Moonbow’s Tech Superior Oceanus 3000 Water Purifier Now Ties-Up with Flipkart

Moonbow from the house of HSIL Limited, has expanded its product portfolio of water purifiers with the launch of stylish and technologically advanced Oceanus 3000. The water purifier has been launched exclusively through a tie-up with Flipkart.  This segment has been performing well through its online business and believes this channel is important for the brand's growth which will help to reach out to a larger set of consumers. The water purifier will be subsequently available across the retail outlets including Croma, Reliance Digital, etc. post Diwali.

Priced at Rs  24,990/- the newly launched water purifier is the most advanced Ultra RO model from the brand, and is equipped with the latest Hexapure Technology with Anti-scalant filter, which enhances the life of RO membrane by protecting it against scale formation. The seven stage purification process ensures that water with TDS up to 3000 ppm is also 100% RO+ UV + UF purified. Oceanus 3000 provides added benefits of mineral fortification which makes the water nutritious by adding essential minerals lost during the RO process. Available in sleek and attractive premium black finish, it comes with a touch sensitive smart consumer interface and an inbuilt Veggie Pure tray which helps to conveniently wash fruits & vegetables with RO purified water. Smart features like clock display with digit navigator, failure alert, filter replacement, tank full indicator, etc. make this RO stand apart.

Sandip Somany, VCMD, HSIL Limited, during the launch in Kolkata, commented, “The growing demand for clean water in Indian households is expected to play a critical role in shaping the trajectory of the India water purifier market. Currently, the water purification market is approximately Rs 4000-4500 crore and is poised to grow at a CAGR of 20% between 2016 to 2024.  This growth creates the right impetus for a brand like Moonbow to actively pursue this segment and introduce affordable, high-quality products to meet the growing and evolving need of consumers. Utilizing our vast pan India distribution network, we look forward to reaching out to customers across the country and capture a sizable market share.”

Rakesh Kaul, President, Consumer Product Division, HSIL Ltd. said “We believe that innovation is the key to stay ahead of the curve and to offer products to cater to the evolving demands of consumers. We have been continuously investing in new technology and designs that promise entirely new experiences to users and have launched 5 water purifier variants over the last one year with differentiated technology like Hexapure and a patented limited auto fill function. We have also tied-up with Flipkart for an exclusive launch of Moonbow Oceanus 3000, with an aim to tap the surge in demand for products online and enhance customer convenience. The latest product will be an extremely valuable addition to our existing product portfolio and will help us penetrate deeper in the Indian market.”

Commenting on the exclusive launch, Sandeep Karwa, Head - Large Appliances, Flipkart, said,  “At Flipkart, we constantly endeavor to bring the most innovative technology, better choices and a richer experience to keep our audiences excited. Moonbow has already listed its range of air purifiers & water purifiers at the online portal, and we are extremely excited to extend this association with the exclusive launch of Moonbow Oceanus 3000 DigiSense RO. Moonbow’s best-in-class technology which stems from the 57 year old legacy of HSIL Limited, coupled with our wide reach, seamless affordability levers and reliable delivery capabilities, will certainly appeal to our large and growing customer base who are increasingly beginning to realize that pure drinking water is a necessity and the need of the hour.”

Moonbow water purifiers are available across multiple retail formats including all key e-commerce platforms such as Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal, brick and mortar stores like Reliance Digital, Metro Cash & Carry, Croma. In addition to it, the water purifiers will also be available across general retail distributors with a network of 400 distributors, 5500 retailers and 350 modern trade outlets.  To ensure smooth after sales service, the brand has invested in a robust network of more than 350 technicians and 200+ service centers servicing 600+ cities in India. 

City of Helsinki Advances 3D City Initiative with Bentley’s Reality Modeling

The City of Helsinki is mid-way through an initiative to capture the city and create a new 3D city model that is scheduled to be completed in 2017. Helsinki has a long tradition of 3D city modeling, dating back to the 1980s. Helsinki wanted to update its current 3D city model with new, innovative applications that could provide entire city modeling capabilities in order to improve its internal services, promote smart city development, and share data through an open format for citizens and other agencies. Helsinki also wanted to create a pilot portfolio to showcase the power of reality modeling in coordination with local universities to generate interest in academic organizations.

