application for malicious purpose."

Kaspersky has recorded incidents in which legitimate, remote administration programs - such as WinVNC, which has been secretly installed in order to obtain full remote access to a computer. Other examples of riskware include file downloader, software for monitoring computer activity and internet server services - such as FTP, web, proxy, and telnet.

Because there may be legitimate reasons why Riskware is present on your computer, antivirus solutions may not be able to determine whether a specific item of Riskware represents a threat to you. Kaspersky's products let you decide whether you wish to detect and remove Riskware:

Detecting and removing Riskware: There can be many reasons why you suspect that a Riskware program, that has been detected by Kaspersky's antivirus engine, is posing a threat. For example, if you didn't consent to the installation of the program and you don't know where the program came from, or if you've read a description of the program on Kaspersky's website and you now have concerns over its safety. In such cases, Kaspersky's antivirus software will help you to get rid of the Riskware program.

Choosing not to detect Riskware: For cases where Riskware programs are detected, but you're confident that these are programs that you have consented to, you may decide that the Riskware programs are not harming your devices or data. Kaspersky products let you disable the option to detect these programs - or let you add specific programs to a list of exceptions - so that the antivirus engine doesn't flag this Riskware as malicious.

Pesto Tech Launches Pesto Remote - Democratises Learning for Working Professionals

Highlights

* The programme runs for 16 weeks and requires two years of relevant work experience in software engineering
* Developed following the success of Pesto’s Residency programme, to scale its offerings on a pan-India level
* Designed to teach advanced coding skills in conjunction with soft and people skills and leadership attributes
* No upfront charges for the programme. Instead, candidates pay a percentage of their future income only after making more than 1.5x to 2x their current income

Pesto Tech, the homegrown edu-tech company redefining Indian engineering careers, today announced the launch of Pesto Remote, the online version of their pioneering upskilling programme. Through this addition to its academic repertoire, Pesto will now provide its next-level learning, development, and skills solutions to candidates across the country from the convenience of their homes. The newly launched program is another step towards Pesto mission of enabling global pay parity and borderless opportunities for Indian engineers.

Pesto operates on a unique Income Sharing Agreement model (ISA) and charges a zero fee upfront. Once a student has completed the programme and embarked upon a career of their choosing, they pay 17 percent of their monthly income for a maximum period of 36 months. Thus far, more than 1.1 lakh developers signed up on the platform for its Residency and Pro programmes from across India, with only 123 engineers making the cut. Graduates have gone on to secure jobs with top tech startups including Rippling, Swiggy, and many other YC companies, with the average salary being north of 30 lakhs. Pesto’s residency program gives it’s students an average 5x increase in their salaries with pay packages going as high as 65 lakhs per annum.

Pesto Remote has been co-created by the Pesto team and its graduates as well as with feedback from the engineering community. The aim was to create a program that not only addresses the challenges for Indian engineers but develop a customised learning experience aligned to their convenience. This has been an endeavour in line with Pesto’s mission to break boundaries and open the opportunities the program offers to everyone.

“Pesto was founded for one purpose – upskilling India’s five million software engineers and giving them access to borderless job opportunities. The launch of Pesto Remote has taken us a step closer to that goal. Through this programme, we’re excited at the chance to connect with talent across India, and help an even wider swathe of the engineering community fully realise and utilise their innate potential,” said Ayush Jaiswal, Co-Founder and joint CEO of Pesto Tech, at the launch.

So far under the confines of the residency program, Pesto grads had to leave their jobs and move to Pesto training centres for a 12-week intensive training limiting the scale of each batch and the access for engineers pan India. Pesto Remote solves for this by expanding Pesto’s offering for the engineers across the country further incentivises candidates by removing the need to travel to Pesto's training hub in New Delhi. This allows working professionals the opportunity to participate at zero opportunity cost, offering a true democratisation of the system. The programme will run for 16 weeks and will be delivered via a mix of live classes and self-paced learning modules with group discussions and personalised mentoring. The first batch is scheduled to begin on the 29th of February, 2020. Open to software engineers with over two years of relevant experience, the course is divided into two core sections:

Weeks 1 to 6 consist of Advanced Web Engineering and will cover topics such as Javascript, git, functional programming, test-driven development, continuous dev and integration, accessibility, and clean code, among others

Weeks 7 to 16 will serve as a Deep Dive into Advanced JavaScript, React, Node, Mongo, and Redux Independent. This section will bring candidates on par with international standards

Additionally, the programme offers optional modules on Open Source Apprenticeship and Live Product Development to eligible candidates. These will allow students the opportunity to practice their skills and work alongside domain experts on live projects. By engaging online through a combination of live lectures, group discussions, and practical assignments designed and prepared by Pesto’s faculty, participants will learn to develop and showcase their talent as world-class full-stack engineers.

