AP's New Capital Amaravati to Host F1H2O on Krishna River from November 16-18

The F1H2O India Grand Prix is all set to take place in Amaravati on River Krishna from November 16 to 18.

The World Championship returns to Indian shores after a gap of 14 long years. More than 350 international drivers from the F1H2O circuit will compete in the debut season of Amaravati in UIM motorboat racing.

This year the championship began in Portugal on May 18 and will end in Sharjah on December 15. The race in Amaravati will see the world's top teams in action including teams from Portugal, Italy, the UAE, France and our very own, Team Amaravati.
Amaravati has extended a warm welcome to the racing aficionados and sports-lovers of Bengaluru to witness the one of a kind international event.

While addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Srinivas Rao, CMO, Department of Tourism (Govt. of Andhra Pradesh) said, "We are happy to welcome Bengaluru to come and witness the spectacular event that is followed by millions across the globe. We are confident this will change the way grand sporting events are held in the country. Amaravati is all set to put our country on the global sporting map with the F1H2O grand prix. The Government of Andhra Pradesh and AP Tourism has put together elaborate initiatives in terms of hospitality and logistics for all visitors and participants. Our efforts are an endeavour to create solid resonance for Amaravati with F1H2O."

Amaravati will be decked up and there will be a carnival-like atmosphere with a host of attractions for everyone present. The resident organising committee of the F1H2O Grand Prix is geared to promote water sport culture in the region which will also benefit the local fishermen communities in the area.

Marco Pietrini, Director of Logistics, F1H2O is working closely to set up the teams and is extremely happy with the progress of the state in hosting the gala event, "I'm happy with way this event is shaping up. The state of Andhra Pradesh and the Tourism department has left no stone unturned to put up a gala show for all spectators and visitors and I am confident this initiative will take the sport to greater heights in the years to come. I won't be surprised if India has its own team competing on the global arena in the coming years."

The capital city is gearing up to welcome visitors from across the globe to witness the event. The 23 km stretch along the River Krishna will turn into a carnival site celebrating best of the sport along with a host of other exciting activities.

On November 16, powerboats will have a free practise session. On November 17 , teams will be battling for pole position while on November 18 the India Grand Prix will start.

Sandeep Mandava, CEO, India Xtreme of Malaxmi Group spoke on the occasion and shared further plans "We have made extensive planning over the last few months and have worked relentlessly to make this event a grand success. It would be our pleasure to have the sports enthusiasts from Bengaluru come in big numbers and witness the return of F1H2O to Indian shores. I am also thankful to Marco Pietrini for his guidance and the respected officials of AP Tourism department for their unwavering support."

Canara Bank Posts Rs 300 Crore Net Profit During Q2, 2018

Despite higher provisions, leading public lender Canara Bank has announced a higher Rs 300 crore net profit for second quarter ending September 30, 2018 and said it was looking at more organic growth to boost its profits further.

The company had posted net profit of Rs 284.1 crore in the quarter ended September 2017.

The company's gross NPA was down at 10.56 percent against 11.05 percent, while net NPA was down at 6.54 percent versus 6.91 percent.

The net interest income was down 15 percent at Rs 3,281.3 crore, while provisions were up at Rs 2,835.1 crore versus Rs 2582.3 crore.

In the absolute term its gross NPA was up marginally at Rs 45,233.2 crore against Rs 44,659.6 crore, while net NPA was up at Rs 26,777.6 crore versus Rs 26,693.5 crore, QoQ.

Bank Executive Director P V Bharati told reporters that Canara Bank geared up for organic growth with enhanced focus on domestic business.

The net profit grew by 15.38 per cent YoY backed by a healthy 17.89 per cent YoY growth in Net Interest Income (NII). The good performance in NII growth was driven by 18 YoY growth in domestic advances supported by a retail credit growing at good pace at 35 per cent YoY.

The global business of the bank surged 12.49 per cent to reach Rs. 9.61 lakh crore, with specific thrust on domestic business which registered a robust growth of 18 per cent YoY to reach Rs. 9.12 lakh crore.

The global deposits improved by 11.18 per cent, while domestic deposits growth was higher at 15.95 per cent, she added.

Ultra Toys and Gifts Launches an Exciting Wide Range of Gifting Products this Festive Season

These unique and articulately designed combination of soft toys are all set to woo your kids & toddlers this festive season. All these toys are made from soft materials adhering to the safety standards, which are reliable and harmless to be used by them. The entire collections are premium quality, washable, skin friendly and non - toxic. It can be also be gifted for Diwali, Christmas, New Year, Birthday & for special occasions throughout this season. Soft and adorable, these toys are stuffed with 100% plush fabric which remains fluffy even after multiple number of washes.

