Tech Gadgets To Delight Your Mom This Mother’s Day Under 20k

Is your mom someone who would like watching recipes, and repeat of their daily soaps on their gadget. Is she someone who loves video calling her friends and relatives every time? Nokia brings you the perfect gifting guide this mother’s day that will suit your pocket and would surely make your mother happy. 

Here are our special picks from a range of categories of Nokia that would be your mother’s constant dose of uninterrupted entertainment.

Nokia C01 Plus: Locked with a jio connection would mean that you get a pre-installed jio connection with the device that ensures uninterrupted internet connection in whichever part of the country your mom is. With HDR imaging, the Nokia C01 Plus will ensure your memories are as beautiful as the moment itself. It features 5.45-inch display, a selfie camera with LED flash, and a removable 3,000 mAh battery. The price for its base variant i.e. 16 GB storage is ?6,299 and the price for its 32 GB storage variant is ?6,799.

BH-205-HeroNokia BH 205 Earbuds: There should be no compromising on audio quality for your mom, whether it comes to listening to music or calling a distant relative. Priced at just Rs. 2,799, the TWS buds are powered by 6mm speaker drivers and promise to offer 36-hours of playtime with one full charge.

Nokia T20 Tab – With age your mother’s eyes might strain on smaller devices, fret not Nokia NokiaT20-3has got you covered with a bigger screen.

An 8,200mAh unit that can easily last for days with standard usage.  The Nokia T20 supports 15W charging. The 4G-enabled variant is only available with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage and is priced at Rs. 18,499. The Nokia T20 is only available in a Deep Ocean colour. The Nokia T20 has a big 10.4-inch display with sizable bezels all around. This makes it convenient to hold the tablet without touching the screen accidentally. The Nokia T20 has a metallic body and it feels sturdy to the touch. The weight is manageable at 465g. The Nokia T20 really stands out with its aluminum body and stock Android software experience. It also promises two years of software updates and three years of security update.

LTI And Mindtree Announce Merger To Create India’s Next Large-Scale IT Services Player

The Boards of Directors of LTI and Mindtree at their respective meetings held today approved a composite scheme of amalgamation of both these independently listed IT services companies under the Larsen & Toubro Group. The proposed integration will see LTI and Mindtree join strengths to create an efficient and scaled-up IT services provider exceeding $3.5 Bn. The transaction is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Both LTI and Mindtree have delivered market leading financial performance and created value for shareholders. Given that recent industry shifts (e.g., prominence of large deals, preference for end-to-end offerings) are benefitting at-scale players, the two companies have decided that the time is appropriate to combine the strengths of both organizations to better serve the customers.

Significant scale benefits are anticipated through LTI and Mindtree’s complementary strengths resulting in a stronger portfolio of offerings across verticals. Enhanced customer engagement and delivery model through industrialization of delivery and streamlined value-enabling processes is expected to result in improvement in large deal capabilities. These opportunities will create a more distinctive employee value proposition and stronger partnerships with ecosystem players.

Upon the scheme becoming effective, all shareholders of Mindtree will be issued shares of LTI at the ratio of 73 shares of LTI for every 100 shares of Mindtree. The new shares of LTI so issued will be traded on the NSE and BSE. Larsen & Toubro Limited will hold 68.73 % of LTI after the merger.

For now, the companies will continue to function independently. A Steering Committee will be constituted to oversee the transition till the merger process is complete. The name of the combined entity will be “LTIMindtree” leveraging the advantages of both the brands and creating value for all the stakeholders.

Speaking about the merger, A. M. Naik, Chairman, LTI, said, “This merger represents our continued commitment to grow the IT services business in line with our strategic vision. The highly complementary businesses of LTI and Mindtree will make this integration a ‘win-win’ proposition for our customers, investors, shareholders, and employees.”

Speaking about the merger, S. N. Subrahmanyan, Vice Chairman, LTI, said, “We are confident that the proposed merger will help us build on the combined strengths of both these organizations to unlock synergies through scale, cross-vertical expertise, and talent pool. This will help us emerge as a partner of choice for large-scale tech transformations and create a distinctive employee value proposition.”

Advisors

Citigroup Global Markets India Private Limited acted as financial advisors to LTI. Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas acted as the legal advisors to LTI.

Kroll Advisory Pvt. Ltd. provided fairness opinion to LTI on the valuation done by the valuer for the proposed transaction. GT Valuation Advisors Private Limited were appointed as valuers by LTI.

About LTI:

LTI (NSE: LTI) is a global technology consulting and digital solutions Company helping more than 485 clients succeed in a converging world. With operations in 33 countries, we go the extra mile for our clients and accelerate their digital transformation 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 45,000 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.

Canara Bank's Record Strong Financial Results For The Quarter And Year Ended March 31, 2022

Key Highlights (12 Months period ended)

(Mar-2021 V/s Mar-2022)

Net Profit grew by 122% to Rs. 5678 Cr 

Operating Profit grew by 17.27% to 23090 Cr

Net interest income grew by 9.46% to Rs.26384 Cr

Gross Advances grew by 9.77% to Rs. 741147 Cr

Retail Credit grew by 9.51% with Housing loan at 14.77% 

CASA Deposits increased by 11.52 %

Savings Bank Deposit grew by 12.22% 

Net NPA Ratio stood at 2.65% down by 117 bps

Gross NPA stood at 7.51% down by 142 bps 

Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR) stood at 84.17% improved by 449 bps 

CRAR stood at 14.90% as at Mar-2022. Out of which Tier-I is 11.91% and Tier-II is 2.99%

Fee based income Grew by 16.59% to Rs.6113 Cr

The Board of Directors has recommended a dividend of Rs 6.50 per equity share (65%) for the year ended on 31.03.2022 subject to requisite approvals

Considering the Bank’s Performance, Board of Directors have permitted to pay 15 days salary as Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) to the employees

Key Highlights (3 Months ended)

(Mar 2021 V/s Mar 2022)

Net Profit grew by 64.90% to Rs.1666 Cr

Operating Profit grew by 18.80%

Net Interest income grew by 24.84%

Key Highlights (3 Months ended)

(Dec 2021 V/s Mar 2022)

Net Profit grew by 10.89% to Rs.1666 Cr

Net Interest income grew by 0.85%

Non-Interest Income grew by 23.53%

Bank’s Global Business surpassed Rs.18,25,000 Crore

Key Summary of Business Performance (as on 31.03.2022)

Business

Global Business increased by 8.39 % (y.o.y) to Rs 1827556 Cr as at Mar 2022 with Global Deposits at Rs 1086409 Cr (7.47% y.o.y) and Global Advance (gross) at Rs 741147 Cr (9.77 % y.o.y)

Domestic Deposit of the Bank stood at Rs 1027767 Cr as at Mar 2022 with growth of 6.69% (y.o.y)

Domestic Advances (gross) of the Bank stood at Rs 711046 Cr as at Mar 2022 grew by 8.96% (y.o.y)

Retail lending Portfolio increased 9.51% (y.o.y) to Rs 126277 Cr as at Mar 2022

Housing Loan Portfolio increased 14.77% y.o.y to Rs 73828 Cr

Advances to Agriculture & Allied activities grew by 12.75% (y.o.y) to Rs 175955Cr as at Mar 2022

Asset Quality

Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) ratio reduced to 7.51% as at Mar 2022 down from 7.80 % as at Dec 2021 and 8.93% as at March 2021.

Net Non-Performing Assets (NNPA) ratio reduced to 2.65% as at Mar 2022 down from 2.86% as at Dec 2021 and 3.82% as at March 2021.

Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR) stood at 84.17% as at Mar 2022 improved from 83.26% as at Dec 2021, 79.68% as at Mar 2021.

Financial ratios

Net interest Margin (NIM) stood at 2.82 improved by 6 bps.

Cost to income Ratio stood at 46.16% improved by 339 bps.

RoE stood at 12.82 improved by 611 bps.

C-D Ratio stood at 68.22% improved by 143 bps.

Capital Adequacy

CRAR stood at 14.90% as at Mar-2022. Where CET-1 is 10.26% Tier-I is 11.91% and Tier-II is 2.99%

Bank successfully raised capital during FY22 through:

QIP Equity      : Rs.2500 Cr

AT-1 Bonds     : Rs.4000 Cr

Tier II Bonds   : Rs.2500 Cr

Network

As on 31.03.2022, the Bank has 9734 Number of Branches, out of which 3042 are Rural, 2757 Semi- Urban, 1978 Urban & 1957 Metro along with 10817 ATMs and 1391 Recyclers.

