Largest Multiplex Chain, PVR Cinemas Ties Up with GyFTR (Vouchagram) to Power its e-Gift Vouchers

PVR Cinemas, the largest and the most premium film exhibition chain in India, has teamed up with GyFTR (Vouchagram), country’s leading online-to-offline (O2O) peer-to-peer gifting platform, to power its e-gift vouchers. The brand will now feature their e-gift vouchers on the GyFTR platform, which will be available for purchase in the following values: INR 100, INR 250, INR 500, and INR 1000.

Established in 1997, PVR Cinemas is the largest cinema chain and currently owns 758 screens in 162 locations across 65 Indian cities. Its extensive pan-India presence and superlative in-cinema experience make it the first choice of millions of cinemagoers. This association underlines PVR’s efforts to enhance its customer acquisition and augment its online/offline footprint with the help of GyFTR’s end-to-end e-gifting solutions.

PVR customers can use e-gift voucher powered by GyFTR to book PVR movie tickets online and can redeem only one e-gift voucher on one bill. These cannot be used directly at PVR cinema halls.

Commenting on this association, Arvind Prabhakar, Co-Founder – Vouchagram India Pvt. Ltd, said, “There is no dearth of cinema lovers in India, which is why there is massive traction for e-gift vouchers for online movie ticket booking. Our partnership with PVR, one of India’s most popular cinema chains, significantly expands our offerings in this space. We are confident that this association will not only enhance the experience of movie-goers in India but also allow PVR to offers its services to a much wider online audience.”

Speaking on the partnership, Mr. Gautam Dutta, CEO, PVR Ltd. said, “At PVR Cinemas, we understand that the expectations of the modern day consumer are transforming rapidly. In this day and age, a combined online/offline marketing strategy is crucial to enhance revenue generation and sales, market visibility, and brand recall. This is why; we are thrilled to join hands with GyFTR, a platform that will give PVR Cinemas seamless access to the diverse e-gifting ecosystem, thereby allowing us to accelerate customer acquisition and business growth.”

A thought leader in the instant gifting and redemption domain, GyFTR currently services more than 5 million customers and has a clientele of 135+ active brands. The platform facilitates seamless gifting across multiple geographies and has been revolutionizing the segment by making the experience of receiving a gift like a ‘gift’ in itself through its proprietary technology.

Gourmet Passport Now Available in Kolkata; Will Launch in Three More Cities by June

Dineout – India’s largest dining out and restaurant tech solutions company today launched its premium membership program Gourmet Passport in Kolkata. The service was launched by Mr. Ankit Mehrotra, CEO, Dineout and Mr. Rocky Mohan, founder & mentor, Gourmet Passport and a renowned food columnist in India.

Gourmet Passport by Dineout is a subscription based premium membership program that offers unbeatable value to diners with its incredible Buy 1 Get 1 offer at 1000+ top restaurants across India. It enables dining at top restaurants more accessible to food connoisseurs who are looking for a great dining experience and at the same time enjoying unmatched savings of up to 50% on their dining bills.

Dineout has partnered with more than 100 restaurants across  Kolkata for Gourmet Passport  including the city’s luxury & fine dining restaurants and 5 star hotels. Some of its tmost exclusive partner restaurants are – Pa Pa Ya, Ping’s Cafe Orient, JW Kitchen and The Salt House among others, where Kolkata’s foodies can enjoy the privileges of their Gourmet passport subscription.

“Our expansion into Kolkata is a part of our commitment to meet the growing demands of our consumers. Gourmet Passport is a premium membership program that caters to evolving taste of Indian foodies and has a membership base of close to 260K members. We look forward to enhancing the gastronomic experiences of Kolkatans by bringing them the most exclusive dining options across the city”, said Mr. Ankit Mehrotra, CEO & Co-founder, Dineout.

Expressing his thoughts on the launch, Mr. Rocky Mohan, Founder & Mentor, Gourmet Passport said that, “People of the City of Joy love to dine out and want to experiment with their food choices. Gourmet passport is a tailor-made product for food connoisseurs who are looking to discover premium dining experiences at best of the restaurants. We are sure that Gourmet Passport will act as a gastronomic treat to the diners with new restaurants and cuisines.”