This EUR 1 million project used Bentley applications to encourage commercial research and development and public engagement. For example, the city used Bentley Map to create accurate base maps and geo-coordinate utility networks. It also used Pointools to pre-process laser scanning data, Bentley Descartes to integrate oblique, raster files, and orthophotographic images into its infrastructure workflows, and Bentley Navigator for clash detection and design reviews. Reality modeling applications the city used included ContextCapture for the entire city mesh model and Bentley LumenRT to enliven designs. Lastly, the city used ProjectWise for collaboration and managing all the data that would be uploaded to a Web portal for distribution and general access.

The unique nature of this project ensured Helsinki would share data internally and externally. External agencies requesting the 3D city model included 3D plus and 3D GPC – a flagship, low-carbon program that looks at the benefits of 3D modeling as opposed to other methods. Helsinki is also sharing this data with the Technical University of Munich as part of its Solar Energy Potential program.

By utilizing Bentley’s reality modeling applications, the City of Helsinki has opened up its data to a host of internal and external stakeholders. This has ensured Helsinki is at the forefront of smart city initiatives, including collaboration with the Open Geospatial Consortium on smart-city programs across Europe.

Jarmo Suomisto, architect, project manager, Helsinki 3D+, said, “The advanced capabilities inherent in Bentley applications facilitated our ability to promote smart city development and improve our internal services. Using this technology allowed us to create innovative city models and make well-grounded decisions.”

'Financial Sector to Hire Big in Coming Months': TeamLease Employment

The Reserve Bank of India’s thrust on increasing banking penetration and its decision to give more licenses to private sector players is expected to boost the financial sector significantly, as the industry is expected to see a three point rise in employment, a report said.

According to TeamLease Employment Outlook report, which provides a comprehensive overview about the mechanics of hiring, job growth, salaries and their drivers, for the period October 2017 to March 2018, the net employment outlook for the coming six months will see an incremental increase of two percentage points.

The positivity in the outlook is attributed to the increase in government spending and the stable hiring growth.

As per the report, six of the eighteen sectors surveyed have indicated positive hiring sentiments. Talent in Financial Services will be the biggest gainer of this upbeat mood and the sector will experience 11.03% growth in jobs.

Rituparna Chakraborty, Co-Founder and Executive Vice President, TeamLease Services, said, “We are seeing positive sentiment in six sectors. Now that the GST issue has been settled, businesses will focus more on expansion.”

PSU Banks to be Lowered from 21 to 10-15, says Sanjeev Sanyal

India will have 10 to 15 public sector banks with the government’s majority stake, down from 21% at present, as part of its plan to consolidate banks, the Finance Ministry’s Principal Economic Advisor Sanjeev Sanyal said on Friday.

He said that cleaning up of the bad loan problems is the first priority, and after that PSU banks could be consolidated.

“There are something like 21-22 public sector banks. The numbers will be reduced in terms of consolidation, but somewhere to the 10-15 range. We are not going to take it too far down...We need to consolidate some of these large number of banks, but be clear that we are not going to reduce these down to some people think like 4-5 national champions. We recognise that that will lead to too many ‘too-big- to-fail’ banks. Currently, we have one large bank State Bank of India... We do not want to create a large number of them.

Then we will have a real problem in terms of concentration of risks,” Sanyal said at the India Economic Summit.

He said consolidation of banks is longer term commercial decisions, whereas recapitalisation of PSBs is “more an urgent issue” in order to get the banking system running again.

Adding to inefficient banks does not lead to a bigger efficient bank. So, this cleaning up of the bad loans problem is the first priority, he said.

As part of the clean up process, the RBI has already started recognising the bad assets, provision them and is taking some of them to bankruptcy and insolvency process.

“Now, the second step consequently is recapitalisation and getting these banks running again... that will be done in next few months. The government is fully aware that we need a much larger banking system by factors of multiple than what it is today,” Sanyal said, adding India’s banking system is way too small for future and needs to be expanded significantly.

Recapitalisation bonds is one of the options for infusing capital into banks, he said, adding that the government could also dilute its stake in some lenders to 52%.

