Bimal Dayal Appointed New CEO of Indus Towers; Succeeds B.S. Shantharaju

Indus Towers, the country’s largest telecom tower company has announced the formal takeover of Bimal Dayal as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with immediate effect. Bimal has been associated with Indus Towers since 2010 as the Chief Operating Officer (COO), and will now take up the full responsibilities of CEO. He succeeds B.S. Shantharaju who retired on March, 31 2016.

Bimal brings with him a unique blend of Indian and global industry experience of over 28 years, which spans majors like Ericsson, Qualcomm and Tata Telecom. In his capacity of Managing Director of Ericsson in Sri Lanka, he successfully steered the company to become the country’s number one player in telecom infrastructure.

Talking about his elevation, Bimal Dayal, Chief Executive Officer, Indus Towers said, “I am stepping into an exciting role and coming in at an exciting time. It would be my sincere effort to make Indus Towers an institution in its own league guided by our Core values and philosophy of ‘Putting India First’.”

Bimal holds a double Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering and Law. Further, he holds the alumni status for Harvard Business School.

KPMG Unveils Mobile App Cyber KARE in India to Help Assess Cyber Security Index

In response to the urgent need in the market for a mechanism to assess the level of exposure to cyber risk in organisations, KPMG in India has launched ‘Cyber KARE’, a tool, aimed at empowering senior management to self-asses cyber threats and gauge their current level of preparedness to combat them.

The ‘Cyber KARE’ toolkit is designed for assessment to be performed by senior management and CxOs, and provides a quantitative output depicting organisation’s current positioning with respect to cyber risk exposure (CEI – Cyber Exposure Index) and cyber security preparedness (CPI – Cyber Preparedness Index).

“The adoption of emerging technologies has exposed the institutions to the evolving and growing landscape of cyber threats and vulnerabilities. The number of cases being reported on cybercrimes are growing at a rapid pace. Motivation around cybercrime may range from pure financial gain, to raising the profile of an ideology, to espionage or terrorism. It is important for the senior management to know organization’s cyber exposure and strategies to prepare against the same accordingly. Cyber KARE is a great initiative by KPMG to enable organizations to self- assess their cyber risk exposure.” said Navdeep Singh Virk – Commissioner of Gurgaon Police.

“Boards of large organisations have started to pay more attention to cyber risk, but there is much more they can do. They need to make sure that they have the right skills and knowledge and treat it as a broader business risk that impacts the organization beyond IT in areas such as new product and service development, and MandA,” said Malcolm Marshall - Partner and Global Head, Cybersecurity, KPMG.

Prevention, detection and response to cyber-attacks requires the combined efforts of both the public and private sectors, working to develop new technologies and new approaches, for maintaining real-time protection of their individual networks. Keeping this in mind, KPMG in India in association with Haryana police organised a session on cyber security to provide a platform to discuss and understand the current issues and threats.

Cybercrime is a clear and present danger that organisations are faced with in India. KPMG in India’s Cyber Crime Survey 2015, highlights that 72 per cent of organisations in India were subjected to cyber security attacks and 65 per cent of these attackers were driven to make financial gains. The survey also highlights that 64 per cent of these attacks are targeted to directors and senior management.

“There is a significant spurt in cybercrimes across enterprises and it is of paramount importance for management to realise that these are no longer a one-time phenomenon. The ‘Cyber KARE’ application is aimed at providing current readiness index to help manage cyber risk and support in development of holistic cyber security framework.” said Mritunjay Kapur - Partner and Head, Risk Consulting, KPMG in India.

The application ‘Cyber KARE’, is agnostic to the sector and size of organisation. It can be used by organisations irrespective of their maturity levels on cyber security journey.  Assessment through the ‘Cyber KARE’ toolkit can enable the management to monitor cyber risk at strategic level and develop adequate approach towards effective cyber risk management. This also provides ability to management to benchmark their progress on cyber security journey.

Samsung Unveils Galaxy J3 with S Bike Mode for Two-Wheeler Riders

Samsung India Electronics has announced the launch of the Samsung Galaxy J3 featuring the S bike mode, an industry-first dedicated feature for two-wheeler riders that is designed to enable responsible and tension free riding.

Once activated at the beginning of a ride, any caller trying to reach the Samsung Galaxy J3 user will be notified through an automated answering machine that the user is riding and cannot take calls so that the ride remains uninterrupted.

