NetApp Strengthens Evolution of Data Driven Technologies Through Research Partnerships in India

NetApp has announced three research grants to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Jodhpur and IIT Kharagpur) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for the advancement of research in the data management space. NetApp is a leader in data management and is known as the data authority in the hybrid cloud world.

For the year 2018, the NetApp Faculty Fellowship (NFF) has been awarded to Prof. Vijay Kumar of IISc Bangalore, to support research in private information retrieval and coded computation to enhance security in the age of Cloud Computing; to Prof. Bivas Mitra of IIT Kharagpur, for research on Machine Learning (ML) based model development for storage system troubleshooting and workload characterization; and Prof. Subhajit Sidhanta of IIT Jodhpur has been granted the NetApp Student Fellowship (NSF) to investigate the trade-off in performance and consistency for widely distributed systems used in IoT and Fog computing.

NetApp’s fellowship program has granted 31 such research partnerships with IP (Intellectual Property) free grants up to USD 20,000 over the last 10 years in India. These partnerships open the door for NetApp’s data management technologies, experience, equipment and lab to be shared with academia, paving the road for research with far-reaching consequences for management and security of data, the foundation of today’s digital transformation. This program has ties with several top technology institutes including the IITs, IISc, Anna University and ISI Kolkata.

Pointing to the true value of industry academia relationships, Deepak Visweswaraiah, Senior VP and MD, NetApp, said, “Through the fellowships, NetApp encourages leading-edge research in storage and data management, and seeks to foster relationships between academic researchers and our technical community. What’s more is that the grants come with no strings attached, and we don’t claim any IP from the research, allowing for open technology propagation. We work on cutting-edge technologies in order to stay relevant in the changing technology landscape and be able to provide future-proof solutions. And the results are showing.”

The program offers recipients, opportunities to conduct research in areas of mutual interest to identify and explore trends such as ML, IoT, AI, Blockchain, Data Lakes, Data Analytics and Cyber Security. The grants also prepare students for jobs in the space of advanced technology as it allows them to apply their research to relevant industry problems under the guidance of supervising professors at top institutes in the country.

Talking about the program, Professor Vijay Kumar from IISc said: “The best research is done when you are working on something which has some practical relevance apart from theoretical interest. What this partnership with NetApp has allowed us to do is to bridge this gap, because by talking to companies, we get a sense of what the data industry is looking for. NetApp has been a huge enabler in this over the years.”

“Through our fellowships program, we aim to create an innovation ecosystem including some of the best scientific and engineering minds in the country. We want to leverage the program to translate research into real-world applications. For instance, people associate Machine Learning with image recognition, self-driving cars, and expert-like machines in games. NetApp has worked with professors from IIT Kharagpur to conduct research on unique capabilities of managing complex systems deployed in cloud computing through ML, thus opening further research areas in the process,” echoed Siddhartha Nandi, Director, Advanced Technology Group, NetApp, and leader of this program.

For example, ISI Kolkata’s Prof. Sushmita Ruj, an NFF recipient, works with NetApp to develop efficient and privacy-preserved data auditing schemes that can help a user keep a tab on the reliability of their data stored in multiple clouds. Cloud security is one of the most talked about topics as data-sensitivity concerns grow with massive cloud adoption. This, and many other such areas of impactful technology research are the cornerstones of this program- leveraging the power of data to transform lives and businesses.

Star India Launches its Landmark ‘Star Value Pack’ Making Sports Accessible to Every Indian at Unbelievable Prices!

In keeping with Star India’s belief that every Indian should have access to high quality sports content including cricket, kabaddi, football along with their favorite dose of entertainment, it has launched the Star Value Pack in 7 languages. Offering unparalleled quality content for everybody in the family, the Star Value Pack has the most compelling channels across Entertainment, Movies, Education and the very best in Sports. Viewers get an incredible line-up of sports properties such as Vivo IPL, ICC Cricket World Cup, BCCI tournaments, Vivo Pro Kabaddi League, Hero Indian Super League and more at unbelievably affordable prices. This initiative is in line with the New Tariff Regime beginning December 29th, 2018 empowering consumers to pay only for what they choose.

Sanjay Gupta, Managing Director- Star India says “We believe Entertainment and Sports play a critical role in shaping the nation. By including Sports in the Star Value Pack, we aim to make it accessible to every Indian and thus change the way Sports has been consumed in the country. The Star Value Pack offers viewers the very best from our wide canvas of content across general entertainment, movies, sports and knowledge at unbelievably affordable rates. We have been entertaining, inspiring and serving millions of viewers across India for close to 25 years now, and are delighted to empower the consumer further with even greater choice and value”

Star Network’s consumer awareness campaign -Star India has unleashed a nation-wide multi-media, multi-starrer campaign to bring the idea of how unbelievably affordable the Star Value Pack offerings is. Mega stars like Darshan Thoogudeepa , Aamir Khan, Mohanlal, Kamal Hassan, Nagarjuna, MS Dhoni, movie stars like Dev, Swapnil Joshi and more are spreading the message to educate the consumers across the nation. They will be joined by prominent Star Suvarna television faces like Aishwarya, Ashwini, Priyanka, Krystina and Chandana.

