Hitachi Vantara Showcases Customer Innovation at NEXT 2018 With Hitachi Transformation Awards

Hitachi Vantara, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. has announced that it will honor the winners of the Hitachi Transformation Awards, which recognize leading organizations that are transforming in new and innovative ways with the support of Hitachi solutions. Winners will be honored during an awards ceremony at Hitachi Vantara’s second annual user conference, NEXT 2018, held Sept. 25-27, 2018, in San Diego at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel.

Three winners were selected based on the substantial business outcomes they have achieved through accelerating business transformation, improving user experience, innovating with data and using the internet of things (IoT). Awards were given for the following categories: Enterprise Transformation, Excellence in IoT, and Social Innovation.

And the Winners Are…

Enterprise Transformation:

NASA Johnson Space Center: An independent agency of the United States government, NASA is responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. As a critical part of the larger NASA mission, the Johnson Space Center is home to the astronaut corps, mission control, and the Orion, Commercial Crew and International Space Station programs. With a wide reach of responsibilities, the Johnson Space Center generates significant data sets, which include the imagery downlinked from the space station. Looking to evolve to a cloud-based storage architecture, Johnson partnered with Hitachi Vantara to design and implement a uniquely complex digital repository for mission imagery. The hybrid system provides a long-life repository that enables instant access from authorized users around the world—a good fit for the space station program and its many international partners.

Excellence in IoT:

State of Andhra Pradesh Real-Time Governance: With a people-first motto, the government of Andhra Pradesh, India strives to provide an agile and efficient public service delivery system benefitting nearly 50 million citizens in a 360-degree life cycle approach through its Real Time Governance (RTG) initiative. With the help of Real Time Governance, Andhra Pradesh can now swiftly resolve citizen grievances and monitor infrastructure projects, incidents, weather and climatic events across the state in real time, leveraging technology services. RTG is able to analyze big data sets gathered from various sources with the help of Hitachi to make insightful decisions that vibrantly transform citizen services. Keeping technology in its mind and citizen centricity in its heart, Real Time Governance is set to revolutionize governance in Andhra Pradesh, catalyzing government operations to create a safer, more efficient and sustainable society.

Social Innovation:

Smart Payments by Nets: Smart Payments, a specialized innovations business unit founded by leading European digital payments provider Nets and headquartered in Denmark, aims to be at the forefront of payment innovation and create value to its customers by leveraging emerging technologies in designing the payment experiences of tomorrow. In the pursuit of creating an easier tomorrow for their customers, Smart Payments by Nets partnered with Hitachi to co-create advanced, next-generation payment solutions. Using biometric technologies, Smart Payments by Nets and Hitachi created a payment solution that instantly scans a user’s finger vein patterns and links it to their domestic debit card, Dankort, providing a fast, convenient and secure way to pay. Smart Payments by Nets works to make radical payment innovation that impacts people’s everyday lives.

“The Hitachi Transformation Awards give us a great opportunity to showcase our remarkable customers and recognize the success they’ve achieved transforming their businesses by using the power of their data,” said Scott Kelly, chief operating officer and chief transformation officer of Hitachi Vantara. “This year’s winners have demonstrated creativity and leadership in their respective fields to change the way they work, and Hitachi Vantara is proud to partner with and honor these outstanding accomplishments.”

Additionally, Hitachi recognizes the following honorable mentions for their compelling stories of transformation built using Hitachi technologies and services:

2018 Hitachi Transformation Award Honorable Mentions

Deluxe: Deluxe, a financial services and small business marketing company, can now better manage costs and achieve efficient destination targets using a world-leading, managed-services cloud ecosystem.
City of Las Vegas: The City of Las Vegas is working with Hitachi Vantara to create a new, dynamic and connected city to fuel innovation, efficiency, and new ways of government to better the experience for residents, businesses and visitors.
PT. Angkasa Pura II (Persero): PT. Angkasa Pura II (Persero), one of the state-owned enterprises engaged in airport services and airport-related services in the western part of Indonesia, uses video analytics to improve operational management, increase awareness and provide an excellent customer experience for over 100 million passengers annually.

