OPPO Unveils the All-New ColorOS 7 in India; First Outside of China

World-leading smartphone brand OPPO held its overseas launch for the all-new ColorOS 7 today in New Delhi, India, marking the first time that OPPO has launched the custom Android-based operating system (OS) outside of China. With a new slogan, “Smooth and Delightful”, the event unveiled ColorOS’ Infinite Design concept as well as a series of tech solutions and fresh, localized features. Over 300 media guests and fans joined the event to learn about the new effortless, user-centered experience.

“India is one of our key markets and we have been reviewing and implementing feedback consistently,” said Mr. Martin Liu, Senior Strategy Manager, OPPO ColorOS. “The all- new ColorOS 7 delivers a faster and smoother experience to our users in India and around the world. The team at the OPPO headquarters and our Indian R&D team worked closely and collaboratively for one year to conceptualize and globally implement ColorOS 7.”

Mr. Manoj Kumar Senior Principal Engineer of OPPO ColorOS further added, “We strive to make ColorOS broader yet more localized, creating a truly global system that users in different markets can experience and enjoy. This means that we will continue to expand our localization efforts to ensure that ColorOS is highly adapted to local user needs. This update not only reimagines the system design but enhances the overall user experience, with a focus on audiovisual and gaming, with localized features unique to India.”

One such localized feature is DocVault - OPPO is the first smartphone brand to integrate Digilocker service into ColorOS 7. OPPO aims to disrupt the reach of Digilocker services through its smartphones and bring the ease and convenience of paperless governance to its more than 45 million users in India.

Based in Hyderabad, OPPO’s R&D center in India has more than 280 team members, who focus not only on localizing features but also assist the global team to create globalized features. The localization of both ColorOS and ColorOS 7 is anchored in in-depth research on trends and patterns in consumer usage habits.

Simple and lightweight, Infinite Design refreshes the user experience

With Infinite Design, ColorOS 7 has adopted a lightweight visual approach that simplifies the user interface, helping users focus more on their content. Besides full icon customization, Dark Mode provides a superior reading experience in all-day conditions, helping users concentrate more and reducing battery consumption.

“The new ColorOS 7 is the perfect continuation of OPPO’s signature brand identity,” said Eddie Opara, a partner at Pentagram, the world-renowned design agency that collaborated with OPPO on its new brand and visual identity. “From the sounds and visuals to the user experience and emotional engagement, every aspect demonstrates OPPO’s ethereal, fluid, and smart brand aesthetic.”

Even greater user-centric interactions and sound upgrade

ColorOS 7 opens up more intuitive interactions. The new weather-adaptive alarm automatically adjusts alarm sounds to weather. In addition to the new Artist Wallpaper Project, users can now enjoy a vibrant range of dynamic wallpapers that change with time or a swipe. These live papers include ones that are dedicated to iconic Indian monuments, not only capturing their stunning beauty but emphasizing ColorOS’ global vision, to be a “window to the world”.

Meanwhile, an upgraded haptic design helps deliver clearer, crisper touch response sounds and a more realistic touch experience. There are also sharp, new animations for charging, weather, and deleting apps. Moreover, ColorOS collaborated with Denmark’s audio design company Epic Sound to upgrade the overall sound system. Inspired by nature, the new sound effects provide a more comfortable listening experience, not just for system controls, but ringtones, notifications and beyond.

Faster and smoother than ever

Driven by its UI-First concept, ColorOS developed Cache Preload, oMem, and oSense to ensure a smooth and fast experience that users can feel. Cache preload is a mechanism which makes cold starts as fast as warm starts, meaning apps can now open and start faster. Meanwhile, oMem adapts to user habits, shifting and allocating system resources accordingly and efficiently. Through this technology, RAM utilization is boosted by 40%. With multiple apps running, system response is also increased by 30%. Furthermore, oSense - a scheduling mechanism that gives priority to front-end and user related threads, optimizes touch response and frame rates, meaning gaming is smoother than ever. When playing intense battle game, the touch response has been improved by 21.6% and the frame rate by 38%.

