Mpower And NIMHANS Sign A Strategic MOU To Support The On-Ground Implementation Of Tele MANAS In India

* Through this MOU Mpower, an initiative of Aditya Birla Education Trust is appointed as one of the implementation partners for NIMHANS on Tele MANAS at the India level

* This MOU will help support Mpower to approach State Government to extend expert resource support to handle Tele MANAS services as add-on Tele MANAS Cells

Mpower, a mental health initiative of the Aditya Birla Education Trust, has today signed an MOU with NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences) to support the implementation of Tele MANAS services across India. As part of the collaboration, Mpower will be responsible for setting up, operating, and managing all day-to-day affairs for Tele MANAS centres that are going to be initiated by Mpower. NIMHANS, on the other hand, will provide Mpower with access to the platform, operating guidelines, training and mentoring, monitoring and framework needed to operate the centers. The MOU saw presence of Dr Neerja Birla, Founder and Chairperson, Mpower and Aditya Birla Education Trust, Dr. Pratima Murthy, Director and Senior Professor of Psychiatry at NIMHANS, Mr Aashish Sanghi, Trustee, Aditya Birla Education Trust along with Dr. Neha Garg Director (NHM-II) Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt of India.

Mpower will leverage its expertise in providing seamless, standardized, and world-class mental health services to beneficiaries of Tele MANAS. This collaboration aims to ensure the successful on-ground implementation of Tele MANAS services, as well as the accessibility and availability of trained experts and professional mental health counselling services to those in need.

Speaking on the collaboration Dr. Neerja Birla, Founder and Chairperson of Mpower and Aditya Birla Education Trust said “Mpower is proud to partner with NIMHANS to provide support for Tele MANAS. I strongly believe that public-private partnerships, such as ours, which incorporate standardization, trained manpower, and technological support for government programs, can catalyze and transform systems and service delivery, ultimately achieving the goal of providing quality mental health services to all. We are honored to help roll out the government's timely and much-needed Tele MANAS program."

Dr. Pratima Murthy, Director and Senior Professor of Psychiatry at NIMHANS, remarked "It is amazing that today we gather to start the next stage of Tele MANAS with the signing of the MOU with Mpower to work on the on ground execution of Tele MANAS. There is no health without mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated mental health issues among people of all ages. Now we are looking to see how we can expand Tele MANAS to the length and breadth of India. Our goal is to make sure that the Tele MANAS services are accessible to all and in this journey, we are happy to look at Public Private Partnerships with strong knowledge of the space. At Tele MANAS we offer counselling services in 20 regional languages. At Tele MANAS we have a framework and we look forward to Mpower expanding this programme in various states.”

Tele MANAS follows a two-tier model, with Tier 1 consisting of state Tele MANAS cells that employ trained counsellors and mental health specialists. Tier 2 has specialists available at District Mental Health Programme (DMHP)/Medical College resources for physical consultation and/or e-Sanjeevani for audio-visual consultation. A toll-free, 24/7 number (14416) has been established across the country, allowing callers in need to select their preferred language and receive the necessary assistance. Through this MOU Mpower will support these offerings to ensure access to professional mental health services across the all of India.

For more information, visit https://mpowerminds.com/

Reliance General Insurance Going Strong; Posts A Profitable Growth For 9M FY23 With Robust Future Plans

* Makes future plans with a focus in new Digital Alliances, Retail health distribution, MSME and new product development 

Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd., India’s 5th largest Private General Insurance Company, has been registering consistent profitable growth and healthy solvency for the past eight consecutive years. For the nine months ended on 31st December 2022, the Company has posted Gross Written Premium of Rs. 8,208 Crore, up by Rs. 914 Crore from the corresponding period previous year.  

Key performance highlights for nine months ended December 31, 2022 are: 

1.     The Company has grown Gross Written Premium @ 13% on Y-o-Y basis to Rs. 8,208 Crore for 9M FY23 as against Rs. 7,294 Crore for corresponding period 9M FY22.  

2.     Profit Before Tax has grown to Rs. 334 Crore for 9M FY23 as against Rs 314 Crore for corresponding period 9M FY22. The Company took a hit of Rs 41.7 Crore for unutilized MAT credit in current year to opt for lower tax regime. This will accrue significant bottom line benefits in the subsequent periods. 

3.     Company has grown its Investments Assets at 20% to Rs. 16,581 Crore for 9M FY23 as against Rs. 13,861 Crore for corresponding period 9M FY22. The company is operating at 6.6 times the Investment AUM / Net Worth Ratio, which is one of the best in the industry and shows a strong cash accrual. 

4.     For the past many years, the Company is reinvesting the Annual bottom-line in growing the business and maintaining solvency over the Regulatory limits. The latest solvency position as on 31st December 2022 stands at 1.59 times indicating sufficient buffer over its Policyholder liabilities There is no challenge to the company to grow at the past growth rates due to strong internal accruals and existing capital. 

Additionally, the Company ranks best amongst large players in the industry in terms of its faster claims settlement. According to the IRDAI’s Annual Report, for the year 2021-22, the company has settled over 23 lakh claims of which 98.65% claims were settled in less than 3 months’ time. 

The company is investing heavily in new Digital Alliances, Retail health distribution, MSME business and new product development to tap emerging growth opportunities in the sector. 

Considering the fact, that the insurance penetration level in our country is very low as compared to other parts of the world and the big-ticket reforms recently initiated on the Regulatory side facilitating ease of doing business in the insurance sector, and ensuring the regulatory architecture is aligned with the market dynamics to improve penetration, there is an augmented opportunity for much faster growth over the past. Few reforms are already in place, and few are in pipeline. 

The impact of these reforms will bring significant growth opportunities for the sector. As a large format insurer, Reliance General Insurance can gain significantly in the current ecosystem and hence in anticipation of much higher growth rate over and above its normal growth of about 15% per annum in last 3 years (which is better than the General Insurance Industry growth rate), the company has raised a request for fresh capital infusion to its parent company, Reliance Capital Ltd.  

Reliance General Insurance also has a robust network of more than 75,000 intermediaries and 131 branch offices manned by over 7000 people across India for offering its products and services to Retail, Corporate, Government and SME clients. 

The company strongly believes that it is in the best position to offer its customers innovative and complete Insurance Solutions in Resurgent India.  

ALTIUS Hospital Ready With CATHLAB Services At HBR Center

ALTIUS today announced it opening of CATH lab services at HBR center. This lab is a 24/7 lab with primary score for angioplasty for heart attacks, day care angiograms (radial approach), complex coronary interventions, EFR & Inage guided angioplasty and also ICD Implantations. Speaking on this occasion DR B Ramesh said, “ This lab will be highly useful for the residents in the local vicinity, with Bengaluru expanding at a breakneck speed traveling is one huge challenge while time is the essence for any heart ailment. ALTIUS will address this challenge effectively”.

This special event was graced by Dr G N Manjunath Director Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences & Research. While Actor Diganth Manchale & Ms Nimika Ratnakar, Mr.Pramod Gowda Chairman East Point Medical College & Hospital also played their part as guests.

Altius Hospital Group ventured into healthcare services with the mission to offer world-class Healthcare services in 2004 with an emphasis on quality, efficiency, and reliability, Altius Hospitals have set high standards based on these parameters with three tertiary care Specialty hospitals. The most advanced hi-tech hospital was launched at HBR Layout, Bengaluru, with 100 beads equipped with state-of-the-art medical technology. From a courageous start as one of Bengaluru’s luxury Specialty Hospitals, we have grown to become one of the most recognized and trusted household names in the healthcare sector today. The team is lead by Dr B. Ramesh.

It has been growth led journey with many milestones that have made Altius Hospitals a force to reckon with in the Healthcare industry in India. Testimony to this lies in our growth thus far and exemplifies a story of continuous progress and transformation. With centers in HBR Layout, Rajajinagar and Rajarajeshwari Nagar have cared and treated well over a million patients for over a decade now with 200 bed capacity.

As we coast along the fast-changing medical technology, we are very conscious of our essential responsibility towards our patients and will strive to relate the technology for effectiveness, reliable with this quest in mind.

More importantly, the Alitus Hospital respects individual privacy with an ambiance of a home for Surgeries it has brought together a team of doctors who are amongst some of the finest Indian and International talents. We at Altius Hospitals present ourselves as a passion-driven healthcare organization. We are fully equipped with the state of art facility and expertise for the best in class, comprehensive health care.

Altius Hospital Specialty services also include Internal Medicine, Cardiac science, Orthopedic, Neuroscience, Nephrology, Urology, General & Lap Surgery, Gastro science, Plastic Surgery, Gynecology, IVF, Pediatrics, Lab & Radiology.

