Kalyan Jewellers Targets 25% Revenue Growth in its Jewellery Purchase Advance Schemes

Kalyan Jewellers, one of India’s most trusted jewellery brands, expects positive impact from the recent ordinance on its jewellery purchase advance schemes. The Government of India had recently promulgated “The Banning Of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Ordinance 2019” targeting entities, which are not subject to any regulatory authority, collecting funds as advances for jewellery purchase.

“The recent ordinance is consistent to the continued efforts to formalise the jewellery sector. The gap that existed in the governance of the jewellery advance purchase schemes has been corrected with sole proprietorship and partnership firms being brought under the regulatory environment. It will result in a level playing field for the industry,” said Rajesh Kalyanaraman, Executive Director, Kalyan Jewellers.

“As a Public Limited Company, Kalyan Jewellers India Limited (“KJIL”) is not affected by the promulgation of the ordinance.  The jewellery purchase advance schemes run by KJIL are ‘Regulated’ and duly approved and sanctioned by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and we file returns in the manner mandated under the Act, with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). We therefore believe that our vast network of 102 showrooms in India and over 650 My Kalyan stores are poised to drive growth for our Dhanvarsha and Akshaya Purchase Advance Schemes,”  Mr. Rajesh Kalyanaraman added.

Kalyan Jewellers had discontinued its earlier jewellery purchase advance scheme in 2014 following the enactment of the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules 2014 ("Rules"). By the said Rules, private limited companies were barred from running conventional jewellery schemes which included paying of bonuses, benefits etc. However the said restriction were not mandated upon jewellers which were partnerships, sole proprietorships, LLP etc. KJIL, thereafter became a public limited company w.e.f June 2016 and since then have been operating the jewellery purchase advance schemes in strict adherence to the rules and regulations.

KJIL presently operates the Dhanvarsha and Akshaya purchase advance schemes. Customers enrolled in the said schemes can pay monthly instalment for 11 months and thereafter redeem jewellery for the total amount paid along with benefits in the manner approved under the Companies Act. Dhanvarsha and Akshaya Purchase Advance Schemes are statutorily compliant and well accepted among consumers. Monthly instalments can be paid by cash, cheques, DD and online payments.

Kalyan Jewellers is eyeing a significant growth in its base of jewellery purchase advance scheme customers. Kalyan Jewellers will seek to position itself as a brand of choice for the customers seeking to avail compliant and credible jewellery advance purchase schemes. “A segment of Customers understand the benefits of availing such schemes and we believe that there is a potential to grow our revenues from our jewellery advance schemes by 25%.

UL Expands Footprint in Bangladesh with Advanced Textile and Leather Testing Facility in Dhaka

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UL, a global safety science leader announced the expansion of the company’s footprint in Bangladesh with the inauguration of its new Consumer and Retail Services Testing Laboratory in Dhaka. The state-of-the-art, 33,000 sq.ft. facility provides advanced, end-to-end service solutions for the textile, apparel, leather and footwear industries at a single destination.

UL’s pioneering facility seeks to foster innovation, increase market access and enable faster time to market by empowering customers to show compliance with the highest standards for quality and safety. The suite of services offered at UL’s Consumer and Retail Services laboratory include a wide range of testing capabilities combined with solutions for inspections, factory and technical audit, chemical management, sustainability and social compliance for responsible sourcing. The facility is strategically located in the heart of Dhaka, along the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway that is easily accessible for customers.

Sharing his views on how customers can benefit by partnering with UL, Mr. Sarbajeet Mukherjee, managing director of UL’s Consumer and Retail services in South Asia, “Over the past decade since our inception in Bangladesh, UL experts have been supporting the retail industry with world-class testing services and technical expertise. With the global acquisition of Consumer Testing Laboratory in 2016, we are steadily consolidating our presence in the country to address the increase in demand from customers for quality testing services to meet rigorous compliance requirements. Our new innovative facility will enable us to help service our existing and potential customers better. The total solutions we offer here are designed to empower our clients mitigate market risk, strengthen global supply chains and protect brand reputation. We have developed leading edge customer service solutions like fast-track project and digital lab fulfilment systems to reduce lead times and ensure accurate, in-depth test results. Our customers can collaborate with us to test a variety of products as per global standards and regulations to get global market access (GMA) and increase their market share”.

