KEI Expects Robus Growth on Rising Demand for House Wires and Cables

India’s leading house and power cable manufacturer, KEI Industries Ltd. has announced that it expects to grow 35%-40% in the house wire and cable segment during the next financial year.

Riding on robust and healthy earnings for the quarter ended September 2018, the company hopes to drive on its house wires and cables segment during this fiscal period.

The company’s Q2 sales in house wire segment grew Rs. 209 Cr in current FY19 in comparison to Rs. 131 Cr in the corresponding period of last financial year.

Similarly, its sales during H1- FY19 were reported at Rs. 389 Cr. from Rs. 236 Cr.  Further, its sales during the H1 in the house wire swelled 64.83% over the last financial year.

Anil Gupta, Chairman cum Managing Director- KEI Industries Ltd. said: “Our Company has registered a phenomenal growth in retail sales business in FY’18-19 till now. Last year it was around Rs 1086 crore and with more demand coming from the users, we are hopeful to exceed 40% in next two years. We also expect a potential growth in our house wire segment. With the new affordable housing schemes coming up and with a rise in the real estate business as the demand actual buyers for personal and official use is increasing, this has helped us to scale-up with this growing demand for house wires. KEI’s house wires also contribute to government’s vision for affordable housing as these products are being used by many developers under affordable housing schemes”.

The company is optimistic about its growing market in house wires and cables as they are energy efficient and meet the highest-level of safety for domestic and commercial usage. These cables are for the use of wiring domestic and commercial buildings. With over 1300 dealers pan India, the company’s retail sales have grown to almost 33% of their turnover in terms of its total sales.

The company in the house wires segment offers Homecab-FR which stands synonymous to safety. These cables are used for wiring domestic and commercial buildings. These cables are of utmost quality in electrical and mechanical properties along with being accredited with global standards. A fine-drawn multi strand conductor provides enhanced flexibility and makes it ideal for concealed wiring. It is suitable for installation in lighting fittings and appliances up to 1100 v (A.C). The product has higher flexibility and ensures easy handling while guaranteeing a much longer life thus attracting a new generation of real estate developers.

Mindtree Net Profit Grows 35% to Rs 191 Crore in Quarter III of 2018

Mid-sized IT firm Mindtree on Wednesday said its consolidated net profit for the December 2018 quarter grew 35.1% to Rs 191.2 crore and exuded confidence that its January-March numbers will be better than the just-concluded quarter.

Mindtree had registered a net profit of Rs 141.5 crore in the October-December 2017.

Its revenue grew 29.7% to Rs 1,787.2 crore in the December 2018 quarter from Rs 1,377.7 crore in the year-ago period.

“Our consulting first approach combined with deep technology and domain expertise are helping our clients drive enterprise-wide transformations...this has also helped the company sustain its growth momentum, even in a seasonally weak quarter,” Mindtree Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Rostow Ravanan told reporters on a concall.

He added that the company continues to invest in people to further strengthen its ability to create sustainable value for all stakeholders.

The Bengaluru-based company has been in the spotlight over speculations of promoters being under pressure to sell their stakes.

The management, however, skirted questions on the issue saying it remains committed to delivering growth for the company but there are some matters which are not under its control.  According to reports, one of Mindtree’s largest investors and Café Coffee Day (CCD) founder, V G Siddhartha, and two of his firms are expected to sell their stakes.

The reports said the promoters are now under pressure to either sell a part of their holdings to the buyer, along with Siddhartha, or allowing the buyer to purchase shares from the market and force an open offer to gain control in Mindtree.

 In the December 2018 quarter, Mindtree had 340 active clients. Its headcount stood at 19,908 people with trailing 12-month attrition at 13.4%.

Mindtree said its digital business in the quarter under review grew by 32.4% year-on-year.

New Global Alliance Commits Over $1.0 Billion USD to Help End Plastic Waste in the Environment

An alliance of global companies from the plastics and consumer goods value chain today launched a new organization to advance solutions to eliminate plastic waste in the environment, especially in the ocean.

