Diageo’s New Business Service Centre in Karle Town Goes Live From October 17, 2016

Diageo, a global leader in beverage alcohol, is extending its shared services operations into India by opening a new Business Services Centre in Bangalore which will start operations on 17 October 2017. To be known as Diageo Business Services India (DBSI), it will initially build a global (Diageo) Finance & Accounting footprint. Situated at the Karle Town Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Bangalore, this centre promises to create great career opportunities for business professionals, particularly in the fields of Finance and Accounting, and plans to move fast into other areas such as Business Intelligence, Analytics and Data Services amongst others. The centre is expected to employ around 1000 people by the end of 2017.

DBSI, a new entrant to India’s global in-house centre (GIC) community, is looking to create a distinctive identity in the market. “The essence of our culture rests on two fundamental pillars,” commented Tracey Barnes, Managing Director, DBSI. “ These are ‘how we work’ – in an open, exciting and dynamic culture, where our employees care about doing the right things, the right way and know they can make a difference and second, ‘what we offer’ - opportunities to grow in an environment where the best of Diageo globally meets the best of India. At Diageo culture, diversity and inclusion are integral to our ways of working. We believe that our organisation should fully reflect the communities we work in and serve. This is particularly important in Bangalore where we are creating so many opportunities for great talent and we are aiming for an equal balance of female and male employees.”

Set against this cultural identity, DBSI has already made its presence felt in the market. Testimony to this is the fact that the centre has already marked its first hiring landmark – reaching 100 employees. “We believe in hiring the very best talent who we know can be successful for themselves and in turn drive our business forward. We also want to hire people who identify with the Diageo culture and spirit, with real potential to grow as the business grows. We are creating an open and inclusive culture that values diversity and inspires us to win together.” added Samarpita Banerjee, Head of HR, DBSI.

Currently, DBSI is operating from an incubation centre at Karle Town ahead of moving to a purpose built, state of the art permanent facility, in the same centre, before the end of the calendar year.

USF Launches Second Dr APJ Kalam Postgraduate Fellowship

In celebration of President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's birth anniversary, the University of South Florida (USF) announced the second Kalam Postgraduate Fellowship today. The Fellowship is for exemplary Indian students seeking to pursue a PhD in specified Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programmes at USF.

A popular and respected icon for India’s youth, President Kalam was a strong advocate for education and a passionate supporter of clean energy and energy independence. He visited USF in 2012 and is remembered affectionately by the university and the vibrant Indian heritage community in Tampa Bay, Florida.

The Kalam Fellow will receive $18,000 tuition per year. The Provost's Office will pay a nine-month stipend for the first year with the department/college contributing a teaching/research assistantship for up to an additional three years.

The Fellowship was launched in 2015 during the visit of USF Provost Ralph Wilcox to India. USF named Avijit Sengupta, a graduate from IIT-Bombay, as the first Kalam Fellow for the 2016-17 academic year. He is currently pursuing his research at USF’s Muma College of Business. A design researcher from Kolkata, Sengupta has worked at the Center of Social Media Innovation for Communities at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He has conference publications in the United States (twice with the American conference on Information Systems), South Korea and New Zealand.

The deadline for applications for the 2017-18 Kalam Postgraduate Fellowship is January 15, 2017. Full details, eligibility criteria, and application form will be available on www.usf.edu/world by Friday, October 21, 2016. The Fellowship decision will be announced mid-April 2017.

Samsung Invests Rs 1,970 Crore in Noida, Strengthens Make in India

Samsung India Electronics has announced expansion of its Noida plant with an investment of Rs 1,970 crore, strengthening its commitment to ‘Make in India’ and ‘Make for India’.

The Government of Uttar Pradesh approved the investment by Samsung India Electronics under Super Mega A by the state’s Cabinet Committee in Lucknow today. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary, Rahul Bhatnagar and HC Hong, President and CEO, Samsung India Electronics, in the presence of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

Speaking on the occasion, Akhilesh Yadav, said, “Noida is the symbol of Uttar Pradesh and India’s industrialization and growth ever since the economic liberalisation twenty years ago. Samsung has been our partner in this growth right since 1996. It has created thousands of jobs, supported business, developed the service sector, and helped give global recognition to Noida. Today’s MoU is yet another step in converting Noida into the electronics hub of India. I am happy Samsung is pioneering this transformation yet again.”

HC Hong, President and CEO of Samsung India, said, “In line with our commitment to ‘Make in India’ and living by our promise to ‘Make for India’, we are pleased to receive the Uttar Pradesh Government’s approval to invest in the state and expand our manufacturing base here in India. As digitization expands across the country, we are witnessing an increase in the adoption of electronic devices, appliances and mobile phones. A bigger and more robust manufacturing facility will help us address the needs and demands of our growing customer base across the country and the region. We plan to further the Samsung innovation promise across our Refrigerator, Mobile and LED TV range, offering the latest and best of the world to our customers.”