Strengthened privacy protection

OPPO knows that privacy protection is more important than ever and strives to secure user data. Personal information protection shields user information from third-party apps. Private Safe transfers photos, videos, audio, and other documents to a secure “zone” in the storage folder, blocking access by other apps.

Availability

OPPO’s largest update to date, ColorOS 7 will be rolled out across 20-plus phone models, covering the Reno, Find, F, K, and A series models and the regions of China, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. Starting from November 26th, users there will be able to experience the trial version. For more information on ColorOS’ features, please click here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=lfkI4EyrgH8  

Tata Trust’s CInI Scales Up Partnership With CropIn To Impact 40,000 Tribal Households in Jharkhand

The Collectives for Integrated Livelihood Initiatives (CInI), an Initiative of Tata Trusts, has scaled up its programme on Lakhpati Kisan with technology integration in partnership with agri-tech pioneer CropIn to improve the livelihoods of 40,000+ tribal households across its focused states in Central Indian Tribal Belt. The partnership was announced at an event conducted by CInI in Ranchi. This partnership comes as part of CInI’s ‘Mission 2020: Lakhpati Kisan – Smart Villages’ program, which aims to bring over 1 lakh households out of poverty by improving their livelihood and overall quality of life  in an irreversible and sustainable manner.

Nearly 85% of India’s agricultural sector comprises of small and marginal farmers, most of whom face challenges such as high production costs, low access to credit, and poor market linkages. Community Institutions such as Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) are a great way for these farmers to come together to overcome these issues and have economies of scale. FPOs provide a great opportunity for diverting a part of development funds into implementing technology projects for small and marginal farmers to meet their aspirations in the agriculture sector.

The partnership with CInI is being implemented through community institutions that are led entirely by women farmers. These tribal women farmers are responsible for timely and effective monitoring of the farmlands along with providing regular guidance to the farmers. The program not only looks at poverty alleviation but also focuses strongly on women empowerment.

The CInI’s program has witnessed great success since its launch in 2015 and has impacted the lives of over 100,000 households, bringing them in the ambit of institutional structures for driving change. They now want to strengthen their impact and efficacy by leveraging the advanced technologies in the field of agriculture to address the specific constraints faced by the tribal population in the region. CInI also believes in the merits of livestock development for which they are looking to initiate better animal husbandry practices. For taking the program to the next level with the help of a cutting-edge technology solution, CropIn will play an important role in achieving CInI’s vision of changing human lives for the better.

The partnership announcement event held in Ranchi witnessed a community interaction that focused on the "Role of technology in enhancing smallholder farmers’ income”. The gathering was attended by invitees from various like-minded organizations. Speaking on the occasion, Ganesh Neelam, Executive Director of CInI said, “Achieving aspirations of tribal communities through the focused Lakhpati Kisan programme has been the focus at CInI. For us, innovative technologies and approaches are core for achieving the outcomes of these communities. The partnership with a well-known technology partner such as CropIn is very unique and important for us to meet the audacious goals of our programme. We proactively look for this partnership to be taken at scale for larger benefits of small and marginal farmers.

The first phase of this partnership started in 2018, during which CInI leveraged CropIn’s SmartFarm to improve the livelihood of 4,300+ farmers across the Gorabanda and Dhalbhumgarh regions in Jharkhand. Looking at the outcomes and impact generated by this pilot, CropIn and CInI have decided to set a bigger goal of scaling up to reach more than 40,000 households.