Photo Caption: G N Manjunath Director Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences & Research. While Actor Diganth Manchale & Ms Nimika Ratnakar, Mr.Pramod Gowda Chairman East Point Medical College & Hospital are present at the Altius Hospital launch.

India’s Own Electric SUV, Nexon EV, Is All Set To Record The ‘Fastest’ K2K Drive By An EV

* Nexon EV Takes On The Kashmir To Kanyakumari Challenge

* To complete 4000 kms in 4 days with an enhanced range of 453kms, backed by the robust Highway Charging infrastructure 

Tata Motors, India’s leading automobile manufacturer and the pioneer of India’s EV evolution, today announced that its electric SUV – the Nexon EV will embark on a challenging journey from Srinagar to Kanyakumari.  Starting 25th February, the Nexon EV will traverse through 4000 kms in 4 days in a non-stop drive (stops to be made only for charging the vehicle), to create the record for the fastest K2K drive by an EV. While Tata Motors has enhanced the range of the Nexon EV to 453 kms for a stress free experience, Tata Power has systematically enhanced highway charging infrastructure across the country, making public charging omnipresent and easily accessible.

On this journey, the Nexon EV will cut through the harsh weather conditions and a multitude of difficult terrains of the Indian subcontinent. This exercise is aimed at showcasing the prowess of the Nexon EV in managing high speed and long distance travel and also highlight the availability of public charging network through the length and breadth of the country. 

Commenting on this exciting expedition, Mr. Vivek Srivatsa, Head, Marketing, Sales and Service Strategy, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd., said, “Being a new evolving technology, it is important to demonstrate the capabilities and possibilities of EVs in real world and in real time conditions. By setting out on this ambitious journey with the Nexon EV, we want to inspire existing and prospective EV owners by offering them a conclusive proof of the benefits of the Nexon EV’s long range, accompanied by the growing charging stations, installed by our ecosystem partners at Tata Power.

We are excited to kick-start this enthralling journey with the Nexon EV, offering an enhanced range of 453km, in which a team of auto enthusiasts, EV believers along with my colleagues and I will be navigating through 4000 kms from North to the South of India, in the least possible time. We are aiming at clocking a 1000kms per day and I am sure that the Nexon EV will just breeze through. I am confident that this K2K drive will boost EV adoption in India, making it a mainstream choice for buyers.”

With its inherent capabilities and ‘go anywhere’ attitude, the Nexon EV is a perfect partner for this remarkable expedition as it provides an electrifying performance coupled with an indulgently smooth driving experience. Not only does it offers more range and power but also supports fast charging, facilitating uninterrupted long-distance travel with ease.

Powered by the high voltage state-of-the-art Ziptron technology, the Nexon EV is built on pillars of comfort, reliability, performance, technology, and charging. The Ziptron EV architecture is driven and proven over 800 million kms across diverse and challenging Indian terrain. The feature and spec advantages of the Nexon EV with an enhanced range of 453km ensure uninterrupted inter and intra-city travel. With instantaneous torque delivery, ESP with i-VBAC, hill descent control, IP 67 rated battery pack and motor, auto-dimming IRVM, high ground clearance, high-water wading capability, electronic parking brake and auto vehicle hold, the Nexon EV is capable of being driven in any road conditions across the country. The multi-mode regen feature especially helps in adding some range bank to the vehicle through braking.

It is also compatible with multiple charging options such as DC fast charging, AC fast charging or regular charging from any 15 A plug point, allowing the user to operate in remote areas as well. Its luxurious interiors such as ventilated leatherette seats, rear AC vents, and jeweled control knob with active display and rear AC vents make such challenging drives smooth and comfortable.

Follow this electrifying journey through our social media handles: @TataMotorsEV on Twitter and @TataMotorsEvolveToElectric on Instagram.

To know more about Nexon EV, call your nearest dealership or visit https://nexonev.tatamotors.com.

Expect Digital Revenues For The IT Companies To Grow In The Range of 25-30%: Emkay Wealth Management

* Near-term headwinds offer investors an opportunity to accumulate

* Investors should invest in a gradual manner with a minimum horizon of 3 years

* Indian IT is a structurally resilient and a long-term growth-oriented sector

Emkay Wealth Management Global Financial Services has released a note on the Indian technology funds, the investment opportunity, scale, and the fundamentals of the tech companies. The research house expects the Indian IT companies to do well basis their experience over the past two decades in handling disruption, changing geographical presence, currency gains, attractive valuation, economic recovery in the west, and relatively unchanged tech spending. Emkay Wealth Management expects digital revenues for IT companies to grow in the range of 25% to 30%.

Expanding contribution to the economy and growth

The Indian tech sector has been gaining prominence in terms of its contribution to the overall economy, employment, innovation, and resilience. The relative share of the sector in Inda’s GDP is 7.40% and the share in service exports is 51%. The sector employs more than 5 million people, and the trend of employment is gradually accelerating, and the sheer size of the employment is going to be of astounding proportions.

India is already the third-largest start-up hub for tech start-ups with close to 2500 new startups and 45 unicorns. Digital revenues are likely to grow at 25-30%. All major segments of the industry are growing at a double-digit rate, IT services are growing at around 17%. Whether it is infrastructure management, cloud-based testing services, cloud migration, consulting, etc. all are growing at a decent pace.  The other growth areas are networking services, AI and analytics, platform-based services, etc. ability to respond to customer needs, focus on creating future-ready solutions, and accent on customer centricity are some of the interesting features of the business approach.

Fundamentally strong domestic companies

The domestic tech space is fundamentally stronger today than it was at any time in the past. This is due to a number of factors that have actually evolved over the last two decades. 

(i) Experience of the past to handle disruption: The tech companies have faced recessionary conditions and sluggish economic conditions at least thrice during the last two decades and have already weathered the storms and the business models are stable at present. The experience of the last decade has provided these companies with enough data to plan things ahead more effectively. 

(ii) Geographical diversification: The geographic diversification of business was more skewed towards the US and America, and this has undergone changes with the exposure to the US coming down by almost half of what it was before as business expanded to Europe, Africa, Australia, and the Middle East too.

(iii) Currency gains: The Rupee has been weaker and those who would plan their receivables with an appropriate budgeted rate for the receivables and a sound hedging policy would tend to gain in the future too. The forex gains cannot be ignored in the overall scheme of things.

(iv) Attractive valuations: The last few months have seen a significant amount of price correction in the tech stocks ranging from 25-30%. The price correction makes the relative valuations attractive as the mid-cap companies where the valuations were overstretched have moved down. The Nasdaq has been declining with each passing day in the last three months and this trend may continue for a little more time as the tech platform companies could face some more rough weather due to the evolving business models, competition, and the gap between delivery and customer expectations.

(v) Economic recovery in the West: The macroeconomic headwinds emanating from persistently high inflation and the resultant hike in policy rates and the rise in market yields could eventually result in a slowdown in economic activity. However, many estimate the slowdown in the US or Europe might be rather weak and transient and it may not affect economic activity too badly.

(vi) Technology spending is required even when the economy may not be too sound. Businesses need to run, and the experience of the pandemic is that technology gained more prominence mainly through online platforms covering a host of things like digital content, social media, gaming, and e-commerce. The global technology spending, excluding hardware, was close to US$ 1.70 trillion in 2021, close to 10% growth. The global sourcing market during the same period showed a growth of 12-14%, that is, US$ 240 billion in 2021. This shows the resilience of the industry.

The IT sector has been facing the perfect storm at the global as well as domestic levels over the past few months. The sharp run-up in inflation globally, and the resultant aggressive monetary policy actions by central banks in the developed economies (the major market for IT companies) to contain inflation resulted in recessionary expectations gradually gaining ground.

The expectations of a slowing economy transforming into lower digital spending were reflected in the price performance of domestic IT companies. The high attrition rates and cross-currency movements (while INR depreciated against USD, it appreciated against other global majors such as GBP and Euro) created margin pressures. The double whammy of risks to revenue, as well as margin, has led to valuations easing in the IT space.

The near-term headwinds offer investors an opportunity to accumulate assets from a structurally resilient and long-term growth-oriented sector. As has been discussed earlier, IT spending can moderate over the near term but the maintenance of existing IT infra and digital transformation of businesses across sectors and size of businesses will keep demand for Indian IT services strong. Given the near-term headwinds, investors would be advised to invest in a gradual manner with a minimum horizon of 3 years.

