TV Host, Chef Maria Goretti to Conduct - Connections by Design Dekko in Bengaluru on September 7

After a super successful edition in Pune, Connections by Design Dekko, a unique one-day pop-up event celebrating spaces and minds who shape them, is making its debut in Bengaluru. As part of this, TV Host, Author and Chef Maria Goretti, will be in the city and conducting a special workshop, powered by Godrej Interio. She will inspire people to make space for their passions starting at home and from areas like kitchen along with a special live-cooking demo of her special recipes.

From existing or potential home owners, design enthusiasts to the top architects and interior designers, Connections by Design Dekko aims to create an experience relevant for all through conversations and cross-pollination of ideas. Connections by Design Dekko will also see presence of experience zones of brands like Godrej Security Solutions, Godrej Locks & Architectural Fittings and Systems and Godrej Properties.

Venue: Godrej Lake Gardens, 7th Main road, Harlur Road, near Sarjapur Road-ORR Junction, Bengaluru

Time: 2pm to 4pm

Entry: Free; https://www.designdekko.com

QuEST Global Appoints Former KPMG partner, Gregory L Smith, to the Board of Directors

QuEST Global, a global product engineering and lifecycle services company, announces the appointment of former KPMG partner, Gregory L Smith (Greg), to the Board of Directors as an independent non-executive director. Alongside this role, Greg will also serve on the audit committee of QuEST Global and help the company to further enhance the quality of its corporate governance. Previously, he acted as the Global Lead Partner at KPMG, where he led the development and delivery of audit, tax and advisory services to KPMG’s multi-national clients, as well as to growth-oriented private equity backed companies.

Greg has more than three decades of expertise in public accounting, including finance, auditing, tax and compliance. Throughout his career, he has held various leadership positions, including Global Lead Partner, and was responsible for leading teams that provided audit, tax and advisory services for Warburg Pincus and its portfolio companies, Walmart and other large multinational companies. He also served as a board member of the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and Enactus US, along with chairing the GMA Advisory Council.

Ajit Prabhu, Chairman & CEO, QuEST Global said, “Greg brings invaluable experience and an excellent track record of helping organizations to align with their operating model, and of identifying valuable opportunities for growth. His deep experience in serving global organizations, his understanding of diverse markets and financial expertise will help us to further accelerate our plans for growth and continue to be a trusted thinking partner to our customers.”

Commenting on his appointment, Greg said, “I have observed QuEST Global emerge as a global player in the product engineering services industry over the years. The company has diversified its portfolio in both organic and inorganic ways and has successfully integrated the companies that they have acquired in the past two decades. I am excited to join this fast growing company and look forward to helping QuEST Global enhance its growth strategy, gain a competitive edge and reach new outcomes in the engineering outsourcing market.”

Tata Motors Candidate Honored with the Medallion of Excellence at the WorldSkills Competition in Kazan, Russia

Mr. Tushar Phadatare, the Tata Motors candidate at the 2019 edition of the prestigious WorldSkills Competition, was awarded the Medallion of Excellence at the world championships for vocational skills, held in Kazan, Russia. This medallion was awarded to Tushar in the recently contested Automobile Technology category of the competition. A total of 35 countries participated in this category of skills. Tushar finished with an exceptional score of 710 points and secured the 15th position, placing India ahead of countries such as Belgium, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Singapore and Spain. For Tata Motors it was a proud moment, as it was the only Indian manufacturer to participate in the Automobile Technology category this year.

Commenting on this achievement, Mr. Subhajit Roy, Senior General Manager & Head - Customer Care (Domestic and International Business), Passenger Vehicle Business Unit (PVBU), Tata Motors said, “This is a very proud moment for all of us at Tata Motors. This achievement is admirable and we are delighted that the efforts of both Tushar and the Tata Motors team have resulted in making this possible. Due to his exemplary performance, Tushar has helped improve India’s position in the WorldSkills Competition by one place, and our rank by three spots, as compared to the previous edition in 2017.”

