B’lore Boy from Whitecaps Finalist at Cake Masters Awards 2018 in London

Samie J Ramchandran from Whitecaps International School of pastry Bangalore was the finalist in the “Rising star” category at the Cake master awards 2018 London. This annual event is popularly referred to as the cake Oscars. He has been the top four in the cake masters category since the inception of the award.  The awards were first established in 2014 and are the longest running and largest in the cake industry. Cake Masters Magazine Awards are where artists are recognised and celebrated across certain categories in cake decorating and sugar artistry. Now in their 5th year, following an astounding 2017 event with over 65,000 nominations, the 2018 awards event took place during Cake International show weekend at the National Conference Centre on 3rd of November 2018.

Chef Samie, a computer engineer by qualification, fell in love with cakes. His short but blessed journey of the past 5 years has earned him many accolades. Awarded as one of the top 10 cake artists in India by Cake Masters Magazine London. His awe-inspiring 22x7 feet London bridge garnered him a whole lot of media attention. He is also the finalist for Cake Master aka Cake Oscars for 2018. He has been on the panel of Judges for various Cake competitions held across India.

He imparts this passion to his students, teaching them to challenge creative frontiers in cake art as an advanced sugar art instructor at Whitecaps Bengaluru.

Chef Samie can be attributed as the new Viking of Whitecaps.

Chef Samie says “it’s been an honor participating in this prestigious contest held every year I have been associated with cake masters since inception, with this association I get to meet a lot of International chef and bring their expertise to India and pass my learning’s through Whitecaps”. 

Established in November 2016, WHITECAPS International School of Pastry was founded with the vision to create an environment in which people from all walks of life could indulge in their passion, by joining Whitecaps courses and honing their baking and chocolate-making skills. WHITECAPS International School of Pastry is amongst India’s premier cooking institutes, scaling new heights in the patisserie and chocolate arts scene, every day. Over 150 students have successfully completed the course and have been placed strategically at various corporate houses. WHITECAPS is an educational institution providing an unsurpassed platform for the students to bring out their best talent and hone them with suitable skills to match the requirements of the global patisserie industry.

Sri Kumaran Children’s Home Bengaluru Emerge Winners of the UL National Safety Science Campaign 2018

Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing public safety,has successfully concluded the first edition of the National Safety Science Campaign (NSSC), a proprietary multi-dimensional programme that seeks to impart the science of safety in the school ecosystem of the country. Held across ten cities in India – Bengaluru, New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneshwar, Hyderabad and Jaipur, UL’s NSSC 2018 saw the participation of over one lakh students around the country.

As a sustained commitment from UL to groom the next generation of Indians as safety ambassadors, NSSC was scheduled as an all-year agenda. The three-tiered campaign included the National Safety Science Quiz for grades 9 – 12, a  poster and slogan contest for grades 5 – 8 and a unique ‘safety club’ programme. The creative and intellectual potential of the young participants were harnessed to  instill curiosity and increase their awareness about the facets of safety that are relevant to everyday life such as electrical, road, fire, cyber, environment and food safety.

The city finalists of the Safety Quiz faced off each other in a tough fight at the grand finale of the NSSC held at Bengaluru on November 16.  The Bengaluru team of Siddhartha .G.V and Aditya . K . Murthy from Sri Kumaran Children’s Home emerged as winners of the Quiz while Vansh Navin Bagadiya_and Raghav Himanshu Gupta  representing Nath Valley School , Aurangabad , Rwitick  Ghosh and Qasim Ahmad representing City Montessori School , Station Road and Anish Kumar Arun and Aritra Kar representing South City International , Kolkata bagged the first, second and third runners-up positions respectively. Students were eligible for the Quiz after successful completion of an online preliminary test, followed by a zonal round in each city.

The online Poster and Slogan contests received over 3500 entries nation-wide. The top 20 posters and slogans were displayed for public voting at the venues of the Quiz zonal rounds in Bengaluru, New Delhi and Mumbai. Among the final entries, slogans like ‘safety first, because life has no reset button’ and ‘it is better to lose one minute of life than lose life in one minute’ were brought to life by students with admirable artistic skill.

Given that the purpose of the NSSC involves creating a marked change in the approach toward safety amongst several stakeholders in the school set up – teachers, principals and parents and eventually, policy makers in the education sector, the third leg of the campaign pertained to the establishment of safety clubs in schools. UL will pilot the School Safety Club program over the next three months in New Delhi and Bengaluru, where teachers from nearly 40 schools signed up in a teacher training initiative for promoting safety education in their institutions. Through a combination of theoretical and experiential learning, the safety clubs will train members to view safety as a science. 

