Saft, the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of advanced technology batteries for industry for a century, renewed its focus on India on the eve of its centennial celebrations. Saft completed the purchase of shares from its JV partner AMCO to establish Saft India to reinforce its partnership with Indian industries.
“At Saft, we are exceptionally proud of our history. When we look at the past 100 years, we have always been at the forefront of creating the future technologies. Our batteries and systems have helped industries around the world with critical safety applications, back-up power and propulsion. We are increasing our focus on India now as Saft India to support the Indian government, the Make in India program and Indian industries. We look forward to accelerating our growth here,” said Franck Cecchi, Executive Vice President, Industrial Standby Division Chairman of the Board of Saft India.
Saft has been present in India from early 1900s through Stone, UK, which helped to build Indian Railway operations. In 2006, the company began manufacturing in India through a joint venture with AMCO. Since then, Saft has been powering India’s critical space missions by ISRO, safe transportation through metros in Delhi, Uttar Pradhesh, Calcutta, Bangalore and Chennai, as well as building presence in telecom and standby power for industry. After 11 years of continuous growth in the Indian market with nickel-based technology, Saft acquired the remaining 49 percent of the joint venture company.
“We would like to thank AMCO for their contribution to the growth of the joint venture, which has proven to be a successful partnership since 2006. Now, we are looking to strengthen our leadership position in India with an increased focus on rail, telecom and infrastructure. That is why we are increasing our investment in our plant, in both lithium-ion and nickel technologies This will allow us to continue to be more responsive to the needs of our Indian customers,” said Guy-Patrick de Broglie, GM Saft India.
2018 marks Saft’s 100th anniversary in business. For a century, Saft has designed, developed and manufactured battery systems to get energy to where customers need it - be that on land, at sea, in the air, or in space. Saft is a fully owned subsidiary of Total, a leading international oil and gas company and a major player in low-carbon energies. More than 3,000 industrial customers worldwide rely on Saft batteries for their long life and ability to function in the most extreme conditions. Today, Saft employs 4,300 people in 18 countries. The company has research centers in France and the US, where it has a particularly strong footprint, and 14 manufacturing sites and 30 sales offices across the world.
At 100 years: Saft is focusing on the battery technology of the future. Saft is working with partners on an ambitious program of research, development and industrialization for new generations of batteries focusing on advanced high-density lithium-ion and Solid-State technology. The seven-year innovation program addresses all market segments, such as electro-mobility (EV, e-Bus, Railway, Marine, Aviation), energy storage and specialty industries. These new generation batteries will provide performance, cost and safety advantages, compared to current lithium-ion products. The batteries, which will be perfectly integrated into their system environments, with digitalized functions and interfaces, are planned to be designed together with leading material suppliers. They will meet the most stringent standards for sustainable development.
KNOLSKAPE, an end-to-end learning and assessment platform for accelerated employee development has partnered with CII to train first time managers.
As individuals progress in their careers, the shift from a team member to a team leader brings not just more responsibility, but a need for change in the way one manages different stakeholders. The First Time Manager Program by CII, powered by KNOLSKAPE, aims to help high potential employees to take on leadership roles, address challenges and worries during the transition, and preparing new managers for a smooth passage into their new role, helping them get off to a good start.
At the end of this program, learners will develop sufficient knowledge, comprehend, practice and apply the competencies they are expected to display as managers.
The pilot batch of the program launched on 6th September, 2018 at the CII – Suresh Neotia Centre of Excellence for Leadership in Kolkata with 20 participants from organizations such as PACCAR Industries, Narayana Hrudalaya, Voith Paper Technology (India) Private Limited, and Imerys Steelcasting india Pvt. Ltd. The four-month-long program, designed and delivered by KNOLSKAPE, is a combination of simulation-driven classroom sessions to be held in Kolkata and MCQ-based assessments addressing 8 competencies:
· Master class 1: Influencing and Collaboration.
· Master class 2: People Acumen, managing performance and coaching.
· Master class 3: Managerial Communication and contextual leadership.
· Master class 4: Building trust and relationship.
KNOLSKAPE will deploy its AktivLearn gamified learning and assessment platform for the four-month managerial training certificate program. The program will culminate in a graduation ceremony where learners will be awarded certificates to mark their readiness as managers.
