GAIL and GAIL Gas Limited Usher People of India Towards a Better Future with PCRA Saksham Walkathon Initiative

In its attempt to spread awareness around extensive fuel and energy consumption due to rapidly increasing industrialization, the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) announced the launch of Saksham Walkathon initiative in Bengaluru today. The Saksham Walkathon is an awareness drive in association with GAIL (India) Limited and GAIL Gas Limited, to emphasize the need to cultivate the habit of walking for better individual health while also contributing towards greener environment, water and fuel conservation. The walkathon will start in the city on 9th of February 2020 from Sahakar Nagar. 

Air pollution in India is a severe issue with vehicle emissions being a catalyst by contributing 27% of the overall pollution caused and leads to premature deaths of 2 million Indians every year due to hazardous air quality. In Bangalore alone, nearly 50% of children suffer from asthma and calls for immediate action by people to reduce traffic congestion. Congestion of traffic is one of most prevailing causes for increased pollution as it slows down average vehicle speed and increases inefficient fuel burning. Increased number of vehicles has led to a staggering increase in traffic congestion and hence residents of the city must cut down the usage of vehicles and utilize sustainable modes for everyday commute.

With the prime motto to promote walking as a medium for the conservation of natural resources, the drive aims to engage with people across India and instill socio-environmental consciousness in each individual and society at large.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the initiative, Shri Vivek Wathodkar, Chief General Manager, GAIL Gas Limited, said “We are extremely delighted to be a part of Saksham Walkathon as it is a highly significant initiative by PCRA, in the era of evolving industrialization. GAIL Limited has been known in the country for not just delivering the best but also taking responsibility for sustainable growth for the masses. With this initiative we aim to bring more and more people under the umbrella of healthy and responsible lifestyle. We need people to come together with their family and friends and join us in our drive to lay the groundwork for a healthier life in turn building a stronger nation.”

Prior to this, PCRA recently organized a mega awareness cyclothon in 200 cities across the country to play a proactive role in fuel conservation and populate good health among people which in turn will also help in the reduction of India’s consumption of crude oil.

550 International and Indian Exhibitors are at FIGSI's STONA 2020 in Bengaluru from Feb 6-9, 2020

Federation of Indian Granite and Stone Industry (FIGSI) which was formerly known as All ndia Granite and Stone Association (AIGSA) is  the only all India body for the Natural Stone Industry of the country. FIGSI has been striving for the betterment and addressing the challenges faced by the industry. The Federation has about 1250 members from all over the country.

The sole object of the Federation is to promote natural stone industry of India across the globe and to resolve the issues faced by the Natural Stone Industry.

India is a country which is endowed with high quality natural stones like granite, marble, sandstone, slate, limestone and quartzite etc that are widespread in every corner of the nation. India has more than 11% export share in total world's stone trade. Indian share is more than 27% of the total stones produced throughout the world. India is recognized as one of the largest dimensional block producer in the world. Indian slabs, tiles, and monuments are supplied to more than 90 countries. Presently, stone industry is recognized as one of the fastest growing mineral industry in boosting the Indian economy and providing large employment opportunity in the rural sector after Agriculture.

Federation has been well recognised by all the state governments and central governments as the only national body to promote the Natural stone Industry. FIGSI is also member of various committees formed by the central and state governments.

Achievements of the Federation:

a)  Formation of Granite Development council by Government of India
b)  Formation of Group on Marble development by Government of India
c) The Granite conservation and Development rules 1999 for Granite Development was framed by Central Government for the entire country.
d) The marble conservation and development rules was framed for the development of Marble trade in India
e) Conducting of STONA fair from 1987onwards for promoting the Natural stone products in the domestic as well as international market (The export which was at Rs. 50 cr ores in 1987 has increased to Rs. 14,000 crores in 2016-17).
f) Participation in various fairs across the world to promote the Indian natural stones.
g) Impressed the Government  and has brought the marble blocks import under OGL scheme
h) Impressed the government to reduce the GST on polished slabs and tiles to 18% from 28%.
i) Now the federation is taking up the issue of GCDR which has been recommended by the sub-committee of GDC
j)  Taken up the issue of treating EOUs at par with the SEZs
  The federation has lined up various programme for the development of the Stone Industry as follows

To develop R & D centre  for Natural Stone Industry

Training institute of International standard to impart training to operate high tech machines used in quarrying and processing sectors.
World class stone museum
Trade Centre
Stone Testing laboratory
Artisans development
Exhibition Centre

As a Federation apart from seeking policy support and promoting the event STONA we have also taken up the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes in a big way.

1) The Federation in joint venture with Chamrajnagar quarry owners association has installed an RO Water Treatment Plant in the village of Rechambally Chamrajnagar. The said RO plant has been donated to Kagalavadi Panchyat of Chamrajnagar district.

2) Where the mining/quarrying hub/ industries have come up in those areas for the benefit of the workers and for the nearby villages the ambulances have been donated for medical emergency in the area of Jigani, Anekal Taluk Karnataka  and Jalore in Rajasthan.

Hope for better CSR activities projects in reaching the rural areas

STONA 2020.

You are all aware STONA fairs are having a long history of 33 years and till now the Federation has conducted 13 stona fairs and the 14th is being held at BIEC Bangalore from 6th to 9th February 2020.

During 1987 few of our visionaries felt the need of having a Stone exhibition to promote the Indian Natural stone.  At that period to conduct an International fair was not an easy job and lot of efforts were put by our seniors to get the necessary permission and conduct the fair in 1987.  STONA 1987 was the first ever stone Industry fair held in   entire Asia.  Fro, there onwards FIGSI has conducted 13 Internationals Granite and stone Fair at Bangalore.

Now the14th International Granite and Stone Fair – STONA 2020  is being held at Bangalore International Exhibition Center, Bangalore from 6th to 9th  February 2020 .

STONA fairs are well established name in the international market and Now STONA in one among 4 leading stone fairs in the world.

The contribution of STONA fairs can be seen from the growth of exports of Natural stones from India over a period of years.

STONA 2020 fair is the largest stone fair held in India with a gross area of 45000 sqmts which is being occupied by about 550 exhibitors from India and abroad.  In spite of global recession, the participation is in good numbers which shows the confidence of the Industry on STONA fairs. We are having country pavilion from Turkey, China, Iran and Italy and many of individual exhibitors  from Oman, Ukraine, Croatia, Spain and other countries are participating .

Exhibitors from all over India are also participating and the state governments from Gujarat, Orissa, Rajasthan and Karnataka are also exhibiting the stones of their states.

This time large number of machinery manufacturers pertaining to the stone industry are showcasing the latest machinery available for the stone industry.

One special feature of the STONA 2020 fair is sponsored  buyers programme where in we have invited buyers from various countries across the world and more than 100  buyers are visiting the fair and definitely it will help the exhibitors to improve their business opportunity across the world.

As per the tradition of our federation and as a social obligation, this time also we are having a dedicated area for the rural artisans under SHILP GRAM Programme and stone artisans  from all over India will show their skills in front of the visitors.

Following are the salient features of STONA 2020

Display of new material in separate area
Display of Handmade Handicraft Granite Items display
Architect Seminar on Natural Stone for Sustainability - the business opportunities. On 7thFebruary 2020 at 10.30 A.M
Geology Seminar on  Sustainable Natural Stones- Prospects, Problems, Policies – on 8thFebruary 2020 at  10.30 A.M
Wonsa Seminar on Natural stones on 7thFebruary 2020 at 2 P.M

STATUS OF THE INDUSTRY:-

India has the second largest deposit of Natural Stones in the world with 15% of the world Natural Stone reserves which is about 46.23 billion cubic meters. India is one of the top 5 Granite producing countries along with China, Brazil and others.
India is the largest producer of dimensional granite blocks (about 35 Million tonnes) major producing states are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat etc.
India stands in 3rd position in the Natural Stone trade in the world. The total No. of people employed in the Natural Stone trade in India is about 1.5 million.
Indian exports have crossed $2.2 Billions (14,000 Crores) in 2018.
India has adopted the latest technology in quarrying sector for cutting, drilling & handling, which has lead to improved production, less environmental damage and safe quarrying.
The latest technology of wire saw cutting,  circular saw cutting and breakage powders has lead to  zero blasting, thereby leading to safe working environment with less pollution yielding more production.

The Indian quarrying sector pays the highest royalty in the world i.e., we pay about 15%  on invoice value, where as the world average royalty is 3%. We now contribute a percentage on royalty towards DMF (district Mineral Fund) which is utilized for infrastructure development and for providing basic facilities like education, health, drinking water, sanitation, roads etc in the particular district where the quarrying takes place. Thereby improving the quality of life for local people living in the quarrying areas.All the States have supported the policy in fixing the percentage. For eg in Rajasthan, DMF is fixed at 10 percent on royalty, Andhra 12.5 percent on royalty and Karnataka have fixed at 30 percent on royalty. Similarly all the States have fixed between 10 percent to 30 percent.