Thinking of ways to offer even greater choice & entertainment for viewer, Star India, in addition to the Star Value Pack, is giving consumers the choice to select the Star Premium Pack that includes the Star Value Pack content as well as the best of international entertainment, movies, lifestyle and marquee sporting events such as Premier League, Grand Slam events and Formula 1. Available in seven languages, the Star Premium Pack caters to the requirements of the discerning viewer.

Karnataka Bank Ties up with Paisabazaar.com for Home Loans

Paisabazaar.com, India’s largest online marketplace for financial products, and Karnataka Bank today announced a  strategic partnership to offer the bank’s home loan product to customers on the Paisabazaar platform.

Through this partnership, consumers will now be able to choose and apply for a home loan from Karnataka Bank, directly through the Paisabazaar platform.

Paisabazaar.com works with 30 partners for its home loan product, which includes India’s biggest private and public banks and HFCs.

“With an increasing number of consumers using digital channels to meet their lending needs, Karnataka Bank is excited to partner with Paisabazaar.com, to offer our home loan product to a massive customer base. Together, we aim to offer simple and convenient processes to help our customers meet one of their biggest life goals, that of buying their own home,” said Mr. Mahabaleshwara M S, Managing Director & C.E.O., Karnataka Bank.

"As a market leader, we aim to provide maximum choice to our consumers, across products. This convenience of choice becomes particularly relevant for products with long-term commitment, like home loans, as the the right product can help consumers save significantly in the long run," said Mr. Naveen Kukreja, CEO & Co-founder, Paisabazaar.com. 

"Paisabazaar.com is delighted to bring Karnatka Bank on board. We expect strong traction towards Karnataka Bank’s home loan product on our platform, thanks to their user-friendly processes and attractive product features including interest rates,” said Ratan Chaudhary, Associate Director & Head of Home Loans, Paisabazaar.com.

Fossil Group Unveils its Next Generation of Smartwatches

Fossil Group is excited to announce the launch of its next generation of smartwatches across brands – Fossil Gen 4 Smartwatch Venture HR and Explorist HR for Fossil, Skagen Falster 2 for Skagen, Michael Kors Access Runway for Michael Kors, Emporio Armani Connected for Emporio Armani, A|X Armani Exchange Connected for Armani Exchange and Diesel Full Guard for Diesel.

As a leader in the fashion space for watches, Fossil Group, with the launch of its next gen smartwatches extends its offerings to provide consumers with several new technology features encased in exquisitely crafted designs. The robust list of technological features translates the brand’s intent to provide customers with one all-inclusive device—both in function and style.

Fossil Group first entered the smartwatch market to meet the growing demand for beautifully designed technology that could be personalized and the new line of Generation 4 watches by the brand is testament to this very promise. Packed with unique design traits to make room for customization from strap to dial – it offers a plethora of exclusive dials, ranging from fashion forward to novelty for the users to choose from. An increasing number of third party apps can be installed for users to enhance their device experience, as well as set social media photos as watch face backgrounds. Additionally, users can now charge their device within an hour to last all day owing to the optimized charge time.

As one of the first fashion forward brands to seamlessly integrate fashion with top-level technology, Fossil is committed to exhibiting how style need not be sacrificed for functionality. Powered with Wear OS by Google and the Qualcomm® Snapdragon Wear™ 2100 Platform, the new devices offer enhancements to every facet of the day, with hardware including Heart-Rate Tracking, Untethered GPS, Swimproof Functionality and much more.

“At Fossil, it is our endeavor to provide our customers with the best of both, fashion and technology. With the launch of next Generation of smartwatches, we have amplified the technological features on the wrist while maintaining our aesthetically fashioned designs, creating an experience individual to each consumer. We are certain they will enjoy it”, says Managing Director, Johnson Verghese.

The spirit of creativity and innovation at Fossil Group has differentiated the brand since its inception and this spirit inspires the brand to innovate products that engage users like never before. Without compromising design standards, this new generation of smartwatches will provide consumers with one device that fits all of their needs – from fitness to technology, fashion and much more!

Talking about the launch, Gautam Sharma, Vice President Brand Strategy – APAC says, “We are in the game and here to stay! Fossil Group offers consumers a diverse breath of designs with features they care about the most. Since our entry into the smartwatch market three years ago, it has been Fossil's mission to meld technology and design. 2018 has been our biggest leap so far: by adding significant features in terms of technology, without compromising our design ethos,

Tata Tigor Partners with Zoomcar EV for Self-Drive in Pune

Today the number of shared mobility users is on a rise. In this growing market, Tata Motors today joined hands with self-drive rental platform Zoomcar to offer Tata Tigor EVs in Pune.