SmartFarm uses cutting-edge technologies like real-time satellite-based plot monitoring to intervene at every stage of the crop lifecycle. The solution helps build accurate farmer and produce profiles through proper channelization and digitization of data. It also actively engages farmers by sending them farm best practices advisories — not only for agriculture but also for livestock like pigs and goats. SmartFarm also helps monitor the field team that consists exclusively of women tribal farmers. The field staff engage with the farmers on a day-to-day basis and gather critical farm data using SmartFarm’s easy-to-use modules. SmartFarm helps conduct yield analysis, allowing CInI to measure the impact of the interventions and improve outcomes going forward.
"Through our partnership with CInI, we aim to promote technology in the larger space especially in the tribal areas. Additionally, we are also providing our solution for the livestock sector. The uniqueness of this program is that it is managed by women-led FPOs thereby emphasizing our focus on women empowerment. We are incredibly excited about this partnership and look forward to creating a positive impact in the lives of farmers." Jitesh Shah, CRO of CropIn Technology added.

About Collectives for Integrated Livelihood Initiatives (CInI)
Collectives for Integrated Livelihood Initiatives (CInI) is a nodal agency of the Tata Trusts, working on transforming the lives of tribal households in the Central India tribal belt. The organization works with various civil society organizations, agriculture and other knowledge institutions, state agencies to establish sustainable development models for tribal communities.

In 2015, CInI launched a highly ambitious “Lakhpati Kisan – Smart Villages” program to work with over 100,000 families and make them lakhpati irreversibly and sustainably through agriculture and allied livelihood prototypes embedded with technology innovations led by community institutions and micro enterprises.

Additional Office Space of 100 Mn sq Ft Expected to be Listed in REITs

Highlights

* The success of the first REIT by the Blackstone-Embassy JV has bolstered the confidence of other developers and investors to come up with similar listings
* Developers with a commercial asset portfolio can use this option to reduce their debt
* The growth of REIT listings in India will ensure more transparency

The success of the first REIT in India, Embassy Office Parks, has created the possibility that around 100 mn sq ft office space could be listed under REIT in the short to medium term out of the total REIT-worthy assets of 302 mn sq ft. The total REIT-worthy assets, which includes Embassy Office Park REIT, would translate to a potential investment of USD 38.6 billion.

As per JLL Research, India’s top six cities, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad, account for a majority of the share of Grade-A office space assets. Marquee clients occupy these offices. And India’s leading commercial office space developers are exploring REIT listings.

The strong demand for office space in 2019 adds to the market of REIT-worthy assets.

The success story of India’s first REIT

Embassy Office Parks launched in April 2019 and heralded a new investment journey and has redefined the growth of the sector. Its performance has put to rest all apprehensions and it is likely to lead to the more REIT listing in the country. It has bolstered the confidence of other developers and investors (primarily with commercial office asset portfolio) to list their assets under REIT platform.

The Embassy Office Parks REIT has seven office parks and four office buildings in Bengaluru, Pune and Noida with two completed and two under-construction hotels totaling 1,096 keys. The total portfolio is of 32.6 mn sq ft comprising 24.2 mn sq ft completed and 2.9 mn sq ft under-construction office space and proposed development area of 5.5 mn sq ft.

The REIT has registered robust numbers since inception. Revenue from operations for 2Q FY2020 grew y-o-y by 15 percent to Rs 5,206 mn and cumulatively grew y-o-y by 17 percent for 1H FY2020. Net operating income for 2Q FY2020 grew y-o-y by 16 percent to Rs 4,384 mn and cumulatively grew y-o-y by 18 percent for 1H FY2020. Net operating income margin for 2Q FY2020 and 1H FY2020 stood at 84 percent.

For the reasons above, Embassy Office Parks’ REIT is currently trading at a premium of 37 per cent to its allotted price as on November 25, 2019. This performance, during adverse market conditions, is likely to attract more retail and global investors.

What we may witness in future?

For instance, Bengaluru-based Prestige Group has 11 million sq ft of rent yielding assets and nearly 15 million sq ft of under-construction office assets. As per market reports, there are strong indications of Blackstone Group and K Raheja Corp listing their jointly-owned 20 million sq ft commercial portfolio through REIT. Together, these players would account for almost 50 percent of the potentially upcoming REIT universe. As per publically available news reports, other players who are also considering REIT listings include Bengaluru-based RMZ Corp, Mumbai-based Godrej Properties and Pune-based Panchshil Realty.

