Central Mall Unveils #StripToShorts by Actress Kriti Kharbanda

Central, the flagship retail format of Future Lifestyle Fashions, today launched its #StripToShorts campaign at the JP Nagar Central. The campaign was unveiled in an exciting event by popular actress Kriti Kharbanda. 

With the onset of summer, the Strip to Shorts campaign by Central is perfectly timed. As the hottest time of the year is here, Central has brought to shoppers the best collection of shorts along with amazing offers to chill with this summer. With the rising mercury level, shorts seem to be the best thing to laze around in. 

With Central’s #StripToShorts campaign, fashionistas can now buy shorts for simply nothing at all Central stores. Shoppers can now buy shorts worth Rs.2000 and get Rs.1000 cashback on Future Pay. Additionally, they will also get after-shopping benefits worth Rs.1000 on Food or Gold class movies.

Vishnu Prasad, CEO at Central, said “With the onset of summer, fashion becomes all about being comfortable. With this thought, we have launched the Strip to Shorts campaign. Shorts is one thing that is fashionable yet comfortable which makes it perfect for summers.”

The launch saw popular actress Kriti Kharbanda talk about Central’s #StripToShorts campaign. The audience also got to click a few selfies with her and were super exhilarated. 

The flagship retail format of Future Lifestyle Fashions, Central is a chain of fashion departmental stores located in central areas of large Indian metropolises and cities. Central stores are large-format stores measuring anywhere between 60,000 square feet to 230,000 square feet and offering over 500 Domestic & International brands across every category including men’s-wear, casual wear, ethnic-wear, women’s-wear, kids wear, footwear, accessories, home products, health and beauty. 

These stores, often located in standalone locations also have food-courts, restaurants, supermarkets and electronics superstores built within. Central stores are located in large cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad and Gurgaon, as well as smaller cities like Baroda, Indore, Vizag, Patna and Surat. At present there are 33 Central stores present in 20 cities operating over 3 million square feet of retail space across India

Bajaj Electricals Launches India’s First IoT Enabled Air Coolers

The Bajaj Electricals today launched Bajaj Cool.INXT, billed as the first of its kind Internet of Things (IoT) enabled air cooler.

 The company said it aims to improve customer's experience  through smart technology and intuitive designs. It expected a huge potential for IoT enabled air coolers, not only from the residential space but also commercial space.

 Speaking on the launch, joint managing director of Bajaj  Electricals, Anant Bajaj said, "We are extremely excited and  proud to launch India's first IoT enabled air cooler. Real intelligence is when technologies interact with one another to make things effortlessly happen."

 Croma will be the lead partner to launch the product. Bajaj did not disclose the IoT based air-cooler's price.      The key features of Cool.INXT, which differentiates it from other coolers, is that it can be controlled through art mobile app, iR remote and digital control panel on the cooler.      The cooler with a 22 litre water holding capacity has easy Wi-Fi and internet enabled operation with mobile app, intelligent sensor that reads the temperature and humidity of the room.

It also has ice chamber for faster cooling. To a question whether the company has done any study whether the air cooler is fit for the asthma patients too, Bajaj said this aspect will be looked into as the company comes out with an updated version in future.

Vu TV Launches Voice Assistant Smart Android TV with Google

Vu Technologies on Tuesday announced the launch of the Vu Official Android TV in Bangalore.

The 4K Smart TV operates on Android 7 Nougat. The Vu Official Android TV unlocks official access to the Google Play Store, YouTube, Google Games, and the complete Google ecosystem.

In addition to the partnership with Google, Vu has also partnered with video on demand service providers like Netflix, Hotstar, and ALTBalaji.

A distinct feature of the Vu Official Android TV is its ActiVoice feature. The ActiVoice remote helps users to seamlessly search, browse and select in 88 languages. The ActiVoice Search intelligence is also enabled to search within apps and recommend results according to a user’s preference.

Vu Technologies launches a new series of Vu official AndroidTM TV. The 4K Smart TV operates on the licensed operating system of AndroidTM 7.0 Nougat. This Android-powered TV unlocks official access to the Google Play Store, YouTube, Google Games, and the complete Google ecosystem. In addition to the company’s partnership with Google, Vu has also partnered with leading Video on demand service providers like Netflix, Hotstar, and ALTBalaji, to provide certified VOD apps thus allowing users to access unlimited and latest content in an authorised manner.

The TV is equipped with ActiVoice feature in a remote, which helps users to search, browse and select in 88 languages. The ActiVoice search intelligence is also enabled to search within apps and recommend results according to a user’s preference.

Vu’s TV ensures a 4K picture quality along with built‐in sound bar (10W + 10W) with DTS TruSurround and Dolby Digital support. The TV has a storage capacity of 16GB and runs on a quad-core processor. The company also promises to upgrade to the latest Android OS in the future.

Additionally, integrated with Chromecast, the Vu Official Android TV supports mobile and desktop casting and is available in 43-inches, 49-inches, and 55-inches and are priced at Rs 36,999, Rs 46,999, and Rs 55,999 respectively. The TV will be available for sale via Vu’s exclusive online distribution partner Flipkart.com and Vu’s flagship stores starting 16th March 2018.

Bandhan Bank IPO Price Band at Rs 370-375 Closes on March 19

Bandhan Bank Ltd, the newest among the private lenders said it will launch an IPO (initial public offering) of Rs 4,473 crore on March 15. The issue closes on March 19. The Kolkata-based bank, which transformed into a bank in 2015 from a micro-finance institution in 2001, will be selling up to 119.3 million shares in a price range of Rs 370-375 each in the IPO, according to a statement by the bank.