WorldSkills International awards Medallions of Excellence to those candidates, whose performance exceeds the global industry benchmark in a particular category. The results are derived from a WorldSkills Scale that uses a statistical formula and evaluates all participating countries in a particular skill. Tushar has completed his Full Term Apprentice (FTA) course at Tata Motors’ plant in Pune. To be eligible for representing India at WorldSkills, Tushar qualified and secured the winning position in the district, state and regional level rounds of IndiaSkills, followed by a gold medal in the final round of the competition.

NetRack Appoints Sudhakar Gooty as Global Head for Data Center Products at Bangalore

NetRack, a leading solution provider for data centers and end-to-end IT server racks, today announced the appointment of Mr Sudhakar Gooty as Global Head for Data Center Products at NetRack, shall be stationed at Bangalore Headquarters.

Mr Sudhakar Gooty, an Engineer Graduate with Executive Management from IIM Bangalore comes with an experience of more than 20 plus years with a strong track record in Business Operations Management, Program & Project Management, Data Center Architect, Management and Operations, Cloud Technologies and Operations, Change & Risk Management, Customer Relationship Management etc., in top IT companies like DELL EMC, HP/Compaq/Digital, India Satcom

Announcing this appointment, Mr. Ravi Raj, Brand Head, Director, Sales & Support at NetRack said, "Mr Gooty's addition to NetRack team will bring great value to our data center rack solutions. Apart from his deep understanding in engineering and design processes, Mr Gooty has proven credentials in delivering consulting assignments, identifying opportunities for business development, driving initiatives for growth, cost reduction and bottom-line performance enhancement. His rich industry experience from leading IT companies makes him a natural fit for the current role and responsibilities."

In his new role at NetRack, Sudhakar will lead the company in driving strategic alliances and DC business centric partnerships

"It's a privilege to be a part of NetRack team. I am quite excited about my new challenging role and the opportunities that lie ahead. The Datacenter industry is growing at rapid pace as Digital Transformation is the driving factor across all business segments. I look forward to the opportunity that lies ahead and be a part of growth and success story of Netrack" said Mr Sudhakar Gooty.

"We heartily welcome Mr Sudhakar Gooty to carry out his new responsibilities at NetRack. We look forward to work as a team and drive towards a common goal in creating and catering innovative data center solutions," added Ravi Raj.

Blue Dart Announces General Price Increase w.e.f. January 1, 2020

Blue Dart Express Limited, South Asia's premier express air and integrated transportation, distribution and logistics Company announced its General Price Increase (GPI), effective January 1, 2020. The average shipment price increase will be 9.8% as compared to 2019, dependant on the shipping profile. While the price increase will apply to all customers signed up until 31st August 2019, those signing up between 1st – 30th September 2019 will continue to enjoy benefits at the existing rates, till 31st December 2020. This is generally applicable to sign ups between October to December of the previous year.

Commenting on the announcement, Balfour Manuel, Managing Director, Blue Dart said, “Blue Dart offers a wide range of innovative and simplified solutions across industry verticals. We will continue to create differentiated delivery capabilities, quality services and customized solutions with an unwavering focus on delivering our core competencies of reliability and responsiveness. The price adjustment will allow us to further enhance our capabilities and enable us to delight our customers by providing them high quality solutions and services, best-in-class technology and innovative products”.

Ketan Kulkarni, CMO & Head - Business Development, Blue Dart adds, “Blue Dart being the leaders in the express logistics industry and a trade facilitator for the country has made strategic investments ahead of the curve to remain agile and adaptive in a dynamic environment. These include expanding our reach, improving transit times, network optimisation, infrastructure and technology solutions and focusing on emerging markets, SMEs and key sectors”.

Blue Dart adjusts its prices annually, taking into account inflation, currency dynamics, fuel cost fluctuations and other rising regulatory and mandatory costs, such as expenses related to compliance for the workforce with enhanced security regulations across the large number of locations it services.

About Blue Dart: Blue Dart Express Ltd., South Asia's premier express air and integrated transportation & distribution company, offers secure and reliable delivery of consignments to over 35,000 locations in India. As part of Deutsche Post DHL Group’s DHL eCommerce Solutions division, Blue Dart accesses the largest and most comprehensive express and logistics network worldwide, covering over 220 countries and territories, and offers an entire spectrum of distribution services including air express, freight forwarding, supply chain solutions, customs clearance etc.

