101 Students From Aakash+BYJU’S Qualify “Mukhyamantri Vigyan Pratibha Pariksha (MVPP) 2022”

Marking yet another stupendous performance in competitive examinations, a whopping 101 students from Aakash+BYJU’S, the national leader in test preparatory services, have got selected in the prestigious Mukhyamantri Vigyan Pratibha Pariksha (MVPP) 2022. This year, top 1015 meritorious students will be getting a scholarship of Rs. 5000. 

Commenting on the impressive results, Mr Aakash Chaudhry, Managing Director, Aakash+BYJU’S, said, “MVPP is a very competitive exam as it tests your analytical ability, grasping power, awareness and speed. We are proud of our students who have cleared the MVPP 2022. The result speaks volumes about the effort put in by our students, faculty and the high-quality test preparation we provide. I wish them all the best for the future.” 

Mukhyamantri Vigyan Pratibha Pariksha, MVPP is a scholarship exam conducted between January to March by the Science Branch of the Directorate of Education in Delhi. This exam was previously known as Junior Science Talent Search Examination. The main aim of exam is to identify and nurture young talents. The exam is conducted at state level with the purpose of recognizing young scientists. 

Students appearing in Class 9 of a recognized school in Government or Government Aided/Public/KV (Kendriya Vidyalaya) /Navodaya/NDMC (North Delhi Municipal Corporation) schools are eligible for the exam. 

The exam has 2 parts where paper 1 is of Mental Ability Test - MAT and paper 2 is of  Scholastic Aptitude Test - SAT. Both the papers are of 100 marks each and duration of 120 minutes respectively.  

Aakash+BYJU’S aims to help students in their quest to achieve academic success. It has a centralized in-house process for curriculum and content development and faculty training and monitoring, led by the National Academic Team. Over the years, students from Aakash+BYJU’S have shown a proven selection track record in various Medical & Engineering entrance exams and competitive exams such as Olympiads, NTSE and KVPY. 

About Aakash+BYJU’S 

Aakash+BYJU’S provides comprehensive test preparatory services for students preparing for Medical (NEET) and Engineering Entrance Examinations (JEE), School/Board Exams and Competitive Exams such as NTSE, KVPY, and Olympiads. The “Aakash+BYJU’S” brand is associated with quality coaching and a proven student selection track record in various Medical (NEET) and JEE/Engineering Entrance Examinations, Scholarship exams & Olympiads. 

With over 33 years of operational experience in the test preparatory industry, the company has a large number of selections in Medical & Engineering Entrance Exams and several Foundation level Scholarship exams/Olympiads, a pan India network of 285+ Aakash+BYJU’S Centers (including franchisee), and an annual student count of more than 3,30,000. 

The Aakash+BYJU’S group has investments from Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd (BYJU’S) as well as by the world's largest Private Equity firm Blackstone.  

www.aakash.ac.in 

ExxonMobil Launches Next-Gen Mobil Super Range Of Lubricants In New, Improved Packaging

ExxonMobil Lubricants Pvt Ltd today announced the launch of its next-generation passenger vehicle lubricants - ‘Mobil Super,’ in new, improved packaging with refreshed labels. The improved packaging offers a new QR-code-based anti-counterfeit feature on the bottles for consumers to verify the authenticity of the products.

With the launch of the new packaging, ExxonMobil has renamed its Mobil Super 3000 series as the Mobil Super All-In-One Protection series, Mobil Super 1000 series as the Mobil Super Friction Fighter series, and Mobil Super HP as the Mobil Super Everyday Protection.

This next generation synthetic passenger vehicle lubricant offers superior technology that meets the latest BS-VI specifications and provides fuel economy benefits with its Mobil Super All-In-One Protection series. Additionally, the Mobil Super Friction Fighter series delivers better engine wear protection and cleanliness.

ExxonMobil is leveraging their Tokyo Olympics Gold Medalist brand ambassador, Padma Shri Neeraj Chopra, to communicate the change.

Commenting on the launch, Vipin Rana, CEO, ExxonMobil Lubricants Pvt. Ltd., said, “As a technology leader, ExxonMobil is always exploring new ways to serve customers better and bring a positive change to their lives. This also resonates with our brand campaign ‘Farak Laakar Dekhiye.’ Keeping consumer needs in mind, our product formulations are based on proven technologies and are optimized for various driving styles and conditions. The new ergonomic pack design will help consumers handle our products efficiently and the refreshed label designs add to the visual appeal. The new Mobil Super range will also lead to better fuel economy for our consumers and offer an enhanced experience to their everyday drive.”

ExxonMobil’s engine oils are backed by over 150 years of lubrication experience and have been recognized as a worldwide leader among synthetic engine oils since 2008. *

Mobil’s range of engine oils with the new packaging is available at Mobil Car Care outlets, Mobil retail stores, and leading online platforms such as Amazon India and Flipkart.

* As per Kline's Global Synthetic Lubricants: Market Analysis and Opportunities report.

About ExxonMobil in India

ExxonMobil’s downstream business engages in the distribution, sales and marketing of Mobil branded lubricants and specialties. The chemicals business provides market development support, analytical and reporting services. It also conducts chemical product application support services and product testing support at its technology center in Bengaluru. The upstream business provides consulting and LNG market development support services for other ExxonMobil upstream affiliates. The Global Business Center/Technical Center provides a range of support services for ExxonMobil’s operations around the globe. ExxonMobil contributes to a wide range of programs in India that support education, health and the community. 

Emirates Airlines First Flight To Israel, Touches Down At Tel Aviv

* First flight was welcomed by Israel’s Minister of Transport and Road Safety

* Emirates showcases its latest Boeing 777 ‘game-changer’ aircraft at its newest destination

Emirates touched down in Tel Aviv today on its first ever service into Israel, operated with its latest Boeing 777 ‘game-changer’ aircraft.  

Reflecting the importance of this new air transport link, the high-profile delegation onboard the inaugural flight included: His Excellency Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy; His Excellency Mohamed Al Khaja, UAE Ambassador to Israel; His Excellency Amir Hayek, Israeli Ambassador to UAE; Mr Waleed Al Naqbi, Senior Administrator – Coordination & Follow up, UAE Ministry of Economy; Mr Richard Mintz, Advisor to the UAE Ambassador in the United States; Mr Ahmad AlMarri, Dubai Economy and Tourism, Head of Region – GCC & Mena International Operations; Mr Abdulhamied Seddiqi, Vice Chairman at Seddiqi Holding; and Mr Ross Kriel, Director at Kosher Arabia.

Emirates executives onboard included: Mr Adel Al Redha, Chief Operating Officer; Dr Abdulla Al Hashimi, Divisional Senior Vice President, Group Security; Mr Adil Al Ghaith, Senior Vice President, Commercial Gulf, Middle East & Central Asia;  Mr David Broz, Vice President Aeropolitical and Industry Affairs; and Mr Jeffrey Van Haeften, Vice President Global Cargo Global Sales and Commercial.

Emirates flight EK931 was welcomed by Ben Gurion Airport with a water cannon salute, drawing an audience of travellers, aviation fans and guests from across the industry to watch the arrival of the airline’s first service. On touchdown, the VIP delegation was welcomed by Ms Merav Michaeli, Israel’s Minister of Transport and Road Safety.

After the welcome ceremony, Emirates showcased the interiors of its latest Boeing 777’ game-changer’s aircraft to government officials and guests. The aircraft features the world’s first fully-enclosed First Class suites with virtual windows and room service, offering the ultimate in luxury and privacy, plus many more thoughtful touches to ensure customer comfort across all cabin classes. Emirates will subsequently operate its three-class Boeing 777-300ER on the Dubai-Tel Aviv route, offering eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie flat seats in Business Class and 304 spacious seats in Economy Class for the daily service.

Israel’s Minister of Transport and Road Safety MK Merav Michaeli said: “The ties between Israel and the UAE are strategic economic ties and are critical to strengthening our position in face of the changing threats in the Middle East. On my last visit to the UAE, I signed agreements that will facilitate the trade and mobility between us, mobility as a tool to empower the citizens and economies of both countries.

“The step we are marking today is far beyond aviation, it is an important political step that blurs the physical boundaries between us and strengthens our mutual commitment.”

Adel Al Redha, Emirates Chief Operating Officer said: “We are excited about the launch of Tel Aviv service which adds to our growing network. From the time we first announced plans to include Tel Aviv in our global reservation systems, we received strong demand from travellers - not only in Israel, but also from many of our destinations including to and from the UAE. Some of the high demand also came from Australia, Indonesia, Brazil, the United States, and the Philippines. This reflects the strength of our product offering, the reach of our global network and the efficiency of our hub Dubai for worldwide connections. Our new service will provide tourism, trade and business opportunities.

“We look forward to welcoming our customers to experience Emirates’ product on ground and on board, as well as enjoy a unique experience across all classes. We take this opportunity to thank our friends and partners for supporting the launch of the service.”

