Ather Energy Raises INR 84 Crores from Hero MotoCorp, As An Extension of its Series C Round

Ather Energy, India’s first intelligent electric scooter manufacturer, announced a fresh investment by Hero MotoCorp, as an extension of its Series C round that was led by Sachin Bansal. Hero MotoCorp has been a part of Ather’s growth story since 2016, when they first invested as a part of Series B. This round is a reinstatement of confidence by existing investors in Ather’s potential and success.

Ather is now entering an aggressive expansion phase on the back of its flagship product, the Ather 450X, and looking to scale to 20 cities by the end of 2021. The Ather 450X has piqued the interest of automobile and tech enthusiasts alike, and will soon be available in cities like Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi and Mumbai, with deliveries beginning in October 2020. To meet the projected demand in the coming years, Ather is opening a new manufacturing facility in Hosur, which is designed to produce 100,000 units annually, and is scalable to half a million units.  Ather Energy will also set up Ather Grid fast charging points across the country over the next 5 years, making public charging easy and accessible to all electric vehicle owners.

In the past few weeks, Ather has been working on a slew of financing and ownership models, making electric vehicles more accessible for consumers everywhere. It introduced India's first personal lease program for scooters, with monthly payments as low as INR 2589, which makes the intelligent electric scooter accessible to the Indian two-wheeler market. It has also been a pioneer in the post sales experience innovation with subscription plans, Ather One, a one-stop daily usage solution that includes doorstep pick up and service, 24X7 roadside assistance, free charging at home and in public etc.

A unique aspect of the product line is the ability to add new features and functionality through over-the-air (OTA) software updates. Ather has been rolling out OTA updates since September 2018, adding features like a dark theme, new ride modes, guide-me-home light, making them one of the fastest iteration cycles in the country.

Quote by Tarun Mehta, Co-founder & CEO, Ather Energy: “We are in a high growth phase of our journey, and while the last few months have been challenging, we have not altered our

expansion plans. Our geographic expansion and the roll-out schedule for the Ather 450X are on track, and we will be using these funds to invest in our facilities to meet the demand we have seen for the Ather 450X across the country. ”

Commenting on the investment, Rajat Bhargava, Head of Emerging Mobility Business Unit (EMBU), Global Business & Strategy, Hero MotoCorp, said “We are excited to see the growth of Ather Energy in the recent years. We see immense potential for them to expand their market even further, especially given the likely growth of electric vehicles (EV) in the near future. In addition to our efforts of developing a robust external eco-system for EVs, we are also aggressively working on our internal EV program. Our aim is to provide accessible electric mobility to customers across the globe. Sustainability and a clean, green environment remain central to our vision to be the future of mobility.”

5 Points to Consider Before Purchasing a Second Health Insurance Plan in Indian Market

Buying a second health insurance plan is not a trivial task. You need to assess several things before buying an additional plan for a successful health insurance investment.

In this article, InsuranceDekho attempts to help potential insurer buyers choosing a second health insurance policy make an informed decision. Before going in for a second health insurance plan, do consider the existing conditions and future requirements. 

Some of these requirements are as follows:

* Your age and family members to be covered

* Number of family members to be covered under the plan

* Current income

* Entire family members’ medical record, past and current

* Coverage available under the current policy

Policy Coverage 

If your existing plan is falling short of delivering the promised offerings, then it’s time to look for another plan. Sometimes policies cannot meet a family’s medical needs due to some limitations, exclusions or capping features. You should ensure that the second policy acquires no sub-limits, co-payment clauses, or any other hidden limitations or exclusions. This will help avert any type of hurdle during hospitalization.

Top-up Plans

Besides going for a second health insurance policy, you can buy a top-up plan. A top-up plan provides coverage beyond the sum insured in the insurer’s existing plan. It enhances health insurance features and benefits.

A top-up plan can be bought on an existing plan or as a basic policy. You can opt for such plans either from the current insurer or from any other insurer. If you possess an insurance cover offered by your firm, you can pick a top-up policy on the same and can enhance his saving.

So, consider going in for a top-up plan before buying a new health insurance policy.

Critical Illness Riders

A critical illness rider is an optional add-on feature. It enables policyholders to avail a lump sum (Sum Assured) amount in case he/she is diagnosed with critical illnesses mentioned in the policy wording. Thus, it can protect you and your family from any financial crunch that may arise due to some unforeseen critical illnesses.

The best thing is that a critical illness rider is available at a lower premium rate than the premium paid for second health insurance. You can buy it to compliment his existing health insurance. It can protect you and your family from any financial crunch that may arise due to some unforeseen critical illnesses.

So, it is advisable to opt for a critical illness rider instead of going for another policy in certain cases.

Look for portability feature

The portability feature is an option to change health insurance policy from one insurance company to another without losing benefits the insurer has accumulated.

If planning on buying a second health insurance policy just because the services are unsatisfactory, it is advisable to change the insurer. This way you will not lose the benefits of the existing policy.

While availing the portability option, you should opt for a higher sum insured (higher than the sum insured of the current insurer) with extra offerings and benefits such as critical illness cover. So, portability can be an ideal option to upgrade your existing plan and avail more coverage benefits and better service than before. 

Lifelong Renewability

If you have a health insurance policy, which allows the renewability option up to a certain age only, then you must opt for a new plan with lifetime renewability feature. This is beneficial because once you reach the age beyond which you can’t renew your policy, a plan with the lifetime renewability allows you to renew your policy lifetime i.e. without any age restriction.

