Peps’s New ‘Zenimo’ Denim Spring Mattress to Increase its Market Share to Rs 500 Cr by 2020

Peps Industries, makers of India’s top-selling spring mattresses, today launched its premium denim mattress ‘Zenimo’ across South India. This is the first ever mattress made from denim in India. With its eyes set on capturing the market of the young and trendy, Peps looks to reach its expansion goals to be a 265 crores to 500 crores company by 2020 in the spring mattress category. Peps has always strives to ensure that their consumers get the optimal comfort level.

The founders of Peps Industries, with a cumulative experience of 60-odd years, have continuously invested in R&D and have introduced innovative products with world class technologies in the market they were the beacon of innovative product in the segment.

Speaking at the launch, K. Madhavan, Founder member & Managing Director, Peps Industries, said, “Peps has always given the utmost importance to innovation. We are proud to launch India’s first ever denim mattress. The youth today is constantly looking for comfort to keep up with their hectic lifestyle. The brand new Zenimo will cater to these needs of this consumer.

Peps has been growing at an astounding 25% CAGR. This year will be no different. Innovative products like Zenimo will help Peps expand its category of offerings. We are looking at reaching revenues of 500 crs by 2020 through such category and geographical expansions. We are now looking to expand our presence in the South East Asian market as well.”

The mattress, Zenimo, which is made from the finest denim material, provides a never-before seen uber-luxurious fusion of style and comfort. The stylish and rugged denim frame protects the mattress from wear and tear, while the pocketed spring technology gives all-weather comfort and support. Keeping in mind the young, urbane and trendy population, Zenimo gives the user the most durable, stylish and comfortable sleep possible, ensuring the user wakes up fresh, energized and ready for the day.

Commenting on the consumer desires, G. Shankar Ram, Joint Managing Director, said, “We have observed in the last five years that there has been an evident change in consumer buying patterns. There has been a growing acceptance for our high-end mattresses as now consumers want to invest in comfort as they spend 7-8 hours on the mattress which rejuvenates them and they wake up fresh. This is helping us hold on to our market leadership in the spring mattress segment. 

Manipal Hospitals Launches Blue Messenger and Fight Against 7 ‘S’ Campaign

In a bid to educate and create awareness about diabetes, Blue Messenger and 7 S campaign was unveiled at Manipal Hospitals. The campaign was flagged off by  Amulya, noted Kannada Cine star in the presence of Dr. H. Sudarshan Ballal - Chairman, Manipal Hospitals and Dr Karthik Prabhakar , Consultant & HOD Diabetes & Endocrinology. The theme of the year, ‘Women and Diabetes’ was advocated in the campaign and aimed at spreading awareness on the 7 “S” that women who also help her family members to avoid are Sweet, salt ; intake must be limited, one must fight stress, lead an active life to avoid sedentary lifestyle, fend off stress and complete abstinence from smoking and alcohol. Diabetes is preventable by adopting healthy lifestyle early in life.

Several activities were planned as a part of the campaign. Employees were encouraged to take stairs and avoid junk food.  The hospital was lit blue (colour of diabetes) in order to express solidarity for the cause. Blue Test – BMI / BP /RBS /Consultations were provided free of cost.

Speaking on the occasion Amulya, Noted Kannada Star said, “In recent times, as women are trying to find an equilibrium between their professional lives and household, they tend to ignore their health. This is a great initiative by Manipal Hospitals to make women aware about this life threatening disease. It’s important to take preventive measures to curtail the risk. Eating healthy and regular exercising are key to healthy life and I sincerely hope that women follow this religiously.”

Speaking on the occasion Dr. Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman Manipal Hospitals said, “It is estimated that the number of diabetes patients in the country is likely to go up to 120 million in next 20 years as against the current 70 million.  Good control of diabetes significantly reduces the risk of developing more complications. Though genetic factors cannot be overruled but sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise, smoking, alcohol and intake of junk food are the major culprits of type 2 diabetes. Today we must pledge to lead a healthier life and adopt preventive measures than curative.”

Dr Karthik Prabhakar, Consultant & HOD Diabetes & Endocrinology said, “Generally, women live longer than men because they have a lower risk of heart disease. But when women develop diabetes, their risk for heart disease skyrockets and death by heart failure is more likely for them.”