These Toys will be available in all leading stores across India. This range of toys are also available just a click away by ordering online at : www.ultragiftbox.com, Firstcry, Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Shopclues, Paytm’ etc . Each item ordered will be attractively gift wrapped & swiftly delivered anywhere in India for free. Shoppers can pay for the items ordered through: Cash on Delivery and Online Credit/ Debit / Credit Card Payment options.

Let your child build up stories, let him create a new fascinating world of toys, and let him enjoy every moment of his childhood as the holiday season begins. Diwali, Christmas and New Year are just around the corner, it's time when children of all ages create their wish lists. With so many toys, games and sporting equipment to choose from, it's hard for parents and grandparents to know which gifts make the best choices for their love ones.

News Wiz Season 3 Grand Finale Winners get a Chance to Win a Trip to Oxford

India’s popular quiz show NEWS WIZ Season 3, the brain child of Siddhartha Basu of KBC fame, anchored by veteran journalist  Rajdeep Sardesai is back with great aplomb, on India Today Television. The journey has been eclectic as students from as far from Kashmir to Kerala have participated in great numbers to make the show a super success. Now it is time for the GRAND FINALE and three teams from the south have scored over the rest and will battle it out on the 3rd November for the title of NEWS WIZ 2018. The lucky winners will also get a chance to go on a trip to Oxford, England.

According to Vivek Khanna, Group CEO, India Today Group said, “The scale of the show can be gauged from the fact that 7,50,000 students from different schools transcending geographical boundaries of the country participated and 3500 were selected through a process. The News Wiz team under the leadership of Mr Rajdeep Sardesai has travelled widely across the country to pick up Wild Card Entries for the very first time in this 3rd edition. The show has elicited a massive response from schools across the country.to find the brightest brains. Hyderabad was one of the wild card entries that has reached the finale and has a shot at the title this year.”

As the stage is set for the Grand Finale, as three teams hailing from Thrissur (Sreeram Madhavan V & Paul Binu, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Vidya Mandir, Poochatty), Hyderabad (Hussain Ahmed & Syed Abdul, Mannan Little Flower High School, Hyderabad and Bengaluru represented by Dishita Swaika & Rishab Devaiah Sishu Griha Montessori High School, Bengaluru) will gear up for the final challenge and beat the odds to prove their mettle. The News Wiz trophy therefore moves to South India this year.

The on-ground event has been a roaring success, as students from the top schools of India making their mark with their intellect. A total of 3,500 students actively participated in the News Wiz hosted on-ground by the prolific TV anchor Mr Rajdeep Sardesai, as they fought hard for a wild card entry for the first time ever. The Euphoria created by News Wiz has been phenomenal & never seen before in the history of a Quizzing show.

The iconic show is slated for the final countdown on 3rd November on India Today Television at 8 pm.

New Open Applications Advance Comprehensive Modeling Environment for Multidiscipline Collaboration

The Year in Infrastructure 2018 Conference – Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading global provider of comprehensive software solutions for advancing the design, construction, and operations of infrastructure, today launched OpenSite Designer, a built-for-purpose application for the design and construction of civil site projects. It also launched OpenBuildings, bringing together its AECOsim building design and Speedikon factory and industrial design applications; and announced the availability of OpenBuildings Station Designer, a specialized application for designing rail and metro stations. At the same time, Bentley announced the availability of OpenBridge Designer, which combines Bentley’s bridge modeling, analysis and design capabilities into one comprehensive package, and OpenFlows FLOOD, a flood analysis and early warning system.

In addition, in pursuit of its ‘industrialization’ strategy, Bentley announced it has rebranded under its Open portfolio several of its applications based on MicroStation technology which collectively accelerate the advancement of its comprehensive modeling environment by connecting digital workflows across disciplines and sharing digital components in its Connected Data Environment (CDE).

Bhupinder Singh, chief product officer, Bentley Systems, said, “Open has three meanings. First, it signifies open to multiple disciplines. Second, it means open to analysis and simulation. Using different applications, two different disciplines, for example, a geotechnical engineer and a structural engineer, can iterate on the same dataset in our comprehensive modeling environment, providing a ‘digital feedback loop’ and enhancing their collaboration across BIM workflows. And third, because MicroStation technology underpins Open applications, users can produce multidiscipline deliverables and accomplish multidiscipline clash resolution from any Open application. Bentley’s comprehensive modeling environment is ‘Open’ for collaborative digital workflows.”