Venus Pipes & Tubes’ Initial Public Offering To Open On May 11, Sets Price Band At Rs 310 To Rs 326 Per Equity Share

·      Price Band of Rs 310 – Rs 326 per equity share bearing face value of Rs 10 each (“Equity Shares”).

·      Bid/Issue Opening Date – Wednesday, 11 May, 2022 and Bid/Issue Closing Date – Friday, 13 May, 2022.

·      Minimum Bid Lot is 46 Equity Shares and in multiples of 46 Equity Shares thereafter.

·     The Floor Price is 31.00 times the face value of the Equity Share and the Cap Price is 32.60 times the face value of the Equity Share.

Gujarat-based Venus Pipes & Tubes Limited (“The Company”) has fixed the price band at ? 310 to ? 326 per Equity Share for its maiden public offer. The initial public offering (“IPO”) of the Company  will open on Wednesday, 11 May, 2022 for subscription and close on Friday, 13 May, 2022. Investors can bid for a minimum of 46 Equity Shares and in multiples of 46 Equity Shares thereafter.

The IPO  is through a fresh issue of equity shares of up to 5,074,100 Equity Shares.

Venus Pipes and Tubes Limited is one of the growing stainless-steel pipes and tubes manufacturer and exporter in the country having over six years of experience in manufacturing of stainless steel tubular products in two broad categories namely seamless tubes/pipes; and welded tubes/pipes. The company holds pride in supplying its wide product range to more than 20 countries internationally.

The company supplies products for applications in diverse sectors including chemicals, engineering, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, power, food processing, paper, and oil and gas.

The Company has one manufacturing plant which is strategically located at Bhuj-Bhachau highway, Dhaneti (Kutch,Gujarat) in close proximity, around 55 kilometers and 75 kilometers from the ports of Kandla and Mundra, respectively, that helps us in reducing the logistic costs on procurement of raw materials and imports and export of the  Products. The manufacturing plant  has separate seamless and welded divisionswith latest product-specific equipment and machineries including tube mills, pilger mills, draw benches, swaging machines, pipe straightening machines, TIG/MIG welding systems, plasma welding systems, etc.

For the financial year ended on March 31, 2021, the revenue from operations was Rs 3093.31 million   with a net profit of Rs 236.32 million. For nine months ended December 31, 2021, the revenue from operations was Rs. 2767.69 million with a net profit of Rs. 235.95 million.

The Company may, in consultation with the book running lead manager to the Issue, consider participation by Anchor Investors in accordance with the SEBI ICDR Regulations, whose participation shall be one Working Day prior to the Bid/Issue  Opening Date, i.e., Tuesday,  May 10, 2022. The Issue  is being made in terms of Rule 19(2)(b) of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957, as amended, read with Regulation 31 of the SEBI ICDR Regulations. The Issue  is being made through the Book Building Process, in terms of Regulation 6(1) of the SEBI ICDR Regulations, wherein not more than 50% of the Issue  shall be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to Qualified Institutional Buyers, not less than 15% of the Issue shall be available for allocation to Non-Institutional Bidders out of which a) one third of such portion shall be reserved for applicants with application size of more than Rs. 0.2 million and up to Rs. 1.0 million and (b) two-third of such portion shall be reserved for applicants with application size of more than Rs. 1.0 million, provided that the unsubscribed portion in either of such sub-categories may be allocated to applicants in the other sub-category of Non-Institutional Bidders and not less than 15% of the  Issue  shall be available for allocation to Retail Individual Bidders in accordance with the SEBI ICDR Regulations, subject to valid Bids being received from them at or above the Issue Price 

All capitalized terms used herein and not specifically defined shall have the same meaning as ascribed to them in the red herring prospectus dated May 2, 2022 (“RHP”) filed with SEBI and the stock exchanges.

Happiest Minds Records Industry Leading Q4FY22 Sequential Revenue Growth of 6.2%; Full Year FY22 Growth At 41.8%

* EBITDA for FY22 grows 36.9% to ?295 crores, generating free cash flows of ?291 Crores.

* Proposes final dividend of ?2.00 per share

Happiest Minds Technologies Limited (NSE:HAPPSTMNDS), a ‘Born Digital. Born Agile’, digital transformation and IT solutions company, today announced its consolidated results for the fourth quarter and year ended March 31, 2022 as approved by its Board of Directors.

Financial highlights for Q4FY22 ended March 31, 2022

·         Operating Revenues in US$ terms stood at $39.9 million (growth of 5.5% q-o-q; 31.9% y-o-y)

·         Total Income of Rs 31,048 lakhs (growth of 6.2% q-o-q; 38.8% y-o-y)

·         EBITDA of Rs 8,158 lakhs, 26.3% of Total Income (growth of 6.1% q-o-q; 39.0% y-o-y)

·         PAT of Rs 5,211 lakhs (growth of 6.5% q-o-q; 44.5% y-o-y)

·         Free cash flows of Rs 8,106 lakhs

·         EPS (diluted) for the quarter of Rs 3.58 (growth of 5.9% q-o-q; 44.4% y-o-y)

FY22 year ended March 31, 2022

·         Operating Revenues in US$ terms stood at $146.6 million (growth of 40.2% y-o-y)

·         Total Income of Rs 113,075 lakhs (growth 41.8% y-o-y)

·         EBITDA of Rs 29,477 lakhs, 26.1% of Total Income (growth of 36.9% y-o-y)

·         PAT of Rs 18,120 lakhs (growth of 11.5% y-o-y)

·         Free cash flows of Rs 29,064 lakhs

·         EPS (diluted) for the year Rs 12.55 (growth of 9.6% y-o-y)

·         RoCE & RoE of 39.8% and 27.3% for the year respectively

Ashok Soota, Executive Chairman, “With a growth of 40.9% in constant currency, we have delivered industry-leading growth with a superior margin profile. The performance validates our efforts over the years to scrupulously stitch a culture of innovation, collaboration and being mindful to the needs of our customers and stakeholders”

Venkatraman N, MD & CFO “I am very happy with our financial results while remaining cautiously optimistic of the future.  Focus will be on maintaining growth, both organic and in-organic while not taking our eyes off profitability, cash flows and leverage. 

Joseph Anantharaju, Executive Vice Chairman, Happiest Minds Technologies, “The rapid adoption of digital technologies is forcing companies cutting across industries to innovate rapidly and take advantage of newer technologies and paradigms to significantly enhance customer experience. Our deep expertise in the building blocks of Digital such as IoT, AI, Cloud, and RPA, along with next-gen technologies such as Blockchain, AR/VR, and Robotics has made us a strategic partner of choice to many of these companies, leading to robust demand and deep long-lasting relationships.”

Clients:

·         206 as of March 31, 2022

·         11 additions in the quarter

Our People - Happiest Minds:

·         4,168 Happiest Minds as of March 31, 2022 (net addition for the quarter 147, For full year 940)

·         Trailing 12 months attrition of 22.7%

·         Utilization of 79.4%, from 81.0% in last quarter

Key Project Wins:

·         For an EU multinational manufacturing company, Happiest Minds has taken ownership of building their Test Automation Framework & DevOps projects

·         For a large US fashion retailer, Happiest Minds was chosen as their application security services partner

·         For a Fortune 100 American multinational technology conglomerate, Happiest Minds was awarded the project for data center automation

·         For one of the largest passenger vehicle manufacturers in India, Happiest Minds was selected as the partner of choice for their digital initiatives

·         For a US supply chain company, Happiest Minds was chosen as their Digital partner for their Product Development work

·         For a leading digital housing solution provider in Nordics, Happiest Minds was chosen as their Digital partner for building its cloud-native customer journey platform

Analyst Mentions:

·         Recognized as a ‘Major Contender’ in Everest Group PEAK Matrix for Digital Engineering

·         Featured in NASSCOM’s report on India Cybersecurity Industry Services & Product Growth Story

Awards:

·         Ranked among India’s Top 15 Best Workplaces in Health and Wellness 2021 by Great Place to Work® Institute. Happiest Minds also received a special recognition for supporting employees and their families during COVID-19 crisis

·         Ashok Soota is among India’s 100 Great People Managers 2021 by Great Manager Institute®

Announcements:

·         The Board of Directors of the Company at their meeting held on May 5, 2022 has recommended a final dividend of Rs 2 per equity share of face value Rs 2/- for the financial year 2021-22 subject to shareholder approval

About Happiest Minds Technologies:

Happiest Minds Technologies Limited (NSE: HAPPSTMNDS), a Mindful IT Company, enables digital transformation for enterprises and technology providers by delivering seamless customer experiences, business efficiency and actionable insights. We do this by leveraging a spectrum of disruptive technologies such as: artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud, digital process automation, internet of things, robotics/drones, security, virtual/augmented reality, etc. Positioned as ‘Born Digital . Born Agile’, our capabilities span digital solutions, infrastructure, product engineering and security. We deliver these services across industry sectors such as automotive, BFSI, consumer packaged goods, e-commerce, EduTech, engineering R&D, healthcare, hi-tech, manufacturing, retail and travel/transportation/hospitality.

