Samsung to Unveil its Smart Foldable Phone at CES in 2019

Samsung is likely to unveil at flagship smartphone -Foldable at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) happening in January 2019 at Las Vegas. According to a source, indicates that a selected number of vendors were given an early look at the device and also that Samsung’s director of Product Strategy and Marketing - Suzanne de Silva, had earlier confirmed that the new phone will be ready to hit stores in the first half of 2019.

Samsung flagship smartphones, the foldable phone will have limited availability in the initial stage. A Samsung representative has told Gizmodo that “the foldable device will launch by the first half of 2019 in select markets. We are currently ready for its mass production and expecting at least 1 million units to be produced.”

Samsung’s foldable phone which still doesn’t have a confirmed name, was shown at Samsung’s Developer Conference. It uses what the company calls an Infinity Flex Display which is a flexible OLED display with a 7.3-inch primary panel which once folded, converts into a regular phone form-factor with a 4.2-inch display. The second smaller display on the outside lights up when you fold the device and shows content as you would see on a regular smartphone. The panel which is on the inside can run up to three apps simultaneously using ‘multi active window’.

The new smartphone is also expected to carry a heavy price tag. Speculations suggest anything above the $1500 price mark and it is possible that the device will be launched in Samsung’s hometown first followed by the rest of the world.

64% Indians Not Equipped to Handle Home Safety Threats: Har Ghar Surakshit 2018 Report

Indians are at risk when it comes to home safety as 64% people are not equipped to handle home safety threats such as burglaries, robberies, among others. This is according to Godrej LocksS ‘Har Ghar Surakshit 2018 Report: India’s Safety Paradox – Home Safety Vs Digital Safety’, conducted by Research Now. This report was released as a part of #HarGharSurakshit, a nationwide campaign by Godrej LocksS to promote home safety across Indian homes.

Godrej LocksS ‘Har Ghar Surakshit 2018 Report: India’s Safety Paradox – Home Safety Vs Digital Safety’ focus on people’s perception of home safety in the digital age. Homes in India are not just a place to stay but are also considered as safe abodes for families. Indians store their important documents and credentials at home, along with money, jewellery, and other valuables. There is a lot to protect, but Indians seem to be lagging behind in upgrading even the primary source of protection of their homes i.e. locks as only 40% Indians change their locks in 2-3 years and 20% have never changed it.

Godrej LocksS ‘Har Ghar Surakshit 2018 Report’ highlights that 70% of all the thefts that happen in India are home thefts and the other 30% being the digital thefts. Yet, Indians are more resolute in safeguarding just their digital assets instead of focusing on home safety. People have swiftly adopted technologies for their digital safety. As a matter of habit, 83% Indians change their digital passwords every 6 months more frequently than considering a safety upgrade for their homes. 67% change their PC passwords and 50% change their debit card PIN every 2 months.  50% also ensure they use a reputed anti-virus on their computers or mobiles. Over 55% use fingerprint sensors on their phones to prevent unauthorized access.

However, despite the day-to-day usage and awareness of technologies, Godrej LocksS ‘Har Ghar Surakshit 2018 Report’ indicates that Indians are reluctant in adopting them for securing their homes. The report says 83% Indians are aware of digital/electronic locking technologies yet more than 61% do not want to embrace technology and upgrade to high tech safety solutions for homes.

Commenting on Godrej LocksS ‘Har Ghar Surakshit 2018 Report’ and its findings, Mr. Shyam Motwani, Executive Vice-President and Business Head, Godrej Locking Solutions and Systems said, “As a brand that is synonymous with trust and safety, Godrej LocksS purpose is to make people aware of the importance of home safety. Har Ghar Surakshit report suggests that Indians, although feel safe at home, are unprepared to deal with home safety issues. Moreover, home safety has become secondary in this digital age. We want to encourage people to prioritize home safety just like how they secure their digital assets. In line with this vision, #HarGharSurakshit campaign will promote the larger cause of enhancing safety across homes of people in urban and rural India.”