Emirates’ flight schedules to and from Tel Aviv have been timed to provide convenient access to Dubai, and connections to popular destinations like Australia, the Philippines, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

In addition, Emirates’ codeshare partnership with flydubai offers travellers even more choices when they connect in Dubai, unlocking access to the combined network of both carriers which span 210 destinations in 100 countries.

Travellers looking for well-curated, premium travel packages to Dubai and other popular Emirates destinations at great value can also book their vacation with Emirates Holidays to enjoy a one-stop personalized travel solution.

The strong bilateral relations between the UAE and Israel are evident in the rise of the number of businesses that have been set up after the signing of the historic Abraham Accords. Currently, over 500 Israeli companies operate in the UAE, and trade between the UAE and Israel is expected to reach USD $2 billion by the end of this year.*

The new Emirates service will help nurture further business and tourism links. By providing vital connectivity with its extensive global network, the new Dubai-Tel Aviv route will support both countries in advancing their economic cooperation across a number of fields, including technology, health, education, investment, among others.

An enabler for trade, Emirates SkyCargo will offer an average of 20 tonnes of belly-hold capacity on every flight, carrying key Israeli exports like fruits and vegetables, pharmaceuticals, industrial machinery and electronics, metals, and other high-value goods to the UAE and other international markets. The airline is also set to transport manufacturing raw materials and components, semiconductors, and e-commerce parcels to Israel.

Over 300,000 Israelis have visited the UAE in the last two years despite pandemic restrictions, according to the Dubai Department of Economy & Tourism, and that number is expected to increase with travel restrictions easing further.

Emirates’ flights to Tel Aviv operate as EK931 and EK932. The daily flight leaves at 15:50hrs, arriving in Ben Gurion Airport at 18:00hrs local time. The return flight departs Tel Aviv at 19:55hrs, arriving in Dubai at 23:59hrs (local time).

Israeli customers flying on Emirates to and from Tel Aviv will enjoy the airline’s award-winning experience, with innovative products and personalised touches across every cabin class, coupled with warm hospitality from the airline’s cabin crew hailing from 130 nationalities. Customers can also savour freshly prepared menus including kosher meals, available for pre-order on all flights, and be spoilt for choice with Emirates’ ice entertainment system, which boasts over 5,000 channels of on-demand entertainment to choose from, including Hebrew language movies and content.

Shemaroo Elevates Rahul Mishra To Head, Web 3.0 Initiatives

Shemaroo Entertainment, the leading M&E player, has promoted Rahul Mishra to Head the organisation’s initiatives across Web 3.0. Rahul has been the Head of Marketing for Shemaroo since 2018 and has been instrumental in carving an identity for its various consumer facing businesses. He played a pivotal role in the transformation of Shemaroo from a B2B to a B2C new-age digital company, and its new imagery roll out with the company’s foray into OTT and Broadcast.

In his new role, Rahul will be working on identifying and building various opportunities in the third wave of the internet that is more transparent and uses technologies like blockchain, AI and IOT to create a more interactive user experience for the company.

Hiren Gada, CEO, Shemaroo Entertainment commented, “We are delighted to elevate Rahul Mishra to his new role. His long and steady contribution has helped the company scale great heights. Rahul’s promotion is aptly timed as we plan to accelerate our brand’s growth using Web 3.0 technologies.”

Rahul Mishra, Head, Web 3.0 initiatives, Shemaroo Entertainment added, “I am grateful and thrilled to take up this new role. It’s an honour to be a part of the brand that has been entertaining India for 60 years and to work with the best minds in the industry. The future is exciting and bright with the arrival of newer technologies, and I look forward to navigating Shemaroo’s journey into the next stage of the evolution of the internet.”

Ever since its inception 60 years ago, Shemaroo has constantly fostered a culture of innovation and technology that has enabled the brand to stay ahead and cater to the evolving needs of the consumers.

About Shemaroo Entertainment:

Shemaroo Entertainment Limited is a leading global content powerhouse, which has played a pioneering role in the arena of content ownership, aggregation, and distribution. Shemaroo has been a core part of the Bollywood Industry and has managed to maintain many relationships with the best production houses over the years. With a diverse and growing collection of over 3700 titles, Shemaroo has offered premium content and services to customers in more than 30 countries, across several Indian languages. With the brand in existence for over six decades, Shemaroo continues to redefine itself to respond to the disrupting consumer environment, by delivering content across age groups in genres such as movies, comedy, devotional and kids. The company’s innate ability to sense the pulse of what an audience will consume, has not only helped it become a trusted partner to few of the biggest media platforms such as YouTube, Netflix, HotStar, Star Gold, Zee Cinema, Vodafone, Reliance Jio, Tata Sky, Apple iTunes, Etisalat, but has also helped Shemaroo create entertainment experiences, in ways never thought of. Today, Shemaroo has evolved to be an entrenched player in the digital ecosystem. The entry into the Limca book of records with #FilmiGaaneAntakshri on Twitter is proof of Shemaroo staying true to its ‘digital first’ vision. Shemaroo also launched its own video streaming platform ShemarooMe in 2018 and recently in 2022, further strengthened its outreach in the broadcast business by launching Shemaroo Umang to the existing broadcast portfolio of Shemaroo MarathiBana and Shemaroo TV, that offers an exciting bouquet of highest TRP rated daily soaps to entertain the viewers across India.

Evolution In The Virtual Reality Space: AjnaLens Launches ‘Haptic Gloves’ In India

* AjnaLens, a Mumbai-based AR/VR Startup becomes the first to launch the Haptic Gloves ‘AjnaSparsh’ for Training & Upskilling 

AjnaLens, a Mumbai based hardware and software company has become the first Indian company to launch ‘Made in India’ Haptic Gloves, named as ‘AjnaSparsh’. The one-of-its-kind gloves allows the user to intuitively interact with virtual objects in the Metaverse. The gloves are offered as a training tool along with the AjnaXR Station 2.0. Corporate giants like Vedanta are readily adopting this technology to train and upskill their workforce for better results. 

“Every complex skill has its own set of tools that simplifies the learning process. Similar is the case with VR training. Attaching sensors on industry-graded tools do offer a sense of realism in the virtual world, but it still limits the scalability of the system. This inspired us to create AjnaSparsh, a unique pair of haptic gloves that allows users to touch, hold and feel the virtual objects in the Metaverse as they would in the real world. The right amount of pressure is induced on parts of the hand that are touching the virtual object, simulating the feeling of real touch. This leads to better hand, eye and brain coordination and sharpens cognitive skills to perform better.” said Abhishek Tomar, Co-founder & CTO, AjnaLens.

“Designed with utmost precision, AjnaSparsh is comfortable and lightweight to wear for an extended period. The sensors embedded allow force feedback and highly accurate motion tracking. Be it pressing a button, gripping a tool or throwing a ball, the gloves can replicate exact sensations in the virtual world. We are continuously working to upgrade the gloves and add new features like interactions with holographic avatars” he added.

AjnaLens has started pairing their haptic gloves with VR training modules like Mining to impart close to realistic training. Unlike controllers, haptic gloves take the VR experience to new heights, providing highly immersive and intuitive interactions. This strengthens a trainee’s muscle memory, and improves skill proficiency.

The company aims to deploy the AjnaSparsh and train 50,000+ students by the end of the year.

About AjnaLens

Named after ‘Ajna’, the sixth chakra or the third eye which activates ‘intuitive vision’, AjnaLens is a Mumbai-based company making immersive augmented, virtual and mixed reality devices and software solutions for Defence, Enterprise and Skilling sectors. It is the first and only XR hardware OEM to manufacture AR/VR glasses in India. 

The impact-driven startup is on a mission to unlock human potential by empowering them with augmented intelligence. In November 2014 at IIT Bombay, AjnaLens was established with a purpose to foster inclusive development in society by empowering people at the grassroots with the right tool for this decade - a ‘holographic computer’. It empowers and enables humans into perceiving and doing what is beyond their capabilities by seamlessly connecting the digital world with reality. 

AjnaLens is currently helping India’s government and fortune 500 companies in their digital transformation journey by providing end-to-end solutions such as Enterprise Metaverse, VR training simulators, AR-based remote assistance, Digital twin as well as providing indigenous defence solutions like see-through armour to Indian Defence forces. AjnaLens is the first and only XR hardware OEM registered on GEM (Government e-Marketplace), GOI’s official portal to manufacture AR/VR glasses in India. 

AjnaLens has filed 15+ National and International patents in augmented reality and allied fields. The company has won accolades like the Most promising startup by ECLINA Defennovation for cutting-edge innovations. AjnaLens is a growing family of 50 people, inviting bright minds to join their vision.

BMW's 50 Years Of M: The Most Thrilling Birthday In The World!

* Precious Souvenirs of the Golden Jubilee: Launch of 10 exclusive ‘50 Jahre M Editions’ in India.

* Honouring Tradition: Return of the Classic ‘BMW Motorsport’ Emblem.

* Home of High-Performance: M Certified Dealerships Coming Soon.

The year 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the legendary BMW M GmbH division and BMW India plans to celebrate this milestone by raising adrenaline to the next level. A series of prized ‘50 Jahre M Editions’, special M Accessories reminiscing the iconic brand, thrilling events and emotional campaigns have been set in motion to celebrate the ‘Power of M’.