A Great Place to Work-Certified™ company, Happiest Minds is headquartered in Bangalore, India with operations in the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia and Middle East.

This Mothers’ Day MILKYBAR Illustrations Says – Mummy Ne Kaha Hai Ho Sakta Hai

This Mothers’ Day Nestlé MILKYBAR is celebrating mothers for always believing in their kids imagination. The campaign highlights how a mother always encourages them to wonder and imagine which makes them learn and be better prepared for the future.

The beauty of this thought and relationship has been captured through unique illustrations and a story-telling style by renowned illustrator Alicia Souza who has created heart-warming illustrations in partnership with MILKYBAR.

Commenting on the new campaign, Ms. Rupali Rattan, Head – Confectionery Business, Nestlé India said, ‘Nestlé MILKYBAR truly believes that a mother plays a key role in developing her child’s creativity and imagination through constant encouragement and the ability to make them learn as they play. We are pleased to tie-up with Alicia Souza, the very talented illustrator for this campaign to help bring this very powerful thought to life through a series of very endearing illustrations’

Talking about the association, illustrator Ms. Alicia Souza said, “As a mother myself, I encourage and appreciate the power of imagination with my child. I am pleased to associate with Nestlé MILKYBAR to focus on this beautiful part of a mother-child relationship. I am elated to have been able to bring some of these moments of the relationship to life through my work.”

The digital campaign would be promoted on Instagram and Facebook.

Gift The De Beers Forevermark Icon Collection To Mark Mother's Day

A mother and her child’s bond is precious, timeless, forever as symbolic as a diamond. A mother instinctively knows what her child needs: inspiration, courage, resilience, encouragement and bundles of love! This Mother’s Day, present the De Beers Forevermark Icon™ Collection crafted with genuine and natural diamonds to your mom, as a reminder to all that she is.

The classic yet contemporary design is crafted to complement this era’s modern on-the-go moms who lead by example. Representing the brilliance of the stars in the night sky, the Forevermark Icon™ collection is perfect for those seeking to capture a significant moment. Crafted to maximise the radiance of the beautiful, rare diamond at its heart, the selection of rings, earrings, bangles and pendants available in plain gold or with the added allure of pavé-set diamonds. A reminder to your mother to always embrace who she is, what she does and to celebrate her inner radiance. Each piece within this symbolic collection can be worn on its own or layered with other favourite pieces to create a statement every day.

The De Beers Forevermark Icon™ collection is a celebration of iconic mothers with a unique sense of self. These pieces exhibit timeless luxury and elegance, making this collection the perfect accessory for every milestone in one’s life. The De Beers Forever mark’s unique inscription number on each diamond is an assurance of their exceptional standards of beauty and rarity, and that each one of the brand’s diamonds is responsibly sourced.

Upstox Onboards 1 Crore Customers From Across Indian Market

* The company has witnessed 10X growth in total customer base in less than two years

Upstox (also known as RKSV Securities), one of India's largest online investment platforms, today announced that it has crossed the significant milestone of onboarding 1 crore customers. Founded in 2009, Upstox achieved the milestone of 10 lakh customers in June 2020 and has grown 10x in less than two years.

Upstox has achieved this milestone by delivering a delightful investing experience to its customers, whether they are new investors or experienced traders. Simplifying wealth by providing access, information and an intuitive product experience have been at the heart of Upstox’s meteoric rise.

Commenting on this milestone, Ravi Kumar, Co-Founder & CEO, Upstox said, “Our mission is to magically simplify investing for every Indian. And with this milestone of 1 crore customers, we are just getting started in our mission. People from across the country have appreciated our efforts to increase access to investing and we are grateful for that. We are excited about the path in front of us, and the potential to make investing a habit for every Indian.”

The investing platform has seen tremendous broad-based growth in the last three years - over 50% of the customers are millennials, nearly 70% are first-time investors, and more than 85% belong to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. And in the next 4-5 years, the Upstox team aims to onboard 20-30 crore (200 million to 300 million) customers.

This growth will be made possible by offering a seamless, intuitive and hassle-free investing experience, backed by cutting-edge technology. Upstox already delivers the highest stability and is one of the highest ranked apps in the industry. The platform is confident that continuing the focus on cutting-edge features made customer-friendly through intuitive design, will make it the investing partner of choice for everyone.

About Upstox:

Upstox was founded with the vision of making financial investing easy, equitable, and accessible to all Indian investors. It offers online investments in Stocks, Derivatives, Commodities, Currencies, Mutual Funds, and ETFs for investors and traders. It has also ensured full transparency in pricing by offering zero brokerage* on Equity Delivery trades and up to Rs. 20 per order* for Intraday, F&O, Commodities, and Currencies.

For more details, visit - https://upstox.com/

Blue Dart Reports Record Performance With Positive Q4 And Year-End Results

* The company posted sales at Rs 44,090 millions and Rs 3,764 millions profit after tax for the year 2021-22 

Blue Dart Express Limited, South Asia's premier express air and integrated transportation & Distribution Company, declared its Audited financial resultsfor the quarter and year ended March 31, 2022 at the Board Meeting held in Mumbai. 

The company posted Rs 1,354 million profit after tax (previous year Rs 891  million profit) for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, and Rs 3,764 million profit after tax (previous year Rs 963 million profit) for the year ended March 31, 2022. Revenue from operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 stood at Rs 11,659 million and 

Rs 44,090 million for the year ended March 31, 2022. 

The company delivered one of the strongest performance in the recent past. Topline grew by 21% with healthy mix of volume growth and realization improvement despite challenging geopolitical scenario. EBITDA for the quarter is Rs  2,264 Mn, a growth of 25.7% over last year. EBITDA margin also improved to 19.4% as compared to previous year at 18.6%. Revenues for the financial year 2021-22 stood at Rs 44,090 Mn with growth of 34% over previous year. Full year EBITDA stood at Rs 6,963 Mn with growth of 92% over previous year. PAT stood at Rs 3,764 Mn as compared to Rs 963 Mn last year. International Charters which were initiated during the pandemic last year, continued to support the company revenues in the current financial year. 

Healthy top-line growth with better realization, continued cost efficiency program and financial re-engineering helped the company to improve margin during the quarter as well as financial year 2021-22 despite challenging  geopolitical situation. Further, the company is continuing its journey of automation and digitalization to improve speed, transparency and efficiency. Blue Dart has once again proven its mettle, standing strong and supporting the nation as its Trade Facilitator.   

The Board of Directors have recommended a total dividend of Rs 60/- per share (600%) to the shareholders of the company for the financial year 2021-22. Since the company has already paid interim dividend of Rs 25/- (250%) per share in Februrary 2022, Proposed Final dividend of Rs 35/- (350%) per share would be paid to the shareholders of the company subject to the approval in the Annual General Meeting. 

With improved receivables management and cash flows, the company together with its wholly owned subsidiaries paid off all borrowings from banks which not only reduced finance cost but also became debt free. 

Government’s focus on improving infrastructure through PM Gati Shakti- National Master Plan for Multi modal connectivity, dedicated freight corridors, logistics parks, economic zones, dedicated rail corridors, waterways is expected to smoothen movement of goods. Further, schemes like “Make in India” “Aatamnirbhar Bharat” extension of the PLI scheme to various sectors is likely to give boost to economic activities. All these initiatives are expected to boost overall economic scenario in the Country. The Company is gearing up to enhance its air capacity and ground infrastructure to handle higher volume and encash growth opportunities.  

During the year under review, the company once again rewarded its employees with an addtitional Bonus (Covid Bonus) of Euro 300 in recognition of their efforts during pandemic. 

On the back of superior customer experience led by best in class service quality, the company witnessed healthy volume growth and carried 264  million (last year 186  million) shipments comprising of 932,690  tonns (last year 718,521 tonns) during the year. 

