CollegeDekho Announces #MarksNahinHaalPoocho Campaign On “World Mental Health Day”

CollegeDekho, India’s largest higher education ecosystem has announced the launch of a new initiative aimed towards creating awareness around mental health among students in India on World Mental Health Day. As part of the seven-day campaign #MarksNahinHaalPoocho, to be live from October 10 till October 16, the company has onboarded Suicide Prevention India Foundation (SPIF) to assist students and parents during mental distress.  

UNICEF’s recent report highlights that one in seven Indians between 15-24 years feels depressed or suffer mental health issues. For many students, academic pressure has been one of the key contributors of mental stress and CollegeDekho along with Suicide Prevention India Foundation (SPIF) is creating platforms with access to trained medical counsellors for mental health & well-being. Students and parents will have access to a toll-free helpline that will provide 24X7 free counselling by trained medical counsellors for 7 days and a platform on CollegeDekho.com for students to share their stories anonymously or publicly. Their concerns will be addressed by professional experts, psychiatrists, and psychologists, who will then guide them to overcome their stress. Students can also access a self-help tool kit available on the CollegeDekho website and contact details of government aided hospitals that provide free of cost counselling across India. 

Ruchir Arora, Founder & CEO – CollegeDekho, said “Since its inception, CollegeDekho has been committed to enabling students throughout their academic journey, right from their search for a course or college to selecting a plethora of options from Loans to Insurance and Hostel Accommodation. We realize the stress that students bear every day with academic and societal pressure and hope that the #MarksNahinHaalPoocho initiative will help them voice their anguish and fears. I feel that we need more efforts towards empowering the youth and focus on wholesome growth rather than just mere academics. CollegeDekho is committed to exploring and creating all relevant avenues that can help students in achieving their academic goals.”  

Nutanix Is Named For The First Time In 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant For Distributed Files And Objects Storage As A Visionary

* Company Recognized for its Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision

.NEXT Conference, October 8, 2021 – Nutanix (NASDAQ: NTNX), a leader in hybrid multicloud computing, announced today it has been named as a Visionary in Gartner, Inc.’s October 2021 Magic Quadrant for Distributed Files and Objects Storage; this is the first time the company has been recognized in this report. Nutanix believes that the company continues to expand the use cases for its technology and the inclusion in this Magic Quadrant demonstrates how Nutanix addresses additional critical functionality for enterprises.

“We believe being named in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Distributed Files and Objects Storage is a significant recognition of Nutanix’s storage offerings, which aim to simplify and lower operating costs. Our software-defined storage provides a solution for customers looking to modernize and unify their unstructured data storage, including those not ready to move to HCI,” said Rajiv Mirani, Chief Technology Officer at Nutanix. “Of course Nutanix Files and Objects also builds on the rest of the Nutanix Cloud Platform that thousands of customers rely on for their entire compute, network, and storage needs in an easy-to-operate platform that reduces the cost of management.”

The Nutanix unstructured data storage offerings, well suited for hybrid cloud and cloud native application storage, were recognized for product ease of use, simplicity of management, and for delivering rich data analytics and security tools that help customers monitor and report on abnormal user behavior, performance anomalies, and audit trails. Customers also benefit from built-in ransomware protection with the ability to detect and block attacks. Nutanix Files and Nutanix Objects also offer existing HCI users an easy way to enable enterprise-grade software-defined distributed file or object services at any scale.

In March, Nutanix was also designated as a 2021 Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice vendor for Distributed File Systems and Object Storage. Today, Nutanix Files and Nutanix Objects hold an average of 4.8 out of 5 star rating as of October 4, 2021*.

Nutanix customers frequently highlight simplicity as a key benefit to enable easier day-to-day management, faster deployment, and reduced maintenance activity. Data analytics and security are also frequently mentioned, along with flexibility, including the ability to support a wide range of deployments. Finally, customers identify a robust feature set to rival any enterprise storage system, including space reduction and efficiency technologies, integrated resilience features, and data lifecycle management capabilities.

Nutanix continues to build its offerings outside of the core HCI software, including unstructured data storage. Notably, in its most recent fiscal quarter the company saw 100+% Y/Y growth in New ACV Bookings1 from emerging products. Additionally, last month, the company announced strengthened data services for structured and unstructured data, including accelerated performance for modern analytics applications, unstructured data tiering from on-premises to cloud and a new unstructured data governance service, Nutanix Data Lens.

More information on Nutanix and a complimentary copy of the report are available at: www.nutanix.com/go/gartner-dfs-os

1 New ACV Bookings, for any given period, is defined as the sum of the New ACV booked during the given period. New ACV is defined as the ACV pertaining to sales to a new customer, or any up-sell / expansion sales to an existing customer. Annual Contract Value, or ACV, is defined as the total annualized value of a contract, excluding amounts related to professional services and hardware. The total annualized value for a contract is calculated by dividing the total value of the contract by the number of years in the term of such contract, using, where applicable, an assumed term of five years for contracts that do not have a specified term.

Source:

Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Distributed File Systems and Object Storage,Julia Palmer, Jerry Rozeman, Chandra Mukhyala, Jeff Vogel , October 1, 2021.

This World Mental Health Day, #ChooseYourFeed And Tune In To #MentalHealth Conversations On Twitter

Twitter is committed to promoting conversations around mental health by encouraging people to use the service to share their experiences while reaching others. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the service has played a critical role in keeping people connected and amplifying authoritative information from credible sources. Between April 01 - May 31, 2021, mental well-being was top of mind for people. The service saw a 153% (2.5x) increase in conversations about mental well-being during the second wave of Covid-19.

As the world observes #WorldMentalHealthDay on October 10, Twitter continues to work with its mental health partners in India and around the world to foster dialogue about #MentalHeath, and share how product features such as Twitter Lists empower people to customise their ‘feed’ - to be able to discover and recommend accounts that resonate with what matters to them.

A List is a compilation of various Twitter accounts. You can create your custom Lists, or follow Lists created by others. Viewing a List timeline will show you a series of Tweets from only the accounts on that List, making it easier for people to find what interests them. Leveraging this feature, various organisations have come forward ahead of World Mental Health Day to create Lists of credible accounts that people can follow for information and awareness around the topic of mental health. These include:

Embeddable Tweet link: https://twitter.com/TLLLFoundation/status/1445371856077275144?s=20

Centre for Mental Health Law & Policy, ILS, Pune (@CMHLPIndia)

Embeddable Tweet link: https://twitter.com/cmhlpindia/status/1445413055848873988?s=21

Re:Set (@ReSet_Everyday)

Embeddable Tweet link: https://twitter.com/ReSet_Everyday/status/1443904934559191044?s=20

@Mpower Minds (@mpowerminds)

Embeddable Tweet link: https://twitter.com/mpowerminds/status/1445609822699679744?s=20

Fortis Mental Health (@fortis_mhbs)

Embeddable Tweet link: https://twitter.com/fortis_mhbs/status/1443932096980926466?s=20

She The People (@SheThePeople)

Embeddable Tweet link: https://twitter.com/shethepeople/status/1445689700501516302?s=21

'Mental health’ as a subject continues to have various stigmas associated with it across certain sections of society, due to which people suffering from mental health concerns may not be able to communicate their struggles in their immediate surroundings. An open internet and services like Twitter can be a source of positive support, encouraging people who may be struggling to reach out for professional help. They also contribute towards creating an interconnected space to raise diverse perspectives and resources to confront mental health challenges. 

Globally, Twitter has a list of international resources where people can go to find more information and details of relevant organisations within their respective countries, and has activated a special, green ribbon emoji to amplify conversations around mental health. 

Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mr Bhagwat Unveiled MaxiVisions 19th Super Specialty Eye Hospital In Kothapet

Hyderabad based MaxiVision Eye Hospitals group, has launched its 19th Super Specialty Eye hospital in Kothapet today. Mahesh Muradhar Bhagwat IPS - Commissioner of Police, Rachakonda, Allu Aravind  Indian Film Producer have unveiled the new hospital who attended the program as chief guests. Dr.Kasu Prasad Reddy,Co-Chairman, Founder & Mentor, MaxiVision Eye Hospitals, attended the program as guests of Honour.

Mr.V.S.Sudheer CEO, MaxiVision Eye hospitals group greeted the guests Mahesh Muradhar Bhagwat IPS - Commissioner of Police, Rachakonda, Allu Aravind  Indian Film Produce during their visit. MaxiVisions highly efficient staff presented a thorough guide of the technology used at the center.

Speaking on the occasion Mahesh Muradhar Bhagwat IPS - Commissioner of Police, Rachakonda said, Dr.Kasu Praad Reddys efforts in eye care services for the past 25 years are highly appreciable who stands tall in the industry with his in-depth insights and rich experience in treating critical cases at ease. It is great to see that an eye care hospital with ultramodern facilities is being set up in Rachakonda region. 

