Tata Sons Chairman, N. Chandrasekaran is Now a LinkedIn Influencer

LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional networking platform, today announced Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of the Board of Tata Sons, as a LinkedIn Influencer. As part of the LinkedIn Influencer program, N. Chandrasekaran joins an esteemed group of 500+ Indian and international leaders such as Narendra Modi, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Priyanka Chopra, Oprah Winfrey, Justin Trudeau, and Sachin Tendulkar, among many other noteworthy personalities. These global pioneers, thought leaders, and visionaries spark insightful conversations and discussions on the platform, and continue to be a strong inspiration to professionals across industries. Other LinkedIn Influencers from India include Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Kailash Satyarthi, Vani Kola, and Anny Divya.

N. Chandrasekaran first joined Tata Group as an intern in 1987 and rose through the ranks at TCS to become CEO and Managing Director of the global IT solutions and consulting firm. In 2017, he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Tata Sons, one of the country’s largest conglomerates. Today, as a LinkedIn influencer, N. Chandrasekaran engages with the platform’s 62+ million members in India, by underlining the impact of technological developments on industries and people. He also uses the power of his voice to highlight the importance of community and trust. In his debut LinkedIn article, the businessman highlighted how the shift from ‘shareholder capitalism’ to ‘stakeholder capitalism’ can help any company foster trust and inclusion, in order to create scalable impact and value.

In his latest article on LinkedIn, N. Chandrasekaran writes about his new book, ‘Bridgital Nation’ that talks about how technology can be used to solve India’s employment and economic hurdles. India is troubled by ‘twin challenges’, he writes; people want good jobs but don’t have the means to acquire them, and there are people in need of services that are out of their reach. He believes combining people with technology can be the best way to upskill and close the gap.

On being announced as a LinkedIn Influencer, N. Chandrasekaran, said, “Business opportunities, cutting across sectors, can be realised through engaging discussions and meaningful collaborations. The potential on the platform for continuous learning, experience sharing and lateral thinking is very exciting. I look forward to interacting with the LinkedIn members in converting challenges into opportunities, fostering innovation and delivering sustained societal impact.”

“We are delighted to welcome N. Chandrasekaran as a LinkedIn Influencer. N. Chandrasekaran’s visionary bent of mind, drive for technology excellence, and his inspiring professional journey will lend itself to valuable discussions on the business and economy on our platform,” said Adith Charlie, India Managing Editor, LinkedIn.

In an exclusive video interview with LinkedIn, N. Chandrasekaran shares his views on success, economic development, and on becoming a CEO. A few nuggets below (in his own words):

On loving your work everyday: “I think there are days in which you feel more pressure, if you will. But I think most part of my career, I really feel that I have had a very, very enjoyable profession because my job at TCS for 30 years saw me learning a lot of technology and also meet with different customers, different industries, travel around the world... And work in teams, work with some great people.”

On becoming a CEO: “... you don't chase a title. You chase a dream. If you have an aspiration and a purpose and then you give it all you got, I think you'll be surprised. You will far exceed what you dream about.”

On his new book: “...the more I thought about it, I felt that actually all of the problems can be grouped into two challenges. One is definitely a lack of access...On the other side I think we have a lot of talent, and in a way I can say that we have both demand and supply, but we can't match...we saw technology as a bridge between people and access.”

On the impact of automation on jobs and education: “I fundamentally think that AI, if applied well, irrespective of the market, it can make a big impact, both in terms of productivity and job creation...One of the things that we need to definitely do is to make some interventions in our education system...the skills that are required to address real time problems are collaboration with people, creativity and critical thinking.”

On why companies should focus on stakeholder capitalism: “By focusing on a full stakeholder value, it is not that you are eroding shareholder value...if you focus on stakeholders, most of the time the shareholder value will get created… I think a satisfied customer or a satisfied employee is all interlinked.”

On the Indian economy: “...I personally believe that India is a phenomenal market and I'm extremely bullish on India because there are a lot of factors going for us. I think India will get more organized… And there will be more middle income people in India, which essentially means that it'll be more affordable spend that's going to happen. And most of India's infrastructure is yet to get built.”

Follow N Chandrasekaran on LinkedIn, and watch his exclusive video interview with LinkedIn here.

COLOROTHON Celebrates Colors of Life and Social Cause In Bengaluru

COLOROTHON Season 12 with the tagline ‘Draw Your Imagination’ attracted ten thousand people at the Kittur Rani Chennamma Stadium Jayangar, Bengaluru. The  participants included a diverse groups of teens, adults and senior citizens to color their imagination.

The paintings were a reflection of diverse thoughts, nature and shades of life. Many aspiring artists got an opportunity to interact with established artists as they painted live at the event.

In what is expected to be the largest open air drawing and painting session, people in the age group between 3 and 90 years can come along with their families, express their imagination and creativity on paper.

The event was inaugurated by Senior Congress Leader Shri. DK. Shivakumar , along with Shri. Ramalinga Reddy, Senior Congress Leader, Ex. Home Minister, Govt. of Karnataka in the presence of Mrs. Sowmya Reddy, Jayanagar MLA, N. Nagaraju, Byrasandra Corporator, Wing Commander M A Afraz(Retd) Founder – Honourpoint Bengaluru  and Celebrity guests like Actress Shwetha Srivatsav, and Mrs. Prathima David ,  Mrs. India Pride Of Nation Ravishing 2019 1st Runner-up & A certified Yoga teacher.

Organized by Breathe Entertainment, COLOROTHON also saw a display of other activities like drums circle, caricature, doodle artist, origami artist, interactive, drum circle, robo act, magic show , digital engagement, flea market, toonfigures , and many more.