The processing sector has developed very well in the last 10 years. The processing units have been setup  in almost all the districts where quarrying activities takes place, since it is  easy to procure the raw material. Of late, the processing industry are starving for want of raw materials. In order to support the processing industry more quarries are required to be granted by the govt.
Today, India is exporting more than 80% of the stone products in value added form to more than 90 countries all over the world.

Since the closure of most of the quarries in Tamilnadu and Karnataka due to the State Government policy decisions, the processing units are importing marble  under OGL and EOU’S are importing both marble and granite blocks to overcome the shortage of supplies.  The need of the hour is to allow free import of Granite also under OGL to mitigate the problem of shortage of raw material

POLICY SUPPORT FROM GOVERNMENT WHICH  THE INDUSTRY REQUIRED

Long term quarry lease ranging from 30-50 years with guaranteed renewals. The support of the government by way of suggestion is that regarding the grant of mineral concessions on first – cum-first- served basis and not through auction. Presently, except the State of Telangana all other States have resorted to the auction policy. Therefore it requires to be revisited in framing the policy. The auction system does not suit the dimensional block as the mineral is natural in nature and recovery cannot be guaranteed. Natural Stones mining is mainly the production of blocks of considerable size and weight

Rajasthan model of royalty collection seems to be very practicable and other state governments may adopt this model with requisite modifications suitable to them. As a Federation, we too agree with the recommendation of IBM. This policy would end up in less corruption, and a drastic reduction in the illegal quarrying and transportation apart from earning more revenue to the State Exchequer.

Grant of quarry leases in a time bound manner as the States deem fit.
Import of granite blocks to be allowed freely which will add variety and will enable us to take up projects all over the world.

Reduce GST to 5% on blocks & 12% on slabs & Tiles.

The quarrying activities are in progress for the past 4 to 5 decades and largely quarrying activities are confined to smaller areas in extent. Pursuant to the order passed by Hon’ble Supreme Court of India the lesser extent quarries are covered by environment clearance. However, the conditions imposed in the environmental clearance are on par with the condition imposed for major minerals which is larger in extent. Therefore, there is a requirement of relaxation in conditions prescribed in environment clearance to suit the requirement of the smaller areas for better compliances.

The future of the quarrying industry would be there in disposing of the huge accumulation of wastes which is a major threat to environment. In this context the wastes can be constructively utilised not only as a value added product but also to meet the societal needs like prevention of coastal erosion, the aggregates, M-Sand as a replacement to natural river sand, for usage  in the road construction and other works on par with building materials. The waste should not be considered as a real waste but to be treated more sensibly as an asset as in the quarries which is seen abroad mostly in China with proper management.

Recovery  percentage for saleable blocks to be rationalized The percentage recovery of dimensional granite blocks on the whole is quite low and varies from 5% to 20% due to inconsistency in colour and texture, geological disturbances like hairline fractures/streaks, joint spacing, integration of mineral constituents along planes giving non-uniform pattern etc. Such limiting factors vary from place to place in a single quarry and quarry to quarry having the same rock formation.
The Status of Natural Stone Quarrying Sector to be declared as an Industry
CHALLENGES:-

Competition from other countries like China, Turkey, Brazil, Iran etc.
Competition from other similar products like quartz, ceramic, porcelain, glass etc.
False propoganda like usage of child labour ,Radiation from  stones  etc.

FUTURE OUTLOOK:-

* With policy support, the industry can grow 10-15% annually.
* Increase exports by 15-20%.
* Investment  can go up to Rs 1 lakh crores from Present Rs 50,000 crores
* Provide employment to additional 15 lakh skilled and semiskilled people in rural & semi urban areas.
Over a period of time natural stone will prove that they are superior compared to other competitive products.
* For all this, measures require proper policy and government support. Long term mining/quarrying leases, fast processing of quarrying/mining applications, fixing of royalty rates at a reasonable level on par with the neighbouring states and countries, easing of environmental laws for better implementation required.

Warrior’s Campaign #KeepTheJoshHigh Goes Viral with Over 10 Million Views Across Social Media Channels

Leading safety shoe brand Warrior from the house of liberty has successfully garnered 10 million views on Facebook and Instagram for its campaign titled #KeepTheJoshHigh. The campaign showcases a series of videos and creative aiming to create awareness and educating the audience on identifying a real Warrior Jungle boot.

Warrior as a brand has been supplying boots to our forces from the past 20 years. The whole idea of the campaign was to strengthen their market position and to increase brand awareness among the target audience. The entire campaign consists of five videos and supporting creative which are educative, multilingual and provide information on how to differentiate between a fake and a real Jungle Boot. The main video centered on army garnered more than 5 million views and when combined with other videos the views in total touched over 10 million.

As the campaign went viral, Mr. Adesh Gupta, CEO Liberty Group, said, “We are proudly serving our forces from the past 20 years. The idea of the campaign was to highlight their sacrifices to the nation and also to educate the target audience on identifying original Jungle Boots offered by Warrior. I am happy to see the success of the campaign and look forward for more.”

The campaign was conceptualized and created by Olive e-business, a Delhi based digital agency. The director Mr. Dipin Kapur said “Client provided a very specific brief about targeting a certain audience group. We ideated a series of videos to build connect and reached the target audience set via geo-targeting and bi-lingual approach to reap the maximum benefit of the campaign. The videos are very energetic and leave a powerful impact on its audience. We are happy to see the success of the campaign across social media channels and hope to roll out more of such impactful content in the near future.

Russian Helicopters Signs Roadmap for Ka-226T Indian Localization

Russian Helicopters Holding Company (part of Rostec State Corporation) has signed a roadmap at the Defexpo 2020 exhibition with the Russian-Indian company Indo-Russian Helicopters Limited (IRHL) for localization of Ka-226T helicopter production in India.

The document defines the main stages and terms for organizing production of the Ka-226T helicopter and its units in India with respect to the date when the corresponding contract will be signed. In particular, the roadmap reflects timelines for setting up production in India, contracting with suppliers, transferring design documentation, supplying technological equipment and machine kits, training Indian personnel and other key stages of the project to localize production of the Ka-226T helicopter in India.
"The roadmap signed today will be the basis for further development of the Ka-226T localization project in India after the signing of the contract," said Director General of Russian Helicopters holding company Andrei Boginsky.

Indo-Russian Helicopters Limited is a joint venture of Russian Helicopters, Rosoboronexport and the Indian corporation HAL. The company was registered in India in May 2017 as part of a project to localize the production of Ka-226T helicopters.

The light utility helicopter Ka-226T has a coaxial twin-rotor system, its maximum takeoff weight is 3.6 t, and it is able to transport up to 1 t of payload. A transport cabin is installed on the helicopter, designed to transport up to 6 people or modules with special equipment. Improved performance characteristics of the Ka-226T, its eco-friendly features, cost effectiveness, advanced avionics and additional flight safety solutions make this helicopter one of the best models in its class.

Snap Rolls Out Support for Five Additional Indian Languages

Snap Inc. has announced that it will be rolling out support for five additional Indian languages including Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu over the coming weeks. This comes alongside Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and Punjabi, which were introduced last year, bringing the total to nine.

The new languages continue Snap’s commitment to building a local product for India. In 2019, the company opened its first office in Mumbai and established a team focused on expanding local partnerships, building an engaged community of creators and users and supporting local advertisers. Snap also introduced tools, experiences and content designed especially for its community in India. The company announced partnerships including TSeries, NDTV and WWM Times Group. In addition, it launched Landmarkers - augmented reality (AR) experiences - for two iconic Indian monuments, the Taj Mahal and the Gateway of India, as well as AR Lenses, Filters and Stickers during Indian festivals, for IPL teams and Bollywood movies. Snap also recently teamed up with Reliance Jio for a first of its kind “Jio’s Got Talent” creative AR challenge.

Nana Murugesan, Managing Director, International Markets at Snap Inc., “Snapchat empowers people to express themselves with their real friends. We understand how important language is in deepening relationships and we continue to roll out new features and experiences that reflect the culture and values of our community in India. We are excited by the growth we’ve seen here as we have almost doubled our daily users over the past year and we are thrilled to bring the magic of Snap to an even bigger audience. India is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world, and we want our platform to be accessible to as many people here as possible.”

Globally, Snapchat has an average of 218 million daily users. The average number of Snaps created every day has grown to more than 3.5 billion while the average time spent per user is 30 minutes per day. On average, 2 in 5 Snapchatters watch Discover feed content every day that offers more than 450 premium content channels worldwide. Recently, Snapchat launched a unique form of personalised entertainment with Bitmoji TV featuring the Snapchatter and last snapped friend in a 10-episode series.

LTI Expands Strategic Partnership with OKQ8 Scandinavia to Accelerate Digital Transformation

Larsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd., a global technology consulting and digital solutions company has expanded its engagement with OKQ8 AB Scandinavia. Over the next five years, this engagement will transform applications and infrastructure landscape with services that include Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Security Services, Application Operations, Maintenance and Development, resulting in improved stability, availability, and predictability of IT operations.

