Vi Showcases Demonstrates 5G Technology Solutions For Digital India

* Showcases wide range of 5G Use Cases for Enterprises & Consumers in Pune, Maharashtra and Gandhinagar, Gujarat

* Conducts 5G trials on Govt. allocated 5G spectrum with technology partners Ericsson and Nokia, along with ecosystem players and Indian start-ups including L&T Smart World & Communication, Athonet, Vizzbee & Tweek Labs

Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL), leading telecom operator, today demonstrated a range of 5G-based technology solutions as part of its ongoing 5G trials on Govt. allocated 5G spectrum in Pune, Maharashtra and Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

According to Ravinder Takkar, MD & CEO, Vodafone Idea Limited, “With our 5G trials underway, Vi is preparing to take India on the next journey of fifth generation wireless mobile communication technology. Our 5G trials showcase a whole new world of possibilities across various domains that promise a new era of technology advancement in India. I am confident that 5G will bring a better tomorrow that will deliver significant benefits to consumers, businesses and society, driving digital economy growth in India.” 

With the purpose for a better tomorrow, Vi has been conducting 5G trials and developed a wide range of use cases relevant for Enterprises and Consumers in India. Vi has partnered with industry leaders like L&T Smart World & Communication, Athonet, Indian start-ups like Vizzbee & Tweek Labs, and technology leaders – Ericsson and Nokia for trialling use cases in the two locations.

Committed to helping its customers thrive and have a better tomorrow, Vi is leveraging the power of 5G technology across segments such as industry 4.0, smart cities, smart healthcare, smart workplace, smart education, smart agriculture, gaming, amongst others. Vi’s trials have proven that high data speed, low latency and reliability of 5G technology, can bring about massive developments by enhancing business performance, revolutionizing customer experience, changing consumer lifestyle and positively impacting people dwelling in remote corners of India. 

Vi has been allocated 26 GHz and 3.5 GHz spectrum in the mmWave band by the DoT, for 5G network trials and use cases. Vi has achieved peak speeds in excess of 1.5 Gbps on 3.5 GHz, more than 4.2 Gbps on 26 GHz and up to 9.8 Gbps on backhaul spectrum of E-bands.

The 5G trial network set up by Vi in Pune, deploys Ericsson Radios and Ericsson Dual Mode Core based on cloud native technology comprising of 5G SA, 5G NSA & LTE packet core functions. All use cases demonstrated in Pune have been developed over Ericsson’s 5G technology solutions.

In Gandhinagar, Vi is using Nokia’s AirScale radio portfolio and Microwave E-band solution for the trial that support enterprises, both large and small and medium businesses with reliable connectivity. Vi use cases in Gandhinagar were demonstrated via a live telecast at the special media preview held in Pune.

Refer Annexure for List of Vi 5G Uses Cases in Pune & Gandhinagar.

About Vodafone Idea Limited

Vodafone Idea Limited is an Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Group partnership. It is India’s leading telecom service provider. The Company provides pan India Voice and Data services across 2G, 3G and 4G platform and has a 5G ready network. With the large spectrum portfolio to support the growing demand for data and voice, the company is committed to deliver delightful customer experiences and contribute towards creating a truly ‘Digital India’ by enabling millions of citizens to connect and build a better tomorrow. The Company is developing infrastructure to introduce newer and smarter technologies, making both retail and enterprise customers future ready with innovative offerings, conveniently accessible through an ecosystem of digital channels as well as extensive on-ground presence. The Company is listed on National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in India. The company offers products and services to its customers in India under the TM Brand name “Vi”.

Hero Motocorp Appoints Former SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar As Independent Non-Executive Director On The Board

Vasudha Dinodia Also Joins The Companys Board As Non-Executive Director  

Continuing with its strategic initiatives to achieve its new Vision - “Be the Future of Mobility”, Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, has further augmented its leadership by onboarding distinct experts to its Board of Directors. 

Mr. Rajnish Kumar - former chairman of State Bank of India (SBI) - has been appointed as an Independent non-executive Director on the Board of the Company. 

Mr. Kumar completed his three-year term as chairman of SBI in October 2020.  He is credited with steering the bank successfully through very challenging times and adopting key technology transformations. During his tenure, the Bank developed YONO, a digital platform, which established SBI as a global leader in the adoption of technology and innovation.

Mr. Kumar is a career banker with nearly four decades of service with the State Bank of India. His expertise in corporate credit and project finance is well recognised. He currently serves as an Independent Director on the Boards of many other prestigious companies viz. HSBC, Asia Pacific, L&T Infotech and is also the Non-Executive Chairman of Resilient Innovations P Ltd. (BharatPe). 

Hero MotoCorp also appointed Ms. Vasudha Dinodia – an immensely successful next-gen entrepreneur credited with founding the boutique chocolate start-up Choko La in 2005 - as a non-executive Director on the Board of the Company. 

Ms. Dinodia has been an astute marketing strategist and third-generation entrepreneur from the eminent Munjal Family. Ms. Dinodia has scaled Choko La to be a globally recognised, premier chocolate brand with its presence across the US, Europe and Asia. The brand has several Premium Chocolate Boutiques and has partnered with global Duty-Free operators across 13 international airports, including Singapore, Macau, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Goa, Jaipur, Raipur, and the new outlets are coming up in Hong Kong, Berlin, Dubai, Melbourne and Philippines airports in the next fiscal. 

In the next five years, the brand plans to expand their boutiques to London, Paris, New York, Dubai, Sydney and Tokyo. 

A trendsetting chocolatier and an astute businesswoman, Ms. Dinodia has grown the brand and diversified it to create a Choko la Constellation that is unique in its approach to customer satisfaction. The brand offers a wide array of products and services ranging from customized gifting to cafes and boutiques.

Ms. Camille Tang - a well-known name in the global technology landscape – was recently appointed as an Independent non-executive Director on the Board of the Company. Ms. Tang brings with her several decades of rich and diverse global experience in varied sectors such as finance, retail, technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI). She is currently an advisor on software and white label SaaS startups in Canada and the USA.

She is the co-founder of Convenient Power, which delivers integrated solutions beyond mainstream Analog and Power management products and services. She was also the Co-Chair, and part of Steering Group (Board) for Wireless Power Consortium, an open, collaborative standards development group. 

Ms. Tang is an alumnus of the Stanford and Harvard Universities and sits on several other global Advisory Boards. A citizen of the USA, she is currently engaged in multiple public service initiatives.

With these current appointments, Hero MotoCorp now has 11 Board Members, of which 25% are women, thereby clearly exhibiting the Company’s focus on Diversity & Inclusion, which will significantly enhance the Company’s performance. 

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Joins Hands With International School Of Business & Media For Skill Development

In its pursuit of contributing to Skill India, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with International School of Business and Media (ISBM), Bangalore,  through its training arm - Toyota Learning and Development India. The initiative is focused on sharing Toyota’s best practices with the faculty, bridge the industry-academia gap and equip students with employable skills.

Talking about the collaboration, Dr. S. Jayaraman, Director, ISBM said, “We are delighted to enter into an association with the global leader in manufacturing. Toyota's practices have inspired many organizations around the world. Through this partnership, students of ISBM will get access to knowledge of global practices of Toyota to enrich themselves and equip with skills required to be industry ready. ISBM is a school with a difference and our values are built on egalitarianism, mutual respect, and openness. We always follow best practices and standards with a spirit of responsibility, liberty, integrity, and a sense of partnership. We look forward to an enduring relationship with TKM for creating transformational leaders”.

Sharing his thoughts on the tie-up, Mr. G. Shankara, Vice President, Human Resources and Services Group, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “At Toyota, we identify the career aspirations of the employees and develop their skills, knowledge and attitude from a mid-to-long-term perspective. As a result, our employees have won laurels at national and international forums. In continuation to TKM’s vision of ‘Grow India and Grow with India’, we intend to enrich the skills and quality of students in India by sharing Toyota’s best practices with our stakeholders thereby producing happiness and developing competitiveness among the youth”.

“TKM’s skill development center, Gurukul, has trained more than 35,000 youth since its inception. The company also plays a pivotal role in developing the faculty from Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and engineering colleges in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha. This year, TKM has conducted webinars on electrified vehicle technologies for more than 6,000 engineering students spread across 10 states in India. Additionally, it has taken the initiative to develop an ITI in all the 31 districts of Karnataka,” Mr. G. Shankara added.

Under the MoU, the program will focus on developing the faculty and students from Engineering, Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) and Media streams. Students will be trained in topics like lean manufacturing, supply chain management, xEV technologies, strategic financial management, human resources management etc. Trainers certified by Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), Japan and Asia-Pacific Global Production Center (AP-GPC), Thailand will impart the training.