Back in 1972, BMW Motorsport GmbH was founded with just 35 employees and a single aim - to create the world’s best sports cars. Following year, the BMW 3.0 CSL debuted at the Touring Car Championship and dominated the European Championship for the next six years. And that was only the start of many more outstanding automobiles and racing wins. Since then, BMW M GmbH has penned an unparalleled journey, fuelling BMW through development of high-performance track-dominating cars.

Mr. Vikram Pawah, President, BMW Group India said, “M is the strongest letter in the world and in its 50th anniversary it is stronger than ever. Inspired by motorsport, BMW M philosophy is the perfect interplay of dynamics, agility and precision while being suitable for everyday use. However different the vehicles and their drivers might be – we all love the faster heartbeat, the adrenaline and goose bumps triggered by every M car. To celebrate M’s fascinating history, BMW India will launch 10 alluring ‘50 Jahre M Editions’ across the product portfolio. We are also excited to share that later this year we will launch BMW M Certified dealerships, a one-stop-shop for an unbeatable purist experience. Above all, this jubilee is dedicated to drivers, the brand’s friends and all M enthusiasts.”

10 distinct ‘50 Jahre M Editions’ will give customers an opportunity to express both their passion for motor-racing and their awareness of tradition. Stealing the spotlight will be special editions from the powerful M stable including the BMW M340i, BMW M4, BMW M5. The robust BMW Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) range will also get its own ‘50 Jahre M Editions’ combining the best of off-roading capabilities with high-performance attributes of M. Popular BMW sedans such as BMW 6 Series and BMW 5 Series will commemorate the anniversary year with their own exhilarating M Editions. These limited-edition models will be available exclusively online at shop.bmw.in only.

The first to launch will be a stand-out rendition of the highly successful BMW M 340i xDrive. Locally produced at BMW Group Plant Chennai, it is the first high-performance BMW with an M engine to be made in India. This car has the soul of the BMW 3 Series, amplified power of M and driving competence of BMW xDrive. Ever since it was introduced in 2021, the car has been continuously sold out due to tremendous demand.

Iconic and historically significant BMW M paint finishes and upholstery options will also be offered for select models. Style-defining colors such as Dakar Yellow, Fire Orange, Daytona Violet, Macao Blue, Imola Red or Frozen Marina Bay Blue refer to the various eras of BMW M.

Customers can add sporting character to every detail with three head-turning ‘50 Jahre M Edition’ accessories packages which will be available at an attractive launch pricing. The Racer’s Pack will be the perfect choice for those who like stronger muscle command in their vehicles with exterior accessories like Rear Spoiler in Matt black, Side Sill Transfers in Matt Black and Key Fob. The Motorsport Pack goes a step further and gives a 360 makeover to the exterior as well as interior. It includes accessories like M Performance Steering Wheel, Selector Gear knob in Alcantara, Rear Spoiler in Matt Black to name a few. The Carbon Pack has been curated to give the car a fiery racing character inside out. Here, the list consists of interior trims in Carbon Fibre, M Performance Steering Wheel, Selector Gear knob in Carbon Fibre, Rear Spoiler in Carbon Fibre among others. The pairing of packages / accessories will vary from one model to another.

BMW M is putting down a marker for those who love tradition. Customers who opt for a BMW M automobile, special M Edition variants or a model equipped with an M Sport package will have their vehicle’s front, rear and wheel hubs decorated with M emblems inspired by the classic ‘BMW Motorsport’ logo. As an alternative to the conventional BMW emblem, it signals passion for racing and for the roots of the BMW M brand. The BMW logo with the shifted semicircles in blue, violet and red was first used in 1973 on the racing car of BMW Motorsport GmbH. In 1978 and with the debut of the BMW M1 the three color stripes slanted to the right and leaning on the letter M followed. Even beyond the motorsport scene it became a trademark with particularly high recognition value and identification power.

BMW India will also introduce dedicated M Certified Dealerships in India where enthusiasts will find everything M under one roof. Charged with the flair of M, these dealerships will provide the classic feel and ultimate high-performance experience that is associated with the brand.

Accenture Report Strong Growth In Q3. IT Services Will See Strong Results In Uncertain Times

Accenture reported strong revenue growth of 27% in constant currency (c/c) in 3QFY22, beating the upper end of guidance. Growth was strong all-round. Order book growth was good but lower than revenue growth at 15% in c/c. FY2022 revenue growth guidance was raised to 25.5-26.5%. Headcount addition was modest. Management indicated no change in decision-making and expects strong bookings and revenue growth in 4QFY22. Results were strong though the focus of the Street has shifted to impact on business in a recessionary environment.

Strong broad-based revenue growth; moderate bookings growth

Accenture reported 27% c/c revenue growth and 22% in reported terms to US$16.2 bn in 3QFY22 (May 2022 ending quarter). C/c revenues were above the guidance range. Revenue growth was strong across geos and verticals. Growth was led by CMT and products verticals that grew 31% each. Growth was good in financial services (24%) and health & public services (19%). Consulting grew 30%, while outsourcing grew 23%. Interestingly, segments which were perceived to be vulnerable delivered well—Europe (30% in c/c, helped partly by acquisitions) and products segments. EBIT margin increased by 10 bps yoy. Bookings growth was steady at 10% in reported terms and 15% in c/c. Headcount addition was muted at 12K employees, while attrition surprisingly increased to 20% (from 18% in 2QFY22).

Revenue guidance increased again; EPS guidance cut due to loss from sale of Russia operations

Accenture increased revenue growth guidance once again to 25.5-26.5% from 24-26% earlier, impressive. The guidance increase is large enough noting that just one quarter remains for completion of FY2022. EPS guidance was cut to US$10.61-10.7 from US$10.61-10.81, due to additional cross-currency headwinds and loss on disposition of Russia operations (US$96.2 mn hit). Revenue growth guidance for 4QFY22 at 20-24% is remarkably strong. Management has also guided for strong order bookings.

Moderate growth in bookings, the discussion point

Bookings grew 10% to US$17 bn (15% in c/c). In reported terms, consulting bookings grew 13.5%, while outsourcing was a lot more sedate at 6.1%. Book to bill ratio on LTM basis was 1.1 in consulting and 1.2 in outsourcing. We note that 15% c/c/ bookings growth, off a high base of 40% growth of the previous year, is a reasonably good outcome. In any case, the company has guided for solid bookings growth in 4QFY22.

No change in decision-making cycle

Demand is strong with no change in the decision-making cycle. The nature of conversations has changed depending on the industry vertical served. For example, cost focus has increased in consumer goods industries. Predictably, not much insight was offered on demand for FY2023.

The immediate impact of a deteriorating environment is not visible from the results or decision-making of clients. In fact, Accenture increased revenue growth guidance, reported stronger growth in Europe (perceived to be more vulnerable) and delivered better growth in bookings in consulting (considered to be more vulnerable). In a way, the results and outlook are as good as it gets, especially in the context of lowered expectations, visible in 12% correction in stock price in the past three months (46% correction from the peak). 

Clients continue to pursue compressed transformation

Companies continue to invest in cloud migration and transformation with greater speed and scope. Early adopters of cloud are building further capabilities using data and AI. Digital laggards are investing to catch up to leaders. Decision-making by clients has not slowed down yet. Clients are reprioritizing investments and focusing more on costs given the uncertain macro environment. Accenture provides end-to-end services and can capture entire opportunity from generating cost efficiencies through leverage of technology and using it to invest in change programs.

Key highlights of earnings call

} Clients with US$100 mn+ bookings. Accenture had 18 clients with U$100 mn bookings in 3QFY22, taking the total to 74 YTD which is 20 higher than the similar prior period.

} Strong market share gains. Accenture grew 3X of the market. Growth in Europe was led by double-digit growth in Germany, the UK, France and Italy. Growth markets were led by double-digit growth in Japan and Australia.

} Spend on M&A. Accenture has reduced M&A spends to US$2.5 bn in FY2022E from US$4 bn earlier due to delay in closing of acquisitions, US$1 bn of which is expected to close in 1QFY23.

} Bookings. Bookings of US$17 bn were aligned to management expectations. The pipeline is strong.

} Sustainability. Accenture acquired three companies in 3QFY22 to enhance capabilities in sustainability services.

} Balanced growth. Both consulting and outsourcing revenues will report healthy growth in 4QFY22. Pipelines for both the segments are healthy.

} Clients are focused on both costs and growth. In certain industries like consumer, there is more focus on costs than a year ago. Cloud, data and AI continue to be key focus areas. Energy efficiency, supply-chain resilience, cost reduction, cybersecurity are focus areas for clients in Europe.

} Pricing. Accenture is able to get decent improvement is pricing. Higher pricing is the biggest margin lever. Margin tailwinds including pricing increases continue to lag compensation increases.

} Attrition. Uptick is attrition is in line with seasonal patterns. Attrition can increase further in 4QFY22 due to seasonality.

} Others. Captive care-out opportunities have been steady for the past couple of years.