Headquartered in Stockholm, OKQ8 is one of Scandinavia’s largest fuel companies with a turnover of over SEK 39 Bn and nearly 1,000 stations across Sweden and Denmark. LTI has been a partner of OKQ8 since 2017, and this expanded partnership is an outcome of impact delivered over these years. As a strategic partner, LTI will leverage its rich analytics, automation, and AI capabilities to deliver these services to OKQ8.

Mikael Pålsson, CIO, OKQ8, said, “To serve our customers better, it is imperative for OKQ8 to integrate our ecosystem comprising fuel stations, convenience stores, car wash, car rentals, financial, and insurance services. As our strategic partner, LTI brings the right experience, technology expertise, and cultural alignment to ensure the complete success of this program.”

Arun Sankaranarayanan, Chief Business Officer, LTI Nordics, said, “Since its inception in 1999, OKQ8 has consistently set high standards for technology adoption and excellence in customer service. We are excited to expand our partnership with OKQ8 to design next-generation architecture and fulfill the company’s digital transformation vision. LTI would leverage its capabilities in exponential technologies and customer-centric approach to help OKQ8 accomplish its strategic goals.”

LTI has a strong presence across the Nordic region and partners with leading companies to help them compete effectively in a changing world.

About LTI:

LTI (NSE: LTI) is a global technology consulting and digital solutions Company helping more than 420 clients succeed in a converging world. With operations in 32 countries, we go the extra mile for our clients and accelerate their digital transformation with LTI’s Mosaic platform enabling their mobile, social, analytics, IoT and cloud journeys. Founded in 1997 as a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Limited, our unique heritage gives us unrivaled real-world expertise to solve the most complex challenges of enterprises across all industries. Each day, our team of more than 30,000 LTItes enable our clients to improve the effectiveness of their business and technology operations and deliver value to their customers, employees and shareholders. Read more at http://www.Lntinfotech.com or follow us at @LTI_Global

TRA’s Most Desired Personality list 2020; Amitabh, Madhuri Are India’s Most Desired Personalities

TRA’s Most Desired Personalities list has ranked Amitabh Bachchan as India’s Most Desired Personality 2020. Salman Khan is ranked 2nd followed by Akshay Kumar at 3rd position among the top 25 Desired Personalities listed in the report. Indian National Cricket team captain, Virat Kohli, is ranked 4th in the list to become the Most Desired Cricketer this year.  Aamir Khan, is India’s 5th Most Desired Personality in 2020 as per TRA’s report. TRA's Most Desired Personalities 2020 is the sixth in its series, and the list is arrived at through a primary research based on TRA’s proprietary 36-Attribute based Desire Matrix through face-to-face interviews with 1454 viewer-influencers across 14 Indian cites.

N. Chandramouli, CEO, TRA Research, observed, “TRA’s Desire Matrix measures 36 attributes of Desire that get deeply embedded into the subconscious of the audiences over time.  It measures the Aspirational, Emotional, Rational and Communication aspects of desire that audiences most relate with. In this year’s list of the top 25, 19 male and 6 female personalities are the audiences’ choices. Old proves to be gold when it comes to India’s Most Desired Personalities.”

The CEO of the brand insights and research company further added, “Desire is the most fundamental of human expressions and is generated due to subliminally embedded psycho-socio-cultural inputs that audiences receive over time. This list of personalities is a precursor to the soon-to-be released TRA’s Most Desired Brands 2020 which lists India’s 1000 top brands measured on TRA’s proprietary Desire Matrix”. The research company also publishes TRA’s Brand Trust Report currently in its 10th edition.

South Indian superstars, Rajnikant (ranked 15th all-India), Ram Charan (ranked 19th all-India) and Ravi Teja (ranked 22nd all-India) are also listed among the top 25 Desired Personalities this year. Among the three cricketers listed, Virat Kohli leads, Sachin Tendulkar ranks 2nd (ranked 7th all-India) M.S. Dhoni ranks 2nd (ranked 9th all-India). Lata Mangeshkar’s timeless songs have ranked her as the only singer in this list (ranked all-India 23rd).

About TRA Research         
TRA Research, a Comniscient Group company, was conceived in 2008 and is a brand strategy and actionable brand insights company, dedicated to understanding and analyzing stakeholder Buying Propensity. Buying Propensity, made up of Brand Trust and Brand Attractiveness are the proprietary brand matrices of TRA. TRA conducts primary syndicated research with consumers and other stakeholders to assist business decisions and give brands insights improving their ‘keenness-to-buy. TRA provides Brand Intelligence Reports mined from its 30 million data-points on brand intangibles of 20,000 brands collected over the years, and also undertakes custom-made studies for brands. TRA is the publisher of The Brand Trust Report, India's Most Attractive Brands and India’s Most Consumer Focused Brands. 

From Detecting Lung Cancer to Spotting Counterfeit Money: New Imaging Tech Could Have Many Uses

USC scientists have developed a new tool to peer more deeply and clearly into living things, a visual advantage that saves time and helps advance medical cures.

It’s the sort of foundational science that can be used to develop better diagnostics and treatments, including detecting lung cancer or damage from pollutants. The technology is versatile enough it could become a smartphone app for use in remote medicine, food safety or counterfeit currency detection, said Francesco Cutrale, lead author of the study and research assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

Scientists affiliated with the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience have been working on the technology for the past few years. Their findings were published in Nature Communications.

The technique focuses, literally, on the building blocks of biology. When biologists look deeply into a living thing — a cell, a fish, a person — it’s not always clear what’s going on. Cells and proteins are deeply intertwined across tissues, leaving lots of questions about the interactions between components. The first step to curing disease is seeing the problem clearly, and that’s not always easy.

How this USC-developed imaging technology works

To solve the problem, researchers have been relying on a technique called fluorescence hyperspectral imaging (fHSI). It’s a method that can differentiate colors across a spectrum, tag molecules so they can be followed, and produce vividly colored images of an organism’s insides.

But the advantages that fHSI offers come with limitations. It doesn’t necessarily reveal the full-color spectrum. It requires lots of data, due to the complexity of biological systems, so it takes a long time to gather and process the images. Many time-consuming calculations are also involved, which is a big drawback because experiments work better when they can be done in real time.

To solve those problems, the USC researchers developed a new method called spectrally encoded enhanced representations (SEER). It provides greater clarity and works up to 67 times faster and at 2.7 times greater definition than present techniques.

It relies on mathematical computations to parse the data faster. It can process vibrant fluorescent tags across the full spectrum of colors for more detail. And it uses much less computer memory storage, even more important with the explosion of big data research behind modern convergent bioscience research. According to the study, SEER is a “fast, intuitive and mathematical way” to interpret images as they are collected and processed.

“There is a number of scenarios where this after-the-fact analysis, while powerful, would be too late in experimental or medical decision-making,” Cutrale said. “There is a gap between acquisition and analysis of the hyperspectral data, where scientists and doctors are unaware of the information contained in the experiment. SEER is designed to fill this gap.”

From detecting lung cancer to potential mobile phone app

SEER’s first application will be in the medical and research field. The versatile algorithm, first authored by Wen Shi and Daniel Koo at the Translational Imaging Center of USC, will be used for detecting early stages of lung disease and potential damage from pollutants in patients in a collaboration with doctors at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Also, scientists in the life sciences field have started adopting SEER in their experimental pipelines in an effort to further improve efficiency.

Improvements in imaging technologies can also reach the consumer level, so it’s likely that technologies such as fHSI and SEER could be installed on mobile phones to provide powerful visualization tools.

The Michelson Center brings together a diverse network of premier scientists and engineers from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the Keck School of Medicine of USC under one roof, thanks to a generous $50 million gift from orthopedic spinal surgeon, inventor and philanthropist Gary K. Michelson and his wife, Alya Michelson.

Experian Inaugurates India Development Centre in Hyderabad; Aims to Hire 2500 Employees by 2024

Experian, the world’s leading data, analytics and decisioning companies today announced the launch of its new India Development Centre in Hyderabad. The centre was inaugurated by Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of the Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT) Departments, Telangana Government.

This is part of Experian’s global network of development centres and will work closely with the Experian product teams globally. It is another step in Experian’s vision of enabling consumers and businesses in taking prudent financial decisions with the help of technology, analytics and innovation. The India Development Center (IDC) will allow Experian to build on its innovation agenda by tapping top talent available in India.

Commenting on the launch, Alex Lintner, Group President of Consumer Information Services, Experian said, “We are very pleased to launch the development centre in Hyderabad. The city has emerged as a major hub for technology and innovation apart from attracting top talent from across the country. Superior infrastructure, good quality of education and a rich talent pool combined with the ease of doing business makes it the ideal location for our India Development Centre. Experian has always believed in fostering a culture of continuous innovation and driving financial inclusion across the world to help consumers get easier access to credit.”

