Host Fleetwood Shows Amazing Consistency to Win in the Hero Challenge

Tommy Fleetwood, the host this week, emerged victorious at the Hero Challenge yesterday amonsgt a large number of fans lining up the waterside at the iconic Liverpool Waters Princess Dock.

Fleetwood playing his third Hero Challenge showed amazing consistency as he made sure that he was right on target with each of his shots from the customised tee to the floating green in the middle of the water to score with each of his 22 shots and won the title in the innovative event ahead of the British Masters beginning Thursday.

Dr. Pawan Munjal, Chairman, Hero MotoCorp, presented the trophy to Fleetwood.

The fast-paced event featured tournament host Fleetwood, fellow Englishman Matt Wallace, two time Major Champion Martin Kaymer, Ladies European Tour star Charley Hull, reigning Hero Indian Open champion Stephen Gallacher and Frenchman Alexander Levy, who won the inaugural  Hero Challenge in 2016.

Even though he found the target with each of his shots, Fleetwood at one point was one shot away from being eliminated by Charley Hull, the first woman to play the Hero Challenge.

Meanwhile, the Hero Challenge, was a high-scoring contest with players showing great ability to stop the ball on a floating target. Fleetwood totalled up a hige 250 points in the final to beat Wallace, the Hero Indian Open winner in 2018.

“I’ve not done well in these before, so if I had to pick one to win it would definitely be this one,” said Fleetwood, who plays host at the British Masters this week.

“Charley really pushed me in that semi-final - I was one shot away from being out. She was relentless, I knew it was going to be hard work when she was disappointed that she only scored 25 points with her first shot.

“I didn’t miss the target once in 22 shots, so I’m really happy with that. It was great having the home support in the final too.”

In the earlier matches, Kaymer got the event going in the first round with Wallace and Fleetwood. The players had 90 seconds to hit a maximum of ten balls at a target with four rings worth five, ten, 25 and 50 points, and the player with the lowest score was eliminated.

Kaymer hit a bullseye with his third shot en route to scoring 65 points but he was soon eliminated as Wallace (230) and Fleetwood (160) were in terrific form. Wallace had three bullseyes while Fleetwood registered 160 as he scored with every shot.

In the other first round match, Gallacher, the reigning Hero Indian Open champion, scored 100 points from his last three shots but he hit his final shot after the hooter to total 105.

Levy scored 110 to progress and while Hull only hit eight balls in her 90 seconds, but that was enough with four 25s and a bullseye that hit the pin giving her 150 points.

In the semis, the players were gven six shots each, hitting alternately. Wallace applied early pressure with three 25s in his first four shots, beating Levy. The second semi-final was a classic, as Hull put the pressure on with a bullseye with her third ball but Fleetwood made one with his fourth. Hull aced her final ball and Fleetwood needing to do the same did just that.

In the all-English final against Wallace, Fleetwood won a hit to spare after 25-25-50-50-50 in his first five shots.

Castrol India with Zee Announces Third Edition of Castrol Super Mechanic in 20 Indian Cities

Castrol, India’s leading international lubricant company, launched the third edition of its highly successful and much awaited Castrol Super Mechanic contest, India’ largest mechanic testing and training initiative. This event supports car and bike mechanics across India to test their skills and gain recognition nationally by displaying their knowledge and talent.

The programme, which saw an overwheliming participation of more than one lakh mechanics in 2018,  commenced with the computerized Interactive Voice Response round (IVR). This round will further select 40 mechanics each in the cars and bikes category.  The final round in Mumbai will have the top ten mechanics in each category vie for the top slot on national televisionand will encompass challenges that will test their theoretical knowledge and practical skills.

Stepping it up this year, Castrol India will be conducting learning sessions endorsed by Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) for close to 5,000 mechanics in 20 cities doubling the cities they are being held in, compared to last year . To broaden the reach and amplify the exposure of this event, Castrol India has associated with Zee Media Corporation to conceive and curate it, making it the largest Castrol Super Mechanic competition to date.