Indians enhance their digital safety actively due to regular updates of digital risks through information across platforms. They also receive reminders to change their passwords or upgrade their digital security level to the next advanced versions. Similarly, people are willing to enhance their home safety if they are made more aware and provided with information, which will bring about a behavioural change amongst citizens towards the perception of home safety. Through #HarGharSurakshit campaign, Godrej LocksS intends to bridge this awareness gap. The company has pledged an investment of INR 100 crore over the next 3 years towards #HarGharSurakshit and will be undertaking multiple initiatives through various platforms across India.

Residential Market Recovers in a Newly Regulated Environment Keeping Prices Stable Across 2018: Knight Frank India

Knight Frank India has announced the tenth edition of its flagship half-yearly report – India Real Estate. The report presents a comprehensive analysis of the residential (across eight cities) and office (across seven cities) market performance for the period July – December 2018 (H2 2017). The report has established 2018 to be historically best performing year for the commercial office with leasing crossing 46 million square feet (msf). For the residential market saw some upward movement in sales velocity but stopped short of being a year of recovery. Total sales of residential units were estimated to be 242,328 units registering a 6% increase over full year 2017.

Both the residential and the commercial office markets of Bengaluru saw an uptick in demand. For the residential market, sales for full year 2018 were registered at 43,776 units, while new units launched were registered at 27,382 units. Commercial office demand remained strong for another year, with leasing activity levels settling at 13.4 msf, while supply largely remained restricted at 7.6 msf in 2018.

Residential market highlights for Bengaluru:

Residential launches in H2 2018 were at 11,826 units denoting a y-o-y growth of 41% over same time last year
On an overall basis, 2018 saw new residential unit launches to the tune of 27,382 units marking a 22% rise y-o-y, albeit on a smaller base.
The average size of newly launched units has shrunk by 7% in 2018 as compared to those in 2014
For the first time since 2014, the residential market saw positive sales growth putting the residential sector on an upward growth trajectory.
The average residential prices in 2018 saw a marginal growth of 2% y-o-y over 2017, but with smaller units, the effect on ticket sizes was limited.

Shantanu Mazumder, Senior Branch Director – Bangalore, Knight Frank, “Largely end-user driven, Bengaluru’s residential market remained buoyant with a line of caution. Both launches, and sales depicted upward trajectory, but the market activities can at best be termed conservative. Developers have been cautious of keeping a steady pace of new launches ensuring that demand is adequately catered whilst bringing down the unsold inventory in the market.”

Commercial market highlights Bengaluru

Bengaluru continued to see the highest volume of leasing with over 13 msf being transacted in the entire year. The percentage growth in 2018 over last year was recorded at close to 15%.
H2 2018 recorded nearly 7 msf of office space leasing surpassing the transaction volume in the first half of 2018 and registering a y-o-y growth of close to 17% from same time last year.
BFSI sector led the leasing activities in the city constituting 28% of total leasing volumes in H2 2018, while IT/ ITeS took up 37% share of total leasing volume.
At 7.6 msf, the total supply in 2018 took a contrarian path and registered a y-o-y decline of 6% over 2017.
As a result of office space demand continually outpacing supply, the vacancy levels in Bengaluru have been registered at 4.3%.
In the same space, the average rental values for Bengaluru also saw a rise of about 17% in 2018.

Shantanu Mazumder, Senior Branch Director – Bangalore, Knight Frank, “Bengaluru’s commercial market is precariously poised at this juncture where the supply is grossly lower than the demand. While, in current context it is making the office sector highly investor friendly providing rental security and relatively higher rental yield. However protracted trend of reducing supply can lead to stagnant or degrowth of the market.”

Subex Diversifies into New Verticals with the Launch of CrunchMetrics

Subex, a leading telecom analytics solution provider, has announced the launch of a new brand, CrunchMetrics, an advanced anomaly detection system designed to help organizations discover business opportunities and mitigate risks in real-time. It leverages the combined power of statistics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to sift through data and identify anomalies that are a representation of business impact. CrunchMetrics is vertical agnostic and has a wide range of use cases for Telecom, Retail and FinTech verticals at launch. CrunchMetrics is a division of Subex Digital LLP, a wholly owned subsidiary of Subex Limited.