Elaborating more on the same Dr.Kasu Prasad Reddy, Founder & Mentor, Co-Chairman, MaxiVision group of eye hospitals said, as all of us know that MaxiVision is an eye care chain group that is the first choice of local & international patients and important celebrities alike is at the forefront of the vision care technology revolution and specializes in overall ophthalmic care covering diagnostics, treatment, and surgery. It also carries out its service as a One-stop shop for optical and contact lens. MaxiVision brings forth years of well-established eye care services with advanced and Ultra-modern technology to treat critical eye illness. MaxiVision Eye Hospitals has also treated thousands of patients internationally through their customized and tailor-made solutions that meet every patient's need. They stand true to their commitment to making quality and highly affordable eye care easily available to every citizen of India irrespective of any segment of the society.

Remembering his experience with MaxiVsion Allu Aravind  Indian Film producer said that his association with MaxiVision is decades old. He recollected his eye treatment with Dr.Kasu Prasad Reddy and appreciated his services to the society. 

About MaxiVision Eye Hospitals

MaxiVision Super Speciality Eye Hospitals are renowned for blending traditional hospitality with state-of-the-art ophthalmic care. Offering specialized treatment, we are the first choice of local & international patients and important celebrities alike. MaxiVision has been swiftly moving towards its goal of achieving excellence by providing equitable and efficient eye care for everyone.

WHO WE ARE

o    State of the art specialized ophthalmic care - Diagnostics, Treatment & Surgery

o    At the forefront of vision care technology revolution

o    US-FDA, CE approved technologies

o    One-stop shop for Optical and Contact Lens

o    18 super speciality eye hospitals in 6 cities 

o    More than 4 million patients treated

o    More than 0.3 million eye surgeries

WHAT WE OFFER

o    Best Surgeons: Each of the doctors at MaxiVision has years of experience and is perfectly qualified to handle the most critical of the issues related to eyes

o    World Class Technology: The best, latest & world-class highly sophisticated technology in eye care is available here

o    Customized Solutions: We understand your need and offer tailored eye care solutions to meet your need. Weve till now served more than 2.4 million patients from all over the globe.

SAP Selects We-Storytellers To Be Part Of Its Digital Marketing Services Bureau Network

We-Storytellers announced today that they have now been accredited as SAP Digital Marketing Service Bureau partners for “their extraordinary digital demand generation excellence.” As a result of this recognition, We-Storytellers is certified to deliver marketing services to SAP’s partner organizations.

As DMSB certified agency, We-Storytellers is well positioned to equip SAP partners in optimally utilizing their Marketing Development Funds (MDF) and crafting engaging campaigns. With a content first approach the SAP Partners would benefit from the decades of cumulative experience in digital marketing, thought leadership positioning and employer branding expertise of team We-Storytellers.

Startup SAP services partners now have access to best marketing support with a specially curated Startup Marketing Kit that allows them to be market ready in just 6 weeks. As part of this service, We-Storytellers consults them on positioning, messaging and pitch, helps them with website creation and sales enablement along with creation and management of their social media handles.

Founded during  the pandemic, We- Storytellers, the young marketing communication startup  began its journey in May 2020 as a two-member team. It has seen exemplary growth in just one year of its existence and has now a well-rounded team, supported by a strong network of writers and designers. The company partners with over 20 global enterprises and senior executives in delivering unique marketing and communication solutions.

We-Storytellers brings a unique blend of tech understanding, marketing expertise and business storytelling to the table. In the last year, the company has expanded its service lines beyond marketing support to include solutions for social positioning of top executives, stakeholders / influencers engagement, employee communication and employer branding.

According to Nidhi Mahesh, Chief Storyteller and Co-Founder, “Our raison d’etre is to challenge the status quo and create a new narrative in B2B marketing communication. As a content-led organization, we believe in organic engagement, reflecting a unique persona of each company and its leaders. In a cluttered and noisy market, we build differentiations with intent listening, meaningful conversation and sustained dialogues”.

We-Storytellers has an enviable roster of clients from IT Services, AI, Data Engineering and Cybersecurity sectors, and have successfully helped them translate tech speak to meaningful and engaging communication that gets business results.

Vasileios Stavrakas, Midmarket & Channel Marketing Manager, SAP ME South, said “In our journey of enabling and empowering our partner organizations with the best demand generation and marketing services, we are pleased to have We-Storyteller onboard. Their work in business storytelling is exemplary and we have chosen them for their excellence in demand generation.”

“We are extremely excited to have We-Storytellers as a part of SAP’s Digital Marketing Services Bureau Network to help SAP’s partner organizations find new avenues for growth through business storytelling. Exciting times ahead!”, said Karina Keil, SAP DMSB Officer for EMEA South.

About SAP DMSB

SAP Digital Marketing Services Bureau is an accreditation for Digital Marketing and Content agencies. The certification signifies alignment to SAP procedures, messaging and protocols. The agencies are listed in SAP Partners Edge portal and the partners are encouraged to leverage their services to plan and execute marketing campaigns.

About We- Storytellers

We-Storytellers is a niche marketing communication agency based in Bangalore, India with clients across the globe. Devoted to the discipline of business storytelling, we follow a unique proprietary approach to build and execute conversion focused marketing campaigns. We work as extended teams of our clients and support them with Marketing Communication, Employer Branding, Bespoke Thought Leadership Positioning and Startup Marketing services.

65% Of Indians Plan To Take Personal Loan Ahead Of The Festive Season: IndiaLends – E-Cell, IIM Kozhikode Study

* Despite lockdown like restrictions, 62% of women are not willing to compromise from buying luxury goods

Major digital lending platform, IndiaLends and the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Cell (E-Cell) of the leading education institute, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode, launched ‘Indian Borrowers’ Sentiment Report’ which understands the pulse of the borrowers post the second wave of Covid-19. According to the survey, around 65% of Indians plan to take personal loan ahead of the festive season. 52% of Bengaluru-ites have checked their credit score since April 2021 and 60% of them might apply for a personal loan in the immediate future

The nationwide survey, conducted among approximately 1400 respondents comprising of both salaried and self-employed participants, showcased several interesting data points. As per the report, finances of about 66% of zillennials, between the age group of 21-25 years, have been impacted by the second wave of Covid while finances of about 75% of baby boomers (age 60 years and above) had no impact. The second wave of pandemic was more challenging for 53% self-employed class as compared to 46% of salaried class. Furthermore 61% of females have cut down on their spends on apparels and accessories going forward whereas 62% of them are not willing to compromise from buying luxury goods.

Significantly, 81% of millennials between the age group of 25-35 years plan to apply for a personal loan in the immediate future largely for education purpose, followed by debt consolidation, wedding, etc. Over 27% of respondents plan to apply for a personal loan to meet the needs of their medical expenses. About 18% of respondents plan to apply for a personal loan to meet the expenses of their wedding.

IndiaLends Founder and CEO Gaurav Chopra said, “The economy is gradually coming back to its feet post the second wave of Covid on the back of a massive inoculation drive initiated by the government of India. We are witnessing a steady process of business revival which has also helped to boost consumer confidence. With about 65% of Indians planning to opt for a personal loan in the immediate future, there is a clear indication of pent-up demand for credit products and overall optimism among customers. Our latest study with E-Cell, IIM Kozhikode reveals that businesses and individuals are keen to return to a ‘new normal’ life with the upcoming festive season.”

Among other findings, 34% of self-employed borrowers and 25% of salaried class borrowers stated that government’s last year’s moratorium was a great relief. About 79% of males and 72% of females have said their expenses towards holiday has seen a decline. Nearly, 85% of males are concerned about their savings for future and 66% of females are cutting back on their spending.

The IndiaLends – E-Cell, IIM Kozhikode survey covered both salaried and self-employed Indians in the 21-60+ years age group, residing across top metro and non-metro cities. The respondents comprised 49% of millennials in the 25-35 years age group, 39% of zillennials in the 21-25 years age group.

About IndiaLends

IndiaLends is an online marketplace for credit products, insurance and offer free credit reports. IndiaLends recently launched Digital Lending 2.0 — a range of touchless and contactless products that include loans, insurance and a line of credit. Available on both the web and mobile, IndiaLends offers instant loans to its customers with most products being fully digital. IndiaLends also provides technology, data and credit analytics solutions along with a loan management platform to financial institutions. IndiaLends is run by a team of credit risk professionals and data scientists with multiple years of experience in consumer credit. IndiaLends has a customer base of 8M. For further information, please visit www.indialends.com.

About E-Cell, IIM Kozhikode

Truly capturing the essence of a Business School, the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Cell is a catalyst to developing the business orientation of the students at IIM Kozhikode, which is an autonomous public business school located in Calicut (Kozhikode), Kerala. The interactive, learning yet enticing activities scheduled by the Committee are instrumental to linking developing business minds with the reality of the current world of business.