Sathya Kalyanasundaram, Country Head and Managing Director, Experian India added, “We are excited to see Experian’s continued investment in India; and view this move as a clear testament to Experian’s commitment to grow the India operations through both organic and inorganic opportunities. Our continued growth in India over the past several years coupled with sustained investments such as these will propel India to play a significant role in Experian’s overall growth story for the years to come.”

The IDC currently houses 200 engineers and aims to create jobs for approx. 2500 employees by 2024. Located in Cyber Pearl HITEC City, the new centre spans across 35,000 sq. ft. and offers facilities such as 24x7 cafeteria and fitness centre for its employees.

Instamojo Acquires GetMeAShop to Introduce SAAS Offerings for MSMEs Across India

Instamojo Acquires GetMeAShop for $5 Million and Adds Times Internet Limited as an Investor

Instamojo has announced its acquisition of GetMeAShop (A business of Times Internet Ltd), a digital commerce platform for MSME. Instamojo, through its first acquisition will expand its digital solution offerings to empower its +1 million merchant base.

Established in 2012, Instamojo began its journey as a digital payment solution provider and has progressively grown into an online platform for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises to start, manage, and grow their businesses online. Over the past 5 quarters, Instamojo also introduced unique credit products and logistics services under the banner of mojoCapital and mojoXpress respectively.

Speaking on the acquisition, Sampad Swain, CEO & Co-founder of Instamojo said, “From the initiation of Instamojo, the primary goal was always to ease business operations for small and medium businesses. With the gradual digitization of sectors, we understood that the challenges faced by MSMEs are beyond just digital payments. Limited access to credit, competition from e-commerce platforms and cash flow were some of the growth obstacles, along with low access and technical knowledge which posed a greater threat. With the GetMeAShop acquisition, the Instamojo suite of offerings will meaningfully expand to enable business owners with web presence tools to start, manage and grow in the rapidly growing tech ecosystem.”.

GetMeAShop is a holistic SaaS platform, helping SMBs adopt and leverage technology without any prior technical know-how. It encompasses a website and online store builder, logistics providers, CRM, native Android and iOS mobile apps, social selling via WhatsApp and Facebook, Marketing tools - SMS, Email, push notifications and robust analytics.

Speaking about integrating with Instamojo, Pushkal Srivastava, founder and CEO of GetMeAShop said, “We're very excited to join the Instamojo family. With a common mission to enable MSMEs it's a partnership which will give us distribution specific to the target segment we've been going after for all these years. And with our full-stack SaaS offering for MSMEs with web/ commerce builder, CRM and analytics built-in we augment the existing offerings of Instamojo perfectly. It’s a 1 plus 1 equals 11 combination. Looking forward to an amazing journey of growth and empowerment of SMEs.”

Sharing his thought on the acquisition, Abhishek Mitra Gupta, VP - Times Internet Ltd said, “The combination of Instamojo and GetMeAShop is a potent combination and creates the solution that MSMEs in India always wanted. The combination will help Indian MSMEs to take their offerings online without any friction. We have immense faith in the combined leadership of Instamojo and GetMeAShop and look forward to being long term partners. Both teams strive for their customers’ success, it is a must-watch journey.”

Tata Motors Showcases Range of Sustainable Mobility Solutions at the AutoExpo 2020

Key Highlights of the pavilion:

* Focus on CESS – Connected, Electric, Shared and Safe, as the future of mobility
* 4 Global Unveils, a pre-production and a commercial launch, 14 Commercial & 12 Passenger Vehicles
* Widest range of BSVI ready portfolio on display
* Unveils the ‘HBX Show car’, based on the ALFA ARC, and the ‘Sierra EV Concept’ – a legend reborn
* Introduces the ‘Hexa Safari Edition’
* Launches the much-awaited ‘Harrier 2020’, based on the OMEGA ARC, with One India, One Price, starting at INR. 13.69 lakh for the manual version and INR. 16.25 lakh for the automatic version.
* Teases the pre-production version of its flagship SUV – the Gravitas, scheduled to be launched in H1 FY2021
* Announces the global unveil of the all-new Tata Winger and the Tata Prima facelift 5530.S
* Displays the single largest EV portfolio across passenger and commercial vehicles
* Brings to life, a very unique and ‘first of its kind’ experience for its customers with the Nexon EV dynamic test drive, live at the pavilion
* Creates innovative and immersive means for visitors’ engagement by gamifying the EV drive experience, with a runner quiz on the Tata Motors AutoExpo app

Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in contributing to nation building by providing innovative and sustainable mobility solutions for aspiring Indians. Today, at the country’s largest auto show, the AutoExpo 2020, the company takes great pride in showcasing an all-new range of passenger, electric and commercial vehicles with a focus on Connected, Electric, Shared and Safe.

With a firework of 4 global unveils, a pre-production preview and a commercial launch; Tata Motors raises the bar by bringing innovative products, engineered and made in India – for India. With a hall, spanning across 6000 sq. mtrs, the Tata Motors pavilion is divided into 4 thematic zones - Live, Play, Move and Build Zone. Each of these zones has been designed to reimagine the scope of what Tata Motors can offer, complemented by digital engagements to excite our visitors, from all age and choices.

Commenting at the launch, Tata Sons Group Chairman, N Chandrasekaran said, “The theme of our pavilion is a thoughtful representation of what India needs, how Tata Motors can contribute, and how we as the Tata Group are taking the lead in providing a transformative ecosystem solution in India. We are proud to offer one of the largest range of BSVI portfolio and this shows our commitment towards a clean and green environment. Tata Group has taken lead in driving the Government’s vision of electrifying India and building a comprehensive and sustainable ecosystem, by leveraging the Group’s rich experience and diversified competencies. The recently launched Tata uniEVerse is a holistic approach addressing all aspects of e-mobility solutions, from infrastructure to charging network and phase wise manufacturing plan, to provide our consumers a future ready sustainable and efficient e-mobility environment.”

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Guenter Butschek, CEO and MD, Tata Motors Ltd. said, “We’re super excited to showcase our new and upgraded products across passenger, electric and commercial vehicles, as they are not only BSVI ready, but they go beyond in terms of value, technology, features, experience, to meet the mobility aspirations of our customers. Each product at the Tata Motors pavilion is a careful, practical and emotional work of art, designed to provide more delight to its customers. The pavilion is designed on CESS, our four technology pillars that are revolutionising the mobility agenda. We are confident that our pavilion will offer the visitors and our customers, a unique sense of belonging and a feeling of pride, for what we have always stood for – Connecting India, responsibly and sustainably.”

The Stars of the Show

The all-new BSVI range of Commercial Vehicles

Tata Motors unveiled the all-new Winger, setting new standards in the commercial passenger segment in terms of style, safety, comfort and space. The new Winger is an all-rounder with superior aesthetics, better economics and comfortable ergonomics, making it an absolute winner in its category. Tata Motors also unveiled the New Tata Prima 5530.S Facelift – the epitome of engineering and the flagship of Tata Motors’ extensive commercial vehicle line-up. It comes with a power-packed drivetrain of ISBe 6.7L, 300HP, BSVI engine and G1150 gearbox, known for its robust durability and reliability. It is designed specifically to deliver high performance, unmatched fuel efficiency and better TCO.

The company displayed 14 all-new BSVI range of products across segments covering sub 1 ton to 55 ton GVW, with 140+ type approvals and 19 engines (including alternate fuels options), thus providing a vast array of product offerings to its customers.

The NEW FOREVER Passenger Vehicles

Tata Motors showcased the NEW FOREVER range of its Passenger Vehicles today with 12 exhibits exemplifying the IMPACT DESIGN 2.0 across Cars and Utility Vehicles.

Two path-breaking concepts based on the versatile ALFA ARC, ‘Agile Light Flexible Advanced’ Architecture, were unveiled. The ‘HBX Showcar’ as a natural extension of the ‘H2X Concept’ - readying for production, Capturing the spirit of adventure. The ‘Sierra EV Concept’ – a legacy reborn, with modern, progressive look into the future of SUVs. The ‘Sierra EV Concept’ is fully electric and goes beyond a SUV. Tata Motors also unveiled the ‘Hexa Safari Edition’ – a soul-stirring combination of two of our most loved SUVs – the iconic Safari and the ultra-capable Hexa.

Derived from the Land Rover’s legendary D8 platform, and customised as ‘Optimal Modular Efficient Global Advanced’ Architecture (OMEGA-ARC) for India, Tata Motors launched the much-awaited ‘Harrier 2020’, which comes with a 6-speed automatic transmission, mated to the next-generation 170PS BSVI Kryotec diesel engine. The feature-loaded SUV comes with a host of new features like panoramic sunroof, powered driver seat, amongst others. The ‘Harrier 2020’ comes with ‘One India, One Price’ starting at INR. 13.69 lakh for the manual version and INR. 16.25 lakh for the automatic version. Bookings are open and the car would be available at the dealerships later this month. Tata Motors also showcased its new flagship SUV – the Gravitas, in its production spec, scheduled to be launched later in H1FY21. The Gravitas is a true personification of Power, Indulgence and Capability.