Drawing on UL’s over a century old expertise in safety science, as part of the tool kit, the teachers  will be given well-researched worksheets designed to spark and strengthen critical thinking and analytical abilities of the students about various aspects of safety. In the subsequent editions of the campaign, UL plans to gradually increase the scope of the safety club, where students will be trained to conduct safety audits and gain hands-on experience in basic emergency procedures like operating a fire extinguisher etc.

Suresh Sugavanam, vice president and managing director for South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa at UL, said, “We are delighted with the immense response we have received from schools for the maiden edition of the National Safety Science Campaign and astounded by the creativity and intellectual prowess that all participants have demonstrated. With the positive influence of the internet and social media, today’s students are well informed and also possess multiple avenues of expressing their thoughts. Our efforts are geared toward honing their understanding safety as a science, so that they can become proponents of safety culture in the country”. 

Cara Gizzi, vice president, education and outreach at Underwriters Laboratories said, “As a part of UL’s mission,  promoting safety education globally  among children is one of our most significant priorities. Considering the high population of youngsters in the country and the importance accorded to education in the Indian society, we are certain that by including awareness of safety from a school level, we can create a sustained movement to improve the way the next generation thinks about making safety culture a part of everyday life.”

Vidya Guruprasad, Principal, Ryan International School,  Kundalahalli, a participant school in the safety club initiative, commented, “NSSC is taking safety beyond being a text-book topic. The safety club is aiming at making safety an integral part of science.  I believe that the set of children who will be part of the safety club will be given hands-on training to engage themselves in crisis management in areas of road and fire safety. This is exactly what we need to do to make safety a part of the curriculum.”

On 20th Anniversary, Intel India Announces Innovation Awards, D&I Initiative and Opens New Design Facility in Bengaluru

Furthering its commitment to advancing research & development (R&D) and innovation in the country, Intel India marked its 20th anniversary today with the inauguration of its latest state-of-the-art design house, SRR4, at its Bengaluru campus. It also announced key initiatives to promote innovation in the technology ecosystem and support inclusive participation of women in the industry.

Built with an investment of approximately INR 1100 crore, the newest facility located at Intel’s 44-acre campus on Sarjapur Ring Road (SRR) in Bengaluru, has 620,000 sq. ft. of space including 100,000 sq. ft. of world-class lab infrastructure.  Extending Intel’s R&D presence in India, it will house technologists who work on cutting-edge engineering across hardware and software.

A smart and green building, SRR4 is the second building in India to be constructed with the innovative ‘One Storey High Technology,’ with each floor being built on the ground, then lifted and attached to the top of the building. This technology resulted in the reduction of scheduled construction time by up to 60% compared to traditional methods.

The new building is equipped with IoT-based smart features, including smart lights and real-time occupancy management, as well as innovative energy harvesting tiles installed at the entrance of the building that generate and store energy as people walk into the building. In addition, it uses renewable energy sources like solar and fuel cells for power generation, which is expected to meet 40% of the building’s power demand and reduce CO2 emissions by 37%.

The state-of-the-art design facility was inaugurated by Manoj Sinha, Minister of State (IC) for Communications and Minister of State for Railways, Government of India, and Bob Swan, CFO and interim CEO of Intel Corporation in the presence of many other delegates from the government, industry and academia.

Bob Swan, CFO and interim CEO, Intel Corporation, said, “This year Intel celebrated its 50th anniversary, marking a half-century of innovation that has profoundly changed the world. This milestone is an opportunity to embrace a new Intel, a different, fast-paced, global company that’s adapting, growing and building the future. Intel India has grown tremendously over the past 20 years to become a strategic site and a key growth engine for Intel as it transforms to a data-centric company. The inauguration of the new research and development (R&D) facility reinforces our commitment to India. We have robust collaborations with the vibrant and mature technology ecosystem in India and look forward to the next 20 years of innovation.”

“Over the last 20 years, Intel India has been relentlessly focusing on advancing technology development and innovation in the country by working closely with the vibrant ecosystem in India. Intel India plays a strategic role in Intel’s growth by making significant contributions to Intel’s technology and product portfolio in areas such as Cloud, Client, Graphics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), 5G and Advanced Driver Assistance System.,” said Nivruti Rai, Country Head of Intel India and VP of Data Center Group, Intel Corporation. “Our newest design facility, initiatives to promote the culture of innovation, Diversity & Inclusion, reinforce our long-term commitment towards technology advancement in the country. We are excited about the tremendous opportunities to innovate, collaborate and contribute towards a better India and a better world, specially the work we are doing in the area of urban and rural connectivity, AI and enabling the manufacturing ecosystem in India,” she added.