Revenue Minister R Ashok Inaugurates 2-Day CREDAI Karnataka State-Conference

* Real estate body puts forth expectations for the sector with policy makers

Against the backdrop of the country becoming a USD 5 trillion economy, the Karnataka Chapter of CREDAI hosted a state conference themed, ‘Realty in a 5-Trillion Economy’, in the city on 20th and 21st February, which was inaugurated by Revenue Minister, Govt of Karnataka, Shri R Ashok.

Inaugurating the 2-day event, R Ashok said that the government has undertaken many programs for the betterment of the sector along with CREDAI. “Act 79 A & B has been removed which will benefit the industry. Act 109 removal too has helped in Karnataka land lock release. Even land conversion time has been brought down to 7 days,” said R Ashok while addressing the members of CREDAI Karnataka.

During the 2-day event, the industry body connected with policy makers and relevant stakeholders of the industry. Eminent speakers from across the country participated in the deliberations spanning over the two days.

Viewed largely as an unorganised sector in terms of labour mobilisation and employment, the real estate industry is currently faced with multiple challenges. Given this scenario it is perceived to be a difficult task to meet the requirements and demands posed by a 5 trillion economy by merely addressing the major metros. This is more so given that Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology and other new-age innovations finding minimal utilisation in the real estate sector even though they harbour high potential and being used extensively in other fields.

“We sincerely appreciate infrastructure development that the State government continues to do in Karnataka. To further the pace of development, we request suitable policy changes to enable Ease of Doing Business, including a single window clearance for approvals with a time limit cap for the sanctioning process”, stated Mr Bhaskar T Nagendrappa, President, CREDAI, Bengaluru.

If efficiency and responsibility in terms of deliverables need to be in place without hampering cost, there needs to be a movement from the unorganised to the organised in the space of human resource segment while specific areas will need to be identified to make the real estate industry more credible, Mr. Nagendrappa added further. 

In keeping with this sentiment, CREDAI Karnataka Chapter put forth to the State Government its key expectations as takeaways from the conference.

·         Creation of single window for approvals to ease transactions between builder and end consumer

 ·        Reduction of Stamp Duty and Registration fees from the current 6.6 per cent to 3 per cent on the                    

          lines of World Bank policy

·         Establishing a common forum between CREDAI and government to take cumulative divisions/decisions                     

          whenever required

·         Greater awareness of RERA and the opening of 5 more branches in the Northeast, South and West

·       Creating greater awareness of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

·       Enabling participation of private sector in developing Affordable Housing in the State

Besides the interaction with policy makers during the conference to bring in the suitable and necessary policy changes for the industry, CREDAI Karnataka Chapter also forged collaboration with Apartment Owners’ Welfare Associations to extend services by builders beyond their mandatory period. The conference also hosted a Buyer-Seller Meet to connect with end consumers.

As a citizen friendly initiative, the conference also saw the demonstration of Kaveri 2.0, by Inspector General, Registration & Commissioner of Stamps, Govt of Karnataka, Dr Mamatha BR. The online registration system is currently in pilot mode in the Chincholli Sub Registrar’s office in Kalaburagi District. Developed by the Centre to initiate Smart Governance, Kaveri 2.0 will be facilitated under the e-governance department of Karnataka.

"For the first time in the history of the country Kaveri 2.0 will revolutionise registration process by making it very citizen friendly and simple busting the myth that registration is a cumbersome process. Kaveri 2.0 is integrated with land records software Bhoomi, e-Asthi and e-Swatthu thereby ensuring fraud proof safe transaction," explained Dr Mamatha BR.

About CREDAI BENGALURU

Established in 1999, CREDAI Bengaluru are the organisers of the Real Estate sector for the Bengaluru Chapter. With 233 dedicated, reputed members, it has been key in making Real Estate more authentic and simple.CREDAI Bengaluru is part of State Level Federation and National Confederation. CREDAI Bengaluru work towards creating a more transparent, corruption free market for both builders and consumers.CREDAI Bengaluru closely work with government representatives, policy makers, investors, finance companies, consumers and Real Estate professionals.

For more details log on to https://www.credaibengaluru.com/

FC Goa’s ISL Campaign Concludes With Defeat To Bengaluru FC

FC Goa bowed out of this season's Indian Super League as a brace by Sivasakthi Narayanan and a goal by Pablo Perez powered Bengaluru FC to a 3-1 win over the Gaurs, in the sides' final league game at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday.

Iker Guarrotxena scored his 11th goal of the season for the Gaurs, but in the end, it offered them nothing but consolation.

Earlier in the day, FC Goa Head Coach Carlos Pela made just one change to the playing XI that started against Chennaiyin FC, as Devendra Murgaokar made way for Redeem Tlang. The Meghalayan forward responded with a series of attacks on the Bengaluru goal in the first half, thereby justifying his selection.

Despite enjoying more ball possession and starting the match on a strong note, the Gaurs conceded a shock lead in the 6th minute from a corner-kick. Sivasakthi, who was unmarked in the six-yard box made easy work of his chance as he headed past Dheeraj Singh to score for the Blues.

Pena’s boys, in turn, responded with renewed vigour, with Tlang, Noah Sadaoui and Iker Gurrotxena testing Gurpreet Singh Sandhu on several occasions.

Guarrotxena eventually restored parity on the scoresheet in the 33rd minute. Sadaoui directed a lovely cross at the far post area, which was then redirected into the net by the Spaniard with a glancing header.

The Men in Orange continued to create chances at will, but a lack of bite in the final third meant the scores remained level till half-time.

Late surge helps Bengaluru win 

Following the change of ends, FC Goa continued to keep the ball for longer periods, and a major portion of the game was played in Bengaluru’s half.

But it was the Blues who regained their lead, with Sivasakthi finding the back of the net once again in the 76th minute. Replays indicate that the Tamil Nadu youngster was a touch offside while the final pass was played to him, but the goal stood to give Simon Grayson’s boys the upper hand.

Pablo Perez’s strike in the 82nd minute made the result a foregone conclusion, with BFC winning 3-1 at full-time. The defeat also brought FC Goa’s ISL 2022-23 campaign to an end, with the Club finishing in 7th place with 27 points from 20 games.

FC Goa Dev Team extend unbeaten run in GPL 2022-23

In other news, the FC Goa Development Team beat Vasco SC 2-1 in the ongoing Goa Pro League 2022-23 season, at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco on Thursday.

Leewan Castanha opened the scoring for the Young Gaurs in the 6th minute, and Malsawmtluanga doubled their lead two minutes into the second half. Although Altamash Sayed cut short Vasco’s deficit with a strike of his own in the 60th minute, his suspension handed the team a setback in the later stages of the match.

Deggie Cardozo’s boys now have 15 points from nine matches, and remain unbeaten in the league with three wins and six draws to their name.

About FC Goa

FC Goa is a professional football club based out of Goa that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL). Nicknamed the Gaurs, FC Goa has been one of the most consistently successful teams in the ISL - reaching 4 semi-?nals and 2 ?nals in 8 seasons.

Heading into the 2022-23 season of the HISL, FC Goa holds the record for most wins, most goals, most golden boots and most number of playoff appearances in the history of the competition.

FC Goa became the first team from India to qualify for the league stages of the AFC Champions League in 2021 by virtue of winning the first-ever Hero ISL League Winners Shield in the 2019-20 season.

The Gaurs trophy cabinet is also adorned by the 2019 Super Cup, the 2018-19 GFA Pro League,  and the 2021 Durand Cup.

Co-owned by Mr Jaydev Mody, Mr Akshay Tandon and Mr Virat Kohli, FC Goa is one of the few Indian Clubs to have a complete youth development ecosystem. Its U14, U16, U18 and Developmental Teams compete at the highest levels in Goa and India.

Fabindia’s Festive Gift Hampers: Let’s Make Holi Brighter Than Ever

What’s Holi without gujiya, gulaal and thandai! These are the day’s main highlights that add vibrance and craziness to the festival of colours. Keeping the essence of Holi alive, Fabindia has brought special hampers for you to meet all your gifting needs.

Available in different combinations, these hampers are to die for and make a perfect pick for all your near and dear ones. These hampers come in quirky yet upbeat packaging -- you can choose from the boxes of thandai mixture with four packets of gulaal or a box of ceramic glass and four packets of gulaal.

Made with 100% natural ingredients, the packets of gulaal offered by Fabindia are skin-friendly and free from all kinds of chemicals. These are made by women from the marginalised community by hand grounding dried flowers collected from temples and fresh ingredients sourced directly from local farmers.

Organic and eco-friendly -- these colors are prepared with natural ingredients giving these holi hues the right pigment and fragrance.