At a symbolic ceremony held in Pune, Shailesh Chandra, President— Electric Mobility Business & Corporate Strategy and Greg Moran, Co-Founder and CEO, Zoomcar flagged-off the first batch of Tigor EVs from Concorde Motors in Baner.

Speaking on the occasion, Shailesh Chandra said, “The future of mobility will increasingly be connected, shared and powered by zero emission technologies. Tata Motors is strongly committed to this transformative journey and working with all like-minded partners to accelerate the enabling ecosystem. It is a great pleasure to announce our partnership with Zoomcar to offer shared electric mobility solution for the citizens of Pune. Tata Tigor EV will now be available on the self-drive rental platform, offered by Zoomcar, to enable zero-emission transport option for the citizens of Pune. We are confident that our customers will appreciate and enjoy the driving experience.”

Commenting on the partnership, Greg Moran said, “The Zoomcar team is thrilled to partner with Tata Motors to bring electric vehicles to Pune. This marks the beginning of a dynamic partnership within electric mobility and we expect to touch 20 cities and 500 electric vehicles with Tata over the next year.”

Tata Motors is committed to the Government’s vision of driving electric mobility in the country and is working in a collaborative manner with various ecosystem partners to facilitate faster adoption of electric vehicles and to build a sustainable future for India.

Toyota Cheers Up Customers with Remember December Campaign

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) rolled out its annual Remember December campaign consisting of exciting benefits to bring a year-end cheer to the customers in line with the company’s consistent efforts towards enhancing customer delight the company has announced the special offerings on select models across Toyota dealerships in India. The company is extending its gratitude to loyal customers with the special sales campaign.

Commenting on this yearly campaign, N. Raja, Deputy Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “It has been our constant endeavor to offer the world class quality, comfort and unmatched safety to our customers in terms of all our products line up and after sale services.  Toyota products have been appreciated time and again by customers for the low cost of maintenance, high resale value, long lasting durability, safety, quality and excellent performance.

To further enhance the joy of ownership in the year end, we have introduced exciting offers under the Remember December Campaign for Toyota customers. In line with our philosophy of ‘Customer First’ there will be attractive offerings like -buy now and pay in March 2019 on the newly launched Yaris with additional benefits of upto Rs 1,00,000. There are benefits on other models too with up to Rs. 1,10,000 on the Corolla Altis and upto Rs. 45,000 on the Fortuner. There are benefits of up to Rs. 38,000 and Rs.23,000 available on the Etios and the Liva respectively. Toyota is also offering special benefits for Government and Corporate employees.  All customers can avail these benefits until 31st December.

We would like to extend our gratitude to our loyal customers who have shown their relentless trust and confidence on Toyota products. With the new year around the corner, we hope a positive momentum in buying sentiments ensuring push in sales.” 

HSIL Group’s Vice Chairman and MD Sandip Somany Elected as President of FICCI for 2018-19

Sandip Somany, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, HSIL Limited has been elected as the president of FICCI for 2018-19 after the conclusion of the 91st Annual General Meeting of the apex industry chamber.

With this coveted industry acknowledgment, Somany will be working closely with Government and business leaders towards spearheading the country’s economic growth and promote inclusiveness. Mr. Somany was previously working as the Senior Vice President, FICCI.

In the past, FICCI President Somany has held many industry leadership positions, including that of President of Ph.D. Chamber of Commerce and Industry and President of International Chamber of Commerce India chapter (headquartered in Paris). He was also the Chairman of Indian Council of Sanitaryware Manufacturers (INCOSAMA) and a member of the Executive Committee of Governing Council of All India Glass Manufacturers Association.

Somany is widely recognized as a pioneer of the Indian ceramic industry and has played an instrumental role in making it an organized industry. With more than three decades of industry experience, a penchant for anticipating market needs and a constant thrust on innovation, Somany has led HSIL’s evolution from an Indian sanitaryware maker to a diversified home solutions company.

Expressing gratitude and talking about his vision for the industry, Sandip Somany said, “I am thankful for FICCI’s vote of confidence in appointing me as the President. This position is a great opportunity as it will allow me to continue to work within FICCI to meet its objectives aligned with industries at large, and our country. I look forward to engaging with industry stalwarts and leaders to foster an ecosystem of innovation and growth, together building consensus between industry and policy.”

Somany holds a degree from the prestigious University of California, U. S. A. and has a Bachelor’s degree from the Delhi University. He is an avid reader, keeps abreast of world’s political and economic news and is an adventure sports enthusiast.