Dineout’s Great Indian Restaurant Festival all Set to take Place for the Second Time this year in August!

Things to look forward to in 4th Edition-
• 8000+ restaurants offering FLAT 50% off on total bill, food bill, drinks bill, buffets and meals under Rs. 199 coupons
• Gourmet Passport members get early access to GIRF deals on 24th July. Deals for all open on 27th July
• Top rated restaurants across 17 cities of India
• GIRF Unplugged, first ever on ground event in 3 cities

Highlights of Feb 2019 edition –
• 2.5M diners used GIRF deals, generating a revenue of over 350Cr
• Every second a table was reserved at participating restaurants
• Over 4.2L people dined out on 24th February alone
• Delhites saved around  Rs. 50 Cr. during GIRF

If you love eating out and enjoy exploring new cuisines then August is going to be your month of more. India’s largest dining out platform - Dineout has announced their ‘biggest ever food & drinks festival’ – Great Indian Restaurant Festival (GIRF) for the second time this year. The festival is slated from 1st Aug-1st Sep giving Flat 50% off deals on Total bill, food bill, drinks bill, buffet and coupons spanned across 8,000+ restaurants in 17 cities including Surat, Nagpur, Kochi and Ludhiana where Dineout will be launched soon. Diners can additionally get 20% cashback on their restaurant bills using Dineout Pay. Along with exclusive cashback offers from HDFC Bank and bonus JPMiles from JetPrivilege every day.

Earlier this year, Dineout concluded 3rd edition of GIRF in the month of February, which received a massive response of close to 2.5M diners who bought deals and over 350Cr worth revenue generated for partner restaurants, which was 2.5x higher than the last edition. It was the success of GIRF’s 3rd edition that has led to the launch of another one within the same year, only bigger! They are also launching an all-day on ground event - GIRF Unplugged curated by SteppinOut on 3rd Aug in Bangalore, 4th Aug in Hyderabad and 11th Aug in Chennai. With Gourmet Passport - Dineout’s premium membership platform, diners can get a VIP entry to these events along with early access to buy GIRF deals from 24th-26th July. GIRF deals for all can be bought starting 27th July for dining between 1st-31st August at restaurants like Hyatt, Sheraton, Radisson, Mainland China, Social, Lord of the Drinks, Chaayos, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, & more.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Ankit Mehrotra, CEO & Co-founder, Dineout said, “As August marks the beginning of festivities in our country, we want to give people all the more reason to celebrate and what can be better than GIRF. After a successful edition this year in February, where we seated 2.5 million diners across 12 cities, we heard the call from our diners & restaurant partners, raised the bar in this edition by adding more cities, more restaurants and more partners like – HDFC, Jet Privilege, Jio and Diageo. We look forward to this edition that will be #MonthofMore in true sense”

Speaking on the association, Spokesperson from HDFC Bank said, "We are happy to be associated with Dineout's Great Indian restaurant festival for the second time in a row. Dineout has successfully established a strong relationship with its diners with a unique blend of food and cashback and thus creating a strong affinity for the property. So, while GIRF offers great deals, HDFC Bank cardholders enjoy the added privilege of 50% cashback on buying the deals and they also get 30% cashback while paying their restaurants bills thru Dineout Pay.

GIRF is restaurant industry’s first ever food & drinks festival which was launched in 2017 with the idea to promote the dining out culture among consumers and change the way Indians dine out. The festival has been instrumental for both consumers as well as for the partner restaurants. No questions asked Flat 50% off deals, cashbacks, bank offers, partner offers and more at top-rated restaurants are the main drivers behind the success of the festival. For more details regarding the festival, please login  https://www.dineout.co.in/pregirf

So all the foodies out there, get prepared to indulge in GIRF which is going to offer more food, exciting discounts and offers, more restaurants to explore, more cuisines to discover and more memorable experiences!