The cross value chain Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), currently made up of nearly thirty member companies, has committed over $1.0 billion with the goal of investing $1.5 billion over the next five years to help end plastic waste in the environment. The Alliance will develop and bring to scale solutions that will minimize and manage plastic waste and promote solutions for used plastics by helping to enable a circular economy. The Alliance membership represents global companies and located throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

“Everyone agrees that plastic waste does not belong in our oceans or anywhere in the environment. This is a complex and serious global challenge that calls for swift action and strong leadership. This new alliance is the most comprehensive effort to date to end plastic waste in the environment,” said David Taylor, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Procter & Gamble, and chairman of the AEPW. “I urge all companies, big and small and from all regions and sectors, to join us,” he added.

“History has shown us that collective action and partnerships between industry, governments and NGOs can deliver innovative solutions to a global challenge like this,” said Bob Patel, CEO of LyondellBasell, and a vice chairman of the AEPW. “The issue of plastic waste is seen and felt all over the world. It must be addressed and we believe the time for action is now.”

The Alliance is a not-for-profit organization that includes companies that make, use, sell, process, collect, and recycle plastics. This includes chemical and plastic manufacturers, consumer goods companies, retailers, converters, and waste management companies, also known as the plastics value chain. The Alliance has been working with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development as a founding strategic partner. The Alliance today also announced an initial set of projects and collaborations that reflect a range of solutions to help end plastic waste:

·         Partnering with cities to design integrated waste management systems in large urban areas where infrastructure is lacking, especially those along rivers which transport vast amounts of unmanaged plastic waste from land to the ocean. This work will include engaging local governments and stakeholders, and generate economically sustainable and replicable models that can be applied across multiple cities and regions. The Alliance will pursue partnerships with cities located in high plastic leakage areas. The Alliance will also be looking to collaborate with other programs working with cities, such as Project STOP, which is working in Indonesia.

·         Funding The Incubator Network by Circulate Capital to develop and promote technologies, business models and entrepreneurs that prevent ocean plastic waste and improve waste management and recycling, with the intention of creating a pipeline of projects for investment, with an initial focus on Southeast Asia.

·         Developing an open source, science-based global information project to support waste management projects globally with reliable data collection, metrics, standards, and methodologies to help governments, companies, and investors focus on and accelerate actions to stop plastic waste from entering the environment. The Alliance will explore opportunities to partner with leading academic institutions and other organizations already involved in similar types of data collection.

·         Creating a capacity building collaboration with intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations to conduct joint workshops and trainings for government officials and community-based leaders to help them identify and pursue the most effective and locally-relevant solutions in the highest priority areas.

·         Supporting Renew Oceans to aid localized investment and engagement. The program is designed to capture plastic waste before it reaches the ocean from the ten major rivers shown to carry the vast majority of land-based waste to the ocean. The initial work will support the Renew Ganga project, which has also received support from the National Geographic Society.

In the months ahead, the Alliance will make additional investments and drive progress in four key areas:

·         Infrastructure development to collect and manage waste and increase recycling;

·         Innovation to advance and scale new technologies that make recycling and recovering plastics easier and create value from all post-use plastics;

·         Education and engagement of governments, businesses, and communities to mobilize action; and,

·         Clean up of concentrated areas of plastic waste already in the environment, particularly the major conduits of waste, like rivers, that carry land-based plastic waste to the sea. 

 “Success will require collaboration and coordinated efforts across many sectors – some that create near-term progress and others that require major investments with longer timelines. Addressing plastic waste in the environment and developing a circular economy of plastics requires the participation of everyone across the entire value chain and the long term commitment of businesses, governments, and communities. No one country, company or community can solve this on their own,” said Veolia CEO Antoine Frérot, a vice chairman of the AEPW.

Research from the Ocean Conservancy shows that nearly 80 percent of plastic waste in the ocean begins as litter on land, the vast majority of which travels to the sea by rivers. In fact one study estimates that over 90 percent of river borne plastic in the ocean comes from 10 major rivers around the world – eight in Asia, and two in Africa. Sixty percent of plastic waste in the ocean can be sourced to five countries in Southeast Asia.

“While our effort will be global, the Alliance can have the greatest impact on the problem by focusing on the parts of the world where the challenge is greatest; and by sharing solutions and best practices so that these efforts can be amplified and scaled-up around the world”, said Peter Bakker, President and CEO of World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

The following companies are the founding members of the Alliance: BASF, Berry Global, Braskem, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC, Clariant, Covestro, Dow, DSM, ExxonMobil, Formosa Plastics Corporation USA, Henkel, LyondellBasell, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, Mitsui Chemicals, NOVA Chemicals, OxyChem, PolyOne, Procter & Gamble, Reliance Industries, SABIC, Sasol, SUEZ, Shell, SCG Chemicals, Sumitomo Chemical, Total, Veolia, and Versalis (Eni). From India, Reliance Industries has taken charge to advance efforts towards sustainable future.

