Google’s ‘Areo’ App for Food Delivery & Home Services for Indian Market

Without much hullabaloo, Google has launched a new food delivery and home services aggregator called Areo for the Indian market. The Android application for hyperlocal delivery and home services provides users with one-touch access to restaurants, beauty salons, and other home maintenance or cleaning services.

The app that was first spotted by The Android Soul,  is available as a free download on the Google Play store and is currently operational in Bangalore and Mumbai.

For the food delivery service, Google presently has three startups on board to allow Indian masses to order food — Freshmenu, Scootsy, and HolaChef. Any of these will be available to serve you based on your location. As for the beauty, personal care, fitness, and home maintenance services, Google has got on board Urban Clap to lend a helping hand.

One can either search for any specific dish or choose any specific partner to browse through dishes and schedule deliveries by paying online or use cash on delivery. Notably, Google has partnered with TimesofMoney’s DirecPay for online payments on Areo rather than using its own payment solution.

The USP of the app is that its fast and the experience is a lot simpler than having to go through multiple apps in one’s smartphone.  Well, this could also be some bad news for other local delivery startups who have some new competition from tech titan itself.

Google has launched a couple of India-centric app in recent weeks. First, it debuted beta version of YouTube Go app in India and then of course the music streaming subscription packs on Google Play Music for as low as Rs 89/month.

SC Orders Auction of Sahara's Rs 34,000 Cr Aamby Valley Properties

Supreme Court has ordered auction of Sahara's Rs 34,000 crore Aamby Valley properties over the business conglomerate's failure to deposit money for refunding to its investors.

The Supreme Court bench also directed that Sahara Group's Subrata Roy be personally present in the next date of hearing on April 28th in the case.

"Enough is enough. You cannot say something today and resile tomorrow," a bench, comprising Justices Dipak Misra, Ranjan Gogoi and A K Sikri, said, taking strong note of non- submission of over Rs 5,000 crore by the Sahara group.

The bench also cautioned Roy from playing with the court's order and said non-compliance of its order would invite the wrath of the law and ultimately he will be at his own peril.  If you can't pay, go to jail, the top court said.

The Supreme Court had earlier warned the Sahara Group that it would auction its prime property worth Rs 39,000 crore at Aamby Valley in Pune if Rs 5092.6 crore is not paid by the company by April 17 as promised.

Last month, a bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra directed the international real estate firm, which had shown willingness to buy Sahara's stake in New York- based Plaza Hotel for $550 million, to deposit Rs 750 crore in the SEBI-Sahara refund account instead of the apex court registry to show its bonafide.

"We will auction your (Sahara) Aamby Valley project if the money is not deposited within the stipulated time period as promised," the bench, also comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and A K Sikri, observed.

The apex court had also asked Sahara Group to provide it within two weeks the list of "unencumbered properties" which can be put for public auction to realise the remaining over Rs 14,000 crore of the principal amount of around Rs 24,000 crore that has to be deposited in the SEBI-Sahara account for refunding money to the investors.

SC on May 6, 2016 granted a four-week parole to Roy to attend the funeral of his mother. His parole has been extended by the court ever since. Roy was sent to Tihar jail on March 4, 2014.

Besides Roy, two other directors -- Ravi Shankar Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudhary -- were arrested for the failure of the group's two companies -- Sahara India Real Estate Corporation (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corp Ltd (SHICL) -- to comply with the court's August 31, 2012 order to return Rs 24,000 crore to their investors. However, director Vandana Bhargava was not taken into custody.

Akshaya Patra’s ‘Million Meals’ Project Uses Applied AI, IoT and Blockchain from Accenture to Drive Efficiency of Lunch Program

Accenture and Akshaya Patra, the world’s largest NGO-run Mid-Day Meal Program, collaborated on an innovative project that used disruptive technologies to exponentially increase the number of meals served to children in schools in India that are run and aided by the government. The “Million Meals” project revolutionized Akshaya Patra’s supply chain and operations, resulting in improved food quality and expanded service reach.