“There are many options and all of them will be explored in combination,” he said.

In the last consolidation drive, five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) became part of State Bank of India (SBI) on April 1, 2017, catapulting the countrys largest lender to among the top 50 banks in the world.

Audi Unleashes #A5BratPack in India; Launch of New Audi A5 Sportback, A5 Cabriolet and S5 Sportback

Audi Bengaluru announced the introduction of the #A5BratPack in India by launching the Audi A5 Sportback, the Audi A5 Cabriolet and the Audi S5 Sportback. The powerful and flowing silhouette makes the trio truly aesthetic with abundant space inside. Beneath their skin, notably impressive traits include a newly developed suspension, high-performance drives, innovative infotainment solutions, the Audi Virtual Cockpit and the Audi Smartphone Interface. The Audi A5 Sportback, the Audi A5 Cabriolet and the new Audi S5 Sportback are priced at Rs 54,02,000, Rs 67,51,000 and Rs 70,60,000 respectively.

"2017 is the year for ‘Audi Reloaded’ and the A5 range stands for the beginning of a new era. We will continue to offer the best of luxury mobility solutions in India by introducing new models in exciting body types and by entering into new segments. With the launch of the #A5BratPack – Audi A5 Sportback, Audi A5 Cabriolet and new Audi S5 Sportback, we are proud to announce that we have already achieved our target of launching 10 products in 2017 in India.  The introduction of the Audi A5 range has further strengthened our product portfolio. The new Audi A5 range will be primarily targeting the young minded population that is instantly recognizable, the ones who have always taken on stardom and success on their terms. It packs in the design, sportiness and prestige of the Audi brand and appeals to the inner brat in us who is waiting to latch onto the excitement. The Audi A5 range will definitely catch the attention of the young minded achievers who have made a statement with their uncompromised way of thinking,” said Rahil Ansari, Head, Audi India.

“Entering into new segments and creating new trends is the key differentiation, existing and potential customers are offered the choice of products that are the right fit for them. With the launch of the A5 range, the first in its segment, we are creating a demand, which will help us to continue the successful journey in India,” added Ansari.

 “With its sophisticated technology and athletic design, we expect the Audi A5 to herald a new era for Audi in Bengaluru. It’s just the right kind of Audi for the upwardly mobile, young at heart achievers in our city. Cheers to the Bratpack,” said Rohit Malhotra, Dealer Principal, Audi Bengaluru.

At a Glance:

Exterior

·  Athletic design and outstanding aeroacoustics

·  Wave-pattern shoulder line imparts emotional elegance

·  Flatter and wider three-dimensionally modeled Singleframe grille

·  LED headlights with “4 Eye design”

·  Pronounced bulges over the wheel arches underscore the sporty DNA

·  Panoramic sunroof in the Audi A5 Sportback and Audi S5 Sportback

·  New one-touch opening function opens soft top fully automatic in 15 seconds or close it in 18 seconds – even while driving up to 50 km/h (A5 Cabriolet)

·  Acoustic Hood (A5 Cabriolet)

·  45.72 cms (R18) Cast Aluminium alloy wheels, 5 spoke design

·  LED rear lights with dynamic indicators

Interior

·         Horizontal architecture of the instrument panel creates a sense of spaciousness

·         Optional ambient lighting with 3 Colors and 30 combinations

·         480 liters (17.0 cu ft) of luggage capacity

·         Leather steering wheel in 3-spoke design with multifunction plus and gear shift paddles

Comfort

·  Front seats, electrically adjustable

·  Driver Side memory function on the Audi S5

·  Seat Upholstery in Leather/Leatherette on the Audi A5

·  Seat Upholstery in Alcantara on the Audi S5

·  4 Way Lumbar Support

·  Auto-release function

·  3-Zone deluxe automatic air conditioning

·  Interior mirrors with automatic anti-glare action

·  Exterior mirrors, electrically adjustable, heated, folded, automatic dimming

·  Luggage compartment lid, electrically opening and closing (Audi A5 & S5)

Engines and drivetrain

Ø  Audi A5 Sportback

·         2.0 litre TDI engine churns out 140 kW (190 hp) of power

·         0 to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) in 7.9 seconds