Wait this isn’t all -- not just the organic gulaal, Fabindia also has an exclusive thandai powder with no additives, artificial flavours, or preservatives. Made with ingredients like Almonds, Cashews, Green Cardamom and Dried Rose Petals, this powder can be added to milk for a traditional Thandai drink or even to Kheer.

You can enjoy this delectable Thandai with their brass and ceramic glasses for a complete Holi experience!

This Holi, bring home these special Fabindia hampers to make the festival of colours more memorable than ever!

LG Begins Rollout Of 2023 Soundbar Lineup In The Indian Market

* LG’s New Soundbars Deliver Immersive, High-quality Audio,

* User-friendly Features, and Eco-conscious Design

LG Electronics India announced the rollout of the 2023 LG Soundbar lineup, delivering a range of stellar, new models that elevate the home entertainment experience with immersive sound, convenient features, and stylish, eco-minded design.

Taking home cinema to a whole new level, LG’s latest high-end soundbars1 provide powerful and precise multi-channel audio that leverages the world’s first center up-firing speaker to create an exceptionally realistic soundstage. The center up-firing speaker enhances the clarity of dialogue and ‘positions’ sounds more accurately in space to make movies and other content feel more lifelike.

The flagship model of the 2023 lineup, the S95QR is the complete package and an ideal solution for home cinema buffs, offering an 810W output, 9.1.5 channels and center up -firing speakers. LG’s top-of-the-line soundbar features a total of five up-firing channels – three on the soundbar itself, and two in the wireless rear speakers – to create an expansive, dynamic soundscape that surrounds users and draws them deeper into the onscreen action and to make Meridian, Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and IMAX enhanced content even more immersive.

The premium S95QR also features upgraded wireless rear speakers this year, sporting six channels compared to the four of its predecessors. With triple up-firing drivers complementing four front/side drivers, S95QR’s rear speakers distribute sound evenly across an impressively wide 135-degree angle. This enhanced capability gives users more flexibility when it comes to speaker placement and is especially helpful for those with limited space.

The S95QR, and other select 2023 LG Soundbars, are equipped with a more sensitive receiver that allows for greater distances between the soundbar, subwoofer and rear speakers without adversely affecting audio quality. LG’s premium models also ensure uninterrupted viewing and listening pleasure thanks to improved wireless connection stability that largely prevents any drops or lag in audio output. Meanwhile, Music Mode featuring Meridian Audio’s Horizon technology enables the 2023 soundbars to up-mix two channel audio to 9.1.5-channels for more realistic acoustic surround sound.

LG’s latest high-end models support IMAX Enhanced3, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X2, allowing movie buffs to enjoy authentic cinematic experiences from the comfort of their own living room or private theater. New for this year, LG’s soundbars welcome MERIDEAN support, which delivers a new level of audio three-dimensionality when playing compatible content.

In addition to variable refresh rate (VRR) and auto low latency mode (ALLM), which help make console gaming more immersive by perfectly syncing the sound with the gameplay on screen4. It is also equipped with 4K/120Hz pass through, which will provide the best image quality.

The WOW Orchestra feature of the soundbar provides rich surround effect by using TV speakers. It also comes with an improved volume UI design for external audio devices connection. The 2023 soundbars are equipped with AI Room Calibration which intelligently adjusts low-frequency performance to the room’s dimensions for optimized sound delivery. Its frequency band is expanded from 200Hz to 400Hz to improve the balance and loudness of voice.

Commenting on the launch, Hak Hyun Kim, Director- Home Entertainment, LG Electronics India said, “LG constantly works on innovating products with cutting-edge technology and advanced features to offer an immersive experience to our customers. The latest range of soundbars are equipped with the world’s first Center Firing-Up speaker, thus offering a high-end audio experience. We are confident that this innovation will cater to the varied needs of our consumers and will be a game changer in the industry.”

LG Soundbar continues to set the standard for environmentally-conscious design, employing reused and easily recyclable materials, consuming a minimal amount of power during operation, and shipping in eco-friendly packaging. All 2023 models have received SGS Eco-Product recognition from SGS Société Générale de Surveillance SA of Switzerland for their minimal environmental impact, and feature polyester jersey fabric made from recycled materials that meets the Global Recycled Standard (GRS).5 Furthermore, LG’s sustainably designed soundbars contain parts fabricated from recycled plastic resin and have been validated by UL’s Environmental Claim Validation Procedure (ECVP). LG’s 2023 soundbars are ENERGY STAR® certified thanks to their minimal and efficient use of power.

For more information on the 2023 LG Soundbar lineup, visit LG.com.

Vikas Gupta Joins Vitesco Technologies As “Head of Finance For India Business”

* With a rich background in automotive industry along with 18 years of experience in the field of financial accounting and management 

* Vikas Gupta is excited to take Vitesco Technologies to newer heights 

Vitesco Technologies, a leading international supplier of advanced powertrain technologies and solutions for e-mobility, announced recently that it has appointed Vikas Gupta as the Head of Finance for the India business. He will be in charge of the financial operations which include financial planning & analysis, reporting, taxation, risk management and treasury operations for the overall Vitesco business in India.  

Prior to this, Vikas Gupta was the Chief Financial Officer at Napino Control Systems Limited, a JV company of Napino Auto and Vitesco Technologies. He played a pivotal role for the joint venture set up on the financials and the commercials side. Vikas is a qualified Cost and Works Accountancy (CWA) and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) with 18 years of experience in Paper, Power, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and Automobile in the field of Accounting, Costing, Business Controlling, Budgeting/Forecasting, Taxation and Treasury. He was also associated with Genpact and Carlsberg Group in the past.  

Talking about the new role, Vikas Gupta said, “Vitesco Technologies has a great work culture and keeps their values on priority in every decision making. Vitesco Technologies understands its responsibilities towards industry, environment and mankind. It gives me immense pleasure to be working in the esteemed organization and take the responsibility to sustain the values created.” 

Anurag Garg, Managing, Director & Country Head, Vitesco Technologies, India said, “Having collaborated with Vikas in the past, I have a great deal of trust and confidence in Vikas’s abilities and his leadership skills. He is truly passionate about the vision of Vitesco Technologies, and I am grateful to have his support to advance our organization on its future growth trajectory. His vast experience in financial management with strong strategic expertise will help us accelerate towards our next phase of business growth.

Technology And Social Impact Drives John Deere’s “25-Year Success” In India

John Deere continues to innovate, invest, and leverage manufacturing, talent, and India’s supply chain to serve farmers in India and around the world – all designed to enhance farm productivity through technologically advanced products and services.  

The latest example is the 5M series tractor and a production system approach that offers higher horsepower, advanced features and precision technology aimed to reduce cost of farming operations and enhance income levels. 

The introduction of these products and solutions are recent examples of Deere’s continued efforts to provide farmers a wide range of technologically superior farm solutions including tractors, harvesters, and hi-tech implements. 

Media partners were welcomed by Mukul Varshney, Director – Corporate Affairs, PR, Media, and Communication. “John Deere is the world’s leading manufacturer of Agriculture & Turf equipment, products & solutions also serving the construction and forestry industry. John Deere is uniquely positioned to deliver both economic and sustainable value for our customers through advanced technology and solutions. Our 25 years journey in India has witnessed a transformation in Indian Agriculture as well. At John Deere we are truly living our Higher Purpose – We run so life can leap forward.” he commented while sharing about the 187 years of legacy the company has. 

“Our journey in India began 25 years ago with the introduction of advanced product features such as power steering, oil immersed disk brakes, planetary reduction, force feed lubrication, high torque machines and value-add technologies such as front PTO, perma clutch, AutoTrac™, PowrReverser™ and JDLink™,” said Shailendra Jagtap, managing director. “John Deere continues to innovate and introduce these advanced features in India which are now becoming industry standard. The farmers ’outlook is progressive, and they adapt technologies when they see value and cost benefits.”  

Jagtap said Deere remains committed to support the food security mission of the country as well as the changing dietary requirements of the growing populations.  He additionally noted that Deere is proud to lead India from subsistence farming to Agri-entrepreneurship. “Our efforts for a wholistic farm solution and inclusion of women farmers in the farm mechanization journey have been immensely valued by our customers. We see pride in their families as we help women farmers skill themselves and become economically independent” 

Over its 25 years, John Deere has shown significant commitment to investment in manufacturing and product development in India including:   

Tractor manufacturing locations in Pune (Maharashtra) and Dewas (Madhya Pradesh). 

Electronics system manufacturing in Pune (Maharashtra). 

India Engineering Centre in Pune (Maharashtra). 

