Toyota Aids to Boost “Skill Excellence” in the State of Karnataka

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) in continuation to its sustainable efforts towards Skill Development, inaugurated the Toyota Centre of Excellence at Global Academy of Technology located in Bengaluru. The concept of establishing Toyota Centre of Excellence at various colleges and institutes are well aligned to enhance the skilled workforce to meet the growing industry requirements.

To aid far reaching knowledge-base of engine composition at the grass-root level, Toyota handed over one cut section of the vehicle engine and an assembled engine. The key focus is to enable comprehensive learning opportunities for the students, offering them a first-hand experience of the vehicle engine. The engine cut section will showcase the component set-up in an engine and its related functioning. While the engine assembly section enables the students to gain an insight of the real orientation of the assembled engine including the dismantling and re-assembling techniques, thus achieving high quality skill sets in engine operating mechanism.

This initiative is basically incorporated to pursue Toyota’s main objectives to promote, setup, monitor, govern and regulate institutions and academies for skills excellence for development of core employability skills, competency standards and for promoting technology that meets the demands of various industries globally.

The event was graced by Lepaksha S, Secretary – National Education Foundation, Venkatappa, Additional Secretary – National Education Foundation and D.K. S. Aishwarya, Secretary - National Education Foundation.  Also, present at the event were B. Padmanabha, Vice President and Naveen Soni - Vice President representing the senior management team of Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

Commenting on this initiative, Dr. N. Ranapratap Reddy, Principal – Global Academy of Technology [GAT] said, “Toyota has always stood for Quality and Excellence through the years, pioneering in manufacturing cars with global standards. We are delighted to partner with Toyota through for this great initiative in imparting quality education amongst engineering students. Through this program, we are confident that the students would gain a better insight of the high-level skill techniques associated with the engine, which is an essential part of a vehicle, while enriching their learning experience at our Academy of Technology.”

Speaking on the occasion, Naveen Soni - Vice President - Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said “Through our established Centre of Excellence in association with various colleges and institutes across the country, we are striving to aid comprehensive learning among the students at the base classroom levels in our mission to provide India an highly skilled workforce to match with evolving skill demands of the automotive industry. As a responsible corporate citizen, we at Toyota design to aid the students to be industry ready with desired skill sets while contributing to the nations’ growth and Industry’s employability scenario.

We believe such practical exposure would enable the students to cope with different levels of operations associated with functional mechanisms.”

The company has been tirelessly working towards enhancing the employability quotient in the automobile manufacturing industry across India, by promoting unique skill sets.

As a part of its commitment towards developing world class skilled workforce for the emerging Indian Auto Industry, Toyota in 2007 established the Toyota Technical Training Institute (TTTI) which offers a three-year rigorous full-time training in – Automobile Assembly, Automobile Paint, Automobile Weld and Mechatronics (a combination of mechanical and industrial electronics) to financially challenged students hailing from Below Poverty Line (BPL) families from across Karnataka. This institute exclusively emphasizes on over all development of the trainees as per industry requirements & towards “Perfecting people” and there by contributing young multi skilled, energetic, ideal students to the nation. Training Curriculum is a unique blend which focuses on the holistic development of Knowledge (16%), Skill (34%), Body and Mind (50%) of the students. Last year Toyota’s TTTI institute accomplished a key milestone of being selected for “Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme” under the MoU signed by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Government of Japan (METI) and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Government of India (MSDE).

Some of the key highlights of TKM’s other skill initiatives follows:

·         Toyota Technical Training Institute (TTTI) offers a three-year rigorous full-time training in – Automobile Assembly, Automobile Paint, Automobile Weld and Mechatronics (a combination of mechanical and industrial electronics) TTTI has also been selected as a part of this partnership between Japan and India for the “Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme.’’

·         Gurukul is a well-equipped learning center at TKM imparts diverse training to employees at all levels which helps them to improve their abilities and thoroughly fulfill their roles. Everyone who works in Toyota experiences 70% of their development through the job itself; and the experience serves as a driving force in developing the next generation.

·         Toyota Technical Education Program (T-TEP) provides technical know-how training to ITI students across India along with providing hands-on real-time experience within Toyota dealerships.

·         Toyota Tantrajna is a unique skill development project initiated in association with the Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC).  A comprehensive year and a month plus [Program duration - 13.5 months] training module consists of an induction and fundamental skill training, On the Job development and class room training and trade knowledge training [including Language - English speaking skills, Computer soft skills, Interview etiquettes, etc.,].  After completion of course evaluation and certification by ASDC, TKM synergizes to connect the trainees with prospective employers through “Job Fair”. Toyota provides an attractive stipend, free commutation and canteen facility for the trainees during the training period.

·         Toyota Apprentice Scheme (TAS) – Under TAS, TKM has trained over 12,000 Apprentice Members (ITI, Diploma and Engineer) since 2002, which makes it one of the largest sources of providing such manpower to the industry.

·         National Skill Contest – Launched in 2014, National Sales & Service Skill Contest is an initiative that provides Toyota’s dealer sales & service personnel to showcase their skill levels with a view to identify gaps and improvise. Held at three levels – across dealership, regional and national levels, the contestants are evaluated on various parameters such as knowledge, process demonstration, soft skills and role plays among others. Continuous training skills are imparted to hone the dealer personnel skill sets to meet the growing expectations and deliver Toyota’s best-of-all Quality, Durability & Reliability for ultimate customer delight.

