Hospitality firm OYO said it has forayed into the United Kingdom and intends to invest GBP 40 million (approximately Rs 382.93 crore) for its expansion in the country.
This is the company’s first market beyond Asia, OYO said in a statement. The company plans to invest GBP 40 million into the UK market and looks to launch in 10 cities in UK including Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Edinburgh by 2020, it added.
Commenting on the development, OYO Founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal said, “Driven by its booming domestic and international travel and budget hospitality needs, the UK presents a multi-billion dollar opportunity for OYO.”
The company is thrilled to now be able to offer its affordable, hassle-free and quality living experiences to guests across the UK and to be empowering the UK independent hoteliers with the technology and operational expertise that helps them focus on customer experience and thereby generate increased, sustainable incomes, he added. The UK business will be led by British entrepreneur Jeremy Sanders, who co-founded the British restaurant chain, Coco di Mama, the statement said.
Shriram Life Insurance Company, the life insurance arm of financial services conglomerate, Shriram Group has bagged the 3rd Edition of India’s greatest brands and Leaders for the year 2017-18 in recognition of the contribution of distribution of life insurance in non-urban markets in India. On behalf of Shriram Life, the awards were received by Manoj Jain, Managing Director and Arvind Shivhare Executive Director- Direct Channel & Dr R Radhakrishnan, Chief Marketing Officer, Shriram Life Insurance in an awards ceremony held recently at Mumbai in the Pride of the Nation Series Awards organized by URS-Asia One magazine and URS Media Consulting – process reviewers Pricewaterhouse Coopers P.L.
Shriram Life Insurance focuses on the common customer segment with over 50% of its policies sourced from the rural area and a significant chunk from the tier II and III towns. Shriram Life works with the purpose of providing life cover to these families that are most vulnerable to financial catastrophe due to untimely loss of a breadwinner. The company has been engaged spreading the protection net to the masses, with special focus on financial inclusion for the segment that is generally ignored by the mainstream players. To cater to this group, the company has unique distribution processes and products.
On this occasion Manoj Jain, Managing Director, Shriram Life Insurance said,
“It is indeed a proud moment for us at Shriram Life Insurance. We strive for Inclusive growth by taking life insurance -The 'AAM AADMI' (Common Man) and this award reinforces the commitment of the company to reach out to the masses”.
Rajat Shukal, Global Head & Principal Partner of URS Media Consulting P.L. and AsiaOne Magazine, said, “Pride of the Nation Series Awards & Business Summit; Celebrating 71, India’s 71 Years of Independence, and 3rd Edition – India’s Greatest Brands & Leaders 2017-18 have proved to be a milestone in creating an unprecedented platform through Asian Business & Social Forum to address the pressing business and social causes of the world. India’s Greatest Brands & Leaders 2017-18 is also instrumental in bringing Iconic, Powerful, and Emerging brands and leaders of India on a common platform to discuss issues and potentials relevant to their respective strategic decisions, thereby innovatively unfolding a permeable screen of unprecedented mutual learning and growth. No other organization does that in India currently.”
Two years after the successful introduction of Fare Choices, Jet Airways - India’s premier international airline has announced further enhancements.
Fare Choices as the name suggests, is Jet Airways’ flexible, tier-based, fare-choice system that empowers our guests to customize their travel experience with the airline by choosing their preferred fare and a carefully tailored service experience comprising of benefits that they would most value as per their travel need.
The revised offering under Fare Choices will now allow guests to enjoy more value for money, by letting them choose a travel plan based on their preference, travel requirements and budget.
Currently Fare Choices in Economy offers a total of five fare options viz. ‘Light’, ‘Deal’, ‘Saver’, ‘Classic’ and ‘Flex’.
Jet Airways has now unbundled fares in ‘Light’ and ’Deal’ categories of Fare Choices in Economy for flights within India (domestic network), as consumer surveys clearly reveal that guests want the flexibility of enjoying competitive fares with the options to buy meals.
From 25th September 2018, guests travelling in Economy and booking ‘Light’/’Deal’ fares for travel from 28th September 2018 on its flights within India, will not only be able to avail competitive low fares but have the opportunity to buy meals from a specially curated on-board menu. Guests can choose from vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals, including hot meal options on select flights and pay using their debit / credit cards. Complimentary beverage service including tea and coffee to all guests in Economy (including ‘Light’/’Deal’ fares), will continue on eligible flights.
The airline will continue to offer complimentary meals across ‘Light’/’Deal’ Fare Choices for guests who have made bookings prior to 24th September, 2018. On flights within India, all features and benefits, including complimentary meals will continue for Economy fare options viz. ‘Saver’, ‘Classic’ and ‘Flex and for all fare options in Première.
However, on our international flights, all features and benefits under First class, Première and Economy remain unchanged.
