L&T Infrastructure Finance Revises its Prime Lending Rate; Increases PLR by 25 Bps

L&T Infrastructure Finance Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of L&T Finance Holdings Ltd, has announced a revision in its Prime Lending Rate (PLR). The company has increased the PLR by 25 bps to 16.00% from 15.75% for all eligible loans linked to PLR effective September 14, 2018. 

As on June 30, 2018, the wholesale finance loan book stands at Rs. 45,945 cr. with disbursements amounting to Rs. 8,665 cr. in Q1FY19. L&T Infrastructure Finance is the market leader in its focused areas of Infrastructure Finance - renewables, roads and transmission. The company’s strength lies in its strong underwriting ability, structuring and syndication capabilities and providing all infrastructure finance related services under one roof.

Kalyan Jewellers Invests Rs 125 Cr to Launch Flagship Showroom in South-Extension, New Delhi

A new landmark is set to shine in the tony neighbourhood of South Extension, New Delhi with the opening of Kalyan Jewellers’ flagship showroom on September 28, 2018. With an investment of Rs. 125 cr., the showroom in the capital city promises to be the crown jewel in the Kalyan Jewellers global network of 132 outlets. The flagship showroom of Kalyan Jewellers in South Extension I is spread over 2 dedicated floors with ample parking.  The showroom will offer customers a personalised jewellery shopping experience with a wide variety of contemporary and traditional designs.

Customers will be able to browse through Kalyan Jewellers’ myriad designs and selections for everyday as well as bridal wear and festive occasions.  Collections like Muhurat, the bridal jewellery line curated from across India, Tejasvi – Polki jewellery, Mudhra - handcrafted antique jewellery, Nimah – temple Jewellery, Glo – dancing diamonds, Ziah – Solitaire like diamond jewellery, Anokhi – uncut diamonds, Apoorva – diamonds for special occasions, Antara – wedding diamonds, Hera – daily wear diamonds and Rang – precious stones jewellery will enthral patrons at the flagship showroom. 

T. S. Kalyanaraman, Chairman and Managing Director, Kalyan Jewellers Ltd. said, “In the last four years Kalyan Jewellers has managed to establish itself as one of the most preferred jewellery brands in the NCR region. Our significant presence with 8 showrooms across the region and the large investment in a flagship showroom reiterates our commitment to grow our presence. The exciting part of our flagship showroom is the ability to give our customers a superior value proposition with the best of quality, world class designs, and service standards conceived for a memorable shopping experience.”

The second quarter of the current financial year has seen Kalyan Jewellers opening 10 showrooms across Indore, Kanpur, Ranchi, Raipur, Guwahati, Nagpur and Bengaluru. The launch of the flagship showroom in Delhi marks the second phase of its stated expansion plan of Rs.1000 cr. over 20 showrooms during this fiscal. The present showroom expansion is being met through internal accruals, without any bank borrowings or capital dilution.

Today, Kalyan Jewellers has 132 showrooms in India and Middle East. The brand also has a presence online through candere.com.

Tata Motors to Showcase its Indigenously Build Combat Vehicles at the BIMSTEC Nations Summit 2018

Tata Motors, India’s largest private sector land mobility player in the Defence space, will showcase its two flagship vehicles that have substantial export potential at the BIMSTEC Nations Summit 2018 in Pune. The vehicles that will be exhibited to the Army Chiefs and nearly 400 plus army officers from BIMSTEC Nations include the Tata 4X4 Mine Protected Vehicle (MPV) and the WhAP8x8 ICV (CO developed with the DRDO). It demonstrates Tata Motors expertise in the combat range and its commitment to the “Make-In-India For Defence” policy of the Government of India.

Tata Motors have recently signed major military vehicle supply contracts with BIMSTEC Nations in that include Tata Xenon GS 800 to Myanmar, Tata Mine Protected Vehicles for UNIFIL, MONUSCO & MALI Missions, Tata 2.5T GS LPTA 715 4x4 to Myanmar and Thailand, Tata 5T GS LPTA 1628 4x4 to Nepal and Mission specific logistic vehicles for UN Peacekeeping missions sent by these Nations.