You V YouTube – A Refreshing New Show Blending Learning With Entertainment

* A Fremantle production featuring some of the biggest YouTube content creators 

Some of India's most popular content creators will turn quizmasters, allowing people from across India to play, learn and stand the chance to win big on You V YouTube, a YouTube Original produced by Fremantle. The exciting new series, slated to launch on 9th October, 2021, reimagines quizzing, with an entertaining and refreshing new format, shot completely in a virtual setting. The quiz will cover a wide range of subjects from Science, General Knowledge and Math to English, Travel, Food and Technology, with a novel and fun gameplay that tests contestants’ practical knowledge and skill beyond simply trivia. 

You V YouTube will be hosted by Indian television presenter Gaurav Kapur, who has become a household name across the country as a host, actor and entertainer, guaranteeing a generous dose of entertainment, friendly banter and laughs along the way. The questions to the contestants will be posed by YouTube Creators, each of whom is a subject matter expert including Roshni Mukherjee (Science), Gaurav Garg (General Knowledge) Ganesh Pai (Mathematics), Ceema Picardo (English), Arun Krishnamurthy (Environment), Gaurav Chaudhary (Technology), Nidhi Mohan (Health & Wellness) Ranveer Brar (Food), Reena D’Souza (Sports), Sucharita Tyagi (Movies & Music), Rachana Ranade (Finance) and Tanya Khanijow (Travel).  

The contestants are selected through an online audition process. On the show they must answer ten questions across ten different subjects, each asked by a different YouTube Creator, for an opportunity to win over Rs. Ten Lakhs.  

Sharing her views on the launch of You V YouTube, Aradhana Bhola,Managing Director, Fremantle, India, said, “Fremantle is home to some of the most successful and longstanding game shows worldwide. We are delighted to marry our irresistible entertainment game show expertise with the learning platform available on YouTube to bring this content to audiences. You V YouTube is a unique quiz show that not only brings together some of India’s best creators but also gives contestants a chance to both learn and earn, in a fun filled environment. The series has been filmed entirely virtually, with cast and contestants participating from the safety of their own homes during the pandemic; a feat that makes us proud. What’s even more gratifying is that whatever sum of money a contestant has won on the show has been matched in donation along with the proceeds of the live play along (available to viewers during the premiere episode) to charities working for covid relief.” 

“I am really excited about this new journey. Every day on this show is a learning experience for me. The energy of the contestants and the knowledge shared by the Creators is enriching. And after a long time, here is a show that will invoke curiosity, entertain you and make you earn while you learn”, said Gaurav Kapur, the host of You V YouTube. 

A seamless infotainment experience will have a lively new player in You V YouTube premiering on 9th October 2021 on YouTube, every Saturday & Sunday at 7 pm IST. 

About Fremantle: 

Fremantle is one of the largest and most successful creators, producers and distributors of scripted and unscripted content in the world. A global entertainment powerhouse, Fremantle has an outstanding international network of production teams, companies and labels in over 30 countries. Fremantle produces in excess of 12,000 hours of original programming, rolls out more than 70 formats and airs 400 programmes a year worldwide. The group distributes over 20,000 hours of content in more than 200 territories. Fremantle is also a world leader in digital and branded entertainment, with more than 370 million subscribers across 1,500 social channels and over 100 billion views across all platforms. 

Fremantle is a part of RTL Group, a global leader across broadcast, content and digital, itself a division of the international media giant Bertelsmann. For more information, visit www.fremantle.com, or, @FremantleHQ and their LinkedIn and Facebook pages. 

Tata Harrier Drives The Historic Sudarshan Bharat Parikrama Rally To Varanasi Today

* 47 NSG commandos to travel 7500km across 18 cities in 15 Tata #Dark Harriers

Celebrating ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, that commemorates the 75th anniversary of India’s independence, an elite group of 47 National Security Guard (NSG) commandos started the ‘Sudarshan Bharat Parikrama’ to cover the length and breadth of India. Tata #Dark Harrier, the tough and rugged SUV from Tata Motors, India's largest homegrown automaker, resonates with the edgy personas of the black cat commandos and is proud to be the NSG’s vehicle of choice in this expedition. 

Driven in 15 Tata #Dark Harriers, this landmark rally will traverse through 18 prominent cities to cover a distance of 7500 km in less than a month. Currently, the rally has travelled through Agra and Lucknow, before arriving in Varanasi today. The rally will go to Bodh Gaya on the same day, and will continue to make pitstops at TML dealerships on the way.

NSG is an elite counter-terror force and the commandos are brave, highly motivated and specially trained to win in the most difficult of situations. Starting from the historic Red Fort in New Delhi, the ‘Sudarshan Bharat Parikrama’ will tour India’s major war memorials and monuments through Agra, Lucknow, Varanasi, Bodh Gaya, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar, Berhampur, Vizag, Vijaywada, Hyderabad, Ongole, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hublii, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Jaipur, celebrating the dedication and perseverance of the nation’s protectors.

Saluting and roaring for the NSG, Tata Motors #Dark Harrier customers will also join the rally.

Jai Hind!

About Tata Motors

Part of the USD 109 billion Tata group, Tata Motors Limited (NYSE: TTM; BSE: 500570 and 570001; NSE: TATAMOTORS and TATAMTRDVR), a USD 34 billion organization, is a leading global automobile manufacturer of cars, utility vehicles, pick-ups, trucks and buses, offering extensive range of integrated, smart and e-mobility solutions. With ‘Connecting Aspirations’ at the core of its brand promise, Tata Motors is India’s market leader in commercial vehicles and amongst the top three in the passenger vehicles market.

Tata Motors strives to bring new products that fire the imagination of GenNext customers, fueled by state of the art design and R&D centers located in India, UK, US, Italy and South Korea. With a focus on engineering and tech enabled automotive solutions catering to the future of mobility, the company’s innovation efforts are focused to develop pioneering technologies that are sustainable as well as suited to evolving aspirations of the market and the customers. The company is pioneering India's Electric Vehicle (EV) transition and driving the shift towards sustainable mobility solutions by preparing a tailor-made product strategy, leveraging the synergy between the Group companies and playing an active role liasoning with the Government in developing the policy framework

With operations in India, the UK, South Korea, Thailand, South Africa, and Indonesia, supported by a strong global network of 103 subsidiaries, 9 associate companies, 4 joint ventures and 2 joint operations as on March 31, 2021, Tata Motors’ commercial and passenger vehicles are marketed in countries, spread across Africa, Middle East, South & South East Asia, Australia, South America, Russia and other CIS countries.

Paytm Launches “Navratri Gold Offer”: Book LPG Cylinders Of Indane, HP Gas Or Bharatgas And Win Gold Worth Rs. 10,001

* Navratri Gold Offer starts from October 7th and will last until October 16th 

* Along with Paytm Digital Gold, users can win cashback points on every booking 

* Offers flexibility for choosing payment modes from Paytm Wallet, Paytm UPI, cards, netbanking or Paytm Postpaid. 

India's leading digital ecosystem for consumers and merchants (1) Paytm announced the launch of its ‘Navratri Gold’ offer for LPG cylinder bookings. Between 7th and 16th October, 5 lucky users every day will win Paytm Digital Gold worth Rs. 10,001/- on booking their LPG cylinders through the Paytm app.  

This offer would also be applicable on payments of existing unpaid cylinder bookings done using the "Book Gas Cylinder" feature on the Paytm App. Besides this, all users will get assured rewards of up to 1000 cashback points on every booking, which can be redeemed for amazing deals and gift vouchers from top brands. This ‘Navratri Gold’ offer is applicable on cylinder booking of all 3 major LPG companies – Indane, HP Gas, and Bharatgas.  

Recently, the company enhanced the cylinder booking experience by adding innovative features that enable users to track the delivery of their gas cylinders, and also receive automated intelligent reminders for refills.  

All that a user needs to do is go to the ‘Book Gas Cylinder’ tab, select the gas provider, enter Mobile No./LPG ID/consumer no., and then make the payment using their preferred mode of payment such as Paytm Wallet, Paytm UPI, cards, netbanking or Paytm Postpaid, through which customers will also have an option to book now and pay next month. The cylinder is delivered to the registered address by the nearest gas agency. 

Paytm Spokesperson said, “We want to celebrate the festive season with our users by offering cashbacks and rewards on LPG Cylinder booking, which is one of the most popular spends on our platform. Every day 5 lucky users will win Rs 10,001/- worth of gold on Paytm.” 

About Paytm :    Paytm is India’s leading digital ecosystem for consumers and merchants (1), and offers payment services, commerce and cloud services, and financial services to 333 million consumers and over 21 million merchants, as on March 31, 2021. Paytm is India’s largest payments platform (1) based on the number of consumers, number of merchants, number of consumer to merchant transactions and revenue, as on March 31, 2021, and with a GMV of ₹4,033 billion of FY2021. One 97 Communications Limited (“Company”) is the largest payment gateway aggregator in India for FY2021 based on total transactions, with the widest ecosystem of payment instruments (1). The Company’s lending business (offered in collaboration with financial institution partners), includes personal loans, merchant loans, as well as its Buy Now, Pay Later product i.e. Paytm Postpaid. The Company’s financial institution partners disbursed 1.4 million loans in Q4FY21. 