Photo Caption (L to R) >> Mr. Roshan R, DGM, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Dr. S. Jayaraman, Director, ISBM and Dr. Rengarajan Srinivasan, Associate Professor (Finance), ISBM during MoU signing ceremony.

Kinara Capital Launches myKinara Mobile App For MSME Collateral-Free Loans

myKinara app available in vernacular with eKYC, decisioning-to-disbursement process within 24-hours

Kinara Capital, a fast-growing fintech, recently launched myKinara mobile app that comes with a simple 3-step process and is a first of its kind in the unsecured MSME business lending space. myKinara app, now live on the Google Play Store, puts the power at the fingertips of small business entrepreneurs to securely apply and receive collateral-free business loans digitally within 24-hours turnaround time (TAT).

Leveraging years of Kinara’s proprietary data-driven AI/ML-based credit decisioning, the myKinara app now makes the digital process used by field officers directly accessible to MSMEs in India. The myKinara app is available in multiple languages including, English, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi and Gujarati. Women-owned MSMEs qualify for an automatic discount under the company’s HerVikas programme, without requiring any separate application.

“With the proliferation of smartphones, MSMEs are ready and willing to participate in digital India, but there are limited solutions for them. Our vernacular myKinara app extends our financial inclusion commitment by enabling small business entrepreneurs to create a self-directed loan application journey. Fast decisioning, processing, and disbursements in a span of 24 hours goes a long way in meeting the demands of our customers, thereby supporting their business growth,” said Hardika Shah, Founder and CEO, Kinara Capital.

Small business entrepreneurs can check their eligibility in under 1-minute without any document uploads in the first step. By completing KYC and income verification in the app directly, the applicant will receive a loan decision with details of the approved loan amount, interest rate, loan tenor and the approximate Monthly EMI. They can then continue the loan disbursement process with an e-sign option.

With the myKinara app, small business entrepreneurs can choose to complete the process in their own time with help always just a click away. They can contact Kinara’s multilingual customer call center directly from the app, or request for doorstep customer service if they need in-person support. Kinara’s vast network of 110 branches will continue to help local MSMEs and follow the same digital process as available on the myKinara app.

About Kinara Capital

Kinara Capital is a fast-growing fintech propelling financial inclusion of small business entrepreneurs in India. Boasting a women-majority management team, Kinara Capital has set itself apart in the industry with its emphasis on social impact and profitable growth. Globally recognized for its innovative approach, Kinara earned the ‘Bank of the Year-Asia’ award by the IFC, is ranked among the ‘Top 100 High-Growth Companies in Asia-Pacific’ by the Financial Times and is named among ‘India’s Growth Champions’ by the Economic Times. Kinara Capital is qualified as a Systemically Important NBFC by the Reserve Bank of India and is a debt listed entity on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Founded in 2011, Kinara Capital has made a mark with its innovation in financial inclusion  by providing fast and flexible collateral-free loans in the range of INR 1-30 lakhs across 300+ MSME sub-sectors serving 3000+ pincodes in India. Headquartered in Bangalore, Kinara Capital has 110 branches across 90+ cities in India. Click here for more information kinaracapital.com and follow us on Twitter @KinaraCapital. Download the myKinara app on the Google Play Store.

NUON Exclusive To Westside Explores Bengaluru Through The Eyes Of City’s Most Exciting Multi-Disciplinary Artists

NUON exclusive to Westside, one of the leading fashion brands in the country today collaborated with Bengaluru based artists, whose work and performances are a rage in the city and online. The NUON x BLR collaboration is a conversation with amazing young artists who resonate with the brand and are known for creating love with art. As part of the collaboration, NUON by Westside has also produced a video that captures Bengaluru’s 5 most popular spaces, seen through the eyes of these artists, and the relationship they have with these spaces.

Digital illustrator Nori (@noriiart) loves Bengaluru’s favourite Cubbon Park and is constantly finding inspiration from the lush greenery and tranquil surroundings when she spends time there. For interior designer Chirag (@chizzy_96) Bengaluru’s popular indigenous fashion store and café, Go Native, is where he finds his chi, escaping the concrete jungle, and enjoying inner peace. The Holy Stoked Skatepark, by India’s premiere skateboarding company, is where model and actress, Ria Nalavade (@riaoninsta), loves to unwind. It’s a different experience skateboarding there, and we agree. For dancer Divya Easwaran (@divya_easwaran), the spirit of Bengaluru is captured by the vibrancy of Church Street, and everybody who’s been there, knows what she means.

Musician Abheet Anand (@abheetanand) believes that Bengaluru’s identity is in delivering great filter kaapi and every place that serves it, becomes a celebration of the city.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS-uSG4-kHg

NUON has always supported individuality and the freedom to express one’s true self through fashion, which is why it has been a favourite with young adults since its inception. The brand’s zero-judgment approach to fashion, along with keeping up with global casual and streetwear trends, makes it the go-to cool brand for today’s generation. This collaboration with Digital illustrator Nori (@noriiart), interior designer Chirag (@chizzy_96), model and actress Ria Nalavade (@riaoninsta), dancer Divya Easwaran (@divya_easwaran), and Musicians Abheet Anand (@abheetanand) is another way for the brand to be relevant to its young consumers, building a relationship with a city, its identity, with people who identify with it, and to understand what makes Bengaluru truly bombat!

bheet and Dhanush (@dhanush_hp), and Nori, creating original music and art, exclusively for NUON x BLR & Divya choregraphed a dance.

Abheet & Dhanush: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSlrKsSk0qU

Nori: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDbO7YW_Cpg

Divya: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fjPPcz9-Ic

Speaking about the collaboration Umashan Naidoo, Head – Customer at Westside said, “Fashion is a reflection of the times. We’ve been through waves of uncertainty. We celebrate and encourage what we call warriors of passion and are so excited to share their joy.”

With the city’s multi-cultural identity, and its ability to strike a fine balance between its rich history, nature, heritage, and tech-forward modernization, Bengaluru presents a fantastic ethos for individuals who are excited by the road less taken. These artists exemplify new Bengaluru, and how the city’s culture and dynamism resonates with the city’s new generation. NUON celebrates this new Bengaluru, and the freedom to authentically live out our true selves.

About Trent:

Established in 1998 and part of the Tata group, Trent is headquartered in Mumbai but has pan-India operations. Trent operates Westside, one of India’s largest and fastest growing retail chains.

The company has already established 186 Westside stores measuring 8,000-34,000 sq. ft. The Westside format offers an exclusive range of its own branded fashion apparel and continues to be the mainstay of the retailing business of the company. Some of the departments include women’s wear, menswear, kids’ wear, footwear, cosmetics, perfumes and handbags, household furniture, accessories, lingerie, and gifts.

Prof Dr YSR Murthy, VC, RV University Delivers Address At “Principals Symposium” Event

Learning for the sake of pure joy must be inculcated in the students’ said Prof (Dr) YSR Murthy, Founder Vice Chancellor RV University. He was addressing a gathering of school directors, principals, and teachers from over 430 CBSE schools in the city. The occasion was the first general body meeting ‘Principals’ Symposium’ of Bangalore Sahodaya Schools Complex Association (BSSCA). The event also witnessed their first award felicitation ceremony. It was organized by BSSCA, and the main sponsors were Pearl Academy and UPES.  

Prof (Dr) YSR Murthy was deeply impressed with the thought, creativity and innovation that had gone into naming the categories of the awards that were instituted by BSSCA and wished that such awards were instituted for teachers in every state across the country. Applauding the efforts of teachers during the pandemic, he called them warriors who rose to the occasion despite personal and systemic challenges with the sole purpose of imparting knowledge. “As teachers, we have to light the spark in students that would inspire them. A teacher can never truly teach unless he is still learning himself. The future of teaching is to incorporate contemporary examples, inculcate critical thinking and reasoning skills. 20 years from now, let us command respect through personal examples inspiring pedagogy”

MyGate To Strengthen Talent With 200 New Hires By March 2022

* Focus on hiring in tech and product teams, following strong growth and introduction of new verticals

MyGate, India’s largest community app, plans to create over 200 new jobs over Q4 2021-22, to grow new business verticals, such as Community and Brand Engagement and Home Services. Engineering and product departments, based in Bengaluru, would account for the majority of its talent search, with the team expected to hit a size of 200 from the current 130. The business development function would see the next largest growth spurt, with new joinees spread across the country.

Over the past year, MyGate has added 10,000 housing societies and grown its presence to 25,000 societies across 25+ cities, despite the pandemic. App usage, therefore, is at an all-time high with 3.8 million daily approval requests and nearly Rs. 4 crore in daily society maintenance collections. Further, the company’s new verticals are also showing strong growth. MyGate has begun working with hundreds of brands on its Brand Engagement vertical and will also build its Home Services vertical. In early, limited pilots in Bengaluru, 10% of daily active users in the target audience have explored Home Services on the app.