BalfourManuel, Managing Director, Blue Dart said, “Throughout the year, we have shown outstanding resilience, responsiveness and reliability for all our stakeholders which is mirrored in our Q4 and year-end financial performance. Our focus on remaining customer-first, investing in our technology capabilities and thus, remaining agile in a VUCA environment, has helped the company improve its margins. FY2021-22 has been a rewarding year. Across parameters, Blue Dart has once again embodied our vision in ‘Connecting People, Improving Lives’. We have been recognised as a Top Employer, a Great Place to Work as well as one of the Best Workplaces for Women. We stood strong, supporting our customers for all their logistics requirements. From delivering shipments to COVID-care hospitals to accelerating innovation to new heights, we have left no stone unturned in fulfilling our duty as the Trade Facilitator to the nation.”  

Commenting on future outlook, he says, “In order to deliver excellence at every juncture, it is important to pre-determine the customers’ needs before they even arise. Keeping this in mind, we plan on expanding our ground and air express capacity which will only propel our service quality to new heights. We continue to remain an insanely customer-centric organization and therefore, innovation to deliver excellence at every touchpoint continues to remain a major priority. The Blue Dart Med-Express Consortium is a prime example of our ability to leverage technology to our benefit; going forward we will continue to invest in digitalization ensuring that in the case of another unprecedented event such as the pandemic, supply chain continuity will not be disrupted.”  

Blue Dart’s commitment to being the best and setting the pace, goes beyond the confines of its operations and extends to the community at large. As a Sustainable Provider of Choice, Blue Dart was the first to set a quantified carbon-efficiency target and continues to contribute towards environmental and social welfare. As a part of the Deutsche Post DHL Group, Blue Dart aligns itself with the Group’s Sustainability Roadmap and continues to work towards clean operations for climate protection (Environment), being a great company to work for all (Social) as well as being a highly trusted company (Governance). The organization has made significant headway on this parameter and will continue to invest in sustainable initiatives that also support the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

Blue Dart aims to achieve Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050 under the group’s ‘Mission 2050’ goal, wherein, the organization aims to limit global warming to less than 2ºC and drive the business towards zero emissions logistics, thus, setting the standard for the future of the logistics sector and doing its part to help the world. Under the Mission 2050 initiative, for over four years, Blue Dart has contributed to over 10% of the Deutsche Post DHL Group’s global target of planting 1 million trees every year. The company’s goal was to increase CO2 efficiency by 10% by the year 2012 and 30% by the year 2020. Against the 30% target, Blue Dart has achieved a 34% CO2 efficiency in 2021. 

Bank of Baroda Announces Winners Of 2022 Edition Of The #SaluteHerShakti Contest

* Neelam Rani and Kiran Devi Bothra got an opportunity to virtually interact with PV Sindhu and Shafali Verma 

Bank of Baroda, one of India’s leading public sector banks, today announced the winners of the 2nd Edition of the#SaluteHerShakticontest. The contest, which was launched on International Women’s Day in March, seeks to recognise and celebrate the inspiring women amongst us. From the number of remarkable entries received, Ms Neelam Rani who hails from Patiala and Ms Kiran Devi Bothra from Delhi were adjudged the winners for the courage shown under adversity and for displaying a heart-warming commitment to helping those in need.  

The two winners got a chance to interact with Bank of Baroda’s brand ambassadors PV Sindhu and Shafali Verma virtually. The winner of the Nari Shakti Puraskar for promoting Indian folk music on a global scale, Ms Batool Begum was also present at the event. And the host for the day was Rannvijay Singha, the well-known Indian actor, television personality and VJ.  

The story of Ms Neelam Rani is that of a wife, mother and a woman who displayed immense determination and grit when adversity struck her family. When her husband’s business faced a financial crisis, Neelam took it upon herself to start a small cosmetics shop to support her family. After facing challenges early on with no customers, she persevered and her shop is now running successfully and is well-known in Patiala.  

The second winning story is that of Ms Kiran Devi Bothra. Not only has Kiran single-handedly raised her daughter after the untimely death of her husband, but during the pandemic, Kiran served the homeless and hungry people in her community with free homemade food.  

Shri Vikramaditya Singh Khichi, Executive Director, Bank of Baroda said, “We are overwhelmed with the response received for Bank of Baroda’s #SaluteHerShakti campaign. It was inspiring to hear the extraordinary stories of seemingly ordinary women and they deserve recognition for the strength they have displayed and their determination to make a difference. For Bank of Baroda, it was also exciting for us to host Ms Rani, Ms Bothra and Ms Begum on the same platform as our brand endorsers, PV Sindhu and Shafali Verma and listening to the interaction between these women was truly rewarding.  

We hope to take many such initiatives in the future to recognise and encourage women from all walks of life.” 

During the interaction, PV Sindhu highlighted the challenges she faced during her younger days and the importance of the role that parents can play in ensuring that girls can achieve their dreams, be it in sports or in any other field. Shafali Verma also added to this and highlighted the support she had from her family that gave her the platform to succeed. 

About Bank of Baroda:  

Founded on 20th July, 1908 by Sir Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, Bank of Baroda is one of the leading commercial banks in India. At 63.97% stake, it is majorly owned by the Government of India. The Bank serves its global customer base of over 150 million through over 46,000 touchpoints spread across 18 countries in five continents. Through Its state-of-the-art digital banking platforms, it provides all banking products and services in a seamless and hassle-free manner. The recently launched bob World mobile app provides customers with a saving, investing, borrowing, and shopping experience, all under one single app. The app also serves non-customers by enabling account opening through video KYC. The Bank’s vision matches its diverse clientele base and instills a sense of trust and security. It is moving well in that direction and bob World is a testimony of its roadmap towards Digital Transformation. 

L&T Technology Services’ 5th Edition of Academia-ndustry Initiative TECHgium Concludes With Breakthrough Innovations

* 30,000+ Participants; 3600+ Concepts; 444 Engineering Colleges; a 9 Month Journey

L&T Technology Services Limited (BSE: 540115, NSE: LTTS), a global leading pure play engineering services company, announced the successful conclusion of the 5th Edition of its widely acclaimed annual academia-industry innovation initiative, TECHgium®.

Conceptualized to provide engineering students with an early exposure to real-life problem statements faced by industries, TECHgium® has, over the years, emerged as one of the most sought-after forums for engineering students passionate about pursuing an innovation-driven career in the global engineering and technology services domain. The current edition saw 30,421 students, from 444 reputed engineering institutes across India, vying for the top spot.

The finalists presented PoCs on several breakthrough innovations, involving cutting edge technology trends such as artificial intelligence, deep learning, renewable energy, drone technology, compute vision and EV batteries among others. Some of the concepts showcased were based on Drone Supervisors, EV Battery Optimization, Hover-Drones with Dynamic Charging via Wireless Power Transfer, Easy to Attach IoT Crane Box, Self-Cleaning Solar Panels, End-to-End Fully Automatic Deep Learning Algorithm for Scientific Document Denoising, Solar Tracking System for Efficient Power Generation using Image Processing and Automated Payment Mechanism for Contractual Agreements.

The team from Indian Institute of Information Technology Design & Manufacturing Jabalpur, were declared winners of the 5th Edition of TECHgium® for creating a prototype of an easy to attach IoT crane box. The first runners up were students from IIT Roorkee for their solution on Self-Cleaning Solar Panels, while the student from IIT Guwahati earned the third place, for his concept on Hover-Drone with Dynamic Charging via Wireless Power Transfer.

There was also a Special Jury Award that was bestowed to the students from Bannari Amman Institute of Technology for their concept on End-to-End Fully Automatic Deep Learning Algorithm for Scientific Document Denoising.

Amit Chadha, CEO & Managing Director, L&T Technology Services, said, “The transition from academic life to corporate world often requires one to have an adequate exposure and knowledge of real-world problems faced by businesses the world over. It is only through such opportunities and early-stage learning initiatives that we can inspire engineering students to embrace innovation-led digital engineering roles and drive the future of technology. LTTS’ TECHgium® is a key enabler in this direction, empowering young engineers and students to prepare for a robust, resilient, and world-class career trajectory. Interestingly, many of the Proof of Concepts by the participants directly align with LTTS’ stated Big Bets namely, EACV, 5G, Digital products & AI, Digital Manufacturing, MedTech and Sustainability, which points to the possibilities inherent in each of these Big Bets for India’s young engineers.”