Commenting on their partnership with KNOLSKAPE, Indrani Kar, Head - CII-Suresh Neotia Centre of Excellence for Leadership said “With the core purpose to serve as a facilitator for development of leadership skills, attributes and business processes within organization and the ecosystem through education, training, knowledge creation/dissemination, the CII-SNCEL has partnered with KNOLSKAPE to embark on a unique program for First Time Managers. This program is designed to support managerial capability building by focusing on skills necessary to graduate from an individual contributor to a team leader towards driving high performance. The program will also equip debutant managers with all the real-life skills necessary for managing the new age fluid team structures.”
Co-curating the managerial certificate program with CII, Rajiv Jayaraman, CEO and Co-founder KNOLSKAPE said “Our partnership with CII is a great forum to arm first time managers with collaborative managerial competencies and people skills. Through the platform we look forward to address and fulfill the skill gap for our first-time managers.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dedicated Sikkim’s first airport at Pakyong to the nation and said previous governments worked in a slow pace for ushering in development.
Modi said his government is committed to make the Northeast an “engine of India’s growth story”.
With the inauguration of the greenfield airport, the country currently has 100 airports, he said.
“Since Independence the country had only 65 airports till 2014. But in the last four years, we have built 35 airports. Earlier the average was one airport every year, now the average is nine airports per year,” Modi said.
He said in the last 70 years, the country had 400 aircraft but in one year 1,000 new aircraft were ordered by various airlines. “Our efforts were to enable common people who wear hawai chappal to travel by hawai jahaj (aeroplane),” he said.
Modi said, “... For the first time since independence, stress has been given on increasing connectivity by both air and rail, electricity in remote areas of the North East and building infrastructure.”
L&T Technology Services Limited (NSE: LTTS), a leading global pure-play engineering services company, today announced that it has won a multi-year deal to provide digital content management services to a leading technology company’s industrial products segment.
The deal is expected to run for a period of 5 years with an aggregate revenue potential of USD 40 million, covering Engineering Content Management (ECM) programs in the US and European regions.
LTTS will leverage centers in Europe, US & India while assuming complete ownership and talent to manage content for all current and future product suites for the customer. This would include technical design specifications, diagnostic solutions for service engineers and product training for customers & engineers, thereby supporting the entire ECM cycle from product conceptualization to developing digital content platforms.
“With engineering content becoming one of the cornerstones of digital transformation, this deal win highlights LTTS’ consulting capabilities to key customers in the US & European markets. LTTS will provide expertise and support in building content management capabilities with the help of new technologies such as AI & Virtual Reality, thereby enhancing the overall customer experience,” said Dr Keshab Panda, CEO & Managing Director, L&T Technology Services Ltd.
ROHM, a Japan-based leading semiconductor solution provider eyeing Indian E vehicle market with it’s new low power and energy efficient power solutions to meet the growing demand for next –gen Electric Vehicles and other Hybrid-Electric-Vehicles (also called xEV)
ROHM Semiconductor will be presenting new solutions for Power and energy management in the automotive applications. At the upcoming electronica-India 2018, the trade fair for components, systems and applications in electronics to be held in Bengaluru on September 26 to 28, 2018 in Bengaluru.
ROHM will present Automotive solutions with Five categories as ‘SiC Power Devices”, “Analog Technologies”, “Infotainment”, “Body and Powertrain”, and “Made in India- for India”.
“At this time, ROHM will showcase the products and solutions which are supposed to be the key technologies in future EV market of India. The impact on next generation automobiles and its eco-system are very innovative and these have been adopted in the advanced xEV market like Japan, USA, Europe, and China. Please visit ROHM’s booth in electronica-India 2018 and explore the innovations lead by ROHM Semiconductor.” Said Mr. Daisuke Nakamura, Managing Director of ROHM Semiconductor India
“The growing and developing market for xEV (Electric Vehicles) in India can contribute to substantial reduction CO2 emissions, and India has laid out optimistic plans to accelerate the adoption of EVs by year 2030. “ said Mr Nakamura.
ROHM is pushing forward with the latest cutting-edge development of SiC* (Silicon Carbide) power devices, which are expected to realize dramatic loss reductions compared to conventional Si (silicon) power devices. These power devices will be used more and more on electric vehicle (EV) motors and inverters.
“The properties of the still relatively new material SiC promise comprehensive application possibilities in power electronics. SiC-based voltage converters have significantly less losses than conventional silicon-based converters. SiC also enables significantly smaller modules, components and systems than silicon. The increasing demand for the most energy-efficient devices possible will therefore increase the demand for SiC components in the coming years.” said Nakamura.