Speaking on the need to grow the team, Abhishek Kumar, COO & Co-founder, MyGate, said, “Given the vast room for growth in the space, and our positive results in new areas such as Brand & Community Engagement and Home Services, we are excited to grow the team and quickly work toward solving the many challenges that lie ahead of us.”

Amritesh Shukla, Head of Human Resources, MyGate, said, “As one of the premier technology companies in the country, we have created a strong learning environment and provide our team with the unique opportunity to work in multiple domains, such as community management, fintech and proptech, and deliver a product that improves the lives of over 3.5 million homes many times every day.”

As per a recent report by RedSeer Consulting, MyGate commands a market share of nearly 82% in the gated community management space, which still has a penetration of just 25% and a total market opportunity of up to $40 billion.

About MyGate

Founded in 2016, MyGate is the largest community app in the country, simplifying urban living of over 3.5 million homes in 25,000+ housing societies. It was ranked #4 on YourStory’s list of India’s Most Disruptive Start-ups in December 2019 and one of India’s coolest start-ups by Business Today in 2019. MyGate was founded by Vijay Arisetty, an ex- IAF pilot (Shaurya Chakra awardee), Abhishek K, former VP at Goldman Sachs, and Shreyans Daga, former project head at Oracle and Digit. For more information, please see https://mygate.com/

Pee Safe Branches Out To Orissa With Its First Store In Bhubaneshwar

 * The digital-first brand has adopted an omnichannel approach to reach out to its customers pan India as a leading D2C player in hygiene and wellness  

Pee Safe, India’s leading hygiene and wellness brand, recently launched its offline store in Bhubaneshwar. The store, located in Sai Anandam Complex in Khordha, Orissa, is the brand’s first FOFO outlet in Orissa and was inaugurated by renowned real estate developer, Mr Jitendra Choudhury.  

Bhubaneshwar is an important market for Pee Safe given the fact that it is a central location in Orissa and also houses many malls and other commercial centres – as also the fact that it is the capital city. The brand is looking at expanding its presence pan India with 50 offline stores in the months ahead. Pee Safe’s products are currently available in modern trade, general stores, airports, and organized stores across 40+ cities. The brand currently has three offline stores in Gurgaon, Ahmedabad, and Bengaluru.  

Speaking about this, Vikas Bagaria, Founder, CEO & Founder at Pee Safe, said, “Pee Safe has been helping people combat hygiene-related issues with its holistic range of products ever since its inception. During the pandemic, the demand outgrew our expectations and we expanded to many more categories to ensure we address it. Now that we also have sexual and personal hygiene brands like Domina and FURR in our ambit, it was important for us to branch out to an omnichannel approach to ensure we are where our customers are. Although we are a digital-first brand, we have ensured we stay with the times and extend our presence to other locations in India,”  

Adding further, Jitendra Choudhury, a renowned real estate developer, said, ““I am extremely happy to inaugurate Pee Safe’s store in Bhubaneshwar. The brand is a frontrunner in the hygiene and wellness space and its products are extremely relevant in any scenario. I congratulate the team and wish that they achieve many more such milestones ahead.” 

Since its inception, Pee Safe has emerged as a brand that is disrupting the hygiene ecosystem and has grown to become the house of safe offering complete health and wellness solutions. Pee Safe products are available online at www.peesafe.com and across leading e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Nykaa, and Flipkart. The brand has diversified into multifarious product categories including eco-friendly sanitary pads, organic tampons, menstrual cups and panty liners and a maternity care line including breast pads; intimate hygiene products for both men and women like natural intimate wash and wipes and sweat pads; and other subpersonal hygiene segments through products like Palm Safe and Moskito Safe apart from anti pollution masks. They also own other rapidly growing brands such as Raho Safe, Domina (sexual wellness) and FURR (female grooming) which have been consistently posting high growth. 

Koo App & Fortis National Mental Health Program Launch Campaign - #ExamBuddy - To Manage Examination Stress

 * #ExamBuddy will be driven in native languages to address students’ concerns pertaining to examinations

To help students manage exam-related stress and anxiety, India’s multi-lingual micro-blogging platform - Koo has launched a special initiative in collaboration with Fortis National Mental Health Program, Fortis Healthcare. The three-day interactive program will be held from between 8.00 PM and 9.00 PM from November 26 - 29, 2021, and has been curated specially for students and parents. The live sessions and ‘Ask Me Anything’ would be conducted in multiple Indian languages by an expert team of psychiatrists and psychologists under the guidance of Dr. Samir Parikh, Director-Fortis National Mental Health Program, Fortis Healthcare. The team of Mental Health Experts would provide much needed information and support on how to develop study skills, along with inculcating examination related skills and manage the stress related to exams prior to the 10th and 12th board examinations.

The campaign aptly named #ExamBuddy, will be available in various languages - Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali and Kannada - and will benefit Koo users from across the country. Users of the Koo App - a Made-in-India platform for expression - will gain crucial insights on handling stress effectively both prior to and during the duration of the board exams by engaging with the experts from Fortis. The Koo App will facilitate the interaction through Google Meet.

Speaking on the campaign and the dire need to combat exam-related stress in an effective way, a Koo spokesperson said, “Koo - as an innovative platform - promotes dialogue between people on a variety of important topics across a slew of native Indian languages. The issue of exam-related stress is something almost every student and their parents go through. Thus, a freewheeling chat with experts in native languages could help students and parents manage their stress levels better. We believe that social media platforms can play a significant role in knowledge sharing on key issues like stress management and combating exam fever to help build a happy India.”

 Dr. Samir Parikh, Director-Fortis National Mental Health Program, Fortis Healthcare shared, “Each year a huge number of students and their parents experience significant stress that builds up on account of the pressure of examinations. It’s always better to discuss and express what one is feeling through conversations. Providing the right tools and skills which have a scientific basis to students and their parents are crucially important in helping them manage their anxiety and perform at an optimum level. It’s imperative that exams be seen as a methodology to teach students critical life skills and not just as a mechanism to procure marks.”

Thanks Giving, Other Holidays Top Charts As Most Popular Holidays Among Travellers: OYO’s Mid-Season Global Holiday Trends 2021

In India, Gandhi Jayanti and Dussehra were the most popular long weekend holidays among travellers in 2021

* Long weekend trips emerged as the most popular travel trend across geographies

* In the UK, London, Bath, Blackpool, Scotland and Great Yarmouth remain travellers’ favourite for holidays throughout 2021

* Halloween witnessed a spike in travel demand from Europe, with a surge in preference for alternate accommodation options such as homestays with spas and saunas, among others

* In the USA, destinations like Seattle, Miami, California, Houston and Dallas are hot favorites among holidaymakers 

Travel is back in a big way and consumers are excited to make up for lost holidays over the past two years. With a steady rise in vaccination coverage across geographies, combined with the easing of restrictions across regions, travellers have embraced the spirit of travel wholeheartedly, especially during holidays and festive long weekends in India, the US, the UK and Europe. As per OYO’s booking analysis, consumers across the world are increasingly opting for short-haul destinations and making last-minute bookings over planned trips. Across Europe, summer travel saw the highest bounce back in demand. Whereas, Americans travelled the most during the Labor Day long weekend of September 4 - 6, 2021. Closer to home, in India, the long weekends of Gandhi Jayanti and Dussehra ranked as the topmost holidays for travellers in 2021.

For Indians, festive long weekends are nothing less than sweet escapes

India is a land of diversities. This means many elaborate festivals and holidays. In India, some of the most popular holidays for travellers took place in the second half of this year, starting with Janmashtami in August, followed by Ganesh Chaturthi and Dussehra which saw a spike in bookings. This optimism around travel can be attributed to higher vaccination coverage and the opening up of several states for tourism in comparison to early 2021.

Indian travellers preferred spending their holidays across the country’s beautiful tourist destinations such as Jaipur, Goa, Visakhapatnam, Kochi and Udaipur during the festive season. Interestingly, short-haul destinations continue to be the go-to option for travellers across the country over long weekends. Some of the top short-haul destinations are Lonavala, Pondicherry, Shimla, Mysore. All of these destinations sit close to mainstream cities of Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh, Delhi and Bangalore, indicating that city folks are looking for respite closer to home. The long weekend of Dussehra saw a hike in demand, with an increase in trips to nearby destinations for a quick break. In India, last-minute bookings continue to be on the rise. Not surprisingly, Indians travel to destinations known for their festive cheer. During a festival, the preference for destinations well-known to celebrate the festival with great vigor witnessed a spike in bookings. For instance, during Ganesh Chaturthi, locals preferred going on short-haul trips to locations like Mahabaleshwar, Panchgani, Lonavala, and Mumbai. The most recent long weekend of Guru Nanak Jayanti saw the majority of bookings for Varanasi, Jaipur, Goa, Puri and Alibag.