Nandini Unveils New Milk Now Fortified with Vitamin ‘A’ and ‘D’

The Karnataka Co-operative Milk Producers Federation (KMF) will, starting this Wednesday, supply Nandini milk fortified with Vitamin ‘A’ and ‘D’.

The move to fortify milk with these vitamins came after reports from the Indian Council of Medical Research and National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau indicated that the Indian population had a high burden of deficiency of Vitamin ‘A’ and ‘D’. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had also issued orders to fortify milk as it would be available for all sections of society and hence the micronutrient malnutrition can be addressed.

The ‘+F’ Logo will be printed on Nandini Toned Milk, Double Toned Milk, Special Toned Milk, StandardiSed Milk to indicate the fortification.

Speaking at the launch, Murtyunjaya T Kulkarni, Director, Marketing, said that 49 lakh litres of milk was being distributed across the state at present and all of this would be fortified. “We are also looking at fortifying other milk products in a phased manner. We are testing the stability in our lab,” he said.

Director of Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research Dr C N Manjunath had written to KMF four years ago asking them to have Vitamin A and D fortification of milk.

“At least 60-70 % of the population has vitamin ‘D’ deficiency. Vitamin ‘A’ deficiency is common among children. A survey that we conducted at Jayadeva also showed similar results. Most of our staff have the deficiency,” he said.

He also said that this could be attributed largely to staying indoors and lifestyle changes that permit minimal exposure to sunlight. “This is not only affecting bone health but is also known to be causing cardiac problems. The deficiency is known to be a risk factor for high BP and diabetes.”

The fortification would cost KMF 3-4 paise per litre. However, this burden will not be passed on to the customers said, Kulkarni.

The KMF has tied up with the National Dairy Development Board and TATA Trust for this purpose. TATA trust, under its CSR Activity, will bear the additional costs incurred by KMF for six months.

Cabonline Selects HERE as Mapping and Location Services Provider

Cabonline, a leading European technology platform for the transport industry, has selected HERE Technologies as its mapping and location services provider to support the company’s future growth.

Cabonline is the largest taxi company in the Nordics and its technology platform powers everything from booking to dispatch to payment for multiple owned and affiliated taxi brands across the region. These include Taxi Kurir, Norgetaxi, TOPCAB, Kovanen, Taxi Skåne, Taxi Väst, Umeå Taxi and Sverigetaxi.

Cabonline is now integrating the HERE Location Services suite into its platform, giving it access to accurate mapping, traffic information and routing algorithms.

Kristofer Signer, CTO, Cabonline, said: “With HERE Technologies as our location partner, we aim to further optimize the movement of each of our 5,700 cars as well as enhance customer experience. This is an important part of our work to shape an efficient and scalable technology platform that can support our continued growth.”

Supported by HERE Location Services, Cabonline targets several benefits, including:


·         More precise ETAs for customers and drivers, aided by HERE routing algorithms which draw on real-time, predictive and historical traffic data
·         More precise ride cost estimations for customers
·         Improved driver safety, aided by industry-leading map information that integrates data for taxi driving lanes, speed limits and electric vehicle charging points
·         Improved post-trip analytics

HERE is also well-placed to support Cabonline as it expands in on-demand transportation and logistics. This spring, Cabonline launched jip as a new brand in Trondheim, Norway, with a focus on attracting young professionals. The company also recently launched Reliver, a service for handling return goods that e-commerce customers order but do not want to keep, enabling transporters to move packages during times when cars are not highly utilized.

“World-class transportation requires a world-class mapping platform,” said Stefan Hansen, SVP and General Manager EMEAR at HERE Technologies. “Our visibility into live road conditions, advanced routing algorithms and other location tools enables us to support Cabonline in the effective planning and execution of its daily fleet operations. We look forward to collaborating with Cabonline through the next stage of its growth.”

