NiYO Launches First-Ever Global Travel Card with Zero Forex Mark-Up

NiYO, the new-age digital banking solutions provider for salaried employees, has launched NiYO Global Travel Card, which is the first-ever forex card with ‘zero forex mark-up’. Travellers, using this card, will not pay any currency exchange premium and international transaction fees – unlike a regular forex card.

With the NiYO Global Travel Card in her pocket, the overseas traveller will effectively have no need for the usual multi-currency forex cards or travellers’ cheques – all the while making international transactions cost-effective across 150-plus countries and 35 million merchants worldwide.

Besides the cost-effective feature, NiYO Global Card also offers instant digital onboarding, convenient loading from the user’s bank account via NEFT/IMPS.

The card is supported by a cutting-edge mobile app, which gives users the ability to lock and unlock either the full card or a payment channel anytime, anywhere in the world. The app also provides real-time notifications on usage, exchange rates and refunds, while helping users find convenient ATM locations, avail nearby offers – thus making it one of the most modern cards in the world today.

Further, business travellers can submit claims on-the-go by adding bills for each transaction right in the app. These claims can be instantaneously approved by their employer organisations via the NiYO Corporate Portal.

NiYO CEO and Co-founder Vinay Bagri said, “The forex card market in India is worth $17 billion; around 20 million people are expected to travel abroad this year. By 2020, this number will rise to 50 million. With such a staggering number of Indians travelling abroad, we aim to capture a lion’s share of the market.”

NiYO CTO and Co-founder Virender Bisht said, “Our aim has been to facilitate hassle-free experience among our customer. Forex is one of the key components for travel and remains a concern. International travellers are always burdened with high currency exchange rate charged by banks, which varies between 1-3% of the amount transacted. Banks also charge either a flat fee or a set percentage of the transaction amount in addition to the currency exchange charge. Moreover, people are also very worried about card security abroad. This card is a one-stop solution for all of these problems. We have invested our best effort and technology in the designing process to provide the safety feature along with other components. The card has already been reviewed and appreciated by many top executives from the India Inc. and today, we are glad to present it to our customers at large.”

Founded by Vinay Bagri and Virender Bisht, NiYO works at the intersection of financial services, HR and technology. NiYO was launched in July 2015 and since then has already clocked in more than 3000 corporates and is being used by over 5 lakh salaried employees in these organisations.

Land Rover Launches Special Landmark Edition of Discovery Sport and Enhances its Design Appeal

Jaguar Land Rover India, has announced the launch of Model Year 2019 Discovery Sport Landmark Edition. The Landmark Edition is powered by the 2.0 l Ingenium Diesel, which delivers a powerful 132 kW output and exhibits the vehicle’s true spirit of adventure.

Rohit Suri, President & Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover India Ltd. (JLRIL), said:
“The introduction of the Landmark Edition for Model Year 2019 Discovery Sport further enhances the Discovery Sport portfolio. This special edition variant introduces remarkable features to the vehicle that fortify its exceptional capability, versatility and spirit of adventure.”

The Discovery Sport Landmark Edition is available in three colours: Narvik Black, Corris Grey and Yulong White, all crowned with a Carpathian Grey contrast roof. It features a sporty and dynamic front bumper, with Graphite Atlas exterior accents and 45.72 cm (18) 5 Split Spoke 511 wheels in gloss dark grey. The vehicle’s interiors receive further aesthetic emphasis by Ebony grained leather seats and an Ebony headliner, complemented by dark grey aluminium finishers around the centre stack.

Truck Drivers Turn Artists with Tata Motors’ ‘Photo OK Please’ Contest

Tata Motors’ brainchild contest ‘Photo OK Please’, an effort to reach out to the trucking community, recognize the exciting side to their trucking life and encourage digital engagement for the drivers, has been running successfully across the country now. 5500 drivers have registered with more than 13000+ photo entries across 21 cities.

