Svami Enters into the Bangalore Market with Crafted Tonic Water

SVAMI, India’s first crafted and natural tonic water is now available in Bengaluru. Svami will be sold through the leading city retail network chains and also be available at known city restaurants and hotels. After a successful few months in Mumbai, the crafted tonic water is set to delight the new generation of spirit aficionados of Bengaluru. Positioned as a standalone special crafted drink or a complementary enhancer for other spirits, Svami was launched over a tasting session hosted by Sahil Jatana, CEO & Co-founder, Svami, held at Social,Church street.

The adult beverage company attributes the initial encouraging success to its’ strong foundation of the all-natural ingredients, low sugar mix and fully controlled production and bottling facility at Mumbai,  which allows them to make dynamic iterations to products that have long existed in the market and meet market demand. The Company ethos of experimentation and education are the valuable product innovation aids challenging the routine and lifestyle impacting options.

Commenting on this launch, Sahil Jatana, CEO &Co Founder of Svami said, “We are very excited to be in the silicon city, a big playground for fusion of cultures. Our tonic water is crafted to match the palettes of the new age consumer looking for newer experiences. We want to delight them with unimaginable options of flavours and fusion drinks. For us, production is a craft and we are continuously working towards developing new flavours and product possibilities for all occasions!”, he added.

National Entrepreneurship Awards 2018 Invite Nominations for India’s Most Promising Entrepreneurs

Aiming to catalyse a cultural shift in youth towards self-employment and entrepreneurship, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has instituted the National Entrepreneurship Awards 2018 (NEA).  The awards will recognise and honour first-generation entrepreneurs and organisations/ individuals supporting the entrepreneurs in their journey. These awards are designed with a purpose of highlighting models of excellence for others to emulate and improve upon.

In its third year, a total of 43 awards will be presented, including 39 Awards for Young Entrepreneurs in different sectors and 4 Awards for Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Builders. The Award categories include a wide variety of entrepreneurship, covering small to big entrepreneurs, by categorising them into three investment categories:

·         Initial investment up to Rs.1 L
·         Initial investment above Rs.1 L to  Rs.10 L
·         Initial investment above Rs. 10 L to Rs.1 Cr

To be eligible for these awards, the nominee must be under the age of 40 years; he/she must be a first-generation entrepreneur and must hold 51% or more equity and ownership of the business. There are special awards for women, persons with disability, scheduled caste/ tribes and entrepreneurs from difficult areas.  Women entrants must individually/collectively own 75% or more of the enterprise.

Candidates are being nominated for the Award will undergo a three-level rigorous evaluation process, wherein, at the last step, the National Jury of eminent personalities drawn from academia/research, industry, social sector, banking etc.will select the winners.

The winners will be felicitated in an Award Ceremony organised by the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and will receive an award money of Rs. 5 lakhs to Rs.10 lakhs.

Acer Brings to you “Night of the Predator” Youth Carnival Set to Rock Mumbai

Acer, the No.1 PC gaming brand in India brings to you the most extravagant and fun filled evening of the year, the “Night of the Predator”, one the biggest gaming and youth carnival in India to be held in Mumbai on November 24th 2018. The event will witness India’s first ever mega PC PUBG tournament and DOTA2 India finale as part of the Acer Predator League 2019 with an overall prize pool of USD 400000 for the APAC Grand Finale.

The Predator Gaming League saw over 1400 players and 361 teams playing over 160 hours of PUBG and DOTA2 PC game qualifiers to reach the India finale. DOTA2 also saw café qualifiers across multiple cities all battling to get the coveted spot in the finals.

Night of the Predator will be staged on a larger than life on-ground set-up which will host some of India’s top DJs like ZAEDEN, LOST STORIES, PROGRESSIVE BROTHERS and GREFF along with Fantastic Street dancing, and amazing COSPLAY.

Supported by SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur Campus, Chennai and Flipkart the Night of the Predator is set to be a landmark event in the calendar of e-sports and music fans across India

“Night of the Predator is a full-fledged festival in itself, with thousands of audiences and gamers gathering under one roof for the love of gaming and music”, says, Chandrahas Panigrahi, CMO & Consumer Business Head. He further adds, “India whose online gaming industry is expected to grow at USD 1 billion by 2021, is gradually becoming progressive towards online gaming and has started considering eSports as a career option realizing the potential of the same”

For PUBG PC, 16 finalists and two teams from DOTA2 have qualified for the final face off.  The winning team of PUBG PC tournament and DOTA 2 will be representing India at the Asia Finale of the Predator Gaming league, to be held in Bangkok, in the month of February 2019.

For technology lovers and gamers the event will be a treat to the eyes with some of the most cutting-edge gaming PCs and gaming accessories on showcase for the first time in India, and the launch of Acer’s famed and most awaited Predator Thronos Gaming Cave and OJO 500 mixed reality headset.