In parallel, with the increase in diabetes, there seems to be an increasing prevalence of gestational DM (GDM) that is diabetes diagnosed during pregnancy. GDM not only influences immediate maternal and neonatal outcomes but also increases the risk of future Type 2 diabetes in mother as well as the baby. The danger is unique because the disease can affect both mothers and their unborn child. Junk and starchy food can spike blood sugar levels and cause complications in diabetes, it’s always best to eat protein rich food with essential vitamins and minerals.

Accenture Launches Interactive Learning Platform to Helps Build Skills in AI, IoT, Security, Design Thinking

Accenture has launched the Accenture Future Talent Platform, an interactive learning platform that includes talent transformation services to help clients develop their IT workforces in critical areas such as digital, cloud, security and artificial intelligence.

Accenture has already used the platform internally to train more than 180,000 of its people globally in the latest digital technologies – or New IT – in just over 20 months. Now, through its technology consulting and talent and organization practices, Accenture is bringing these learning capabilities to clients to help them run agile, intelligent businesses.

“With technology accelerating at a breathtaking pace, companies need to upskill their people at greater speed and scale to avoid being disrupted by competitors,” said Bhaskar Ghosh, group chief executive of Accenture Technology Services. “Accomplishing this requires creating a culture of continuous learning that empowers people to build new skills. The Accenture Future Talent Platform helps companies do exactly that through a unique, interactive experience and rich curriculum.”

The Accenture Future Talent Platform integrates learning services and curriculum on as-a-service and mobile platforms to help workforces move away from traditional training and foster a culture of continuous learning. Accenture took inspiration from social collaboration trends to develop modern platforms and approaches that help clients reimagine the learning experience and their overall workforce transformation strategy—from operating models to culture to upskilling.

 “The Accenture Future Talent Platform is like Pinterest for learning,” said Sanjeev Vohra, 

group technology officer of Accenture Technology. “Subject matter experts can create or curate learning boards using the vast amount of excellent content that already exists in the open market for a better, faster learning experience, and users can interact with each other by following, commenting and contributing to their favorite boards.”

Ellyn Shook, Accenture’s chief leadership and human resources officer, said, “Our interactive, customized learning platform tailors curriculum to the specific needs of each company or individual. We crafted a scalable, cost-effective approach for a new era of learning that puts the spotlight on ‘learning anytime, anywhere’ through digital technologies.”

Accenture used its Future Talent Platform to upskill a team working with a retail client that needed critical technical skills in areas such as Adobe Experience Manager, SAP Hybris and artificial intelligence know-how to deliver projects and platforms that would improve sales and customer service. With the Accenture Future Talent Platform, the client can now launch new services on its ecommerce site 75 percent faster than previously possible.

Accenture is also leveraging its experience to help a European bank launch its own school of automation. The program will identify new roles and skills and build a training plan for a pilot, followed by a 40,000-person rollout. Accenture will also develop a curated, interactive curriculum for bank employees.

Marico’s ASCENT Foundation Concludes its 2nd Edition of ASCENT Conclave 2017 to Celebrate Growth-Ready Entrepreneurs

ASCENT Foundation, a not-for-profit, peer-to-peer learning platform for entrepreneurs, hosted its second edition of ASCENT Conclave on Saturday, November 11, 2017 at St. Regis, Mumbai. The full-day event brought together some of India’s most inspiring and recognised leaders who shared their entrepreneurial journey over the years, failure and success stories.

The event commenced with a welcome note by Harsh Mariwala (Founder, ASCENT Foundation and Chairman Marico Ltd.). Sajjan Jindal (Chairman, JSW Group) was the keynote speaker who shared interesting insights on how he was able to successfully build a billion dollar enterprise.

Piyush Pandey (Co-Executive Chairman and National Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather India and Vice-Chairman, Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific) and Siddharth Roy Kapur (Erstwhile Managing Director, The Walt Disney Company India, Founder, Roy Kapur Films) engaged in a panel discussion moderated by Roopak Saluja (Founder and CEO, The 120 Media Collective and Sooperfly) on the importance of brand-building as an essential business requisite.