Kotak Mahindra Capital, Axis Capital, Goldman Sachs, JM Financial and J.P. Morgan are the banks managing the IPO. Bandhan will use the proceeds of the issue to expand its network to other parts of the country and also invest in technology, said Chandra Sekhar Ghosh, MD and CEO of Bandhan Bank. The bank will bring down the promoter holding to 82 per cent from 89 per cent post the IPO.

The Reserve Bank of India’s guidelines mandates banks to get listed within three years from the commencement of banking operations. Bandhan Bank started operations in August 2015. The bank is the first microfinance institution to receive universal banking licence.

Axis Bank Building Robust Digital Banking Ecosystem with New Axis OK and Axis Pay UPI

Axis Bank's mobile banking spends touched Rs. 51,030 cr in Q3FY18, increasing 71% YoY, thereby reinforcing the Bank's commitment to accelerate the ‘Digital India’ agenda. Equally compelling is to note that over 66% of the Bank’s transactions were made through ‘digital modes’ in Q3FY18 as against 52% in Q1FY17. 

The Bank’s focus on cards, both credit and debit, also continues to remain high with Axis continuing to be the market leader in installing ‘card-acceptance terminals’ – as of Q3FY18, the number stood upwards of 479,200. Also, Axis Bank continues to invest in newer cashless and digital payment methods, which would help get a larger population to embrace digital payments. AxisPay UPI has also witnessed over 10.4 million registrations since its launch accounting for over 65 lakh Virtual Payment Addresses (VPAs).

Speaking at the press meet, Rajiv Anand, Executive Director – Retail Banking, Axis Bank, said, “The Government’s focus on making the country embrace digital payments has been relentless. With digital transactions touching the Rs. 1 billion mark in December last year, we at Axis Bank truly believe that the adoption of digital transactions has gained momentum, thanks to the multiple initiatives taken by the centre.  ‘Payments’ has always been at the core of Axis Bank’s business priorities and it is heartening to note that consumers continue to embrace the various digital modes of payment. We have always taken the lead in helping the customers in their ‘digital journey’ through our sustained commitment towards safe, convenient and innovative digital channels.”

As per data released by the Reserve Bank of India, in January this year, banking transactions through digital mode rose 6.57% to Rs. 1.06 billion in December from Rs. 998.5 million in November. This was the first time that the transaction volume crossed the Rs. 1 billion mark. The overall value of these transactions was also the second highest in a month in the last one year. Transaction worth about Rs. 125.51 trillion were carried out in December through credit and debit cards, the unified payments interface (UPI), unstructured supplementary service data (USSD), prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) and internet banking.

In May 2017, Axis Bank launched Axis OK - a lite, secure and easy-to-use multilingual mobile app to empower users with basic feature phones to access basic banking digitally, without heavy data consumption. The app, which is under 900 kb in size, is one of the lightest banking applications with an aim to offer digital banking services to a large number of customers.

Axis Bank's commitment towards providing a congenial environment for the startup community has been exemplified through its ‘Thought Factory’ located in Bengaluru. This is a one-of-its-kind innovation lab which empowers and provides a platform for startups to expand and create avenues with investors and companies. 

Sasken 5G, Cellular V2X, and Computer Vision & Machine Learning-based Automotive Solutions Showcased at Mobile World Congress 2018

Sasken Technologies Ltd., (formerly Sasken Communication Technologies Ltd.), a leading product engineering and digital transformation solutions provider, recently participated in Mobile World Congress held from February 26 to March 1, 2018, in Barcelona, Spain. At the event, Sasken showcased its expertise in the areas of 5G, Cellular V2X, and Computer Vision & Machine Learning-based Automotive Solutions.

At MWC 2018, Sasken displayed its solutions for the autonomous car such as mobile application for Driver Alertness Detection/Warning, Object Detection, Lane Detection and Warning and Auto Tagging solution. Sasken also showcased a solution for V2V breakdown which shows how a vehicle is warned (using V2V) about a collision or accident in front of it. This help the vehicle take corrective action such as changing the route, slowing down, etc.

Speaking about Sasken’s participation in the event, Hari Haran, President, Global Sales, Marketing, and Business Lines, Sasken, said, ‘’We were delighted to be part of this year’s Mobile World Congress, as it provided a fantastic opportunity for Sasken to highlight its expertise globally. Sasken is enabling its clients to lead into the future by leveraging our deep domain expertise, cutting edge competencies, and unique value propositions. A significant percentage of our customers have been engaged with us for over two decades. This is testimony to our stellar track record of delivering quality and value to our customers. MWC 2018 was a great kick-start to the year as it served as a key platform for industry leaders to witness the latest technology advancements that will drive tomorrow’s future.”

Today, Sasken is enabling over 100 customers worldwide to build their flagship products. These include end-to-end development of LTE-based satellite terminals and solutions for the Connected and Autonomous car (V2X, ADAS and infotainment). Sasken is enabling its industrial customers to develop next-gen products for their smart factories. Sasken is also investing in accelerating 5G deployment that will make V2X connectivity, digitizing factory floor, and automated driving possible.

For close to three decades, Sasken has been serving some of the world’s leading semiconductor companies, automotive tier-1s/OEMs, smart device and rugged device OEMs, and satellite service providers in building world-class products. Sasken is working with leaders in the IoT ecosystem to enable cognitive technologies and data-driven solutions for a better tomorrow.