Muthoot Housing Finance Company Limted , subsidiary of Muthoot Fincorp Ltd. and the affordable housing finance arm of Muthoot Pappachan Group today announced the opening of its Regional Office at Banshankari 2nd Stage in Bangalore to make affordable housing a reality for the common man, in Karnataka. Presently MHFCL is present at 59 locations across 9 states and one UT. This move comes as a part of its national expansion plan to establish additional 15 new branches across the southern and northern regions. The company is focussed on making housing finance available to the common man at attractive terms and conditions . Customers can now avail affordable loan options/schemes like home loans, self construction, home extension, home improvement loan and loan against property.
Muthoot Housing Finance Company Limited will be offering a range of home loans starting from purchase from builder, resale purchase, self-construction loans, home extension, home improvement and loan against property through these branches.
Guided by the GoI’s vision of universal housing for the urban poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna with a target of building 20 million affordable houses by 31 March 2022, the company has plans to penetrate further in this Karnataka region through its wide spread distribution network and disburse Rs 750 Crs of loan in the next 3 years. Aligning to the Group’s legacy, MHFCL’s long term vision is to enable every family in India to be able to live their aspiration of owning their own home.
Pavan K. Gupta, CEO, Muthoot Housing Finance Company Limited said, “The affordable housing market in the state of Karnataka has been on an upswing owing to increased commercial activity, positive buyer sentiments, infrastructure upgrades and improved job opportunities and this is the right time for us to further strengthen our presence in this market. We are also using technology to quicken the process of approving these loans. Our team today has access to mobility solutions which help them provide a better experience to the customers and deliver solutions at their doorsteps. A ‘dream home’ is an aspiration for many, but majority of the urban poor population are not able to make this reality because of the unavaiablity of home loans facility in this segment. Muthoot Pappachan Group’s core credo is to Empower Human Ambitions and Muthoot Housing plans & efforts are all in fulfiing the Group’s vision in letter and in spirit. We aim to reach out to this segment and enable them to get faster and hassle free acccess to their dream abode”.
Talking about expansion plans, Pavan K. Gupta highlighted, “We have set ourselves an ambitious target. In Karnataka itself, we will be opening new branches at Mysore, Hubli, Gulbarga, Davangere and Shimoga in the next 6 months. We also plan to open 10 branches across northern and western states of India.”
Genpact, a global professional services firm focused on delivering digital transformation, today announced new customer experience enhancements to Genpact Cora, its modular, artificial intelligence (AI)-based platform that helps enterprises accelerate digital transformation at scale.
The new features visualize and streamline workflows from the customer’s point-of-view to enable journey-driven transformation that connects the front, middle, and back-offices. The platform also is integrating patented Cora Journey360 software from TandemSeven, which Genpact acquired in September 2017.
“As customer journeys become the defining road map for process automation, understand this: Customers do not care about arbitrary distinctions – they only care about outcomes,” wrote Rob Koplowitz, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, in a recent report.* “The strategy of focusing on front-office applications only addresses the tip of the iceberg; true automation means back-end operational experience in support of front-end user experience.”
With these new capabilities, Genpact Cora provides a single view of customer journeys and personas, data-driven dashboards to track and monitor journey effectiveness, and connectivity to underlying operations. Genpact also is incorporating TandemSeven’s expertise in customer and user experience, design thinking, and agile methodologies.
“Superior customer experience defines success in the digital world,” said Sanjay Srivastava, chief digital officer, Genpact. “Our continued investments in Genpact Cora – combined with our deep process and domain expertise from running thousands of operations for Fortune 500 companies – give our clients a competitive edge. We speed their transformation, and drive seamless customer experiences to grow their business.”
Digital transformation for greater return on investment and growth
Genpact has implemented Genpact Cora more than a thousand times, and runs billions of transactions through the platform. The new enhancements expand on existing capabilities in natural language understanding, conversational AI, computer vision, deep learning, big data, data science, data engineering, machine learning, robotic process automation, ambient computing, dynamic workflow, and software-as-a-service. The modular platform allows clients to easily integrate advanced technologies, all delivered through a mature application program interface and open, flexible architecture.