The Conclave saw two fireside chats, one on business growth and the second on the art of ‘storytelling’. The business growth fireside chat saw the participation of Ameera Shah (Managing Director, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd) and Menaka Doshi (Managing Editor, BloombergQuint) who discussed ‘Scaling-up and Growth by Design’. The ‘Art of Storytelling’ fireside chat had Prasoon Joshi (CEO, McCann World Group India and Chairman, McCann (Asia Pacific) and Atul Kasbekar (Indian Fashion Photographer, Bollywood Film Producer and Entrepreneur) discussing the importance of storytelling for entrepreneurs.

A panel discussion on leadership was conducted by Vikram Bhalla (Senior Partner & Managing Director, The Boston Consulting Group) that saw the participation of Kunwer Sachdev (Managing Director and Founder, Su-Kam), Radhika Aggarwal (Co-founder, ShopClues), Vineet Rai (Co-Founder and Chairman, Aavishkaar and Intellecap Group) and Pratap Nambiar (Founder and Chairman of Thought Perfect Pte. Ltd.).

Audiences were left much inspired by the entrepreneurial growth stories of Devendra Shah (Parag Milk Foods Pvt. Ltd.), Tarun Mehta, (CEO and Co-Founder, Ather Energy)and Kanika Tekriwal (Founder and CEO JetSetGo), Sweta Mangal, (Director, MUrgency Inc.) and Roopak Saluja. These sessions were moderated by Shruti Mishra, (Assistant Features Editor, CNBC-TV18).

Lastly, the grand finale saw Tanmay Bhat (Co-Founder, All India Bakchod) like never told before. Tanmay shared the growth story of AIB – the inception of the venture, how AIB has grown over the years and how the brand has been able garner international visibility and recognition. Motilal Oswal Private Wealth Management was the lead partner at ASCENT Conclave 2017.

Harsh Mariwala, Founder, ASCENT Foundation and Chairman, Marico Ltd. commented "ASCENT Foundation’s vision is to create and enable a platform for entrepreneurs, to scale-up their enterprise and enrich their entrepreneurial journey. This year’s Conclave has proved to be yet another success with insightful content by industry leaders and experts. Their stories were perceptive, relatable and inspirational to the attending entrepreneurs. I am truly proud of the new-age breed of diverse, innovative and dynamic entrepreneurs in India who are constantly reinventing themselves."

ASCENT, with EY as the official Tabulator, announced the winners of the ASCENT Awards 2017 recognising its members in 4 categories:

1.       Innovation of the Year Award: Shilpi Kapoor, BarrierBreak Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

2.       Entrepreneur of the Year Award: Abhishek Goel, Cactus Communications

3.       Growth Strategy of the Year Award:

                     I.            (Early) Growth Strategy of the Year Award: Siddharth Hegde, Ethinos Digital Marketing

                   II.            (Mid) Growth Strategy of the Year: Avinash Godkhindi, Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services Pvt. Ltd.

                 III.            (Mid) Growth Strategy of the Year Award: Punit Thakkar, Shivaami Cloud Services Pvt. Ltd.

4.       Young Achiever of the Year Award: Ankit Mehta, ideaForge Technology Pvt. Ltd.

InterraIT Toastmasters Club Focused On Bridging Divides Globally

“India is among our core focus areas for expansion,” said Daniel Rex, CEO,  Toastmasters International. He was speaking at a  panel discussion with  Asoke K.  Laha, Founder, President & CEO, Interra Information Technologies and Pallav Verma, District Director, Toastmasters International. The discussion was part of an Open Housefocused on how Toastmasters helpemployees scale up their leadership and communication skills as well as personality development.

Under the leadership of Asoke K Laha, InterraIT transformed the information technology workspace with a view to bridge the arbitrary divide between employment and fulfilment. The InterraITphilosophy puts the individual center stage to encourage value creation based on entrepreneurial skills, team work and leadership.

The partnership with Toastmasters International is intended to develop a culture that adds innovation and commitment to common tasks and to surmountthe chasm between contract and trust, compliance and discipline, control and support, constraint and stretch.

InterraIT is one such first corporate toastmaster clubs in the capital that helps in shaping personalities. It was set up in 2006 with the idea that industry leaders play the most vital role in encouraging participation of workforce, while culture of empathy and equal opportunity towards workers goes a long way to ensure professional excellence- a win-win situation for the industry and the workforce.