Europe’s in holiday mode all year round in 2021

In 2021, Ascension Day, Halloween, Pentecost, Easter emerged as Europe’s favorite holidays to travel. What’s more interesting? Denmark tops charts as Europe’s most popular travel destination for a majority of public holidays. Europeans book an average stay of approx. 5 nights to celebrate the holiday and experience local offerings. In 2021, Halloween saw an overall uptick of 71% in comparison to 2019. Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France are the top 5 destinations for the holidays of Ascension Day, Halloween and Pentecost. However, a majority of these were last minute bookings considering the evolving local restrictions across European countries. For the upcoming holiday season, there’s a peak in bookings for homestays with spa, sauna, pool, alternative accommodation options in resorts and holiday parks. 

USA

Labor Day, New Year’s, Martin Luther King Jr Day, Memorial Day and Thanksgiving are America’s most travelled holidays. Coastal hotspots such as Seattle and Miami have been wildly popular during public holidays, followed by California’s Nevada City, Houston and Dallas.

UK

In the UK, May & August bank holidays are usually considered as the peak holiday season. Summer and Spring school holidays respectively have topped the UK's most travelled holiday’s list. London, Bath, Blackpool, Scotland and Great Yarmouth were the most travelled destinations during these holidays. In the UK, the average stay period during holidays was approx. 2 nights. Long weekend trips and school holiday travel are the most popular travel trends among the British. London, Bath, Blackpool, Scotland and Great Yarmouth remain the top 5 destinations for travellers throughout all holidays.

About OYO

OYO is a global platform that aims to empower entrepreneurs and small businesses with hotels and homes by providing full-stack technology products and services that aim to increase revenue and ease operations; bringing easy-to-book, affordable, and trusted accommodation to customers around the world. OYO offers 40+ integrated products and solutions to patrons who operate over 157,000 hotel and home storefronts in more than 35 countries including in India, Europe, and Southeast Asia as of March 31, 2021. For more information, visit http://www.oyorooms.com.

Watch Video's Of Siddharth Malhotra Plan His Adventure Vacation With Club Mahindra

Club Mahindra, the flagship brand of Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Limited reaches out to travel enthusiasts through its ‘Jaana Kahaan Hai’ campaign starring the Shershah celebrity Siddharth Malhotra. The campaign captures people’s desire to travel and explore destinations as well as indulge in newer adventures.

In the video, Siddharth and his friends are seen deciding ‘Jaana Kahan Hai’ by choosing the adventure activity they wish to experience. While it is new for Siddharth’s friends, the celebrity himself has experienced most of those through Club Mahindra. From ziplining in Kandaghat to jungle safari in Kanha, house boating in Ashtamudi and, paragliding in Dharamshala, our heartthrob Siddharth is looking for more. The end of the video also shows our seasoned traveler and his friends finally narrowing down on trekking in Club Mahindra Munnar.

Commenting on the campaign, Pratik Mazumder, Chief Marketing Officer, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Limited, says, “There is an extremely strong desire to travel amongst people. They are eager to try newer experiences and visit off-beat as well as unexplored destinations. And, with 70+ Club Mahindra resorts In India, the brand offers more than 2000 unforgettable unique experiences for every individual. Hence, we bring to you our ‘Jaana Kahan Hai’ campaign because that is all that you are left to decide and choose”.

Like Siddharth says in the video, ‘Destinations toh bhot baaki hai mere dost’ so all you and your family must do is decide upon ‘Jaana Kahan hai’.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CWsnwKJAOGn/?utm_medium=copy_link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdcF59gUL0w

Lionsgate Play Hits Gold With Multiple Exciting Campaigns To Promote The Brand's First Original Production, "Hiccups & Hookups"

What is common between Rajkummar Rao, Alok Nath and Simi Taparia? No points for guessing unless you have been living under a rock! The famous Bollywood faces have been troubled by the soon to be launched #NoFilter family – The Rao’s. The Rao family starring versatile actors Lara Dutta, Pratik Babbar and Shinnovawill be seen in Lionsgate Play’s first Indian original series Hiccups and Hookups. The upcoming show is helmed by talented director Kunal Kohli and will be premiered on Friday, 26th November 2021 across 8 countries- India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, and Nepal. Known for its edgy and curated content, Lionsgate Play has left no stone unturned to promote its first original while breaking the stereotypes and recreating the art of storytelling.   

All hell broke loose when Lara Dutta’s profile was seen on a dating site, that created a stir amongst the young millennials. With a plethora of quirky tweets and memes all over the internet, the brand’s first activation was an instant hit with the audience leading to Lara clarifying that it’s not her but the show’s protagonist, Vasudha who is looking for a match for herself. Further, the brand roped in ace actor Rajkummar Rao to introduce the new Raos with Welcome the Raos campaign. Rajkummar Rao introduced the host of characters from the show in one of the most innovative first look videos to have ever hit the airwaves.  

This was followed by a hilarious video that saw association with Sima Taparia aka Sima aunty in an unfathomable challenge of finding prospective partners for the Rao family. The quintessential matchmaker was left hopeless when she was faced with cheeky secrets of the family. The icing on the cake was a video with veteran star, Alok Nath visiting the sets of the show as Babuji, the most sanskari character in Bollywood and his face off with the #NoFilter family that gave a peek into the sassy side of the Rao family.  

Mr. Amit Dhanuka - Executive Vice President at Lionsgate commented, “We are ecstatic and thrilled with the buzz around our first Indian original production, Hiccups and Hookups. The show is exploring the young adult space which a niche genre. We are confident the show will win hearts and open dialogues that are otherwise considered taboo. All marketing assets have done exceptionally well and have created a lot of interest and curiosity amongst the viewers. With the multi-layer innovative marketing campaigns, we hope to turn the leaf of marketing to a newer page.” 

Ahead of the launch, the platform has been creating edgy content to engage with their multigeneration audience especially millennials and Gen Z. Through appealing campaigns, the brand has been able to portray and resonate the vibe the brand stands for. Both digital and offline activations have played a massive role in creating awareness around the show. The original also witnessed some dramatic posters that was largely appreciated by the audience.  

The posters established the uncomplicated transparent relationship between the lead characters followed by the ensemble poster that reflected the young and peppy vibe of the show. 

TVS Credit And IIT - Madras Signs MoU To Set Up Innovation Programs

 TVS Credit Services Limited and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to design and boost innovation programs and carry out joint research activities. This partnership acquires significance as TVS Credit - one of the fastest-growing NBFCs in the country, and IITM- a symbol of excellence in academia are coming together to collaborate on Innovation programs, provide training, research and consultation to young professionals. The collaboration would bring together academic stalwarts and professionals who would jointly design, develop and deliver cutting edge technology projects, research and embark on consultation in the areas of management and financial inclusion.

This partnership aims to provide Technology solutions in the space of Fintech and Data Science. Under this alliance, both organisations will explore opportunities for undertaking joint research projects and formulate academic activities such as short courses, seminars, workshops and conferences. This effort would create a seamless ecosystem between industry and academia for leveraging analytics & technology.

Speaking on the collaboration, Venkatraman G, Chief Executive Officer, TVS Credit, said, "The future of technology in financial services is an exciting space to participate in, with an institute like IIT Madras. Also the importance of skilling and upskilling is more acute than ever before. With exponentially increasing digitalization, the young and bright minds need to focus on new skills that will enable them to provide innovative solutions and thereby help in the growth of our organisation."

Speaking on the collaboration, Prof. Ravindra Gettu, Dean, IC&SR – IIT Madras, said, "We are happy to join hands with a leading market player like TVS Credit. Partnerships such as these help in creating practical and innovative solutions that can have a lasting impact. We look forward to working together and achieving mutually beneficial outcomes."

One of the key beneficiaries of this initiative will be the employees of TVS Credit, as the innovative solutions and skill training will hold a strong potential to revolutionise the industry at large. This partnership aims to provide scholarships for young minds as well.  By using the skills, the NBFC sector can improve resource efficiency and productivity. In addition, this collaboration will drive the advancement of research and development. 

About TVS Credit Services Ltd

TVS Credit Services Limited is a leading Non-Banking Financial Company with over 32,000 points of presence across India. The number one financier for TVS Motors Limited and one of the leading tractor financiers, TVS Credit also has a fast-growing footprint in used car, consumer durable, used commercial vehicle and business loans segment. Over 6.5 million happy customers have been served with the help of 19,000+ motivated employees, and robust Tech and Analytics powered processes. Driven by a mission to empower Indians to dream bigger, secure in the knowledge that we are partners in the fulfilment of their aspirations. With new products on the anvil and an unwavering commitment to customer service and constant improvement, TVS Credit creates value for the customers, employees and partners.