Commenting on the launch of the new laboratory Mr. Suresh Sugavanam, UL’s vice president and managing director for South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa said, “UL’s investment in Bangladesh comes at a time when country is on an ambitious path to meet the export target of USD 50 billion from the apparel sector by 2021, to mark 50 years of the Republic of Bangladesh. Our team of multidisciplinary experts leverage the latest technologies, best-in-class equipment and engage in rigorous analysis of quality and safety parameters to help our customers launch winning products to the market in a cost effective manner”.

UL’s array of testing expertise for quality and safety assurance spans chemical, physical, mechanical,  colourfastness, fibre and flammability – performance and regulatory tests. Sustainability solutions to address chemical safety for environmental compliance include wastewater onsite assessments and testing solutions for Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) programme. UL brings over a century of experience in testing, certifying and inspecting fire, life safety and security products to cater to the needs of factory audits and inspection in Bangladesh.

Azim Premji Foundation to Spend ₹ 52,750 Cr Towards Philanthropy

With this, the total value of his philanthropic endowment contribution is ₹ 1,45,000 crore
Azim Premji, Chairman of Azim Premji Foundation announced on Wednesday that he has earmarked all economic benefits in approximately 34 per cent of the shares of Wipro Ltd worth about Rs 52,750 crore to philanthropy, by irrevocably renouncing more of his personal assets and earmarking them to the Endowment, which supports the Foundation’s philanthropic activities.

In a statement, he said he has additionally earmarked all economic benefits for philanthropic purposes, in approximately 34 per cent of the shares in Wipro Limited with a current market value of ₹ 52,750 crore ($ 7.5 billion) held by certain entities controlled by him. This action is in addition to his earlier donations to philanthropy, which included Wipro’s shares, as well as other assets owned by him.

With this action, the total value of the philanthropic endowment corpus contributed by Premji is ₹ 1,45,000 crore ( $ 21 billion), which includes 67 per cent of economic ownership of Wipro Limited. " Azim Premji’s philanthropic activities have an overarching vision to contribute to developing a just, equitable, humane & sustainable society in India. To enable this vision, the Azim Premji Foundation works directly in education and supports other not-for-profits working in some specific areas through multi-year financial grants ," the statement said.

Helping the disadvantaged

The foundation’s extensive field work in education has been in some of the most disadvantaged parts of India, to help contribute to the improvement of quality and equity of the public (government) schooling system. All this work has been in close partnership with various State Governments. Currently this field work is spread across Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry, Telangana, and Madhya Pradesh, along with some work in the north-eastern states of India. The Foundation’s field strategy focuses on creating and scaling up a network of institutions at the District and State levels, to contribute to improvement in the school education system on a continued and sustained basis.

Education programs

As part of its overall strategy, the Foundation has also set up the Azim Premji University in Bangalore. The University has been established with a clear social purpose of developing outstanding professionals in the domains of education and related areas of human development for the entire country. The University does this by offering various kinds of degree programs, education programs, and conducting research in various fields of human development and social importance.

The initiative to support other not-for-profits by providing multi-year grants was started in 2014 by the Foundation. This enabled the expansion of its philanthropic efforts to domains other than education that are crucial to contributing towards its vision. The grants support efforts of partners that directly or indirectly help create tangible improvements in the lives of deeply disadvantaged, under-served and marginalized sections of our society. In the last five years, these grants have supported over 150 organizations engaged in a range of domains across India.

Over the next several years, the activities of the foundation are expected to scale up significantly. The team driving the field work in education is expected to grow significantly from the current 1 ,600 people, while the University will expand to have 5 ,000 students with 400 faculty members across multiple programs. Thereafter, another University in the northern part of India may be set up by the foundation. Thegrant-making activities will also continue to expand rapidly, growing three times from its current levels, supporting good work across multiple domains of social importance in India. Overall, this strategy and its expansion aims to contribute meaningfully to developing a more just, equitable, humane and sustainable society in India.

Mahindra and Zee Celebrate International Women’s Day by Empowering Women Farmers with Prerna

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd , part of the USD 20.7 billion Mahindra Group and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), a media and entertainment powerhouse today celebrated International Women’s Day with the release of a nationwide campaign on the Prerna initiative.

Designed to bring to light the challenges that women farmers face and empower them as change makers in agriculture, this campaign highlights how Prerna is a strong change catalyst. Conceived by Lowe Lintas and directed by National Award-winning director Paresh Mokashi, the story of this film is rendered through an innocent child and his mother who is a farmer.