Michelin Gets India's First Fuel Efficiency 5 Star Rating For Passenger Car Tyre Category

* MICHELIN Latitude Sport 3 and MICHELIN Pilot Sport 4 SUV certified with 5 Star rating by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) 

Michelin, the world’s leading sustainable mobility company, has become the first tyre brand in the passenger vehicle segment in India to be accredited with the newly introduced star labelling program by Government of India. MICHELIN Latitude Sport 3 and MICHELIN Pilot Sport 4 SUV tyres receiving 5 Star ratingis a real endorsement of Michelin’s commitment to offering the best of global sustainable technology and state-of-the-art products to its Indian customers. Recently, Michelin became the first brand in India to receive 4 Star rating by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) for it’s made in India commercial vehicle tyre MICHELIN X® Multi Energy Z.  

Manish Pandey, Commercial Director B2C for India Region said, “At Michelin, we believe that for mobility to have a future, it will have to be increasingly eco-friendly, efficient, safe and accessible. After receiving the first 4-Star label for our commercial vehicle tyre recently, we are thrilled to be recognised once again with India’s first 5 Star rating for two of our most popular passenger car tyre-lines in India. For our brand, this first 5 Star rating will add greater confidence among our customers, where they will be better placed to select tyres that are fuel-efficient, safe and contribute to decreasing carbon footprint in the country. We are dedicated to offering our Indian customers the most advanced technology best tailored to keep them safe, comfortable, and efficient on Indian roads” 

Government of India continues to make consistent efforts towards infrastructure development, with the pace of national highway (NH) construction in the country touching a record 37 km per day in 2020-21. To make these roads safer and drives more efficient, comfortable, and confident, the tyre industry has played a crucial role, with consistent efforts towards creating a more innovative contribution to the industry. As part of an ambitious road map by the Ministry of Power and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for a smooth transition towards green mobility, a final notification was published in 2021, proposing that the tyres of cars, buses, and trucks meet requirements of rolling resistance and wet grip as specified in BEE Schedule 30 based on Stage-I of the Automotive Industry Standards (AIS). Under this process, Michelin India is one of the first brands to register for both commercial vehicle as well as passenger car segment and was subsequently awarded India's first 5 Star rating for Michelin Latitude Sport 3 and Pilot Sport 4 SUV tyres.  

The new regulations will demand that all tyres sold in India meet crucial performance and safety standards such as rolling resistance and wet grip. When this regulation becomes mandatory, all domestic and foreign manufacturer and importers of truck, bus and passenger car tyres will be required to attribute BEE star label to tyres sold in India. 

MICHELIN Latitude Sport 3 is the third generation of Latitude on-road SUV tyres from Michelin’s global line-up. The tyres are uniquely designed to offer the best in the segment, driving experience, better performance in terms of fuel consumption and an outstanding grip on all types of terrains. It provides better road grip on wet roads with minimal roll resistance, adding to better fuel efficiency. The tyre's exceptional design offers a high level of comfort and maximum torque transfer while braking or accelerating, thus improving steering precision. 

MICHELIN Pilot Sport 4 SUV tyre is a high-performance, premium SUV tyre developed to deliver unlimited driving pleasure, excellent longevity, impressive braking performance, and dynamic handling. Pilot Sport 4 SUV tyres outperform peers in dry and wet on-road braking, with shorter braking distances. Moreover, this tyre provides better roll resistance, resulting in greater fuel efficiency and Safety. 

PARAMETERS FOR STAR LABELLING:   

AIS conducts star labelling test on tyres on various aspects, such as testing of rolling resistance coefficient and wet grip index. The rolling resistance coefficient test is done on the rolling ratio to the tyre's load. In contrast, the wet grip Index test is done on parameters of the ratio between performance of the candidate tyre and the performance of the standard reference test tyre. Each test must meet the minimum threshold for each star rating band. 5 Star category has a lower limit of 0 kg/ton and an upper limit of 8 kg/ton.  

IMPACT OF FUEL SAVINGS AND 5-STAR SIGNIFICANCE:  

A 5 Star product, on average, consumes up to 9.5%   less fuel when compared to any other lower star-rated tyre, co-relating to lesser greenhouse gas emissions, a significant cause of global warming. On an average, there would be up to 750 kg less Co2 emissions when you switch to a 5-star product vs a lower-star rated tyre. As the fuel prices across the globe remain volatile, consumer can save a significant amount of money by switching to 5-star rated tyres.  

Third Edition of myAvtar “Job Fair For Women” Set To Attract Over 2000 Jobseekers

myAvtar.com - India’s leading diversity job portal, announced the third edition of its free virtual job fair for women - ‘myAvtar’ – to be held on 02nd July this year, between 9.00 am to 6.00 pm. The large format virtual fair will connect women jobseekers with inclusive employers. This fair will provide opportunities for working women professionals at across career stages and also to those looking to restart their careers. A wide range of recruitment options will be available for women across sectors.  

The myAvtar.com job portal offers enormous opportunities for women in diverse domains like banking, technology, finance, digital marketing, and manufacturing. The diversity job portal was launched by India’s premier Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Solutions firm, Avtar Group in 2020 to showcase opportunities for women, LGBTQ Community, Persons with Disabilities, Army Veterans, and millennials.  

For the last two decades, Avtar has been the front-runner towards increasing women’s workforce participation in India Inc. Avtar has been working with companies across industry verticals on their gender diversity initiatives and building career opportunities for women. 

Announcing the launch of the 3rd edition of myAvtar Job Fair for Women, Dr Saundarya Rajesh, Founder – President, Avtar Group, said, “The last two editions of the job fairs reveal a profound impact the Covid crisis has had on the jobs that are available for women professionals. The growth in the industries that were traditionally male dominated such as manufacturing, pharma, automobile and so on, is accelerating the demand for Diverse talent suggesting quick and fast economic recovery which would also witness an increase in women’s workforce participation.”  

This specially curated job fair will provide the much-needed opportunity for networking and scope of employability for freshers, early and mid-career women professionals. The fair will see participation from leading companies including Ather Energy, Amazon, M2P Fintech, Mastercard Incorporated, Synchrony, Titan Company, Vestas, AstraZeneca, CRISIL, Bluestar Limited, Ford Business Solutions and ICICI Lombard reaffirming their commitment to creating gender-balanced workspaces.  Participants will not only have access to employment opportunities but also be able to attend a series of thought-provoking and insightful sessions from industry veterans. Also available will be exclusive presentations by employers on their organizations and job opportunities for candidates to apply. 

Women jobseekers can register at https://www.myavtar.com/events/details/11 for a free pass to the event. The job fair is free for candidates to register. 

About Avtar Group  

Avtar set up in 2000, is India’s first diversity advocate & workplace inclusion expert. Renowned for its extensive work in the space of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) and more specifically, women’s workforce participation, it is the country’s largest provider of second career opportunities for women and is also the earliest to begin working on diversity audits and measurement. Lead by the visionary Dr Saundarya Rajesh, Avtar has ventured into areas of gender inclusion and career creation, which are firsts to India, such as  

Creating a marketplace for second career women to meet potential employers,  

Developing a comprehensive set of career enablers which companies can implement in their workspaces, 

Spearheading original research that has provided cutting edge insights to organizations 

Launched India’s first Diversity hiring portal, www.myAvtar.com 

Re-Skilling, Up-skilling, and Counselling of women to pursue sustainable career paths and 

Building career intentionality amongst under privileged girl children. 

Over its 21 years of existence, Avtar has helped charter Diversity, Equity & Inclusion plans for several organizations in the IT, FMCG, Manufacturing and Financial sectors in the country.  

METRO Cash & Carry India Rings In Its 19th Successful Year In India With Grand Anniversary Special ‘Profits Just Got Bigger’

·         Anniversary celebration will run from June 23rd till 10th August, and has been made available across METRO’s 31 wholesale stores and METRO Wholesale App

·         Special Anniversary offers have been curated to support small businesses and kiranas to avail great offers and help them unlock bigger profits to improve their toplines and cash flows

·         Anniversary special reinforces METRO’s commitment to champion the cause of small & independent business customers that includes Kirana, HoReCa customers (Hotels, Restaurants, Caterers), office and institutions, etc.

METRO Cash and Carry, India’s leading organized wholesaler and food specialist is commemorating its 19 years of successful operations in India and has rolled out special anniversary offers across its 31 ‘METRO Wholesale’ stores in India. Over 3 million small and independent business customers of METRO across the country can avail the anniversary offers in the 45 days long celebration starting 23rd June to ­­­­­­10th August 2022. The special offers have been made available on the METRO Wholesale App. https://bit.ly/2JxGMz4 (for Android users). 

As part of the anniversary celebration, a special ‘Profits Just Got Bigger’ campaign has been introduced for small and independent business customers, especially the small retailers and kiranas to enable them to avail attractive deals and offers on a variety of products and help them pass on the benefits to their end customers. Special discounts and specially curated offers like Double Dhamaka (Buy One Get One) deals are being offered in a phased manner on a range of products across brands. During this period, METRO will be giving incredible anniversary offers like ‘Lowest Price in Town’, Buy More Save More, METRO Exclusive, and more such exciting offers to its over 3 million customer base in India.