Rapid digitalization across industries today has led to a massive explosion of data volumes where years’ worth of data in the last decade is now being generated in the matter of a few hours. While organizations are doing reasonably well to capture and store this data, the mechanisms to truly make use of such huge volumes of data are unable to match the current volumes and velocity of data being generated. Due to this challenge, organisations fall short of responding to significant changes which can improve business critical functions. Addressing this gap, CrunchMetrics brings to the table real-time anomaly detection helping organizations find the ‘needle in the haystack’, thereby facilitating low latency decision making. Through the launch of CrunchMetrics, Subex aims to address a huge market that is expected to reach USD 4.5 Billion by 2022 and will to cater to a variety of verticals.

Commenting on this launch, Vinod Kumar, CEO and MD, Subex said, “We are delighted to launch CrunchMetrics, a new brand within our overall portfolio. The addressable problem and the market size is huge, and with our focused efforts and investments, we are confident of creating an impact by delivering value to our customers. With over two decades of experience in handling large volumes of complex data, we thoroughly understand the art of handling the data and putting it to good use. We have already begun engaging our customers and the initial response has been very encouraging. From a business perspective CrunchMetrics marks our entry into areas beyond the telecom domain, such as the booming FinTech and Retail segments that are significant consumers of data”

Justin van der Lande, Principal Analyst, Analysys Mason said, “Businesses today are generating massive amounts of data. Discovering opportunities or insights using traditional BI systems or rules-based systems is becoming harder and more expensive, slowing the take-up data-driven automations. An AI-based anomaly detection solution can help in enabling smarter decision making and reducing time to discovery by removing much of the complexity needed to model data trends and to quickly spot any changes to them.”

CrunchMetrics is a completely automated solution that enables organizations to identify business incidents that are otherwise hard to detect. Through self-learning algorithms, it evolves continuously basis insights acquired from the latest incidents. Some of the benefits include focused attention on incidents that matter, reduction in decision-making latency, ability to uncover new opportunities, and diminishing losses due to hidden trends.

“CrunchMetrics adopts new-age technologies such as AI and ML to interpret data, making it a flexible channel that organizations can leverage to make business decisions in a timely manner. Further, it seamlessly integrates with existing systems through simple mechanisms such as web-services or Application Programming Interface (APIs) enabling organizations to uncover new opportunities that can further be leveraged by them,” said Shankar Roddam, Chief Operating Officer, Subex.

85% Believe they Should Get Health Insurance Before the Age of 30: Massive Demand for Health Insurance: GOQii IndiFit Report 2019

Healthcare issues have remained a challenge in India for a very long time. Overall trust in the healthcare system has deteriorated further with 96.5% of people not trusting the system. With 67.8% of Indians not trusting Hospitals. To add to this, the rising cost of healthcare has prompted Indians to focus more on health insurance. 62.8% of Indians believe having a health insurance policy is an absolute necessity and approximately 85% believe health insurance should be bought by the age of 30, indicates the GOQii-India Fit report 2019 titled ‘Insurance: An Investment in Health’.

GOQii, India’s leading preventive healthcare ecosystem today unveiled the fifth edition of ‘India Fit Report. India Fit Report 2019 is a result of a year-long study of more than 700,000 GOQii users – a first-of-its-kind report that presents a holistic overview on the health and lifestyle of Indians across different parameters such as steps taken, lifestyle diseases (Diabetes, Cardiac and Hypertension), BMI (Body Mass Index), nutrition, water, stress, sleep, gut health and immunity, smoking and alcohol consumption; all of which are classified according to gender and key cities. This year India Fit report has gone a step further to also look at what people think of Health Insurance and can it be looked at as Investment in health?

The report indicates despite the increasing awareness about the importance and need for an insurance policy, 20% of the respondents still don’t own insurance policy. The common notion that continues to prevail is that insurance is confusing to understand, a prime reason that discourages people from buying one. The high cost of insurance also deters them.

Approximately 90% of people believe healthier people should pay lesser premiums on their insurance policies. 70% are willing to share health data with insurance companies to get a discount on premiums.

The survey deep dives into insurance as that will be a critical aspect in the years to come for all individuals. Respondents strongly believed cashless hospitalization (87.9%) is the most sought-after health insurance benefit followed by medical bills reimbursement facility (67.7%) and better treatment in best hospitals (59.0%).

Most people decide to buy a particular policy due to the good quality hospital network it provides (42.3%). Further, people also buy a policy from a particular provider because of its easy claim procedures (41.9%) and an accessible hospital network (40.3%). Low cost, good coverage and benefits, simple terms and conditions are some of the other convincing factors for people to buy health insurance.