The Blue Dart team drives market leadership through its motivated people, dedicated air and ground capacity, cutting-edge technology, wide range of innovative, vertical specific products and value-added services to deliver unmatched standards of service quality to its customers. Blue Dart's market leadership is further validated by its position as the nation’s most innovative and awarded express logistics company for exhibiting reliability, superior brand experience and sustainability which include recognition as one of ‘India's Best Companies to Work For’ by The Great Place to Work® Institute, India, ranked amongst ‘Best Multinational Workplaces in Asia’ by The Great Place to Work® Institute, Asia,  voted a ‘Superbrand’ and ‘Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Brand’, listed as one of Fortune 500’s ‘India's Largest Corporations’ and Forbes ‘India's Super 50 Companies’ to name a few.

'Punjab Must Move On from Agriculture to Manufacturing and Services'

By Manu Sharma

India witnessed unprecedented food production during the 1970s, 1980s, and this phenomenon implemented primarily by the farmers of Punjab was proclaimed as the Green Revolution. However, after dominating the agriculture sector in the country, Punjab will now focus more on the manufacturing and services sectors to boost its economy and create jobs, according to a Punjab minister.

While presiding over the session on Punjab industrial scenario during the 8th Invest North organised by CII recently in Bengaluru, Punjab State Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal says, "Punjab is India's bread basket for the last many decades, must now shift from food grains to industries and leave the agriculture part to states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh. Punjab is now open to big businesses and need to must catch up with states like Maharashtra and Karnataka."

Making a strong call to entrepreneurs and industrialists, the finance minister Badal asked them to make huge investments in the state as it has an investor friendly climate coupled with lucrative incentives and concessions. Giving a clarion call to the entrepreneurs and industrialists, he said in order to boost industrialization and revive economic activity in the state, the Punjab government has already approved the new Industrial and Business Development Policy-2017, paving the way for fixing of industrial power tariff at ₹ 5 per unit. He adds that we have a number of SEZs and mega parks for IT, biotechnology and also food parks in the state.

The minister recalled the unparalleled contributions of Punjab in steering India to its independence. He said that since time immemorial, Punjab has been the cradle of civilization and culture, and its immense contribution to feeding the nation and securing the country’s borders from external as well as internal aggression has rightly earned it the epitaph of ‘Food Bowl and Sword Arm of India’.

Unfortunately, Punjab has passed through turbulent times, including the decade-long terrorism and violence that retarded its economic growth and prosperity during those dark days, said Badal adding that Punjabi's with their indomitable spirit again put the state back on the rails of development.

Vijay Inder Singla, Minister for Education and Public Works, Government of Punjab said that Punjab is the future destination for investment, building confidence is very important for the state government. Major investment like textiles, tractors, Pharma are already happening in Punjab and now needs to catch up with the other industries.

The 'Invest North' summit was organised by the Indian High Commission in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

78 Specially-Abled Stars Perform with Dance & Music at Orion Avenue

 

Awing audiences with their spectacular talents, the specially-abled performers who participated in Varata walked off stage with a smile on their faces. Exceeding expectations, the unique talent show organised by Orion Avenue (Formerly known as Orion East Mall) in association with Kalpavriksha turned out to be a massive crowd puller. Held on August 31 at Orion Avenue in Cooke Town, the event was well-received for being a credible platform for the specially-abled to showcase their talents. In total 78 participants along with their parents came from Kerala, Mysore and Bangalore to take part in the event.

“We are both honoured and elated to have been able to organise such an event that has immense potential for positive social impact. Orion Avenue holds a certain allure that draws the urban crowd of Bangalore to it. And on this occasion, along with support from Kalpavriksha, known for their social outreach initiatives, the mall turned out to be the perfect venue for Varata. The event was conceived to portray the specially-abled as capable and talented individuals. Judging by the audience response, it was an overwhelming success in fulfilling that goal. Personally speaking, it was indeed a joy to see these amazingLoveperformers receive the adulation and respect that they rightly deserve” opines Shashie Kumar, COO – Retail.