Genpact’s ongoing strategy to drive digital-led innovation and digitally-enabled intelligent operations helps clients deliver better customer experiences, and achieve greater return on investment and business impact. For example, Genpact worked with a global nutritional supplements company to automate the client’s customer relationship management and reporting processes. The transformation enhances service and allows the company to assist more customers faster, improving response time for order inquiries by 40 percent. In addition, a North American food giant deployed Genpact Cora to reimagine its trade promotion operations for competitive growth, driving significant improvements in payment accuracy, revenue leakage, and other efficiencies. Benefits over the next five years are expected to increase revenue by $105 million and improve productivity 60 percent.
LIKE App, a short video platform and mobile app with body recognition special effects, has introduced globally the first augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) feature called ‘Shaping Magic’. Expanding its reach to more LIKE users, the new feature is available for free enabling video creators to effortlessly modify the shape and form of body features from head to toe.
In India, various entertainment mobile apps offer multiple face modification features and these apps are very popular among the youth who keep experimenting with their photos/videos. LIKE’s Shaping Magic is designed to not only leverage this trend but to also offer a much more advanced feature for youth to experiment with.Based on AI Technology, Shaping Magic feature is an innovation in video application field.
The effect is entirely customizable by the end users because it enables users to adjust the degree to which their body outline/parts are modified and also re-shape individual body elements. In other words, the LIKE users can adjust their body silhouette individually. Hence, it helps in creating the perfect video by their own definition of beauty – which they control.
LIKE’s Shaping Magic feature was introduced a few days back, and today it has become one of the top features on LIKE being used by more than 25 million users in India, and 50 million users globally. The app has also witnessed significant growth in number of downloads post launch of Shaping Magic.
Aaron Wei, Global Vice President, LIKE App said, “LIKE and parent company, Bigo Technology are dedicated to being the first to ensure that everyone can experience free AI and AR technology with utmost ease. With hundreds of unique special effects, LIKE is empowering video creators to effortlessly turn their imagination into reality.”He further added that“To give our usersaunique experience, we introduced Shaping Magic effect and we have received an overwhelming response for same. We look forward to introduce more such features allowing our users to enjoy the benefits of AI technology”
Such video platform and special effects app with cutting-edge technology including AI, AR and independently innovated body recognition enhances users to create videosof their favorite heroic / fiction characters comparable to movies.
Some of the unique special effects in LIKE app includes:
1. Super Power– Augmented reality effectbased on skeleton tracking and classification technology, empowering creators to add supernatural effects that match body movement
2. 4D Magic–AI-poweredbody movement tracking paired with image editing and special effects processing that allows for interchangeable, dynamic backgrounds that can accommodate multiple people in a video
3. Music Magic– Identifies background music while accurately matching special effects to any sound,enabling users toexpress emotions freely by choosing different themes
4. Dynamic Stickers – Applies face-detection and tracking technology to enable dozens of unique and active overlays in users’ videos, such as costumes, masks and more
Jaguar Land Rover India has begun taking bookings of its fastest production car ever, the Jaguar F-TYPE SVR. Developed by the Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) team at Jaguar Land Rover, the engineers and aerodynamic experts have scrutinised every possible component to maximize the F-TYPE SVR’s performance.
Powered by a 5.0 l Supercharged V8 engine that produces 423 kW and 700 Nm of torque, the Jaguar F-TYPE SVR can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in just 3.7 s and hit a top speed of 322 km/h. The Jaguar F-TYPE SVR is available in Coupe and Convertible form.
Rohit Suri, President & Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover India Ltd. (JLRIL), said, “The new F-TYPE SVR is the first Jaguar car to have been developed by the Special Vehicle Operations. Their ideas of precision engineering reflect brilliantly in each aspect of the car. Be it design, performance or comfort; sports car enthusiasts will experience all these features when behind the wheel of the new F-TYPE SVR.”