METRO remains committed to its purpose of supporting the small businesses and retailers, and is offering mega discounts on a range of home appliances, apparels, electronics, home furnishing, kitchen accessories, toiletries, luggage, and FMCG brands in addition to commodities, oil, pulses, etc. METRO’s own in-house brands such as ARO, Fine Life, METRO Chef, METRO Professional, Rioba & Tarrington House will also have exciting discounts and benefits.

Speaking about METRO’s 19th Anniversary in India, Arvind Mediratta, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer at METRO Cash & Carry India said, “Over the last two decades in India, METRO India has been working towards empowering the small and independent businesses. Today METRO has become synonymous with being the voice of small businesses, retailers and kiranas. Our anniversary special offers have been designed to help support these independent businesses for them to enhance their cash flows and improve footfall and profitability for them to sustain the competitive battleground of modern retail and e-commerce.”

He further added, “Over the last 19 years, we have steadily worked towards providing a robust platform to several local and indigenous MSMEs and small businesses to grow their business with METRO. Along with this, we have provided customized solutions to our 3 million customers now to accelerate their business with new opportunities. On our nineteenth anniversary, I would like to thank thousands of our independent businesses, kiranas, HoReCa partners, supplier partners, and farming community, along with our resilient workforce at METRO, who have supported us in the journey to make METRO the most profitable wholesaler in the country.”

Since starting its operations in 2003, METRO has built a strong brand equity and trust amongst the MSMEs & independent businesses in India. As Champion for Independent Business, METRO has always been committed to supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem; 99% of the products METRO sells are all locally sourced from MSMEs & local suppliers. In the last 19 years, METRO has been at the forefront of enriching these independent businesses and takes immense pride in empowering the Kirana ecosystem through its Smart Kirana program. A first-of-its-kind initiative, the program helps traditional mom-and-pop kirana stores to transform with modernization and digitalization solutions to compete with new-age retail players. METRO is leading the way in kirana digitization and has so far helped modernize operations of over 2000 kiranas across the country.

METRO Cash & Carry operates 31 wholesale distribution centres In India catering to over 5000 suppliers and has created over 15500 direct and indirect job opportunities across the country. To become a METRO Wholesale member, register with a valid business license and photo ID proof copy by calling on 1860-266-2010 or log on to www.metro.co.in   

About METRO Cash & Carry:

METRO is a leading international wholesale company, with food and non-food assortments, which specialises in serving the needs of hotels, restaurants, and caterers (HoReCa) as well as independent merchants (Traders). Around the world, METRO has some 17 million customers who benefit from the wholesale company’s unique multichannel mix. Customers can choose between shopping in one of the large stores in their area or delivery (Food Service Distribution, FSD) – all digitally supported and connected. At the same time, METRO MARKETS is an international online marketplace for professional customers that has been growing and expanding continuously since 2019. Acting sustainably is one of the company principles of METRO, which has been listed in various sustainability indices and rankings for many years, including FTSE4Good, MSCI, CDP and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. METRO operates in more than 30 countries and employs over 95,000 people worldwide. In financial year 2020/21, METRO generated sales of €24.8 billion.

METRO entered the Indian market in 2003 with METRO Cash & Carry stores. The company currently operates thirty-one wholesale distribution centres under the brand METRO Wholesale including six in Bangalore, four in Hyderabad, two each in Mumbai and Delhi, and one each in Kolkata, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Zirakpur, Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Surat, Indore, Lucknow, Meerut, Nasik, Ghaziabad, Tumakuru, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Guntur and Hubballi.  

Happiest Minds Technologies Is Positioned As An ‘Innovator’ In Nelson Hall’s Digital Banking Services NEAT Report

Happiest Minds Technologies Limited (NSE: HAPPSTMNDS), a ‘Born Digital . Born Agile’ digital transformation and IT solutions company, today announced being positioned in the NelsonHall Vendor Evaluation and Assessment Tool (NEAT) report as an ‘Innovator’ in Digital Banking Services.

NelsonHall, the leading global BPO, and IT outsourcing analyst firm uses its NEAT tool for a pragmatic assessment of an organization’s ability to take clients on an innovation journey. The tool is useful for business managers looking to benchmark themselves against their peers, financial analysts, and investors specializing in the support services sector. It offers a comprehensive assessment of Happiest Minds’ Digital Banking Service offerings and an evaluation of its Marketing & Sales initiatives.

Rajiv Shah, Executive Board Member & CEO, Digital Business Services (DBS), Happiest Minds Technologies said, “Happiest Minds has been at the forefront of digital transformation by leveraging the 4E Mindful framework and digital technologies. We have brought in technology, innovation, and intention to meet our customers’ business goals through actionable insights. This recognition in the NEAT tool is a testimony of our future-ready vision, strategy, and value we deliver at each step of our customers’ digital journey.”

Geetha Doraiswamy, GM & Delivery Head BFSI, Digital Business Services (DBS), Happiest Minds Technologies said, “BFSI as an industry has seen an accelerated impact in the last two years with customers’ rapidly adopting technology. The hassle-quick processing of applications and requests, and flexible repayment schedules are the norms of the post-covid world. Our position in the NelsonHall Report is a testament to our innovative capabilities aimed at delivering superior business outcomes in the banking and financial space.”

Andy Efstathiou, Director of NelsonHall’s Banking Operations & Transformation Practice, said “Happiest Minds was identified as an ‘INNOVATOR’ in digital banking services based on its domain expertise and experience with contact center, payment, and lending solution development and implementation services. Happiest Minds focuses its services on leading-edge technologies that clients have difficulty deploying themselves.”

The Happiest Minds’ Banking and Financial IT services uses disruptive technologies of AI, IoT, App Modernization, CRM, Analytics, and Cloud to help financial institutions like the banks, non-banking lenders, FinTechs, and Credit Unions streamline and automate data governance & reconciliation processes and support compliance with banking regulatory frameworks like Basel, Dodd-Frank & FATCA. Our customer experience solutions in the rapidly disruptive digital space like social media, mobile, and analytics enable us to provide relevant, smart, secure, and easy banking within an agile and resilient tech ecosystem. 

Happiest Minds’ success is evident in the work delivered to its customers.

·         For the largest US Commercial Bank, Agent AI and the Digital Contact Center Modernization led to cutbacks of up to 61K$ just for lookups?, 2880 hours of agent utilization saved?, and a significant reduction in agent training cost.

·         For a B2C Fintech Company, ?an interactive online platform led to increased customer satisfaction by 37%?, reduced call resolution time by 40%, and increased cross-sell and up-sell opportunities by 10%. ?

·         For a US-based P2P Lending Organization, the implementation of loan servicing & collection strategies led to reduced manual intervention from 100% to 20%? and automated loan contract creation.

Powered by its mission statement of “Happiest People . Happiest Customers,” Happiest Minds counts more than 53 Billion-Dollar corporations as its customers.

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, and more. 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, 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., the UK, Canada, Australia, and the Middle East.

IT Sector Update: Recession Imbibes Fear, But Holds Fundamentals

IT stocks have corrected 25% CYTD’22 – a stark relative underperformance of 15% over broader markets and driven by higher odds of a recession in DMs in the next 12/18 months. This note is a thorough analysis of the IT sector’s revenue, margin and stock price performance during the well-documented recession of 2008 (GFC) and the more recent 2020 pandemic crisis. The conclusions, as we table below, are surprising and call for buying into this price rout. We further highlight how the shrinking margin gap of Indian IT players against their global IT peers will soon put a floor to the multi-decadal trend of progressively declining sector margins. We are factoring in a higher COE and assigning 30% odds of a global recession. This cuts our target multiples by 13-26%, but we remain confident that the sector will maintain its premium valuations over its pre-pandemic levels. Our top Buys are INFO, HCLT, WPRO, TECHM, MTCL/LTI and MPHL.

Revenue and margin behaviour contrast with each other: IT sector’s revenue growth shows directional causality to US GDP growth – with a sharp moderation during the 2008/2020 recessions. During GFC, revenue slowdown pre-empted the actual recession by a quarter, while during the pandemic, the decline was in sync. Revenue rebounded to pre-recession growth rates post GFC recovery and actually surged higher after the pandemic. Surprisingly, margins expand during recessions and revert to the mean in the recovery phase. While rupee depreciation and lower churn are compensatory causes, IT companies do well to control discretionary costs.

Stock prices override fundamentals as recession fear sets in…. and then surge: IT sector underperformed massively by 30% a quarter prior to the 2008 recession. During the pandemic, almost all sectors declined simultaneously and thus less relevant here. The key observation here is that the IT sector’s outperformance during the recession and recovery thereafter is stunning. The surprise element here is that the actual EPS estimates in years 1 & 2 of the recovery actually come in about equal or higher than when they were before the recession fears set in. In a nutshell, revenue catches up to the pre-recession trend a year or two into recovery, while EPS settles higher. So the impairment of intrinsic value is limited to the discounting of loss of growth over 12/18 months – a hit of about 3% to the stock value.