Bank Of Baroda Reduces Home Loans Rates To 6.5 Percent*

Bank of Baroda, India’s premium public sector bank, announced reduction of 25 bps in its home loan rates from 6.75% to 6.50%* w.e.f from October 7, 2021.  With the onset of festive season and to make home buying more affordable for customers, the Bank has extended this offer and the special rate will be available till December 31, 2021. The new rates will be available for customers applying for fresh loans, loan transfer or looking to refinance their existing loans making the offer more inclusive. Nil processing fee on home loan was already on offer and has been extended till 31/12/21. 

On the announcement of reduction in home loans, Mr H T Solanki, GM- Mortgages & Other Retail Assets, Bank of Baroda said , “Bank always tries to offer  the most competitive rates of interest on home loan and other retail loan products while making the process seamless and hasselfree through our digital platforms and our dedicated teams. Our customers will get benefited from this offering in this festive season. With this reduced rate of interest, Bank of Baroda home loans are now offering the most competitive rates across categories for a limited period till 31/12/2021 .” 

FADA Releases September 2021 Vehicle Retail Data

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) today released Vehicle Retail Data for September’21. 

September’21 Retails 

Commenting on how September’21 performed, FADA President, Mr. Vinkesh Gulati said, “Auto retail in the month of September has taken a pause as overall sales were down by -5%. During the 1st half of this FY, while the overall retails were up by 35%, the same was down by -29% when compared to 2019, a pre-covid year. On a long term basis, except tractors which grew by 19% and PV which has almost reached pre-covid levels, all the other segments were in red. 

The 2W category continues to play spoilsport as entry level segment is yet to witness healthy growth. This segment’s performance is now becoming critical for the overall 2W to come back on the path of recovery as dealer inventory rises to 30-35 days in anticipation of a good festive. Semiconductor shortage has also started impacting the 150+ cc segment. 

The 3W segment is now showing clear signs of tactical shift from ICE to EVs as the ratio has hit a 60:40 split. With offices and educational institutions slowly opening up, electrification of 3W’s will gather a greater momentum in months to come. 

As we enter the core of this year’s festive season, the full blown semiconductor crises continues to create hindrance in PV sales as vehicle inventory at dealers end dip to record lows of 15-20 days during the current fiscal. With high demand in this segment, long waiting period continues to frustrate and keep enthusiast buyers in a fix.  

The CV segment is finally showing greater strength as all sub-categories continue to grow YoY. MCV for the first time also grows above pre-covid month of Sept’19. 

Near Term Outlook 

With India entering the 42 days festive period beginning today, the near term outlook for this year’s festive season will be a mixed bag. While Dealers have increased their inventory in 2W category, PV inventory is at the lowest during this FY due to the ongoing semi-conductor crises.  

The chip shortage looks less likely to ease within next two quarters. As a result, PV sales is likely to stagnate going ahead even though OEMs are coming ahead with new launches to keep the customer excited. With skyrocketing fuel prices and a drop in purchasing power, entry level customers in rural India are keeping themselves away from fulfilling their mobility needs.  

India’s vaccination drive has reached a remarkable momentum. This coupled with a less likelihood of 3rd wave in near future and offices and educational institutions opening up in a phased manner, we anticipate a marginal recovery process to begin in the 2W space. FADA hence requests all 2W OEMs to roll out special promotions schemes so that it can springboard 2W retails for a faster recovery.  

Inventory at the end of September’21 

Average inventory for Passenger Vehicles ranges from 15-20 days 

Average inventory for Two – Wheelers ranges from 30-35 days 

Liquidity 

Neutral = 40.7% 

Good = 31.9% 

Bad = 27.5% 

Sentiment 

Neutral = 45.1% 

Good = 27.5% 

Bad = 27.5% 

Alia Bhatt Invests In Social Alpha Backed D2C Start-Up Phool.co That Makes Natural Incense And Bio-Leather From Floral Waste

*Alia Bhatt has invested in D2C start-up Phool.co, backed by Social-Alpha- an initiative supported by Tata Trusts.

* Phool.co is India’s first wellness brand to have both Fair for Life- Fairtrade and Ecocert Organic & Natural certifications. Phool has pioneered the flowercycling technologies to upcycle cellulose waste and specializes in manufacturing charcoal-free incense and other wellness products.

* Earlier, Phool.co had raised US $ 2 Million in a seed round from IAN Fund, Social Alpha, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation (San Francisco), and IIT Kanpur.  

* With Deep-tech research, the startup has successfully developed a commercially viable alternative to Animal leather called “Fleather”  

Phool.co, a Social Alpha-backed D2C wellness startup, today announced that Alia Bhatt is now an investor in the company.

Founded by UN Young Leader Awardee for Sustainable Development Goals, Ankit Agarwal in July 2017, Phool.co is an innovative startup focused on the circular economy which converts floral waste into Charcoal-free Luxury incense products and other wellness products. The startup is also India’s first wellness brand to have Fair for Life- Fairtrade and Ecocert Organic & Natural certifications. With deep-tech research, the startup has also developed “Fleather'' leveraging their flowercycling technology. Fleather is a viable alternative to Animal leather which was recently awarded PETA’s best innovation in the Vegan World.

Phool.co has rapidly expanded its operations and has consistently achieved 130% YoY growth for the past two years. Phool.co vision is backed by strong RnD efforts and is based on sustainable development goals focused on creating a circular economy, promoting sustainable consumption, and bringing dignified livelihoods.

Speaking on the latest investment, Alia Bhatt, who is known for her environmental initiatives, said, “Phool incense really stands out for its fine natural fragrances and amazing packaging. I admire the founder’s vision of making incense and bio-leather from recycled flowers that contribute to keeping our rivers clean, creating a humane alternative to leather and providing employment to women in India’s heartland. I’m proud that these products are created in India and wowing the world and I’m thrilled to join the investors who are backing the company.”

Earlier this year, Alia Bhatt had also invested in Nykaa, the omni-channel lifestyle retailer stating the three reasons she chose the company were its Indian roots, its global scale and that it was founded by a woman.      

Social Alpha had written the first Equity cheque & had invested in and nurtured the company, while it was at the idea stage. Speaking on the latest development, Manoj Kumar, Founder & CEO, Social Alpha said, “Ankit has truly demonstrated how passionate entrepreneurs can solve some of our most complex problems with their disruptive innovations. The team has the rare combination of empathy, audacious goals, extraordinary resilience and flawless execution to build and scale a sustainable business model. Phool.co will only grow bigger with time”

Ankit Agarwal, Founder Phool.co said,“At Phool.co we aim to drive systemic change through innovation. Alia's investment is a validation of our efforts and firmly sets us on a path to build a global success story from a tier 3 city. The investment and support will help us expand our footprint globally and also step up the pace of RnD. I can proudly say, Phool.co is a business built, led and now even invested in by women.”

IIT Kanpur has been the backbone for the company’s technical research Speaking on the latest development, Dr. Abhay Karandikar, Director IIT Kanpur said “IIT Kanpur is proud to be a partner of PHOOL. I am glad that we could help the company technologically but at the same time, I must acknowledge that PHOOL.co brought a lot of visibility to our incubator and the subsequent stupendous success of SIIC is at least in part due to the success of PHOOL”

Speaking on the latest development, Padmaja Ruparel, Founding Partner, IAN Fund said, “Innovative solutions for the sustainable development of the community is the need of the hour. Phool.co‘s circular economy model brings triple bottom benefits of environmental, social, and financial sustainability. Ankit is a passionate entrepreneur focused on a large market and value creation for both customers and his team.”

For its endeavors to make innovative and sustainable products, Phool.co has received several international recognitions including the prestigious United Nations Young Leaders Award for Sustainable Development Goals, United Nations Momentum of Change Award at COP, Asia Sustainability Award Hong Kong, Alquity Transforming Lives Awards, London and Breaking the Wall of Science, Berlin

Earlier, Phool.co had raised US $ 2 Million in a seed round from IAN Fund, Social Alpha (FISE) and Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation (San Francisco), and IIT Kanpur.

About IAN Fund: The IAN Fund, an INR 375 crore fund, is a uniquely differentiated seed/early stage Fund which aims to transform India’s entrepreneurial landscape. The fund invests in innovative companies in sectors including healthcare and medical devices, VR, AI, software as a service, marketplaces, fin-tech, big data, artificial intelligence, agritech and hardware. The Fund leverages and builds upon the strengths and success of IAN, the world’s largest angel investor group, to breed and grow innovative companies.

The fund has Institutional investors like SIDBI’s Fund of Funds for Startups, BIRAC’s ACE Fund, Kerala Startup Mission, IIFL, Wadhwani Foundation, Max Group, Hyundai along with marquee individuals like Kris Gopalakrishnan, Sunil Munjal, Rajan Anandan, Kanwal Rekhi, Vikram Gandhi, Jerry Rao amongst many others. This is the first in a series of Funds so that over the next 10 years, the IAN Platform would invest Rs 5000 Cr in ~500 companies, making it the single largest platform for early stage investing.

