Ananth Narayanan, CEO of Myntra and Jabong Resigns

Ananth Narayanan, chief executive officer of Walmart-owned Myntra and Jabong, on Monday resigned from his post. According to sources, Narayanan is planning to pursue external opportunities.

“Ananth has played an important role in making Myntra and Jabong into a formidable player in the fashion ecommerce market and steering the company towards sustainable growth,” Myntra said in its statement.

Flipkart’s Amar Nagaram has been named as the head of Myntra and Jabong, the company stated. He will report to Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy.

Nagaram, who recently moved to Myntra from Flipkart, has been working with the group for around seven years now.

“Myntra and Jabong are an important part of the Flipkart group serving our valuable customers. The company will continue to execute the growth strategy and leverage synergies with Flipkart as appropriate,” it said. “...(Nagaram) has played a pivotal role in making shopping accessible, delightful and affordable on every connected device. Most notably, he led the efforts on revisiting the boundaries of mobile web, making the experience on it as good as native,” the statement said.

According to sources, Narayanan might join Hotstar as its CEO.

Market sources said Jabong will continue to operate for now and Flipkart may shut down the platform after a few months.

Toshiba TEC Singapore Inks Partnership for Multi-Function Peripherals with Galtech Infosolutions for Indian Markets

Toshiba Tec Singapore Pte Ltd announced the partnership with Galtech Infosolutions Pvt Ltd for the sale and service distribution of Toshiba multi-function office peripheral systems.

With Galtech’s strong business presence and network in the Northern and Southern parts of India, Toshiba TEC and Galtech collaboration is a powerful step forward in the expansion of Toshiba’s award winning MFPs penetration across India.

"We are very pleased to make this announcement with Galtech," said Takeshi Kimura, General Manager of Toshiba TEC Singapore. "Customers in India are continuously looking for the latest innovations that strengthen operations as well as the financial bottom line. We believe Galtech Infosolutions has all the capabilities and industry expertise to represent Toshiba in providing the highest level of satisfactory office printing requirements to these parts of India.”

"We are pleased to be working with Toshiba TEC Singapore” said Kishore Krishnan, Managing Director of Galtech Infosolutions Pvt Ltd. “We will be able to leverage on our very strong dealer network and business expertise so as to bring quality, high speed, brilliant print quality and state-of-the-art MFPs to South & North India. We are confident that this partnership will move us up very quickly to the next level of excellence.”

Galtech will commence distribution of the following Toshiba MFP series with immediate effect.

Luxury Goes Digital with Revolutionary QUEO SmarTap for Bathrooms

Bathrooms aren't usually the first room in a home, you would associate with being smart but that's not to say they can't be. QUEO - the purveyor of bespoke bathrooms has introduced the world’s most indulgent shower experience, the ‘Queo SmarTap’. The latest QUEO offering has created the first and only complete smart bathing system, delivering a sensational experience.

Queo Smartap’s technology manifests itself in pure luxury and comfort and lets users enjoy a perfect flow of water, at the exact right temperature, sustained throughout their shower. To add to the experience the Queo Smartap’s creates an ambience of relaxation with customized music and the perfect shower scenario. This avant-garde bathing system can also regulate the shower, bath and sink to create a synchronized bathroom tailored to tunes to match your hair-flips while you shower.

This extremely tech-savvy shower system can be controlled through a smartphone app, voice commands via Amazon Echo or manual digital controllers. The system is highly intuitive and brings the shower at the users’ fingertips, by learning their lifestyle and creating countless shower scenarios through its smartphone app. Whether it is the wetness of mist, a tropical downpour or the thrill of a roaring jet stream, the three Outlet Controls of SmarTap ensures a rich and indulgent experience.

Hot, cold, quick and relaxing, the SmarTap app lets consumers define countless bathing scenarios tailored to their preferences, each one with a personal user profile.

Yes Bank Signs Banking Partnership with Kia Motors Across India

Yes Bank, India’s fourth largest private sector Bank, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kia Motors, world’s eighth largest automaker, to enter into a strategic financing partnership, making it one of the first Indian banks to become their preferred financier. The benefits of this partnership will be extended to the entire auto value chain - Auto dealers as well as customers, covering multiple car models offered by Kia Motors India.