JetPrivilege members travelling across all Fare Choices, continue to enjoy the ability to earn JPMiles on all their flight activities as well as redeem their JPMiles for award flights across its extensive domestic and extended international network, along with its partners covering over 1000 destinations worldwide.
The airline also offers its state-of-the-art, free, wireless streaming in-flight entertainment on its Boeing 737 fleet across its entire domestic network and all guests will continue to enjoy its unmatched on-ground and in-flight Indian hospitality.
Commenting on the development, Raj Sivakumar, Senior Vice-President – Worldwide Sales & Distribution, Jet Airways, said, “Service philosophies and models are being reviewed and remodeled by global airlines virtually every day given that guests today - especially millennial travelers – wish to be empowered and exercise their right of choice. As India’s premier international airline, we are perceptive to these changes and endeavor to align our service framework to embrace such needs of various segments of consumers. Our first such measure was the introduction of our Fare Choices concept in 2016. Our latest initiative is a step ahead in terms of flexibility and being receptive to our guests’ preference to facilitate greater choice and convenience. We’re sure this decision will be appreciated by our guests even as we continue to evolve and adapt to changing guest needs”.
Elaborating further, Belson Coutinho, Sr. Vice President – Marketing, eCommerce & Innovations, Jet Airways said, “Consumer needs have not only evolved but have also fragmented at the same time with empowerment, choice and flexibility considered as hygiene factors. As a global airline, we constantly track trends, review guest feedback and preferences to be able to stay on top of such trends and innovate our product and service offerings. This unbundling initiative will ensure we stay relevant to guests’ needs and empower them to choose from fare options that suit them based on their travel needs”.
*All fare options and its complete features and benefits in Economy are in the table embedded within this press release.
Neeraj Aggarwal, Regional Chairman of Asia Pacific, The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), announced the appointment of Alpesh Shah as Managing Director of India. “Alpesh is an outstanding BCG leader," he remarked. "With his strong focus on capability-building, dedication to client service and passion for developing teams and championing diversity, I am very confident about BCG-India's next chapter under his leadership.”
Alpesh, who currently leads BCG’s Insurance practice in Asia Pacific (AP), is an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad. As a senior BCG leader he has worked closely with clients across several sectors including insurance, banking, telecom and private equity across Asia. He also serves on BCG’s global client team.
Speaking on his appointment, Alpesh said “It is both an honour and a privilege to lead this incredibly talented group of partners and our strong India business. I am excited by the impact that we can create for our clients and for India”.
Dr. Janmejaya Sinha, Chairman of BCG India, added, “Alpesh is the right leader to strengthen and further consolidate BCG India’s leadership position in the industry. I am sure that he will continue to build on the winning growth momentum of the business”.
Bentley Institute recently organized its first ever Product Training Partner Summit 2018 on September 14 in Bengaluru, India.
The objective of the Summit was to establish a knowledge-sharing platform to apprise the authorized Product Training Partners about Bentley Institute’s vision, upcoming plans, current industry trends and opportunities to enable Bentley Institute and its stakeholders align their growth paths.
Bentley Institute’s Product Training Partners from India, Middle East and South East Asia attended the Summit. Vinayak Trivedi, Vice President, Global Head, Bentley Institute delivered the key note speech about ‘Going Digital’ with Bentley’s technology, introduced the audience to various facets of Bentley Institute and the variety of programs offered by the Institute to help existing and future industry professionals advance in their infrastructure careers. He also stressed on the effects and solutions of the existing skill gap in the infrastructure industry and potential solutions and avenues available for up-skilling of talent.
Vinayak Trivedi expressed, “In the current scenario, the focus of the infrastructure industry professionals is to execute projects within limited time in a cost-effective manner, without losing focus on digitalization. For existing industry professionals and future professionals to be employable, it is important for them to upskill their knowledge with practical experience of using cutting-edge technologies and tools. Our Product Training Partner Program offered by Bentley Institute enables them to achieve it”.
Rishabh Tandon, Manager, Product Training Partner Program, Bentley Institute informed the audience about the program vision and the way forward.
Sudipto Goswami, Director, Bentley Institute Press, shared inputs about the various content initiatives for training the industry professionals and briefed about the Building Information Modeling (BIM) fundamental course & assessments.
The Summit also hosted technology experts like Mr. Sajit Nair, Director Product Management, Bentley Systems, who shared insights on the critical need for developing sustainable infrastructure and the solutions offered by Bentley for civil structures, airports, tunnels, culverts, tanks, bridges, buildings and plants. He further explained the opportunities which ‘Product Training Partners’ can leverage from such a diverse portfolio.
M Rajathurai, Senior Services Manager, User Success at Bentley Systems presented use cases on how Bentley’s CONNECT Edition is helping industry partners in ‘Going Digital’ and advancing their workflows. He also highlighted the new capabilities of CONNECT Edition which will help advance team productivity and efficiency. He concluded the talk with the solutions offered by Bentley Systems for implementing better infrastructure outcomes, especially in road and rail projects.