About Social Alpha : Social Alpha is a multistage innovation curation and venture development platform for science and technology start-ups that address the most critical social, economic and environmental challenges through the power of entrepreneurship and market-creating innovations. Since its inception in 2016, Social Alpha has supported more 150 start-ups including 60+ seed investments. For more information, please visit www.socialalpha.org

LinkedIn: SocialAlpha Twitter: @SocialAlphaIN Facebook: SocialAlpha Instagram: social_alpha_in

About IIT Kanpur & its ecosystem for Startups: IIT Kanpur’s TBI, Foundation for Innovation in Research, Science and Technology (FIRST), is one of the best academic TBIs in the country. It is primarily engaged in hardware-based product development, a rare trait amongst the incubators of India.

Child Blindness Poses Significant Public Health Challenge Across India

* Over the years, India has seen a shift in the reasons of child blindness from cornea-related causes to whole-globe problems 

* In urban India, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) has emerged as an important cause of child blindness 

Childhood blindness is a significant public health concern in India, with one out of every 1,000 children in the country suffering from blindness, and a child becoming bilaterally blind every minute. Unlike adults among whom 80% of causes of blindness are avoidable, in children this figure is only 50%, according to Dr. Bindiya Hapani, Consultant Ophthalmologist, Dr. Agarwals Eye Hospital, Bengaluru.  

There are around 1.5 million blind children around the world and an additional 18 million children suffer from moderate to severe visual impairment. Almost three-quarters of these live in low to middle income countries where the prevalence is as high as 1.5 per 1,000 children, in contrast to high-income countries where the prevalence is just 0.3 per 1,000 children. 

Said Dr. Bindiya Hapani: “Common causes of childhood blindness in India include untreated refractive errors, corneal opacities due to measles, Vitamin A deficiency, eye infections like Ophthalmia neonatorum or toxicity of traditional eye remedies, congenital cataracts, congenital Glaucoma and ROP. There has been a shift in the causes of child blindness over the years. In studies conducted between 1999 to 2007, cornea-related causes were among the major factors for childhood blindness in India. However, studies between 2007 to 2018 have shown a shifting trend towards whole-globe problems like Microphthalmos (small eye), anophthalmos (absence of eye) and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).”  

She added: “Whole-globe problems as a cause of child blindness are due to  genetic abnormalities caused by consanguineous marriages, use of alcohol by mother and her exposure to fertilizers and pesticides during pregnancy. In urban India, retinopathy of prematurity has emerged as an important cause of child blindness due to better availability of neonatal care services, due to which more babies of low birth weight survive. In rural India, in contrast, low birth-weight neonate mortality rate is much higher than in cities.” 

Said Dr. Bindiya Hapani: “A shift in the causes of childhood blindness over the years shows the success of healthcare and immunization programmes by the Government and increasing socio-economic development in the country. Yet, challenges in preventing child blindness remain. Availability of good primary healthcare is essential for control of child blindness. Also important are good nutrition, maternal and child care facilities, immunization and proper diagnosis and treatment of common conditions of the eye. In rural areas, availability of tertiary care facilities with well-trained eye specialists remains a big challenge.” 

She added: “Paediatric eye care facilities are inadequate and not uniformly distributed across the country. Better ratios are observed in Southern and Western India, compared to Northern and Eastern India. Though paediatric ophthalmology is now developing as a distinct sub-speciality in the country, the number of paediatric ophthalmologists is quite less compared to the child population. However, most paediatric eye conditions can be diagnosed and treated by general ophthalmologists. Paediatric ophthalmologists are needed for complex conditions like congenital cataracts,  squint and retinopathy of prematurity.” 

Talking about how parents can know if their child may be headed towards blindness, Dr. Bindiya Hapani said that children are born with an immature visual system. If timely treatment is not provided for ocular conditions in a child, it can lead to failure of normal visual maturation (Amblyopia), which cannot be treated in adult life.  

She added: “If a child is developing squinting in either the eye or  white reflex  is  seen from the pupil ( Leukocoria), one should consult an ophthalmologist immediately. A major cause of visual impairment in  children is refractive error. Therefore, it is important to have a pre-school eye examination of the child. Blindness can severely restrict the academic, emotional, psychological and social development of kids. Severe visual impairment can also delay their developmental milestones and increase the risk of hospitalisation.” 

80% Tech Recruiters Use Talent Assessment Tools, Hiring Sentiment At Par With Pre COVID-19 Level

* 51% India Inc. tech firms actively hiring for tech roles

* Most (38%) tech recruiters hiring for work from home roles

* Most hiring for: Data Science technology (23% votes),  Software Engineering profile (24% votes) and Java language (35%)

* Most (33%) recruiters hiring freshers, followed by recruitment for mid-level positions (27%)

* Most (29%) tech recruiters assess IT professional basis candidates’ performance in coding tests

* For soft skills, most recruiters (45%) depend on candidates’ performance in job interview

With tech hiring on an upward swing, most tech recruiters trust performance in coding tests as the ultimate litmus test to gauge candidates' tech skills. For the soft skills, it’s the performance at job interviews that matters, revealed a new survey of 931 tech recruiters conducted by e-recruitment portal TimesJobs. This survey was conducted to understand the latest trends in tech hiring.

Top findings from this survey are: 

Explaining the survey findings, Sanjay Goyal, Business Head, TimesJobs and TechGig said, “Tech hiring at India Inc. is at par with the pre-COVID-19 levels, as said by most (58%) respondents in the survey. Most (29%) tech recruiters shortlist technologists based on their performance at coding tests, and 80% recruiters actively use talent assessment tools. Both these findings indicate that recruiters now trust more empirical and data-based approaches to find the top tech talent for their firms.”

Other key findings from the TimesJobs survey are: 

Data Science most sought after technology

‘Data is the new oil’, is an old adage now. Leave alone tech giants such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft or others, even smaller home-grown companies and startups are using data intelligence to build their business. Hence when the survey asked the tech recruiters about top technologies for which most hiring was happening, Data Science emerged as the top choice with 23% votes. Here are the other responses:

Java preferred for developer roles

Java is one of the most popular object-oriented programming languages in the Information Technology (IT) industry. TimesJobs asked tech recruiters to name the most preferred programming language for tech oriented job profiles. Most respondents (35%) voted for Java.

Campus hiring back on the track 

In another question, most tech recruiters admitted that the campus hiring is at an all time high as well. The survey asked recruiters if they were hiring candidates through campus now, given the COVID-19 exigency since last two years and most (61%) said ‘yes’, whereas 39% disagreed with the same.

Soft skills as important as tech skills 

Tech skills are the core skills for any technologist, but given the present scenario where inter-team and intra-team coordination and work is required, soft skills play a critical role for a project’s success. TimesJobs asked tech recruiters if they valued non-tech skills at par with the tech skills, and most (81%) hiring managers said ‘yes’ unanimously. Only 19% disagreed in response to this question. 

Honeywell To Set Up 10 Oxygen Generation Plants To Support Government's Fight Against COVID-19; Commits 4 In Maharashtra

* Each 600 liters per minute (LPM) plant can support a 150+ bedded hospital and comes with 1-year warranty and 2-year extended annual maintenance plan

* Oxygen generation plants being established in Government hospitals in Pune, Ratnagiri and Solapur in Maharashtra, and in Karnataka, Haryana and Uttarakhand

Honeywell Hometown Solutions India Foundation (HHSIF), the philanthropic arm of Honeywell, a Fortune 100 company, today announced it is setting up 10 oxygen generation plants of 600 liters per minute (LPM) capacity in government hospitals across India. In Maharashtra, these plants are being set up in Pune, Ratnagiri and Solapur districts to support healthcare infrastructure in preparation for an anticipated third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first such plant was inaugurated today at Late Droupadabai Murlidhar Khedekar Hospital, Bopodi, Pune.

"Honeywell is pleased to partner with the government to strengthen healthcare infrastructure in the collective efforts to manage patient care during the pandemic,” said Ashish Gaikwad, President, Honeywell India. “Timely and adequate oxygen supply can help save lives and is an essential medical aid for COVID-19 patients. We are pleased to announce the setting up of 10 oxygen generation plants of 600 liters per minute (LPM) each in remote districts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana and Uttarakhand to enable inclusive healthcare for all.”

This initiative is a part of HHSIF’s commitment to set up 10 oxygen generation plants under the supervision of Americares, across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana and Uttarakhand.

“Honeywell’s support has been focused and timely. These oxygen generation plants will help save lives during COVID-19 crisis and will serve to improve the quality of critical care at the government health facilities for years to come,” said Shripad Desai, MD and Country Director, Americares.

Each plant has a capacity to generate 600 LPM, enough to cater to the needs of a hospital with more than 150 intensive care units (ICU) beds. The oxygen generated onsite will be directly supplied to hospital beds, including those in ICUs. Honeywell is also funding the annual maintenance contracts of these plants for two years to ensure they function smoothly after the one-year warranty period has lapsed.