Samsung started its Noida plant in 1996 and continues to provide cutting edge technology and enriching experiences for customers across India from the Noida plant, with a large ecosystem of suppliers in the National Capital Region. As a responsible citizen, Samsung is involved in community development around the facility at Noida and across the state of Uttar Pradesh through contributions to education, skill development and healthcare initiatives.

In a journey that started in 1995, Samsung set new benchmarks in innovation led manufacturing and consumer marketing, and established itself as a truly national brand. Along the way, it effectively consolidated its position in India with two factories, three RnD centres and a design centre, employing over 40,000 people and establishing the largest sales and service network by any company in the country. By not only fulfilling its commitment to ‘Make in India’, but also living its promise of ‘Make for India’, Samsung has emerged as a truly Indian company at heart.

Manipal Fertility Bags FROST AND SULLIVAN’S 2016’ India Fertility Service Provider of the Year Award

Manipal Fertility part of Manipal Hospitals, one of India’s leading names in the Healthcare sector has been conferred with ‘Frost and Sullivan’s 2016’ India Fertility Service Provider of the year award in specialty chain of centers category.

This award is conferred to an organization that reflects continuous growth through execution of innovative strategy within the existing landscape of competition. The factors considered to determine the winner is to evaluate growth strategy, customer satisfaction, high success rates, growth innovation, leadership in customer value and leadership in market penetration.

Speaking on the occasion Dr. (Capt) Sandeep Sharma , Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Manipal Fertility said’ “ It’s a momentous occasion for Manipal Fertility as we always strive towards excellence. Manipal Fertility clearly displays a strong passion toward serving the patients in need through clinical expertise, R&D, modern techniques and adoption of state-of-the-art technologies to maximize the chances of success in Assisted Reproductive Techniques.”

Manipal Fertility’s key differentiators lie in its comprehensive services with primary focus on female infertility and also specialized focus on male infertility and sexual medicine, apart from infrastructure at par with international standards; cutting-edge technology to maximize success rates; qualified and experienced pool of consultants, embryologists, technicians and counsellors.

GadgetWood Rebrands As Yaantra, Anurag Bhargava Joins as New Chairman

On-demand repair services & refurbishment startup, Gadgetwood rebrands itself as ‘Yaantra. The company had raised approximately US$6 mn in funding from Carpediem Capital, an India focused private equity fund, and its investors earlier last month. As part of the transaction, and to strengthen governance, Anurag Bhargava of Duane Park has joined the board as Chairman. Abhishek Sharman, Managing Director of Carpediem has joined the board to help with growth, capital structure and operations. A strategic advisory board will be added to aid in growth and to assist with partnerships going forward.

This will position Yaantra, the re-branded company, for growth and profitability for the years ahead and differentiate Yaantra from its competitors.

Jayant Jha, CEO, Yaantra said “We are very excited to partner with Carpediem and Duane Park. The strategic inputs from Anurag and Abhishek will help us build the leading consumer services brand focused on repairs and refurbishment of smartphones and tablets. Yaantra will provide support across the product life cycle of smartphones and tablets and will provide the next gen innovative services to end users, corporates, retailers, OEMs and ecommerce companies.”

To end users, Yaantra will offer door step repair service, after repairs warranty and extended warranty on multi brand smartphones and tablets across 30,000 pin codes in the country; users in Delhi NCR and Bangalore can currently enjoy express service delivered at the door step within 2 hours. Yaantra will also offer high quality accessories, useful android apps and offer financing on the complete set of service offerings. Yaantra plans to build its own service centers and presence across 25 major cities across India.

The company will also sell high quality unboxed, refurbished smartphones, including exclusive models certified by Yaantra at attractive prices on its portal Yaantra.com. as a differentiator from the current refurbished smartphone sellers. All the products will be pre bundled with door step warranty and the customers will also have options to buy extended warranty, accessories and get easy finaning on all the products bought from the portal.

Yaantra also works with OEMs, ecommerce and market place leaders, corporates, retailers, franchisees and distributors. At present the company works with more than 50 partners and plans to expand it substantially in the months to come.

Amazon.in’s Global Store to Unlock International Selection for Indian Customers

The festive season has begun and the celebrations are all set to go global on Amazon.in! In yet another first aimed at enhancing the shopping experience for customers in India, Amazon.in today announced the launch of the Global Store.  Customers in India will now have direct access to thousands of international brands and a launch selection of over 4 million global products. With the launch of the Global store, Amazon.in now becomes the single largest online destination for buying both local and global products in India.

The Global Store enables customers in India to purchase millions of high quality, authentic global products in Indian currency with ease and confidence across various categories such as books, apparel, shoes, watches, office supplies, home, kitchen, sports, niche categories like fishing equipment, bakeware; trendy fashion accessories like handbags,boots for women, premium watches, sportswear etc. and unique brands not available in India like Nixon (Watches), Jessica Simpson (Shoes), Zumba (Sports) and Gaiam (Sports) etc. They will be able to see prices inclusive of import fee deposits and will enjoy hassle free delivery of international products at their door step.