Further, the report indicates, 38.3% people between the age group of 20-45 suffer from at least one lifestyle disease ranging from Diabetes, BP, Cardiac issues to Thyroid, Acute GI and Acidity. In the last two years, lifestyle diseases have shown an increase. Cases of Cholesterol among people have increased from 10.1% to 14.1% this year, High blood pressure is on the rise, with an increase from 9% to 12%. This data signifies that a strong insurance system will be imperative for all individuals and GOQii is leading the efforts in this space, by being the first player to build a preventive healthcare model and showing the need and benefits of insurance, through this study.

Increase in lifestyle diseases and medical costs coupled with the lack of trust in healthcare has prompted people to get active and be healthy. This also arises from the fact that people are not wanting to spend their life being disease struck. GOQii India Fit Report 2019 indicates that as compared to 2017, in 2018, people are taking to running has increased from 22% to 33% among people wanting to be active. Cycling has increased from 10% to 15%. Conscious of being healthy has also led people to sleep and take rest more. The report reveals that Indians have slept more (6:51 hrs) from (6:32 hrs) last year.

When it comes to being healthy, Bangaloreans seem to be at the forefront. According to the report, Bengaluru has yet again topped the list of being the healthiest city in India beating Mumbai. However, the one aspect that is bothering Indians to a large extent is ‘Pollution’. Air pollution has been a killer in the last couple of years and the situation is only worsening. The India Fit report has studied 8 main cities on 3 basic parameters namely Air, water and food to find out how India has fared? The results have shown that Pune is the most livable city on air, water and food quality front and Delhi is most polluted in terms of its air quality. 

Commenting on the findings of the India Fit Report 2019, Vishal Gondal, Founder and CEO of GOQii said, “Trust in healthcare has further deteriorated and there is a dire need to reimagine health. We are aiming to change and get people to move away from a reactive and cure based healthcare to a preventive healthcare system,”.

Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation to Inaugurate Convergence India 2019 Expo

Emerging technologies, their application and ability to disrupt the way things function are highly deliberated subjects today. How these trends will evolve in the coming year and how businesses can best tap this potential is the theme of Convergence India 2019 expo’s 27th edition. The event will bring together the latest technology innovations and trends from telecom & mobile communication, internet of things, information technology & security, broadcast & digital media, mobile devices and accessories, as well as emerging technologies and enterprise solutions under one roof.

The three-day exhibition and conference, to be held in New Delhi from 29-31 January, 2019, will welcome 800+ exhibitors and 200+ speakers from 30+ countries. Over 25,000 trade visitors are expected, including key government officials, overseas representatives, and private players from the telecom and broadcast sectors, cable TV & satellite operators, system integrators, information and network security etc., resulting in tremendous business activity, negotiations, intellectual discussions and much more.

Co-located with the event will be the Internet of Things India 2019 expo and the Embedded Tech India 2019 expo, which will focus on technologies and developments in the space of cloud & big data, virtual & augmented reality, artificial intelligence, robotics, drones, application development, cloud services, M2M solutions, semiconductor manufacturing, energy & automation technology, smart cities etc. The three events together will provide a robust opportunity for professionals, digital innovators, international business gurus, telecom and broadcasting czars, leaders from IT, Internet and IoT industries, to interact and do business with each other.

Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce & Industry, commented, “I am happy to learn that Exhibitions India Group, along with India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) as co-organiser, is hosting the 27th edition of Convergence India 2019 expo, the 3rd edition of Internet of Things India 2019 expo, and Embedded Tech India 2019 expo in New Delhi. Also, it is a pleasure to know that the expos will focus on the convergence of technologies across telecom, IT, broadcast and digital media sectors, and the fast growing IoT infrastructure in India. This will be a great opportunity for industry leaders and influencers to discuss the latest trends and disruptions impacting various industry verticals. I would like to congratulate the organisers for hosting these events, which continue to provide a remarkable opportunity to various stakeholders to come up with innovative solutions for India’s growth in the future.”