Representation of the largest range of Electric Vehicles portfolio

Tata Motors today showcased the single largest portfolio of EVs in India, with the newly-launched Nexon EV – India’s Own Electric SUV, the Altroz EV – a modern city car, resetting the rules for the industry, catering to maturing customers. In the commercial vehicles space, the company displayed the Tata 4/12m Low Floor Entry Electric Bus – the first full-electric drivetrain. It is a state-of-the-art solution for urban transport requirements. The Tata Ultra T.7 Electric was also on display, as India’s first-ever intermediate commercial electric truck. The Ultra T.7 Electric is designed to foster the agile goods movement across all business applications, making it the best fit for city transportation requirements.

Tata Motors has made significant contributions to the country’s automobile sector in the last 75 years. By showcasing sustainable and green solutions at the AutoExpo 2020, Tata Motors will drive the future of mobility in India.

Blue Dart Enhances ‘Domestic Priority Dutiable’ Service to Deliver Shipments of High Value Across India

Blue Dart Express Limited, South Asia's premier express air and integrated transportation & Distribution Company and part of Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPDHL), enhanced its exclusive ‘Domestic Priority Dutiable’ service to enable customers to send shipments of high value across India. Customers can now send imitation jewelry, mobile phones, watches, high end/value designer clothes, cutting tools, machine parts etc. that require a 24x7 visibility status scans through a securitized and compliant environment.

As a preferred logistics service provider, Blue Dart will also enable e-way bill process and complete documentation to ensure requirements are complied with.

Customers can avail of the exclusive ‘Domestic Priority Dutiable’ services at all Blue Dart retail stores across India or by calling 1860 233 1234.

Commenting on the launch of the service, Ketan Kulkarni, CMO & Head - Business Development, Blue Dart said, “At Blue Dart, we understand the value of our customer’s shipment and the business critical function they fulfil. This is why we go the distance to make fast and securitized delivery of their shipments our priority. Our Domestic Priority Dutiable service is specially designed to offer customers a competitive edge with the fastest and most secure delivery service when shipping high value goods. This will be of great service to B2C and C2C shippers. We ensure complete peace of mind for our customers by enabling the required e-way bill process and complete documentation in alignment with all regulatory requirements. Moreover, customers have complete visibility of their shipment while it travels in our network through our state-of-the-art track and trace technology and be rest assured that their valuable consignments are in safe hands”.

ServiceNow to Acquire Passage AI to Help Work Flow More Smoothly

ServiceNow, the company making work, work better for people, today announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Passage AI, a Mountain View, Calif.-based conversational AI platform company. The transaction will advance ServiceNow’s deep learning AI capabilities and will accelerate its vision of supporting all major languages across the company’s Now Platform and products, including ServiceNow Virtual Agent, Service Portal, Workspaces and emerging interfaces.

“Work flows more smoothly when people can get things done in their native language,” said Debu Chatterjee, senior director of AI Engineering at ServiceNow. “Building deep learning, conversational AI capabilities into the Now Platform will enable a work request initiated in German or a customer inquiry initiated in Japanese to be solved by Virtual Agent. Passage AI’s technology will enable us to accelerate our vision of empowering great employee and customer experiences by delivering great workflow experiences. ServiceNow believes in making work flow more smoothly across the enterprise, in all major languages.”

Passage AI’s conversational AI platform is built on deep learning models that can be trained to understand text in all major languages. Bringing together Passage AI’s conversational AI capabilities with it’s Now Platform and digital workflow capabilities, ServiceNow will expand its chatbot support for non-English languages and empower organizations to better understand the meaning behind work requests so they can take action to get the job done.

As a strategic partner to the world’s largest enterprises, ServiceNow is focused on enabling digital transformation and driving customer success. The Now Platform includes powerful AI and machine learning capabilities, which enable customers to deliver great employee and customer experiences and unlock productivity. This deal builds on ServiceNow’s previous AI acquisitions, including transactions with Loom Systems, Attivio, Parlo, FriendlyData, Qlue and DxContinuum.

Passage AI was founded in 2016 by CEO Ravi N. Raj, CTO Madhu Mathihalli and CTO Mitul Tiwari.

ServiceNow expects to complete the acquisition by the end of Q1 2020.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

JK Tyre Launches Revolutionary 'Smart Tyre' at the Auto Expo 2020

Leading Indian tyre manufacturer JK Tyre & Industries Ltd., today launched their new SMART TYRE range at the Auto Expo 2020. The company is the first in the sector to launch Smart Tyres Technology.

A first-of-its kind cloud based monitoring system; Smart Tyres warrants maintenance of tyres through timely diagnostics by using sensors integrated with a Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS). The sensors thus augment updates on tyre health via multiple digital platforms like the company’s indigenous TREEL Care app and web page.

The Smart Tyre technology allows for early detection of issues and deployment of timely preventive measures to avoid them and also deliver higher fuel efficiency upto 4-5% leading to reduction in carbon emission. In addition, through this technology, the tyre life is enhanced thereby minimizing operational expenses.

Monitoring all aspects of the tyre, Smart Tyre screens tyre’s vital statistics, including pressure and temperature. The information collected by this smart monitoring system is relayed on a real-time basis to the vehicle owner’s smartphone via Bluetooth on to a mobile application. Additionally, the sensor-enabled technology helps the customers maintain optimal tyre pressure, which not only helps the environment but also provides better safety on road.

The Smart Tyre technology is compatible with cars, bikes and trucks/buses. It is available in three variants for cars- Smart Tyre Sensor Car Kit: Valve, MTrac Smart Sensor Car & Truck Kit: Valve and MPower Smart Sensor Car Kit: Valve. Similarly it is available in two variants for bikes- Smart Tyre Sensor Bike Kit: Belt and MTrac Smart Sensor Bike Kit: Belt.

Commenting on the occasion, Dr. Raghupati Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director said, “JK Tyre has always been on the forefront of innovation and technology. Being the market leaders in the Indian tyre industry, we have once again lived up to our leadership role by delivering ‘Smart Tyre’ - an extension to our promise of providing advanced mobility solutions to our customers. This technology provides an enhanced value proposition to vehicle owners, particularly fleets, by reducing their operational costs. Along with this, we have also showcased our new range of concept tyres here at the Auto Expo and we have a roadmap laid in front of us, as we plan to move ahead with a number of new products including some breakthrough innovations this year.”

Concept Tyre Zone:

Along with the launch of Smart Tyre Technology, the company also showcased an exciting array of concept tyres at the Auto Expo 2020:

Puncture Proof Tyres: Punctures are common on Indian roads. This unfortunate situation that can jeopardize a driver’s safety. Tyre puncture repair is a tedious task and to address this issue, JK Tyre has introduced Puncture Resistant Technology. A concept developed for cars and two-wheelers, the Puncture proof tyre has unique sealants forming a protective layer which repairs punctures automatically thereby ensuring a hassle-free and safe drive.

EV Tyre: The electric vehicle industry in India is evolving and JK Tyre is ready to cater to the needs of the EV industry. These next-gen tyres have an optimized tread pattern which are ideal for Electric vehicles. Loaded with features like Low Rolling Resistance, low noise emission and superior wet traction, these EV Tyres offer a greener and environment friendly drive.

Colored Tyre: One of the most attractive and eye-catching product from the JK Tyre stable, these coloured tyres are for the auto freaks who do not think conventional. These colored tyres are made from specially formulated colored rubber compound and is available for Cars and Two Wheelers.

Fuel Saver Tyre: The next generation of fuel-efficient tyres-the XF series, is built on the cutting edge advanced JETOCT technology, which helps improve tyre efficiency by saving up to 8% fuel in comparison to normal radial tyres.

Tubeless Radials: Designed to meet the emerging needs of the Indian fleets, these next generation of Tubeless Radial Tyres for Trucks and Buses are developed with new silica compound, which provides longer life, fuel savings and lower cost of operations.

With these industry first moves to deliver advanced mobility solutions to both commercial and passenger vehicle owners, JK Tyre reiterates its commitment to innovation and aims to further consolidates its position in the Indian automotive market.

GWM Announces Global Premier of Haval Concept H & India Debut of its Concept Vehicle – Vision 2025

Great Wall Motors, China’s largest SUV manufacturer, today globally premiered its Haval Concept H & announced the India debut of the concept vehicle – Vision 2025, during the press conference organized at Auto Expo – The Motor Show 2020. Emphasizing on the theme of Intelligent Mobility Redefined, GWM had on display among other models - Haval: H9, F7, F7x, F5 and the GWM EV: iQ & R1. At the GWM pavilion on display was a functional area that had a showcase of Lithium Ion Battery, Haval Intelligent Home, Haval Intelligent Safety Display, and Great Wall Autonomous EV.