Vivo India Partners with Cashify.in to Launch ‘Vivo Xchange’ Program

Vivo India has introduced the all new ‘Vivo Xchange’ program - a new trade-in offer for its fans, to exchange their old phones and upgrade to a new Vivo smartphone on Vivo’s in-house e-store website shop.vivo.com/in. The upgrade program is designed for both existing Vivo customers as well as for other smartphone users looking to buy a new Vivo smartphone. The company has partnered with leading online re-commerce brand Cashify.in, to ensure seamless trade-in process.

As an introductory offer, Vivo is offering an additional INR 1000 bump-up exchange of their old Vivo smartphones from 16th – 19th January 2019.

Speaking on the collaboration, Jerome Chen, Senior VP, Vivo India, said “Being a customer centric brand, Vivo has always aimed to offer great value to its fans. Under this partnership, customers can now seamlessly exchange their old phones and upgrade to a brand new Vivo smartphone of their choice. We are pleased to partner with Cashify.in as the exclusive buy back partner for Vivo, in India”.

To initiate the process, the customer first has to visit Vivo e-store (https://shop.vivo.com/in) and follow these simple steps:

Go to Vivo e-store and choose the device that you want to buy

Get the Exchange quote for your old smartphone, powered by Cashify.in and place the order after accepting the quote
The new Vivo smartphone will be delivered to your address, once the order is placed
Further, Cashify.in will schedule the pickup of your old device and they will give instant payment for it, as per the quote agreed earlier

India’s First-Ever Dota 2 Mega Event: ESL One Mumbai 2019 from April 19 - 21, 2019

ESL, the world’s largest esports company, and NODWIN Gaming are pleased to announce the debut of ESL One powered by Intel in Mumbai, India on April 19 - 21, 2019. The NSCI Dome will host 12 of the world’s best Dota 2 teams competing for a prize pool of $300,000.

Humankind discovered strategy games much later than fire, but also much earlier than electronics. The board game of Chaturanga was developed by an unknown studio during a Golden Age for ancient Indian civilizations around 1500 years ago.

It was later imported by the Persians, who established the tradition of ending the game by announcing that the Shah, the most important piece, was dead. “Shāh māt” became “check mate”, which nowadays has been shortened to “ggwp”.

It was only a matter of time before the art of tactical gaming came back to the origin in its ultimate form: a Dota tourney in an 8,000-seater stadium on the Mumbai seafront!

What they’re saying:
Ulrich Schulze, Senior Vice President of Product at ESL: “We can’t wait to bring ESL One to a completely new location - especially since this will mark the first big Dota 2 tournament in India. We see great potential in the Indian esports market and are looking forward to further foster the growth of the local scene together with our partner NODWIN Gaming.”

Akshat Rathee, Managing Director of NODWIN Gaming: “ESL One commands global reverence in the world of esports and for India to play host to this event is indeed a landmark for the country’s esports history. NODWIN Gaming has firsthand experience of the passion of the Indian Dota 2 community over multiple years and this is our gift to them - to come and meet the best Dota 2 gamers of the world at ESL One Mumbai 2019.”

Prakash Mallya, Managing Director - Sales & Marketing Group at Intel India: “As the technology leader for esports and gaming and ESL's Global Technical Partner, Intel is looking forward to delivering a world-class gaming experience to Dota 2 fans in India and around the world, at the inaugural ESL One Mumbai 2019."

What you need to know:
-TEAMS: There will be seven direct invitations for the tournament. Online qualifiers will grant one spot each for the following regions: Europe, North America, Greater China and Southeast Asia. Additionally, we’ll hold a local qualifier in India to give the best teams in the country a chance to earn their place among the top Dota 2 rosters in the world as the 12th ESL One Mumbai participant. All details regarding qualifiers will be announced soon.

-COSPLAYERS: Bring your finest look and show it off on the main stage for our traditional contest. The winner will be part of the trophy ceremony to crown the inaugural ESL One Mumbai champions. Stay tuned for details.