The unique contest by Tata Motors recognizes and rewards the truck drivers as they share photos from their travel experiences. The Tata Trucker drivers get to pass by unique and unseen stretches of India as a regular part of their profession. This makes them privileged in a manner unknown to them and the contest helps them realize their reach and boosts their confidence and contentment in what they do. All the participants needs to do is: Click a picture, upload it to their Instagram account and tag @tata.trucks.

Out of the large volume of image entries received every day from truckers across the country, a daily winner and weekly winner is announced to keep the contest fever alive. Submissions of winners have their names, individual photos and truck model numbers inscribed with location details on the pictures while posting on social media for recognition enhancement. Out of the top 3 entries selected, the 1st and 2nd prize winners will win family holiday packages worth Rs. 75,000 and Rs. 40,000 respectively, and the 3rd prize winner will win a smartphone worth Rs. 25,000. In addition to these, weekly prizes will also be given out.

Commenting on the campaign, UT Ramprasad, Head Marketing Communications, CVBU, Tata Motors said, “At Tata Motors, we are constantly churning unique ways to positively impact the lives of our most important stakeholders, the truck drivers. ‘Photo OK Please’ is meant to be a platform for the drivers to engage with a wider audience and share their experiences on the social media. We hope this contest will reveal the lesser known aspect of a truck driver’s life and inspire the youth to consider it as a viable career option. The campaign has received very encouraging response so far and we look forward to all the wonderful entries still to come.”

Social platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp are being used to reach the truck drivers. The campaign exhibits moments from the lives of the truck drivers on these social media channels and dedicated website with extensive promotion of the contest and the entries on television programs and digital channels. A multi-lingual website has been created for the contest, which will be used for registrations, tips, announcing the winners, etc. Additionally, on-ground activation at dealerships are also being carried out.

The first phase of the year-long campaign ends on 30th March which will be followed by the final winner selection in the first week of April.  

Emirates Introduces Entertainment Playlist Syncing Ahead of Travel

Emirates has introduced an innovative new function on its app to allow customers to create bespoke playlists ahead of their flight and sync it to their seats once on board. Customers can plan their trip more effectively and maximise their onboard experience by using the Emirates app to browse the expansive entertainment catalogue at any time. Keeping in mind the passion for music amongst Indians, this will only further intrigue the music lovers to plan more for musically enthralling journeys.

ice, Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment has reached a new milestone of over 4,000 channels of on-demand entertainment. The catalogue includes over 1,000 movies, more than any other airline, popular television box sets, tens of thousands of music tracks, podcasts and games. All the more reason for Indian music lovers to continue travelling with Emirates.

Sir Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline said: “In keeping with our ‘Fly Better’ promise, our teams work tirelessly to provide ever better world-class travel experiences. Every detail is carefully considered as we continually enhance and develop innovative products and services for our customers. This latest functionality on the Emirates app elevates the customer experience even before they step onto the aircraft. Our customers can now browse the unmatched content on offer and create personal entertainment playlists at their leisure, and once comfortably settled in their seats on board, they simply sync and press play.”

The syncing capability is currently available on over 100 Emirates Boeing 777 aircraft travelling from all the 9 cities in India and will be made available progressively across the entire fleet, including A380 aircraft in the coming months.

With a global customer base, Emirates offers entertainment in 44 languages and each month over 100 movies are added to the system. Emirates ensures its youngest customers are catered for with a large selection of children’s movies and TV channels. In addition to over 75 Disney, Marvel, and children’s movies there are also over 50 TV channels, including Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, CBeebies & the Disney Channel.

ice also features varied content such as Emirates’ own Food and Wine Channels giving customers behind-the-scenes look at how it creates its onboard menus; expert-led LinkedIn Learning courses; as well as uTalk language courses offering lessons for beginners.

The Emirates app is a one-stop travel companion allowing customers to book flights, hotels, car rentals, tours and attractions. In addition to the ice catalogue, travellers can browse through their flight’s menus and wine lists up to a month before the departure date. The Emirates app also features 3D seat maps which allows customers to navigate the interior of the Emirates A380 and the Emirates Boeing 777 during seat selection, and explore the spacious cabin before they board.

The Emirates app is free to download on iOS or Android devices.