All the user needs to do is to switch on the S bike mode of Galaxy J3 before setting off on the ride, and the smart phone will automatically inform the caller that the user is currently riding a bike and is unable to take the call. The caller may choose to press 1 to express urgency to talk with the biker for which the biker will have to bring his bike to a halt in order to take the call.

“Samsung is constantly in the pursuit of meaningful innovations that make people’s lives better. S bike mode is a result of that vision. While studying the consumers’ phone usage behaviour, we realised that incoming calls are a major distraction to bikers. We are very happy that we have come up with something that will benefit millions of two-wheeler users and promote responsible riding,” said Asim Warsi. Senior Vice President, Samsung India Electronics.

Galaxy J3 is an extension of Samsung’s vision to offer innovative and differentiated products across price segments. The J Series was launched with the Ultra Data Saving (UDS) mode in September 2015, a feature that has helped consumers save up to 50% of mobile data usage. Samsung has further enhanced this feature to include data savings on popular music streaming apps and over Wi-Fi after witnessing an adoption rate of over 50% among consumers. In order to carry the local innovation forward, Samsung is keen to establish the S bike mode as a responsible riding ritual where Samsung Galaxy J3 users will activate the mode before commencing their ride. Both UDS and the newly launched S bike mode have been developed in Samsung’s Indian RnD centres. S bike mode will be available across all 4G-enabled Galaxy J series devices over a period of time.

“Innovation at Samsung revolves around the consumer as we aspire to bring a complete hardware and software solution. Samsung Galaxy J3 is the first affordable segment device that has been equipped with NFC hardware to activate the S bike mode with a single tap of the device on  a S bike NFC tag that will be shipped with every unit. The revolutionary S bike mode has been designed in India by our engineers to not only propagate responsible riding which is a concern for both consumers and government authorities, but also ensure a tension free ride,”  Dipesh Shah, Senior Vice President, Samsung RnD Institute India.

How the S bike mode Works

S bike mode was developed and built into the Galaxy J3 following extensive market research aimed to create innovations that are really meaningful and useful to people. 

This is how it works:

Step 1 – Quick Activation: Galaxy J3 has in-built NFC hardware and the device ships with an S bike mode NFC Tag. This tag can be affixed at a convenient place (eg. helmet or a fuel tank) and the user can gently tap the device on this tag to activate/deactivate the S bike mode. The user also has the option to use the quick panel to activate/deactivate this feature.

Step 2 – Urgent Call Alert System: All callers hear a pre-recorded message that informs callers that the Galaxy J3 user is riding a two-wheeler and is unable to take the call. The S bike mode user does not get any notification that there was an incoming call (to avoid distraction). In case the call is urgent, the caller may choose to press 1, which allows urgent calls to go through.

Step 3 – Motion Lock: This feature ensures that if the S bike mode user decides to take the urgent incoming call, he will need to bring his bike to a halt to be able to answer the call. The phone will not allow the incoming call to get answered owing to motion lock. This safety feature is designed to encourage responsible riding.

The S bike mode also sports an intuitive user interface where users can see a log of call notifications while the mode is enabled. It also has a Smart Reply feature where selected contacts will receive an auto-SMS with an estimate of when the user is likely to be available for a call basis a trip destination entered by the user. There is also a dashboard of time and distance travelled using the S bike mode where users stand a chance to win up to Rs 1,500 per month from Freecharge for being a responsible rider.

Vivid Display

Samsung Galaxy J3 provides an immersive experience with a large 5 inch HD super AMOLED screen. Whether you are browsing, watching videos or surfing the web at blazing fast 4G speeds; vibrant colours and the larger display brings life to the content and enhances the viewing pleasure. Excellent contrast ratio produces superior imagery with deeper blacks, brighter whites, and more vivid colours, while the large display facilitates better viewing of multimedia content.

Sophisticated Imaging Capabilities

Samsung Galaxy J3 comes with a camera that captures high quality, crisp and detailed photographs with its 8 megapixel rear camera with an f2.2 aperture. It also features a 5 mega-pixel front camera to provide great video calling and selfie experience. The new smart phone is a great shooter that takes detailed photos that look professional, in-focus, and well-lit.