·         Seven-Speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission

Ø  Audi S5 Sportback

·         3.0 litre TFSIq engine churns out 260 kW (354 hp) of power

·         V6 turbo engine, 0 to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) in 4.7 seconds

·         Eight-Speed tiptronic, quattro all-wheel drive is standard

Ø  Audi A5 Cabriolet

·         2.0 litre TDIq engine churns out 140 kW (190 hp) of power

·         0 to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) in 7.8 seconds

·         Seven-Speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission, quattro all-wheel drive is standard

Infotainment

·  Audi’s MMI Navigation plus with MMI Touch

·  Audi Virtual Cockpit as standard, high-resolution TFT monitor 31.2 cms (12.3 inches)

·  10 GB of flash storage, 21.08 cms (8.3 inch) monitor with a resolution of 1,024 x 480 pixels

·  Optional Audi Smartphone Interface

·  Optional Bang & Olufsen Sound System with innovative 3D sound

Safety

·  Full-size 6 airbags (on A5 Sportback)

·  Full Size 4 Airbags on (A5 Cabriolet)

·  Full Size 8 Airbags on (Audi S5)

·  ABS , EBD & Traction Control

·  Cruise Control

·  Parking Aid Plus with Rear View Camera

·  Tire pressure monitoring display

·  ISOFIX child seat mounting

·  Anti-theft wheel bolts

Performance

·  quattro with self-locking center differential (On Audi A5 Cabriolet & Audi S5)

·  Audi Drive Select

·  New Electromechanical Power Steering

·  Newly developed S sport suspension (Audi S5)

·  Optional Sports Differential (Audi S5)

Comfort

·  Audi Drive Select - Comfort, Auto, Dynamic, Individual and Off-road as standard. In conjunction with adaptive air suspension, the All-road mode is added, while the Off-road mode becomes Lift/Off-road

·  Electromechanical power steering

·  4 Spoke Leather Steering Wheel with Shift Paddles

 Four Zone Deluxe Automatic Climate Control

·  Electric Steering Wheel Adjustment

·  Electrically Adj. Front Seats with Driver Side Memory

·  Electrically foldable 3^rd row seats

·  Lowering of load floor for easy luggage loading

·  Cruise Control

·  Auto Park Assist

·  360 degree Surround Camera

Infotainment

·  MMI Navigation Plus

·  MMI Touch with 8 Favourite buttons for Music, Contacts, Navigation, Place of Interest (POI)  and Radio Channels

·  Audi Smartphone Interface for Apple Carplay & Android Auto

·  Audi Phone Box with Wireless Qi-charging

·  BOSE 3D Surround Sound System – 558 watts

Safety and Assistance systems

·  Tilt Angle Sensor for Off-road & All-road modes

·  8 Airbags incl. Rear Side Airbags

·  Auto Park Assist with 360⁰ Surround View Cameras

·  Audi Pre Sense

·  Tire Pressure Monitoring System

100 Year Old Legacy Ganjam Jewellery Unveils Stunning ‘SAKURA’ Collection

Ganjam, the luxury jewellery brand, today launched a stunning new collection, ‘Sakura’, inspired by the fragility and grace of the Japanese cherry blossom.

The collection captures the ethereal beauty of the Sakura bloom through its journey of transformation from a newborn leaf to a full blossom, entirely in its jewelled glory. A major feature of the Sakura flower is its delicate nature, calmness, innocence and fragility. This handcrafted collection is a timeless metaphor for human existence, embodying a journey of transformation, growth and renewal, all brought to life through exquisite Ganjam ‘F’ coloured diamonds, pastel shades of pink and yellow sapphires, rubellites and diamond briolettes set in 18kt pink, white and yellow gold. It has been stylized into unique, Contemporary Classic designs. The collection showcases depth and ranges from suites of jewellery to individual pieces.