Tata Motors in Partnership with Nitol Motors Launches the All-New Tata LPT 1212 Light Commercial Vehicle in Bangladesh

Tata Motors, India’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, along with its authorized distributor Nitol Motors Ltd., today launched the all-new Tata LPT 1212 light commercial vehicle in Bangladesh. The vehicle has been designed for the modern commercial vehicle customer of Bangladesh, with superior performance and high load carrying capacity.

Tata LPT 1212

The Tata LPT 1212 is a perfect cargo transporting solution for the Bangladeshi customer in the light trucks category. The reliable 497 TCIC Common Rail Engine with proven engine life and reparability, optimally powers the truck. The Tata LPT 1212 is designed to deliver improved performance and better fuel efficiency with lower emissions, levels of noise and vibrations. The high performance engine is configured to deliver optimum power output at even lower RPMs enabling one to drive with lesser gearshifts while giving better fuel efficiency. The bigger clutch diameter of 330 mm allows easy engagement of gears leading to driving comfort and efficient power transmission. The high ground clearance of 245 mm makes it a perfect solution for transporting cargo over rough terrains. The loading capability of the truck is enhanced with the bigger tyre size (9X20 – 16 PR)

Speaking at the event, Abdul Matlub Ahmed, Chairman, Nitol Motors Ltd., said, “Our local expertise coupled with a robust dealer network across the country has been crucial to our success thus far. With our partner Tata Motors, we are confident about making a significant impact in the light truck segment with Tata LPT 1212 and thus winning a significant market share.”

Rudrarup Maitra, Head, International Business, Commercial Vehicles, Tata Motors said, “The much awaited Tata LPT 1212, has been specifically designed keeping in mind the unique local Bangladesh market loading requirements and duty cycle. With various product enhancements such as a powerful engine, high ground clearance, bigger clutch diameter and tyre size, this vehicle is the best choice for customers in this segment. We are confident of further strengthening our market leadership in Bangladesh with this launch.”

Eicher Trucks & Buses Introduces Industry First Truck with AMT in 16T Category

In an industry first move,  Eicher Trucks & Buses, part of VE Commercial Vehicles Limited, introduced state-of-the-art AMT (Automated Manual Transmission) technology in the 16T category- Eicher Pro 3016 AMT. 

This industry First 16 ton GVW AMT truck-The Eicher Pro 3016 AMT is equipped with an Intelligent Shift Control Actuator that automatically performs clutch and shift operations which completely eliminates the need to use the clutch and shift gears manually. The Pro 3016 AMT comes with Auto and Manual modes along with Transmission drivability features, that is, Power mode for time bound deliveries and Eco mode for Fuel Efficient operations. With this new development, Eicher’s further reinforces its vision of driving modernization in commercial transportation in India and developing world.

The biggest advantage of Eicher Pro 3016 AMT is that it comes with additional driving comfort over manual transmission-equipped models. The elimination of a clutch pedal frees drivers from gear-shifting, reduces their stress & fatigue and minimizes performance gap between skilled and less experienced drivers. Pro 3016 AMT has been equipped to address challenges around driver safety, comfort and protection of cargo, thus ensuring fast and efficient movement of goods. This makes the vehicles apt for variety of applications such as ecommerce, consumer goods, parcel & courier, pharmaceuticals, industrial goods, agriculture produce, poultry and dairy products.

Commenting on this development, Rama Rao A S, Executive Vice President, Sales, Marketing and Aftermarket, Heavy Duty Trucks, VE Commercial Vehicles said, “Eicher has always been a pioneer in providing technologically superior solutions to its customers as per market demands Today, we are introducing AMT in the value truck range for 16 tonnes. Pro 3016 has successfully made a unique position for itself in the competitive 16-tonne segment. With Pro 3016 AMT, we aim to launch a technologically advanced truck that will be a  game changer for the commercial vehicle industry.” 