In India ROHM is presenting its products for xEv include
Nano-Pulse Control- Power ICs for Hybrid-Vehicles, e-Bike
ROHM has recently announced the availability of a DC/DC converter with built-in MOSFET that achieves the highest step-down ratio in the industry (at 2MHz) required for 48V automotive systems such as mild-hybrid vehicles, e-Bikes.
EV-inverter & Charging Stations - SiC Power Devices
ROHM is a major supplier of auto-electronic components providing energy efficient power solutions for xEV (Electric Vehicles). The drive towards eco-friendly mobility across the world, and accelerating in India too, means that Electric Vehicle is a key focus area for the company.
By using this full SiC power module in the inverter section (the powertrain core), it makes the inverter 43% smaller and 6kg lighter than in season two. Even compared to the previous inverter used in season three, it is 30% smaller and 4kg lighter.
LED Driver reference solutions- Automotive DRL/Rear-Lamps
Daytime Running lights (DRL) Automotive headlights are increasingly transitioning from conventional halogen lamps to LEDs. As such significant growth is expected in this sector. And although halogen lamps are still the mainstream choice, LEDs currently occupy 25% of the total headlight market..
Preventing Accidents with Daytime Running Lights
In recent years, Daytime Running Lights (DRLs) continue to be adopted. DRLs are small lights that are automatically switched-on during the day to increase visibility by oncoming vehicles, and have been proven to prevent accidents. As a result they have been widely adopted in Europe. LEDs, which consume very little power (even when lit), are ideal for use in DRLs.
Sequential turn lighting is an application unique to LEDs, in which a string of LEDs lights up sequentially to indicate right or left when turning, acting as blinkers. When stopping, both the right and left rows light up at the same time. Many of the latest cars have already incorporated sequential lighting.
In automotive applications, however, the rear LEDs are connected in parallel and all LEDs are lit simultaneously. It is possible to reduce brightness variations to some extent using stabilizing resistors, but this has proven to be insufficient. ROHM proposes a solution using a constant current driver IC to reduce variations, together with our industry-leading resistors and diodes.
ROHM expects This share is predicted to increase to 40-50% by 2021-2022. LED lighting technologies are also expanding worldwide to increase the range of applications
‘Made in India, for India’ - Product Development for Two-Wheeler Emissions Control and Integrated Lamp Control for LED Lighting Applications Bharat Stage (BS) VI emission norms in India by 2020
In the backdrop of BS-VI emissions norms to be implemented in India for all vehicles, including two-wheelers, Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) Control Systems will be required on two-wheelers, by 2020. Fuel Pump with Brushless DC (BLDC) Motor forms an integral part of EFI System on two-wheelers.
Adoption of BLDC Fuel Pump Motor is critical to meet the Power requirements of OEMs and avoid failures common with Brushed DC Motors. ROHM India Design Centre provides reference solutions based on 3-phase BLDC Motor Driver to address these requirements and achieve faster time-to-market.
Integrated Lamp Control for LED Lighting Applications
Usage of LED lighting enables improved safety, higher efficiency and better aesthetics in two-wheeler lighting. ROHM is committed to providing comprehensive LED lighting solutions, including Integrated Lamp Control, for the Indian two-wheeler market. ROHM India Design Centre is therefore building a roadmap of LED driver ICs to meet specific requirements of Indian OEMs, Tier1s and their corresponding value chains.
Transition towards more efficient Brushless DC (BLDC) Motors
In addition, ROHM is developing Automotive 3-phase Gate Driver ICs for BLDC Motor Applications. This lineup is expected to meet the requirements of Applications such as Integrated Starter Generator (ISG) for both two-wheelers and four-wheelers. Further they can address the specific needs of Radiator Cooling Fan, HVAC Blower Fan and other applications within Automotive Segment that are based on BLDC Motor.
Adoption of BLDC Fuel Pump Motor is critical to meet the Power requirements of OEMs and avoid failures common with Brushed DC Motors. ROHM India Design Centre provides reference solutions based on 3-phase BLDC Motor Driver to address these requirements and achieve faster time-to-market.
Integrated Lamp Control for LED Lighting Applications
Usage of LED lighting enables improved safety, higher efficiency and better aesthetics in two-wheeler lighting. ROHM is committed to providing comprehensive LED lighting solutions, including Integrated Lamp Control, for the Indian two-wheeler market. ROHM India Design Centre is therefore building a roadmap of LED driver ICs to meet specific requirements of Indian OEMs, Tier1s and their corresponding value chains.