Launched in October 2017, the Prerna initiative was shaped with the intention of transforming the lives of women farmers, providing them with a better social status and respect in society. The key constituents of the program include introduction of gender neutral farm tools for reducing farm drudgery, and dissemination of knowledge and capability for increasing farm productivity. The ultimate objective is to increase overall income, resulting in financial independence and empowerment for women farmers.

Speaking on the campaign, Rajesh Jejurikar, President, Farm Equipment Sector, M&M Ltd. said, “Women farmers are the unsung heroes of our agricultural landscape. They carry a great part of the burden of their family, playing a multidimensional role, despite limited resources and restricted access to knowledge. Through Prerna, we aim to empower them with the necessary opportunities, training and equipment to be better skilled and more productive in farming operations. I am thankful to ZEE for their support in this unique initiative which aims to bring awareness about the role of women farmers through Prerna”.

Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, ZEEL said, “Agriculture is one of the most important sectors for the Indian economy and in fact provides employment to almost 50% of the country’s workforce with women being at the forefront. There is an emerging need to recognise their contribution and to bring these women into the mainstream, empowering them with direct access to knowledge of improved agricultural practices. We at ZEE Entertainment are proud to join hands with Mahindra to launch Prerna – an initiative to recognize, appreciate and empower women farmers”.

The first phase of Prerna was executed over the last 18 months, in over 40 villages in Odisha positively impacting the lives of over 2,000 women farmers. This phase was executed in partnership with the Central Institution for Women in Agriculture (CIWA), a department of the Government of India’s Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the NGO Pradan (Professional Assistance for Development Action), with the introduction of 14 farm implements, reducing drudgery in farming operations.

Currently Prerna has forayed into 60 villages across the key states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka in partnership with the BAIF Institute for Sustainable Livelihoods and Development (BISLD) with the aim of empowering & reaching out to over 6,000 women farmers, as change makers in agriculture. The plan is to work closely with women farmers to improve agricultural practices, introduce farm mechanisation and facilitate peer learning among the women farmer community.

India Saves Rs.149 Cr During ‘The Great Indian Restaurant Fest 2019’

India is a food loving country with each state offering different cuisines to match the preferences of a billion-strong population. Indians were never big on dining out but the scenario is fast changing now.

Based on its recently concluded third edition of the annual food festival – the ‘Great Indian Restaurant Festival’ (GIRF) dineout – India’s leading dining out platform, has released interesting findings which showed that dining out isn’t just for special occasions, it has become a way of life for India’s food connoisseurs. The month long food carnival kick-started on January 28 and offered close to 65% savings on bills, buffet, drinks (including alcohol) at 6000+ restaurants across 11 cities.

This year, GIRF saw an overwhelming response from consumers wherein approximately 2.5 million diners participated, which was 2.5 times more as compared to its previous edition. The restaurant partners generated a total GMV worth of Rs. 350 crores during the month-long festival. Out of these, over 80% diners turned out to be between the age group of 18-34 years, which clearly showcases that Indian millennials are utilizing dining out as a popular form of socializing and are open to experiencing various cuisines & deals.

Following the theme #MonthofMore, dineout’s GIRF invited consumers to indulge in binge eating by offering more food, more discounts and more incredible dining out experiences. The festival also saw other interesting trends wherein close to 13% of consumers preferred dining out at café’s over a pub or a bar and over 4.2 lakh people dined out on 24th February alone, which is more than the population of Iceland!

In terms of cities, Delhi topped the charts where around 30% of the total diners enjoyed meals & deals at GIRF, Mumbai & Bengaluru came a close second and third respectively. Some of the other interesting findings from the festival were –

Delhi had more appetite for pizza than paranthas
Bengaluru leveraged happy hour deals the most during GIRF
Mumbai & Kolkata had the maximum consumption of noodles during GIRF
Delhiites saved around  Rs. 50 Cr. during GIRF, which is the spend of a big fat Indian wedding

“This year, GIRF has captured the imagination of millions of Indian foodies,” Ankit Mehrotra, Founder & CEO - dineout said. “Indian millennials are increasingly discovering the pleasures of dining out and exploring cuisines from all over the world, and we are glad to play a pivotal role in this.  We see a shift towards dining out experiences that bring them closer to friends and family. We look forward to offering foodies across the country more opportunities to combine their love for great deals with their passion for unique quality food and drinks.”