Passionate about the success and growth of the mechanic community, Omer Dormen, Managing Director, Castrol India Limited said, “The Castrol Super Mechanic programme accentuates Castrol India’s commitment to elevate the skills of the mechanic community and recognises their talent and huge contribution to the society through a public platform. It is extremely delightful and gratifying to help the transformation of these mechanics who help keep India moving.” He further added, “We hope the programme and previous winners of the Castrol Super Mechanic contest inspire many more this year to script their winning story.”

Zee Media Corporation will be airing various segments from the Castrol Super Mechanic programme across various Zee channels thus giving an opportunity to many mechanics to be on national television. Speaking on the occasion, Ashish Sehgal, Chief Growth Officer, Zee Entertainment Enterprises said, “Bringing alive the stories of the mechanic community for our audience is something never seen before on Indian television. In the true spirit of Zee’s culture of transforming ordinary people into extraordinary heroes, we are delighted to join hands with Castrol India for this project to build pride in their profession.”

The programme will conclude with Super Mechanic winners announced at a glittering red carpet finale in Delhi and it is slated to go on-air on Zee Anmol starting July 2019. The show will also be aired on various Zee network channels including Zee News

Speaking on his wonderful journey, Super Mechanic Ravish Siddegowda, winner of Castrol Super Mechanic 2018, said, “Castrol Super Mechanic transformed my life. Being on national television helped me get social recognition. My business has grown, and today I have a team that works with me. People in the city want to get their vehicles checked and repaired at my garage. Becoming a Castrol Super Mechanic was the biggest moment in my life!”

To participate:
To participate, the applicants can dial 1800-120-1401 and follow further directions.

Dates and registration details regarding the mechanic learning sessions will be announced shortly. Mechanics will also be informed through SMS and can stay updated by visiting www.castrol.co.in 

Nutanix Hyperconverges Secondary Storage with Nutanix Mine Open Platform Solution

Nutanix, Inc., a leader in enterprise cloud computing, today announced Nutanix Mine, a new open solution that integrates secondary storage operations with the Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Platform, delivering a complete platform for primary and secondary storage within the private cloud. Through native integration with industry-leading backup vendors Veeam, HYCU, Commvault, Veritas and Unitrends, customers will be able to manage their HCI environment and backup operations from a single management console, reducing the operational cost and complexity of standalone back-up and recovery solutions. Mine will streamline overall deployment, and simplify the full lifecycle of data backup operations, including on-going management, scaling and troubleshooting - all while preserving the customer’s freedom to choose the right back-up service for their particular infrastructure environment.

According to Gartner,

“There are many challenges with current backup and recovery solutions deployed today. The top concerns are most often related to the cost, complexity and capability.” Gartner goes on to state, “These costs often continue to rise despite overall cost improvements in the IT industry, and many organizations continue to perceive backup as an expensive insurance policy.”1

As companies modernize their datacenter with HCI to realize the simplicity, performance and scalability needed to run modern applications, their backup and data protection strategies have remained siloed from their core datacenter environment. With Nutanix Mine, customers will be able to converge secondary storage operations into the Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Platform to deliver intelligent data backup services for all business applications. Integrated with Nutanix’s native HCI data fabric that provides intelligent tiering and advanced data reduction capabilities, Mine will enable enterprises to choose the best data backup software for their organization, optimized for their Nutanix HCI environment; reducing the time and expense of configuring standalone secondary storage solutions.

Embracing an open platform strategy, Nutanix Mine will integrate with popular back-up solutions from Veeam, HYCU, Commvault, Veritas and Unitrends. Through tight integration with Nutanix’s HCI data fabric and advanced Prism management console, Mine will provide:

A reduction in the complexity of separate systems to back-up and recover business data, so secondary storage can be managed as easily as primary data storage
The simplification of the full lifecycle of data backup operations, including initial sizing and procurement, streamlined installation, and easy provisioning of the full solution, and
The ability to easily scale-out both primary and secondary storage to accommodate business growth

“The hyperconverged market’s rapid growth is largely attributable to its promise of modernizing infrastructure and reducing complexity by eliminating silos within the datacenter. But even as customers embraced HCI, the secondary storage silo persisted,” said Sunil Potti, Chief Product and Development Officer, Nutanix. “With Nutanix Mine, customers will get all the benefits of collapsing this silo into a single platform - reduced management complexity, simplified operations and reduced TCO - without the requirement that they forgo the backup solution best suited for their business needs.”