Medium-term risk to sector margins is lower than in the past: The Indian IT sector’s margins have regressed downward in the last decade – closing the gap with that of its global IT peers. Global IT sector margins have actually trended up with a big scale-up in their offshore operations. We believe that the delivery-led cost optimization gains are largely behind us. As global IT companies gain 100-300bps in margins over the next several years, it will act as a floor to Indian IT sector margins.

Rating changes: We reinstate MTCL and LTI to Buy with TPs of Rs3,400 and Rs4,700, respectively, at 25x Jun’24E EPS, taking into account attractive valuations after the recent corrections and benefits from merger synergies in the medium term. TCS’s stock performance has remained resilient in the last 6M. However, due to the relatively expensive valuation after factoring a 30% probability of recession, we downgrade it to Hold. Our pecking order: INFO, HCLT, WPRO, TECHM, and TCS among Tier-1 names; and MTCL, LTI, MPHL, FSOL, PSYS, ROUTE, BSOFT, and ECLX among mid-caps.

ISG Positions L&T Technology Services As Leader In Digital Engineering Services

* LTTS recognized for its expertise across Design and Development (Products Services, Experience), Customer/User Engagement & Experience, Platforms & Application Services, Connected and Intelligent Operations

L&T Technology Services Limited (BSE: 540115, NSE: LTTS), a leading global pure-play engineering services company, today announced that it has been positioned as a ‘Leader’ in all 5 quadrants for the North America market in the 2022 ISG Provider Lens™ Digital Engineering Services report.

ISG recognized LTTS’ leadership competencies across Design and Development (Products Services, Experience), Connected and Intelligent Operations - Discrete Industries, Connected and Intelligent Operations - Process Industries. LTTS has also been rated as a ‘Leader’ in Integrated Customer/User Engagement & Experience and Platforms & Application Services in North America.

LTTS has been recognized for its emerging engineering frameworks, connected operations in discrete industries and transformation journeys across multiple verticals. LTTS’ range of Machine Learning (ML), IoT and digital service offerings is further augmented by an engineering design talent pool with capabilities in digital technologies to deliver world-class products and services, ISG noted.

Mr. Jan Erik Aase, Partner & Global Head – ISG Provider Lens, ISG Research said, “Over the years, LTTS has become the preferred ER&D Services partner for major global organizations, supporting such enterprises with best-in-class digital engineering services. LTTS brings with it a perfect alignment of digital competencies, deep engineering expertise, end-to-end view of digital value chains and products and services across all phases of the utility curves and lifecycles. LTTS’ proficiency in engineering services is not only confined to the technical aspects but is also amply demonstrated in its culture of innovation, patent portfolio and expertise in hardware architecture”.

Mr. Abhishek Sinha, Chief Operating Officer and Member of the Board, L&T Technology Services said, “LTTS has successfully helped clients transform the value proposition of their product and services by architecting and executing future-ready digital product and platform roadmaps through user-centered services. We have been investing in digital and leading-edge technologies and providing a wide range of services from chip to cloud as more of our customers are embarking on the journey to digital transformation, both in products as well as the shop floor. This strategy has helped us become the partner of choice to over 300 global customers. This recognition by ISG is an endorsement of our business value and impact.”

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 centres, 28 global sales offices and 89 innovation labs as of March 31, 2022. For more information,  visit https://www.ltts.com/

India.com Ranked Among The Top 5 Most Popular News Websites: Reuters Institute Report, 2022, Oxford University

* India.com is committed to providing rich art, culture, and unexplored destinations news from a nation as diverse and unique as India

India.com, one of Zee’s most powerful media assets, has become one of the top 5 most popular websites according to a recently released data by Reuters Institute Report, 2022, Oxford University Journalism, to understand the different consumption patterns across different countries.

A detailed study was conducted by YouGov using an online questionnaire in the last week of January/beginning of February 2022. The Reuters Institute Report 2022 data findings are based on a survey of mainly English-speaking, online news users in India – a small subset of a larger, more diverse media market. The respondents of this survey include an affluent younger urban population with a higher level of formal education.

This year, India.Com has jumped ahead of its competitors — India Today, The Hindu, Times Now, The Indian Express, Network 18, and other big names to cement its position in the 11th edition of Reuters’ Report on Digital News.

Terming the achievement, a moment of pride, Puja Sethi, Group Editor, Zee Digital asserted that we (Zee Digital) are one of the top-most and fastest-growing online news platforms in India that creates and publishes online news and information content - which informs, educates and help the readers across all age groups. While providing quality content across genres like news, education, lifestyle, entertainment, sports, health and more, we take pride in getting ranked as one of the most reliable news sources in the country. Expressing gratitude towards readers for their constant support and belief, Sethi said, "We are grateful to our audience. The trust bestowed by them has boosted our confidence to keep providing them with brave, crisp, and accurate news across genres. “The channel is available for viewers online and covers a plethora of topics about India including politics, bollywood, education, sports, business, technology, viral news, health, art and culture, travel, and lifestyle.”

About Zee Media Corporation Limited:  About Zee Media Corporation Limited: Zee Media Corporation Limited (formerly Zee News Ltd.) is India's one of the largest News Network with 14 news channels in 8 different languages touching more than 300 Million viewers and digital properties like Zeenews.com, dnaindia.com, india.com and others.

IKEA Group Opens Its First New Store On June 22 In Bengaluru

* Home decor enthusiasts are in for a good news as Bengaluru is all set to get its first IKEA store on June 22. Furthermore, it will be connected to the Nagasandra metro station.

Swedish home furnishings retailer Ingka Group's unit IKEA India said on Tuesday that it will open its first store in Karnataka's Bengaluru on June 22. The huge furniture store will be connected with the Nagasandra metro station, a statement from IKEA India read.

The development occurred after Karnataka's Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai met the CEO of Ingka, Jesper Brodin, at the World Economic Forum meet in Davos, Switzerland, where they are said to have held talks about the store's opening.

Brodin and Bommai are both attended the inaugural event of the store's launch in Nagasandra on June 22. IKEA  India has also stated in the release that Anje Heim will be the Market Manager for the Karnataka market.

“IKEA aims to offer home furnishing solutions that match the aspirations and dreams of the many people of Bengaluru for a better everyday life. IKEA Nagasandra will serve as a one-stop destination for all your home furnishing requirements,” Heim told reporters.

The IKEA Nagasandra store will be 4,60,000 square feet big and will be spread over 12.2 acres of land. It is set to host more than 7,000 reasonable, great quality, sustainable and well-designed home outfitting items, according to the statement. 

The store is also going to be kid-friendly as it will have a large play area for children called 'area 'Småland'. Moreover Bengaluru's IKEA is also expected to open an eatery that can sustain a footfall of 1000 at a time and a bistro serving a blend of Swedish and Indian rarities. IKEA had begun its online business venture in Bengaluru last year, with a shopping site and an app.

Union Bank of India Unveils Cyber Security Mascot To Create Cyber Security Awareness

Union Bank of India announced a unique initiative, first of its kind in the Cyber Security Domain by creating & adopting the concept of Cyber Security Mascots to promote Cyber Security awareness amongst its Staff and Customers towards building robust Cyber safe Bank. 

The Cyber Security Mascots, named U Su?Ksha (Female Mascot) and U?Kshak (Male Mascot) were unveiled by Ms. A. Manimekhalai, MD&CEO, Union Bank of India at Mumbai. 

Union Bank of India has taken this proactive step towards meeting the guidelines of  Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India to observe 1st Wednesday of every month as ‘Cyber Jaagrookta (Awareness) Diwas' with special emphasis on capacity building of employees to deal with the challenges of Cyber-crimes. 

This Cyber Security Mascot will act as an enabler to spread Digital awareness amongst Bank’s customers to protect them against the dangers of the Cyber world. 

Cyber Security Mascots will be the face of Union Bank’s Cyber Security campaigns to build a robust Cyber Security culture in the Bank and prevention of Cyber frauds. 

On the occasion Union Bank of India also launched Cyber Badges, Cyber Cards, Cyber Security Play Book, Cyber Moment on Cyber Safety and Security measures for capacity building of employees to deal with Cyber challenges.  

Photo Caption:  Ms. A Manimekhalai, MD&CEO, Union Bank of India flanked by Mr Nitesh Ranjan, Mr. Rajneesh Karnatak & Mr Nidhu Saxena, Executive Directors, Union Bank of India on unveiling of the Cyber Security Mascots 

Indian pharmaceutical Company, Austrak Launches Nephrology And urology Division

* To manufacture 73 valued products in the segment

Indian Pharmaceutical company, Austrak private limited based in Hyderabad, Telangana, launched its new super specialty division to focus on around 73 valued products in Nephrology and urology. With a strong presence in the segment of ophthalmology for the last 12 years, Austrak is one of the leading innovation driven healthcare group, whose core businesses are pharmaceuticals and surgical. Austrak aims to supply products and services that significantly improve people's lives by helping to prevent, diagnose and treat disease.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Vittal – Chairman Austrak Pvt Ltd said that, Quality is the prime focus at Austrak. All our products are manufactured in W.H.O. / GMP standard manufacturing plants and all facilities meet CGMP standards. In line with our ambitious growth plans, we are launching our Nephrology and Urology division today. This division to focus on around 73 valued products in the segment. Our aim is to develop & market high quality specialty, therapeutic & medical products to cure critical illnesses like Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and Urology related ailments with their high prevalence, morbidity and mortality & ease sufferings.