Powerful Performance

Samsung Galaxy J3 is equipped with a 1.5 GHz Quad Core processor and 1.5 GB RAM for easy multi-tasking and fast speed.

Special Operator Offer

Samsung Galaxy J3 users on the Vodafone network get twice the data on select data packs for a period of 6 months in 4G circles and for 2 months in others

Price and Availability

Samsung Galaxy J3 is priced at Rs 8,990 and will be available in three colour options of gold, black and white exclusively on Snapdeal from March 31^, 2016.

30 Indian Trainees Complete Boeing’s Aerospace Interconnect Solutions Program

The first 30 trainees in the new Learn and Earn program – run by Nettur Technical Training Foundation (NTTF) – have completed their training for Aerospace Interconnect Solutions. The program is in partnership with Boeing and Rossell Techsys.

“We are really proud of all the students and congratulate all those who successfully completed the Learn and Earn program and earned gainful employment,” said Pratyush Kumar, president, Boeing India. “India contains immense untapped potential and unparalleled talent, and we need to utilize and foster this potential and talent to accelerate the development and growth of the Indian aerospace sector and Indian economy as a whole. The students who are already delivering 100 percent first-pass quality will be able to work toward the development and growth of the Indian aerospace ecosystem.”

On completion of their one-year training, the students were awarded a post diploma in Aerospace Interconnect Solutions (PDAIS). All were hired by Rossell Techsys.

The program is one of the initiatives launched by Boeing in support of the National Employability Enhancement Mission (NEEM), a skill development initiative rolled out by the Government of India. The program is supported by Boeing in partnership with NTTF, a partner of the National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC).

“Consistent high performance and high quality is ingrained into the global aerospace and defense sector,” said Harsh Gupta, chairman, Rossell India Limited. “The skills development initiative aims to bridge the current gap of expectation versus availability in India. We will continue to invest in skills development to tap the immense potential of talent available and to make such skills available for the Aerospace and Defense sector in India. We support the government’s commitment to Skill India and the National Skill Development Mission.”

           

 “Such programs are aimed at providing trainees with the technical education needed for them to earn a livelihood in their relevant sectors,” said N. Reguraj, managing director, NTTF. “The Learn and Earn program is aimed at enhancing the employability of students and bridging the gap of skilled manpower in the aerospace sector.”

Boeing has been partnering with NTTF to provide vocational training to Indian students and industry, keeping in line with Boeing’s commitment to build a skilled aerospace talent pipeline. The initiative is an example of Boeing-funded curriculums that have been launched with relevant aerospace partners such as Rossell Techsys and Tata Advanced Materials Limited. These initiatives aim to fill the gap in industry training and helps increase the employability skills of prospective candidates, resulting in an All India Council of Technical Education accredited PDAIS.

Idea Cellular 4G LTE Roll-Out Goes Pan-India Covering 575 Towns in 10 Key Circles With Over 14,000 4G Sites

Idea Cellular, a leading telecom operator, accomplished the fastest roll-out of 4G LTE services in 100 days in the country. After the company launched its 4G services in December, it has ramped up its presence to 575 towns, thus honoring the commitment made. This successful roll-out comes as a testimony of Idea’s focus towards delivering on its promise to the consumers. Currently available in over 575 towns across its 10 leading circles, Idea also becomes the first 4G broadband service provider in 250 towns out of these 575. With this Idea Cellular, is now servicing over 125 million users with its world-class 4G LTE services, built on a strong foundation of 14,000+ 4G sites across the country. 

Idea also continues its successful 3G journey and has built a solid foundation of 22,000 3G cell sites since the last 2 years, adding 28,500 new sites to create an infrastructure of over 50,000 sites.  Idea has expanded its 3G services on the most efficient 900 MHz band which has high-caliber transmission and propagation capabilities, to create a jam-free, high-speed, superior indoor internet coverage network providing additional data capacity to users in Delhi, and select cities of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

Idea’s 4G and 3G customers now have a better mobile telephony experience while accessing services like video telephony, mobile TV, video on demand, music downloads, online gaming, amongst many others.

Idea is the fastest growing telecom operator with an overall RMS of 18.9% as of Q3FY16 report of TRAI. Idea has 6.1 million 4G devices, nearly 6% of its subscriber base in these 10 telecom service areas, registered on its network. In comparison, on an All India basis, Idea has nearly 48.6 million customers owning 3G devices (approx. 28% of EoP) and over 9.8 million customers with 4G devices (approx. 5% of EoP).