The interiors of the car feature SVR performance seats that offer lateral support during dynamic driving. This attribute is coupled with an option of cooling, thus enhancing the overall driving experience by an impressive notch. Moreover, the lightweight Magnesium construction of the seats saves an incredible 8 kg of weight when compared with the previous generation models.
Further lightweighting has been achieved by the use of Titanium and Inconel exhaust system that saves 16 kg, while adding muscle to the roar of the F-TYPE. Forged 50.8 cm (20) alloy wheels save a further 13.8 kg, while the use of a new, larger rear bearing enables an increased stiffness of up to 37 % higher than the conventional F-TYPE rear knuckles.
Complementing the aerodynamic feasibility, the F-TYPE SVR’s V-MAX mode allows you to achieve astonishing speeds with minimum drag delivering pure driving pleasure and re-defining the art of performance. Wider Pirelli P-Zero tyres – 10 mm wider than standard F-TYPE tyres – offers improved grip and handling. Collectively, these incredible features truly highlight the F-TYPE SVR’s reputation as a powerful, agile and utterly distinctive sports car.
Lighter, faster and draped in a sleek blanket of stunning design, the new Jaguar F-TYPE SVR provides luxurious aesthetics and driver-focused performance, while retaining the comfort and daily utility provisions, atypical of all Jaguar cars.
More information on the Jaguar F-TYPE can be found on www.jaguar.in
Jaguar Product Portfolio in India
The Jaguar range in India includes XE (starting at ₹ 37.31 Lakh), XF (starting at ₹ 48.14 Lakh), F-PACE (starting at ₹ 61.91 Lakh), XJ (starting at ₹ 100.80 Lakh) and F-TYPE (starting at ₹ 134.33 Lakh). All prices mentioned are ex-showroom prices in India.
Jaguar Retailer Network in India
Jaguar vehicles are available in India through 27 authorised outlets in Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Kochi, Karnal, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Noida, Pune, Raipur, Vijayawada and Surat.
To mark the completion of one year and the magnificent response received by the TIGOR – a car that re-defined the compact sedan category, Tata Motors today announced the launch of its limited edition TIGOR BUZZ. Featuring an enhanced, revolutionary, stunning and luxurious design, this new edition is priced at Rs 5.68 lakhs for the petrol version and Rs 6.57 lakhs for the diesel version (ex – showroom Delhi), inclusive of the accessory kit. The TIGOR Buzz will be equipped with Manual Transmission (MT) and is based on the XT trim. It will be available across all dealerships in India starting today.
Speaking at the launch S. N. Barman – Head – Marketing, Sales and Customer Care, Passenger Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors mentioned, “At Tata Motors we have always focused on catering to the evolving customer demands by introducing new products and variants at regular intervals. The TIGOR BUZZ limited edition is a true reflection of our legacy of creating something unexpected and setting new trends."
He adds that the TIGOR comes with a youthful mixture of design, style and attitude. Marking a successful year today, with robust demand since its launch, it has helped us post a month on month growth. We look forward to the TIGOR BUZZ to be a step ahead towards extending this growth and customer satisfaction.
The TIGOR marked its entry as India’s 1st StyleBack and took the compact sedan category by storm post its launch. It is the 3rd largest player in its category and has won numerous awards under the compact sedan category. With class-leading driving dynamics, both engines will be available with multi-drive modes – Eco and City. Besides, it also has an efficiently designed boot with wide and clear opening using innovative 4 bar mechanism and 419 litres of space.
The TIGOR also comes equipped with complete safety with dual airbags, ABS & EBD with CSC (Corner stability control) and reverse park assist with camera. Entertainment and great sound quality are assured by Tata Motors’ renowned ConnectNext touchscreen infotainment system by from HarmanTM, with phone-based apps including navigation, thereby addressing the ever-evolving connectivity needs of customers.
Siemens’ Process Industries and Drives and Digital Factories divisions are teaming up with Bentley Systems’ Bentley Institute to establish a Process Industries Academy that will support the companies’ joint vision for cloud services and digital workflows in engineering and operations. The Process Industries Academy will help organizations to better understand and develop an effective digital strategy across all aspects of the asset lifecycle, based on the practical experience and knowledge of the industry’s leading experts.
