Accenture Announces the Winners of Third Annual Accenture Ventures Challenge for Indian Developers

 Accenture has announced four innovative startups as the winners of the third edition of Accenture Ventures Challenge in India for developing unique, scalable solutions to help businesses accelerate the business transformations prompted by the Covid-19 crisis.

This year more than 550 startups were evaluated across four categories -- ‘supply chain resilience’, ‘digital commerce’ and ‘systems resilience,’ and ‘responsible technology.’ The final category is at identifying solutions that help organizations create positive social and environmental impact in these times.

The judges selected the following winners based on unique, scalable solutions to help businesses accelerate the business transformations prompted by the Covid-19 crisis.

Atlan, in the Systems Resilience category, for its modern data workspace that enables diverse data teams to collaborate harmoniously.

Charmboard, in the Digital Commerce category, for its AI based application that provides interactive experience at scale for users from videos.

Increff, in the Supply Chain Resilience category, for its algorithm driven merchandising platform that increases inventory turns and warehouse management system that exposes 100% inventory simultaneously to all sales channels.

Wysa, in the Responsible Technology category, for its global platform for early-stage mental health support at scale, with a unique (digital + AI + human) model that is anonymous and clinically assured. 

 This year, the Accenture Ventures Challenge was hosted in collaboration with Microsoft’s 100X100X100 program. The winner in each category will be given an opportunity to join the Accenture Ventures Open Innovation partner program and co-create solutions for Accenture clients around the world. Winners will also get access to benefits from the Microsoft ScaleUp program, which supports Seed or Series A B2B startups to scale and co-sell with Microsoft sales teams.

Dalmia Bharat Group Pays a Musical Tribute to Covid Warriors with Kailash Kher & Ricky Kej

 

* Jazbaa – e – Bharat, an online concert on 14th August, dedicated to celebrate the undying spirit of our Covid warriors

In its endeavor to celebrate the courage, commitment and unfathomable spirit of our Covid warriors, Dalmia Bharat Group is organizing Jazbaa-e-Bharat – an online musical extravaganza featuring Padma Shri. Kailash Kher and Grammy Award winner Ricky Kej, on 14th August, 2020 at 6:15 pm.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Mahendra Singhi, MD and CEO, Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd. said, “We are honoured to have Padma Shri Kailash Kher and Grammy Award winner Ricky Kej at Jazbaa – e – Bharat, a musical concert aimed at honouring our nation’s resilience in the fight against this pandemic.

Words fall short in describing the unwavering dedication of our COVID warriors. Their commitment is inspiring and we salute their tireless efforts and undying spirit. We also take this opportunity to celebrate our global commitment towards sustainability and our operational performance.”

Padma Shri, Kailash Kher said “In the last few months, the world has adopted new ways of living and thinking. There has been a significant change in our priorities which we now call the ‘New Normal’. Individuals and corporates have come together to shoulder responsibility and help each other during these testing times. One such organisation is Dalmia Bharat Group that has worked continuously during this pandemic to support the citizens of our country. Through this musical salutation named after our frontline warriors called Jazbaa- e -Bharat, we aim to give a tribute to those unsung heroes who are fighting the pandemic across the country.”

Commenting on Jazbaa – e - Bharat, Grammy Award winner Ricky Kej said, “It gives me immense pleasure to be a part of this virtual musical concert organized by Dalmia Bharat Group. Their vision for a sustainable future is in sync with my beliefs about the environment. Together, we believe that we owe it to our children to leave behind a better planet than what we inherited. I have always believed in the healing power of rhythms to bring solace, motivation and guidance for people towards a greater good. Music has the power to inspire us to be sustainably conscious and live in harmony with nature.“

Jazbaa-e -Bharat will be a musical extravaganza in its truest sense as it will also host the evergreen Shri. Udit Narayan whose soulful voice rings of nostalgia. He will be joined by his son Aditya Narayan who started his musical career at a very young age and managed to win the hearts of everyone. They will be accompanied by the prominent multi-lingual singer, Benny Dayal who has always managed to make the audience groove to his lively tunes and the ever melodious Jonita Gandhi who has become an instant favorite of her audience in a short span of time.

The link to this musical salutation of our Covid warriors will be available on all social media platforms. Click on the link: https://www.dblconcert.com/ to join the event.