The oxygen generation plant in Pune was inaugurated in the presence of several government officials including Mr. Murlidhar Mohol, Mayor, Pune; Ms. Sunita Wadekar, Deputy Mayor, Pune; Mr. Vikram Kumar, IAS, Commissioner, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC); and Mr. Hemant Rasne, Standing Committee Chairman, PMC.

"The Pune Municipal Corporation has been actively working on a contingency plan for a possible third wave. In the last few months, we have received great support from Honeywell in helping our efforts to contain the pandemic and enhance the healthcare infrastructure through multiple actions like setting up COVID Care Centers, oxygen concentrators and medical supplies. We are pleased with the latest support of setting up an oxygen generation plant for the Pune hospital that helps with a sustainable solution for the long term,” said Mr. Murlidhar Mohol, Mayor, Pune. He further added, "It is thoughtful of Honeywell Hometown Solutions India Foundation to help Pune become self-reliant in the fight against the pandemic."

Elaborating on the same, Mr. Vikram Kumar (IAS), Commissioner, Pune Municipal Corporation, shared, “As we know, the city has been the worst hit due to heavy case load of pandemic and we are continuously fighting to strengthen our healthcare infrastructure. We have been well supported by Honeywell and they have done some exemplary work in the last few months to support us in our endeavor to build better healthcare infrastructure. The oxygen generation plant donated by Honeywell has helped in bringing life-saving oxygen supply to patients in Pune.” 

The second wave of the pandemic put immense pressure on the country’s healthcare infrastructure. The government has put in place a multi-fold strategy in anticipation of a third wave.[1] Honeywell, through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, is helping the government build healthcare capacities. Earlier, HHSIF set up COVID care centers in Nainital, Gurugram, Delhi and Pune, and established 10-bed ICUs in Mumbai and Bengaluru. The company also donated 1,000 oxygen concentrators, 10 ventilators, 10,000 N95 respirators, and 2,500 PPE kits to various government and private hospitals across the country. 

Honeywell partnered with the Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) and with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research–Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR–IIP), to supply molecular sieve adsorbents (zeolites) to accelerate setting up of Medical Oxygen Plants (MOP) in the country.

In Maharashtra, specifically, Honeywell set up an ICU facility at the Dahisar COVID-19 Jumbo Centre in Mumbai and established a 20-bed COVID care centre at the Employees State Insurance Corporation Hospital in Bibwewadi, Pune. Honeywell also donated 120 oxygen concentrators, ventilators, N95 respirators, and PPE kits in the state.

About Honeywell India

Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 technology company that delivers industry-specific solutions that include aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help everything from aircraft, buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable. All of Honeywell’s global businesses have a strong legacy in India, built over the last eight decades. Honeywell’s India commitment is evident in three state-of-the-art manufacturing and engineering operations, and four global centers of excellence for technology development and innovation. Honeywell employs ~13,000 people across different locations including Bengaluru, Chennai, Dehradun, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Madurai, and Pune.  

About Honeywell Hometown Solutions India Foundation (HHSIF)

Honeywell Hometown Solutions India Foundation (HHSIF) is a not-for-profit organization that deploys Honeywell’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts in five critical areas: education and skill development, gender equality, natural resources and the environment, holistic rural development, and disaster management. HHSIF’s programs include Honeywell Student Empowerment Program an upskilling program in deep science subjects for women and youth to build a future-ready workforce; creating Honeywell Model Villages by promoting holistic rural development; incubation and seed capital support to startups in deep science through Honeywell Start-up Support Program; Honeywell Center for Advancing Girls in Science at Avasara Academy to promote STEM education among girls; lake rejuvenation and establishment of global center of excellence for clean and affordable energy and Honeywell COVID-19 relief.

Bajaj Electricals Launches New Range Of High Performance And Convenient Mixer Grinders To Add Flavour To South Indian Cuisines

* With four different models, the new range of Mixers Grinders is designed to attend to the grinding consistency needed for authentic South Indian recipes

Bajaj Electricals Ltd., India's preeminent Consumer Durables Company, has launched a new range of high performance and convenient range of Mixer Grinders to help consumers rustle up sumptuous dishes for family and friends during the upcoming festive season. The new range has four different models to cater to the diverse culinary requirements of Southern India. The models - Herculo, Splendora and GX 3000 and GX 400 Duo - are equipped with the latest advanced features to ensure convenience for a hassle-free “no problem” cooking experience.  These new features make these Mixer Grinders a must-have and number one choice for consumers who are looking for value-added and efficient mixing and grinding solutions. The brand has launched interesting films announcing the launch across TV and digital mediums.

The range comprises 4 new models:

1.       The Bajaj Herculo Mixer Grinder comes with a powerful motor unlike any other – a whopping 1000W - that makes tough grinding extremely easy. It can effortlessly grind hard ingredients for a long duration, thereby ensuring ideal consistency in little time. It is best for consumers who are meticulous about preparing food from scratch with fresh and nutritious ingredients.

2.      The Bajaj Splendora Mixer Grinder has an Anti-Stain, Anti-Bacterial and Anti-Viral coating on the body and has a powerful motor. The anti-stain coating makes cleaning the toughest stains like turmeric simple and quick, bringing in ease of maintenance. It is a big helping hand for professionals and homemakers who are pressed for time and juggle multiple chores.

3.       The Bajaj GX 3000 Mixer Grinder is a powerful 750W model with Titan Motor and enhanced blades that are 20% thicker than standard blades. Thicker blades reduce the impact of wear & tear and make the product more durable. This is specially designed to ensure worry-free tough grinding. The heavier bush design drives the longevity of the product and makes it aesthetic too.

4.      The Bajaj GX 400 Duo Mixer Grinder too has a powerful Titan motor of 750W and comes with two chutney Jars (0.3L & 0.5L) for double convenience. Unlike traditional mixer grinders that come with just a single chutney jar, this novel model allows the consumer to multi-task conveniently without the hassle of emptying/cleaning the required repeatedly. This enables convenience in food preparation.

All four models aim to offer a robust solution for every unique need of India’s diverse consumer base. The introduction of these four new offerings is a part of the company’s dedicated plan for increasing its footprint and reach in the southern markets.

Speaking about the new range, Mr Krishna Raman, Business Head- Consumer Products, Bajaj Electricals Ltd. said, “At Bajaj Electricals Ltd., we believe in offering products that are functional and solution-oriented to enhance our consumers’ quality of life. South India is a region of diverse cuisines where each state or region requires diverse appliances to enable perfection. Whether it’s the requirement of a powerful motor for tough ingredients, thicker blades for durability, anti-stain coating for easy maintenance, or blend-and-carry formats – through our new range of Mixer Grinders, we have ensured that irrespective of the type of recipe or the proficiency of the consumer, each unique requirement is addressed. As one of the pioneers in the consumer appliances industry, our endeavour is to ideate and develop newer, more functional products; and that’s what has helped us remain the Indian consumers’ first choice."

With the launch of this new range, the company has reemphasised itself as the frontrunner in the Mixing Appliances space by creating technology that places consumers’ needs at its forefront and offering superior quality products in the market. Bajaj Electricals’ consistent aspiration to bring out high-tech products, efficient and aesthetically dynamic appliances has led to the realisation of its diverse and functional range of various consumer appliances.

About Bajaj Electricals Limited:

Bajaj Electricals Limited, a globally renowned and trusted company, with a turnover of ₹INR 4,585 crores (FY 20-21), is a part of India's leading business conglomerate "Bajaj Group". With a business portfolio that spans across Consumer Products (Appliances, Fans, Lighting) and EPC (Illumination, Power Transmission and Power Distribution), Bajaj Electricals also has a strong presence in premium home appliance and cookware segments with brands like Morphy Richards and Nirlep by Bajaj. The company has an expansive network of 18 branch offices, 500+ distributors and more than 2.18 lakh + retail outlets across India combined with over 500 consumer care centres, fortifying its dominant presence in the consumer products sector. The portfolio under the EPC segment of Bajaj Electricals Limited includes EHV transmission line projects, EHV substations, monopoles for transmission and distribution, electrification projects, high mast and street lighting, sports lighting, industrial and commercial lighting, specialised illumination projects on turnkey basis and other solutions. Bajaj Electricals Limited has always lived up to its ethos of putting the consumer first and meeting its core brand value of "Inspiring Trust".

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Launches New Legender 4X4 Variant To Bring More Cheer This Festive Season

Highlights

* The Legender is a mighty combination of power, sophistication, and unmatched style.

* Available in 2.8 L Diesel Engine with 6-Speed Automatic Transmission.

The Legender comes with “Sleek & Cool” design language loaded with many high-end features to meet the growing demand for exclusive and convenience features.

It comes with best-in-class Torque of 500 Nm and 204 PS of Power and brings  convenience features like Kick Sensor for Back door & Wireless Charging.

·         4X4 variant gets premium 11 JBL speakers for greater sound experience.

Stylish SUV available in 4X2 and 4X4 Automatic Transmission Diesel variants.