With recent fluctuations in the oil, gas, and global energy markets, and the subsequent impact on related process manufacturing sectors, established ways of working in the process industries are now being challenged across the entire project lifecycle. Fewer capital investments in greenfield projects, and an increased focus on optimizing productivity, performance and utilization of existing assets, have prompted the process industries to examine new ways to increase competitiveness and operating revenues.
An optimal approach to project delivery and asset performance addresses the interactions and balance between an organization’s capabilities, its people, the underlying business processes and methods, all coupled with the latest technology, to consistently improve its business outcomes.
Based on the experience and knowledge of the industry’s leading experts, the Process Industries Academy will provide sessions focusing on real-world examples of the key aspects of a digital approach to capital project delivery and asset operations. Participants will discover how developing a clear digital strategy for improved collaboration, communication, and coordination between project teams creates an ideal environment to optimize information creation and digital workflows.
Eckard Eberle, CEO, Process Automation, Process Industries and Drives Division, Siemens AG, said, “The Process Industries Academy supports the development of industry best-practice approaches, while respecting the culture and traditions within today’s process industries. Our shared vision for the academy is to offer a practical, effective means for asset owners, decision makers, and program and project managers to understand the interactions and balance between teams, processes, and technologies so they can see improved project delivery and asset performance.”
Alan Lamont, vice president of Digital Advancement Academies for Bentley Systems, said, “The Process Industries Academy will offer industry professionals an environment to learn and share practical insights about business process improvements enabled by technology, so they can educate and equip their teams to be more productive and achieve the best outcomes. With academy sessions, we hope to help participants to develop a better understanding of their role and the benefits across the asset lifecycle, with practical, real-world examples of “Going Digital” to advance capital project delivery and asset operations.”
Process Industries Academies will be situated in the following locations to support the global process industry:
· Karlsruhe, Germany at Siemens’ Process Automation World
· Houston, Texas, U.S. in Bentley’s Digital Advancement Academy
· Shanghai, China at Siemens’ Process Industry Center of Excellence
The first academy session is scheduled for November 14, 2018 in Karlsruhe at Siemens Process Automation World. A half-day preview of the Process Industries Academy will be featured during Bentley’s Year in Infrastructure 2018 Conference in London on Monday, October 15.
Ness Digital Engineering, a global provider of digital transformation and custom software engineering services, has appointed Anshul Verma to Chief Sales Officer for North America, a new role for the company created to facilitate sales synergies and knowledge sharing across Ness’ go-to-market teams in North America and Europe. Verma will also help scale Ness’ sales team to support the company’s growth.
“Ness has always believed that it’s important to bring new viewpoints and ideas to our clients in their drive to be the innovators in their markets,” said Paul Lombardo, CEO of Ness. “This role helps us further cultivate the exchange of market perspectives and collaboration among our growing, go-to-market teams, and Anshul has a strong track record in helping organizations bring together the best combination of solutions and capabilities to create long-term value for existing and new clients.”
I’m excited to join a company with such a strong product engineering heritage and commitment to using that expertise to help clients disrupt markets and grow their businesses,” said Verma. “I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues at Ness who support our clients worldwide, including from multiple locations in India, to build upon our trajectory of global growth and reputation for innovation.”
Verma, an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad, was formerly the Executive Vice President and Global Head of Services at Persistent Systems. Prior to that, he held various leadership roles at HCL, where he managed two of its key vertical business segments and large, enterprise accounts. Anshul has also held sales and marketing roles at Citicorp Overseas Software Ltd., Sony Electronics, and Lowe. He is based in Seattle, Washington and will report to Lombardo.
“We are very glad to have Anshul on our team,” said Vinay Rajadhyaksha, President & Global Chief Delivery Officer of Ness. “He has an excellent background in leveraging the great software engineering talent in India and worldwide to deliver solutions that expand business for clients and the teams that support them.”