Gourmet passport by Dineout has close to 260K + members from 8 cities of India and has partnered with over 1000 luxury dining restaurants and bars across 5-star hotels, premium standalone outlets & chains. The product is already available in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Chennai in India. The brand will next launch in Jaipur, Goa and Chandigarh by June.

Ajay Dixit Appointed as the New CEO of Cairn Oil & Gas India

Cairn Oil & Gas, a vertical of Vedanta Limited, and India’s largest independent oil and gas exploration and production company, has announced the appointment of Ajay Dixit as its Chief Executive Officer. Ajay succeeds Sudhir Mathur, who after seven successful years with the company, moves on to pursue personal endeavors.

Ajay brings 39 years of rich experience in the energy sector and joined Vedanta in 2015 from Siemens where he was CEO - Energy for South Asia. An alumni of Delhi College of Engineering, he served as the Acting CEO of Vedanta’s Aluminium and Power business before being elevated to this new role. He brings deep experience in strategy, operations, technology, finance and regulatory affairs. His leadership will support Cairn’s vision to realize the full potential of Barmer block, grow the offshore business, appraisal of new blocks under OALP I and DSF II, and in continuing to steer a strong and high growth organization.

Speaking on the appointment, Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan, CEO, Vedanta, said, “We are delighted to appoint Ajay as CEO of our oil and gas business. Ajay has a deep understanding of our business and the markets we operate in. He is a dynamic and values-driven leader with an impressive track record of delivering consistent high quality performance in a safe and sustainable way. We are confident that he will play a stellar role in further increasing the operational efficiency and growth of our oil and gas business. We warmly thank Sudhir for all his contributions and wish him the very best in his future.”

Ajay said, “I have been closely watching and admiring Cairn’s spectacular performance and it is a privilege for me to lead this business. We will continue to invest systematically and bring in world-class technology to further strengthen our India exploration footprint. Our focus will remain on exploration and production in innovative and sustainable ways to support India’s vision of energy security and self-sufficiency.”

Cairn today produces approximately 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, which is about 25% of India’s crude production and has a vision to take up its contribution to 50%. The company has planned investments worth $3.5 billion over the next 3-4 years which will significantly ramp up its production.

Jaguar Land Rover Finds the Teenagers Writing the Code for a Self-driving Future

Tomorrow’s engineers are learning to code self-driving vehicles of the future today thanks to the unique Land Rover 4x4 in Schools programme.

Self-driving cars will require an estimated one billion lines of computer code1 – almost 1,000 times more than the 145,000 lines required by NASA to land Apollo 11 on the moon2. To meet the growing need for more coders to deliver these future autonomous and connected vehicles, Jaguar Land Rover is looking to inspire the next generation of software engineers.

The talented teenagers competing in this year’s Land Rover 4x4 In Schools Technology Challenge world finals - a global education enrichment initiative aimed at encouraging young people to take up STEM careers - were able to write 200 lines of code in just 30 minutes, to successfully navigate a scale model Range Rover Evoque around a 5.7-metre circuit.

David Lakin, Head of Education from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), said: “We’re in the midst of a digital skills shortage – the UK alone requires more than 1 million software engineers to fill the growing demand for roles requiring a knowledge of coding, software engineering or electronics.

"Digital skills are vital to the economy, which is why the IET is proud to support initiatives like the Land Rover 4x4 In Schools Technology Challenge to ensure we inspire, inform and develop future engineers and encourage diversity across STEM subjects from a young age. If we are to safeguard jobs for the next generation, we must equip the workforce of the future with the skills they will need to engineer a better world.”

As of 2018, there were 23 million software developers worldwide but this population is expected to grow to 27.7 million by 2023†,  with World Economic Forum research suggesting 65% of students today will end up working in jobs that don’t currently exist*.

This year, Jaguar Land Rover will launch a new Digital Skills Apprenticeship programme to attract the brightest computer engineers to help code its next-generation electric, connected and autonomous vehicles and support the factories of the future.

Nick Rogers, Executive Director of Product Engineering at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Computer engineering and software skills are more important than ever in the rapidly changing automotive industry, and that will only increase as we see more autonomous, connected and electric vehicles on the roads. The UK will need 1.2 million more people with specialist digital skills by 2022, and as a technology company, it’s our job to help inspire and develop the next generation of technically curious and pioneering digital engineers. The Land Rover 4x4 In Schools Technology Challenge is just one of the ways we are doing this, as well as our new Digital Skills Apprenticeship programme we are launching this year.”