Students from Indian Institute of Information Technology Design & Manufacturing, Jabalpur said, “Participating in TECHgium® has been a significant learning experience for the entire team. Our concept on an IoT enabled crane box has been well appreciated, and we are grateful for the insights provided by the esteemed jury panel and to LTTS for this fantastic opportunity.”

Students from IIT Roorkee said, “It has been an exciting journey here at TECHgium® and at LTTS. The problem statements have challenged us to push our frontiers and successfully design a self-cleaning solar panel prototype; the learnings gathered have been both transformational and inspirational as we look to the future.”

LTTS’ TECHgium® began in 2016 and is a popular open-innovation forum among the students and faculty of reputed engineering institutes across the nation. The top teams this year took home INR 20 lakh in prize money, a testament of the industry’s appreciation of their deep innovation capabilities.

About L&T Technology Services Ltd

L&T Technology Services Limited (LTTS) is a listed subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Limited focused on Engineering and R&D (ER&D) services. We offer consultancy, design, development and testing services across the product and process development life cycle. Our customer base includes 69 Fortune 500 companies and 57 of the world’s top ER&D companies, across industrial products, medical devices, transportation, telecom & hi-tech, and the process industries. Headquartered in India, we have over 20,800 employees spread across 17 global design centers, 28 global sales offices and 89 innovation labs as of March 31, 2022. For more information, visit https://www.ltts.com/

Nielsen’s Bharat 2.0 Study Reveals 45% Growth In Active Internet Users In Rural India Since 2019

* Female Active Internet Users grow by a whopping 61% since 2019 

Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics released its Bharat 2.0 Internet study. The study provides a detailed overview of the penetration of internet usage amongst all active internet users across India along with the trends in browsing on the internet.

The study reveals that India has 646 million active Internet users aged 2 years and above as on December 2021. Rural India registered a presence of 352 million internet users, which is almost 20% higher than urban. The study also revealed that almost 60% of the rural population is still not actively using the internet, paving headroom for further growth. Urban India on the other hand has registered a 59% penetration growth with 294 million active internet users.

How are we trending? A look at these numbers for users, 12 years and above

* As per the study, number of active Internet users is 592 million who are aged 12 years and above. Compared with 2019, active internet user base for 12 years and above has shown an impressive growth of ~37%.

* Rural users’ growth at 45% continues to outshine urban users’ growth at 28% over 2019.

*  Female users’ growth in last 2 years is a whopping 61% as compared to male users who grew at 24%.

* 1 in every 3 female internet users in rural are actively using the internet.

* Almost 90% access the internet on a daily basis. 50 years and above users too are active and are not left behind with 81% accessing it daily.

* Mobile phones have remained the key device for all internet usage across sectors.

“Availability of budget smartphones and affordable mobile data along with the Indian government’s efforts to strengthen the existing digital infrastructure through compelling initiatives such as Digital India and powered by one of the cheapest data prices in the world enabled by the Telecom companies, have led to enhanced and faster levels of internet adoption across the country”, said Dolly Jha, Managing Director, Nielsen India. “Nielsen’s Bharat 2.0 Study showcases a strong upsurge in the number of female active internet users across rural India, this coupled with rural India’s willingness to adopt technology at a faster pace”.

Other Trending Activities on the internet (for 12+ years):

Video Watching: While Social networking or chatting remains the top activity on the internet across India with 503 million active internet users, video watching and listening to online music are among the top 5 activities done on the internet. Close to 440 million users watch videos on the internet of which 54% are from rural India. The Male to Female split among active internet users is 60:40.

Online Shopping: Despite 56% of active internet users belonging to rural India, online shopping remains to be heavily dominated by its urban counterpart. 47% of the online shoppers are from NCCS A.

Online Banking and Digital Payments: Users of Online Banking and Digital Payments have been identified as urban, affluent users (from NCCS A) with 2/3rd of the users belonging to the age bracket of 20 to 39 years. While the usage is higher in urban areas, 46% of its users are from rural India. This activity is more common among males as the male to female divide is 69:31.

Methodology: Bharat 2.0 Study is designed to establish the Internet penetration and user profile for the country. The methodology is composed of face to face systematic stratified random survey across all states and town/villages. This was carried out from September 2021 to December 2021 covering ~110,000 household members across ~27,900 households

ABOUT NIELSEN

Nielsen shapes the world’s media and content as a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics. Through our understanding of people and their behaviours across all channels and platforms, we empower our clients with independent and actionable intelligence so they can connect and engage with their audiences—now and into the future.

An S&P 500 company, Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN) operates around the world in more than 55 countries. Learn more at www.nielsen.com or www.nielsen.com/investors and connect with us on social media.

RMZ Corp Achieves UL Verified Healthy Building Mark For Indoor Air

* RMZ Infinity now UL Verified has excellent indoor air quality performance

RMZ Corp, one of Asia’s largest privately-owned real estate owners, investors, and developers, announced today that they have achieved the UL Verified Healthy Building Mark for Indoor Air for their RMZ Infinity property in Bengaluru. This achievement is in line with RMZ Corp’s commitment to incorporating high environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards across its operations. RMZ Infinity, a 1.21 million-square-foot office space, is designed to accommodate a modern, high-density office environment with futuristic architecture that is both flexible for tenant fit-outs and technologically smart. The property has been evaluated to rigorous indoor air quality (IAQ) standards and guidelines and has plans for the advancement of IAQ in the future.

To earn the UL Verified Healthy Building Mark, RMZ Corp participated in a thorough evaluation process that included an audit, on-site inspections, visual inspection and IAQ testing, among other assessments like measurement of total volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, ozone, and a mold and moisture inspection. The program includes an annual reassessment coupled with surveillance at the midyear point to maintain the verification.

“We feel proud to receive the UL Verified Healthy Building Mark for Indoor Air for RMZ Infinity, Bengaluru. The recognition is of great importance for our communities and a milestone to providing indoor environments that support occupant health and wellness. This is one of the many ways that UL can help building owners, property managers and corporations earn trust from their tenants and employees. We constantly seek to enhance our focus areas to further contribute to our society and environment,” Thirumal Govindraj, Senior Managing Director & Member of the Executive Board, RMZ Corp, stated. 

One of the most respected names in safety, security and sustainability in buildings, safety science leader UL developed this program to provide credible, third-party verification for evaluating buildings against rigorous IAQ standards and guidelines. The UL Verified Healthy Building program can verify marketing claims in five areas: indoor air quality, water quality, building hygiene, lighting and acoustics before re-occupancy following an extended period of vacancy, such as during the coronavirus outbreak. The program also helps communicate a positive message by differentiating indoor spaces with Verified occupant health and well-being marketing claims. 

“By earning the UL Verified Healthy Building Mark, RMZ Corp has taken an important step in advancing indoor air quality. This is a critically important effort as stakeholders from investors to tenants and regulatory bodies prioritize sustainability and wellness in buildings.” said Sean McCrady, director, of Assets and Sustainability, Real Estate and Properties at UL.

The tiered UL Verified Healthy Building program verifies that an indoor space achieves exceptional indoor environmental performance based on a range of criteria. For more information about the program, visit https://www.UL.com/services/verified-healthy-buildings. For more information about the RMZ Infinity building, visit  https://www.rmzcorp.com/our-spaces/bengaluru/rmz-infinity/.

About RMZ Corp

The company’s Massive Transformative Purpose is to imagine, create and transform for the future. They own and operate a real asset portfolio of 67 million square feet and are poised to grow to 350 million square feet of assets by 2032. They are amongst the only zero-debt real estate companies globally. Their innovative approach to developing and managing real estate invariably raises the industry’s bar for quality and sustainability. By taking a leap of faith and adapting to, and indeed embracing the digital universe, they are driving a sustained transformation program to deliver superior real assets with elevated member experiences.

RMZ currently owns US$12 billion worth of real assets that are operational and under development. The organization plans to diversify into new asset classes, such as Industrial, Logistics and Hospitality, through new platforms and global partnerships. Additionally, the company plans to invest in and develop both brownfield and greenfield projects leveraging its strategic, development management and financial engineering capabilities, which will focus on adding value to and enhancing its development portfolios.

RMZ Corp has racked up many triumphs and garnered many accolades - from curating the only development project from India to winning the 2020 ULI Asia Pacific Awards for Excellence to be the first company globally to achieve a WELL Health—Safety Rating for Facility Operations and Management. The company has developed the largest portfolio of assets certified under LEED Arc, a building performance monitoring and scoring platform. RMZ Corp, today, ranks among the world’s flagship real estate firms.