Founded in 2018, Pesto Tech is an intensive training program dedicated to empowering India’s top software engineers and giving them access to borderless job opportunities. What Pesto offers is a 12-week program enabling young engineers with a lifelong upskilling strategy and a strong community of alumni. They train experienced software engineers by connecting them to mentors from renowned brands from India and the US. It helps software engineers in India break into international tech careers via full-time remote jobs resulting in a career leap worthy of their skills and qualifications. 

Manipal Hospitals Bangalore Successfully Performed India’s First Bentall Operation

Manipal Hospitals Bengaluru the foremost multi-specialty healthcare provider committed to clinical excellence and patient care performed Bentall operation successfully for a  Jehovah witness patient 43 year old Mr. Uwen from Nigeria this month for the first time in Asia. A team of Cardio Thoracic Vascular and Heart Transplant Surgeons, Dr. Devananda NS, HOD & Consultant -  Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery and Heart Transplant , Dr. Murali Krishna, Consultant - Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery and Heart Transplant  and Dr. Lalchand H Bangadi, Consultant Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery and Heart Transplant of Manipal Hospitals Bangalore conducted this procedure.

Mr Uwen, 43-year-old Geophysicist from Nigeria was excessively getting tired of physical exertion for last couple of years. It worsened so much over the last 2 years that he has to voluntarily quit his job. When investigated, he was found to have severe leakage of aortic valve (one of the main valve of the heart) leading to severe enlargement of his heart, producing heart failure. He was put on heart failure medication and asked to undergo change of the aortic valve at the earliest.

Being a person of Jehovah faith, who do not accept any blood or blood product transfusion, it was difficult for him to find a surgeon who would accept him for surgery. When he got in touch with Jehovah community in India, he was directed to Dr. Devananda NS, HOD & Consultant, Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery, Manipal Hospitals Bangalore who has experience in treating several Jehovah patients for heart surgery.

Sharing more details on the case, Dr. Devananda NS, HOD & Consultant - Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery, Heart Transplant, Manipal Hospitals Bangalore, “Mr. Uwen, was reinvestigated at Manipal Hospital. In addition to aortic valve leak with heart enlargement, he was also found to have gross enlargement of aortic root and early part of his aorta, medically called “annuloaortic ectasia. This condition requires not only replacement of the aortic valve, but also replacement of the entire aortic root (Bentall Operation). This is a complicated operation and doing it without blood on face of his poorly functioning heart (Ejection Fraction - 35%) which otherwise should have been 55% (in a normal person) was a challenge. After a coronary angiography, he was treated for 2 weeks with iron replacement and erythropoietin injections to build his hemoglobin from 13.5 gm/dL to 14 gm/dL. He underwent Bentall Operation on 03/01/2020, he had a smooth recovery and was discharged within 10 days with a hemoglobin of 10 gm/dL.”

In our knowledge, this happens to be the first case being reported in a Jehovah in India. However, Dr. Devananda NS, HOD & Consultant - Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery  and Heart Transplant,  Manipal Hospitals Bangalore , who has performed heart surgeries in over a dozen of Jehovah patients from 3.5 kg child to adults says, ”This is the second time he has performed this operation in a Jehovah patient. Apart from meticulous planning the operation, good post-operative care is essential for successfully treating this challenging group of patients”.

Expressing his happiness on the treatment, Mr. Uwen Said, “I have recovered completely and now leading a happy and normal life all thanks to Dr. Devananda and team. The doctors have been supportive throughout the procedure and even my post-surgery follow-ups reports are good.  Grateful to the team that they took up this challenging surgery and at the same time keeping up with the sentiments of my belief and faith. I appreciate the efforts and commitment of the doctors.”