Designate April 15 as Indian National Aviation Day: MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar wrote to Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation urging him to designate April 15 as Indian National Aviation Day

A aviation buff himself, Rajeev Chandrasekhar proposed the Union Minister to to consider allocating a specific day for the Celebration of National Aviation Day.

“April 15 marks the birthday of the Padma Vibhushan awardee, Indian Air Force Marshal Arjan Singh, DFC who was awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his distinguished service in commanding the IAF during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, and in 1966 became the first IAF officer to be promoted to air chief marshal. Also, in 2002, he became the first and only officer of the Indian Air Force to be promoted to five-star rank as Marshal of the Indian Air Force. This makes the date a popular and a suitable choice for celebrating and commemorating the heritage and success of the Indian Aviation Industry in the form of National Aviation Day.” Chandrasekhar wrote in his letter.

“National Aviation Day would be India’s celebration of excellence in aviation; an occasion to recognize our air prowess and its stature in the global aviation industry. It would also be an occasion to celebrate the countless men and women who work round the clock to ensure the safety, strength, and success of the Indian Aviation Industry. It would also honor the pioneers who opened the skies as a way to connect people and move goods safely and quickly within our large nation and around the world.” the MP said.

Citing the reason for the need for celebrating the National Aviation Day, Chandrasekhar  said that the National Aviation Day, if designated would offer Indians an opportunity to witness and engage with the vibrant industry as well as also encourage the youth  of India to pursue careers in Indian Aviation and its allied industries.

He said that the United Nations has earmarked December 7 as the International Civil Aviation Day to raise awareness of the importance of international civil aviation. Many countries like the USA, Spain, Israel, Korea, Norway, Germany are few such countries that celebrate National Aviation Day to celebrate the history and development of aviation in their respective countries.

“Given the significant contributions of aviation in India, we must promote the growth, accessibility, and contributions of this sector. I, therefore, urge you to designate April 15 as Indian National Aviation Day, to celebrate the meaningful engagement of the aviation industry in India with millions of Indian Citizens and commemorate the heritage and celebrate the success of the Indian Aviation Industry.” Rajeev concluded in his letter

Recently, the fully restored Dakota DC-3 bearing the Tail Number VP 905 and called “Parashurama” was gifted to the Indian Air Force by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha on behalf of his father Air Commodore M K Chandrasekhar (Retd) VM, VSM, on 13th February 2018. It was formally inducted into the IAF Vintage Flight on May 4 2018 in a grand ceremony at Air Force Station Hindan.

Critical Illness Cover for each Family Member in 1 Policy, 1 Premium

Expenses associated with critical illness treatment are only increasing in the country. Medical or health insurance is essential to cope with these expenses, however, they may not be enough to manage the financial burden that comes along with a critical illness, especially if the illness strikes the breadwinner of the family. Typically most of the Indian population dips into its savings or other investments to meet their expenses arising due to illness. This often leads to their life goals getting derailed. Furthermore, mediclaim/hospitalisation plans have limits and sub-limits restricting individual to claim the expenses incurred. Many feel that a hospital reimbursement / mediclaim plan is enough to cover all healthcare expenses including critical illness, forgetting that critical illness comes with several ancillary expenses, including loss of income, when the illness strikes the breadwinner.

Keeping these key insights in mind, Bajaj Allianz Life, one of India’s leading life insurance company, launched a critical illness cover, Bajaj Allianz Life Health Care Goal, today. In this plan, a family of up to 6 members can be covered under one policy in one premium. The plan has other unique features designed to help Indians manage most of the expenses arising due to critical illnesses.