“I am confident the expos will be immensely useful to further extend the impact of Digital India and Make in India campaigns globally, and also enhance India’s share of exports through trade in goods and services. The expos are bound to provide huge opportunities to exhibitors to promote Brand India, apart from exploring possibilities of entering into joint ventures and business collaborations,” said LC Goyal, CMD, ITPO.

“Digital and telecommunications technologies are inevitably set to become the new norm across industries and sectors on a global front. From AI and automation, which are transforming the nature of work and delivering unprecedented levels of productivity, to AR and VR emerging as an advanced interface between machines and humans, we are on the cusp of a massive revolution. Adopting these technologies on a wide scale in our country will be the key to promoting Brand India globally, and that is just what we aim to do through the Convergence India, Internet of Things India and Embedded Tech expos,” said Shri Prem Behl, Chairman, Exhibitions India Group.

Prem Behl further added, “As we get ready to host the 27th edition of Convergence India expo, we also aim to help bolster the collaboration between companies and governments in order to achieve long-term success. The event this year will emphasise on showcasing the innovations that will power the next generation of industry and our economy, along with providing a conducive platform to facilitate an exchange of ideas and technologies for various stakeholders.”

Amongst the key attractions of the expo will be the Mobile & Accessories Pavilion which will showcase the potential of mobile devices & accessories ecosystem. The SATCOM Pavilion, on the other hand, shall exhibit the latest technologies in satellite and telecommunications, transmission systems & equipment, cabling systems, home systems & broadband, post production & new media, audio & radio displays, telecine & film etc.

The Start-up Planet invites IoT start-ups to showcase future technology trends to be integrated into existing technologies that would result in a ‘smarter’ product or application. This will also be an open platform for entrepreneurs to interact with government representatives, corporate leaders, investors, and quality business visitors.

The Embedded Tech India 2019 expo will showcase leading-edge products and solutions that empower smart products, smart home, smart industry, and ultimately smart cities. The show will host a product line that uses microcontrollers, sensors, RF, motor-control, secure MCUs, and other solutions.

#SkillIndia Gets a Boost as The/Nudge Launches “Centre for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship”

The/Nudge Foundation, a non-profit focused on poverty alleviation, in partnership with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) recently announced the launch of “Centre for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship” (CSDE), India’s first institution dedicated to accelerating the impact and scale of India’s skill development and entrepreneurship initiatives. India is adding 1 million people into the workforce every month and this institutional approach to work on deeper issues affecting skilling ecosystem is critical and timely. The Centre aims to become an eminent, global institution that addresses the pressing problems of youth unemployability and unemployment.

Congratulating on the launch, Shri Rajesh Agrawal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship said, “Organizations such as The/Nudge Foundation are rooted in strong, on-ground action and are providing an institutional backbone to the government to help accelerate the scale of the Government’s initiatives. The gaps in the skilling ecosystem can be filled through new thinking, new insights and new ideas that they bring. We need to innovate across all levels to make Skill India the backbone for the New India of our dreams.”

Atul Satija, Founder & CEO, The/Nudge said, “Our Gurukul model has been scaled up to aid 3500 students to graduate annually, with 100% placements into top employers, which has helped us understand the deeper challenges and opportunities that skill development presents. With CSDE, we are expanding our mandate to support the skilling ecosystem at large, given the magnitude of the problem India is facing today, and dedicate this Centre to the youth of the nation.”

CSDE will focus on research, innovations, technology, consulting, and programs to support the skill development ecosystem and stakeholders including government, academia, industry and service providers. CSDE will also partner with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to jointly work on research, pilots and new innovative models in skilling.

Speaking about the collaboration, Manish Kumar, MD & CEO, NSDC said, “NSDC facilitate initiatives that create a multiplier effect on the skill ecosystem. The/Nudge Foundation has demonstrated success in running the Gurukul program which focuses on all-round development of an individual. The launch of Center for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship will support NSDC’s efforts in empowering youth with skills and enable innovation through action research.”

In 2015, The/Nudge Foundation started the Gurukul program, a 90-day fully residential training program for underprivileged youth, aimed at job and life-readiness. The Gurukuls are located in Bangalore and Delhi, running at an annual student rate of 3500+, serving students from across more than 10 states specializing in livelihoods such as BPO, Retail, Plumbing, Electrician, Beauty and achieving 100% placements.