Enterprise Technology Centre in Pune (Maharashtra). 

Global IT Centre in Pune (Maharashtra) and Bengaluru (Karnataka). 

Parts Distribution Centre in Nagpur (Maharashtra) and Indore (Madhya Pradesh) 

John Deere Finance in Pune (Maharashtra)  

1200 touch points under 580 channel partners across the country, 22 Branch Offices and 4 Zonal Training centers  

Wirtgen Group – A John Deere Company Pune (Maharashtra) 

Jagtap said John Deere is also leading the way to bring technologies to tractors and farm equipment that lower the overall cost of farm operations by reducing the number of operations needed in the field and efficient use of fertilizers and chemicals. These are essential for additionally meeting sustainability goals and reduced emissions – both of which help meet Deere’s strategic ambitions to protect the environment.  

For instance, he said, introduction of technologies such as a front PTO (power takeoff) and specially designed front farm implements have helped reduce the cost of some operations by more than 25 percent while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.   

Photo Captions; Mr. Ramakant Garg, Director, Sales, and Marketing, John Deere India Branch, Mr. Shailendra Jagtap, Managing Director & Country Manager, John Deere Pvt Ltd India, and Mukul Varshney, Director – Corporate Affairs, PR, Media, and Communication, India, Aftica Middle East SE Asia and Asia Pacific, John Deere India Pvt. Ltd. during the "25 years of celebration" 

Bengaluru, Get Your Fill Of Luxurious Tommy Hilfiger Travel Gear At Bagline’s New Store In Mantri Square Mall

Bagline is bringing the exclusive Tommy Hilfiger Travel Gear collection of luggage, backpacks, business cases and wallets to Bengaluru! The retail brand from Brand Concepts Limited has expanded its footprint to South India with a lavish new store in Malleswaram. Located on the second ground floor of Mantri Square Mall, the new store houses an expansive collection of the trendiest luggage, handbags, wallets and fashion accessories for the Indian market.

Bagline, the premium multi-brand travel and lifestyle store is well loved for its diverse range of luggage, bags and accessories. Bagline also hosts many other exclusive brands such as The Vertical and Sugarush among others. The sprawling new store in Bengaluru is elegantly decorated and reflects the brand’s luxurious retail identity. The brand has opened its doors to fashion-conscious consumers in Bengaluru to offer a luxurious and enthralling shopping experience. Customers can shop from a huge range of Tommy Hilfiger Travel Gear like luggage, backpacks, business cases, men’s belts and wallets, The Vertical accessories like backpacks, business cases, men’s wallets and belts, and Sugarush accessories like handbags, totes, women’s wallets, slings and satchels.

Bagline is a part of Brand Concepts Ltd. It operates its retail stores across many cities in India and has 24 exclusive brand outlets. Brand Concepts is a premier resource for licensed fashion and lifestyle brands in the Travel and Accessory category. Their latest store in Bengaluru marks their expansion into Southern India, with the store housed in the city’s premier fashion destination- Mantri Square Mall.

"We are delighted to bring our exclusive collections to the new Bagline store in Bengaluru! As we look to expand across newer cities, we are focused on delivering value to our customers through a comprehensive product portfolio and excellent craftsmanship. Our aim is to grow exponentially as a robust retail chain with a strong manufacturing back-up across the country. Our launch in Bengaluru is a significant achievement in our mission to enhance Bagline’s presence throughout India.” says Nabendu Chakraborty, COO at Brand Concepts Ltd.

Store Information

Store Name

Bagline

Address

S21, Second Ground Floor, Mantri Square no 1, Sampige Road, Malleshwaram, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560003, India

Opening Hours

Monday to Sunday; 10:30 AM – 09:30 PM

About Bagline

Incorporated in the year 2007, Brand Concepts Ltd. specialises in the manufacturing of bags, backpacks & fashion accessories for the Indian market. Brand Concepts is a premier multi-brand resource for licensed fashion and lifestyle brands such as Tommy Hilfiger Travel Gear and other inhouse brands. The Bagline portfolio, with its strategic product offering, makes it one of the preferred retailers across all formats. With passage of time Brand Concepts LTD continues to get more efficient and stronger with its technical expertise and increasing market share. The brand is making consistent and significant efforts to transform the latest trends into accessible fashion.

L&T Technology Services And Qualcomm Selected By Thales For Enabling 5G Private Networks In Urban Railways

L&T Technology Services Limited (BSE: 540115, NSE: LTTS), a leading global pure-play engineering services company, announced it has been selected by Thales to offer 5G driven next-gen connectivity solutions, which will include collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., allowing it to provide cutting edge solutions for the benefit of urban railway operators.

The solution leverages LTTS’ chip-to-cloud expertise, as well as technology portfolio of connected IoT devices and 5G small cells based on Qualcomm Technologies, to develop and deploy solutions for the Global 5G Private Network Industry, with digital offerings aimed at accelerating transformation across a range of industries including railway networks, aerospace, and automotive.

LTTS’ end-to-end 5G capabilities enables global enterprises with faster deployment, cutting-edge applications, and well-rounded managed services. This in turn facilitates creation of virtual private networks for 5G. With the support of Qualcomm Technologies’ comprehensive 5G technologies that enables intelligent cloud edge convergence, LTTS has established a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for 5G in Santa Clara (California). This CoE showcases a plethora of critical 5G driven applications, and its Lab-as-a-service offerings include MEC use cases development, end-to-end service validation, POC development showcasing and system integration, as well as validation and verification services for customers in key verticals.

The solution will include collaboration from Qualcomm Technologies which will provide pre-integrated Private Network solutions based on the Qualcomm® FSM™100 5G RAN Platform for Small Cells, and in the future, add the Qualcomm Edgewise™ Suite – a premium RAN automation and management solution. LTTS will facilitate end-to-end system integration, design, and implementation of use cases, engineering consulting, and deployment services along with edge-to-cloud orchestration. The combined prowess in accelerating the adoption of 5G private wireless networks won the distinction of being chosen as the engineering partner for global technology leader, Thales, in its endeavor to establish the ‘Internet of Smart Metros’ which will enable metros and urban railway networks to ‘talk’ to each other and ultimately transform the passenger experience with comfortable, seamless journeys and new services.

The need for increased efficiency in rail network operations coupled with the growing demand for advanced transportation infrastructure has contributed to the evolution of engineering and R&D services in the railroad sector. Analysts expect the smart railway market to grow from $28.9 billion in 2022 to $43 billion by 2027 at a CAGR of 8.3 percent, led by advancements in digital technologies.

Ziad Rizk, Chief Operating Officer, Thales, Urban Rail Signalling said, “We are glad to team up with LTTS and Qualcomm Technologies in our mission to meet new mobility demands. As the transportation industry becomes more data-driven, this 5G-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) deployments will provide new ways to monitor metros and infrastructure and deliver the best possible user experience.”

Savi Soin, Senior Vice President, Business Development and Partnerships, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. said, “This engagement with Thales is a great validation of the collaboration between Qualcomm Technologies and LTTS to accelerate the benefits of digital transformation for all Enterprises, including smart railways, using 5G Private Networks and connected devices. We are very happy to apply our latest technology innovations and portfolio of connected IoT and small cell products to support LTTS in its engagement with Thales in creating positive ROI and business impact to their customers across Thales’ key geographies and markets.”

Commenting on the occasion, Abhishek Sinha, Chief Operating Officer and Board Member, L&T Technology Services said, “5G is one of our 6 big bets which cuts across our diverse customer base and solutions. Through our collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, we are poised to significantly improve the next-mile connectivity in underground transportation leveraging private 5G networks. LTTS’ deep tech capabilities will further accelerate the potential of private 5G in Thales, Urban Rail Signalling’s underground and high-speed rail networks, potentially benefitting commuters around the globe”

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 21,600 employees spread across 22 global design centers, 28 global sales offices and 91 innovation labs as of December 31, 2022. 

About Thales

Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies, investing in digital and “deep tech” innovations – connectivity, big data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum technologies – to build a confident future crucial for the development of our societies. The Group provides its customers – businesses, organizations and governments – in the defence, aeronautics, space, transport, and digital identity and security domains with solutions, services and products that help them fulfil their critical role, consideration for the individual being the driving force behind all decisions.

Thales has 81,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2021, the Group generated sales of €16.2 billion.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm is enabling a world where everyone and everything can be intelligently connected. Our one technology roadmap allows us to efficiently scale the technologies that launched the mobile revolution – including advanced connectivity, high-performance, low-power compute, on-device intelligence and more – to the next generation of connected smart devices across industries. Innovations from Qualcomm and our family of Snapdragon platforms will help enable cloud-edge convergence, transform industries, accelerate the digital economy, and revolutionize how we experience the world, for the greater good.

Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of our engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of our products and services businesses, including our QCT semiconductor business.

NSE Receives Final Approval To Launch Social Stock Exchange (SSE) As A Separate Segment

National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has received final approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on February 22, 2023, to set up a Social Stock Exchange (SSE) as a separate segment of the NSE.

The Social Stock Exchange segment will provide new avenue for social enterprises to finance social initiatives, provide them visibility and bring in increased transparency in fund mobilisation & utilisation by social enterprises. Any social enterprise, Non-Profit Organization (NPOs) or For-Profit Social Enterprises (FPEs), that establishes its primacy of social intent can get registered / listed on Social Stock Exchange segment.

For eligible NPOs, the first step for onboarding starts with the registration on the Social Stock Exchange segment. Post registration, NPOs can initiate the fund mobilisation process by issuance of instruments such as Zero Coupon Zero Principal (ZCZP) via a public issue or private placement. Currently the regulations have prescribed the minimum issue size as Rs 1 crore and minimum application size for subscription at Rs 2 lakhs for ZCZP issuance.

For FPE, the process of issue and listing of securities shall be same as applicable for issue and listing of securities under the extant processes of the Exchange (based on eligibility criteria for the Main board, SME Platform or innovators growth platform, as applicable in addition to the criteria provided to be eligible as Social Enterprises).

Shri Ashishkumar Chauhan, MD & CEO, NSE said: “I take this opportunity to thank SEBI for permitting NSE to launch Social Stock Exchange as a segment. To bring in awareness, we have been conducting various events and hand holding Social Enterprises currently at various stages of onboarding on the Exchange. I take this opportunity to request Social Enterprises to get in touch with our teams to understand the mechanism and benefits from registering & listing on the Social Stock Exchange segment.”

About National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE):

National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) is the world’s largest derivatives exchange by trading volume (contracts) as per the statistics maintained by Futures Industry Association (FIA) for calendar year 2022. NSE is ranked 3rd in the world in the cash equities by number of trades as per the statistics maintained by the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) for calendar year 2022. NSE was the first exchange in India to implement electronic or screen-based trading. It began operations in 1994 and is ranked as the largest stock exchange in India in terms of total and average daily turnover for equity shares every year since 1995, based on SEBI data. NSE has a fully integrated business model comprising exchange listings, trading services, clearing and settlement services, indices, market data feeds, technology solutions and financial education offerings. NSE also oversees compliance by trading, clearing members and listed companies with the rules and regulations of SEBI and the exchange. NSE is a pioneer in technology and ensures the reliability and performance of its systems through a culture of innovation and investment in technology.

For more information,  visit: www.nseindia.com

Airtel Deploys AI-Powered Speech Analytics Solutions For Customer Service Transformation With NVIDIA

Bharti Airtel, India’s leading telecommunications service provider today announced that it has built an AI-based solution, in collaboration with NVIDIA which will improve the overall customer experience for all in-bound calls to its contact center.

Airtel contact center operations are amongst the busiest in the world, servicing 360 million+ customers and handling over 100 million calls annually. Delivering high-quality experience to consumers remains the top priority. However, at this scale, manual solutions to audit the contact center agents was a challenge.

Today, Airtel runs automated speech recognition algorithm on 84% of its calls coming into its contact centers. This helps Airtel identify areas of improvement for the agent when they interact with the consumers, leading to better customer experience. For example, if an agent keeps a consumer on hold for a long time, Airtel would be able to detect this and make necessary corrections to reduce hold time. Delivering these insights at the scale of Airtel is typically very expensive due to the heavy compute requirements.

The technology that enables this is the automated speech recognition. In order to develop this specialized speech application, Airtel leveraged the NVIDIANeMo conversational AI toolkit and NVIDIA Triton Inference Server, a multi-framework inference serving software, supported in the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software suite. NVIDIA’s advanced software and Airtel’s deep learning-based automatic speech recognition (ASR) models allow Airtel to accurately interpret language and make practical changes to its operations to serve agents and consumers better, delivering output at 30% of the typical computing cost. This technology also runs on a much lower carbon footprint making it better for the environment through lower Green House Gas (GHG) emissions.

Speaking about the engagement, Adarsh Nair, CEO of Airtel Digital, said: “We are thrilled to be working with NVIDIA to build cutting-edge solutions that allow us to serve our customers better. AI has the potential to revolutionize the way we do business, and we are confident that this shall help us push the boundaries of innovation in the industry."

“AI-powered speech analytics is helping human agents improve customer service and satisfaction,” said Vishal Dhupar, Managing Director of South Asia at NVIDIA. “With NVIDIA AI software, Airtel is boosting call center operations while growing efficiency and saving costs.”

Airtel considers its collaboration with NVIDIA an exciting step forward in the use of AI in the telecommunications industry, one that shall have a significant impact on the way companies leverage technology to serve customers. Airtel is aggressively pursuing next-generation technologies such as AI and ML across multiple facets of its operations. For example, AI and ML is currently being leveraged in the network teams for efficient deployment of towers and in the Wynk music service to drive personalization.

About Bharti Airtel: Headquartered in India, Airtel is a global communications solutions provider with 500Mn+ customers in 17 countries across South Asia and Africa. The company ranks amongst the top three mobile operators globally and its networks cover 2Bn+ people. Airtel is India’s largest integrated communications solutions provider and the 2nd largest mobile operator in Africa. Airtel’s retail portfolio includes high speed 4G/5G mobile broadband, Airtel Xstream Fiber that promises speeds up to 1 Gbps with convergence across linear and on-demand entertainment, streaming services spanning music and video, digital payments and financial services. For enterprise customers, Airtel offers a gamut of solutions that includes secure connectivity, cloud and data center services, cyber security, IoT, Ad Tech and CPaaS (Airtel IQ). For more details, visit www.airtel.com

Jaro Education Collaborates With NITIE, Mumbai, To Offer Global Online Courses And Executive Programs

Leading Edtech firm Jaro Education has collaborated with India’s leading B-School National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai, to offer Global Online Courses and Executive Programs. With this association, Jaro Education aims to strengthen the government's vision under the PM Gati Shakti Scheme, also known as the National Master Plan for Multi-Modal Connectivity. The Edtech Company will launch unique executive education programs that cover a wide range of areas such as Digital Supply Chain, Analytics, Technology and others while ensuring a comprehensive learning experience and beyond.

Drawing on the initiative, Jaro Education and NITIE have recently launched the Global Online Course, namely 'Business Analytics: From Data to Insights and Decision Making'. The program is led by Prof. David Simchi-Levi (MIT, USA), a world-renowned management scientist and thought leader. The program has been meticulously designed in the analytics domain to achieve three key objectives for participants:

Enhancing critical thinking and the data comprehension

Enable data-driven decision-making through supply chain digitisation. 

Identifying value-creating opportunities through business analytics

Prior to this course, Prof. David successfully completed 7 global online certification courses with NITIE on supply chain management and data analytics. These courses were highly impactful, attracting more than 12,000 participants from over 20 countries. Moreover, it has garnered considerable interest from prominent national and international organisations, such as Accenture, Micron, Cipla, HUL, Cummins, HPCL etc.

Speaking on the collaboration, Ms Ranjita Raman, CEO- Jaro Education, said, "Globally, NITIE has very strong brand equity. Our goal has always been to provide professionals with a top-notch education, so they become proficient in their jobs. Through our partnership, we hope to provide working professionals with high-quality, reasonably priced programs, which will help them develop specific skills and enable them to compete successfully in the global economy."

Prof. Manoj K Tiwari, Director of NITIE, Mumbai, said, "As a strong link between business and academics, Jaro Education, one of the top Edtech businesses in India, has been at the forefront of developing world-class learning experiences. We are thrilled to have such a highly relevant course, which may assist professionals in developing special talents, knowledge, and skills to handle complex problems, achieve operational and strategic goals, and improve competitive advantage.”

Jaro Education has continued to excel in providing world-class executive education programs through its collaborations with the world's top-ranked institutes and universities that help professionals to develop the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in their professional careers. Recently, Jaro Education has collaborated with institutes like IIM Indore, IIT Delhi, E&ICT, IIT Guwahati, IITM Pravartak, Wharton Interactive, Rotman School of Management (University of Toronto), and several others.