Tata Motors Launches e-Cargo Transport Solutions With The All-New Ace EV

* Partners with Amazon, BigBasket, Flipkart and their logistics partners for green intra-city deliveries

* Signs Memorandum of Understanding to deliver 39,000 Ace EVs

Tata Motors, India’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, today marked a significant leap forward in its drive towards promoting sustainable mobility with the launch of the all-new, revolutionary Ace EV – the electric version of the ever-popular Ace, exactly 17 years after redefining India’s freight movement. The new Ace EV, India’s most advanced, zero-emission, four-wheel small commercial vehicle (SCV), is a green and smart transport solution ready to serve a wide variety of intra-city applications.

Launching the Ace EV, Mr. N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons and Tata Motors, said, “E-mobility is an idea whose time has come. At Tata Motors, we are moving with speed and scale to lead this change – in passenger cars, commercial vehicles and Jaguar Land Rover. I am delighted today that with the launch of the Ace EV, we are entering a new era of e-cargo mobility. Tata Ace is India’s most successful commercial vehicle ever. It has revolutionised transportation and created millions of successful entrepreneurs over the years. It will further build on this legacy by providing a technologically-advanced, clean and smart mobility solution. I am excited about the electrification of commercial vehicles.”

The new Ace EV, co-developed in rich collaboration with its users and supported by a diligently curated ecosystem, offers a holistic solution for e-cargo mobility. In addition to addressing the core need of timely cost-effective and efficient last-mile deliveries, the Ace EV also serves the future commitment and aspirations of its conscientious customers to achieve net zero carbon footprint.

Tata Motors also announced signing of strategic Memorandum of Understanding with leading e-commerce companies and logistics service providers – Amazon, BigBasket, City Link, DOT, Flipkart, LetsTransport, MoEVing and Yelo EV. This includes delivering 39,000 units of the Ace EV; setting up dedicated Electric Vehicle Support Centres for maximum fleet uptime; deployment of Tata Fleet Edge – the next-gen optimal fleet management solution; and support of Tata UniEVerse, the proven enabling eco-system of relevant Tata Group companies.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Girish Wagh, Executive Director, Tata Motors, said, “The introduction of the Ace EV marks a major milestone in our journey to deliver zero-emission cargo mobility in India. Building on our experience and success with electric buses, we have designed use-case specific EV solutions for intra-city distribution. These solutions effectively cater to the application needs and deliver a superior value proposition to all stakeholders. We are much encouraged with the support and response received from our e-commerce customers, with whom we begin this journey of zero-emission cargo mobility.”

Tata Ace EV: Transforming logistics with a green, future-ready solution

image002.jpg@01D85B2BThe Ace EV is the first product featuring Tata Motors’ EVOGEN powertrain that offers an unparalleled certified range of 154 kilometres. It delivers a safe, all-weather operation with an advanced battery cooling system and regenerative braking system to boost the driving range. The vehicle allows regular and fast charging capabilities for high uptime. It is powered by a  27kW (36hp) motor with 130Nm of peak torque, to ensure highest cargo volume of 208 ft³ and grade-ability of 22% allowing easy ascend in fully loaded conditions. The Ace EV’s container is made of light-weight, durable materials that perfectly suit the requirements of e-commerce logistics.

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.

MIT-Manipal-MAHE, India, Awarded With IMC RBNQ Milestone Merit National Quality Award For Leadership

The Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT), Manipal has received the prestigious IMC Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Award (IMC-RBNQA) in the Leadership Category. The Milestone Merit National Quality Award for Leadership accorded to MIT-Manipal-MAHE is the recognition given for the pivotal role of the top leadership of MAHE and MIT-Manipal in steering MIT-Manipal to achieve greater heights in the journey of performance par excellence.

The chief guest for the event Mr Harsh Mariwala -Chairman-Marico Ltd., & CMD, Kaya Ltd., presented the award to Cdr. (Dr.) Anil Rana, Director, MIT-Manipal, in the presence of Mr Niraj R Bajaj Director, Bajaj Auto Ltd., & Chairman-IMC RBNQ Award Trust, Mr Suresh Lulla, Co-chairman, IMC Quality, Juzar Khorakiwala, President, IMC Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Anant Singhania, President (Elect) and Ms Maya, Director, IMC-RBNQA. Dr K Sivian, Former Chairman of ISRO, the recipient of IMC Juran Quality Medal 2021.

Speaking of MIT’s achievement Dr Ranjan Pai, President – MAHE & Chairman, MEMG, Bengaluru said “Manipal Institute of Technology has always focused and worked towards providing quality education facilities for the overall development of students. We are extremely honoured to be given this prestigious award. I congratulate the entire MIT family for their dedication and efforts which has made this possible”

Dr HS Ballal Pro-Chancellor of MAHE said “Established in 1957, MIT Manipal to this day remains one of the top institutions in the country and a crown jewel for MAHE. The leadership and faculty have enhanced the proficiency of the students through continuous training and development. MIT has also continuously worked for the betterment of the society and is an example for other institutions to inculcate the same values”

Lt Gen (Dr) MD Venkatesh, Vice-Chancellor of MAHE said “MIT has not only focused on academics, but also encourages the spirit of entrepreneurship amongst its students. There is a continual effort to raise the standards when it comes to education and social service. This award is truly well deserved, and we wish the staff and the students all the very best for their future endeavours”

Cdr ( Dr) Anil Rana, Director, MIT expressed his happiness and said “It was a great honour to receive the prestigious IMC Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Award (IMC-RBNQA) in the Leadership Category, on behalf of MIT-Manipal, in the Leadership Category Mumbai on 30th April 2022. MIT-Manipal has been bestowed with this honour for its excellence in academic and research quality, focusing on overall student development, concern for the environment and safety, community service, and human resource management.  The unique model that ensures experiential learning by the students and the whole-hearted support for their innovation and entrepreneurial pursuits is something that sets apart MIT-Manipal from all others.

The honour was greatly enhanced by the presence of the former ISRO Chairman Dr K Sivan who shared the same platform with me and received the prestigious Dr Juran quality medal.

The Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT), Manipal was established in 1957 as one of the first self-financing engineering colleges in the country. In 2000, it became a constituent institute of the deemed university - Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) which has been accorded the status of Institute of Eminence (IoE) by HRD, Government of India.

Greater Autonomy To Define The Future Of Software Development: Atlassian Survey

* Autonomy seen as highest among US and Indian developers and lowest among Germans 

Atlassian Corporation Plc (NASDAQ:TEAM), a leading provider of team collaboration and productivity software and the maker of Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket and Trello products, has released its first-ever global State of the Developer report. The research shows that autonomy trumps all with greater autonomy making developers happier at work, despite more frequent context switching and increased job complexity. Developers who enjoy more autonomy tend to spend more time coding and are able to work on a greater number of products and services. 

The report uncovers important trends in how developers' attitudes and preferences about their work have changed over the past year, including the rise of ‘You build it, you run it’ (YBIYRI) as a practice. YBIYRI is an increasingly common software development methodology with almost 60% of teams currently working this way. Teams working in YBIYRI require new and diverse roles, especially when they are transitioning into the practice. 

A look at India’s developer ecosystem 

The research shows that autonomy levels for developers globally is high, with 50% claiming strong autonomy. Additionally, stronger autonomy correlates with positive feelings about work, and autonomy is at its highest in the US and India (57% and 56% respectively) and lowest in Germany (29%).  

It was observed that tool sprawl could be the worst in India with 78% of developers saying they are using more than six tools. In the US, this number is 72% while only half of the developers in Germany (50%) use more than six tools.  

What should leaders consider when building and managing development teams? 

Developer autonomy trumps all – The research shows that greater autonomy makes developers happier at work. Additionally, developers who enjoy more autonomy tend to spend more time coding and are able to work on a greater number of products and services. Autonomy levels are highest for developers who have been in their roles for 6-10 years, within larger companies (250-1000 employees), and in teams running YBIYRI. 

Developers are taking more responsibility – The rise of YBIYRI as a practice has seen development teams doing more to support the code they work with. The research shows almost 60% of developers now work this way, with a larger number agreeing that they should be responsible for more of the software product lifecycle than they currently are (over 65%). Developers who are close to a product or service have the potential to improve it further when given a high degree of ownership. Engineering leaders should create more space for development teams to take on YBIYRI responsibilities, ensuring they have the right tools, processes, and rituals to be successful. 