Further, he added, “Fuel efficiency is a plus in the all new Eicher Pro 3016 AMT. However, factors such as comfort, safety, driver efficiency and total cost of ownership of the truck are also critical aspects of buying trucks these days. Eicher Pro 3016 provides additional comfort and fatigueless driving, so that the driver can clock more kilometers per day so and focus on driving with more attention to the road. AMT allows optimized gear shifting that contributes to a fuel efficient and comfortable drive and low maintenance, thus improving their overall turnaround time, eliminating shocks to the driveline and allowing smooth movement of cargo.”

The Pro 3016 AMT trucks are being manufactured in the Eicher Trucks and Buses facility in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh, where Eicher produces its complete range of 4.9T to 55T commercial vehicles.

Qlik Acquires CrunchBot to Augment Conversational Analytics Capabilities

AI-powered Natural Language Bot and Specialist Services Will Help Drive Analytics Adoption, Customer Success and Data Literacy

India, January 23, 2019 – Qlik today announced it has acquired the CrunchBot AI-powered analytics bot along with Crunch Data Inc.’s experienced team of AI and solution development professionals. Users can now interact with and understand their data using natural language through Qlik Sense and within leading collaboration tools such as Slack, Skype, Salesforce Chat and Microsoft Teams.

This expands Qlik’s existing augmented intelligence and cognitive capabilities by delivering additional conversational analytics leveraging Qlik’s platform and open APIs.

“Bringing CrunchBot and Crunch Data into Qlik will help users more easily inject data regularly into workflows, making analytics an essential element in daily collaboration and decision making,” said Mike Capone, Qlik CEO. “Qlik continually looks for new ways to deliver augmented intelligence to users and improve data literacy. These acquisitions help expand the ability of our customers and partners to leverage data and insights where work happens, increasing the value of both data and the organization.”

According to Gartner, “By 2020, 50% of analytical queries will be generated via search, NLP or voice, or will be automatically generated”.(1) Qlik’s customers already benefit from augmented intelligence and natural language search capabilities within Qlik, and CrunchBot expands and extends those capabilities through a conversational, natural language interface.

CrunchBot works uniquely with Qlik, bridging the gap between visual discovery and conversational analytics. As a Trusted Extension Developer (TED) accredited solution, validated by Qlik for quality and functionality and built upon Qlik’s open API framework and Associative Engine, CrunchBot enables users to:

* Ask questions in a conversational manner through the Qlik Sense UI or popular collaboration tools such as Slack, Skype, Salesforce Chat and Microsoft Teams;
* Explore and ask questions of their data through voice interaction with integration to services such as Amazon Alexa;
* Receive robust answers and insights including additional context with auto-generated charts, interpretations, key drivers, period-over-period calculations and predictions for measures;
* Seamlessly dive directly into Qlik Sense analytics apps based on the results, with the context (selection state) retained;
* Leverage unique Natural Language Processing (NLP), which automatically trains itself and tracks user inquiries over time, and Natural Language Generation (NLG) which delivers insights for not only what is happening, but also why – and where to go next.

Unlike standalone search products, this approach offers the best of both worlds – allowing users to enter an experience conversationally and then transition to visual exploration for deeper understanding and discovery. Qlik customers and partners will see increased analytics adoption and user data literacy with a faster and easier way to ask questions, generate insights, and make data-driven decisions with CrunchBot.

Crunch Data will help drive analytics adoption and customer successes, integrating immediately into Qlik’s existing customer success organization to expand Qlik’s ability to deliver value-added and managed services. The Crunch Data team, a mix of offshore development and U.S.-based

AI professionals, has a strong track record of successful project engagements with brands like Century Link and Hortonworks.

“Qlik is the analytics leader in bringing augmented intelligence and machine learning to enterprise users,” said Nish Patel, CrunchBot CEO and Crunch Data Co-Founder. “We’re thrilled to become part of the advanced capabilities that Qlik continues to bring to market, helping enterprise customers realize the bottom-line value of making it easier for their employees to converse with data.”

CrunchBot is immediately available to customers through Qlik today, and will be licensed as a value-added solution to the Qlik Sense platform. To be named the Qlik Insight Bot, this new product will be available alongside Qlik’s existing Insight Advisor capability and will be further integrated with the Qlik cognitive engine to deliver even more value to our customers.