Customers can shop on the Global Store using any credit or debit card including domestic cards or via net banking on their desktop or the Amazon.in mobile app or mobile browser. Product information and details along with product ratings and reviews enable customers to make informed buying choices.  There are no hidden charges and prices shown to customers will include product price, import fees deposit and shipping fees (based on delivery option selected) in INR for ease of purchase.

“This festival season, we are excited to launch the Global Store on Amazon.in, providing Indian customers with convenient access to millions of international products from Amazon.com, offering a trustworthy and hassle free shopping experience they expect of Amazon," says Mr. Amit Agarwal, VP and Country Head, Amazon India. "As India's largest online store, we remain committed to constantly expand selection for our customers and earn their trust to find, discover and buy anything online.”

Apart from the seamless shopping experience, customers will be able to avail of three different delivery options to suit their needs. The Priority Shipping option will have a transit time of 2-4 days, Expedited Shipping will ensure product delivery between 5 – 10 days and the Standard Shipping option will have a transit time of 9-12 days. The shipping charges will be determined by the shipping option chosen by the customers as well as by the size and weight of the shipment. DHL, Aramex and India Post will act as third party logistics providers for products ordered from the Global Store and will facilitate customs clearance and last mile delivery.

“Karnataka Strongly Promotes Startups All Along,” Santosh Laad

Our government strongly promotes startups with technological expertise all along, and events such as India Gadgetz Expo (IGE) 2016 are the perfect place for all industry players to meet, said Santosh Laad, Labor Minister of Karnataka at the inauguration of the IGE 2016 at the KPTO, Whitefield near Bengaluru. Addressing the function, the minister stressed on platforms like IGE that are the perfect place for future innovations and investments in the industry and improves everyone’s daily lives.”

Since its successful debut in 2014, India Gadgetz Expo (IGE), India’s biggest consumer tech event, has become the single biggest consumer tech show in the country. Founded as an initiative to promote innovation and showcase futuristic technologies, IGE is a prime consumer tech event in India with participation and attendance from Indian and global brands and startups. Now, IGE is back for its 3^rd edition at the KTPO Exhibition Centre, Whitefield, Bengaluru from October 14-16, 2016. IGE 2016 promises to host a vast audience consisting of established industry leaders, hardware startups which are supported by the Government of Karnataka and the general public. The central theme of IGE 2016 is the “Future is Here”.

The inaugural ceremony was kicked off by delegates from the Government of Karnataka including  Santosh Laad -  Labor Minister of Karnataka,  Anil Laad -Karnataka Congress MLA,  R K Srivastava - Managing Director, KEONICS and Ajitabh M Jerath, Regional Director, Gionee. 

India Gadgetz Expo 2016:

There are more than 200 brands that will be participating at this year’s edition of IGE and keeping in line with the theme “Future is Here” they will be showcasing their latest technological innovations, revealing their new products and speaking about their involvement in the consumer tech space. With more than 85 exhibition stalls also planned out, industry watchers will get a hands-on chance to engage with the who’s who of the tech world. Some of the key brands that are expected at IGE 2016 are Gionee, Apple, Timex, Oppo, Intex, Lenovo, Epson, BSNL, Reliance Jio, Creative and many more.

Additionally, there are more than 60 hardware startup brands that are being supported by the Karnataka Government and will also be present at IGE 2016 to showcase their innovative products/services. The hardware startups are selected by Revvx Hardware Accelerator. These startups belong to varied industries such as Robotics, Automation, Electric Vehicles, Drone Manufacturers and many more.

Sanjivv Kumar, IGE Founder, said – “The 3^rd edition of IGE promises to be the biggest in the consumer tech space in India. Thanks to the enthusiasm and interest by so many well-known brands, the startup community and the Karnataka Government, we have been able to put together a fabulous lineup of exhibitors and panel discussions this year. There is something for everyone at IGE 2016, right from Virtual Reality to electric vehicles, and we are so excited to host this event for a wide range of audience from the tech industry.”

Insightful panel discussions with participation by some of the prominent industry personalities and thought leaders also promise to make IGE 2016 high eventful. With 11 panel discussions scheduled over the 3-day event, and participation by more than 50 industry leaders who will be sharing their experiences, data points and opinions about the most pertinent topics, IGE will be a vastly educational experience for everyone involved with the event. The panel discussions are planned around fascinating topics such as – Vehicle Technology, Women Leaders in Technology, Smart Cities in India, Growth Hacking and more.

Additionally, there is a 36-hour ‘Hackathon’ also scheduled for IGE 2016. Organized by HackMania, the hackathon received over 500 registrations based on which 300 of the best registrants were chosen based on their prior experience. The theme of the hackathon is ‘Social Innovation’ and the average age of the participants is 24 years. While they will be permitted to use a combination of hardware and software solutions for their innovations, they will also have 15-20 mentors who will be present to aid them. The winner of the hackathon will receive a cash prize of Rs. 1,00,000.

IGE 2016 also has in store the Inspiring Indian Innovation (I3) awards to recognize and honor excellence in the technology industry. These awards will look to highlight the Indian innovators who have made a mark in their respective domains, based on their creativity, design, product or impact.