The Land Rover 4x4 in Schools programme has helped the company reach more than four million young people since 2000. This year 110 students from 14 countries qualified for the world finals  held at the University of Warwick, with NewGen Motors team from Greece lifting the trophy following two intensive days of competition.

Mark Wemyss-Holden, former teacher and Curriculum Content Developer, said: “Coding is high on the agenda across industry and teachers do a fantastic job delivering the curriculum, but schools have competing priorities and are hamstrung by limited budgets and time. The private sector, and programmes like Land Rover 4x4 In Schools, have a real opportunity to bridge the gap between what learners enjoy studying and how that translates into a future career.”

Jaguar Land Rover is a leader in the development of Autonomous, Connected, Electric and Shared (ACES) mobility services and has invested in Global Pioneering Hubs around the world to capitalise on– including Shannon, Republic of Ireland; Budapest, Hungary and Portland, in the United States.

John Cormican, General Manager for Vehicle Engineering, Shannon, said: “Shannon has an important role to play in realising the company’s vision for autonomous and connected vehicles, but we cannot deliver this future without the very best minds - individuals who could write the next chapter for Jaguar Land Rover. It's fantastic to see the company taking such an innovative approach towards investing in the next generation.”

Unity Technologies Announces the Open Beta of the Unity Distribution Portal at GDC 2019

At this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC), one of the biggest gaming conferences in the world, Unity Technologies, creator of the world’s most widely used real-time 3D development platform, announced several updates to its platform, enabling developers to move further towards innovation. In Unity’s annual keynote address, the company provided an exclusive first look of The Heretic, the first ever real-time digital humans featured video, introduced the Lightweight Render Pipeline (LWRP) is coming out of preview this year, announced the open beta of the Unity Distribution Portal (UDP), and much more.

The Heretic, is a short film by Unity’s award-winning Demo Team, the creators of Adam and Book of the Dead. The Heretic is also Unity’s first ever showcase of real-time digital humans. Unity’s demo team combined data acquired through both 3D and 4D scanning, and then built a complete pipeline from data acquisition to real-time rendering in Unity, aligning services offered by various commercially available service providers.

Additionally, Unity announced that the Lightweight Render Pipeline (LWRP) is now out of preview and will be ready for production use in the 2019.1 release. This rendering pipeline has been designed from the ground up to offer the most scalable solution for Unity graphics, with a lean and optimized approach that allows optimum performance on the maximum amount of supported Unity platforms.

Unity also announced the open beta launch of the Unity Distribution Portal or UDP at the conference. UDP allows developers to scale their business and expand their player base globally by distributing mobile games on apps stores in emerging markets. Distributing a mobile game to different apps stores comes with a lot of hurdles, complexities, and challenges. UDP automatically creates builds for each of the participating stores and enables distribution regardless of individual store requirements.

“We believe that the world is a better place with more creators in it,” said Hubert Larenaudie, President Asia Pacific & Global Lead Unity Distribution Platform at Unity Technologies. “We invest heavily in our technology to ensure that we’re powering our community’s ideas and enabling them to create, operate, and monetize on our platform. Our announcements at GDC 2019 underscore that commitment”.

Manipal Hospitals Whitefield Appoints Dr. Venugopal as Consultant in Neuro Surgery

Manipal Hospital Whitefield announced the joining of Dr.Venugopal Subramaniam as Consultant in Neursurgery Department of the Hospital. Dr.Venugopal will be available for OPD Consultation on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays between 9.00am to 2.00pm.

Having an experience of over a decade post qualification, Dr.Venugopal is having hands-on experience in various subspecialties of Neurosurgery, which includes complex Brain and Spine diseases in both adult and pediatrics.

His special interests are in Neuro oncology, Deep brain stimulation(DBS), Epilepsy surgery, Spinal deformity and Minimal invasive spine surgery (MISS). With Functional Neurosurgery getting more importance in the area of today’s  Neurosurgery, Dr. Venugopal’s academic contribution and interest in  research work on Stem cell Transplant for Parkinson’s disease, Deep Brain Stimulation and 3D printing technology for spinal deformity surgeries is an  added advantage which can aid patient’s seeking highest order of treatment in these respective disorders.