Campus and entry level recruiting is a critical component of every corporate HR strategy but often involves many months of onboarding and mentoring to get these employees productive. Simplilearn’s New-Hire Training Initiative significantly shortens this time-to-productivity via a structured training curriculum for campus recruits that they can complete before their first day on the job, or within their first couple of weeks.
Simplilearn focuses exclusively on digital-economy skills such as Big Data, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, and Digital Marketing. These mission-critical skills are also ones that enterprises are increasingly turning to fresh graduates to fill. Simplilearn’s new program enables organizations to help their recent on-campus recruits become job-ready (and even certified) with necessary technology skills, gained through Simplilearn’s online training courses prior to onboarding of the new employee.
“Campus hiring has never been more critical. With today’s rapid technology changes, it has become essential to ensure young professionals are up-to-date with the digital skills they will need to have an immediate impact at their new companies,” said Krishna Kumar, Founder & CEO of Simplilearn. “Offering our vast experience in the latest technologies, Simplilearn is well-suited and proud to help Fortune 500 companies and other organizations bridge the gaps in skills and productivity that often come when onboarding new employees fresh from academia.
During their final semester in their college or university degree programs, recruits will undertake this training, following predefined learning paths that match their upcoming job roles. In addition to online videos and instructor-led lessons, the courses also include practical applied projects and assessments that are relevant in the high-demand fields such as data analysts, programmers, developers,
Simplilearn has partnered with leading IT/ITes, consulting, internet retail companies and Global System Integrators to support their new hire training initiatives. Also, as part of the company’s core offerings, the Simplilearn Digital Transformation Academy covers all aspects of people, process and technology to help organizations achieve competencies in digital technologies and applications. The Digital Transformation Academy is designed to be customizable across a wide variety of industries and for all employee and management levels and roles while delivering on Simplilearn’ s outcome-centric, high engagement learning approach.
Flipkart, India’s largest e-commerce marketplace, in the run up to the festive season has introduced a new payment option ‘Cardless Credit’ which will enable millions of Flipkart customers to get an instant credit line of upto Rs 60,000 to make their festive shopping experience affordable while being able to buy more. This is a continuation of Flipkart’s fintech journey which started with ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ and has helped customers get a convenient and worry free shopping experience.
As the festive season kick starts in India, and Flipkart gears up for its Big Billion Days, customer aspiration and need to buy more is at the centre of conversation. Flipkart is introducing cardless credit as a customer focussed initiative that will simplify access to credit in real time while simplifying credit assessment and application process. Customers will be able to get instant credit which they can use to make purchases on Flipkart. This is aimed at millions of credit worthy yet underserved customers who the traditional banks are not able to serve / underwrite credit for.
Credit cards are also a very metro phenomenon and as per industry estimates only 20 million people have a credit card. In the last 10 years, Flipkart has simplified e-commerce and made efforts to make it more inclusive. Cardless Credit is a step in the direction to make e-commerce more inclusive and help customers with small ticket credit line while they make a purchase at Flipkart.
Commented Ravi Garikipati, Sr. VP and head of Fintech Flipkart, “At Flipkart our vision is to solve for our customers. We always look at what our customers are seeking and then build solutions around it. Cardless Credit comes into existence as we understand that close to 45 million customers on Flipkart do not have access to credit, not that they are not entitled to. Amongst consumers, there could be gap in terms of purchasing power but the gap is not in ambition and quality that they want to own. The challenge is of affordability and that is what we are trying to solve. Cardless Credit will have potential customers including the emerging middle class mobile active borrowers who do not have access to credit cards or credit limits. We will leverage the understanding of these customers’ shopping behaviours and offer credit underwriting in a simple and transparent way, to make their shopping experience affordable.”
The current process of getting access to a credit card takes ~ 10 days and the high cost of getting credit makes small ticket-size loans cumbersome & unviable. Most of the customers do not get credit due to inability of the Indian banking industry to underwrite new-to-credit customers due to lack of data & insights. In India ( as per RBI estimates) there are only 20 million credit card holders/ customers and of the 400 million potential credit worthy Indians the credit coverage only has a penetration of about 20%.
Cardless Credit, How does it work:
Customers sign up for the credit line on Flipkart
● Simple 60 seconds application process
● Instant access to credit line (upto Rs 60K) based on scores derived from customer behavior on Flipkart
During checkout, they get access to
● Two propositions: Pay Later next month and EMIs of 3-12 months (No Cost EMI available)
● OTP less checkout for value < Rs 2000
At the end of the month, they can pay their dues
● Payback on the Flipkart app using Debit card or Netbanking
This credit line can be used to purchase any product on Flipkart using EMIs or Pay Later (payback by 15th of next month).