Acer’s Predator gaming line has earned countless industry awards and accolades for design, innovation and performance and has become the machine of choice for professional gamers. Predator Gaming League reinforces the commitment of Predator brand in supporting the gaming industry in the in India. Acer is the No.1 PC gaming brand in India with the most complete gaming devices line ranging from laptop, desktop, monitor, gaming chairs and gaming headphones, mouse, keyboard, mouse pad and other accessories.

Chinese Sportswear Brand Xtep Opens its First Stores in Bangalore

Xtep Sports, a Hong Kong and Xiamen headquartered sportswear brand, has launched its first flagship store in Bangalore. The brand was opened by former cricket player, Venkatesh Prasad in Bangalore on November 16, 2018.

Xtep specialises in footwear and sportswear in several categories. Under sports performance, the categories include football, outdoors, basketball, and an urban and fashion category too.

Plans are afoot to come up with five stores by the end of the year and start online sales in major platforms too.

Founded by the 46-year-old Ding Shui Po, who is also the chairman and chief executive officer of Xtep, the company was first established in 1999, as an original equipment manufacturer for international sports manufacturer. It then started its own sportswear brand in 2002.

The Xtep group currently operates 6,035 stores across 31 provinces across the People’s Republic Of China (PRC) as well as Nepal, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Spain and now in Bangalore.

Canon India Reaffirms Commitment to the Country with ‘Vision 2025’

Canon India, one of the leading imaging organisations in the country today announced its vision for 2025 in the presence of Mr. Hideki Ozawa, President, Canon Asia Marketing Group (CAMG) and Mr. Kazutada Kobayashi, President & CEO, Canon India. Riding on the organization’s commitment to the country, its vision for 2025 charts the company’s next phase of growth.

With about 25% contribution to the overall revenues of Canon, CAMG has emerged to be amongst the best performing regions, with India becoming the second highest contributor to their growth trajectory in Asia, after China. With their continued focus on innovation and customer delight, the imaging leader has shared their target for Canon Asia to reach the 10 billion US$ mark by 2025.

In 2017, Canon India reported sales of Rs 2,614 crore, marking a double digit growth of 11 per cent (including impact of GST). With Canon India continuing to grow at a double digit growth, Mr. Ozawa also shared his vision of seeing Canon India as the leading contributor for CAMG, by 2025. With its extensive, input to output product portfolio, the organization has seen equal contribution from both B2B and B2C segments. The imaging leader in India is envisioning to close the year with a double digit growth as well. As part of their way forward strategy for India, the organization plans to expand to new domains like medical imaging, surveillance and industrial equipments.

Further, the company has grown steadily in the country to make its presence felt across the nation through its robust regional expansion startegies. With more than two decades in the country, Canon has carved for itself a name that resonates excellence and innovation in the industry. Focussing on regional penetration into Tier-II, Tier-III and Tier-IV cities, Canon is strengthening its retail footprint to spread delight across the country with its experiential retail stores across divisions.

Societe Generale Announces Completion of CATALYST SUMMER 2018

The 10-week global accelerator program showcased innovative creations from 20 startups developed in areas of strategic interest to the banking industry

Societe Generale today hosted the Demo Day of the Catalyst Summer 2018 program with 20 startups who developed solutions to address 20 business challenges identified across the Bank. The Catalyst Summer 2018 program, witnessed the largest participation since its initiation in 2015, spanning 16 countries.

Fintech companies, technology start-ups and academic institutions were invited in July 2018 to participate in the 10-week open innovation challenge. The program aims to assimilate interesting business challenges from across the globe in the areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) BOTS, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Compliance and Automation.

The Catalyst platform has been highly collaborative in bringing together innovation experts, enterprise-relevant technology startups, fintech, incubators, funds and academic institutions with Societe Generale business leaders to deliver actionable solutions and insightful research, in areas of strategic interest to the banking industry.

Rathnaprabha Manickavachagam, Director, Innovation & Digital Transformation, Societe Generale Global Solutions Centre, says, “We onboard many with an Innovative platform to co-create a minimum viable product (MVP) that aims to solve business challenges. We adopt a highly participative and co-creative approach extending multiple dimensions of interventions within the ecosystem. We provide systematic design engagement with our in-house technology experts in alignment with the business, and also ensure the MVPs are easily connectable to our IT system. These MVPs are then converted into contracts with Societe Generale”.

Says Sunil Shah, CEO & Global Head, Societe Generale Global Solution Centre and Global Head, Societe Generale European Business Services, “The Catalyst program participants have the

opportunity to collaborate on a daily basis with a large financial services company, such as Societe Generale, thereby understanding the complexity of navigating across large structures’.