Fully 49 of the 62 finalists and awardees of this year’s Year in Infrastructure Awards credited collaborative digital workflows in their successful outcomes. For example, OpenRoads, Bentley’s civil design applications for road networks, is credited by 22 awards finalists’ projects in 12 categories, and OpenPlant, Bentley’s plant design project management applications, is credited by 10 finalists’ projects in 9 different categories. ProjectWise and/or AssetWise were credited by finalists’ projects in 16 of 19 awards categories this year.

OpenSite Designer
The collaborative nature of digital workflows connecting analysis and simulation with design and modeling is exemplified in OpenSite, Bentley’s new solution for the design and construction of civil site projects. OpenSite provides rapid site modeling and analysis, earthwork optimization and quantification, drainage and underground utilities, and automated project deliverables.

OpenSite Designer provides the most comprehensive site design workflow available including reality modeling, geotechnical, underground utilities, stormwater drainage, terrain modeling, detailed drawing production, and visualization. OpenSite Designer optimizes design outcomes with multidiscipline information modeling and analysis. Interoperating with PLAXIS, Bentley’s newly acquired geotechnical engineering solution, site plans can be enhanced with new information about the active properties of soil including bearing capacity, stresses, and displacement.

OpenBuildings Designer
The newly launched OpenBuildings Designer incorporates all of the capabilities of AECOsim Building Designer as well as Components Center and a range of new capabilities and standards including EnergyPlus, a building energy model to help users comply with ASHRAE standards in the US, and UK energy requirements; support of international standards including IFC 2x3, IFC4 Reference View, COBie, and Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority; new capabilities to design curtain wall systems; and OpenBuildings Speedikon, a leading application for industrialized design and construction. OpenBuildings Designer takes advantage of collaborative digital workflows with other applications in Bentley’s Open portfolio, for example templates in OpenBuildings Station Designer for tunnel segments created through GenerativeComponents based on linear alignment from OpenRail. Showcasing their robustness and versatility, OpenBuildings applications were credited by 32 of 62 of the Year in Infrastructure Awards finalists projects in 15 of 19 categories.

OpenBridge Designer
OpenBridge Designer is a new, all-encompassing application that integrates the modeling capabilities of OpenBridge Modeler and the analysis and design features of RM Bridge, LEAP Bridge Concrete, and LEAP Bridge Steel to meet the design and construction needs of both concrete and steel bridges. OpenBridge Designer enables bridge designers to rapidly create an intelligent, parametric bridge model, fully integrated with analysis and design, as well as drawings. It enables seamless synchronization of various disciplines for analysis, design, detailing, documentation, construction engineering and load-rating. 

OpenFlows FLOOD
Bentley also announced the rebranding of its Haestad water modeling and ACTION Modulers flood analysis product lines to form OpenFlows for water districts, sewer utilities and flood plain managers. OpenFlows extends smart water networks capabilities with GIS-based asset-centric information for water loss reduction, water operations, flood prediction and prevention. OpenFlows FLOOD continuously monitors watersheds, integrating data from real-time monitoring stations and numerical models to calculate risk levels. OpenFlows FLOOD mitigates flood risk, improving understanding of the processes involved in flood generation, and transmitting early alerts to reduce the impact caused by floods. 

Connecting Digital Workflows Across Disciplines
Applications for analysis and simulation, on the one hand, can collaboratively and iteratively work with applications for design and modeling, and on the other, connect operational workflows and converge the work of different disciplines. Collaborative digital workflows are characterized by data captured or created for one purpose being accessed and used by other applications for other purposes thereby saving time, minimizing rework, and improving data quality over the asset lifecycle.

An example of multidiscipline collaboration with OpenFlows involves workflows that use ContextCapture to create a 3D reality mesh, feeding into OpenFlows FLOOD modeling and using the terrain as input to various analyses in a single review environment for visualization and presentation to stakeholders using LumenRT.

Connecting analysis with modeling in another Open collaborative digital workflow involves the layout of road geometry, and hydraulic analysis and design using storm analysis tools including the determination of the size of storm inlets, pipes, depth of pipes, and manholes. The collaborative nature of the workflow enables clash detection in the subsurface environment, and iteration and adjustment as needed, to confirm functional and physical characteristics.