The Open House session saw animated interactions with people taking away key messages from Daniel Rex who shed light on issues like insecurity at workplace, confidence while interacting with management and ways to get appraisal meeting right.

The Panchang Goes Digital with Reverie’s Indic Calendar App

Reverie Language Technologies, a pioneer in digital language technology solutions have launched an easy to access and cruft-free calendar app called Indic Calendar. Reverie’s Indic Calendar app, currently available on Google Play store, built for Indians, irrespective of their linguistic proficiency, cultural and religious affiliations.

The information on the Indic Calendar is available in 11 Indian languages – Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Assamese, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia and Punjabi.

Reverie’s visually appealing Indic Calendar app is based on lunar calendar. The calendar allows access to auspicious occasions pertaining to Hindu festivals of 29 Indian states. The calendar highlights thithi, nakshatra and rashi details based on the Panchang. It also shows the sunrise /sunset time for the day selected.

Culturally, Indians follow the panchang for auspicious tithis and nakshatras for important life decisions. The life decisions could be around travel, starting a new business or project, examination, attending interviews and various other life events.

Once downloaded, the easy to use Indic Calendar allows the user to access the auspicious dates based on their respective native states or by their choice of festival. At a time the user can search dates from three consecutive years– previous, current and the next year.

Arvind Pani, CEO and co-founder Reverie Language Technologies said “With Reverie’s Indic Calendarapp the dates can be accessed anywhere anytime, replacing the wall-hanging calendar in homes. Indic Calendar is for those looking for dates for Ratha Yatra in Jagannatha Puri or dates of Onam, Akshaytritya, Diwali, Bihu and other Indian festivals and auspicious days.”

The quick reference guide app is available for free on Google Store. Reverie’s Indic calendar occupies only 1.34 MB on the mobile device with a pleasing user-interface.

L&T Technology Services Setsup New CoE and Sales Office in Israel

L&T Technology Services Limited, a leading global pure-play engineering services company headquartered in India, today announced the establishment of LTTS’ Center of Excellence (CoE) in Jerusalem, Israel, thereby marking another key milestone in the firm’s global presence.

The CoE will be dedicated to developing and delivering end to end ASIC solutions, hardware and software based security solutions as well as next generation video solutions for global customers in the following market segments– Media, Entertainment, Telecom, Automotive and IIoT.  This will further complement LTTS’ efforts to offer innovative solutions and services and consolidate its leadership position across these market segments.

In addition to the CoE in Jerusalem, LTTS has launched a sales office in Tel-Aviv, that will be expanding the company’s business in Israel and offer the full scope of engineering services in the areas of Telecom, Semiconductors, Medical Devices, Automotive, IoT and Plant Engineering.

The establishment of the Israeli CoE is part of LTTS’ investments in next generation engineering and disruptive technologies. These include advanced capabilities in the fields of Embedded Applications, Semiconductors, Machine Learning, Security and Video. 

LTTS aims to deepen its involvement in Israel’s start-up and innovation eco system, and create new opportunities for growth with other industry players. The company started discussions with universities and technological institutes in Israel on the ways to collaborate on various R&D initiatives that can be leveraged by LTTS customers across the globe. In addition, meetings were held with officials in the Israeli Ministry of Economy & Innovation Authority, to pursue innovation initiatives supported by the government and opportunities to partner with the local economic ecosystem.

Dr. Keshab Panda, CEO & Managing Director, L&T Technology Services commented, “L&T Technology Services’ use of Digital Engineering and smart technologies is driving customer core capabilities across the globe and addressing the need for digital transformation. With Israel’s rich legacy in triggering tech innovations, we are confident in our ability to develop disruptive engineering services and create digital skill sets across embedded applications, machine learning and enhanced security, all of which are critical building blocks of the future”.

During the last few years, LTTS has already been providing value added engineering services to several global clients in Israel who are among the world’s largest technology firms. In addition to catering to their internal product development and testing needs, LTTS brings in unique engineering capabilities that range from product development to product testing and validation. Earlier this year, it was announced that LTTS, in partnership with Microsoft Israel, is developing the “Smartest Office Campus” project for a leading technology company in Israel.