Over the past decade, GWM has invested more than 1.5 billion USD for research the development of cutting-edge technologies such as new energy, intelligent network connection and autonomous driving, and build exclusive platforms and product lineup for new energy vehicles. GWM plans to invest an estimated total of 1 billion USD (approx. INR 7000 cr) in India in a phased manner, covering manufacturing plant, vehicle research and development, production of power batteries and electric drives, vehicle and component manufacturing. At the same time, it plans to provide estimated 3,000 direct employment in a phased manner.

Taking the opportunity of the Auto Expo 2020, GWM today made India Debut of its Haval and GWM EV brands and hopes to offer high technology premium products to Indian consumers, and also contribute to Govt vision of a pollution free renewable energy based society. The GWM pavilion showcased its technological strength in the areas of Smart, Intelligent and Autonomous vehicles, which are expected to be a major attraction in this edition of AutoExpo2020. They also showcased Intelligent Home concept where one can control home appliances connected with the Intelligent Connected vehicles, Intelligent Safety of HAVAL SUVs, New Energy Products and many more interactive activities for engagement of visitors of the AutoExpo.

Speaking on the occasion Hardeep Singh Brar, Director (Sales & Marketing) said, “India has become one of the world's fastest growing major economy, and the auto market is promising, making it a preferred investment destination for most auto companies. At this 15th edition of the Auto Expo 2020, we are introducing our Global Intelligent SUV Expert brand – HAVAL and plan to cover the complete range of SUVs which will be the preferred choice of the young, dynamic and new generation consumers of India.”

In alignment to the development goals of a clean India and "vehicle electrification" advocated by the Indian government, GWM also plans to launch a new energy brand - Great Wall EV. GWM also plans to invest in battery research and development and manufacturing in India to reinforce and accelerate India's Electrification Strategy.

On January 17, 2020, Great Wall Motors and General Motors signed an agreement to acquire the General Motors India’s Talegaon factory. This transaction will lay an important foundation for Great Wall Motor’s entry in India. The acquisition will be completed in the second half of 2020. Great Wall Motors will realize the production of EV and SUV models under Great Wall at this plant.

Details on Models at Display

Haval Concept H Plug-in Hybrid Electric SUV (Global Debut) - This is one of our global concept models, and we are excited to present the global preview, right here in India. With this, we reinforce our focus on the global consumers, and also the young consumers of India in particular.  This car is designed to be young and sporty. Haval, as the leading SUV brand, moves forward with determination. Concept H creates an opportunity for the brand to communicate with young consumers at a deeper level. It aims to make the vehicle a part and extension of the consumers’ lifestyle.

Vision 2025 Pure Electric SUV– Concept Vision 2025 is HAVAL’s vision for its smart, capable, intelligent vehicle for 2025. A Next Generation Vehicle or “NGV”, not simply an SUV. HAVAL’s designers and engineers are constantly exploring new ways to develop the SUV using advanced technology, developed in our ten global Research and Development centers.  Vision Concept features face recognition, it has next-generation 5G in-car infotainment and services and it has Automated Parking and Advanced Autonomous Driving modes this is an intelligent vehicle able to think, communicate and take care of the driving for you.

Haval F7 - Positioned as the artificial intelligent (AI) connected SUV, Haval F7 is the first marque product of Haval’s shift to a Global design language and diversified product style. With the five product advantages, that are: connected, intelligent safety, ultimate comfort, powerful performance, exciting design Haval F7 has been popular among young consumers since its launch one year ago. In China, it has sold 140,770 units within a year of its launch. Haval F7 is a sophisticated, innovative, sleek, and smart SUV and is the new frontrunner for urban transportation leading the globalization of Chinese SUVs since its inception at Great Wall Motor’.

Haval F7x - Haval F7x is positioned as the artificial intelligent (AI) coupe SUV. Haval F7x looks more dynamic featuring a fastback styling with a strong personality leading the growing coupe segment & showing Haval’s global design language in its true form.

Haval F5 - As the first model of Haval F Series, Haval F5 is positioned as the trendy intelligent connected SUV. Haval F5 is specially designed for young users. The four aspects of Connected Intelligence, Superior Aesthetics, Exciting Driving Experience and Intelligent Safety are deeply rooted in the DNA of HAVAL F5. As a pioneer of comprehensive youth transformation of Haval brand, Haval F5 fully demonstrates its youthful spirit and determination to understand young users and build cars for them with technovation, and global trends.

Haval H9 - Haval H9 is a Smart All Terrain True Blue Blood   luxury SUV that integrates powerful off-road performance, connected intelligence, advanced safety technology and luxurious interior design with Nappa Dermis leather.  H9 is equipped with three differential locks (front/middle/rear), cruise control off-road, offering super strong off-road and breakthrough performance. It is committed to bringing customers a dynamic off-road drive experience.

GWM R1 - The vehicle is built on ME platform, the first exclusive platform for electric vehicles in China, R1 is a smart mobility vehicle with large space and safety features. The Lightweight design provides the product with characteristics of longer endurance mileage and low power consumption. R1 has a mileage of 351 km. The vehicle is gorgeous and compact, flexible and lively. The rear part also adopts a smooth and lovely modeling style. With multiple layers in line representation, it is a trendy product with gorgeous exterior. The vehicle is truly a new generation EV.

GWM iQ – The vehicle iQ is positioned as a new generation of pure electric compact Fastback Sedan which is equipped with ternary lithium-ion power battery and permanent magnet synchronous motor, with comprehensive distance of 401 Km per charge. The overall design style of iQ is fashionable and futuristic. The interior space and design compliments the beauty of simplicity and smart mobility.

About Great Wall Motors

Founded in 1984, GWM is the largest SUV manufacturer in China. Currently, it owns Haval, Great Wall EV and Great Wall Pickup brands. The products cover traditional fuel-powered, pure electric, hybrid and other new energy models, and now GWM is actively developing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. At present, GWM has more than 70 holding subsidiaries worldwide and employs nearly 70,000 people. It has 10 R&D centers in 7 countries, including China, India, the United States, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and Austria. It has 14 global manufacturing facilities.

Xebia Ties Up with JECRC University; Enabling Students in Rajasthan to Become World-Class Technology Experts

In its first tie-up in Rajasthan, Xebia Group through its education business Xebia Academy Global, has recently inked an MoU with JECRC University to offer specializations under the B.Tech Computer Science Engineering programme. This is a huge opportunity for students across Rajasthan who are keen to build careers in digital technologies. As part of this MoU, JECRC University will offer their B.Tech (CSE) programme with specializations in Cloud Engineering and DevOps, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Big Data and Analytics.

Mr. Brijesh Kohli, Director, Xebia Academy said, “The IT Talent pool is at a critical juncture today. In spite of many educational institutions, the gap between industry and academia continues to widen. The industry today faces an acute shortage of skilled manpower across digital technologies. Xebia aims to bridge the gap with their technology expertise and educational acumen.”

“Xebia believes in hands-on learning for all students so that they actually get schooled in what the core of the industry demands. We demonstrate our commitment to this by setting up dedicated Centres of Excellence for these technologies, providing industry researched curriculum, running student engagement and faculty development programs. The company will also help students to demonstrate their skills by offering technology relevant internships and placement opportunities”, Mr. Kohli further added.

Through this partnership, students will get access to Xebia’s knowledge repository and access to a global talent pool of industry practitioners and Xebia experts as mentors.

These specializations are incredibly future oriented and aim to build industry ready professionals up for grabs. The course structure is being designed by practitioners who have put in their real-time experiences in the form of use cases and case studies to ensure that the students learn the most of what is relevant today. The idea is to inculcate the right mindset, the right skill set and the right ethos that will enable the students to take on the world tomorrow.

Mr. Arpit Agarwal, JECRC said, “The acceleration in automation brings the promise of productivity, economic growth, increased efficiencies, safety and convenience. However, they also raise issues about the broader impact on jobs, skills, wages, and the nature of the work itself. And hence, it has become crucial for a student to be well-equipped with these technologies, before setting foot into the professional world. As a part of the education sector, we all are jubilant to gear up our students for the corporate sector, honing with the professional skills required by future employers. Indeed, with the support from Xebia, known for its expertise in new technologies, our students will become professionals who have the right skills to implement the innovation effectively.”

Xebia has already partnered with many such prestigious institutions across the country and takes pride in the fact that not only do they design the curriculum keeping the industry in mind, but also consider what academia needs. Xebia believes that true transformation can only happen when real problems plaguing real people are solved. Technology is a beautiful way to do that!

Market Intelligence, Innovation, Self-Disruption, Localisation the Major Trends in India’s Food Retail Sector

At India’s largest food retail intelligence event, India Food Forum 2020, industry leaders from food retail and market research threw out sharp insights on the Indian industry and presented ideas to drive its growth. India Food Forum 2020 began today at the Renaissance Hotel, Mumbai.