Other instances of Open collaborative digital workflows connecting design and analysis include OpenUtilities with Siemens’ PSS©SINCAL, which helps utilities improve resilience and deal with weak spots in the grid; and OpenBuildings Station Designer with LEGION pedestrian simulation, to enable designers to design, test, and validate simulations of scenarios for pedestrian traffic.

Rebranding 
Completing its announcement about Open applications, Bentley said that Bentley Map will be rebranded as OpenCities Map; and OpenComms, aimed primarily at multisystem operators, will incorporate Bentley Fiber and Bentley Coax.

William Grant & Sons Launches New Scotch Whisky in India Ahead of the Festive Season

William Grant & Sons, the distiller of premium brands including Glenfiddich, Monkey Shoulder and Hendricks Gin, has launched Grant’s Distinction, the latest variant of its leading Blended Scotch whisky brand, ahead of the festive season in India. The new variant has been launched in Goa with an MRP of 1275 INR, in advance of a nationwide rollout.

Grant’s Distinction is a blended Scotch that has been hand-picked for smoothness by master blender Brian Kinsman himself, to appeal to a new generation of Scotch whisky drinkers. Grant’s Distinction will initially be exclusively available in India. The blended Scotch has been designed for mixing, and has a raisin cake richness that gives it a distinctive character to cut through any mixer.

Brian Kinsman, Master Blender at William Grant & Sons, said “It was a real labour of love to create this new blend Grant’s Distinction. I wanted to make a Scotch that would be rich, smooth and mixable and am really proud of what we have achieved. It was important to retain the ‘House style’ for the Grant’s family which is delicate fresh fruit flavours with subtle spice for smoothness. But at the heart of Grant’s Distinction I have used a single malt whisky from a distillery that gives a robust, malty and raisin cake rich character to the blend which makes it highly mixable.”

The uniqueness of the blend’s taste and mixability is an ingredient that comes from a distillery with teal coloured walls – the malt from this distillery is at the heart of the blend.

James Pennefather, Managing Director of William Grant & Sons India, added “We see a clear opportunity to bring in new brands targeted at the next generation of Scotch drinkers, those who are already making progress in their careers but still appreciate the fact that it is those around them who keep them grounded and real. The smooth, rich flavours of Grant’s Distinction are certain to inspire conversations amongst friends to help them ‘find their distinction’, which will be the brand’s call to action. We are also proud of the fact that not only has India been chosen as the launch market for Grant’s Distinction, it is also the only place outside Scotland where this world-famous Scotch brand is bottled.”

Through this new variant, William Grant & Sons aims to cater to the increasing demand for premium spirits in India. According to IWSR global forecasts, India is expected to be one of the largest contributors to global whisky growth over the next 5 years. The Blended Scotch market in India is expected to grow to 5 million cases by 2021. Currently the scale of the market for Scotch brands bottled in India is ten times larger than those bottled in Scotland and imported.

Hero Motocorp Drives Industry Growth with 2nd Successive Month of More than 7-Lakh Sales

Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, today reported yet another month of landmark 7-lakh sales.

Hero MotoCorp despatched 734,668 units of motorcycles and scooters in October 2018 – a growth of 16.4% over the corresponding month of the previous fiscal (October 2017) when the Company had sold 631,105 units.

Fortifying its market leadership with a strong sales growth trajectory, this is the fourth occasion in this fiscal (FY’19), and sixth overall, when the Company has registered sales of more than seven lakh units of two-wheelers in a month.

Coming immediately after the Company’s highest-ever monthly sales (769,138 in September 2018), the growth provides a positive outlook on the industry, which has witnessed a sub-par festive season sales thus far this year.

Compared to the previous year, retail off-take across the country during the initial few weeks of the festive season have been moderate, primarily on account of the significant increase in Insurance cost, followed by the associated confusion over the coverage amount and period in the matter of two-wheeler insurance. We hope to see a positive turnaround in the sentiments and retail sales to pick up in the days leading up to Diwali.

Hero MotoCorp also marked its entry into the 125cc scooter segment during the month, with the launch of its new 125cc scooter – Destini 125 – in the Delhi-NCR region. Attractively priced at Rs. 54,650/- (Ex-Showroom Delhi-NCR) for the Lx variant and Rs. 57,500/- (Ex-Showroom Delhi-NCR) for the Vx variant, the scooter will be available in the rest of country over the next 3-4 weeks.