Availability
Nutanix Mine with Veeam, sold by Nutanix, and Nutanix Mine with HYCU are expected to be available in calendar Q3 of 2019. Nutanix Mine with Commvault, Veritas and Unitrends is expected to be available in a future release.

(1) Gartner, “Report Highlight for Market Trends: Expand Your Software-Defined Storage Market by Leveraging Backup and Archiving”, by Santanu Patro, July 2018, ID G00367503

CSS Corp Conducts Computer Literacy Training Program for Autistic Students in India

CSS Corp, a new-age IT services and technology support company, organized a ‘Computer Literacy Training program’ for students of Jayam Special School, Chennai from March 14th to April 26th, 2019. The program equipped autistic students with essential IT skills such as word processing and computer safety. To ensure students have ongoing access to IT equipment, CSS Corp also set up the school’s first computer lab.

The initiative is a part of CSS Corp’s ‘Digital Literacy’ CSR program, which aims to equip students with the computer skills necessary for modern life.

During the program, CSS Corp employees worked closely with school authorities to conduct engaging training sessions that equipped students with vital digital skills. Highlights included:

Introduction of a computer literacy program as part of the school curriculum
Students with speech impairments learned to communicate with teachers using technology
Students participated in fun activities such as envelope and cover making, and were invited to display their art skills at the CSS Corp facility in Chennai

CSS Corp has organized IT training programs for close to 2,200 students across a variety of Chennai schools, including a ‘Computer Literacy Program’ at a Government Girls Higher Secondary School during 2018. Students attending these programs are trained in word processing, spreadsheets, and Internet safety, and also receive career and development counseling.

Knight Frank Appoints Sharad Agrawal as Executive Director, Capital Markets in India

Knight Frank India, one of the leading International Property Consultants, inducts industry veteran Sharad Agrawal as Executive Director, Capital Markets. Sharad comes with over 20 years of experience in Investment Banking, Capital Markets and Coverage experience with a strong focus on real estate funds, banks, and fund of funds. He has worked across geographies and real estate segments on a variety of transactions such as structured/project finance, Land acquisition, offshore financing, SEZs, etc., he has over the years developed strong relationships with local and global financial institutions, rating agencies and portfolio company management teams. He has a strong understanding of Capital Markets and has worked with lenders across foreign banks, PSU banks, NBFC’s and mutual funds as well.

In his role at Knight Frank, Sharad Agrawal will lead a talented and experienced team of professionals and will be responsible for strategizing and executing capital markets deals across including fundraising, partner search, joint development, joint venture, equity partnerships, structured financing, debt syndication, etc. He will be based out of the Gurugram office and will report to the Chairman and Managing Director, Shishir Baijal.

“India is witnessing a structural shift in operations across industries, especially in the real estate sector owing to meaningful interventions by policymakers, real estate and the banking regulator. This has made India an attractive avenue for foreign capital inflows. The first successful listing of REIT is a testimony to this. In light of this dynamic scenario, our Capital Markets business solutions become an important driver. Sharad’s appointment is key to our strategy in discovering new growth avenues and providing a new dimension of our presence in the industry.” said Shishir Baijal, Chairman & Managing Director, Knight Frank India.

Speaking on his appointment, Sharad Agrawal said “I am extremely excited to be part of Knight Frank, a global organization which offers a compelling platform to build and grow the capital markets business in a rapidly changing environment. I am looking forward to creating value for the organization and for our esteemed clients and scaling the business to new heights.”

Elite Elevators Unveils First Thyssenkrupp Home Elevator Experience Center in Bangalore

 

Thyssenkrupp, in association with Elite Elevators, has launched its First Home Elevator Experience Center in India on 8th May 2019. This showroom is for all the prospective and existing clients to experience the look and feel of their exclusive products. The company sold 200 units last fiscal and expects the growth to reach 300 units by the end of this fiscal.