Commenting on the occasion, Vernon Noronha, Vice President, Defence & Government Business, Tata Motors Limited said, “Our defence mobility portfolio has grown from strength to strength, offering a range of combat, armoured, combat support & logistics vehicles that have been popular in supporting the military, paramilitary & police forces in their multifarious operations. Our International customers are aware that Tata military vehicles in use by the Indian Armed Forces are inducted by them, only after grueling pre-purchase testing (spread over years in different terrain and climate conditions) to exacting military standards. This also helps Tata Motors build confidence with foreign militaries on durability and maintainability aspects.”

“Our products on display - Tata 4X4 Mine Protected Vehicle (MPV) and the WhAP 8x8 Infantry Combat Vehicle is a validation of our truly indigenous expertise to offer mobility solutions for counter insurgency and combat operations of Security forces in India and abroad”, he further added.

Tata Motors flagship product WhAP8x8 (Wheeled Armoured Amphibious Platform) is India’s First Infantry Combat Vehicle, designed for optimised survivability, all-terrain performance and increased lethality – Jointly developed with the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Tata Motors is the first private sector OEM in India to have developed a WhAP in a record period of 18 months. It is a fully loaded vehicle with safety features such as Blast protection, Ballistic Protection and NBC protection. Modulatory and Scalability features, helps this vehicle to be easily modified to cater to various terrain condition and missions. A low maintenance vehicle, with a seating capacity of 10+2 people, the WhAP8x8 comes in various variants such as Armoured Fighting vehicles, CBRN vehicle, Recce & Support vehicle, Medical Evacuation vehicle, Engineer Squad vehicle, Mortar Carrier, Commander’s vehicle and Anti-Tank Guided Missile vehicle.

Mine Protected Vehicle (MPV) with 4x4 Configuration, is developed to serve as a mine-proof troop transport vehicle, a law enforcement special response vehicle used to counter insurgency, or an escort protection vehicle. The vehicle comes with best-in-class ground clearance for enhanced cross country mobility. The high power to weight ratio gives enhanced acceleration and maximum speed for quicker response during emergency situation.

Tata Motors has been a proud partner to the Indian Armed Forces since 1958, having supplied over 1.5 lakh vehicles to the Indian Military, Paramilitary forces and Police Establishments. In addition, Tata Motors is also a leading supplier of defence solutions to SAARC, ASEAN and African regions. The company has also established itself as a supplier of specialist vehicles for UN peacekeeping missions

Raghupati Singhania, CMD, JK Tyre, Conferred with Highest Civilian Honor of Mexico

Raghupati Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd, has been conferred with ‘Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle’, the highest honour accorded to non-nationals by the Government of Mexico. On the eve of the 128th National Day of Mexico, HE, Ms. Melba Pría, Ambassador of Mexico to India presented the award to Dr. Singhania on behalf of the President of Mexico. The top honor is in recognition of Dr. Singhania’s exemplary leadership, his noteworthy services towards humanity and his efforts to strengthen bilateral ties between India and Mexico.

Receiving the award, Dr. Singhania said, “I am honored with the recognition that Her Excellency Ms. Melba Pría has conferred upon me. It has been a privilege to have played a role in creating interest among Indian businesses in investing in Mexico. I have fond memories of my first conversation about Tornel with then President of Mexico, Mr. Felipe Calderon, and the rest, as they say, is history. The Government of Mexico has indeed given boost to business by welcoming foreign investment with open arms. It is a reflection of the Mexican Government’s helpful attitude towards industry, something that is worth looking up to for other countries too.”

In 2008, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd expanded its robust manufacturing operations by acquiring Tornel having three production facilities in Azcapotzalco, Tultitlan and Hidalgo. Under Dr. Singhania’s strategic leadership, the company turned around the facility in the very first year by improving efficiencies and increasing market share across product segments.  Over the years, production capacity has been expanded, and Tornel’s global footprint enhanced in North America and the Latin America markets.

The company more recently implemented the first-ever labour restructuring programme in Mexico, at JK Tornel by rightsizing workforce.  This was made possible due to tremendous help received from the Government of Mexico, particularly the Labour Ministry. 

‘ReimagiNE Waste 3‘ -2018 Hackathon Concludes with Promising Solutions Towards Effective Waste Water Management for Bengaluru

REimagiNE Waste 3, the annual four-day hackathon on Waste Management organised by Waste Impact Trust, and the Centre for Product Design and Manufacturing (CPDM), Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in partnership with United Way recently concluded in the city.