Speaking on the occasion, Umesh Ganjam, Joint MD, Ganjam, said, “Ganjam has always been acutely sensitive to changing lifestyle trends in the market place. The launch of this collection will allow aficionados to experience the sheer intricacies of design and meticulous craftsmanship that is synonymous with our celebrated collections. Our jewellery is designed for the contemporary woman who appreciates fine craftsmanship and attention to detail. In 2002, Ganjam had the honour of being the only Indian jewellery brand to be one of the finalists at the Gold Virtuosi’ 2, jewellery design awards that are recognised as the international ‘Oscars’ for gold jewellery design and craftsmanship.  It showcased the delicacy of a flower as well as nature’s complexity in designing something so simple. The latest offering from Ganjam, Sakura, represents nature’s unique play in creating the cherry blossom. The crafting process has been rewarding as it has taken us through a most intricate journey wherein every piece of this collection is crafted and hand assembled to exacting standards comparable to the best in the world.”

Ganjam’s association with Japan began in 2000 when the brand collaborated with Japanese artist Kazuo Ogawa. In 2002 Ganjam was the only Indian jeweller invited to participate in Japan’s celebration of 50 years of Indo-Japanese collaboration. In 2005, Ganjam was launched in Tokyo through an event called “Wings of Love.”

Conceptualized and developed by Priya Rathee, Senior Designer from the House of Ganjam, the collection has been methodically handcrafted by highly skilled craftsmen.

Sakura, will be on display from October 6, 2017 at the Bangalore Flagship store at Vittal Mallya Road.

Lava’s Z Series Smartphones Disrupts with First-Ever Money Back Challenge

LAVA International Limited; announced the launch of its in-house designed and manufactured smartphones in the ‘Z Series’ – Z60, Z70, Z80 and Z90. The Z series from LAVA focuses on providing great product experience with high end camera features like Dual Bokeh Mode and Dual Camera.  The company also announced the first-ever offer for consumers – ‘LAVA Money Back Challenge’.   This challenge has never been offered by any other brand in the mobile handset industry before and talks about the confidence the company has on its products.

The new range of Z smartphones offer premium features: –

Z60 comes with Bokeh Mode in both the front and rear cameras. This Dual Bokeh feature makes the photographs appealing by making the objects stand out from the background.

Z70 is equipped with a Fast fingerprint scanner with App encryption. You can select Apps that can be unlocked using the finger print scanner.

Z80 is a light-weight device with Piano finish design and Dual Bokeh Mode.

 Z90 has a Dual Camera to provide more visible and sharp images in low light in addition to the Dual Bokeh feature. 

 The devices are priced between Rs. 5,500/- and Rs. 10,750/- and will be available at retail stores across India and on all major e-commerce portals. 

Taking forward its brand philosophy of offering products that are high on reliability and experience, the company has launched the first-ever-in–the-industry offer called the LAVA Money Back Challenge – Under this offer, a customer can buy any LAVA phone, experience the product for 30 days and in an unlikely event of not liking the product for any reason; can return the phone within 30 days from the date of purchase and get his money back!Customers can walk into any LAVA service center to get an on-the-spot refund for their returned handset. The challenge is valid from 01 October 2017 to 31 December 2017 (both days inclusive).  

Commenting on the launch and the Money Back Challenge, Gaurav Nigam, Product Head, LAVA International said – “The new Z series smartphones are success story of our robust in-house Research & Development over the last 8 years. With these smartphones, we have been able to pack premium features with product reliability -  to provide our customers a very high product experience. Also, through the Money Back Challenge, we wish to provide confidence to our customers about the quality, reliability and experience of LAVA phones.  This challenge will serve as a confident reason, for customers, to be associated with LAVA. We are sure that customers will find our new products and the offer exciting and valuable.”

The Z series smartphones are also equipped with Microsoft SwiftKey keyboard which offers multi-lingual read and write option.  The devices come with Android 7.0 Nougat operating system.

With an established Research & Development (R&D) Centre, LAVA is in the process of spearheading the R&D roadmap amongst Indian mobile handset manufacturers in the country. At the in-house R&D Centre, with over 700-member strong team of engineers, the company undertakes key processes of mobile handset manufacturing such as -  hardware design and engineering, mechanical design, industrial design, software development for Android based smartphones and feature phones, quality assurance and quality control, manufacturing and assembly and testing.

Lava’s India-based Design Centre has kicked off operations and will be rolling out the devices, designed locally, by the end of 2017.