Spirit of Womanhood Celebration at Snuvik Technologies

Women are Embodiment of love, empathy, caring and above all celebration of life. To embrace and celebrate the spirit of womanhood, earlier this month, women of Snuvik had a surprise day- off from work, loaded with lots of excitement. “The day started with a special bouquet from our male colleagues, and we had a surprise hunt” says one of the ‘Snuvikites’ as they proudly call themselves. Be it a surprise planned of travelling without knowing the destination, the princess treatment enjoyed by shopping, bowling and a grand luncheonto finish it off; “we are overwhelmed the way we are treated” says another.

“It is not always fun that makes us content, but fighting for a cause also does” say the ‘Snuvikites’ and as part of the greater cause to persevere the dignity of women.Accompanied by their male colleagues, women at Snuvik Technologies, visited Swanthana-A place where the daughters of St. Camillus fight for respect, dignity and caring for the differently abled girl child. They spent time with the kids just to be amazed at their art works and sing along the rhythm of their favorite rhyme, apart from speaking to the sisters to understand the special needs of the kids.

 In this era where we speak about women empowerment, it is heart-breaking to see that most of the kids in Swanthana are not orphans but abandoned. Be it a 4 month old Sruthi (name changed) or a 15-year-oldSwati (name changed) all are subject to discrimination.The children there look forward to meeting outsiders, and in spite of all their health problems we see positive energy filled in the atmosphere; which will give us personal goals on ways to be content and face life with positivity. It is not about the 50 odd kids that we need to think, it is about the enduring cause that gives rise to such homes. We pride ourselves on development, on economic growth and technology; we talk of being a global power but silently ignore those hooded figures roaming amongst us to eliminate gender issues in the womb itself or immediately after birth.

 Somewhere the human in us needs to wake up and the society in which we live needs to be educated on the need of spreading love and care to those differently abled siblings of us, and work towards celebrating spirit of womanhood says Priyanka, HR Manager from Snuvik Technologies.

After everything, Swanthana is one such home which cares for the girl child and Snuvik is one company who is trying to support for the cause. While you read this article there are many such homes which are deprived of help, all we can do is wake-up, educate and stand up for the cause.

Manthan & SnapLogic to Jointly Accelerate Data Onboarding for Big Data Analytics

Businesses now have the ability to instantly consume data from a variety of data sources and generate powerful insights using Manthan’s packaged analytics products, which are now integrated with SnapLogic’s Elastic Integration Platform.

Manthan, a global leader in Big Data Analytics, announced an OEM partnership with SnapLogic, a technology leader offering unified data and application integration platform as a service (iPaaS). This partnership empowers consumer businesses to shrink the time to analytics for users, by making data on-boarding faster and easier.

Manthan’s award winning advanced analytics solutions are designed to make the analytics journey of businesses quicker and simpler with the instant reward of real time actionable insights. Manthan’s solutions come with industry specific pre-packaged data models and data processes to consume and manage data from structured and unstructured sources. This includes data from various operational systems like POS, ERP, Campaign and Ecommerce platforms as well as external systems like social media. 

“Extracting data from disparate systems and connecting with Manthan’s packaged analytics solutions is often the only time required to activate insights. SnapLogic enhances data acquisition and connectivity to multiple data sources, thereby further reducing the time required to onboard businesses”, said Ravi Shankar, Vice President, Professional Services, Manthan.

“The Manthan-Snaplogic partnership will automate the essential step of connecting a variety of data sources in order to generate valuable insights from the Manthan analytics platform. SnapLogic’s intelligent connectors, called Snaps, for cloud and on-premises applications including SAP, Microsoft Dynamics and Salesforce reduce the effort required to create integrations and extract the data therein, and improve the quality of the integrated data.” said Jack Kudale, Senior Vice President of Field Operations, SnapLogic.

Manthan’s analytics solutions portfolio provides a comprehensive self-service experience to the business user– from data on boarding, data discovery to analysis, visualization and implementation. With its innovative ‘Switch On analytics’ approach, Manthan has thus enabled enterprises to reduce the friction to onboard analytics and simplify guided decision making.