·         Available in Pearl white with Black roof (Dual Tone).

Legender Ex-showroom Prices (same across the country)

2.8 Litre 4WD (Diesel)

Rs 42,33,000 (Automatic Transmission)

Key Features of the new Legender 4X4 Variant

·         Catamaran Style Front & Rear Bumpers

·         Sharp & Sleek Front Grille with Piano Black Accents

·         18” Multi-layered Machine Cut Finished Alloy Wheels

·         Split Quad-LED Headlamps with Waterfall LED Line Guide Signature

·         Sequential Turn Indicators

·         Dual Tone Black Roof

·         Dual Tone (Black + Maroon) interior theme

·         Premium 11 JBL Speakers including Subwoofer

·         Contrast Stitching for Steering Wheel & Console Box

·         Interior Ambient Illumination (Instrument Panel, Front Door Trim, Front Foot- 

        well areas)

·         Superior Suction-based Seat Ventilation System (Front Row)

·         Rear USB Port

·         Kick Sensor for Power Back Door

·         Wireless Smartphone Charger

In line with Toyota’s philosophy of making “Ever- Better Cars”, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) today unveiled a new 4X4 variant of its highly successful SUV, Legender. The Legender was first launched in January 2021 in 4X2 diesel variant together with the new Toyota Fortuner.

The Legender is uniquely positioned as “Powered in Style” to cater to the diverse needs of both performance enthusiasts and those seeking a luxury SUV. Its bold proportions bring to life the differentiating aspects that make it cool and futuristic. The Catamaran elements wrapped around the corners create a strong vertical prominence and ensure a wider presence. Further, the exclusively designed headlamps comprise Split Quad LEDs with a Waterfall LED Line Guide Signature to ensure the best of brightness. The SUV’s sharp nose creates a strong forward movement to create a sense of exclusivity with a sleek and cool theme, together with exterior features such as Catamaran Style Front and Rear Bumpers sharp and sleek Front Grille with Piano Black Accents, Sequential Turn Indicators, and 18-inch Multi-layered Machine Cut Finished Alloys.

On the inside, features include Dual Tone (Black + Maroon) interior theme, Contrast Stitching for Steering Wheel and Console Box, Interior Ambient Illumination (I/P, Front Door Trim, Front Foot-well areas) and Rear USB Ports. Apart from these, the Legender is loaded with high-end features like Kick Sensor for Power Back Door and Wireless Smartphone Charger.  The Legender 4X2 and 4X4 Automatic are available only in exciting Dual-Tone Color of Pearl White with Black Roof.

Sharing his views on the launch of the new 4X4 Legender variant, Mr. V. Wiseline Sigamani, Associate General Manager(AGM), Sales and Strategic Marketing said, “At TKM, we bring innovations and new products to the market to meet the aspirations  of  our customers and changing market requirements. The new Legender 4X4 AT variant is another such initiative as many customers expressed a desire for a 4X4 variant for even more enhanced performance. We are hopeful that the customers will be thrilled with the new variant and the top-of-the-line off-roading and city driving capabilities that the Legender provides. We are thankful to them for their tremendous faith and trust in Toyota products over the years. On this occasion, we would also like to wish our customers a happy festive season.”

“The Legender has seen increasing sales and till date, we have sold more than  2700 units of the 4X2 variant across the country. Together with the Fortuner, the Legender has been enthralling SUV enthusiasts with best-in-class quality, durability and reliability.”

Bookings for the new Legender 4X4 variant is now open. Customers can either book the car online at https://www.toyotabharat.com/online-booking/ or visit their nearest authorized Toyota dealership.

Tech Recruiting Platform, HackerEarth Achieves Record Revenue Growth Of 144% As Remote Hiring Continues To Surge In India

●       28,000 coding contests completed in India with 20 lakh participants

●       Saw 210% YoY growth in assessments conducted

●       Top themes for hackathons in India included building solutions for COVID-related problems in healthcare, Data Science, Earth Day, AI and ML (organised with SAP, Rakuten, Accenture, Microsoft, HCL, Airbus, Amazon (AWS))

HackerEarth, the leading solutions provider to source, assess, upskill and engage software developer talent, today released an overview of its YoY growth and milestones. Between Q3 2020 - 2021, HackerEarth saw a record revenue growth of 144% increase in India and 185% in the US. This was accelerated by the launch of HackerEarth for Enterprises, the industry’s first comprehensive platform that unites every step of the tech employee lifecycle from sourcing, screening, interviewing and continuously engaging developer and data science talent.

Catalysts for this growth include the continued shift to remote workplaces and the subsequent spike in demand for a solution that improves and unifies the current fragmented market solutions in the developer hiring funnel. Accordingly, HackerEarth released an enhanced version of FaceCode as a standalone solution for conducting technical interviews with developers. The company also completed several key integrations with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), including LinkedIn Talent Hub and Lever.

“Regardless of industry, software continues to be the core driver of innovation and competitive advantage for enterprises large and small,” said Sachin Gupta, CEO of HackerEarth. “To meet the needs of our software-driven world, companies must put strategic thought into building the tech teams responsible for developing the software and applications of tomorrow. More and more tech and HR professionals are realizing the advantages of having comprehensive visibility of their developer and data science talent, and this is underpinning the mutual growth, success of us and our community.”

As a result of HackerEarth’s investments in its 6.5 million-strong developer community and in product development and tech integrations, organizations are able to effectively manage their entire developer lifecycle. This includes engaging and sourcing talent via hackathons and hiring challenges, building assessments in minutes, running coding interviews, and upskilling employees as new technologies and trends in software/application development emerge.

Q3 2020 - 2021 highlights:

Company Growth

●        Revenue: Achieved 144% increase in revenue in India and 185% in the US, and a 160% overall increase

●        Global customer base increased by 75%

●        Surpassed 6.5 million members in its global developer community, a 40% YoY growth. In India, the growth rate has been slightly higher at 43%

●        About 120 Hackathons hosted in India with a total of 2 lakh participants

○        In India, hackathons have been organised with SAP, Rakuten, Accenture, Microsoft, HCL, Airbus, Amazon (AWS). Top themes include building solutions for COVID-related problems in healthcare, Data Science, Earth Day, AI and ML.

●        28,000 coding contests completed in India with 20 lakh participants

●        Saw 210% YoY growth in assessments conducted

●        Achieved 100% YoY growth in the number of interviews via its flagship interview platform - FaceCode

Product Innovations

●        Launched HackerEarth for Enterprises, the industry’s first comprehensive platform that unites every step of the tech employee lifecycle

●        Released an enhanced version of FaceCode as a standalone solution for conducting technical interviews with developers. The enhancements include improved automation to save time before and during interviews, as well as advance HackerEarth’s commitment to enabling diversity and inclusion in hiring by reducing bias

●        Launched full stack assessments to help recruiters efficiently evaluate the coding skills of full stack developers and simulate real-world tasks

●        Integration with Jupyter Notebooks on HackerEarth Assessments for simplifying data science assessments, allows hiring managers to set real-time problems and provides candidates with a familiar environment

Key Partnerships and Projects

●        Partnered with Lever, allowing recruiters to manage the applicant screening workflow faster and more efficiently

●        Announced a new integration between online technical-recruitment tool HackerEarth Assessment and LinkedIn Talent Hub

●        Hire101: Building future-ready tech team in 2021, 3-day virtual global conference

●        Released Code in Progress 2021 Developer Survey Report

●        Released State of Developer Recruitment 2020

Puravankara Accelerates Its Digital Transformation Journey With IBM And SAP

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that Puravankara Limited is collaborating with IBM Global Business Services (GBS) to fuel tech-led innovations in its operations by adopting RISE with SAP. Through this association, Puravankara will reinvent its processes for superior business outcomes. IBM will integrate the SAP Cloud environment with Puravankara’s cloud environment to harness the unmatched power of cloud and ensure seamless enterprise functions.

As a future-forward industry leader, Puravankara aims to employ an intelligent suite of solutions for operational agility and enhanced business efficiency while driving unprecedented growth. The company aspires to assess real-time fluctuations in the market and receive immediate and actionable insights across its project development through robust digitisation.

To help achieve these layered objectives, Puravankara partnered with IBM to deploy RISE with SAP, an integrated cloud ERP solution revolutionising their business transformation. IBM will also deploy Ariba Sourcing, a strategic sourcing solution by SAP, to automate and streamline critical tasks in sourcing indirect and direct materials. The IBM ASCEND methodology, the framework used to deliver transitioning projects for SAP S/4HANA, has been used to bring in more efficient delivery execution, higher quality, and lower implementation risks. Puravankara would redefine the core objective of its digital strategy and streamline existing processes to elevate customer experiences.

Ashish Puravankara, Managing Director, Puravankara Limited, said, “As a resilient business entity, Puravankara has always pioneered tectonic changes in the real estate industry. Over the last year, as operational challenges took a new form, our primary focus was to build an enterprise that leads the future of work and advances customer success. By collaborating with IBM to deploy SAP, we will modernise our business capabilities and solve on-ground bottlenecks with ease while setting precedence in this highly competitive industry.”