Speaking at the launch, Tarun Chugh, MD & CEO, Bajaj Allianz Life, said, “We are here to offer our customers an extensive product portfolio to help them achieve their life goals. Being impacted by a critical illness and not having enough backing to manage the financial burden, could derail our customers’ life goals journey. Hence, we are happy to introduce a robust critical illness product where an entire family can be covered under a single policy, to ensure that our customers are able to focus on getting better rather than worrying about the expenses associated with the illness. For instance, our family cover feature. It ensures life goals of others in the family don’t get impacted, in case of a critical illness within the family. The product is simple and holistic, designed keeping our customers’ needs and insights in mind.”

Unique features of Bajaj Allianz Life Health Care Goal

1.Family and individual cover: A policyholder can cover his entire family (up to six members) under one policy with one premium. Each individual in the family will be covered by a separate sum assured (family: self + spouse + children). Furthermore, a claim made for one member does not reduce the sum assured of others.

2. Return of Premium: Offering more value to customers, Bajaj Allianz Life Health Care Goal comes with the Return of Premium feature. Here, at the end of policy term the company returns all the premium paid towards the policy, in case no claim has been made in the policy (comes with two variants of the policy*).

a. Waiver of Premium: This is applicable in all the four variants* of the product. Under the family variant, in case the policy holder were to have permanent total disability due to accident, or suffer a critical illness or is deceased, then the company will waive away all the future premium payments.

3. Cover for 36 critical illnesses: Critical illnesses covered include heart, lung, liver, cancer, brain surgery, major head trauma, multiple sclerosis and more. It is the only critical illness policy by a life insurer to cover Encephalitis and Bacterial Meningitis, critical illnesses affecting children.

4. Payment in lump sum: To help policyholders manage expenses associated with critical illness the sum assured is paid in lump sum on the detection of the illness. Furthermore, the policyholder can claim the benefit of this plan in addition to the hospital reimbursement they may have. This ensures they have ample funds to manage the expenses arising due to the critical illness.

*Four variants of Bajaj Allianz Life Health Care Goal, offering individual or family cover and the plus variants provides the  option to receive the premiums paid on maturity. 
• For Individuals: Critical Long Term Health Care and Critical Long Term Health Care Plus
• For family (policyholder, spouse, children): Long Term Family Health Care, Long Term Family Health Care Plus
The critical illness policy is a regular/limited premium payment plan with monthly, quarterly, half yearly and yearly premium payment options. It can be purchased online or through the company’s extensive sales channels.

Bajaj Allianz Life Health Care Goal, offering cover for 36 critical illnesses to each family member in a single policy with one premium, is one of the essential to be a part of a policyholders’ portfolio. It will ensure life goals aren’t impacted and are on track, and the financial burden of a critical illness is managed effectively.

Mahindra Group to go Carbon Neutral by 2040; Focus on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Power

India’s leading manufacturer of utility vehicles and part of the USD 20.7 billion Mahindra Group, today announced its commitment to become a carbon neutral company by 2040. Mahindra will focus on energy efficiency and the use of renewable power to achieve this target. Residual emissions will be addressed through carbon sinks.

Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group and co-chair of the Global Climate Action Summit currently under way in San Francisco committed that his entire group of businesses would become carbon neutral.

This is significant because earlier Mahindra had pledged that only its flagship company - Mahindra & Mahindra - would become carbon neutral by 2040. However, after listening to leaders speak at the Summit, he upped the ante on his commitment by extending that pledge to the entire group.

“We are doing our part in the global fight against climate change with this ambitious new target. Mahindra will leverage the latest technological advances and its recently announced Carbon Price to work towards being carbon neutral by 2040.”

M&M was the first company in the world to commit to doubling energy productivity by signing on to The Climate Group’s program EP100. Using energy efficient lighting, efficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), motors and heat recovery projects, Mahindra & Mahindra has doubled the energy productivity of the automotive business almost 12 years ahead of schedule. The farm equipment business is also ahead of schedule in achieving its goal and is more than half-way there.