Thyssenkrupp has introduced the concept of Home Elevators in the Indian market. Since there are no set standards for Home Elevators in India, therefore all their elevators follow European Safety codes and go through 194 different parameters of safety. As opposed to commercial lifts, Thyssenkrupp home elevators require no pit (just 100mm) and no headroom space. These lifts operate on single phase power supply and require no oiling and lubrication on rails, which reduces the maintenance cost to minimal. Moreover, all their home lifts are certified by third-party organizations post installation, which imprints the safety standards they follow.

The inauguration of showroom at Prestige Meridian, Bangalore, was done by Mr Andrew Warbrick, Managing Director, Thyssenkrupp Access Ltd. This showroom will cater to both sales and after-sales services. The one-of-its-kind experience center has been designed as per Krupp's global 'Blue Cube' design language for showrooms.

Live demonstration of all their products is available at the showroom, for all the prospective clients. HE300, their premier model runs on cogged belt has an innovative belt-driven technology unlike the conventionally used ropes, chains or piston. This not only reduces the maintenance cost, but also improves the lifespan of the elevator. In accordance with above features, each HE300 lift is certified with Safety Integrity Level 3, which is the body that certifies safety of nuclear plants. Addressing the launch Press Conference Mr. Vimal Babu, National Sales Head, Elite Elevators said, "ThyssenKrupp Access has always been a trendsetter in home elevator industry; this elevator is destined to change the face of elevator market in India."

This experience center also showcases their award winning Flow 2A stair lift, which too is functional for users to check how it operates. One will be amazed by the patented 'swivel technology' which is used in these chairlifts. As mentioned by Mr. Vimal Babu, "The sole purpose of launching this experience center is to give our customers the first-hand look and feel of our products." This is the first step in Thyssenkrupp's endeavour to expand its presence across country. Elite Elevators is planning to launch multiple such experience centers across India in near future, where one can easily step into the World of Home Elevators.

About Thyssenkrupp Access Ltd.:

Thyssenkrupp is a 200+ year old German goliath, with its wings spread across multiple sectors like automobile, steel, elevation, etc. They generate revenue of around $44 billion annually and are pioneers of technology and innovation in multiple sectors. In 2018, Thyssenkrupp officially established themselves as No. 1 Home Elevator selling Company. Established in 2002, Thyssenkrupp Elevator (India) installs, maintains and modernizes elevators and escalators in India and Bangladesh. They have a strong presence in various segments, such as residential, office and infrastructure.

TVS Motor Invests US$3.85 M in TagBox as Part of Series A Funding

TVS Motor Company has invested US$3.85 Million in TagBox, a supply chain IIoT and Machine Learning platform company as part of its Series A funding round. This round was entirely led by TVS Motor Company Limited and its Singapore based Subsidiary, TVS Motor (Singapore) Pte. Limited

Rajesh Narasimhan, Board Member of TVS Motor Company and CEO of TVS Motor (Singapore) quoted “We evaluated many companies providing IoT solutions in the Supply Chain and logistics space and found TagBox’s product offerings and solutions to be an unique blend of IoT, Machine Learning and close-loop AI. Their ability to help organizations monitor, predict and prevent SKU health risk in the supply chain is a clear differentiator. We are happy to invest in and strategically partner TagBox as they continue to pursue bottomline impact for Fortune 1000 companies by improving their supply chain processes while leveraging them for our own group businesses. Our current investment in Tagbox is part of the initial set of investments being made in strategically relevant digital startups.”

“Organizations across the globe are increasingly adopting IoT and Machine Learning solutions to improve their supply chains and operations. We are excited that TVS Motor’s worldwide operations and experiences will help make our product and value proposition stronger and highly differentiated”, said Adarsh Kumar, CEO of TagBox. Adarsh further added, “We have already delivered ROI from our IoT based predictive insights solutions for leading Retail, E-commerce, Pharma, F&B, Dairy and Manufacturing companies in India and APAC. We believe it is now time to scale our product globally.”

TagBox plans to use the funds to strengthen product innovation and R&D while expanding its global footprint. TagBox will continue to invest in their BoxLens and AssetLens platforms and develop new predictive analytics and automation solutions to solve various customer use cases.