Know more about TVS Credit at www.tvscredit.com. 

Delhi-Based Digital Agency, Socially India, Launches Pro-Bono Grassroots Initiative

Delhi-based boutique digital agency, Socially India, launches #Allies4Change - a social initiative wherein the company intends to adopt one grassroots organisation NGO for a minimum of 6 months and handle their digital marketing pro-bono.

Campaign Inspiration:

As per Ankita Mahabir, Founder, Socially India, the inspiration for this campaign came from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

"During the pandemic, many of us had to face extreme circumstances and somehow, at Socially we made it through the other end. That got us thinking about how we could do our part to give back - especially to the grassroots organisations that worked tirelessly through the pandemic.  The past two years have made us realise that there's a lot we can do with the skills and resources we have, and as a company, we decided to put that into action."

Depending on campaign success, the company aims to adopt up to 2 organisations in a calendar year. The eventual goal is to provide the NGOs with enough tools to manage their strategies after the 6-month engagement period. The company will also be available for continued guidance. The first organisation will be announced in January 2022.

Using Professional Skills for a Positive Impact:

Grassroots organisations across India will be able to participate in the #Allies4Change campaign through a simple online application form.

Application form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfjOZCajuLwo09SbNeagylO3Z4pMwpD_kRi74HCJUWkejTFmw/viewform

“As marketers, we sometimes forget that we have at our disposal one of the most powerful tools in this day & age to drive social change. Our goal with #Allies4Change is to use our skills to provide grassroots organisations in India the support and guidance they need to achieve their goals via digital - be it anything from awareness to fund-raising.”

- Nancy, Digital Strategy Lead, Socially India

#Allies4Change also hopes to inspire other professionals to also use their skills to make a positive change and impact - no matter how big or small, every little bit makes a difference.

About Socially India: 

Socially India is a content-driven digital marketing agency that thrives on bringing powerful, fun, and innovative ideas to life for digital channels. With clients spanning 5 countries, 7 cities, and diverse commercial verticals, Socially is a real ally in the digital world.

SteppinOut By Dineout & Soul Search India Launches ‘SneakinOut’: India’s Largest Sneaker Fest

* Participants get a chance to win the most iconic sneakers like Air Jordan 1 high and Air Jordan 3 x A Ma Maniere

* Live performances by Gully Gang India

It's not just you, everybody’s eyes also light up when they see a great pair of kicks. Sneakers go beyond just being a desirable item of footwear –  they have evolved into a cultural symbol of our times. Keeping the all-time high trend, SteppinOut is launching SneakinOut: a sneaker fest curated by SteppinOut by Dineout and Sole Search India. The festival curated to unite sneaker enthusiasts will be hosted in 7 cities of India starting 27th of November in Bangalore. 

To capture the emerging sense of sneaker culture, this festival will include fun activities like shoe customisation, lace it up, dartboard challenge, photo booths, and much more. SneakinOut is also exclusively collaborating with Gully Gang for all 8 cities, where the best talent from the gang will keep you grooving at the event! Shah Rule, DJ Proof/Karan Kanchan Frenzzy, MC Altaf, D'Evil, Tsumyoki, Kidd Mange are some of the artists you’ll definitely catch at the events.  

SneakinOut festival aims to create an ideal platform where sneakerheads, gamers, musicians, and graffiti artists, come together to buy, trade, or sell sneakers and celebrate the rising sneaker culture in India. The festival will host the most iconic sneaker brands and emerging Indian street labels to engage and interact with street-style enthusiasts.

People who opt for VIP tickets to the event could get to be a part of an exclusive raffle where they could win the most iconic sneakers of all time! Some of these include Air Jordan 1 High “Hyper Royal”, Yeezy Foam Runner and Air Jordan 3 x A Ma Maniere. Casa Bacardi, the sponsor for this event also have a giveaway planned for all sneakerheads - they are giving away a total of 25 sneakers in these 8 cities!

Sole Search India, co-founded by Rannvijay Singh,  is the country’s largest hyped reselling marketplace. They connect buyers and sellers with the goal of providing everyone access to the world’s most sought-after sneakers, streetwear, accessories & collectables. Rannvijay is one of the most passionate sneaker-heads in the country with over 400 sneakers that he’s proud to own. 

About SteppinOut by Dineout

SteppinOut is one of the largest experiential event curators in the country. With more than 20 events hosted in a month, ranging from night markets, live music shows, concerts, comedy nights, and much more! In August 2020, SteppinOut was acquired by India’s largest dining out platform - Dineout. The acquisition was a step forward in creating memorable experiences while expanding Dineout’s overall value proposition to consumers across India. This enabled in creating a first-of-its-kind experience for our users — with Dineout hosting thousands of restaurant partners, and SteppinOut hosting new and innovatively curated events. Rooted in diversity all while maintaining quality, all SteppinOut’s experiences are crafted with intimate attention, impressive detail, and an immense amount of love.

For more information,  visit –  https://www.dineout.co.in/

LTI And IBM Inaugurate Innovation And Experience Center In Bengaluru To Help Clients Accelerate Digital Transformation

* Companies will collaborate in the areas of hybrid cloud, security, data, and AI offerings

Larsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd. (BSE: 540005, NSE: LTI), a global technology consulting and digital solutions company has opened an Innovation & Experience Centre at LTI Whitefield campus in Bengaluru (India) focusing on IBM technologies. The Center will assist enterprises in modernizing their operations and accelerating digital transformation journeys.

This Innovation and Experience Center will showcase LTI solutions that have been co-created using IBM technologies such as IBM Cloud and Cloud Paks. The Centre will also serve as a forum for customers to engage with LTI and IBM technical resources for in-depth technology briefings, solution demos, software, tool access and solution workshops.

Sudhir Chaturvedi, President-Sales and Executive Board Member, LTI, said: “The rapid technological advances make it necessary for customers to experience solutions before adopting them. Our new center in Bengaluru fulfils this need for the joint customers of IBM and LTI. This center will offer combined benefits of LTI’s rich domain proficiency and IBM’s deep technical expertise, and thereby assist clients in their transformation journey.”

Through this center, IBM and LTI will collaborate and invest in creating joint solutions and develop industry viewpoints around digital transformation, hybrid cloud, data & AI, and security services. In addition, both LTI and IBM teams, will work with customers to address their requirements around driving digital transformation and managing multiple clouds.

Evaristus Mainsah, GM, Hybrid Cloud and Edge Ecosystem, IBM, said, “This center is an outcome of our growing alliance with LTI to help clients predict, automate, secure, and modernize their business operations. We are confident our clients will benefit from the ease of access to industry-specific assets and customized joint solutions with IBM’s open hybrid cloud approach that will help to accelerate their transformation journeys.”

Distinct features of the center include an IBM Playground for associates to explore and experiment with prototypes, History Zone that highlights LTI-IBM alliance journey, joint customer success stories, Innovation Zone for brainstorming on innovative ideas and planning future offerings, and Discussion Zone with feedback mechanism to ensure continuous improvement.

LTI has strong capabilities in IBM’s Digital Business Automation portfolio. LTI’s Automation consultants are helping clients in driving productivity improvements with industry specific pre-built IBM frameworks. Earlier this year, LTI and IBM had announced expansion of their global alliance.

About LTI:

LTI (NSE: LTI) is a global technology consulting and digital solutions Company helping more than 460 clients succeed in a converging world. With operations in 33 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 unrivalled real-world expertise to solve the most complex challenges of enterprises across all industries. Each day, our team of more than 40,000 LTItes enable our clients to improve the effectiveness of their business and technology operations and deliver value to their customers, employees and shareholders. Find more at http://www.Lntinfotech.com or follow us at @LTI_Global.   

LetsTransport Partners With EVRE To Charge Its 1000-Strong EV Fleet

* EVRE setting-up 200 charging stations in Bengaluru

* EVRE to install 1,000 EV chargers in 12 cities over next six months

* First phase to entail installation of 300 chargers by March 2022

* Potential reduction of 5.4 MT CO2 emissions and 2.4 million litres of fossil fuel annually

LetsTransport, a Bangalore based tech-logistics company has partnered with EVRE, India’s leading EV Charging Infrastructure player to provide parking and charging infrastructure for its 1,000-strong fleet across 12 cities.  Under the partnership, EVRE will set-up 1,000 EV charging stations across India within the next six months, which will be utilised by LetsTransport and other EV fleet owners.