Kia Motors is set to enter Indian market by second half of 2019 with an all-new mid-SUV which was previewed at 2018 Auto Expo. The partnership will utilize YES BANK’s capabilities to provide a comprehensive range of attractive financing options for Kia Motors’ customers in India, helping support the company’s continued growth and expansion plans in different geographies.

Through the partnership, YES BANK will be able to provide end to end financial solutions to Kia Motors India. The Bank will offer financing and banking solutions to both the Kia car dealers with products such as Term Loans, Cash Credit, Inventory funding etc. as well as the end consumers. The Bank will work towards satisfying the customers’ needs through auto loans with easy monthly repayment plans best suited for individual consumers. Moreover, YES BANK will also leverage its chat bot based platform, YES mPower bot, allowing it to deliver superior customer experience with 1 min loan approval across all the retail touch points.

Speaking about the partnership, Pralay Mondal, Senior Group President and Head, Retail and Business Banking, YES BANK said, “YES BANK is pleased to partner global auto manufacturer Kia Motors in India. The Bank has been working with various auto players to provide innovative finance solutions, thereby further strengthening our position in the competitive value driven car segment and also contributing to the growth of the segment in the country.”

“It is our endeavor to enhance the experience of our prospective customers and add more value to our dealer partners in India. The partnership with YES BANK will definitely set the benchmark of premium and hassle-free Kia experience. This partnership will empower our stakeholders and customers with financial products specifically tailored for them to facilitate their smooth entry into the world of Kia,” said Kookhyun Shim, MD & CEO, Kia Motors India. “Kia Motors India aims at creating excitement in the automobile industry with best in class innovative solutions meeting overall needs of our partners and customers likewise,” he added.

The partnership will focus on providing easy financing opportunities for the dealers and also make it easy for eligible buyers to acquire brand new Kia vehicles. Besides providing financing solutions, YES BANK will also work towards developing exclusive digital banking solutions for Kia Motors in India.

Kerala Government Announces Partnership with Unity Tech to Launch Startup Centre of Excellence

Kerala Startup Mission, the nodal agency of Govt. of Kerala for technical entrepreneurship in the State has partnered with Unity Technologies to launch a Centre of Excellence for AR/VR and gaming. Through this Centre of Excellence, Unity will extend support to startups developing products, services, and games on platforms including mobile, PC, and various AR/VR hardware. This Centre of Excellence will also have a special focus on providing different levels of training on AR/VR developer tools to students and professionals in the State. The partnership is a significant step forward for developing an AR/VR ecosystem in Kerala.

“The AR/VR market is expected to witness huge growth globally in the next 5-6 years. This growth in demand for AR/VR content and solutions will be accompanied by the sprouting up of a new set of businesses. “This Centre of Excellence for AR/VR Developer tools with Unity Technologies is a step taken by the Govt of Kerala towards creating an ecosystem for new businesses to grow and cater to the global demand,” said Shri. M Sivasankar IAS, Secretary Department of IT & Electronics, Govt. of Kerala. Sivasankar also said that ICT Academy of Kerala and CDIT has an important role to play in the creation of this ecosystem in Kerala.

“Unity is at the center of the AR/VR ecosystem, powering 60%+ of all content and we see this industry growing significantly over the next few years,” said Hubert Larenaudie, Vice President of Asia Pacific at Unity Technologies. “This Centre of Excellence for AR/VR developer tools is a step taken by the government of Kerala to create an ecosystem for these new businesses to grow and thrive."

"Kerala Startup Mission is committed towards creating an enabling ecosystem for young ventures working on various emerging technologies. With its rich pool of creative talent, Kerala has the opportunity to become a hub for this extended reality disruption, which is a combination of content and solutions powered by hardware and distribution platforms. This emerging industry will, in turn, create new jobs that require new sets of skills. We will be working with ICT Academy of Kerala for skilling interested students and professionals on these design and development tools." said Saji Gopinath, CEO, Kerala Startup Mission.