-TICKETS: Tickets for ESL One Mumbai 2019 will go on sale on Thursday, January 17 at 3pm (IST), and will range from 499 INR for Single Day tickets up to 2,499 INR for Premium tickets

Follow our official Dota 2 accounts on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date with all things ESL One Mumbai.

Instamojo Closes Series B Funding Round at Rs 50 Crore in 2018

Bengaluru based Fintech Company Instamojo, announced today the closing of its Series-B round of funding. The round saw Instamojo raise Rs 50 Crore, led by both existing and new investors. Existing investors included AnyPay, Kalaari, Beenext & Rashmi Kwatra, along with first time investor - Gunosy Capital.

Instamojo began its journey in the Fintech space with its flagship product - The online payment link, thereby solving the digital payments challenge for several entrepreneurs. Focused on empowering the Indian MSME sector, the company recently expanded its portfolio by providing logistics and lending services to small businesses. This provided businesses smarter and simpler solutions to enhance their services and sustain in a digitally evolving landscape. With this new round of funding, Instamojo aims to transform itself into a full-stack Fintech service provider, enabling the MSMEs of the country to build, grow and sustain in a competitive environment.

Sharing his thoughts on the new round of investments, Sampad Swain, CEO & Co-founder, Instamojo said, “The Series-B funding comes as a boost to our business and we are grateful to our investors for believing in Instamojo’s vision. We are extremely positive and excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for us as an organization and how our efforts can help revolutionize the Indian MSME sector. With the introduction of our recent lending and logistics services, Instamojo is today on its way to becoming the 360º digital-enabling partner for MSMEs for all shapes & sizes.”

Founded in 2012 by Sampad Swain, Akash Gehani and Aditya Sengupta, Instamojo received their first round of investments in 2014, followed by a Pre Series B funding led by Japanese based firm AnyPay in August last year. Speaking on being part of Instamojo’s Series B Funding round, Taka Inoue, CEO of AnyPay said, “Our association with Instamojo started in August 2017 and since then we have only seen extraordinary growth at their end, in terms of sales and MSMEs on-boarded on the platform. Now Instamojo is all set to evolve from just being a payments company to full stack service provider who supports logistics and short terms loans to empower Indian MSMEs and we are confident that Instamojo will be soon become indispensable for all entrepreneurs in India. AnyPay joined this round as a continuation from the previous round and I, myself will be joining Instamojo team as a board member.”

The Series B round also saw the participation of first time investor Gunosy Capital. "We believe that digital and cashless economy has grown rapidly in India, and its e-commerce market is also expanding. From that background, Instamojo has been doing great business in the market and is expected to continue expanding. ", said Yuki Maniwa, Director of Gunosy Capital.

Instamojo today works with and enables over 600,000 MSMEs to build, manage and grow their business. As part of their upcoming plans for 2019, the company aims to introduce promotional services, helping the MSME sector stay relevant in a competitive digital business landscape.

Tata Motors Hosts First Expo for the E-commerce Industry in India

The e-commerce Industry in India is one of the fastest growing market places in the world. To meet the critical, demanding and ever growing requirements of this Industry, Tata Motors as the leader in Commercial Vehicles, in a first ever end-to-end experiential expo for the e-Commerce Industry is displaying a complete range of 13 fully built, ready to use vehicles. This wide range of ready to use fully built solutions exclusively developed for the e-Commerce Industry can meet every single application cutting across hub-to-hub-to-spoke transportation and the end-to-end delivery requirements. At a sprawling E Commerce Expo 2019 held in Devi Lal Stadium, Gurgaon, the company displayed some of the bestselling variants across SCV, ILCV and MHCV segment.

Tata Motors has developed these fully built ready to use solutions after extensively researching the exacting requirements of the e-Commerce Industry, engaging with the top e-Commerce companies and their vendors involving our own design engineers and our FBV team by incorporating their requirements in the design and features as desired by them.