Coding or tooling is a matter of preference – Two-thirds of developers (65%) say that writing new code is the most valuable skill in their role, while 74% feel that being able to read code is vital. Yet 58% of developers don’t feel that writing code from scratch will be required as part of their roles in the future, and 51% say they mainly assemble code written by others. Managers and team leaders should let developers lean into those preferences rather than dictating “how things are done around here.” 

Fewer tools isn’t always the best outcome – A majority of developers are using more tools to get work done than before (almost 70%), and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Flexibility in tools is the key. Those with more flexible tools say it simplifies their work, making them happier in their roles, while those adopting a growing number of inflexible tools face the risk of tool sprawl. Almost half of the developers surveyed say they have a stable toolchain (46%). The remainder has increased the number of tools either with flexible tools (38%) or inflexible tools (16%). 

Dinesh Ajmera, Site Lead and Head of Engineering, India, Atlassian said, “Our State of the Developer report presents some important findings on the state of play across the global software developer ecosystem, especially in the context of India. Among Indian developers, it was particularly heartening to see that our developer community in comparison to the other countries enjoyed a greater degree of autonomy and thereby stated to be happier at work." 

“I believe this report presents an array of findings that will help leaders understand the changing dynamics of the developer ecosystem. At Atlassian, we recognize this and believe that by empowering our teams with the correct set of tools, technologies and processes we will be able to usher in a greater degree of autonomy and build efficiencies for teams," he further added. 

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach 

Greater autonomy is the future of software development. This means more freedom to decide which tools developers use, what they work on, and how that work gets done. 

Atlassian is dedicated to providing the tools that facilitate this alignment and autonomy for teams of all sizes. With the recent launch of Compass, a new Atlassian program to create new products in collaboration with customers, developers are now going beyond coding and are empowered with the autonomy to connect the tools they want to use. 

To find out more about the research and download the report, please visit - Autonomy is the future of software development - Work Life by Atlassian  

About Atlassian 

Atlassian unleashes the potential of every team. Our team collaboration and productivity software helps teams organize, discuss, and complete shared work. Teams at more than 225,000 customers, across  large and small organizations - including Bank of America, Redfin, NASA, Verizon, and Dropbox - use Atlassian’s project tracking, content creation and sharing, and service management products to work better together and deliver quality results on time. Learn more about our products, including Jira Software, Confluence, Jira Service Management, Trello, Bitbucket, and Jira Align at https://atlassian.com/. 

About the research 

Atlassian’s first State of the Developer report seeks to uncover the attitudes, preferences, and behaviors of modern software developers. The study offers a range of perspectives on how developers are working, their perception and attitudes on the future skillsets required to succeed, how they’re managing tool sprawl, and what drives job satisfaction. This research looks into the trends shaping software development and their impact on development teams in markets across the world. The survey ran for a month between August and September 2021, targeting 2,182 respondents across four countries: Australia (21%), India (36%), Germany (16%), and the United States (27%). 

Venus Remedies Responds To Ukrainian Embassy's Request For Humanitarian Aid

*   Supplies life-saving drugs worth $30,000 in the first batch

Responding to the Ukrainian Embassy’s request for humanitarian aid in the form of life-saving medicines for displaced people in the war-ravaged country, Venus Remedies Ltd, one of India’s leading research-driven pharmaceutical companies, has dispatched the first batch of essential medicines worth $30,000 to Ukraine through its embassy in New Delhi.

Appreciating the gesture, the Ukrainian Embassy said in a statement issued on May 2 that Venus Remedies has “proved that it is not only a business-oriented company but also a responsible organisation which has always stood firm for such noble causes to help people around the globe”. “We thank Venus Remedies for providing aid to the people of Ukraine in their most difficult times and readily accepting our request to supply us life-saving drugs free of cost,” it said.

Akshansh Chaudhary, President, HR, Venus Remedies, who flagged off the relief aid from the company’s premises in Panchkula, said, “With millions of people bearing the brunt of this devastating war, it is a humanitarian crisis that calls for the need to rise to the occasion and reach out to Ukrainians with life-saving essential supplies."

Praying for an end to the violence and human sufferings in Ukraine, Venus Remedies employees have been holding candlelight vigils at Venusian Chambers, the company’s upcoming headquarters in Dappar, and illuminating the office building in colours of the Ukrainian flag.

The company has also launched a social media campaign to motivate people in India and abroad to make voluntary contributions for the noble cause. Venus Remedies employees have responded enthusiastically to the appeal by coming forward with donations in large numbers.

About Venus Remedies

Panchkula-based Venus Remedies Ltd (NSE: VENUSREM, BSE: 526953) is among the leading injectable manufacturers in the world. Having presence in 75 countries with a portfolio of as many products spread over Europe, Australia, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Commonwealth States, Middle East, Latin America and Caribbean region, the company has nine globally benchmarked facilities in Panchkula, Baddi and Werne (Germany), apart from 11 overseas marketing offices. Its manufacturing units are certified for ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 18001 and OHSAS. The company has also been approved by European-GMP, WHO-GMP and Latin American GMP (INVIMA), among others. Venus Remedies has  more than 100 patents, 70 trademarks and 12 copyrights for its innovative research products worldwide.

ONMO Launches Crypto Payments For Mobile Gaming Players Globally

ONMO, the  direct-to-consumer social esports mobile gaming platform from OnMobile has announced enabling transactions through Bitcoin for players across the globe. While ONMO users in India can play using real money, users in other parts of the globe will now have the choice of using Bitcoins to pay entry fees for 1-on-1 battles and daily multiplayer tournaments and play a wide variety of games on the platform.  

Commenting on the new release, Krish Seshadri, CEO, ONMO said “Gamers have been well habituated to virtual items and understand the value of virtual currencies. Our goal is to provide our global players with the best experience. With the rapid adoption of Crypto, we have now added Bitcoin as the main payment method to play games on ONMO across the globe. We will soon add other Crypto currencies to the payment methods in the ONMO wallet”.

With the addition of Bitcoin payments, ONMO brings together two of the fastest-growing markets - crypto and esports - making it versatile and easy to use. Bitcoin payments offer cross-game and cross-region compatibility coupled with streamlined payments. The platform will facilitate more cryptocurrency payment options in the future providing its global users with the best game experience and empower them to wager against each other.

About OnMobile and ONMO

OnMobile [NSE India: ONMOBILE] [BSE Ltd: 532944], is a global leader in mobile entertainment. Headquartered in Bangalore, India and with offices in all regions of the world, OnMobile is focused on building cutting-edge Mobile Gaming products while also offering a wide array of products such as Videos, Tones, & Contests. Based on current deployments, OnMobile has over 80 million monthly users across the globe. A product of OnMobile, ONMO is a social esports platform that offers short game moments across popular game titles. Players can explore different formats of gameplay, 1-on-1 battles, multiplayer tournaments, or solo challenges on the product.  With offices in Canada, Sweden, and India, ONMO blends current trends like social play, casual short gaming & esports supported by cloud gaming & vision AI technologies into a unique mobile gaming offering.

For further information, visit www.onmobile.com; www.onmo.com

Magellanic Cloud Announces Its 100% Share Acquisition Of IVIS And Provigil

Leading IT services provider, Magellanic Cloud (listed as MCloud on BSE), is pleased to announce that it has acquired 100% of the shares of IVIS International Private Limited and100% of the shares of Provigil Surveillance Limited, subject to completion of closing conditions as specified in a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) between the companies, by way of cash consideration valued approximately at INR.290,27,93,405 and INR 35,97,00,000 respectively, subject to closing adjustments based on Share Purchase Agreement.  

Magellenic Cloud is acquiring these two companies to expand the range of services it provides. This acquisition will add electronic surveillance to Magellanic Cloud’s portfolio and will help expand its security solutions offering to enterprises.  

IVIS and Provigil, are AI/ML and IOT technology enabled e-surveillance companies started by a group of entrepreneurs with experience in the Network and Surveillance domain in the US/UK/Canada.  Their mission is to provide state-of-the-art technology that provides e-surveillance systems to prevent theft, vandalism, compliance checks & real-time deviation detection, as well as business and operational insights that such data can readily provide.  For example, the software can identify bottlenecks in customer flow in retail stores which could suggest alternative product placement to optimize profits.  They have been providing these services to several leading brands. The company is already serving over 20,000 sites in India.  Magellenic Cloud plans to modify the software so that it will work for many other business use cases. 