Texas Instruments Unveils Solderless Robotics Kit for University Education

Texas Instruments (TI) (NASDAQ: TXN) today introduced the newest addition to the TI Robotics System Learning Kit (TI-RSLK) family, the TI-RSLK MAX, a low-cost robotics kit and curriculum that is simple to build, code and test. Designed for the university classroom, the solderless assembly allows students to have their own fully functioning embedded system built in under 15 minutes. Classrooms that may not have access to soldering equipment benefit from the solderless, hands-on kit and curriculum that can be reused year after year.

The launch in India saw IEEE President and CEO, Professor Jose Moura, unveil the product along with Doug Phillips, Director of TI’s Global University Program. The new kit includes the industry-leading SimpleLink™ MSP432P401R microcontroller (MCU) LaunchPad™ Development Kit, easy-to-connect sensors, and a versatile chassis board that turns the robot into a mobile learning platform. Through accompanying core and supplemental curriculum, students learn how to integrate their hardware and software knowledge to build and test a system. For advanced learning, wireless communication and Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities can be added to the TI-RSLK MAX to remotely control the robot or even establish robot-to robot communication.

“Students in today’s classrooms are going to solve our most pressing engineering challenges. With more and more future engineers coming out of India, it is important that students here have access to the latest learning platforms and advancements in technology,” said Doug Phillips, Director of TI’s Global University Program. “With the TI-RSLK MAX, students can quickly understand system concepts as early as their first year through building their own embedded system. This will help create the base knowledge that will benefit students in learning more complex topics covered in the advanced curriculum.”

While addressing the gathering at the launch of the new kit in Bangalore, IEEE President and CEO, Professor Jose Moura said, “I congratulate Texas Instruments for giving a platform to professors and students across the globe that will provide hands-on experience on concepts and algorithms that they have studied in their classrooms. Experimentation is what makes an engineer and TI-RSLK MAX is an addition to an already existing robust module, which is expected to reach out to more than 8000 universities across the globe, out of which over 2000 engineering colleges are in India alone. With the numbers rising every day, the potential to expand the reach of this technology is immense.”

TI launched the TI-RSLK series last year to help universities across the globe keep students engaged from their first day of class until graduation with hands-on, customizable options for learning embedded systems design.  The TI-RSLK MAX completes all tasks and robotic challenges covered in the classic TI-RSLK Maze Edition kit, such as solving a maze, line following and avoiding obstacles. It also provides a user-friendly assembly of the various sub-systems, speeding up the building and testing of the robot.

The TI-RSLK MAX will be available for purchase in late August and will include the SimpleLink MSP432P401R MCU LaunchPad Development Kit, as well as all additional components required for assembly. To expand kit functionality and learning paths, optional accessories will be available for purchase. Further information about the TI-RSLK can found at www.ti.com/rslk.

Emerson Helps Industry Enable Digital Transformation with New Cybersecurity Lab

Emerson (EMR), a global technology and engineering company, today opened its newest cybersecurity lab to help manufacturers confidently adopt digital transformation strategies, while protecting the integrity of their plant operations, networks, systems and data. The facility, part of Emerson’s larger global cybersecurity network, reinforces Emerson’s commitment to offer the most advanced automation solutions to its customers worldwide.

The new center, staffed by a team of cybersecurity experts in Pune, India, Maharashtra, builds on existing capabilities and further strengthens Emerson’s technology portfolio to support the highest levels of product security across the development lifecycle. The Pune lab will focus on defining security requirements, designing threat models and security walkthroughs, maintaining security practices and simulating cyber attacks in industrial environments to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.

“Cybersecurity is frequently cited by customers as a top consideration for Industrial Internet of Things adoption,” said Lal Karsanbhai, executive president of Emerson’s Automation Solutions business. “Emerson’s investment in a broad portfolio of technologies and services is helping global leaders accelerate their digital transformation with confidence.”

The latest addition to Emerson’s global network of cybersecurity facilities is located at the Emerson Innovation Center in Pune, which houses 900 employees focused on innovating for the future and coordinating training for development engineers.