Intel Technology Awards in honor of the late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

In an effort to accelerate innovation and research, Intel India in collaboration with the Government of India is instituting national-level awards named in honor of former President of India and eminent scientist, the late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. These annual awards have been introduced with the intent to recognize and celebrate the pioneering work and contributions made by distinguished scientists and innovators across three categories:

Intel Product Innovation Award in honor of Dr. Abdul Kalam
Intel Technology Advancement Award in honor of Dr. Abdul Kalam
Intel Research Award in honor of Dr. Abdul Kalam
The first recipients of these awards will be honored for work that has created significant impact to society, businesses, environment and livelihood over the last 20 years. The awards are part of Intel India’s ongoing efforts to inspire Indians to actively pursue technology and research, making India a hub for technology advancement, research and innovation.

Framework for WISE initiative to promote inclusive participation of women in the industry

Intel India is part of Women Innovators, Social Leaders and Entrepreneurs (WISE), a collaborative initiative with key women leaders who offer leadership, mentoring, and development opportunities for women entrepreneurs and innovators in an effort to increase women’s participation in growing India’s economy.

As part of the initiative, Intel India has developed the WISE-Readiness (WISE-R) framework that enterprises can use to accelerate inclusive participation of women in the industry. With a goal to have 500 enterprises WISE-Ready over the next 5 years, the framework includes key parameters like gender diversity representation and retention in the organization, number of women who have rejoined work after a career break, benefits for women in the workplace that promote work-life balance, number of women-led businesses in the supply chain, women-led startups being supported by them, and number of girls/women trained in STEM by enterprises.

Bangalore Hosts Roadshow of bauma CONEXPO INDIA in NCR from Dec 11-14, 2018

The first roadshow of bauma CONEXPO INDIA 2018 is the international trade fair for construction machinery, building material machines, mining machines and construction vehicles will be held from December 11–14, 2018 at HUDA Grounds, NCR.

The key dignitaries at the roadshow were Surat Mehta, Head-Marketing and Retail Development, Volvo East Asia (Pte) Ltd., Sathish GP, Communications Manager,Caterpillar India Pvt Ltd, Rajdeep Mitra, National Product Head, Liugong Machinery Co., Ltd and Tushar Alekar, Commercial Director, Messe München India Pvt. Ltd.

The trade fair will be bringing together around 700 Indian and global suppliers, manufacturers, importers, dealers, influencers, service providers, catering to the requirements of industries like Construction Machinery, Building Material Machines, Mining Machines and Construction Vehicles, and also provide a professional platform for networking, investment and exchange of ideas, latest trends and technologies.  bauma CONEXPO INDIA 2018 is expecting over 40,000 participants from 30 countries with exhibition space of 195,000 square meters. bauma CONEXPO INDIA 2018 will comprise a number of panel discussions, informative sessions, seminars and international pavilions which will dwell upon various challenges of the industry and deliberate on the solutions, opportunities, the availability of the latest technologies and the upcoming trends in the industry at this event. The conference topics will focus on “Transportation Infrastructure”, Skill development workshops and industry awards.

The Buyer – Seller Program will be debuting at bauma CONEXPO INDIA 2018. It will help with potential matchmaking of the exhibitors and the visitors.  The DEMO Area will provide a platform to demonstrate the performance of exhibitors’ machinery and equipment live at the show.

Bhupinder Singh, CEO of bC Expo India said, “bauma CONEXPO INDIA has become the industry’s key meeting point in India in recent years. There is a positive trend in all sectors of the construction machinery industry in India for the years to come and we are expecting this good development on the Indian market being reflected at the trade fair.

He added, “The aim of our regional roadshows is to involve the industry and gain valuable insights from our key participants. We are also thankful to all participants who have taken out the time to join us for the roadshow.” The expo is supported by Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association (ICEMA) and Builders Association of India (BAI). bauma CONEXPO INDIA 2018, the International trade fair for Construction Machinery, Building Material Machines, Mining Machines and Construction Vehicles will be held from December 11–14, 2018 at HUDA Grounds, Delhi.

Mahindra Unveils Electric 3 Wheeler Range of Treo and Treo Yaari Priced Starting at Rs. 1.36 Lakhs

Mahindra Electric Mobility Ltd, part of the USD 20.7 billion Mahindra Group, has dedicated to the country its first ever Electric Technology Manufacturing Hub in Karnataka. This new hub aligns with Mahindra’s strong belief in an all-electric future and is based on its Future of Mobility vision of producing Clean, Connected & Convenient vehicles. Mahindra is the pioneer of EV technology in India, and is gearing up to realise this vision with its new, futuristic EV products, concepts and solutions. 