Transition towards more efficient Brushless DC (BLDC) Motors
In addition, ROHM is developing Automotive 3-phase Gate Driver ICs for BLDC Motor Applications. This lineup is expected to meet the requirements of Applications such as Integrated Starter Generator (ISG) for both two-wheelers and four-wheelers. Further they can address the specific needs of Radiator Cooling Fan, HVAC Blower Fan and other applications within Automotive Segment that are based on BLDC Motor.
At the midpoint of 2018, three of the large Indian states – Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka – comprised nearly 40% of all retail lending* balances despite representing about 32% of the overall credit population share (source: TransUnion CIBIL database) and around 20% of the aggregate Indian population (as per Census 2011). The new Q2 2018 TransUnion CIBIL Industry Insights Report found this concentration of retail lending activity among the large states, with economic development and urbanization as the likely drivers of this trend.
Retail balances as of June 2018 were highest in Maharashtra at Rs 5,502 billion – representing nearly 20% of all retail balances in India–followed by Tamil Nadu (Rs 2,774 billion) and Karnataka (Rs 2,749 billion). In total, the 10 largest Indian states represented Rs 21,274 billion in balances, which comprised almost 76% of the total balance share. At the same time, the 10 largest balance markets made up 68% of the consumer credit population.
“It’s clear that the major urban areas of India are leading the charge for increased retail credit use,” said Yogendra Singh, vice president of research and consulting for TransUnion CIBIL. “These states generally have more urbanized areas and show more signs of economic development. As a result, consumers in these areas are utilizing various forms of credit to enhance their lives.”
Overall, TransUnion CIBIL found that retail lending balances increased by nearly 27% between Q2 2017 and Q2 2018. Personal loan balances (up 43%) and credit card balances (up 42%) grew at the highest rate of all major credit products in the last year. Average borrower balance growth for both of these credit products increased nearly 14% in that same timeframe.
“Total balance growth was broad-based across all products, increasing by at least 23% year-over-year for all major products,” said Singh. “Balances growth was largely driven by volume (i.e. number of accounts) growth that rose at least 20% for most major credit products. The retail lending sector continues to expand strongly, as consumers are seeking credit and lenders are making credit available. With delinquency rates generally remaining at controlled levels, this points to a well-functioning consumer credit market.”
While total balances and account volumes rose, average consumer balances increased modestly. Low double-digit annual increases in average consumer balances of credit cards and personal loans was counter balanced by continued declines in consumer durables and loans against property and more modest increases in vehicle financing products like auto loans and two wheeler loans as well as mortgages.
Loans against property was the only product category which witnessed a significant increase in serious delinquency rates, growing by 65 basis points (bps) year-over-year to 3.04% in Q2 2018. Delinquency rates rose modestly for home loans and credit cards and continued to decline for auto loans, personal loans and two wheeler loans.
“Increased use of credit and the consequent balance growth is beneficial for the Indian consumer credit market, but maintaining relatively low delinquency rates is just as important,” said Singh. “Indian consumers need to continue to show that they can manage their debt obligations, and this continued practice will likely result in more credit offers.”
State Bank of India’s (SBI’s) first comprehensive digital service platform YONO (acronym for ‘You Only Need One’) app has crossed the 10 million downloads mark on Google Play Store and App Store as on 25 September 2018. Customers can use this all-in-one solution for all their banking, shopping, lifestyle and investment needs.
YONO is among the Top-5 finance Apps on the App Store & Play Store. Since the launch of Yono, SBI has further added 25 new e-merchants including IRCTC, Book My Show, SOTC, Expedia, kindle, booking.com and Mozarto along with auto majors like Tata Motors, Hyundai, Ford etc on the YONO Online Marketplace, bringing the total number of merchants available on the platform to 85. Last month, the bank signed an MoU to collaborate with Reliance JIO to offer special connectivity and device solutions for SBI customers.
“10 million downloads and counting, is an impressive feat for the app in such a short time. We are delighted to know that YONO is liked and accepted by our customers. I feel that reaching this landmark is a testimony to the efforts of our innovative team. This achievement gives us a strong boost for more innovation to explore further options on YONO to offer enhanced convenience to the customers”, said Rajnish Kumar, Chairman, SBI.
Yono SBI is a big leap forward for improving digitization of financial and lifestyle services in the country. It is the first digital banking platform to offer customized products and services from 85 e-commerce players by leveraging analytics. YONO can be accessed through Android and iOS powered mobile phones, and on the web through a browser, allowing for a seamless omni-channel customer experience.