Key trends that will guide the growth of REIT in India

The success of Embassy REIT brings to the forefront some of the key trends that will influence the growth of REITs in India.

With the success of the first REIT, subsequent listings are expected to make a gradual start in India in line with global trends. Several positive factors such as progressive policies, smaller lot size, tax efficiency, strong investor interest and presence of global investors will work in favour of REIT listings in India.

A strong demand-supply condition in the office market would also drive the return of REITs. However, any impediment to the supply pipeline will impact the REIT listings too.

Some challenges

Limited knowledge and awareness of the new product are one of the biggest hurdles in front of fund managers. Moreover, investors have not even seen a full year of the run for the first REIT. Compared to this, they already have multiple alternate investment options across other asset class to look at within the ambit of the capital markets.

Since REITs are listed on the NSE and BSE, trends in the equity markets will influence the return expectations of retail investors looking at REITs market. As a result, like any other market-linked investment option, retail investors have to be told about the risks.

The outlook

India’s commercial office space is expected to dominate the REITs market due to its robust growth, resulting in rising rental yields and steady rise in capital values. Despite certain challenges in terms of investor awareness about the product currently, interest is expected to increase over the years.

The growth of REIT listings in India will ensure more transparency and maturity due to the mandatory regulation over property valuation, regular updates, research coverage and disclosures relating to assets managed by REIT.

Developers with a commercial asset portfolio can use this option to reduce their debt from proceeds received by listing their assets through REIT. Though the growth in the REIT market in India has been gradual, we can expect it to pick up significantly going forward.

Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital Expands Footprint; Launches 10th Facility at Rajajinagar, Bengaluru

Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, the pioneer eyecare specialists in the country,  launched its super-specialty eye care center at Rajajinagar in Bengaluru. This is Dr. Agarawal’s 10th center in Bengaluru, making it easily accessible to patients in north and west Bengaluru.  Having achieved a strong foothold in metros and Tier II cities, Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital is penetrating the length and breadth of the country to address the varied eye and vision health needs of millions of people spread across different countries. The specialty hospital has over 86 centres across the country and overseas. 

Renowned Kannada Actor, Srujan Lokesh along with Dr. Manjunath M.C, Medical Director, Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital and Dr. Ram Mirlay, Head Clinical Services, Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital inaugurated the new state-of-the-art facility at Rajajinagar. The aim of the new center is to offer one-stop-solution for all kinds of eye ailments to the people of West and North Bengaluru. The chain of hospitals is on an aggressive expansion spree and plans to be present across key cities in Karnataka. Next phase of expansion will see Dr. Agarwal’s offer its services in Dharwad, Shimoga, Hassan and Davangere.

Inaugurating this new facility, Actor Srujan Lokesh said, “With current lifestyle, stress and increased pollution in our cities, a number of eye related ailments have cropped up. Dr. Agarwal’s eye hospital is a renowned name in eye care and I am happy to associate with them and inaugurate their new facility. Though this facility people of West and North Bengaluru will have access to quality eye care in their neighborhood. This expansion ties well with the state government’s focus on making the best medical services available to all people across Bengaluru.”

Dr. Manjunath M.C, Medical Director, Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital said, “At Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital it’s our constant endeavor to provide the best facilities and services to all our patients. Our new center is equipped with all the latest technologies which will be an added advantage to the patients suffering from varied eye problems. With this center, we will be able to address the growing needs of eye patients in the Northern and Western part of the City who are looking for state-of-the-art treatment at competitive costs. We are deeply committed to the people of Karnataka and will continue to bring latest in treatment technologies to benefit our patients.”