The new facility, located in Bengaluru, Karnataka is set to revolutionise the way electric vehicle technology would be used in India, under Mahindra’s +ME brand. The Government of Karnataka has played a very proactive role during the development of this facility. The facility was inaugurated by KJ George, Minister for Large & Medium Scale Industries, IT & BT, Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka, along with RV Deshpande, Minister for Revenue, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, Government of Karnataka, Priyank M Kharge, Minister for Social Welfare Department, Government of Karnataka and Dr. Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd and Chairman, Mahindra Electric Mobility Ltd.

This first of its kind, electric vehicle technology manufacturing facility in the EV capital of the country, has been set up with a total investment of Rs. 100 crore. Branded under the umbrella of +ME technologies, the facility will manufacture battery packs, power electronics and motor assembly which are integral part of an electric power train. The plant uses global standards of manufacturing processes and will increase the manufacturing of Mahindra Electric to 25,000 units per annum. The facility will create additional direct employment of around 200 people and some more through the allied services, in the state of Karnataka.

This is the first such project to be cleared by the Department of Industries & Commerce’s SLSWCC since the announcement of Karnataka State Electric Vehicle & Energy Storage Policy in 2017.

The company also rolled out its first lithium ion electric 3 wheeler range Treo and Treo Yaari and announced its price, starting at an attractive Rs. 1.36 lakhs ex-showroom Bengaluru, including FAME subsidy.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd and Chairman Mahindra Electric said “As the pioneers of electric mobility in India, Mahindra is poised to be at the forefront of the electric vehicle revolution while spearheading the endeavour through its range of clean mobility solutions. The manufacturing hub inaugurated today is the next step by Mahindra in the Electric Technology space to increase local value addition and bring affordable EV technology to redefine mobility in India.  We are proud to launch Treo, the first Li-ion 3-wheeler auto developed in India. The Government of Karnataka has been very supportive in this initiative with their progressive policy framework for EVs. It has always supported accelerated adoption of EVs in the state.”

According to Mahesh Babu, CEO Mahindra Electric “At Mahindra Electric, our aim is to bring about a monumental change in the way India moves by enabling more EV products on the road through our +ME technology solutions. Reiterating our strong faith in EVs we have now invested in technologies that are core to EVs and have set up manufacturing of battery packs, motors, power electronics etc. in our new facility at Bengaluru. The government of Karnataka has been extremely supportive of this initiative.”

Babu further added, “Driven by the same +ME technology, we are also proud to roll out the first Treo. Built on India’s first Lithium-ion three wheeler platform, we are confident that Treo will transform the way urban India travels.”

The Treo range of electric three wheelers use Mahindra Electric’s home grown powertrain and maintenance free Lithium ion battery. The variants include Treo electric auto and Treo Yaari electric rickshaw, both available in the industry first hard top weather proof variants. With the use of exceptional light weighting technologies and composite body panels, the Treo boasts of a certified range of 170 km (eAuto), directly addressing range anxiety in the market. It also offers the best in class comfort for passengers with one of the most spacious interiors in the segment and for the driver through its clutch-less, noiseless and vibration free drive, thereby reducing the overall fatigue of the journey. The Treo range is built on an indigenously developed common platform with a view to serve market demands as they scale up.

During the first phase of its launch, the vehicles will be available at select dealerships across Bengaluru and Hyderabad and later in other cities in a phased manner.

The CoWrks Foundry Hosts its Cohort with Demo Day 2018 in B'lore

The CoWrks Foundry, a premier acceleration program, announced the completion of its first cohort, comprising of five innovative startups today.

The CoWrks Foundry is an initiative by CoWrks, one of India’s largest shared office space providers. The program is designed to nurture early-stage startups in the field of Urban Tech, Enterprise Tech, and Social Impact Enterprise, through a rigorous interdisciplinary curriculum, designed by industry veterans & experts. The Foundry’s well-architected framework nurtures durable and scalable businesses by investing in the ideas and the minds behind them.

Out of the 350+ startups that applied to the program from across India and some even international, the final five that were selected to be a part of the accelerator are Wagonfly, Understand Better, Ayasta, Betterly and T-Scale Hub. These companies were assisted with everything from initial seed capital and client acquisition to the art of crafting a stellar pitch.