About Dalmia Bharat Group

Dalmia Bharat Group (www.dalmiabharat.com) is a leading Indian conglomerate with a strong presence in Cement, Sugar and Refractories. The Group has a turnover of over 12,000 crore. Dalmia Bharat commenced operations in 1939 and has played a defining role in India's manufacturing sector. The group has significant market presence in each of its sectors of operation. Its cement business has grown exponentially since 2006 in terms of capacity and production and the company is a leader in the specialty cements space. Dalmia Cement is the only cement company in the world to have the lowest carbon footprint.  In sugar, the group is a prominent generic player catering to most of the leading businesses in India. The Group also caters to an enduring and growing customer base in the refractories business and has forayed into sustainable power/energy.

Young AR Creator from Bangalore Creates Winning Lens for Snapchat

First Lensathon in India

* Over 1000 lenses were submitted by participants across India

* Seven  winners  from Bangalore, Ghaziabad,  Silvassa,  Sitapura,  Kolhapur,  Prayagraj and Ludhiana were picked based on originality, creativity, technicality and engagement

* Lenses are available globally via searching on Snapchat

Today Snapchat and Skillenza together announce the winners of the first Lensathon in India. With the aim of making augmented reality even more accessible to Indian creators, the online hackathon was open for national participation in May, encouraging participants to create AR experiences using Snap’s Lens Studio.

The Lensathon received an overwhelming response, with over 1000 entries submitted from creators based all over India. Seven winners were selected by a panel of expert judges - including Snap’s SVP of Camera Platform, Eitan Pilipski and Global Head of Creative Strategy, Jeff Miller - and were picked for their originality, creativity and technicality of the design, as well as engagement with the community. They will receive a range of prizes including cash, Snap Spectacles and Snapchat swag.

The winners are a mixture of students and professionals in their early twenties based across the country. The lenses were inspired by a variety of themes including ‘Work From Home’, ‘Real Friends’, ‘Indian Summers’ and a social cause of choice. Twenty year old Akash Bajpai’s lens provides much needed entertainment to Snapchatters tired of   working from  home.  Apoorva Pise, a computer science engineering student based in Kolhapur, created an intriguing space portal effect and 21-year-old Altafa Ansari’s lens - ‘Cosmic Architect’ - is a beautiful depiction of how large things are made up of small particles.

“Since launching Lens Studio over three years ago, we have been inspired by the creative community that has emerged. The tool was built on one simple belief - that being able to create AR experiences should not be limited to software engineers or design professionals. 85% of registrants were students so it’s very exciting to see this desire become a reality, and to watch the community in India learning, innovating and bringing their ideas to life,” said  Eitan Pilipski, SVP of Camera Platform at Snap.

“With over 1000 lenses submitted, we were blown away by the creativity we saw and are thrilled to announce the winners of our first Lensathon in India. We have been hosting Lens Studio workshops for students over the past year, and believe that AR provides a unique opportunity for anyone to build digital skills. The Lensathon allowed us to reach more creators than ever, and we can’t wait for Snapchatters here in India to discover these new lenses.” said Juhi Bhatnagar, Strategy and Business Development Lead, India at Snap.

"The Lensathon was not just a hackathon, but a pathway for many young minds to acquire new skills like Augmented Reality, and probably make a career out of it. It was one of the most well-received hackathons to have happened on our platform in the last few years. The content provided by the Snapchat team coupled with the hands-on virtual workshops helped the participants understand, and create many incredible Lenses. This hackathon was an amazing outlet for creativity and design. We would love to partner with Snapchat in bigger and larger activities for the Indian developer community," said Subhendu Panigrahi, Co-Founder & CEO, Skillenza.

Lens Studio is a free desktop app launched by Snapchat in 2017, that provides the tools and templates needed to build digital skills, create lenses and share them on Snapchat. Since its launch, over 1 million lenses have been made by the community all over the world.

THE WINNERS

Vishal Yadav, 21, Silvassa

Theme: Indian Summers. Lens: Bubble Blower

Akash Bajpai, 20, Sitapuri

Theme: Work From Home. Lens: Lazylad

Apoorva Pise, 21, Kolhapur 

Theme: Fantasy Land. Lens: Infinity

Kavin Kumar, 21, Bangalore

Theme: Beauty, Cute, Funny. Lens: Pose

Anshika Verma, 21, Ghaziabad 

Theme: Social Cause. Lens: Bellydance

MOST CREATIVE

Altafa Ansari, 21, Prayagraj 

Theme: Fantasy Land. Lens: Cosmic

MOST POPULAR

Karanvir Matharoo, 23, Ludhiana 

Theme: Fantasy Land. Lens: Smokey Blue

Ken42 Launches the StartNXT Ideathon for Students to have a Chance to Walk Away with Rs 6 Cr Funding