About Jaro Education

Jaro Education is India's most trusted online higher education company. The Edtech firm has been the first mover and a pioneer in the executive & online education industry. It was founded in 2009 by Dr Sanjay Salunkhe, has been profit-making since its inception, and is self-funded. The company has been awarded the Edtech leadership award and the National best employer accolade by World HRD Congress in March 2022. With its strong domain expertise and insight into executive education, Jaro Education has transformed the careers of over 3 lakh professionals in the last 13+ years through its 23+ learning centres across India, Singapore & USA. The company aims to nurture entrepreneurs & working professionals from entry-level to C-Suite level in every field and industry by offering executive education programs that cater to their requirements. Having been recognised for changing the online education landscape in India, Jaro Education provides more than 50+ management, technology and techno-functional programs in collaboration with top reputed institutes. They facilitate the development of leadership and technology-based online programs for many leading Indian and global institutes like Interactive (An initiative of The Wharton School - University of Pennsylvania), Rotman School of Management (University of Toronto), IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Indore, IIM Tiruchirappalli, IIT Delhi, IIT Madras Pravartak, E&ICT, IIT Guwahati and others.

For more information, please visit: https://www.jaroeducation.com/

About NITIE, Mumbai

Established in 1963 with the support of the United Nations Development Project (UNDP) through the International Labour Organization (ILO), the National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) is a leading institution for management education in India. NITIE, which specializes in industrial management, was ranked 9th among management schools in India by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2022. With a focus on supply chain and operations, NITIE is committed to providing transformative education and conducting industry-inspired research across various domains to support Indian businesses in gaining global recognition. The institute maintains strong partnerships with private and public sectors, national research institutes, academic institutions, universities, government organisations, and local communities to achieve its mission. NITIE aspires to act as a driving force for the manufacturing sector and other dynamic sectors of the Indian economy by aligning its vision and activities with the current and future needs of the vibrant and growing Indian economy.

Kotak Mahindra Bank Opens 100 Gold Loan Branches In FY ‘23

* With this expansion, Kotak now offers Gold Loans through its 500 branches across India

* The Bank plans to open 50 more Gold Loan branches in this FY

Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (“KMBL”/Kotak) today announced that it has opened 100 Gold Loan branches, in this financial year, so far.  As of March 31, 2022, the Bank was offering Gold Loans through its 400 branches. With the addition of 100 Gold Loan branches in this FY, Kotak Mahindra Bank now offers Gold Loans through its 500 branches spread over 253 cities across the country.

The Bank plans to further expand its Gold Loans branch network by opening another 50 branches in the ongoing financial year.

Instant Gold Loan

Minimal Documentation & Transparency in Interest Rates

Easy Repayment Options – flexible tenure which ranges from a few months up to 3 years

Attractive Interest Rate – Starting at 9%

Both Existing and Non-Existing Customer can avail Gold Loan

“We are delighted to open 100 Gold Loan Branches covering additional 49 cities during this financial year. Gold Loans have emerged as one of the most preferred mode of availing finance to meet personal as well as business needs,” said Mr Manish Kothari, President & Head – Commercial Banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited. “Indians have idle Gold and with Gold prices soaring, Gold Loans have become an attractive proposition. The demand is coming also from people moving away from unorganized sources of finance, such as pawnbrokers as well as moneylenders. This is due to greater awareness about risks associated with unregulated sources of finance offered by pawnbrokers, at relatively higher interest rates. We feel the trend will continue in the time to come as well.”

About Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited

Established in 1985, Kotak Mahindra Group is one of India's leading financial services conglomerates. In February 2003, Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd. (KMFL), the Group's flagship company, received banking license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), becoming the first non-banking finance company in India to convert into a bank - Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.

The Bank has four Strategic Business Units – Consumer Banking, Corporate Banking, Commercial Banking and Treasury, which cater to retail and corporate customers across urban and rural India. The premise of Kotak Mahindra Group’s business model is concentrated India, diversified financial services. The bold vision that underscores the Group’s growth is an inclusive one, with a host of products and services designed to address the needs of the unbanked and insufficiently banked. As on 31st December, 2022, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd has a national footprint of 1,752 branches and 2,814 ATMs, and branches in GIFT City and DIFC (Dubai).

Real Estate Developers Across Karnataka Honoured For Exemplary Work At The Glittering CREDAI Care Awards 2023

* Ravi Puravankara, KC Naik get ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ and R Nagaraj Reddy, Jayaram Shetty get award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Real Estate Sector’

The Ballroom Hall of Hotel Ritz Carlton was abuzz with anticipation at the 5th edition of the CREDAI Awards for Real Estate (CARE Awards) 2023. Real estate developers from across Karnataka had submitted their nominations across various categories before an eminent jury panel.  The awards were presented across multiple categories for Karnataka and Bengaluru City.

The awardees list are as follows:

Special Awards

-          Outstanding  Contribution to Realty  Sector – Mr. R Nagaraj Reddy, CMD Zonasha Projects & Mr Jayaram Shetty, Managing Director, Laxmi Sai Investments & Developers, Hubballi

-          Lifetime achievement award – Mr.Ravi Puravankara, Founder &Chairman, Puravnnkara Ltd & Dr KC Naik, Founder & Managing Director, Mahabaleshwara Promoters & Builders, Mangaluru

Bengaluru:

Dwelling above 1500 sft :  Klassic Enterprises. For Klassic Landmark

Dwelling below 1500 sft:  Rohan Housing for Rohan Iksha

Villas & Row Houses: NVT Quality Lifestyle Projects for NVT Lifesquare

Commercial Complex: Vaishnavi Infrastructure for Vaishnavi Techpark

Innovative Asset Class – Senior Living: Primus Lifespaces for Primus Reflection

Best CSR activity: Brigade Foundation

Karnataka North & South:

Karnataka North:

Dwelling below 1500 sft :  BM Associates Hubballi. For BM Garden

Plotted development – less than 10 acres: Siddharth Realty Vijaypura for Model Colony

Plotted development – more than 10 acres: Kalaskar & Associates, Kalaburgi for Sharddha Metropolis

Commercial/ Shopping Mall: Ambizone Infrastructure Kalaburgi for Orchid Malls

Innovative Asset Class – Club: Siddharth Realty Vijaypura for Spoorthy Club

Best CSR activity: Siddharth Realty Vijaypura

Karnataka South:

Dwelling below 1500 sft :  Sankalp Constructions Mysuru. For Temple Tree

Commercial/ Shopping Mall: Asiya Developers Karwar for Asiya Business Park

Best CSR activity: Beary’s Properties & Development, Mangaluru

Members from all across Karnataka attended the awards night.

Mr.Chaitanya Kulkarni,  President, CREDAI Karnataka said, "The CARE Awards is a way for us to recognize members of the real estate fraternity who have done exemplary work in the field and to encourage others to do the same. It is very prestigious for the members as it is a recognition from CREDAI."

Mr.Bhaskar T Nagendrappa, President of CREDAI-Bengaluru said, “This is a platform to recognize the efforts of real estate development across the state. Let these awards be an inspiration for all to excel in their field.”

These winners were chosen by an eminent jury panel based on presentations made in each category.

Alten Group Expands Its Operations Across The Indian Market

 

·        Alten in India with all its subsidiaries is close to 8000 employees by end of 2022 and we have a plan to add close to 7,000 engineers by 2025 organically and inorganically

·        Alten group is a world leader in Engineering & IT services and is expanding its India operations with additional office in Chennai & other cities in India

·        We have plan to acquire few companies across India which will help us to bring more capabilities & capacities

Alten India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of French major Alten group, will be expanding its operations in India. This is in continuation of our expansion plan followed by Bangalore, Pune and other cities of INDIA.  

The jobs will create more opportunities in India and more than doubled our head count in India alone. With this huge investment in resources and manpower, Alten India is expected to significantly contribute to the group’s overall revenues. We expect the Indian operations to contribute a 100% growth in terms of revenue.

Pascal Amore, APAC Head, Alten Group says, “the company is bullish on India now as the country has a talent pool which is very diverse in nature and this will help the group prepare themselves for new technological areas. It is conducive to invest in India as its a win-win situation for both employer & employee.”

Uttamkumar Sankpal, CEO, Alten India said, “this new office will help significantly in our vision to be the most preferred technology partner in India across multiple industries.  Alten group has decided to invest and develop technologies from India as we see huge talent and growth potential in Indian market which will also generate more employment opportunities to young Indians to grow in their respective career. ALTEN India covers a plethora of services which includes Mechanical Engineering, Embedded, Digital, Cyber security, Cloud, AI, ML and Enterprise management services.”

In India Alten operating across Aerospace, Automotive, Rail, Lifescience, Telecom and Energy sectors.