During the festival, dineout also ran several contests to offer foodies a chance to win free prizes and goodies and invited its consumers to share their best GIRF memories on Instagram and stand a chance to win OnePlus 6T every day.

Mounting Cloud Email Threats to Office 365 Require Second Layer of Defense

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, today announced that its Cloud App Security tool blocked nearly nine million high-risk email threats in 2018 as attackers continued to evolve their tactics, highlighting the importance of investing in multi-layered protection for online platforms like Office 365.

The findings from Trend Micro’s Cloud App Security report detail how escalating email threat levels are exposing organizations to an increased risk of fraud, spying, information theft, and spoofing. As email remains a staple communication and collaboration tool globally, it is convenient for cybercriminals to leverage this integral, trusted platform for compromising attacks.

“Organizations are increasingly looking to cloud email services to boost productivity and agility, but the Cloud App Security report reveals that—from credential phishing to business email compromise (BEC) and the use of unusual file types—hackers are employing a variety of new tactics to evade built-in controls, making it critical to invest in a second layer of defense,” said Kevin Simzer, chief operating officer at Trend Micro.

As the report reveals, email remains one of the most popular threat vectors. In total, the solution detected and blocked nearly 9 million high-risk email threats in 2018. This number was even after Cloud App Security was used as a second filter for emails that passed through Office 365. A Trend Micro customers’ detection result is available in the report.

This underscores that sophisticated, multi-layered security is imperative for cloud-based email security as part of the shared responsibility model.

Simzer continued, “Microsoft is a valued partner of ours and by no means the only provider targeted by these evolving tactics. While its internal controls are a great starting point, organizations must take shared responsibility for security in the cloud. Think of third-party email protection as the tires of your favorite car — an essential add-on.”

To improve the tool’s detection rates even further, Trend Micro has added new capabilities that combine Computer Vision and Artificial Intelligence technology to “see” fake websites. This additional technique is applied to suspected phishing emails after filtering based on sender, content, and URL reputation.

The new capabilities sit alongside other Trend Micro email security features. These strategic offerings include AI-powered Writing Style DNA to combat BEC attacks, machine learning-based detection of suspicious email content, sandbox malware analysis, document exploit detection, and file, email, and web reputation technologies. Cloud App Security also leverages the power of the Trend Micro Smart Protection Network, which blocked more than 41 billion email threats in 2018.

Equifax Analytics Joins with SysArc Infomatix to Enable Seamless Digital Lending

Equifax Analytics Pvt. Ltd, a global information solutions provider of predictive analytics, today announced a union with SysArc Infomatix, a world-class lending solutions provider to drive digital transformation in financial institutions across India via their bundled LENDperfect and Interconnect platforms.

Equifax Interconnect is a cloud based modular, agile and secure decision management system that is designed to help Indian financial institutions to transform complex data and decision strategies into actionable insights.

Equifax InterConnect enables institutions to manage decision policies, data sources, models and analytics effectively, and to respond to market needs swiftly. InterConnect empowers business users through comprehensive management of business strategies and policy rules with limited technical involvement.

SysArc’s LENDperfect is a world-class solution designed by banking experts and seasoned IT professionals to manage and gain visibility over entire loan life cycle.

LENDperfect Retail, Agri and MSME are market-leading solutions that understand the needs of multiple lending institutions. The products have an automated workflow engine to ensure quick TAT and meticulous BPM standards across the entire lending operation.

“Today, the Indian market is travelling through digital transformation and a seamlessly integrate able solution to set up a straight through process is very important” said KM Nanaiah, managing director, Equifax Credit Information services Ltd. and Country Leader, Equifax India and MEA. “This complimentary partnership will bring to Indian financial institutions an integrated flexible platform combining Loan management system and Decision management system with ability to integrate multiple data sources and analytical tools seamlessly.”

Customer satisfaction lies in the ability to process a loan requirement and dispense it within a matter of minutes. The ability to process and sanction an increasing number of loan requests can help garner more applicants looking for quicker credit approval. People are in constant search of new innovative ideas that can ease complex tasks. The need to stay updated and inventive is essential to outgrow competition and earn loyalty of customers, said Mr. Sundar Garg, CEO SysArc. “Partnering with Equifax Analytics takes SysArc one step closer to making lending easy for both borrower and the lender. Data capturing and instant verification is crucial to any loan processing. Much of this vision is fulfilled through the partnership by improving decision support through extensive yet instant underwriting process.