The company was also the first Indian company to announce its internal Carbon Price of $10 per ton of carbon emitted to fund investments required to pursue the path of carbon neutrality. The price was carefully arrived at on the basis of international benchmarks and an assessment of what was required to achieve the goals set by the business on energy efficiency and renewable energy.

The company has more than 10 years of experience in creating carbon sinks. It looks forward to using this experience to deal with residual emissions in a manner that is world class and follows the best established protocols.

M&M will be working on its carbon neutrality commitment with the international non-profit organization Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), which works with leading companies to raise the bar for corporate sustainability leadership. It will continue to work with EDF and other leading partners as it implements actions towards achieving carbon neutrality.

M&M is also a signatory of the Science based targets initiative which provides companies with a clear pathway for reducing emissions in line with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. All these commitments are helping the company on its path to go carbon neutral. 

Sunil Shah Appointed CEO for Societe Generale Global Solution Centre and its European Business Services

Societe Generale announces  the appointment with immediate effect of Sunil Shah as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Societe Generale’s solution centres: Societe Generale Global Solution Centre (India) and Societe Generale European Business Services (Romania).

Based in Bangalore and reporting to Christophe Leblanc, Group Head of Corporate Resources and Innovation, Sunil will oversee the centres delivering services on Information Technology, Banking operations, Finance and Research, for Societe Generale across the globe.

Located across India (Bangalore and Chennai), and Romania (Bucharest), the centres are comprising over 9,000 employees. With the talent adept at new emerging technologies, Sunil will further drive the digital transformation initiatives, innovation and creation of new services and solutions for Societe Generale.

Commenting on Sunil’s appointment, Christophe Leblanc said, “We are delighted to appoint Sunil as CEO of Societe Generale Global Solution Centre and the European Business Services. Sunil has over two decades of significant experience in the financial services sector spanning investment banking, asset management, financial services and information technology and has also been with the organization for over 7 years. He will be the right person to drive the company towards our vision of heightened client centricity and digital transformation goals.”

Biography

Sunil joined SG GSC in 2011 as Head of ITEC. Since 2015 he is leading all delivery verticals as Deputy CEO of SG GSC. Sunil has over 25 years of experience in IT and BFSI industry groups. He joined Societe Generale Global Solutions Centre in 2011 as Deputy CEO and was responsible for Operations, IT and KPO services. Prior to that, Sunil has worked with Fidelity for over 7 years and led the asset management IT team. He also worked with Infosys for over a decade managing large programs for financial services firms and consulting assignments across India and global locations.

Sunil holds a Computer Science Engineering Degree from the University of Mysore, and an MBA from INSEAD, Singapore and France.

Aadhar Housing Finance Ltd NCD Issue to Open from September 14, 2018 with Attractive Interest Rate upto 9.75% Per Annum

Aadhar Housing Finance Limited (the “Company”), a deposit taking housing finance company registered with the NHB and focused on providing affordable housing financing products for the EWS and LIG segment in India, in tier 2 to tier 4 cities and towns, proposes to open public issue of Secured Redeemable Non-Convertible Debentures (“NCDs”) of face value of Rs. 1,000 on September 14, 2018, 1,40,00,000 for an amount of Rs. 50,000 lakhs (“Base Issue Size”) with an option to retain oversubscription up to Rs. 90,000 lakhs aggregating up to Rs. 1,40,000 lakhs (“Tranche 1 Issue Limit”) (“Tranche 1 Issue”).

The Issue is scheduled to close on September 28, 2018 with an option of early closure or extension as decided by the Board of Directors of the Company (“Board”) or the Working Committee.