 
Rooted in a vision to eliminate child hunger, the “Million Meals” project demonstrated how disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain can help address significant challenges in mass meal production and delivery. Accenture Labs, the research and development arm of Accenture, executed the project over a period of six months in Akshaya Patra’s Bengaluru kitchen. An analysis of the project indicated a potential to improve efficiency by 20 percent, which could boost the number of meals served by millions. Akshaya Patra’s goal is to continue to optimize and streamline the program.
 

Sanjay Podder, managing director, Accenture Labs, Bengaluru, said, "The Accenture Labs ‘Tech for Good’ program specializes in solving complex social problems through the use of innovative technologies. Accenture Labs was excited to take up the challenge that every paisa saved in producing a single meal can result in additional meals being served to children. We thought this was an ideal proving ground to put the combined power of AI, IoT and blockchain to use.”

 
"It is indeed heartening to see big players in technology like Accenture come forward to lend their expertise and help to address societal challenges like hunger through the innovative use of technology,” said Shridhar Venkat, CEO, The Akshaya Patra Foundation. “This initiative not only enhanced efficiency while giving a boost to our operations, but ensured that quality standards are met while increasing the number of meals served. We aim to expand our reach to millions of more children with the help of such technologies. This is just the beginning; we look forward to more collaborations with Accenture.”

 
Accenture Labs began the project with a strategic assessment and design thinking, then developed a prototype for improving kitchen operations and outcomes. Technologies were then applied to four critical processes: collecting school feedback, tracking food delivery, measuring the quantity of food and supplies to be purchased, and monitoring meal production.

 
As a result of these process enhancements, Akshaya Patra improved their audit capabilities, attendance recording, invoice processing and payment, order and data collection, and food preparation operations, allowing for expanded production capabilities and establishing a blueprint for operating other kitchens.

 
An example of Akshaya Patra’s transformation was its move from manual collection of feedback from children and schools to a more efficient technology-based solution. Using blockchain and sensor-enabled devices, the technical team gathered feedback digitally, leveraging AI technologies to predict the next day’s meal requirements. The team tracked the timeliness of food delivered to each school involved in the initiative and collected the data using mobile devices and an Accenture-built system.

The team also used IoT sensors to monitor and sequence the cooking process to ensure optimum energy consumption and consistent food quality. This system not only aided in tracking kitchen performance but also provided accurate, real-time data to identify trends, make better informed decisions and save valuable time and effort.

Bosch Plans to Open 75 More BRIDGE Centres Across India

Bosch plans to take its skilling programme BRIDGE (Bosch’s Response to India’s Development and Growth through Employability Enhancement) from the present 125 centres across the country to 200 centres soon.

The short-term job-oriented training is targeted at employing the youth in the service industry. “Nearly 7,500 people have graduated from this (BRIDGE) skilling programme over four years, and we are planning to take these centres to 200 soon,” MD of Bosch and Bosch Group India President Soumitra Bhattacharya told reporters 

Bosch also wants to take the number to 10,000 from the present 7,500 people. 
While the programme intended at the manufacturing industry comes from a more long-term, hard-skills development perspective, it is more short-term soft-skills oriented for the service industry.

“Our long-term career-oriented training offered at the Bosch Vocational Center (BVC) has been Indianised over the years, and as of December 2016, around 3,500 individuals have passed out over these years,” he said, adding, “Bosch is committed to skilling well before Prime Minister started Skill India. We will continue doing it...we do it not just for us; we do it for society,” he said.

Also, over the past two years, the company has developed a new training programme that focuses on producing high-quality skilled artisans, such as carpentry and electrician, in India.

Bhattacharya said, “There are two training facilities in India — one in Bengaluru focused on carpentry, the other one in Nashik focused on electrician. We are planning to open one more in Pune, focusing on plumbing. We are also looking at good partners to create multipliers.”

Karnataka Occupies Second Place in Terms of Internet Readiness

When it comes to Internet readiness, Karnataka ranks second, and it is also one of the top three states with the highest number of digital startups, according to a report, ‘Index of Internet Readiness of Indian States’, released by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Nielsen. 

Delhi has emerged as the top ranked state in terms of overall Internet readiness, overtaking last year’s winner Maharashtra. 