In line with the Knowledge City initiative of Government of Kerala, KSUM has a special emphasis in promoting startups working in various emerging technologies like AI, Cyber Security, AR/VR etc. Over the past one year, KSUM has touched bases with more than one hundred (  to be precise) startups in these emerging technologies and has provided these startups with various support mechanisms including technology access through Future Technologies Lab, Innovation Grants, seed loans, exposure programs, and market connects. Future Technologies Lab also runs evangelization drives across the State to attract more professionals and students to take up research, learning and development programs in these newer technologies.

“In the Industry 4.0 world, AR/VR is a vital technology that has applications in multiple domains, hence youth with skills and competencies in AR/VR will have a unique advantage in the future jobs market. ICTAK is delighted to be skilling interested students and professionals on these design and development tools” said Santhosh Kurup, CEO, ICT Academy of Kerala.

Infosys Approves Rs 8,260 Crore Buyback Plan with Maximum Price of Rs 800 Per Share

In line with market expectations, Infosys on Friday approved buyback of shares, its second in less than two years.

The company said it would buy back 103,250,000 equity shares, which is 2.36% of the paid-up capital of the company as of December 31, 2018. The buyback size stands at Rs 8,260 crore at a maximum price of Rs 800 per share.

The buyback value per share is at a premium of 14.6% on the current market price. On Friday, the company’s shares closed 0.58% up at Rs 683.70 on BSE.

The company has constituted a buyback committee (Buyback Committee), comprising the COO, the CFO, the Deputy CFO, the General Counsel and the Company Secretary of the Company. “The Buyback Committee has the power to do all such acts, deeds, matters, and things as it may, in its absolute discretion, deem necessary, expedient, usual or proper in connection with the Buyback,” the company said.

It has also announced a special dividend of Rs 4 per equity share. Infosys will spend further Rs 2,107 crore over the special dividend. In June 2018, it had announced a special dividend of Rs 10 per share resulting in a payout of Rs 2,600 crore.

Infosys Management Scraps Plans to Sell Panaya, Skava

It was among Infosys Ltd’s most ambitious buys that eventually became a bone of contention between founder Narayana Murthy and the then chief executive officer and managing director Vishal Sikka. Infosys then tried to exit the Israeli enterprise software management company after Vishal Sikka was forced out of the company. It has now shelved that exercise.

The company on Friday said it had declassified the provider of automation technology as well as other sell-off candidates as “held for sale”. This includes Kallidus and Skava. It had bought e-commerce services provider Kallidus for $120 million. This gave it access to the holding group behind San Francisco-based Skava, a cloud-based platform provider of online services for retailers. All the acquisitions happened in 2015.

“During the quarter ended December 31, 2018, based on evaluation of proposals received and progress of negotiations with potential buyers, the company concluded it was no longer highly probable that the sale would be consummated by 31 March 2019,” the company said in a statement.

Infosys has been an acquisition-shy company, choosing instead to sit on cash — it conducted its first-ever share buyback in 2017 and announced another one on Friday. Sikka, bubbling with ideas as the company’s first non-founder CEO and a desire to move the traditional bread-and-butter software exporter to a company riding on automation and artificial intelligence, tried to change that. Panaya was a step in that direction — Infosys bought it at an enterprise value of $200 million.

Murthy accused Sikka of not being transparent in the deal, while also charging him of other misdemeanours. An April 13 story by Mint mentioned how the company’s then chief financial officer Rajiv Bansal walked out of a board meeting, protesting against the acquisition.

Later, a generous severance package to Bansal was questioned by shareholders and Murthy. A whistleblower claimed that the acquisition was overvalued and this became the foundation for allegations that the company, under Sikka, had bought out Bansal’s silence. Once Sikka was ousted, the company held back further payments to Bansal. The case went into arbitration and Bansal won.

In the December quarter, the company took a one-off depreciation charge and amortisation expenses of $12 million on its books, which hit its margins. Infosys will now continue to hold companies at a reduced fair value with plans to repurpose Skava’s micro services-based business and refocus Panaya’s suite of products.