LetsTransport has an active fleet of over 1,00,000 vehicles and they are moving towards building a 100% EV fleet. In October 2021, LetsTransport announced their fleet augmentation with 1000 electric vehicles to drive cost optimization and sustainability. They recently partnered with several OEMs to build a robust EV fleet for their last-mile logistic services. 

In order to complement this EV fleet across 12 cities, EVRE will design, manufacture and execute the operation and maintenance of the EV charging infrastructure.  The technology for all the chargers, existing and upcoming, is owned and operated by EVRE.  Taking an integrated approach to demand aggregation, supply optimization, connecting with charging infrastructure and financing, in this partnership LetsTransport will help in demand assessment of where EVRE should set up charging stations for higher utilization.  Further, the space for parking and charging this EV-fleet in 12 cities will be provided by EVRE.

This partnership is a testament to the fact that Efficient and contiguous EV charging infrastructure is the key to operate an EV fleet, wherein the EV fleet operators can concentrate on managing their core operations.

Speaking on the partnership Mr. Pushkar Singh, CEO & Co-Founder, LetsTransport said, “At LetsTransport we have always believed in building a sustainable growth model. We have been working on EV pilots across India with our clients for over a year now and we firmly believe that EV is going to be the future of urban freight movement, especially in the last mile space. We are proud to partner with EVRE to overcome the challenge of EV adoption in the industry.  We are working on enabling wider adoption of EVs in the last mile space, and EVRE is a perfect partner for our sustainability goals.”

Commenting on this partnership, Krishna K Jasti, Co-Founder and CEO of EVRE said, "The ease of sustaining a large EV fleet is what EVRE brings to the table.  With over 650 operational public EV Charging stations across the country in the hub model, we are in a position to help any EV fleet owner exploit the best potential of their fleet and contribute to the holistic drive to bring down the carbon footprint of mobility.  We are happy to partner with a player like LetsTransport as we can mutually support each other by increasing the footprint and utilisation of hubs across the country”.

The phase-wise implementation will include EVRE setting-up 200 charging stations in Bengaluru, 200 in Delhi NCR and the rest in cities including Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad amongst others by end of 2022.  Over these months, the two companies will work together to strengthen charging infrastructure across the cities mentioned and ensure access to this infrastructure to support the expanding commercial EV fleet of LetsTransport.

About LetsTransport: LetsTransport, the Bengaluru based firm, is a last-mile tech-logistics solution provider for intrastate freight deliveries. Founded in 2015, it is one of the largest urban logistics service providers in India. With its aim to improve the livelihood and work environment of the urban trucking community along with improving the efficiency of the sector the firm has on-boarded 100k+ trucks across India. Currently, the firm is catering to urban logistics operations of 17 cities in India by working across industry sectors such as organized retail, FMCG, e-commerce, distribution and 3PL companies. Some of its clients include Amazon, Bisleri, JioMart, JSW Cements, Pidilite, Britannia, Coca-Cola, Delhivery, and Udaan. The company offers customized logistics solutions for clients, along with other value-added services such as screened drivers, audited and GPS-enabled vehicles, point-to-point billing, 24×7 service and status updates, tech integrations through APIs, and greater efficiency, all at transparent and economical pricing. (www.letstransport.in)

For further information, please letstransport@wizikey.com

About EVRE: EVRE is India’s leading integrated charging infrastructure company that follows EAAS (Energy-as-a-Service) model, offering public charging infrastructure in a pay-per-use model in nine cities across India.  EVRE is working towards enabling EV-ready communities and cities with sustainable Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure that are not only convenient but prompt consumers to make the switch with ease.  Founded in 2017, EVRE aims to enhance the experience of the EV users with smart and connected infrastructure for seamless and immersive consumer experience while ensuring sustainability through its solar-powered Intellipoles. 

EVRE is focussed on establishing and maintaining 50,000 EV charging stations by 2023. 

Technology Predictions Globally For 2022 And Beyond ...

By  Viswanath, CTO, Atlassian

Over the next 5 years, Web 3.0 will upend the way we think about application development. Where Web 1.0 was the era of internet protocols, Web 2.0 is our current state of applications and generated content. Web 3.0 will rise as a result of the cracks in the current system, which puts user data in the hands of social media giants. Powered by blockchain technology, this new version of the web will usher in a decentralized internet and put data ownership back in the hands of the user. For the industry, it will completely change the way we approach application development and privacy.

Archana Rao, CIO, Atlassian

Every business unit in an Enterprise will operate in an agile fashion with their dedicated IT partner, changing the way business units transform and build new capabilities. With IT now sitting at the center of business, these teams will only grow in size and partner with more departments to deliver long-term business value. The success of each service they provide will now be measured by outcomes, instead of output, and require them to move from a project- to product-based operating model.

Employee engagement and burnout prevention will remain at the top of the agenda for IT. Distributed work, competition for talent, and increasing levels of burnout will drive IT leaders to invest in building a world-class, digital employee experience. This will include the adoption of more asynchronous collaboration tools, having all employees on the same cloud platform, and making information across the business more open. 

Adrian Ludwig, Chief Trust Officer, Atlassian

More empathy, not technical skills, is key to building resilience in 2022. We’ll begin to realize that security is not just a technical problem; It’s an organizational and human problem. As an industry, we’ve learned that it’s not enough to mandate security protocols and increase training. Instead, security teams will need to exercise empathy in order to better understand developers' top concerns and motivating factors. For example, you will have far more resilient systems if your development environment includes a strong incentive structure or removes friction for developers to perform security testing and make security improvements.

The lines between security, engineering, trust, privacy and compliance in an organization will disappear. Information privacy and compliance are now top priorities for customers in the era of cloud and distributed systems. CISOs and CSOs at global companies will be expected to lead on a proactive approach in getting ahead of rising regulatory policies and rethinking user privacy. As was the case with Atlassian, this will likely result in simplifying organizational structures to remove collaboration barriers between these interconnected teams.

As cloud adoption outpaces on-premise growth, distributed architecture will become table-stakes for security strategies. The adoption of cloud is accelerating and will soon eclipse on-premise growth. What this means for security teams is that they’ll need to look ahead and eliminate lateral movement by moving to an architecture that's broadly distributed and primarily consists of software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications.  

Project “Saaf Water” On A Journey To Keep Track Of Ground Water Quality To Benefit The Masses

* First Indian team to win the IBM Call for Code Global Challenge

Manikanta Chavvakula, a second year undergraduate student from FLAME University, along with team members which include Hrishikesh Bhandari from IIT Madras, Satyam Prakash from IIT Madras, Sanket Marathe and Jay Aherkar, together known as Team ‘Saaf Water’ were awarded the global winners of IBM Call for Code Global Challenge 2021. A panel of some of the most eminent leaders in sustainability, business and technology, including former US President Bill Clinton, awarded Team Saaf Water the grand prize of $200,000. This is the first Indian team to ever win the title.

Dr. Dishan Kamdar, Vice-Chancellor, FLAME University, said, “At FLAME, we have always emphasized on not just academic learning, but also on understanding real-world problems, deconstructing them and finding innovative solutions to them. We are extremely proud of our student – Manikanta - and the team of Saaf Water on this achievement. I am confident that their success will encourage and pave the way for many more such efforts by our students to work on solving issues and contributing to the betterment of our country.”

Call for Code is a platform for developers to use their skills with cutting-edge technologies to drive a positive and lasting change across the world. Top solutions are further developed, incubated, and deployed as sustainable open source projects with support from partners like IBM and the Linux Foundation. Team Saaf Water will now receive support to launch this project from IBM, the United Nations, David Clark Cause, the Linux Foundation, and others partners of the Call for Code movement.

As approximately 50% of the world's population is still dependent on groundwater, Team Saaf Water felt that there is a strict need for a system which regularly monitors and pre-warns about anomalies or degradations in groundwater. Saaf Water is an open-source AI-IoT platform which when installed will help in timely monitoring of groundwater and informs authorities as well as the community about water quality along with purification methods for consumption. It also predicts when the water quality will go bad and helps reduce dependency on manual test kits or lab tests for approximate assessment.

The Saaf Water project is a Wi-Fi and cellular-enabled device that can be mounted on many different types of pumps, which is outfitted with sensors that collect information such as total dissolved solids, turbidity, pH, electrical conductivity, and temperature. The device uploads collected data to software in the cloud that analyses it. When contamination is found, users receive text alerts, as the pump’s LED warning lights flick on.

The team will be now democratizing access to information about water quality in a way that can both help local agents ensure quality and inform the community at large when they’re at risk. The team aims to implement Saaf Water on the ground and benefit the masses. As Saaf Water is an Open Source Project, it makes it easy for developers to contribute to it and the team will now start a journey to make Saaf Water a global solution and make water quality information accessible and easy to understand for all, to prevent health illnesses due to water contamination.