Added Dr. Ram Mirlay, Head Clinical Services, Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, “The clinical excellence at Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital is driven by our commitment to bring the latest technology and treatment to our patients. With this centre we aim to extend our reach and become available to more patients in Bengaluru. Our roster of skilled Ophthalmologists is unparallel and we constantly embrace innovation to best serve our patients. We will continue to strive to make ourselves more accessible to our patients in the coming months.”

Dr. Agarwal’s Group of Eye Hospitals recently raised Rs. 270 crore investment from Temasek, a global investment company headquartered in Singapore. This has helped the group develop robust plans focusing on marketing strategies, new technologies, and expansion with an aim to increase patient footfalls, and at the same time offer a wonderful experience to all.

Unisys Cloud 20/20 Contest Opens Registration, Features Innovation Program to Solve Real Business Challenges

Unisys Corporation has announced that registration is open for the eleventh edition of Cloud 20/20, the company’s annual flagship technical project competition for engineering students in India. The contest began in 2009, enabling students to develop career-ready technical and soft skills via problem solving and using emerging technologies in real-life scenarios. This year, Unisys has included a module by which students will get to appreciate the importance of being client-centric in their solution finding approach, via the Targeted Innovation Program.

This contest is open to research students and postgraduates, as well as pre-final and final-year engineering students in computer science, information technology and other related disciplines. The Student Innovation Program (SIP) challenges students to use emerging technologies to come up with original and creative solutions to address areas they see as a problem, while also providing them with the opportunity to collaborate with industry leaders, providing the students with guidance and expertise on the run up to the competition.

The Targeted Innovation Program (TIP) is a new feature of the contest that will task students with solving specific business problem statements provided by Unisys and its partners and clients in the industry. Unisys has extensive experience in the travel and transportation sector in India and the wider Asia Pacific region, spanning airlines, airports and cargo. The Targeted Innovation Program helps students prepare for their career by experiencing solving real business issues, as defined by a client.

K Nageswara Rao, vice president, Engineering - Asia Pacific Technology Centers, Unisys said, “We are very proud of how Cloud 20/20 has evolved into a targeted innovation program for students over the past decade. This year we have increased involvement from across industries to provide the students with genuine business problems to solve and help them become industry ready. Cloud 20/20 ignites passion and knowledge in eager minds and that represents one important way we can give back to the community.”   

In the last 10 years, Cloud 20/20 has highlighted innovations in cloud-based applications and microservices, cloud computing infrastructure, security and multimodal biometrics. More than 25,000 teams have taken part over to date, making it one of India’s most anticipated technical contests for engineering students. 

Sumed Marwaha, managing director, Unisys India and regional vice president, Services, Unisys added, “Given the growing inclusion of technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, blockchain, etc. in multiple industries, tomorrow’s reality will be defined by the innovation and initiative of today’s students. With this year’s added element of the TIP, the students have a rare opportunity to work on real client business problems, and can understand and learn the right client-centric approach. This is a great lesson to learn in the real world and will make a big difference when these future innovators take up jobs and deliver their best.” 

Cloud 20/20, a collaboration between Unisys, academia, and the technology industry, offers student and experienced professionals the opportunity to refine their technical knowledge and marketable skills by working alongside some of the best minds in the IT industry. Unisys India’s campus outreach program also provides access to informative demonstrations, webinars, knowledge sharing modules and educative roadshows by industry experts.

The winners will be announced at the Cloud 20/20 Tech Confluence in Bengaluru in April 2020 following a final presentation of the projects to a panel of judges from Unisys as well as experts from the industry. This platform will bring together various industry experts, providing exposure to students on various technologies. The winners will share a prize pool of INR 4.25 lakh. Last year’s finalists were offered 21 internships and eight job placements.

Please visit the Cloud 20/20 website for further information on Cloud 20/20 and registration details.