In the opening session — on Indian Food & Grocery Markets: Trends and opportunities — Saloni Nangia, President, Technopak, identified five top trends that will shape the Indian Packaged Food Space.

According to her, the first trend is the presence of smaller disruptive players that are making sure that success is beyond few food majors. The second trend is that the brands which focus on regions or clusters will achieve success and scale. The third important trend is that companies are now wanting to be present in multiple product categories. Fourthly, gourmet and health are new niches that will see higher growth and lastly, she observed that interest from investors like PE and Venture Funds and government would provide the growth impetus, given the fact that more than 10,000 crore rupees have already been invested in Packed Food and F&G E-commerce since 2015.

In his address, Kishore Kumar, Head- Brand Intelligence and bb accelerate, Big Basket, showcased the trends in consumer behaviour observed at the India’s largest online food and grocery store. According to him, the key trends included what he called “Grandma is Right”, which is the growth in A2, desi cow ghee and Ayurvedic products. He also felt that the consumers were veering more towards what was better for them and not just a value add. Exposure to DIG/ cuisines/ eating occasions have given rise to food-on-the-go and RTE meals.

Raising the consciousness of healthy lifestyle, increased activity and fitness eco-system has led to a growth in protein foods, healthy food and vitamins and minerals. There is a growing preference for Indian brands for food and personal care products. More and more consumers are demanding both taste and health in their food item. Another trend is the drop in the consumption of sugar in favour of healthier alternatives like honey, jaggery, etc.

Talking about the ‘snackification’ of food, Pradeep Srinivasan, Senior Analyst, Euromonitor, highlighted the fact that time-pressed lifestyles and on-demand economy have led to people looking increasingly at convenience. More and more people are opting for foods with less preparation time and more convenience, thereby increasing the opportunity for pre-prepared foods. Fluid eating habits is another opportunity for snack manufacturers. While snacking has increased, there is a visible difference in treating and snacking. This has led to the demand for healthier snacks. He believes that the pack size of pre-packed snack is also reducing. The growth in this segment will be driven by cross merchandising through new food delivery models.

The second session included Mr. Devendra Chawla, CEO & MD, Spencer’s Retail, Mr. Sadashiv Nayak, Business Head- Big Bazaar, Future Retail and Mr. Arvind Varchaswi, Managing Director, Sri Sri Tatva.

Mr. Devendra Chawla, very lucidly explained How India will consume food in the days to come. He highlighted the fact that India has the largest population in the with an average age of 29 years. This young population will demand newer ways to market to them.
According to him, no longer will one size fits all strategy work. Companies will have to use AI based to reach out to targets. Each of these targets demand personalized marketing messages. He also feels that buying behavior is no longer influenced by peer pressure but Peer wisdom. This is to be supported by webrooming and showrooming.
He opined that brands need to enable a high level of personalization and technologies like block chain will help in the traceability of products.
Mr. Sadashiv Nayak, spoke about the relevance of supplementing the digital presence with physical space. He believes the companies which use this strategy will take the lead.

Mr. Arvind Varchaswi, expounded the importance of  Art of living in retail. In this presentation he said that the retail will grow more on the back of demand for organic food. E commerce growth has been instrumental in reaching out of tier 2 and tier 3 consumers for organic food. This coupled with the increased spending capacity of consumers augers well for the category.

This was followed by an eminently entertaining panel discussion, Serving the Fast Changing Consume Market of the World, which was moderated by B S Nagesh, Founder Trrain.
The panelists included Anurag Katriar, ED and CEO, deGustibus Hospitality & President, NRAI, Arvind Varchaswi, Devendra Chawla, Sadashiv Nayak and Sharang Pant, Market Leader- Retail Vertical, Nielsen South Asia.

There are 200+ presenters, panellists and speakers at this mega annual congregation, representing leading food and FMCG brands, retailers, foodservice giants, technology companies and global market research leaders.

Commenting on the key highlights and objectives of India Food Forum 2020, Amitabh Taneja, Chief Convenor, India Food Forum, said, “The Indian food consumption market — including food retail and foodservice sectors — is valued at USD 900 billion. It is a tremendous opportunity, but also a very challenging time for operators as consumer behaviour and technology are seriously disrupting traditional models. The deep intelligence and wide-ranging innovations showcased here are aimed at driving businesses towards higher growth and profitability despite the challenges.” 

The forum’s speakers list includes retail and foodservice business giants such as Sadashiv Nayak, Business Head – Big Bazaar, Future Group; Arvind Varchaswi, CEO, Sri Sri Tattva; Devendra Chawla, Managing Director & CEO, Spencer’s Retail Limited; Sunil Sanklecha, Founder & Managing Partner, Nuts n Spices; Kirit J Maganlal, Founder and CEO, MAGSONS GROUP, Goa; Saurabh Makhija, Head Modern Trade, Nestle; Seshu Kumar, National Head, Buying & Merchandising, Big Basket; Anurag Katriar, ED & CEO, deGustibus Hospitality (President, NRAI); B S Nagesh, Founder, TRRAIN; Benu Sehgal, CEO, Freeport Retail; Sharang Pant, Market Leader- Retail Vertical, Nielsen South Asia; Damodar Mall, Author, Supermarketwala & CEO- Grocery Retail (Reliance Retail); Dheeraj Arora, Head — Modern Trade & Ecommerce, Unilever; Pradeep Srinivasa, Senior Analyst, Euromonitor International, to name a few. 

Manipal Hospitals is Highest Referral Centre in South East Asia for HIPEC & PIPAC will Pledge for a Cancer Free Future

Key Highlights

* Nearly over 350 cases successfully treated using the state of the art Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC)
* Manipal Comprehensive Cancer Centre is one of the highest referral centres  for  Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) and Pressurized Intraperitoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC) in South East Asia & India

Manipal Hospitals, foremost multi-specialty healthcare provider committed to clinical excellence and patient care pledged for cancer free society on “World Cancer Day.” Ms. Ganavi Laxman , Kannada Actress graced the occasion to lend her support for this initiative. Team of doctors lead by Dr. Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman Manipal Hospitals, Dr. Somashekhar S.P, MBBS, MS, MCh (Onco), FRCS. Edinburgh, Chairman  & HOD Surgical Oncology-MHEPL, Consultant

Surgical & Gynec. Onco & Robotic Surgeon, HIPEC Super Specialist, Manipal Comprehensive Cancer Center emphasized the need to raise awareness on cancer and early screening to detect and defeat cancer.

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

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. H. Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman Manipal Hospitals said, “ The alarming statistics of cancer is the cause of great concern Globally. Lack of awareness, delayed diagnosis and often denial and ignorance are the primary culprits. Management of cancer is the key and this can be achieved through world-class treatment. Fortunately, at Manipal Hospitals we invest in the latest technology in terms of treatment and create opportunities to make them accessible to public thereby reducing the burden of transportation. In fact, we have been supporting the cause of cancer awareness for years now with various initiatives. Therefore curing cancer through Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) and Pressurized Intraperitoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC) is providing a ray of hope to people battling cancer. We have the expertise to handle the most challenging and complex cases thus facilitating better patient outcomes and even curbing reoccurrence of Cancer.”

Sharing her thoughts on the occasion, Ms. Ganavi Laxman , Kannada Actress said, “Cancer is indeed deadly and very traumatizing. However, we can overcome it by adapting a positive attitude and healthy lifestyle. It is important to maintain healthy lifestyle and avoid consumption of tobacco and alcohol. However, there is need for creating awareness on cancer, early detection and working towards preventing the disease. I am glad to be a part of this initiative by Manipal Hospitals where I can encourage people and contribute towards the cause to some extent. ”

Elaborating on Immunotherapy and HIPEC & PIPEC, Dr. Somashekhar S.P, MBBS, MS, MCh (Onco), FRCS. Edinburgh, Chairman & HOD Surgical Oncology-MHEPL, Consultant, Surgical & Gynec, Onco &

Surgeon, HIPEC Super Specialist, Manipal Comprehensive Cancer Center said, “Significant proportion of cancers can be cured by surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy and immunotherapy, especially if they are detected early. However, with advancements in cancer treatments like Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) and Pressurized Intraperitoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC), the burden of cancer care has reduced. In fact, Manipal Comprehensive Cancer Center at Manipal Hospital is the referral Center for HIPEC and PIPAC across South East Asia and India for advanced ovarian cancer and GI peritoneal cancers and highest number of HIPEC and PIPAC in entire Asia are done here. Both the techniques have great advantages like reducing chemotherapy side effects, improving chemotherapy absorption and susceptibility of cancer cells and so on.”

He further added, “Cytoreductive Surgery (CRS) refers to the aggressive surgery that entails removal of all visible tumors present throughout the peritoneal surfaces. It lasts for 6 to 8 hours involves number of complicated surgical procedures that can be  accomplished only by skilled surgeons in every attempt to remove all visible tumour in the peritoneal cavity. Hyperthermic Intraoperative Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) refers to the intraoperative administration of heated chemotherapy fluid into the peritoneal cavity immediately after CRS is completed. Pressurized Intra Peritoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC) is the newest method of giving chemotherapy to patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis."