Catalyst is a performing platform to realise innovation ambitions and design disruptive solutions which can benefit Societe Generale’s end customers. The Catalyst partnership can lead to potential progressive steps, such as investments via funds, business partnerships and experimentations, investment in capital or acquisitions in the interest of better serving customers.

This is in line with the commitment to anticipate fast-changing customer demands and continued focus on Societe Generale Group innovation strategy by experimenting with disruptive technologies and increasing its interaction with the digital ecosystem in a spirit of open collaboration.

Toyota Awarded for Excellent Safety Standards and Continuous Safety Improvement

Commemorating high achievers in vehicle safety for the ASEAN region, the New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP) held its third bi-annual awards ceremony, the ASEAN NCAP Grand Prix 2018, at Karawang in West Java, Indonesia. Toyota bagged four awards at the occasion which includes ASEAN NCAP Excellence Award for the Most 5 Star Brand (2017-2018), ASEAN NCAP Excellence Award- Continuous Safety Improvement for the Toyota Vios and the Toyota Rush and the Best Adult Occupant Protection Award for the Toyota C-HR. The ASEAN NCAP Grand Prix commemorates the achievement of vehicles that have participated in the ASEAN NCAP assessment over the last two years.

Recognising its excellent standards for safety, Toyota was presented with the Most 5 Star Brand Award (2017-2018) for its efforts at enhancing safety standards in the ASEAN region with its vehicles. Toyota is the only brand to have received the highest number of 5-Star vehicle safety rating in evaluations conducted by the ASEAN NCAP in 2017-2018.

The Toyota Vios & the Toyota Rush were presented with the ASEAN NCAP Excellence Award of Continuous Safety Improvement. The previous generation models of both the Vios and the Rush had received 4 stars. However, with the addition of new and enhanced safety features, both the Vios and the Rush have been able to receive 5-star rating from ASEAN NCAP in the year 2017 and 2018, respectively. This achievement stands a true testimony to Toyota’s continuous efforts to improve the occupant protection and associated safety standards offered in the vehicles.

The Toyota C-HR was also presented with an award for the Best Adult Occupant Protection among all other vehicles evaluated by ASEAN NCAP in 2017-2018. This evaluation is based on frontal and side crash tests conducted by ASEAN NCAP on vehicles which are fitted with crash test dummies that represent adult occupants. During the crash test, the damage sustained by the vehicle and the crash test dummies are carefully assessed and quantified. This assessment is then translated into a numerical score. Based on this, the vehicle with the highest score is awarded the Best Adult Occupant Protection (AOP). Toyota is proud to achieve these awards from ASEAN NCAP and will continue to work with its stakeholders in the ASEAN region. 

Toyota considers safety as one of its top priorities. Be it vehicle safety or road safety, Toyota is fully aware that safety does not rely solely on the quality of vehicles on the road but on a host of other interrelated components of road traffic safety as well. Toyota’s holistic view to safety stems from its Integrated Three-Part Initiative: Vehicles, People & Traffic Environment.

In terms of vehicle safety, Toyota has been developing safety features and conducting extensive R&D which involves crash tests and simulations on its own, and then analysing the results to continually enhance its safety features. In addition to that, Toyota has also been raising public awareness about safety in the region. To take its commitment to safety a step further, with its first ever global corporate initiative, Start Your Impossible (SYI), Toyota is working towards its ultimate goal of zero traffic fatality. It is through these initiatives that Toyota is committed to achieving a safer, more sustainable and mobile world for everyone.

In India with Yaris, Toyota Kirloskar Motor [TKM] has underpinned commitment to safety by being the first in the segment to offer 7 SRS airbags – (D+P airbags, Side airbags, Curtain Shield Airbags (CSA) and knee airbag) across all variants in the new Yaris. Loaded with other best- in-class safety features such as Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD), Vehicle Stability Control, Hill Start Assist control, Front & Rear Parking Sensors, Disc Brakes on all 4 wheels, Tire Pressure Monitoring System & ISOFIX Child Seats, yet again set new safety benchmark in the Indian car industry.

Testament to its unbeaten safety features, Toyota Yaris recently received 5-star safety ratings from the New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP).

The Made-in India Etios bagged 4-Stars at a crash test campaign organized by Global NCAP the international body that is involved in new car assessment in association with AA South Africa in 2017. It has also been recognized as “Most Dependable Car” in the Entry Mid-Size Segment award by JD Power 2017 India Vehicle Dependability study, for three consecutive years.

Aligning with Toyota’s global philosophy - Toyota Kirloskar Motor being a Safety Leader, have implemented various safety initiatives by engaging with our stakeholders – Employees, Dealers partners & Supplier partners through a 3-dimension concept of Manufacturing Safe Cars, Developing Safe Drivers & Building Safer Environment.