“Our customers are looking for a partner to help navigate the complex technology landscape so they can design a secure and robust digital ecosystem for their operations,” Karsanbhai said. “This new center further extends our leadership in industrial transformation and enhances our ability to collaborate with customers on the critical element of cybersecurity as they adopt the latest digital technologies to optimize performance.”

Mukesh Ambani, IOC and ONGC CEOs in List of World's Top CEOs: CEO Ranking

Richest Indian Mukesh Ambani, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) Chairman Sanjiv Singh and ONGC head Shashi Shanker are among the 10 Indian CEOs named in the CEOWORLD magazine’s global ranking of the world’s most influential chief executives in 2019.

ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal is the highest-ranked Indian CEO but the ranking lists his company as a Luxembourg-based firm.

While Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Ambani was ranked 49th on the list, Singh was ranked 69th. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Chairman and Managing Director Shashi Shanker was ranked 77th in the list of 121, according to the list published by the magazine.

Other Indian CEOs on the list included State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Rajnish Kumar (ranked 83th), Tata Motors CEO Guenter Butschek (89th), BPCL Chairman and Managing Director D Rajkumar (94th), Rajesh Exports Executive Chairman Rajesh Mehta (99th), Tata Consultancy Services CEO Rajesh Gopinathan and Wipro Chief Executive Abidali Z Neemuchwala (ranked 118th).

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan retweeted a link of the CEO ranking.

“Unsurprisingly, Walmart CEO Douglas McMillon came first in the CEOWORLD magazine’s global ranking of the best chief executives across all industries for 2019,” the publication said. “He is followed by Royal Dutch Shell’s global chief executive Ben van Beurden, and ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal.”

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin H Nasser is ranked 4.

“Sanjiv Singh, @ChairmanIOCL, makes it to the 100 most influential Chief Executives across industries as per @ceoworld magazine,” IOC tweeted.

ONGC also tweeted, saying, “Shashi Shanker, @CMD_ONGC, makes it to the 100 Most Influential Chief Executives across industries as per @ceoworld magazine.”

The 2019 rankings placed BP’s chief executive, Bob Dudley in fifth ahead of ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods into sixth; while Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess ranked seventh, and Toyota Chief Executive Akio Toyoda eighth.

Overall, among the top-10 most influential CEOs in the world 2019, the ninth and 10th positions are held by Apple CEO Tim Cook and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos took the No. 11 spot, followed by the UnitedHealth Group CEO David Wichmann (No.12) and Samsung Electronics Chief Executive Kim Ki-Nam (No.13).

Mr Butler Italia Sodamaker Offers a Healthy Soda for You and the Environment

Mr Butler Italia Sodamaker is a healthy product as you are making your own soda or sparkling beverage from the tap in your home. You can customize your favorite drink by adding a hint of fizz or mixing it with fresh lemonade or fruit juice.

Not just super convenient, Mr Butler Italia Sodamaker is also environment-friendly in that it does not run on batteries or electricity. Further, it reduces the plastic waste you generate in your home, thus contributing to a greener and cleaner plant.

It comes with a CO2 gas cylinder that can make 125 glasses or approximately 25 litres of sparkling soda. The refill cylinders are available for just Rs 130/-, hence a litre of Soda costs you just Rs 4!

Mr Butler Sodamaker does not require Electricity or batteries, and operates on a C02 gas cylinder, that weighs less than 2 kgs. To operate it, one needs to insert a bottle of water and then press the operating panel of the Sodamaker – water is turned into sparkling water/soda within seconds.

The Sodamaker comes with a 500 ml BPA pet bottle and is easy to use. Larger bottles (1 litre) can also be purchased separately.

PRICE RANGE – Rs. 3,400/-- Rs 3,950/- (discounted rates available at Amazon)

AVAILABILITY OF THE PRODUCT – Amazon.in and select retail outlets across the country.