So, even if you forget to renew your plan before the due date, the grace period (the policy will be renewable provided you pay the premium within 15 days after the expiry date) can give you a chance to renew your plan post the due date without losing its benefits.

Signify Invests to Broaden its UV-C Lighting Portfolio to Meet the Growing Demand for Disinfection

Expands Portfolio

* Launches 12 families of UV-C-based products for professional markets

* Acquires GLA to complement its portfolio with luminaires for upper-room air disinfection

* Increases its UV-C light source production capacity by a factor 8 this year

Signify, the world leader in lighting, is increasing its UV-C lighting production capacity and expanding its UV-C product portfolio to include 12 new families of UV-C based products for the professional segment. The company is leveraging more than 35 years of expertise in UV-C lighting to address the growing global need for the disinfection of air, surfaces and objects.

By increasing capacity and broadening the UV-C portfolio, Signify is helping keep people safe in a world that’s adjusting to a new normal. Its UV-C lighting is well-proven and trusted as an effective disinfectant. This was recently validated in a laboratory test by Boston University, showing that Signify’s UV-C light sources inactivate the virus that causes COVID-19 in a matter of seconds. This is crucial as it comes at a time when organizations are seeking ways to continue operations and provide service in a safe environment.

Signify’s new UV-C product range includes luminaires and chambers for a wide variety of professional applications. “We have introduced 12 families of UV-C lighting fixtures specifically designed to disinfect air, surfaces and objects. These products target different customer segments ranging from offices, schools, gyms, retail stores, warehouses, as well as on public transport,” said Harsh Chitale, Leader of Signify’s Digital Solutions Division.

“The ongoing pandemic is unprecedented in its scale and impact on society and impacts millions of lives across the globe. With our latest UV-C product range that has been validated to effectively inactivate the virus that causes COVID-19, we hope to contain the spread of this virus in India. The new UV-C lighting fixtures are designed for use in various aspects of public life as people begin to step out again and return to their workplaces. We are actively working towards creating solutions for home consumers as well.” said Sumit Joshi, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Signify Innovations India Limited.

Part of the range are UV-C fixtures which are ideal for the deep disinfection of surfaces in offices, schools and restrooms. They are equipped with sensors and controls to ensure that they only operate when people and animals aren’t present as UV-C radiations can damage the skin and eyes. Other products include mobile, freestanding UV-C luminaires that can be wheeled into a hotel room or used to disinfect surfaces on public transport such as buses and trains.

For the disinfection of objects, Signify launches a range of safe and quick-to-use UV-C disinfection chambers. These chambers are used in offices and municipal buildings to disinfect visitor tags, phones, bags, laptops and wallets in a matter of seconds. In stores they’re ideal for disinfecting returned items, glasses or clothes tried on in a changing room.

UV-C fixtures can also be used inside surface disinfection tunnels. In North America a large retailer is piloting a UV-C tunnel for disinfecting shopping trolleys. In India, a hotel plans to use a Signify UV-C tunnel for disinfecting guests’ bags at check-in.

To complement its portfolio, Signify recently acquired the assets of Germicidal Lamps & Applications (GLA), a small, Netherlands-based company with extensive expertise in UV-C disinfection solutions. The deal includes GLA’s upper-room UV-C air disinfection portfolio as well as deep application knowledge. 

“The assets and know-how acquired from GLA will help us to accelerate the development of our roadmap of UV-C based upper-room air disinfection systems. We plan to make these products available across the world soon,” said Paul Peeters, Leader of Signify’s Digital Solutions Europe.

The upper-room air disinfection luminaires can be used with people in the room, as they are installed at a height which, in combination with shielding and optics, prevents exposure to the UV-C light source. Air in the upper part of the room is constantly disinfected using UV-C irradiation and natural convection of airflow in the room. This makes these perfect for use in schools, offices, gyms, retail outlets and other high-contact areas

For more than 35 years, Signify has been at the forefront of UV technology, and has a proven track record of innovation in UV-C lighting. Signify’s UV-C lighting is designed, installed, and used according to the product-specific safety instructions, and manufactured using well-controlled industrial processes.

Over the next 5 years 1,000 German firms may invest in India

Upbeat on the second fastest growing economy in the world, about 1,000 German firms may invest in India in the next five years, the head of Baden-Wurttemberg, regarded as the most successful German state, said today.

"I am sure, in next five years 1,000 more companies from Germany and may be 200 from our state would be interested in investing in India," Guenther H Oettinger, the Minister- President of State of Baden-Wuerttemberg (Germany) said here.

About 1,800 German firms, including Porsche, Siemens, BMW, Voith and Audi have already invested in India which is being seen as the potential German manufacturing hub for the Asian market.

Indian industry and workers match the quality of Europe's and North America's, Oettinger said at the CII meeting.

With over six per cent expansion, the Indian economy is the second fastest growing after China despite global recession.

German Ambassador to India Thomas Matussek also addressed the meeting stating the India-German bilateral trade is expected to touch $27 billion by 2014 from over $18 billion in 2008.

India's major exports to Germany include garments, machinery and instruments, electronic goods and transport equipment, while imports comprises machinery, iron and steel, machine tools and organic chemicals.

Agencies