For the last mile distribution, Tata Motors with its range on the bestselling Ace platform has exhibited versatility through Ace Delivery Van for e-commerce goods, Ace Zip panel van for e-commerce packages and Super Ace Mint XPS for voluminous goods transportation. Equipped with state-of-the-art technology, ease and convenience of use, efficient and reliable performance with best-in-class mileage, and most cost-efficient solutions; these vehicles are known for superior design, excellent fuel economy, a longer service life and with its versatility supports the various customizations for multiple applications, enabling smarter solutions for the e-commerce industry. The vehicles come with customized payloads and deck lengths to carry light goods like white goods to heavier loads like fruits, vegetables and auto parts. Tata Super Ace Mint Insulated Container allows for the temperature-controlled transportation of perishable goods like milk/ milk products/ Fruits & vegetables/ meat, etc.

For the hub-to-spoke transportation requirements, the company displayed a range of Light and Intermediate commercial vehicles on the modern newly launched series of Ultra trucks, which has gained substantial growth in a very short period. The Ultra range of trucks are powered by the powerful, modern and high performance Turbotron engine giving it the clear edge in terms of performance, reliability, operating economics and much more. These vehicles are fitted with the advanced features like OTP lock, CCTV cameras, Load sensors, Telematics system, etc in line with the exacting demands of the e-Commerce Industry. These vehicles equipped with the latest advanced Safety Features, reduces the total cost of ownership, and gives best-in-class mileage along with high level of driving comfort & safety.

The exhibits included 24 FT MS Container On Ultra 1518/53, 20 FT MS Container on Ultra 1014/45, 20 FT MS Reefer On Ultra 1014/45, 3 Side Openable - MS Container On Ultra 1518/53, 22 FT MS Container on LPT 1412/48 and 10 FT MS Container on SFC 407/33. The whole range will cater to the growing needs of e-Commerce, Industrial Goods, Auto Component, FMCG, Agri Products, Beverages, Pharma and White Goods industries.

For the hub-to-hub transportation requirements, a complete range of fully built solutions from the portfolio of MHCV is displayed. These vehicles built exclusively for the e-Commerce Industry are customized with special advanced features catering to the special requirements. The 24 Ft refrigerated container on LPT 1613/52 and 32 Ft Refrigerated Container on LPT 2518/68 are well equipped to cater to the growing demand of the cold chain supplies like frozen foods, ice cream, dairy products, fruits & vegetables and pharma. The 31 Ft MS Container on SIGNA 2818/68 AMT vehicle combines the unmatched benefits of a ready to use truck equipped with advanced safety, security and surveillance features (like Anti Fuel Theft, Digital Locks, Reverse Parking and In-Container cameras, Load Sensors, Door Opening sensors) and pioneering Automated Manual Transmission and Hill Start Aid delivering class leading driving delight and comfort. The 32 Ft MS Container on LPT 1618/68 Turbotronn powered by the future-ready TATA 5.0L 4 Cylinder Turbotronn engine is designed for excellent benefits on both Revenue and TCO aspects. These are suitable for transporting various goods like long haul Ecommerce shipments, Auto Parts, Tyres, Agri products, White Goods, FMCG, Parcels & Courier. All these products are geared up to help customer meet a challenging market environment through improved financial returns by reduction in total cost of ownership and also ensuring driver comfort and driving safety

On this occasion, Girish Wagh, President – CVBU, Tata Motors said, “Fueled by rising incomes, increasing government support, and a surge in the internet users, the Indian E-Commerce market is expected to grow to US$ 200 billion by 2026 from US$ 38.5 billion in 2017. Today, companies are also increasing their distribution centers and their fleet size to cater to the growing demands of the consumers. We believe, the E-Commerce Expo 2019 will act as a platform to address the growing demands of the transporters and E-Commerce players; and provide them with diverse range of fully-built products with customized features. Through our product offerings, we are shifting the paradigm for new age products and smart solutions.

To support the e-Commerce Industry players who live by their commitment to deliver on time every single time to their customers, Tata Motors has developed customized Value added services under the Sampoorna Seva umbrella giving total peace of mind for the e-Commerce company and the transporters enabling them to live up to their commitment. The value added service include breakdown services anywhere in the country 24x7, Annual Maintenance Contracts, hassle free Insurance cover for the vehicles, quick service bays, on-site services, pit stop services for high traffic hubs and all of this supported by the most extensive service and parts network in the country”

Designed based on the feedback and suggestions received from the customers, the company has created experience centers for customers to better understand the high-end technology/design implemented in making the vehicles superior and reliable. The expo will witness presence from transporters and leading e-Commerce companies such as Amazon, Flipkart, Future Supply chain, DHL among others.