With the theme of 'Waste, Water and Livelihoods’ this year, the hackathon was divided into two phases and served to identify low-cost, high-impact, inclusive solutions to the problem of water waste in Bengaluru. The event saw a strong participation of over 150 applicants divided in 29 teams at the end of the first two days. Participants ranged from students to retired people along with entrepreneurs, technocrats and innovators who were guided by over 25 mentors and 30 domain experts.

Four winners took home prizes totaling Rs 2.5 lakh. ‘Rakshak’, an interdisciplinary team of six that presented an affordable platform for detection of poisonous gases, took home the winning prize of Rs 1 lakh, followed by team ‘Flow Tensor’, which won the second prize of Rs 50,000 for their solution of a system for managing inlets into water bodies. While ‘Wattage from Sewage’ won the third prize of Rs 25,000 for their innovative concept of generating electricity from sewage, a special prize of Rs 75,000 was reserved for Waste E-Preneurs for their promising solution of preventive monitoring of manholes using a city-wide, low-cost, low-power wireless sensor network.

While the hackathon spread across four days and two phases concluded, there is a 45-days challenge that will give an opportunity to all participants to refine, relook and redevelop their solutions to create workable ideas for water waste management.

“The highlight of this year’s REimagiNEWaste3 was the participation of an eight year old, 11 year old and a 14 year old boys who came up with a workable and practical solution of making a device that can create mini whirlpools to remove floating waste from water bodies. It was a thrilling experience to see ‘Domain Experts’ such as Safai Karmacharis and persons who work in maintaining the lakes work together with the highly educated to come up with innovative and inclusive solutions for the day to day problems faced by them. We look forward some of these solutions being implemented on the ground” said Gayitri Handanahal, the founder of the Waste Impact Trust and Lead Organiser of the REimagiNE Waste event.

“We now intend to take this event to the next level and come up with some exciting and interesting solutions to trivial challenges in the coming editions of the event” She added.

Commenting on the event, Manish Michael, United Way said, “Complex problems with respect to Waste, Water and Livelihoods in urban spaces require sustained efforts to develop ideal solutions. This Hackathon was a great platform to bring together different stakeholders towards achieving these solutions. We are confident that some of the incredible ideas that came about through this event will surely help our garden city in addressing issues related to effective waste water management.”

Commenting on the event, Prof. Amaresh Chakrabarti, Chairman, CPDM, IISc said “There is something magical about bringing together a diverse group of people for a finite amount of time and leaving them with a challenge to overcome. With a bit of training into design thinking, really wonderful solutions come out, which many do not expect. The REimagiNEWaste Hackathon series allows us to apply this magic to problems of social relevance and with the right stakeholders being involved from the beginning.”

Commenting on her experience of participating in the event, Aswathy T K, from BOSCH said “Reimagine waste hackathon was one of a kind hackathon where we were shown the actual problems faced by water bodies, which gave us a realistic picture of the magnitude of the problem. We had the freedom to choose the problem which we want to solve, and moreover team up with other participants which helped in bringing people from different background together. The most important part was that each team had a domain expert (people who actually work on the ground- manual scavengers) and thus I got to know about a lot of problems they face due to each one of our ignorance. Our solution was to help manual scavengers improve their working condition and we wish to rework on our idea and prepare for the day challenge”

REimagiNEWaste3 was brought together by support of United Way, Earthwatch Institute, ELCIA, ITC WoW, Navya Disha, Wipro, Novozyme and in partnership with Bengaluru Lake Federation and Biome.

AnitaB.org India, DST, GoI, Partner for Fifth Year to Reward and Support Women Entrepreneurs in India

AnitaB.org India, a non-profit organization focused on the advancement of women in technology today announced the 8th edition of the Women Entrepreneur Quest (WEQ) 2018. This unique contest is for women entrepreneurs with technology startups in India. The Top 10 winners of WEQ 2018 will each receive an all-expenses-paid experiential learning visit to Silicon Valley, US. During this visit the winners will build connects, receive value-added guidance and get inspiration from some of the best entrepreneurs, investors and mentors in the valley.

Women entrepreneurs who have founded technology startups in India are encouraged to take this opportunity and apply for WEQ 2018. For all details visit: https://ghcindia.anitab.org/women-entrepreneur-quest-2018/. The applications for Stage 1 of the contest close on 30 September, 2018.