Workshop On Stem Cell Techniques At Unveiled At Manipal Centre For Biotherapeutics Research

Manipal Centre for Biotherapeutics Research (MCBR) organized a five-day workshop entitled "Stem cell culture, functional characterization and potency assays", which was inaugurated by Pro Chancellor of MAHE, Dr H S Ballal. The workshop aimed to provide hands-on experience in various techniques involved in stem cell culture, functional characterization, and potency assays required to ascertain the efficacy potential of stem cells. Twelve participants from leading research institutions participated in the workshop.

During the inauguration, Dr. Ballal emphasized the need for organizing such workshops in upcoming research fields like stem cells and regenerative medicine to build talented workforce. He also appreciated the research work being carried out by MCBR and wished the participants a great learning experience.

Speaking about the workshop Dr H S Ballal, Pro Chancellor of MAHE said, "Organizing workshops like this is crucial for the advancement of research in emerging fields like stem cells and regenerative medicine. I am glad to see the Manipal Centre for Biotherapeutics Research taking a lead in this area which will help build a talented workforce that will contribute to the growth of the healthcare industry."

Dr VR Ravi, Director of Mothercell Regenerative Centre Pvt Ltd, Trichy said, "Stem cells have enormous potential to address various healthcare challenges. This workshop provides participants with valuable knowledge and practical experience in stem cell techniques, which is essential for developing stem cell-based therapies that can benefit patients."

Dr Sharath Kumar Rao, Pro Vice Chancellor, Health sciences, MAHE said "I am pleased to see the Manipal Centre for Biotherapeutics Research taking a proactive role in promoting research and innovation in the areas of cell, gene, protein, nanotechnology, regenerative medicine, and biomaterials. This workshop is an excellent example of the center's commitment to developing a skilled workforce and contributing to the growth of the healthcare industry."

The workshop witnessed participation from twelve participants from leading research institutions. The inauguration function was graced by esteemed guests, including Dr H S Ballal, Pro Chancellor of MAHE, Dr VR Ravi (MS Ortho), Director of Mothercell Regenerative Centre Pvt Ltd, Trichy, and Mr Manohar BN, MD & CEO, Stempeutics Research Pvt. Ltd., who shared their valuable insights on the importance of stem cells-based products and the challenges faced in the stem cell industry. The workshop aligns with MCBR's vision to contribute to the advancement of science and technology and promote the development of the healthcare industry.

The Iconic #DARK Range Now Comes With ‘Top Of The Line’ Enhancements

* Made feature rich with ADAS, a Larger 26.03 cm Infotainment Screen and an all-new Adaptive User Interface*

Following the blockbuster response received at the Auto Expo 2023, Tata Motors, India’s leading automobile manufacturer, today, announced the arrival of its new league of #DARK** products. Enhancing its successful SUV range even further, this new series comprises of a more upmarket rendition of India’s no. 1 SUV – the Nexon, the company’s premium SUV – the Harrier, and its flagship SUV – the Safari.

Extending the lineage of the iconic #DARK philosophy, these new products are enhanced with the most premium features seen yet, in the company’s passenger vehicles portfolio. With an adaptive User Interface boasting of a new look and feel, a desirable larger Infotainment Screen of 26.03 cm and 10 new ADAS features, the #DARK range promises to be the best companion for a progressive customer who wants to make a statement. Further complimenting the already established strong design, these SUVs exude dynamism through the newly added Carnelian Red highlights, giving its customers an exclusive feel of premium-ness combined with a bold look. Launched at an attractive price point (All-India, ex-showroom price), the new #DARK range meets the BS6 Phase II emission norms, featuring RDE and E20-compliant engines. Customers can now experience and book their favorite #DARK SUV from their nearest authorized Tata Motors dealership at a nominal amount of INR 30,000.

Commenting on the launch of these statement SUVs, Mr. Shailesh Chandra, MD, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility said, “The #DARK range of SUVs marks the new expression of the very successful #DARK philosophy. Boosted with features and experiences like ADAS, highly responsive 26.03 cm display Infotainment, coupled with an overall seamless User Interface, these new products are designed for the new gen customers of today who are looking for a user friendly, advanced, safe and high-tech featured companion. I am confident that these new superlative product additions will further cement our position as India’s leading SUV player”

About the Products

The Harrier and the Safari #DARK flaunt Bold Oberon Black exteriors, Piano Black Grille with Zircon Red accents, R18 Charcoal Black Alloys with Red Calipers along with #Dark logo on the fenders. The interiors are further accentuated with an exquisite Carnelian Red Interior theme which comes alive with the Carnelian Red Leatherette seats with diamond style quilting, complimenting grab handles on doors and central console, #DARK logo on the headrest, Steel black front dashboard design and Piano black accents on steering wheel, console and doors.

These OMEGARC twins are further made irresistible as they now come enhanced with the most premium features available across the company’s passenger vehicles range. Top of the line advanced upgrades such as 200+ Voice commands in 6 languages, 6 Way powered Driver seats with Memory and Welcome function, 360° Surround View System, 17.78 cms Digital TFT Instrument Cluster, 26.03 cm HARMAN Touchscreen infotainment and ADAS for advanced safety, to name a few. Furthermore, the Safari amps a bit higher by pleasing its customers with add-ons such the 4 way powered Co-Driver seats with electric Boss mode and Majestic sunroof with mood lighting.

The Nexon with its segment leading features now wows its customers with its new #DARK persona. Continuing the #DARK theme, the exterior continues to be draped in the Bold Oberon Black body color with interesting elements like Zircon red inserts in the front grille, the #DARK logo on the fenders in red color along with R16 Blackstone alloy wheels. The interior elaborates the whole feel with its Carnelian Red theme, Leatherette seats, steel black front dashboard design and red accents on steering wheel, console and doors. 

Adding to the entire package and gifting its customers with peace of mind, the #DARK range of SUVs will now feature the new standard warranty of 3 years/ 1 Lakh KM (whichever is earlier). Aimed to provide the perfect blend of tasteful design, luxury, and practicality, the #DARK SUVs are sure to elevate and make for a desirable addition one’s lifestyle.

Fourth Edition Of “myAvtar Job Fair For Women” On February 25

* Companies like Providence India, Persistent Systems to participate 

myAvtar.com, India’s leading diversity job portal, announced the fourth edition of its virtual job fair for women to be held on 25th February 2023, between 9.00 am and 6.30 pm. The large format virtual fair will connect women jobseekers with inclusive employers. The fair is a platform for working women professionals who are at different stages of their careers and for those who wish to restart their careers.  The fair will present a wide range of job opportunities for women across sectors and functions – IT, HR, Marketing, and Sales to name a few.  

myAvtar.com, the diversity job portal was launched by India’s premier Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Solutions firm Avtar Group in 2020 to bring together inclusive employers and talent from the underrepresented pools – women, LGBTQ Community, Persons with Disabilities, Army Veterans, and millennials. In the last three editions of the job fair over 50 Companies invested in DEI have participated with more than 1200 plus jobs and have had 6000 jobseekers, and 1000 + Spot interviews.  

Announcing the launch of the 4th edition of myAvtar Job Fair for Women, Dr Saundarya Rajesh, Founder – President, Avtar Group, said, “India has amongst the lowest women workforce participation rates in the world, in spite of our burgeoning economic progress. As per the data available, between 2019-20 and 2020-21, rural women’s labour force participation rate (LFPR) increased from 33% to 36.5%, while urban women’s LFPR fell from 23.3% to 23.2%. There has not been a significant rise in this population, a talent segment that has huge potential to contribute to the country’s GDP. myAvtar’s virtual job fairs exclusively for women is one of our endeavors towards creating gender-balanced workplaces. The last three editions of the job fairs saw widespread participation with many of the job seekers who attended the fairs, landing in successful careers. Our goal is to create a successful platform that leads to job creations and ultimately enable 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 Providence India; Persistent Systems India; Backbase India LLP; Cargill India Pvt Ltd; Fidelity International Ltd; Tata Communications; Kellogg Brown & Root Engineering & Construction India Private Limited; Moodys Shared Services; Renault-Nissan Technology and Business Centre India Private Ltd; Johnson & Johnson Pvt Ltd; Mphasis Ltd; and Saint Gobain India Private Limited reaffirming their commitment to advancement of women’s careers.   

In addition to career opportunities, the participants will also be able to attend a series of thought-provoking and insightful sessions from industry veterans on topics pertaining to careers and work-life integration. The companies participating in the job fair will be presenting exclusive presentations on their policies, practices, and the career opportunities available with them. 

Women jobseekers can register at https://www.myavtar.com/events/details/14 for a free pass to the job fair.