Internet readiness index is a composite benchmark of four components — e-infrastructure index, e-participation index, IT-environment and government e-services index, with all four components claiming equal weightage.

The index excludes North-Eastern states, which ranked low in terms of overall Internet readiness. Among the North-Eastern states, Nagaland tops the list, closely followed by Manipur and Tripura.

Agencies

K Birla is New Chairperson of Vodafone India-Idea Merge Entity

Idea Cellular Ltd and Vodafone India announced a merger on March 20 to form the largest telecommunication company in India. The behemoth will come as the latest company to enter the telecommunication sector after Jio, which is fast increasing its subscriber base.

The entity, after the merger, will not only have 43 per cent revenue but also have more than 25 per cent of allocated spectrum. The merged company would have collective revenues of more than Rs 80,000 crore and help Vodafone in de-consolidating Vodafone India.

The behemoth will come as the latest company to enter the telecommunication sector after Jio, which is fast increasing its subscriber base.

After their merger, the firms announced Kumar Mangalam Birla as the chairperson of the new telecom entity.

The Bombay Stock Exchange was also informed that Vodafone Group and Idea Cellular have agreed to combine their operations in India.

Meanwhile, largest mobile provider, Bharti Airtel, told the stock exchanges recently that it was all set to take over Norwegian telecom firm, Telenor.

Moving Forward India to Become Major FDI Destination Soon Globally

India, with a young skilled work force, high growth rate and deregulation being undertaken by the government, is set to become an important destination for foreign investment, a former top US trade official has said.

"With the young skilled work force, its growth rate that is going to surpass China for the coming years as well as the market opening and deregulation undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make this a really important destination for foreign investment," Wendy Cutler, who was the Acting Deputy US Trade Representative under Obama administration told a Washington audience yesterday.

Speaking at a panel discussion on the occasion of launch of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Confidence Index, Cutler said, India under Modi has emerged as among the favourite destinations for foreign investors. For the second consecutive year, India appears in top 10 of the index. This year, it was placed at eighth spot as against ninth last year.

China has slipped to the third spot. Germany has now become the second top destination in the FDI Confidence Index after the US, which takes the fifth spot for the fifth year in a row. "Five of the top 10 countries are from Asia. There is a lot of optimism about investment opportunities in Asia, not only among Asian but also global investors as well. Clearly China and India seems to be the cause of this lot of optimism. India moved eighth on the index," she said.

Cutler said the optimism about investment in China "does not seem to be in line from what we are hearing" from not only the US business community but also the European business community as well. In her previous stint in the United States Trade Representative, she was responsible for the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP), US China trade relations and US India Trade Policy Forum.

"The investment climate is getting worse in China. Companies are facing a lot of restrictions in China, whether it be licensing or approval process or favourable treatment of domestic competitors or requirements to share technology. We are hearing from our companies that their optimism is declining," Cutler said.

Noting that the Chinese FDI in the US and vice versa should be watched closely, she said there is a growing concern that while the US and foreign companies are facing restrictions in China, there is a feeling that Chinese companies face few restrictions here in the US. "India on the other hand is moving towards becoming a favourite FDI destination," she said.

"When you loom at India, it is moving from a close market to an open market. The reforms that are being undertaken are perhaps not as ambitious as one would hope for. But under Prime Minister Modi, India is really under track towards opening," she said. Contrasting India, a little bit with China, Cutler said that China was really open to foreign direct investment.

"But we are seeing that trend going in a different direction," Cutler said. "The other thing that makes me think very favourably about India is that it does not face the same demographic challenges that many Asian countries face. India with most of its population under 40 offers a very attractive destination, coupled with the high skilled nature of the work force," she said. However, she said India is "one of the difficult countries" to negotiate. "So while all these developments are positive, they have a way to go here, but they are moving in the right direction," Cutler said.

Global Business Policy Council chairman Paul Laudicina said that India's youth population gives India wage price advantage over China. In China, average manufacturing wages have tripled between 2006 and 2015. "This is part of the reason that coupled with a robust growth, a huge internal market, Modi government's attempt to promote investment, the intention to abolish the foreign investment promotion board, access to the retail sector is being made more accessible. All of this makes India a robust environment," he said.