We aspire to become one of the leading pharmaceutical companies that made advanced health care affordable and accessible for the masses in every corner of India.

Our aim is to develop & market high quality specialty, therapeutic & medical products to cure critical illnesses & ease sufferings. Large numbers of patients below the poverty line, low gross domestic product, and low monetary allocations for health care have led to suboptimal outcomes. Moreover, CKD, Urinary problems and other non-communicable diseases have often been ignored in the face of persistent challenges due to competition for resources of communicable diseases and high infant and maternal mortality.

The principal contribution of Austrak private limited to the society is to continue commuting substantial resources to long term strategy of discovering & getting innovative products that improve the quality of human life.

Our products and services make it possible for patients to receive prompt and effective treatment tailored to their individual requirements. By helping patients to avoid or shorten costly hospital stays, they help to reduce the overall cost of healthcare for individuals and society.

EnableX And Sattva Connect Collaborate To Accelerate Digital Transformation of Yoga Through Video API

 

* Sattva Connect leveraged EnableX’s flagship Video platform to host a Yoga session with over 600 participants across the globe on the International Yoga Day

EnableX, a Singapore-based, full-stack communications platform and solutions provider, has collaborated with Sattva Connect, an online yoga platform that inspires transformation, self-realization, and healing. Sattva Connect used EnableX’s Video platform for a real-time, holistic, yoga session with over 600 enthusiasts simultaneously joining from across the world.

With its origin in Rishikesh, India, Sattva Connect has followers from all over the world who share their mutual love for yoga and yogic practices. It believes in yogic wisdom and technologies to elevate consciousness in order to transform lives. As a part of International Yoga Day celebrations and to connect with the ever-growing and committed yoga community, Sattva Connect plans to host a series of exciting virtual yoga sessions on EnableX’s Video Platform

EnableX offers an engaging technology platform that boosts interactions between the host and audience irrespective of the scale of the virtual event. The former will be using EnableX CPaaS capabilities for a synchronic and real-time communication with its community of teachers and students world-wide. Since the launch of Sattva Connect online platform powered by EnableX, they have seen a tremendous upsurge in the number of participants for its online classes.

Sattva Connect is focussed on offering a seamless, uninterrupted and easy-to-use platform to its global audience so they can experience the power and wisdom of Yoga.

Speaking on the collaboration, Pankaj Gupta, CEO and Founder, EnableX said, “We are excited to collaborate with Sattva Connect, which is committed to offering a holistic transformational experience to its users across countries. Yoga has its origin in India therefore, it is a matter of genuine pride that Sattva Connect’s initiative will reach a global audience through our platform.  We thank the Sattva team for choosing our platform for their business needs.”

Speaking on the occasion, Anand Mehrotra, Founder, Sattva Connect said, “We found EnableX to be the ideal fit for being able to deliver a world-class experience to our participants. EnableX gives us the much-needed flexibility to customize every aspect of our solution and that has helped us improve our engagement with users. Our Yoga teachers can now conduct their practice sessions with an expanded audience in a much more engaging format.”

About EnableX.io

EnableX.io is a Singapore-based, global, full-stack communications platform and solutions provider that enables developers and businesses to deliver a holistic omnichannel experience to their consumers.

Backed by a team of over 50 passionate technologists, it empowers Fortune 500 companies as well as start-ups across the globe through its interactive and highly engaging customer experience platform. 

Founded in 2017, the company has established a strong presence across APAC, US, and Europe, serving customers from a diverse industry including Healthcare, Telecom, BFSI, Education, Retail, and E-commerce.

An industry first, EnableX.io is offered both as a cloud and on-premise CPaaS platform. This flexible deployment capability allows EnableX to work with Telcos and service providers looking to launch CPaaS under their brands as a fully white-labeled offering. It also addresses the needs of enterprises looking at the private deployment of CPaaS due to regulatory and data privacy requirements, and the developer community at large.

EnableX.io is a full-stack CPaaS service empowering businesses to deploy omnichannel communication (Video, Voice, SMS, and Messaging) across devices and platforms. From one-to-one chats to large-scale broadcasts, EnableX.io makes communications smarter, flexible and more personal, helping enterprises stay ahead in the digital world. 

EnableX.io’s value proposition is its ability to innovate, which is evident from the recent launches of the most powerful and flexible DIY Visual Builder for Real-time Communication and FaceAI – an advanced AI-driven real time video based emotion analysis API. 

The company has established strategic partnerships with leading Global System Integrators & ISV’s to deliver real time communication capabilities to their global clientele.

 For more information, visit www.enablex.io

AU Small Finance Bank Launches Industry’s First “Customisable Credit Card, LIT”

* The LIT (Live It Today) Credit Card allows cardholders to customise their choice of credit card features as per their ever-changing lifestyle requirements instead of predefined features  

* Introduces Pay-Per-Feature and freedom to Switch On/Off any feature to avail customized benefits across Travel, Entertainment, Shopping, Fuel and Dinning -all on one card.  

Staying true to its mission of Badlaav, AU Small Finance Bank today launched an innovative Credit Card product that brings a revolutionary change in the credit card landscape. The AU Bank LIT (Live-It-Today) Credit Card, by the largest small finance bank and one of the fastest-growing retail banks in India, offers a unique value proposition to cardholders – to choose the features they want and for the time period they want. 

While credit card companies offer attractive products in different categories, it is often difficult for customers to find the combination of all such features in one single card. This forces them to opt for multiple credit cards offering specific category rewards like Travel card for maximising travel related spends or co-branded cards for shopping on specific e-commerce sites. With the LIT Credit Card, the Bank has put the power to choose these features in the hands of the customers – all categories in one card. Further, they also get the freedom to switch on or off these features as per their changing lifestyle requirements.  

LIT credit card provides a higher degree of engagement to customers, through the AU0101 app as they can track their saving/earnings daily to maximize their benefits. Most importantly, the card hosts multiple benefits and customers can activate any feature on-the-go in real time for a small convenience fee. LIT provides the cardholder a complete control on its offers and fee that they pay for those offers in a clear, transparent manner and saves the cardholders multitudes of annual/renewal fee for benefits they don’t use. Cardholders can avail the best of both Cashbacks and Reward Points, using the features that are offered. The default validity period for each feature is 90 days. 

LIT Credit Card offers five categories of features, namely: 

Lounge Access: Wherein customers can opt for one or two lounge access per quarter 

Milestone Benefits: By which, one can get more reward points or cashbacks 

OTT & Lifestyle Memberships: Wherein they can get free membership to various platforms and services 

Accelerated Rewards (Online/Offline): Customers can get higher reward points for online and POS transactions 

Other Features: Including fuel surcharge waiver, cashback on grocery, and much more 

“At AU Bank, we have always believed in challenging the status quo by leveraging technology and innovation to bring the change that the banking industry needs. Last year, we became the first Small Finance Bank to start a Credit Card portfolio to empower our customers. Soon, we observed that the digitally-savvy and GenZ consumers needed more control over the products they use. This led to the evolution of the customizable LIT Credit Card which brings the features of many credit cards into a single card. We will continue to launch many such innovative products and remain true to our mission of being the change agent through our mission, Badlaav Humse Hai,” said Mr. Sanjay Agarwal, MD & CEO, AU Small Finance Bank. 

While AU Bank already has a bouquet of card services, the addition of the LIT Credit Card will help it cater to the evolving needs of a digital-savvy generation of informed users. AU Bank launched their first range of credit cards last year. Since then, the Bank has successfully enrolled more than 2.3 Lakh credit cards customers from over 200 districts of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, majority of whom are first time credit card users. 

Venture X US Enters India, To Open Offices At Two Locations In Gurugram

* The company so far invested approximately $5Mn in the Indian market; plans to invest $2-3Mn by 2023

* The company offers a modern, flexible coworking franchisee at convenient and beautiful landmark locations across India

Venture X® is an affiliated brand of UFG coworking division, CoworksTM which is the largest privately-owned franchisor in the coworking industry having more than 200 locations opened/signed up globally is now entering the Indian market. Venture X has revealed their first two premium locations in Gurugram with a cumulative 1200 seats spread across 45,000 and 16,500 sq. ft. space at Sector 67 and 44 respectively. The company plans to expand PAN India in all the major Tier I and Tier II cities.

Venture X Gurugram offers flexible, premium coworking space options for individuals and companies, including established businesses, entrepreneurs, small and medium- sized enterprises. Catering to the ultra-modern and professional work space-related needs of the consumers, the company provides creative, innovative, and well-designed office solutions to businesses. In addition to their actual workspace, members have access to community café areas and other amenities, promoting networking and collaboration opportunities within their teams and with other Venture X members. The community space is available for hosting networking events, meetings and conferences.