Kamal Singhani, Country Managing Partner – IBM Services, India/South Asia, said, “By leveraging our deep consulting expertise and access to technological innovations, Puravankara will be able to fast-track their digital transformation journey, create intelligent workflows to drive the efficiency and agility needed in their dynamic industry landscape.”

Subramanian Ananthapadmanabhan, Vice President – Mid-Market, SAP Indian Subcontinent, said, “With our RISE with the SAP solution, we accelerate our customers’ transition to the cloud and enable them to become future-ready organisations. By adopting RISE with SAP, Puravankara has taken another step towards serving its customers better with digital tools and technologies. SAP along with IBM is empowering Puravankara to lead the charter in the real estate segment by creating unique landmarks and community living of the highest standards for its customers.”

IBM will bring its assets, tools, and methodology, including best practices and processes from the real estate and infrastructure industry. This will enable Puravankara to have best-in-class processes configured in the SAP system and ascend its digital transformation value chain.

About Puravanka Limited

Puravankara Limited is a leading real estate conglomerate headquartered in Bengaluru with a pan-India presence. In the last four decades (46 years), the company has established two distinct and successful brands. The flagship brand Puravankara caters to the premium end of the spectrum. At the same time, Provident Housing Limited is positioned in the premium affordable segment. The company has completed 74 projects measuring over 42 million square feet, and over 22 million square feet of projects are under development. Currently, the total land asset of the company is nearing 67 million square feet.

About IBM India: Visit http://www.ibm.com/in/en/

55% Of India’s Employed Professionals Report Feeling Stressed: LinkedIn

* Work-life imbalance, insufficient incomes, and slow career progress are the top 3 causes of work stress in India

Towards World Mental Health Day 2021, the world’s largest online professional network LinkedIn has launched a special ‘mental health’ edition of the Workforce Confidence Index to address the prevalence of work stress in India, and how professionals expect greater flexibility to keep their mental health in check. Based on the survey responses of 3,881 professionals from July 31 to September 24, findings reveal that more than half of India’s (55%) employed professionals are feeling stressed at work as well-being measures become a luxury for many.

The latest edition of the Workforce Confidence Index reveals that India’s overall workforce confidence remained steady with a composite score of +55 from July 31 to September 24, 2021, despite drastic transformations in the world of work. But keeping up with these times of change for the last 18 months has adversely affected the mental health of working professionals in the country. When asked to share their primary reasons for work stress, employed professionals cited ‘balancing work with personal needs’ (34%), ‘not making enough money’ (32%), and ‘slow career advancement’ (25%) as the top 3 stressors at work today. Amid such stressful times, 1 in 3 professionals are also seen drawing optimism from the availability of jobs (36%) and improved control over expenses (30%) in today’s recovering, yet competitive  jobs marketplace.

As workforce priorities continue to change in these transformative times, findings go on to indicate that flexibility and work-life balance will serve as critical talent drivers across the Indian professional landscape for years to come.

Commenting on the findings, Ashutosh Gupta, India Country Manager, LinkedIn said, “These stressful times of change have impelled the need for greater flexibility and work-life balance among professionals. But our survey reveals a wide gap between what employees need and what employers are offering to cope with stress. While nearly half of (47%) employed professionals wish to end work at reasonable hours, only about one-thirds (36%) were actually able to do so. And while 41% planned for time-off, only 30% could take time off in the past two months. These alarming statistics reflect the urgency for companies to understand how creating a culture that encourages work-life balance and prioritises well being is critical moving forward.”

While greater flexibility remains a mutual need across generations, younger professionals found it easier to take a break than their older cohorts. Findings reveal that Millennials were 2x more likely to take time-offs, while Gen Z professionals were 1.5x more likely to take breaks during the day, when compared to Baby Boomers. Interestingly, Boomers were 1.5x more likely to be open with their colleagues about mental health and stress when compared to millennials as well as Gen Z professionals.

About LinkedIn Workforce Confidence Index

The Workforce Confidence Index is a fortnightly pulse on the confidence of the Indian workforce. It is based on online survey responses of 3,881 members for the weeks of July 31 to September 24, 2021. The index uses a scale from -100 to +100 to reflect professionals’ current sentiments about the jobs market, their financial status, career progression, and well-being expectations going forward. It is a measure of how professionals feel about their job stability and access to opportunity as well as how business leaders expect to invest in their companies in the near and mid-term.

UST Wins Three 2021 Stevie Awards For Great Employers Including Internal Communications Team Of The Year

* Recognized for its purpose driven communication during the Covid-19 times

UST, a leading digital transformation solutions company, has received three award recognitions at the sixth annual Stevie® Awards 2021 for Great Employers. The company received the Silver Stevie for ‘Internal Communications Team of the Year’, and Bronze Stevie for ‘Achievement in Internal Communications’ and the ‘Best Leadership Development Program’.

The Stevie Awards are the world's premier business awards.  They were created to honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and working professionals worldwide.

UST was awarded the ‘Internal Communications Team of the Year’ and ‘Achievement in Internal Communications’ for its purpose-driven communication to inform, motivate, and empower its employees during the 2020 crisis. UST aligned its internal communication strategy to its people-first culture to design influential communication programs during the highly ambiguous periods of COVID-19. Transparent, creative, and interactive content through varied internal communication platforms, including the company’s daily global internal newsletter, video and podcast channels, collaboration tools, ensured continued connection with the worldwide workforce during remote working conditions.

UST was also recognized under the ‘Best Leadership Development Program’ category for its Servant Leadership program, which balances results and relationships to achieve high-impact goals. The impact of the initiative on UST’s culture and employee engagement has also been recognized through this award.

“UST is delighted to be recognized by the 2021 Stevie Awards for Great Employers,” said Kavita Kurup, Global Head - Talent & Organizational Transformation, UST. “It is an honor and a testament of the efforts we have invested to ensure we, as an organization, continue to create an inspiring, empathetic and collaborative workplace for our associates through unprecedented challenges. With the crisis of 2020, UST’s purpose of ‘Transforming lives’ became more relevant. Regular leadership messages and updates, including those from the CEO and business leaders, have kept our workforce well informed and motivated on growth, new opportunities, and upcoming changes and helped tackle employee concerns in uncertain times. We are pleased to continue our winning streak by being globally recognized for UST’s Servant Leadership initiative.”

Commenting on the awards, Anupama Raju, Head of Internal Communications, UST, said, “These awards are a testament to UST’s purpose-centered leadership, employee-centric culture, values, and communication strategy. They also underline the teamwork, creativity, and talent of UST’s Internal Communications team.  In 2020, we collaborated with stakeholders across the company and strategized a purpose-driven communication approach to inform, motivate and empower our employees globally to keep the company connected in difficult times. Thank you, Stevies.”

“UST believes in the true power of fully engaged and empowered employees.  We know that this can be achieved only through the right culture and leadership philosophy. This award is further validation of our Servant Leadership philosophy. We are quite excited to win this award and proud of all our employees' work to make UST indispensable as we continue to challenge ourselves to be the unconventional radical tech company. We have an open and collaborative work environment encompassed with a vibrant, enthusiastic, enterprising spirit. At UST, we are committed to transforming lives and we are making rapid progress on improving the lives of many,” said Madana Kumar, Servant Leadership Evangelist and Global Head – Leadership Development, UST.

UST’s Servant Leadership initiative is an integral part of the organizational transformation measures that keep the company, agile and relevant to the times. This overarching leadership philosophy drives all its people policies, keeping the employees at the center of everything they do, investing in their holistic development, and providing them with a world-class life experience, and not just an employee experience.

UST was recognized with two Stevie Awards in 2017 and 2019, and one Stevie Award each in 2016 and 2020. In 2020, the company won Stevie Bronze - ‘Internal Communications Team of the Year’. In 2019, UST was named bronze winner in the ‘Human Resources Team of the Year’ category and silver winner in the ‘Technical Professional of the Year’ category. In 2017, UST won the Stevie Gold Award for the ‘Employer of the Year’ (computer services) and Gold Stevie for ‘Achievement in Internal Communication’. The company won a Bronze Stevie in 2016 and a Gold Stevie in 2014 in the ‘Human Resources Department of the Year’ category. The 2021 Stevie Awards Winners will be celebrated during a virtual ceremony on Wednesday, November 17.

About UST

For more than 20 years, UST has worked side by side with the world’s best companies to make a real impact through transformation.  Powered by technology, inspired by people, and led by our purpose, we partner with our clients from design to operation. Through our nimble approach, we identify their core challenges, and craft disruptive solutions that bring their vision to life. With deep domain expertise and a future-proof philosophy, we embed innovation and agility into our clients’ organizations—delivering measurable value and lasting change across industries, and around the world. Together, with over 26,000 employees in 25 countries, we build for boundless impact—touching billions of lives in the process. Visit us at www.UST.com