The WEQ 2018 Top 10 winners will also get to attend the largest technical conference for women in India, the Grace Hopper Celebration India (GHCI) 18 to be held in Bangalore from 14-16 November, 2018. GHCI 18 will be attended by 4000+ attendees including senior business leaders, government officials, women professionals, entrepreneurs and students in technology.

WEQ 2018 is sponsored by the AnitaB.org India and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India.  The Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) also plays an integral role in supporting and organizing WEQ 2018. The joint partnership has existed since 2014 and is strongly committed to supporting the Government of India’s policies and programs, promoting entrepreneurship among women in India.

The objective of the WEQ 2018-19 Silicon Valley Learning Program is to support the top 10 winners with their business growth. The program will provide access to:

Quality networks: Visits and meetings with key stakeholders in the Silicon Valley ecosystem such as leading technology companies, startups, investors, officials, incubators, accelerators, universities and so on.
Expert guidance: Sessions and deep-dive workshops on important business functions, technology trends and growth strategies from industry veterans, mentors, entrepreneurs and experienced professionals.
Great inspiration: Directly interacting and hearing from role models in the Silicon Valley. This is also an opportunity for the winners to showcase their business with some of the best in technology.

“Over the years the WEQ Silicon Valley Learning Program has been successful in its objective of boosting the confidence of the entrepreneurs and preparing them to be successful business women. According to a survey we carried out among our past WEQ winners, 83% still continue to pursue the same business and 75% have witnessed an increase in their customer base since their visits to Silicon Valley. The program provides a better understanding of investors, product and marketing strategies, team-building, technology innovation, and other aspects that are vital to grow any business. We hope many more women entrepreneurs come forward and apply for WEQ 2018 this year, said Geetha Kannan, Managing Director, AnitaB.org India.

Dr Anita Gupta, Scientist G & Associate Head Innovation & Entrepreneurship, DST, Government of India said, “Entrepreneurship has the potential to play a substantial role in the economic and social growth of a country. Our government continues to focus on bringing women to the fore and making them a significant part of our growth story. We look forward to supporting more women entrepreneurs that will go on to create successful startups and contributing to our economy and society.”

“India and the US have abundant knowledge and talent when it comes to entrepreneurship and technology innovation. The WEQ Silicon Valley Learning Program provides ample opportunity for Indian women entrepreneurs for knowledge sharing and exchange of experiences from the U.S entrepreneurship ecosystem,” added Dr. Rajiv Tayal, Executive Director, Indo-U.S Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF).

EXILANT Partners with PharmaPoint to Release Latest Version of XchangePoint

EXILANT Technologies, a QuEST Global Company, has successfully partnered with PharmaPoint, a technology-enabled pharmacy management and software company in the United States, to unveil the latest version of XchangePoint, an integrated workflow management system for medication optimization.

The new release includes real-time video conferencing capabilities to extend a pharmacist’s reach to patients in need of a medication consultation. XchangePoint’s analytical engine has also been enhanced to include socioeconomic factors as an option for targeting potentially at-risk patients in need of additional services. 

“We are proud to partner with EXILANT, a QuEST Global company,” said Bobby Middleton, Vice President of Product Operations for PharmaPoint. “Their work on product development for XchangePoint allows us to efficiently roll out enhancements and new features to our clients in a timely manner. We look forward to continuing to disrupt the healthcare industry together with innovative solutions that result in the highest quality of patient care.”

XchangePoint prioritizes high risk patient populations, operationalizes “meds to beds” workflow, provides complete and accurate pharmacy-led medication reconciliation, and offers customized discharge medication instructions. Essentially, XchangePoint serves as the process communicator and enabler that converts analytics into action - resulting in improved outcomes and optimal staff productivity.

Commenting on the successful release of the latest version of XchangePoint,  Krish Kupathil, Head – Digital and Hi-Tech, QuEST Global, said, “Analytics is playing a crucial role by helping organizations in different industries to ensure accurate planning, make better business decisions and improve customer satisfaction. We are excited to partner with PharmaPoint to integrate data from various sources to provide effective bedside programs, medication reconciliation, post follow-up and coordinated transition of care via the XchangePoint solution. At QuEST Global, we support customers to enhance their product experience and lead their industries by co-innovating products using the latest software and digital technologies.”