Ratings by CARE Ratings & Brickwork Ratings India: Outlook: Stable

The NCDs proposed to be issued under this Issue have been rated ‘CARE AA+ (SO) ((Pronounced as CARE Double A Plus Structured Obligation); Outlook: Stable)’ for an amount of `3,00,000 lakhs, by CARE Ratings Limited (“CARE”) and ‘BWR AA+ (SO) (Pronounced as BWR Doub le A Plus (Structured Obligation)), Outlook: Stable (for an amount of `3,00,000 lakhs, by Brickwork Ratings India Private Limited (“Brickwork”) The rating of CARE AA+ (SO); Outlook: Stable by CARE and BWR AA+ (SO), Outlook: Stable by Brickwork indicate that instruments with this rating are considered to have high degree of safety regarding timely servicing of financial obligations. Such instruments carry very low credit risk.

Allotment is on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Issue Structure:

Tenure 3 years (Category I, II, III and IV)

Series I: Frequency of Interest Payment “NA”. Coupon Rate: “NA”. Effective Yield: 9.60%.

Series II: Frequency of Interest Payment Annual. Coupon Rate: 9.60%. Effective Yield: 9.59%.

Tenure 5 years (Category I, II, III and IV)

Series III: Frequency of Interest Payment Monthly. Coupon Rate: 9.25%. Effective Yield: 9.65%.

Series IV: Frequency of Interest Payment Annual. Coupon Rate: 9.65%. Effective Yield: 9.64%.

Tenure 10 years (Category I, II, III and IV)

Series V: Frequency of Interest Payment Monthly. Coupon Rate: 9.35%. Effective Yield: 9.75%.

Series VI: Frequency of Interest Payment Annual. Coupon Rate: 9.75%. Effective Yield: 9.74%.

[Category IV] Investors (Retail Individual Investors) are defined as Resident Indian Individuals and Hindu Undivided Families through the Karta applying for an amount aggregating up to and including Rs. 10,00,000 across all options of NCDs in the Tranche I Issue.

At least 75% of the net proceeds of the Public Issue of NCDs will be used for the For the purpose of onward lending, financing, and for repayment of interest and principal of existing borrowings of the Company. A maximum of up to 25% will be used for general corporate purposes.

The NCDs offered through the Shelf Prospectus and the Tranche I Prospectus are proposed to be listed on BSE Limited (“BSE”). BSE Is the Designated Stock Exchange.

The Lead Managers to the Issue are YES Securities (India) Limited, Edelweiss Financial Services Limited, YES Bank Limited, Axis Bank Limited, A. K. Capital Services Limited, Green Bridge Capital Advisory Private Limited and Trust Investment Advisors Private Limited.

Luminous Unveils “Regalia”, India's First Wall Mounted Smart Power Backup System

Luminous Power Technologies, India’s leading power back-up specialist, announced the launch of REGALIA in the southern states of the country today. It’s a revolutionary lithium ion based power back-up system that can be wall mounted and comes loaded with multiple user-friendly features. Regalia is a compact power back-up system that is designed in an aesthetically pleasing and modern style with an expected lifespan of up to 10 years. It uses the integrated lithium ion battery technology which makes it maintenance free and removes the need of periodic water top up. Regalia is also future ready, offering consumers the option to charge Regalia with regular mains supply or through solar panels harnessing abundant solar energy.

Speaking at the launch, Vipul Sabharwal, Managing Director, Luminous Power Technologies, said, “At Luminous we consistently strive towards excellence in quality and performance. We take great pride to come up with path-breaking products Indian consumers have never seen before. Regalia is our most sophisticated and smartest power back-up system. With Regalia, we are bringing a whole new experience to our consumers that will change the way power back-up technology is perceived. Regalia is smart, safe, stylish, solar ready, has an everlasting battery and is maintenance free. It truly is a revolutionary power back-up system. We feel that the tech-oriented markets in Southern India are ready to adopt a high-tech product like Regalia.”

Regalia is designed to suit modern sensibilities to seamlessly blend with the home décor for both contemporary and traditionally styled homes. It enables users to stay connected using Wi-Fi. It also has a touch screen to view backup time, charging time or for configuration. It is safe, eliminating the risk of accidental contact by doing away with wires, terminals and includes an in-built safety mechanism to protect appliances from voltage surges and short circuits.