Report Shows Public Cloud Only is Not a Panacea; 91% State Hybrid Cloud is Ideal IT Model

Nutanix, a leader in enterprise cloud computing has announced the findings of its first ever global Enterprise Cloud Index, measuring enterprise plans for adopting private, hybrid and public clouds.* The new report found enterprises plan to increase hybrid cloud usage, with 91% stating hybrid cloud as the ideal IT model, but only 18% stating they have that model today. The findings also revealed that application mobility across any cloud is a top priority for 97% of respondents – with 88% of respondents saying it would “solve a lot of my problems.” Additionally, the report found public cloud is not a panacea; IT decision makers ranked matching applications to the right cloud environment as a critical capability, and 35% of organizations using public clouds overspent their annual budget. When asked to rank the primary benefits of hybrid cloud, interoperability between cloud types (23%) and the ability to move applications back and forth between clouds (16%) outranked cost (6%) and security (5%) as the primary benefits.

Nutanix commissioned Vanson Bourne to survey IT decision makers about where they are running their business applications today, where they plan to run them in the future, challenges in setting up their cloud environments and how their cloud initiatives stack up against other IT projects and priorities. The survey resulted in approximately 2,300 respondents from multiple industries, business sizes and geographies in the Americas; Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA); and Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ) regions.

In roles centered on agility and digital transformation, IT teams understand that runtime environments for enterprise apps change constantly. Respondents indicated a need for greater orchestration and application mobility across cloud environments, as they seek flexibility to move apps to the “right” cloud on a more dynamic basis. In addition, shadow IT practices that circumvent enterprise IT teams are posing a significant challenge to forecasting and controlling public cloud spend with well over half of respondents (57%) reporting one or more incidents of shadow IT.

Other key findings of the report include:

Hybrid cloud better addresses business needs over single public cloud, including the price tag: 87% of respondents said that hybrid cloud as an IT trend is having a positive impact on their businesses, and more hybrid cloud users reported all their needs were being met (49%) compared to single public cloud users (37%). Furthermore, organizations that use public cloud spend 26% of their annual IT budget on public cloud. Perhaps most striking is the fact that only 6% using public cloud came in under budget, while nearly six times as many (35%) overspent in their use of public cloud resources
Security is top of mind for determining workloads: 71% of respondents surveyed for the report ranked data security and regulatory compliance as the top factor in determining where to provision their workloads. This was followed by performance at 62%, ease of management at 53%, and cost at 52%.
App developers today are circumventing IT: 57% of respondents said their developers are circumventing IT when it comes to deciding where applications run, putting the organization at potential risk.
Finding hybrid IT talent is difficult: With clear benefits to a hybrid model, respondents say scarcity of hybrid experts is a challenge, with 54% claiming talent retention is part of the problem.
EMEA is expected to surpass the Americas with hybrid cloud adoption:Regionally, the Americas reported greater use of hybrid clouds now (22%) and within 12 months’ time (31%). However, the two-year outlook has EMEA (43%) surpassing the Americas’ hybrid plans (39%) and APJ (39%) catching up.

“As enterprises demand stronger application mobility and interoperability, they are increasingly choosing hybrid cloud infrastructure,” said Ben Gibson, chief marketing officer for Nutanix. “While the advent of public cloud has increased IT efficiency in certain areas, hybrid cloud capabilities are the next step in providing the freedom to dynamically provision and manage applications based on business needs. However, the findings of this study reveal an important gap in the market: organizations need IT talent to manage their hybrid cloud models, especially in the next 12 to 24 months.”

ITC Infotech to Host 4th Edition of iTech in Bangalore on Dec 8-9, 2018

iTC Infotech, a specialized global technology services provider and a fully-owned subsidiary of ITC Ltd, today announced the fourth edition of its flagship annual Co-creation and Technology Innovation Platform ‘iTech 2018’. The event will take place at the ITC Infotech corporate headquarters in Bengaluru on 8th and 9th of December, 2018.

Speaking about the initiative, Sushma Rajagopalan, MD & CEO, ITC Infotech said, “As a technology company and a differentiator in the digital era, it is imperative for us to collaborate with our employees,  our clients,  global technology platform majors & ISVs, and the world of startups, in order to  identify and brainstorm innovative and fast solutions through  new-age and superior digital technologies. Our flagship annual event iTech promotes this through co-creation, co-innovation and collaboration.”

Aimed at boosting digital talent amongst technology enthusiasts and providing a platform for aspiring startups, ITC Infotech will run two parallel tracks, a Startup ‘Showcase’ segment and a programing ‘Codeathon’.

The Startup ‘Showcase’ has been designed with the objective of providing innovative technology startups a platform to present their solutions directly to businesses. ITC Infotech will invite established and early-stage startups to demonstrate solutions leveraging emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Augment Virtual & Mixed Reality, Blockchain, IoT, etc across Industry 4.0, HealthTech and Fintech. ITC Infotech also seeks to partner with relevant startups to help develop the solution, create a joint go-to-market and provide market access.

The Codeathon segment will see teams solving programing challenges that includes - building interactive mobile UI component using platform specific SDK, offline analytics for mobile app, offline app sync, process automation, and labour matching for farming. An open innovation category has also been created for Blockchain Solution across select industry verticals. Three winning teams will get a chance to win a prize money of Rs. 2,00,000, Rs. 1,00,000 and Rs. 50,000.

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.