Bengaluru-based startup Ken42, India’s superapp edtech platform, has announced the launch of their annual StartNXT Ideathon programme for college and university students across the country. Backed by Turbostart, Ken42 has kickstarted this programme to facilitate innovation and entrepreneurship in India, where the Top 3 winners will receive funding upto Rs 2 crores each, along with internship opportunities with leading startups and firms. Candidates will also receive one-on-one mentorship by industry stalwarts including Turbostart advisories like:

1. Ullas Kamath, Joint MD Jyothy Laboratories;

2. G S Krishnan, Former Regional President/ MD Novozymes;

3. Nirankar Saxena, Hon Deputy Secretary General, FICCI;

4. Shiv Kumar Janardhanan, Strategic Investor and Former CEO of Essilor Group;

5. Natarajan Ranganathan, Co-Founder, Foundation Partners LLP;

6. Aniruddha Ganguly, Former Executive Director of the GMR Group;

7. Vivek Mansingh, General Partner YourNest VC Fund;

8. Venkat Raju, Angel Investor & Silicon Valley Entrepreneur;

9. Sunil Bhumralkar, Former Partner Ernst & Young;

The future is about encouraging students to be ingenious, stemming from their passions, capacity for innovation, awareness and sense of responsibility to shape the world for the better. Through the Ideathon programme, Ken42 aims to provide a solid impetus to all students- the company has announced that it will be giving away up to Rs 10 lakh each in prize money to the runners-up as well.

Talking about the acceleration program, Ganesh Raju, Founder and CEO, Ken42 said “Evidently, the process of funding for upcoming ventures has run dry over the past couple of months owing to the global pandemic. We have observed several startups struggling to keep their head above the water, let alone students who have to put an indefinite halt to the launch of their entrepreneurial journey. In the age of acceleration, young innovators can use their diverse perspectives while harnessing technology to create innovative applications that lead to a better society for all. Hence, it is imperative to provide them with a recognised platform to turn their ideas into businesses. This was our core motive behind launching the StartNXT Ideathon during testing times like these. Ken42 welcomes all students from all universities across the country to participate in the Ideathon, providing an impetus to be future-ready and bring in a wave of new-age startups in India.” The Ideathon will be conducted in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) with support from multiple corporate giants.

The first leg of the programme begins with identifying problem statements and goes on to enable candidates to deliver integrated business plans to achieve tangible outcomes by applying innovation in ways that add value. Throughout the course of the 6-month Ideathon, students will be presenting pitch decks and business plans to a jury panel comprising leaders from the academic, corporate, investor and entrepreneur community.

During the course of the programme, students will also have access to one-on-one mentor sessions with noteworthy Turbostart advisories where they will receive guidance from industry experts, along with resources, operational support as well as networking opportunities.

The core purpose behind the Ideathon is to aid learners and students dwell into their creativity, provide them with a prominent platform to build upon their ideas, and in turn cultivate successfully-running businesses as well as entrepreneurs.

Registrations for the Ideathon are open from 6th July till 31st August 2020.

Gender inclusivity awards announced: NASSCOM

NASSCOM, the premier trade body and the chamber of commerce of IT software and services, today announced the winners of 'gender inclusivity' awards instituted by the organization.
The awards, which recognize outstanding practices to promote gender empowerment and women leadership development, were declared at the 3rd Annual IT Women Leadership Summit opened here on Wednesday.

It would be presented at the gala award nite being organized as part of the summit tonight. The 'gender inclusivity' awards recognize the efforts made by the company through policies, procedures and systems to foster inclusivity and innovative programs that are targeted at strengthening gender inclusivity at the work place.

Infosys Technologies walked away with the award for excellence in gender inclusivity from the IT Services and Product Companies sector, while IBM India Pvt ltd bagged the award for the most innovative projects in gender inclusivity.

Among the BPO sector IBM Daksh Business Process Services emerged winner whereas Ajuba solutions and ADP private limited walked away with the laurels in the best emerging company sector.

The award criteria includes five parameter namely business rationale, senior leadership support, communication, accountability and measurable results. "These awards recognize companies who are doing outstanding work enabling inclusivity and we hope that other companies will emulate the best practices," said Som Mittal, president, NASSCOM, while addressing the media.