Link to the Saaf Water website: https://saafwater.com/

About FLAME University 

FLAME University is the pioneer of liberal education in India, delivering the country's premier interdisciplinary education experience. It is driven to being one of India's most respected and reputed centres of learning - the premier destination of choice for higher education in the nation for learners and teachers, to push the design and nature of studies and to create a societal up-gradation phenomenon, particularly in the fields of liberal education and leadership. FLAME has been set up with an idealistic vision and a social commitment to contribute to society nobly. With more than 120 quality full-time faculty members, the university offers an unparalleled educational experience. The student-teacher ratio is 11:1, unmatched at the higher education level in India. Spread on 60 acres of green expanse with aesthetically designed infrastructure, and the campus currently consists of five schools: FLAME School of Liberal Education, FLAME School of Business, FLAME School of Communication, FLAME School of Computing and Data Sciences and FLAME School of Design, Art & Performance. FLAME University has been established as a state private university vide the FLAME University Act 2014 (Maharashtra Act No. II of 2015) of the Government of Maharashtra. It is recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) under Section 2(f), and degrees awarded by the University are recognized under Section 22 of the UGC Act, 1956.

MAHE And Asian Media With Culture’s Network, Deakin University Organizes Virtual Celebration Of Folk Expressions & Heritage Films

The virtual folklore festival, titled ‘MAHE Deakin Jana-Pada’, is an attempt to celebrate, educate, investigate and create an awareness regarding the processes of cultural preservation and cultural change and is supported by Indian Council of Cultural Relations, Regional Office Bengaluru, Consulate General of India, Melbourne, Australia, Association Nationale Cultures Du Monde (ANCM) Gannat, France, International Dance Council, UNESCO, Zorenka Dance Association, Pensa, Russia, Mythic Society, Bengaluru, India, Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy, Bengaluru, India, La Danza Integradora de Culturas, Bolivia.

The term jana-pada, often used in south Indian languages, refers to folklore, a rich aspect of any culture. An international festival of this nature is one of the best means to safeguard, promote and also diffuse the intangible cultural heritage. The cultural expressions through music, dance and performance contributes significantly to the enhancement of Karnataka’s cultural identity and diversity and such a virtual folklore festival provides an appropriate platform.

With over ten countries participating, the event represents opportunities of formal and informal contacts for exchange of ideas, for learning from other experiences and for international cooperation. Even though physical participation is not a possibility given the circumstances brought forth by the COVID-19 pandemic, this festival aims to bring to the audience a near live experience. The festival brings together folk performers and cultural heritage films in the digital space, showcasing a curated collective. It is being put together in an innovative and fresh manner in order to connect different parts of the word through this initiative.

Being organized on the occasion of ‘Azadi ka amrit mahotsav’, such a unique and evolutionary international cultural folklore festival will support exchange of the folk forms as it becomes a meeting place of cultures as the participants will give an insight into their folk traditions promoting a culture of peace, which is the primary objective of the partnering universities.

The MAHE Deakin ‘Jana-Pada’ consists of two segments. The first one, being the Virtual folk festival that shall be spread over four weekends on Saturdays, beginning from the 27th of November, 2021 for two hours each day. In this, there will be one folk form of Karnataka and others from different parts of the world. This brief show will be followed by a discussion (which will include one member from the performing group, along with other academics/filmmakers). The panel discussion will focus on the cultural aspect of the dance forms, tradition, challenges, and its future. The discussion topics will include themes relating to Nature-Culture, Rites, Rituals, Folk tales and Oral Histories and Cultural Heritage in Teaching and Learning.

As an academic output to the event, an issue of Global Media Journal Indian Edition will be dedicated to folklore research. Also e-book with graphic representation of the performances and event write up will be published.

The second segment will be the Intangible Cultural Heritage Film festival in January 2022. Film makers have been invited to submit films (factual, documentary or experimental) that explore any aspect of the Intangible Cultural Heritage which can include folklore, nature-culture, rites, rituals, tales, oral histories and others. It is being proposed to be conducted via in person screening of the award winning films at Manipal & Bangalore at a convenient date which shall be announced in the near future.

The day 1 inauguration of 27th November, 2021 will be held via the online platform Zoom, from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm IST.

This event is being curated by festival directors, Dr. Vikrant Kishore, Deakin University, Dr. Shubha H.S, Associate Professor and the Head, Department of Media Studies, Manipal Institute of Communication, and Mr. Shreeraj Gudi, Assistant Professor – Senior Scale, Manipal Institute of Communication.

discovery+ Season 2 Of Critically Acclaimed And Fan Favourite Series Money Mafia- India’s King Cons! Is Back Soon

* Premiering on November 24, Season 2 to chronicle the most shocking scams like Crypto Currency, IRS Call Center, Ketan Parekh to Popular Finance Fraud

After the stupendous success of its previous season, discovery+ is all set to premier season 2 of its highly popular and fan favourite show, Money Mafia - India’s King Cons! The latest season of the documentary premiering on November 24, 2021, is sure to make for a riveting watch with new and some of the biggest financial frauds of the country that will keep the audience hooked and eager to know what happens next. The series will explore shocking financial frauds from Ponzi schemes to cyber fraud to call center scams and banking scandals that have been committed by ordinary citizens of the country, who planned and committed extraordinary crimes! 

This documentary series produced by Chandra Talkies has seen tremendous interest from Discovery’s passionate audiences that are seeking to consume some extraordinary and unexplored content. Further rewarding their curiosity, discovery+ has brought together some of these cases that have affected not just Indians but also at some point afflicted people worldwide. This highly popular and among top 10 highest subscription driven series on discovery+ will document 4 intriguing stories  like CryptoCurrency cons, IRS Call Center impersonation, Ketan Parekh stock market case, amongst others. Through firsthand expert opinions, archival footage and indepth research, the series will sum up what happened with the masterminds behind it.

“With audiences' increasing appetite for the genre of investigative crime shows, we envision putting across these true crime stories through an entertaining format whilst maintaining its narrative and keeping it unalloyed. Money Mafia revisits popular stories that have captured the nation's imagination thereby broadening interest among factual core viewers as well as general interest viewers” said, Sai Abishek, Original Content Head- South Asia, Discovery Inc.

The first episode will unfold a $300 million fraud case conducted through a fake IRS Call Centre where hundreds of operators posed as the representatives of the US IRS (Internal Revenue Service) and called unsuspecting  US citizens to extort money. While the Covid-19 pandemic led to a spur in various frauds, the second episode premiering on 29th November will closely explore Popular Finance – Kerala’s Unpopular Saga a Rs 2000 crore fraud by a Non-Banking Financial Company based in Kerala that led to thousands of depositors losing their life savings to an alleged scheme during pandemic. The third episode will focus on one of the most popular Stock Market brokers in India - Ketan Parekh who was often known as the Pied Piper of the stock market. The fourth episode will draw attention to the very popular new digital investment  Cryptocurrency and the frauds around it told by victims who have lost their life savings.

About discovery+

‘discovery+’, an exciting D2C streaming app is launched to satiate the unmet need of a differentiated product, offering premium real-life entertainment. Priced competitively at INR 399 per annum, the app is developed and curated specifically for India. Discovery+ offers thousands of hours of exclusive content across 55+ genres, including Science, Adventure, Food and Lifestyle, in 7 languages including Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Bengali. The premium subscribers have access to a pool selection of never-seen-before Premium Discovery titles, must-watch documentaries, India originals and exclusive acquisitions. Free users of the app have access to all-time favorites from the Discovery library.

UST Achieves UiPath Services Network Certified Status For RPA Professional Services

* UST has been recognized as one of the first UiPath Services Network Certified partners in India

Aliso Viejo, CA; November 25, 2021 – UST, a leading digital transformation solutions company, today announced that it has been named a UiPath (NYSE: PATH) Services Network Certified Partner, for Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Professional services. UST has been recognized as one of the first UiPath Services Network Certified partners in India.  It is an elite network of service delivery partners accredited with advanced delivery skills on par with the UiPath Professional Services team. USN Certified partner status ensures the highest quality standards and customer satisfaction for RPA services delivery.

Combining UiPath’s best-in-class RPA platform with UST SmartOps™ (UST’s Intelligent Automation IPA platform) helps transform business operations for clients across diverse domains including healthcare, retail, banking, and financial services, and more. Invoice Processing, Accounts Reconciliation, Supply Forecast, Employee Onboarding, Order Management, Claims Processing, are some of the many processes that when automated, enable enterprises to unlock hyper-scale efficiencies and accelerate growth.