An Attractive Absentee ownership franchise model for investors, Venture X offers a blend of a boutique hotel and modern office styles featuring a more upscale design level than most spaces that lean less professional and more toward a juvenile, playful aesthetic.

“We are excited to bring the brand Venture X to India, a blend of boutique hotel and modern office styles, with an elevated level of design. This makes it a perfect global address for entrepreneurs and corporates. Post the pandemic, flexible office spaces are very much in demand and in times to come franchise based models would be the right choice as they are better aligned towards revenue for all stake holders. We have invested around USD 5 Million in the Indian market and plan to invest USD 2-3 Million by the year 2023.”, said Anil Lakra India Partner, Venture X.

“We are delighted to get into a partnership with the UFG brand Venture X here in India. We have the Master License for the India region. We are excited about this venture and are bullish to expand across India. We have currently opened two locations and would grow to 8-10 across India by end 2023, said Rahul Kapur India Partner”.

“United Franchise Group could not be any more excited to be a part of the launch of Venture X India. We recognise India as a crucial market in the Venture X global footprint. Our Master License partners have the experience and local knowledge to ensure excellent growth throughout India. The Venture X flagship location in Gurugram is one of the largest facilities within our global network. It offers state of the art co- working facilities for its members and represents a great opportunity and a fantastic model of the Venture X franchise in India for franchise investors.” said Mike Gallagher – Executive Vice President -- Asia Pacific.

Venture X intends to expand its team size all across India and has plans to spread its footprint in major metro cities, including Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chandigarh, and Pune in the near future. With multiple vacancies for corporate leasing, procurement, real estate, marketing, and digital, Venture X has plans to recruit professionals PAN India.

About Venture X

Venture X® is a shared workspace and community that is a blend of a boutique hotel and modern office styles, with a high level of design that feels professional and welcoming. Each Venture X location features beautifully designed spaces and a highly developed environment within a community where people love coming to work every day. Venture X has been recognized by Inc. as one of the best coworking spaces in the United States and is part of CoworksTM the largest privately held affiliated coworking franchise network on the planet, associated with United Franchise GroupTM (UFG), a successful community of affiliated brands and consultants. For information about Venture X visit www.venturex.com and for information about franchise opportunities visit www.venturexfranchise.com.

BMW Drives In Exclusive VIP Mobility For Bird ExecuJet Aviation Group

 

* BMW 7 Series and first-ever BMW X7 to usher VIP’s at Terminal 4, Delhi Airport.

* #BMWIndia #SheerDrivingPleasure.

The new BMW 7 Series and the first-ever BMW X7 are now official choice for all VIP movements at Terminal 4, Delhi International Airport. The high-end BMW cars will now be used by all dignitaries, leading businessmen and eminent personalities transiting through the Terminal 4 of Delhi International Airport.

The new BMW 7 Series features exquisite design details, finest materials and powerful innovations which deliver a new echelon of driving pleasure. It has been exclusively imagined, designed and crafted for individuals who value every moment, discover an experience inspired by those who drive the world.

The first-ever BMW X7 is a statement of the luxury class. It is an elegant fusion of presence and personality. Despite its majestic appearance, it gives an impression of lightness and agility thanks to the puristic design and athletic styling. At the same time, the considerable spaciousness of the interior offers a pioneering interplay of exclusivity, functionality and freedom – incomparable comfort.

BMW Excellence Pavillion - The VIP Lounge at Terminal 4 showcases the exclusive BMW Lifestyle Collection. Individuals can explore a wide range of refined-yet-practical apparel featuring modern copper accents and accessories inspired by the iconic BMW design language of past, present, and future.

ExecuJet is a leading Global Business Aviation organization offering diverse range of services including aircraft management, aircraft charter, aircraft completions management and fixed base operations. ExecuJet manages over 166 business jets worldwide under the most stringent safety standards. Its commercial fleet is operated under the regulatory umbrella of six regional civil aviation issued air operating certificates (AOCs). ExecuJet has operations in Africa, Asia Pacific, Caribbean, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East and is part of the Luxaviation Group.

After Hybrid Workplace, It’s The Era of Hybrid Selling: LinkedIn State of Sales APAC 2022

* 81% of buyers in India agree that working remotely is making buying easier

LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, announced the launch of the sixth edition of its State of Sales APAC 2022 report to understand how the pandemic and the rise of remote work accelerated the proliferation of sales technology. Based on the responses of 750 buyers and 750 sellers in India, survey findings reveal top 3 emerging trends that are shaping the future of sales in India:

The pandemic disrupted the sales process — permanently and positively

The continued rise of sales technology and data-driven selling

Top performers are thriving due to their intelligent use of technology

“Over the past two years, the rise of remote work has accelerated the use of technology across industries. Our data shows that three-quarters (73%) of sellers in India today are relying on sales technology at least once a week – which clearly means that data is driving the future of sales. By empowering sales teams with accurate real-time data, tech is helping sellers enhance their outreach, gain valuable customer insights, and build better experiences,” said Abhai Singh, Head, LinkedIn Sales Solutions for India.

The pandemic disrupted the sales process — permanently and positively

In today’s predominantly digital era, 4 in 5 (81%) buyers in India feel that remote work has made buying easier today. Sellers too have felt this pull, with every 1 in 5 (22%) clocking deals worth $500,000 or above without ever meeting the buyer in-person. With the number of sales professionals without any remote work experience dropping to one-fourth during the pandemic, it is evident that remote working is here to stay.

The survey indicates younger sales professionals are placing a higher emphasis on soft skills, so they can develop closer relationships with their buyers or clients and close better deals. The survey also reveals that the ability to build trust is the #1 most important factor for closing deals among younger (under 35 years) sales professionals (21%), as compared to older (over 35 years) professionals who prioritise metrics like ROI (16%) and price (17%).

The continued rise of sales technology and data-driven selling

Companies are increasing their appetite for data-based insights to better gauge buyer intent and drive greater sales. This is especially true amidst the ongoing Great Reshuffle when buyers and sellers are constantly considering shifting roles. In fact, more than 8 in 10 (84%) sales professionals in India have lost at least one deal to an important decision maker changing roles in the past year alone. Therefore, access to the right intel has become mission-critical for sales functions across the board.

To avoid these repercussions, 3 in 4 (73%) sellers in India are now using sales tech at least once a week to get access to accurate real-time data, indicating the growing preference for CRM systems and sales intelligence tools in the industry. Findings also suggest that younger (under 35 years) professionals are leading this tech-savvy shift, given that they are 1.2x more likely to use CRM tools for 3+ hours in a week as compared to their older (over 35 years) counterparts.

But as more businesses turn to tech, sales managers must seek ways to deal with the impending challenge of ‘dirty data’, with 2 in 5 sellers (46%) and CRM users (38%) identifying incomplete and inaccurate data as their largest data challenge.

Top performers are thriving due to their intelligent use of technology

With 4 in 5 (83%) top performers (those reaching 150% quota or more) in India admitting to always putting the buyer first, it is evident that customer experience is dominating their minds – and tech is becoming fundamental to this pursuit. By helping them understand buyer behaviour, sales technology is allowing sellers to add value and maximise the experience for their customers. According to the survey, over 2 in 5 younger (under 35 years) sales professionals today are driving customer experience by using data more often for defining buying committees (42%) and targeting accounts more likely to buy on the basis of geolocations (43%).

The report further reveals that top performers are also more likely to leverage these insights more often than other sellers. More than 8 in 10 (83%) top performers in India trust conducting research before reaching out to prospective buyers. This reinforces the central role that data-led research is set to play in driving new and improved customer experiences in the future.

Methodology

This India edition of the APAC State of Sales 2022 report is part of the global State of Sales project, which surveyed almost 15,000 buyers and sellers across 11 countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States. For the APAC edition, LinkedIn surveyed a total of 2,250 buyers, and 2,250 salespeople and sales managers, in Australia, India, and Singapore. For these countries, Schlesinger Group, a research panel company, conducted two online surveys in January 2022: one of sales professionals, the other of decision makers. Both samples include respondents over 21 years old who are employed at companies of different sizes and industries.

While the report offers a deep dive into the top 3 trends, the release draft also references statistics for groups of:

“Top Performers” or the most successful sellers — those reaching more than 150% of quota.

"Younger professionals" – sales professionals under 35 years of age.

"Older professionals" – sales professionals over 35 years of age.

About LinkedIn

LinkedIn connects the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful and transforms the way companies hire, market and sell. Our vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce through the ongoing development of the world’s first Economic Graph. LinkedIn has more than 830 million members and has offices around the globe.

LinkedIn Sales Solutions makes it simple to tap into the power of LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network of more than 830 million members, empowering every salesperson to put buyers first. The platform’s portfolio of Sales Solutions, including LinkedIn Sales Navigator and LinkedIn Sales Insights, leverages people-powered data and insights to allow sales organisations to focus on the accounts with the most opportunity, and sellers to develop and grow relationships with buyers at scale.