Federation of Indian Granite and Stone Industry (FIGSI) to Host STONA 2020 from Feb 6-9, 2020

Federation of Indian Granite and Stone Industry (FIGSI) which was formerly known as All ndia Granite and Stone Association (AIGSA) is  the only all India body for the Natural Stone Industry of the country. FIGSI has been striving for the betterment and addressing the challenges faced by the industry. The Federation has about 1250 members from all over the country.

The sole object of the Federation is to promote natural stone industry of India across the globe and to resolve the issues faced by the Natural Stone Industry.

India is a country which is endowed with high quality natural stones like granite, marble, sandstone, slate, limestone and quartzite etc that are widespread in every corner of the nation. India has more than 11% export share in total world's stone trade. Indian share is more than 27% of the total stones produced throughout the world. India is recognized as one of the largest dimensional block producer in the world. Indian slabs, tiles, and monuments are supplied to more than 90 countries. Presently, stone industry is recognized as one of the fastest growing mineral industry in boosting the Indian economy and providing large employment opportunity in the rural sector after Agriculture.

Federation has been well recognised by all the state governments and central governments as the only national body to promote the Natural stone Industry. FIGSI is also member of various committees formed by the central and state governments.

Achievements of the Federation:

a)  Formation of Granite Development council by Government of India
b)  Formation of Group on Marble development by Government of India
c) The Granite conservation and Development rules 1999 for Granite Development was framed by Central Government for the entire country.
d) The marble conservation and development rules was framed for the development of Marble trade in India
e) Conducting of STONA fair from 1987onwards for promoting the Natural stone products in the domestic as well as international market (The export which was at Rs. 50 cr ores in 1987 has increased to Rs. 14,000 crores in 2016-17).
f) Participation in various fairs across the world to promote the Indian natural stones.
g) Impressed the Government  and has brought the marble blocks import under OGL scheme
h) Impressed the government to reduce the GST on polished slabs and tiles to 18% from 28%.
i) Now the federation is taking up the issue of GCDR which has been recommended by the sub-committee of GDC
j)  Taken up the issue of treating EOUs at par with the SEZs
  The federation has lined up various programme for the development of the Stone Industry as follows

 To develop R & D centre for Natural Stone Industry

Training institute of International standard to impart training to operate high tech machines used in quarrying and processing sectors.
World class stone museum
Trade Centre
Stone Testing laboratory
Artisans development
Exhibition Centre
 As a Federation apart from seeking policy support and promoting the event STONA we have also taken up the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes in a big way.

1) The Federation in joint venture with Chamrajnagar quarry owners association has installed an RO Water Treatment Plant in the village of Rechambally Chamrajnagar. The said RO plant has been donated to Kagalavadi Panchyat of Chamrajnagar district.

2) Where the mining/quarrying hub/ industries have come up in those areas for the benefit of the workers and for the nearby villages the ambulances have been donated for medical emergency in the area of Jigani, Anekal Taluk Karnataka  and Jalore in Rajasthan.

Following are the salient features of STONA 2020

Display of new material in separate area
Display of Handmade Handicraft Granite Items display
Architect Seminar on Natural Stone for Sustainability - the business opportunities. On 7thFebruary 2020 at 10.30 A.M
Geology Seminar on  Sustainable Natural Stones- Prospects, Problems, Policies – on 8thFebruary 2020 at  10.30 A.M
Wonsa Seminar on Natural stones on 7thFebruary 2020 at 2 P.M

STATUS OF THE INDUSTRY:-

India has the second largest deposit of Natural Stones in the world with 15% of the world Natural Stone reserves which is about 46.23 billion cubic meters. India is one of the top 5 Granite producing countries along with China, Brazil and others.
India is the largest producer of dimensional granite blocks (about 35 Million tonnes) major producing states are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat etc.
India stands in 3rd position in the Natural Stone trade in the world. The total No. of people employed in the Natural Stone trade in India is about 1.5 million.
Indian exports have crossed $2.2 Billions (14,000 Crores) in 2018.
India has adopted the latest technology in quarrying sector for cutting, drilling & handling, which has lead to improved production, less environmental damage and safe quarrying.
The latest technology of wire saw cutting,  circular saw cutting and breakage powders has lead to  zero blasting, thereby leading to safe working environment with less pollution yielding more production.
The Indian quarrying sector pays the highest royalty in the world i.e., we pay about 15%  on invoice value, where as the world average royalty is 3%. We now contribute a percentage on royalty towards DMF (district Mineral Fund) which is utilized for infrastructure development and for providing basic facilities like education, health, drinking water, sanitation, roads etc in the particular district where the quarrying takes place. Thereby improving the quality of life for local people living in the quarrying areas.All the States have supported the policy in fixing the percentage. For eg in Rajasthan, DMF is fixed at 10 percent on royalty, Andhra 12.5 percent on royalty and Karnataka have fixed at 30 percent on royalty. Similarly all the States have fixed between 10 percent to 30 percent.
The processing sector has developed very well in the last 10 years. The processing units have been setup  in almost all the districts where quarrying activities takes place, since it is  easy to procure the raw material. Of late, the processing industry are starving for want of raw materials. In order to support the processing industry more quarries are required to be granted by the govt.
Today, India is exporting more than 80% of the stone products in value added form to more than 90 countries all over the world.
Since the closure of most of the quarries in Tamilnadu and Karnataka due to the State Government policy decisions, the processing units are importing marble  under OGL and EOU’S are importing both marble and granite blocks to overcome the shortage of supplies.  The need of the hour is to allow free import of Granite also under OGL to mitigate the problem of shortage of raw material.


POLICY SUPPORT FROM GOVERNMENT WHICH  THE INDUSTRY REQUIRED

Long term quarry lease ranging from 30-50 years with guaranteed renewals. The support of the government by way of suggestion is that regarding the grant of mineral concessions on first – cum-first- served basis and not through auction. Presently, except the State of Telangana all other States have resorted to the auction policy. Therefore it requires to be revisited in framing the policy. The auction system does not suit the dimensional block as the mineral is natural in nature and recovery cannot be guaranteed. Natural Stones mining is mainly the production of blocks of considerable size and weight

Rajasthan model of royalty collection seems to be very practicable and other state governments may adopt this model with requisite modifications suitable to them. As a Federation, we too agree with the recommendation of IBM. This policy would end up in less corruption, and a drastic reduction in the illegal quarrying and transportation apart from earning more revenue to the State Exchequer.
Grant of quarry leases in a time bound manner as the States deem fit.
Import of granite blocks to be allowed freely which will add variety and will enable us to take up projects all over the world.
Reduce GST to 5% on blocks & 12% on slabs & Tiles.
The quarrying activities are in progress for the past 4 to 5 decades and largely quarrying activities are confined to smaller areas in extent. Pursuant to the order passed by Hon’ble Supreme Court of India the lesser extent quarries are covered by environment clearance. However, the conditions imposed in the environmental clearance are on par with the condition imposed for major minerals which is larger in extent. Therefore, there is a requirement of relaxation in conditions prescribed in environment clearance to suit the requirement of the smaller areas for better compliances.
The future of the quarrying industry would be there in disposing of the huge accumulation of wastes which is a major threat to environment. In this context the wastes can be constructively utilised not only as a value added product but also to meet the societal needs like prevention of coastal erosion, the aggregates, M-Sand as a replacement to natural river sand, for usage  in the road construction and other works on par with building materials. The waste should not be considered as a real waste but to be treated more sensibly as an asset as in the quarries which is seen abroad mostly in China with proper management.
Recovery  percentage for saleable blocks to be rationalized The percentage recovery of dimensional granite blocks on the whole is quite low and varies from 5% to 20% due to inconsistency in colour and texture, geological disturbances like hairline fractures/streaks, joint spacing, integration of mineral constituents along planes giving non-uniform pattern etc. Such limiting factors vary from place to place in a single quarry and quarry to quarry having the same rock formation.
The Status of Natural Stone Quarrying Sector to be declared as an Industry
CHALLENGES:-

Competition from other countries like China, Turkey, Brazil, Iran etc.
Competition from other similar products like quartz, ceramic, porcelain, glass etc.
False propoganda like usage of child labour ,Radiation from  stones  etc.
FUTURE OUTLOOK:-

With policy support, the industry can grow 10-15% annually.
Increase exports by 15-20%.
Investment  can go up to Rs 1 lakh crores from Present Rs 50,000 crores
Provide employment to additional 15 lakh skilled and semiskilled people in rural & semi urban areas.
Over a period of time natural stone will prove that they are superior compared to other competitive products.
For all this, measures require proper policy and government support. Long term mining/quarrying leases, fast processing of quarrying/mining applications, fixing of royalty rates at a reasonable level on par with the neighbouring states and countries, easing of environmental laws for better implementation required.