“We take immense pride in being named a USN certified Managed Services partner. This is a great testimonial of UST’s expertise to provide comprehensive automation services to our clients globally. UiPath’s advanced RPA platform along with UST SmartOps can unlock substantial value to our customers while they navigate their digital transformation journey,” said Sajesh Gopinath, General Manager – UST SmartOps™.”

Commenting on the recognition, Anil Bhasin, Managing Director and Vice-President, India and South Asia, UiPath said “We are happy to have UST as one of the first UiPath Services Network Certified partners in India. The USN Partner Program defines the competency of the best UiPath implementation partners. We are committed to making it as easy as possible for organizations to implement, scale, and see value from our platform, and collaborations like these will help us redesign the future of work.”

About UiPath

UiPath has a vision to deliver the Fully Automated Enterprise, one where companies use automation to unlock their greatest potential. UiPath offers an end-to-end platform for automation, combining the leading Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solution with a full suite of capabilities that enables every organization to rapidly scale digital business operations.

About UST SmartOps™

UST SmartOps is an Intelligent Automation Platform that holistically learns and reimagines the business processes while intelligently digitizing and compressing manual workflows. This empowers people to focus on the opportunities with the highest business impact.

For more information about UST SmartOps,  visit: https://www.ust.com/smartops.

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. We identify their core challenges and craft disruptive solutions that bring their vision to life through our agile approach. 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 worldwide. Together, with over 26,000 employees in 25 countries, we build for boundless impact—touching billions of lives in the process. Visit us at ust.com.

Falcon Edge, DST Global, D1 Capital And Redbird Capital Lead $840 Million investment In Dream Sports At $8 Billion Valuation

Dream Sports, India’s leading sports tech company with brands such as Dream Capital, FanCode, Dream11, DreamSetGo, Dream Game Studios, and DreamPay in its portfolio, today announced the completion of an investment of $840 Million at an $8 Billion valuation, led by Falcon Edge, DST Global, D1 Capital, Redbird Capital and Tiger Global. The round also saw participation from existing investors like TPG and Footpath Ventures, making it amongst the largest investments globally in the sports tech sector.

Dream Sports, with an existing user base of 140 million Indian sports fans, is on a mission to build one of the world’s largest sports ecosystems which includes Sports Content, Commerce, Experiences, Fan Engagement (including Sports Gaming and Esports), Web 3.0 solutions, Fantasy Sports and Fitness Tech. Earlier this year, Dream Sports further strengthened its commitment to this space by announcing a corpus of $250 Million through its CVC and M&A arm, Dream Capital. Dream Capital has built an initial portfolio of 10 companies, largely focusing on thematic early stage investments in India, including, Fittr, SoStronk, KheloMore and Elevar. Dream Capital is now expanding its sports, fan engagement and fitness portfolio in India and globally.

Commenting on the investment, Harsh Jain, CEO and Co-Founder, Dream Sports said, “Our vision and mission is to create an entrepreneur-led virtuous cycle of investment, innovation and wealth creation for all stakeholders in the sports ecosystem, from fans to athletes, teams and leagues. Our investors have deep experience in developing sports ecosystems globally, and we are fortunate to have their guidance to ‘Make Sports Better’ for 1 Billion Indian sports fans”

“We're excited to partner with the Dream Sports family in their vision of building the leading end-to-end sports tech company in India,” said Rahul Mehta, Managing Partner at DST Global. "We're very impressed with their customer centric approach, product strategy and ability to strengthen connections between fans and their favorite sports.”

A homegrown company founded in 2008 by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth, Dream Sports is located in Mumbai and employs close to 1,000 ‘Sportans’.

Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial advisor to Dream Sports on the transaction.

About Us:

Dream Sports is India’s leading sports technology company with 140 million users, housing brands such as Dream11, the world’s largest fantasy sports platform, FanCode, a premier sports content & commerce platform, Dream Capital, a CVC and M&A arm, DreamSetGo, a sports experiences platform, and DreamPay, a payment solutions provider. Dream Sports is based in Mumbai and has a workforce of close to 1,000 ‘Sportans’. Founded in 2008 by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth, Dream Sports’ mission is to ‘Make Sports Better’ for fans through the confluence of sports and technology. Since 2018, Dream Sports has been consistently featured as the only sports tech company in the ‘Great Places to Work’ survey.

Star Health And Allied Insurance Company Initial Public Offering To Open On November 30, 2021

* Price Band fixed at Rs 870 to Rs 900 per equity share of face value of Rs. 10 each of Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Limited (“Equity Shares”)

* Bid /Offer Opening Date – November 30, 2021 and Bid/ Offer Closing Date – December 02, 2021

Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Limited (“Company”) to open its Bid/Offer in relation to its initial public offering (“Offer”) on November 30, 2021.

The Price Band of the offer has been fixed at Rs. 870 to Rs. 900 per Equity Share. Bids can be made for a minimum of 16 Equity Shares and in multiples of 16 equity shares thereafter.

The Offer comprises of a fresh issue of up to up to ?20,000 million (the “Fresh Issue”) and an offer for sale of up to 58,324,225 equity shares, including up to 30,683,553 equity shares by Safecrop Investments India LLP (“Promoter Selling Shareholder”), up to 137,816 equity shares by Konark Trust, up to 9,518 equity shares by MMPL Trust (“Promoter Group Selling Shareholders”) up to 7,680,371 equity shares by Apis Growth 6 Limited, up to 4,110,652 equity shares by Mio IV Star, up to 7,438,564 equity shares by University of Notre Dame Du Lac, up to 4,110,652 equity shares by Mio Star, up to 2,509,099 equity shares by ROC Capital Pty Limited, up to 1,000,000 equity shares by Venkatasamy Jagannathan, up to 500,000 equity shares by Sai Satish and up to 144,000 equity shares by Berjis Minoo Desai (collectively, the “Other Selling Shareholders”).

The offer includes a reservation aggregating up to ?1,000 million for subscription by eligible employees (“Employee Reservation Portion”).

The Offer is being made through the Book Building Process, in terms of Rule 19(2)(b) of the securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957, as amended (“SCRR”) read with Regulation 31 of the SEBI ICDR Regulations and in compliance with Regulation 6(2) of the SEBI ICDR Regulations wherein not less than 75% of the Net Offer shall be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to Qualified Institutional Buyers (“QIBs”) (the “QIB Portion”), provided that our Company and the Selling Shareholders in consultation with the GCBRLMs, BRLMs and the Co-BRLMs may allocate up to 60% of the QIB Portion to Anchor Investors on a discretionary basis. In the event of under-subscription, or non-allocation in the Anchor Investor Portion, the balance Equity Shares shall be added to the QIB Portion. One-third of the Anchor Investor Portion shall be reserved for domestic Mutual Funds, subject to valid Bids being received from the domestic Mutual Funds at or above the Anchor Investor Allocation Price. 5% of the QIB Portion (excluding the Anchor Investor Portion) shall be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to Mutual Funds only, and the remainder of the QIB Portion shall be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to all QIB Bidders (other than Anchor Investors), including Mutual Funds, subject to valid Bids being received at or above the Offer Price. However, if the aggregate demand from Mutual Funds is less than 5% of the QIB Portion, the balance Equity Shares available for allocation in the Mutual Fund Portion will be added to the remaining QIB Portion for proportionate allocation to QIBs.

Further, not more than 15% of the Net Offer shall be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to Non-Institutional Bidders and not more than 10% of the Net Offer shall be available for allocation to RIBs in accordance with the SEBI ICDR Regulations, subject to valid Bids being received from them at or above the Offer Price. Further, Equity Shares will be allocated on a proportionate basis to Eligible Employees applying under the Employee Reservation Portion, subject to valid Bids received from them at or above the Offer Price. All Bidders (except Anchor Investors) are required to mandatorily utilise the Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) process providing details of their respective bank account (including UPI ID for RIBs using UPI Mechanism), in which the corresponding Bid Amounts will be blocked by the SCSBs or the Sponsor Bank, as applicable. Anchor Investors are not permitted to participate in the Offer through the ASBA process.

For details, see “Offer Information” beginning on page 413 of the Red Herring Prospectus.

The Equity Shares offered through Red Herring Prospectus are proposed to be listed on BSE and NSE.

^Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited, Axis Capital Limited, ^BofA Securities India Limited, ^Citigroup Global Markets India Private Limited, ^ICICI Securities Limited, CLSA India Private Limited, Credit Suisse Securities (India) Private Limited, Jefferies India Private Limited, *Ambit Private Limited, *DAM Capital Advisors Limited, IIFL Securities Limited and *SBI Capital Markets Limited are Book Running Lead Managers to the offer.

^Kotak, Axis, BofA, Citigroup and I-Sec are also acting as the GCBRLMs

*Ambit, DAM Capital, IIFL Securities and SBICAP are also acting as the Co-BRLMs.