Haptik Expands Leadership Team with Saumil Shah Joining as Vice President of Engineering

Haptik, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries and one of the world’s largest conversational AI platforms, today announced that Saumil Shah has joined the company as the Vice President of Engineering. Shah, who was most recently at Box.com, will join the executive leadership team of Haptik to run end to end engineering and product delivery. He will report directly to Co-Founder & CTO Swapan Rajdev and be based in the company’s headquarters in Mumbai.

With a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of California, Shah has spent the last 10 years in Silicon Valley before moving to India to join Haptik. In his last role, he spent more than 6 years at Box.com, one of the world’s leading cloud storage and management companies. Having initially joined as a Software Engineer, he rose through the ranks to eventually launch and manage a 50+ team responsible for building Box productivity tools and managing quality engineering. Prior to Box, Shah started his career at Zynga, one of the world’s largest gaming companies at the time.

“Saumil’s track record for developing innovative products at scale, seen in his extensive work at Box and Zynga, combined with his deep understanding of technology, makes him an excellent addition to our executive team,” said Rajdev. “His enterprise software perspective will complement our AI product suite to ensure continued innovation and leadership.”

“I have always been a big believer in the power of AI to upgrade customer experiences for brands globally,'' said Shah, who has also had short entrepreneurial stints with one of his iOS apps being bought by an early-stage investor. “Haptik has been at the forefront of this paradigm shift and finds itself at an inflection point as a company today. At Box, I was able to see the power of the enterprise software business, which I hope to leverage in building a world-class engineering organization at Haptik. I’m very excited to join Haptik and work with the amazing team.”

Ever since the strategic transaction with Reliance Industries in April, Haptik has been growing the team organically and through acquisitions. The team is now 160 people, double from what it was at the start of 2019. This includes the acquisitions of Convrg, a Los Angeles based chatbot startup, and Buzzo, a Mumbai based conversational commerce platform. With Saumil on board, this further strengthens the company’s executive leadership to help enable rapid growth. 

Renault Announces Winter Service Camp Across India from November 25 to December 01, 2019

Renault India, the number one European automotive brand in India, continuing its commitment to enhance customer satisfaction with a superlative brand ownership experience, announced the commencement of a nationwide After-sales service initiative, 'Renault Winter Camp' from Nov 25 to till December 01st , 2019. To withstand their constancy and reinforce the relationship with the customers, the service camp will be effective at all Renault Service facilities across India.

With the objective to proactively support customers, the week-long winter camp will offer a comprehensive check-up for all Renault cars through 450+ service touchpoints. Trained and well-qualified service technicians would be dedicated to provide utmost care and expert attention that is needed for the vehicles. As per the guidelines stipulated by Renault India, the seven days winter camp will enable a detailed examination of all key functions of the car to ensure necessary actions for optimal performance of the vehicles.

Renault India will also offer exclusive benefits to its customer under the winter camp. Renault customers can avail up to 50% discount on select accessories, 10% attractive discount offers on select parts, 15% discount on labour charges and other value-added services. Renault India will also provide 10% discount on ‘Renault Secure’ which covers Extended Warranty Enrolment and Road Side Assistance. The company will also offer special price on ‘Renault Assured’ to facilitate the customers with insurance renewal solutions.

In addition to the check-up facilities and free car top wash, Renault India will provide a host of other value-added benefits like special discount offers on tyres (select brands), 5% discount on engine oil replacement and 5% additional discount on select parts & accessories only for MyRenault app registered users. Several fun-filled activities will be organized for customers with assured gifts and much more, making it an enduring and cherishing experience for the customers.

Renault Service Camps have always received an overwhelming response from customers across India and Renault will continue to build on such customer connect activities as it expands its footprint in India. Currently, Renault India also has a widespread presence of more than 350 sales and 264 service facilities across the country with benchmark sales and service quality.

Over the last few years, Renault has focused on establishing a strong base in India. Together with a strong product offensive strategy, Renault has been continuously undertaking strategic measures across all key business dimensions, ranging from product, network expansion, pioneering customer oriented activities and several innovative marketing initiatives to ensure unmatched customer satisfaction.