Speaking about the acquisition, Joseph Sudheer Reddy Thumma, CEO of Magellanic Cloud said “We are excited to announce the acquisition of IVIS and Provigil, a leader in technology-based e-surveillance industry, and happy to include them in our fold. We provide innovative technology solutions to a diverse group of industries. We take pride in being at the cutting edge of technology and providing the latest digital solutions using AI, ML and IoT to help companies accelerate their journey of digital transformation. The addition of IVIS and Provigil is another feather in our cap as digital security solutions are an essential part of digital transformation.”

Murali Mohan Rachapoodi, CEO of IVIS and Provigil added “This partnership has come at a time when enterprises are focused on all-around digital transformation. IVIS specializes in providing cutting edge surveillance solutions using AI and IOT technologies that include video surveillance, sensors, and deterrents, providing a virtual defense mechanism for properties / assets. It is extremely effective as it not only reports the theft but also prevents the same without any human intervention. Factories, shops, properties, and facilities would benefit from this system as it would provide them with adequate security, video analytics and Business Intelligence to enterprises without the need to hire resources. We are eagerly anticipating this new move to contribute to our growth trajectory.”

Both Magellanic Cloud , IVIS and Provigil are excited about the latest development and expect the strategic acquisition to work successfully. The IT services company continues to stride forward by expanding its portfolio of services.

About Magellanic Cloud

Magellanic Cloud works in the digital space and is at the forefront of providing innovative technology solutions to a wide range of industries. They have tie-ups with multiple brands and have offices in multiple locations in Asia, Europe, and the USA. Mcloud aims at providing quality software solutions for internal, commercial use and other organizations that help accelerate the growth and resolve complicated issues.

Magellanic Cloud is a leading provider of IT services to customers in diverse industries. It is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol MCLOUD. They specialize in offering best-in-class digital transformation services to global clients. Magellanic Cloud has several companies under its umbrella catering to different service needs. They have a team of over 1200 professionals, serve over 50 companies, and have over 40 years of experience. They have a rich and varied clientele spread across the world. With the acquisition of IVIS and Provigil, they will be adding electronic surveillance to their service portfolio.

Consumer Interest In “Virtual Living” Intensifies, Accenture Survey Finds

* Successful consumer-facing companies are using immersive technologies to build digital environments that are increasingly realistic and create a greater connection to the physical world

The growing use of immersive technologies such as augmented and virtual reality will spur consumer-facing companies, such as those in retail, consumer goods and travel, to increase investment in new capabilities and experiences to blend physical and virtual worlds, or risk being left behind, according to the findings of a recent global survey from Accenture (ACN:NYSE).

The survey of more than 11,000 consumers in 16 countries including India found that while almost two-thirds (64%) of consumers had already purchased a virtual good or taken part in a virtual experience or service in the past year, that figure is expected to rise, as 83% show interest in making purchases via the metaverse. Furthermore, 42% of survey respondents said they had visited a retailer in the virtual world to get advice, make a payment or browse a product range when shopping for a physical item, while 56% of respondents plan to in the next year. Among millennials, these figures increase to 51% and 61% respectively.

According to the Accenture Technology Vision 2022, “Meet Me in the Metaverse: The Continuum of Technology and Experience Reshaping Business,” more than half (55%) of consumers agree that more of their lives and livelihoods are moving into digital spaces. In response, the vast majority (90%) of retail executives say that they anticipate that leading organizations will push the boundaries of the virtual world to make it more real, increasing the need for persistence and seamless navigation between the digital and physical worlds. Further, 72% of global executives state that the metaverse will have a positive impact on their organizations, with 45% believing it will be breakthrough or transformational.

“As consumers explore the virt-real world, companies that do not actively begin incorporating new immersive experiences into their business strategy now, run the risk of being left behind. By embracing the Metaverse, businesses have the opportunity to reinvent consumer experiences and also transform the way in which products and services are being created and offered,” said Anurag Gupta, managing director and lead - Strategy & Consulting, Accenture in India.

The survey also found that half (50%) of consumers said that they are buying, or would be interested in buying, a travel experience such as a sightseeing tour or hotel stay. This figure rises to 55% of millennials, compared to 29% of baby boomers. For leisure, 54% of consumers said that they are buying, or interested in buying, tickets to a concert, a show or sporting event taking place in a virtual world.

Manish Gupta, managing director and lead - Products, Accenture in India said, “As an evolving continuum, Metaverse is expected to transform and impact every part of the business value chain – right from reinventing consumer engagement to solving R&D issues and enabling enterprise-wide data analysis to leadership decisions. Consumer-facing companies need to focus on skilling and investing in a robust technology foundation to benefit from the new opportunities that will come up in the future.”

In addition to giving rise to new ways to shop, travel and socialize, virtual products and locations highlights a potential opportunity to grow revenue across industries.

Accenture recently announced the launch of the Accenture Metaverse Continuum business group, which combines metaverse-skilled professionals and market-leading capabilities in customer experience, digital commerce, extended reality, blockchain, digital twins, artificial intelligence and computer vision to help clients design, execute and accelerate their metaverse journeys.

About the Research

Accenture’s Consumer Pulse Survey offers insights into consumer outlook, sentiment, and behaviours two years on from the start of the pandemic (March 2020). This year’s survey is relevant to all consumer industries but is focused on Consumer Goods, Retail and Travel. Accenture surveyed a representative sample of 11,311 consumers from 16 countries: Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, UAE, UK, USA and Vietnam. The survey was conducted online and targeted consumers who have made purchases for their household in the past six months. Respondents were split evenly across gender and age group. This survey was conducted between 7th and 15th February 2022.

For the Accenture Technology Vision 2022, Accenture Research conducted a global survey of 24,000 consumers to capture insights into their use of, interactions with, and beliefs about technology in their everyday lives. In addition, Accenture conducted a survey of 4,650 C-level executives and directors across 23 industries to understand their perspectives and use of emerging technologies across their organizations. The surveys were fielded from December 2021 through January 2022 across 35 countries.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology and Operations services — all powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. Our 699,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at accenture.com.

JustMyRoots Partners With Celebrity MasterChef Shipra Khanna To Bring Her Signature Dishes Home To You

* Food lovers across India can pre-book dishes prepared exclusively by the chef starting from 30th April 2022

JustMyRoots, India’s first intercity home delivery service, has partnered with MasterChef Shipra Khanna to deliver her signature dish, cooked by her, to the doorsteps of thousands of food lovers. The JustMyRoots platform will enable her fans across India to not only get an opportunity to see the master at work, while she cooks her dish live on the social media platforms, but will also be able to order and taste, the chef’s specially prepared signature dishes, from the comfort of their homes.

Through this collaboration, JustMyRoots and MasterChef Shipra Khanna will be preparing Paneer Tikka Biryani. Food lovers across India can pre-book the dish prepared exclusively by the chef starting from 30th April 2022. Chef Shipra Khanna will put the cooking video on her social media on 5th May 2022 and will be preparing the orders in Mumbai on 6th May 2022, and JustMyRoots, which has partnered with multiple cloud kitchens across different cities, will ensure timely delivery.

Consumers need to simply log in and choose from the dishes prepared and listed on the JustMyRoots application or simply place a missed call/ IVR. The first 2000 customers will be able to enjoy these dishes prepared by the chef herself.

Speaking on the same, Samiran Sengupta, CEO, and Co-Founder, JustMyRoots, mentioned, “At JustMyRoots, while we have always considered food as an emotion, we have also tried to bring certain innovations in our business model that will revolutionize the food delivery sector in India. We have tried to bring families closer and provide them with an opportunity to enjoy their favorite dishes across any part of the country. This one-of-a-kind celebrity collaboration is a step closer to our vision, where it will be possible for our customers to order the signature dishes directly from their favorite celebrity chef’s kitchen to their homes.”

MasterChefs are in a different league by themselves, having cooked and excelled, in multiple rounds, of the competition, to finally qualify and win the Title. With this collaboration, JustMyRoots is providing them the opportunity to connect with their fans directly.

MasterChef Shipra Khanna mentioned, “I am delighted to associate with JustMyRoots and hope this collaboration will create a special experience for all the food lovers across India. This partnership will help expand our scope of work and open new avenues where people, with just one tap on their smartphones, can experience my signature dishes in the safety of their home with their loved ones.”

The promos for the collaboration are online and with this novel concept, JustMyRoots has taken yet another step to revolutionize the industry and aim toward breaking barriers in the food delivery ecosystem.

Instagram Promo Link: https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cc-qRpQpq6T/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=