The 24-week intensive program concluded with a Demo Day on November 14. The 5 startups had the opportunity to pitch their products, ideas and business models to venture capitalists, and prominent industry leaders at the city’s newest entrepreneurial hub - CoWrks Koramangala. In order to fuel entrepreneurship and create an environment where innovators and companies thrive, The Foundry also invited applications from the startups housed within the CoWrks community to pitch on Demo Day.

In addition to providing an initial influx of smart seed capital of upto $30K, The Foundry has been instrumental in equipping home-grown businesses with a solid foundation and the resources required to fully equip, refine and fortify their companies. Situated within CoWrks’ HQ in Bangalore, the startups in The Foundry have been able to access premium workspaces within CoWrks, and the opportunity to work alongside a carefully curated community of startups, freelancers and large enterprises. Each of the 5 startups were assigned dedicated mentors and experts from relevant industries, to provide targeted coaching and guidance.

As a part of the part of its post-program support, The Foundry will continue to aid these start-ups in terms of mentorship and guidance. 

Nruthya Madappa, Managing Partner, The Cowrks Foundry said: “Despite the start-up growth spurt in India, businesses in the Urban Tech, Enterprise Tech and Social Enterprise space, lack the guidance to overcome unique challenges. The CoWrks Foundry is our answer to India’s fractured entrepreneurial ecosystem. In comparison to the sturdy framework and incredible support afforded to thriving startups in Israel, Shanghai and Singapore, India lags far behind. Therefore, it has been our endeavor to provide them with world-class mentorship and expertise, technology and infrastructure support, as well as access to investors and customers so they can scale from idea to execution at an accelerated speed. It has been a grueling yet amazing journey so far, with like-minded peers interacting and learning from The CoWrks Foundry panel, mentors and each other.”

Ravi Teja Avasarala, Cofounder of Ayasta said: “What drew us to the Foundry was the team behind it.  They have an inherent understanding of what startups need in order to succeed and what sort of help is required at various stages. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that during the program, the Foundry team worked harder on solving our problems than we did. The networks we got access to would be invaluable to us in our journey. Foundry put in the effort to understanding our Ayasta’s offerings and then helped remove our biases by identifying where we are underselling ourselves. The Foundry program made us better founders which would eventually lead us to become successful entrepreneurs.”

Further to the success of the first cohort, The CoWrks Foundry is inviting applications for the second one by the end of November 2018. The 24 week-long program at the state-of-the-art CoWrks Millenia office in Bangalore will commence in January 2019. 

Startups Graduated from the First Cohort:

Wagonfly

Wagonfly is a single stop, cashless, queue less solution for brick and mortar stores. Bringing online checkout experience in offline stores. Solving the last mile supply chain issue in retail stores currently handicapped with manual barcode scanning leading to product dropouts & long queues.

Understand Better

Understand Better manages people intelligently with an AI powered HR solution that provides customized, contextual solutions for employee engagement.

Ayasta

With a combination of sensors, ML & CV, Ayasta ascertains deterioration, predicts faults and impending risk within a facility and in the external electrical grid.

Betterly

Betterly is an anonymous, personalized and economical, tech-enabled platform to address mental health issues. With certified professional counselors and psychotherapists through text, audio and chat, you won’t ever feel alone.

T-Scale Hub

T-Scale Hub is a community and platform for architects and vendors where firms can review the work of desirable candidates by paying a subscription fee and vendors can advertise their products & services to the architecture community, generating additional revenue.

Sandalwood Agarbathi Sees Highest Demand this Diwali in Bangalore

Dussehra and Diwali is the time of the year when agarbathi has a crucial role to play not only in pooja rituals but also in festive gifting. Lifestyle habits and social influence have a big role to play in one’s inclination towards a particular fragrance. This year Sandalwood agarbathis were in increased demand followed by champa in South. These two fragrances have contributed to about 30% of the overall agarbathi sale in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana region.

Sarath Babu, President, AIAMA, said ‘This year agarbathi industry has witnessed a growth of over 20-25% in sales as compared to last year during October-November period. In every market, demand was driven by one or two key fragrances like Sandalwood and Champa in South, Mogra in West, Rose in North and Citrus in East. Sandalwood infused agarbathis have contributed close to 30% of sales of agarbathis in the southern markets including Bangalore. With Christmas and New Year nearing, the demand for agarbathi in international market is bound increase at least by 10% over the previous year.’

It is scientifically proven that fragrances have the power to drive one’s mood and behaviour on an instinctive and subconscious level and the best time to include these fragrances in our daily routine is during morning and evening prayer or meditation sessions. These practices help keep our mind calm and composed for the stressful professional or personal life we bound to live.