“Manipal Hospitals Whitefield is focused and committed to quality healthcare at par with International standards.”, says Dr.Venugopal. “This a great opportunity for me to leverage my expertise and experience to boost up Manipal Hospital’s endeavour in creating a patient-centric System”

About Manipal Hospitals:

As a pioneer in healthcare, Manipal Hospitals is among the largest hospital network in India serving over 2 million patients annually .Its focus is to develop an affordable tertiary care multispecialty healthcare framework through its entire multispecialty delivery spectrum and further extend it to homecare. With its flagship quaternary care facility located in Bangalore, India, 7 tertiary care, 5 secondary care and 2 primary care clinics spread across India and abroad, today Manipal Hospitals successfully operates and manages 5,900 beds across 15 hospitals. Manipal Hospitals provides comprehensive curative and preventive care for a multitude of patients from across the globe. Manipal Hospitals has one-day care clinic in Lagos, Nigeria.  Manipal Hospitals is first in India to be  awarded accreditation by the AAHRPP for ethical standards in clinical research activities. It is also NABL, NABH and ISO certified. Manipal Hospitals is also the most respected hospital company in India and the most patient recommended hospital in India by consumer survey.

Intel's Director Jitendra Chaddah Appointed New Chairman of IESA

India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA), the premier industry body representing the Indian Electronic System Design & Manufacturing (ESDM) industry today announced its new Executive Council (EC) for the year 2019-20 with Jitendra Chaddah (JC), Senior Director - Operations and Strategic Relations, Intel taking over as the Chairman.

Speaking on the occasion, Jitendra Chaddah, Chairman, IESA said, “I feel extremely honored for taking up the position of IESA chairman at a time when the Indian electronics and semiconductor industry is poised for exponential growth. The opportunity for electronics system design and manufacturing is tremendous, given the rapid momentum around Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud, Smart & Connected Devices, and 5G. This requires accelerated focus on entrepreneurship, innovation, IP creation and manufacturing in the ‘Intelligent Electronics’ space. I am looking forward to the continued partnership with the industry, government and academia to achieve our goal of making India a global hub for design-led manufacturing in Intelligent Electronics.’

JC has over two decades of industry experience with excellent international exposure and experience of working in both emerging and mature markets – USA, Latin America, Asia Pacific. At Intel, he has played multiple leadership roles ranging from Program Management of large and complex programs to running operations and setting strategic direction for large R&D sites at different Intel locations. JC also plays a critical role in leading multiple industry initiatives to accelerate technology adoption and innovation in the country. Recently, he led the conceptualization of Semiconductor Fabless Accelerator Lab (SFAL) and IESA’s Vision Summit.   Currently Jitendra is the Senior Director, Operations and Strategy at Intel India, leading operations of Intel’s largest R&D center outside the US, forming strategic alliances with the tech eco-system and creating impactful initiatives for technology acceleration in partnership with Government, Academia, Media and Industry.

“It gives me immense pleasure welcoming JC as the new chairman. We look forward to further strengthen our footprint globally with his visionary expertise & contemporary outlook in managing large enterprise products, leading vision groups with governments, fostering entrepreneurship, Start-Up culture, innovation and resilient academia relationships. This will help IESA taking India to leadership position globally in design and manufacturing of intelligent electronics products and solutions”, said Rajesh Ram Mishra, President, IESA.

The IESA Executive Council also saw the appointments of Dr Satya Gupta, Co-Founder & CEO SenzOpt Technologies India being as the new Vice Chairman and Veerappan V, Co-Founder & Director, Tessolve Semiconductor as the new Treasurer two new members; along with Anoop Dutta, CEO, EmuPro Consulting Pvt. Ltd. and Sanjay Gupta, Vice President & India Country Manager, NXP Semiconductors as Executive council members.

About India Electronics and Semiconductor Association: India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) is the premier industry body committed to the development of the Indian Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) ecosystem. The IESA’s vision is to bring stakeholders from the Indian industry, government and academia on a common platform to work towards making the Indian ESDM sector globally competent. The IESA’s member base of 300+ companies represent a spectrum from Large Global Corporations to Large, SMEs and Start-ups from Domestic Technology companies in ESDM space, including Academic Institutions and Venture Capital firms.