Overwhelmed by the response, Kishore Joseph, Founder Trustee  of the COLOROTHON said “it is an amazing and humbling experience to see people come with their family and spend some quality time in creativity, a rarity in today’s fast-paced world.”

Revealing the activities lined up for the event, Kishore Joseph, Founder Trustee COLOROTHON, said, “Even though not a competition we will announce 15 best paintings selected across 5 age groups, which are 3 to 7, 8 to 12, 13 to 20, 21 to 30, and 31 and above to encourage and remind people that a life without creativity could never be colorful. 300 Best paintings will be donated to our charity partner Charity Partner- Honourpoint India's only online memorial for  Martyrs of Indian Armed Forces.

This season a special category is being introduced for the theme “ A Salute to Fallen Heroes” of our Armed Forces to connect the participants with the cause of Honourpoint.  The event will also witness 30 accomplished artist doing live paintings to inspire the budding artists. He added.

Incidentally Colorothon Season 12 will be appreciated by Exclusive World Records for most number of people painting under one platform for all age groups.

Our vision is to see Indians from all over the country of all ages and all groups take to painting on a day which will be celebrated as Colorothon Day”

COLOROTHON is a platform that brings people together to celebrate colors and life. As an organizer we have elevated this season with inception of a largest open air painting exhibition, which will happen within a span of one month. Christened as a COLOROTHON initiative, the exhibition will display all the paintings from the event and the proceedings will go to charitable organizations.

Summing up the event Ms. Sowmya Reddy said, “We are in absolute delight to have seen people bring out the child in them and make moments colorful. Learning and exploring are two constants in our lives.

We thank all our partners whose contributions have been invaluable in bringing out the event, partners include: Radio Partners , Fever 104fm and 94.3 Radio one, Shilpi Voices, Youthphoria, Lya, and Prachar Media.

CASHe Releases its 2019 Millennial Borrowing and Spending Analysis Titled ‘The 2019 Millennial Loan-o-Nomics

Highlights

* Key findings from the analysis reveal millennials within income range of Rs 25k-50k topped the borrowing charts.
* A six-month loan is their most-preferred loan tenor
* While UPI and NEFT topped the charts for repayment mode; weekdays – Tuesdays & Wednesdays were their most preferred days for applying for a loan

CASHe, India’s leading digital lending company for young salaried professionals, today released its 2019 report on the millennials key borrowing and spending habits.  According to the report, medical expenses and consumer durable purchases topped the chart for reasons why millennial availed digital loans all through 2019. They were closely followed by loan foreclosure and holidays. CASHe who specifically caters to the millennial segment of the population undertakes customer data analysis on an annual basis. Christened as the ‘ The 2019 Millennial Loan-o-Nomics’, the report analyzed data of an active pool of over 400,000 loan application received from customers outlining multiple data points and key insights showcasing the typical consumption patterns, buying behavior and borrowing habits of millennial across India.

The findings delineate an astute, young population with financial aptitude much ahead of its previous generations. Most millennial prefer to move out of their parent’s place thus embarking on a journey of financial independence. Today, therefore the cohort juggles various responsibilities without compromising on their needs and aspirations. Small, personal loans are tailored to meet the present millennials needs who are faced with obstacles of expensive accommodation, higher education and travel. Often saddled with the repayment of hefty EMIs the moment they land their first job, digital lending with shorter lock-in periods is a saviour for especially for those with inadequate of zero credit history. Emergencies, like unforeseen medical expenses, are thus the reason why 37% of millennial customers resorted to lending – a sharp increase from 31% last year.

Averse to the manner in which millennial are being perceived, the CASHe data clearly outlines the purpose of borrowing among millennial being need-oriented rather than redundant. While ‘emergencies’ accounted for approximately 57% of the borrowing, ‘aspirations’ accounted for 43%.

Surprisingly,  only 10% of borrowers are women, reflecting the ratio of male to female application ratio on Cashe app. It suggests that women in this cohort are conservative when it comes to borrowing and spending! Hyderabad soars ahead in terms of millennial credit demand compared to last year, ranking second after Bengaluru, followed by others metros such as New Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, Jaipur and Ahmedabad. Older millennials, between the ages of 31-38 accounted for about 52% of the loans taken, while the millennial cohort earning in the 25k-50k category presented the highest number of borrowers at 43%, succeeded by those in the 15k-25k monthly income bracket at 36%.

The data showcased that ‘71 days’ is the average frequency of repeat loans, while 73% of the applicants are repeat users. In terms of loan size, a majority of them (27%) preferred small ticket loans of under Rs. 10,000 and the data indicated a significant credit demand from near-prime millennial accounting for approximately 55%. This reinforces the idea that millennials are actually quite financially disciplined – repaying loans on time and dispelling their image of being irresponsible spendthrifts.

The customer analysis also divulges certain fascinating, novel insights. Considered the most tech-savvy of the current generations, millennials rely heavily of technology for communication. Thus UPI and NEFT topped as the most preferred medium of repayment. 78% of millennial choose to apply for loans during weekdays, especially on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And while 12 pm to 4 pm was recorded as the most preferred time to apply for a loan, 5 am to 6 am was registered as the most preferred time when millennial chose to repay loans.

Despite the stark differences between the spending habits of millennials and Gen X, some things remain comfortingly constant. Even with an increasing number of people living away from their families to pursuit of jobs, they continue to imbibe the spirit of Indian festivals with great enthusiasm. This is why ‘Christmas’, ‘New Year’ and ‘Diwali’ ranked among the top occasions when millennial availed digital loans. August, September and December represented the peak period for digital lending, as the segment actively indulged in shopping and travelling, whereas Samsung, Xiaomi and Vivo arose as the most preferred handsets for the cohort.

On the occasion, CEO of CASHe, Mr. Ketal Patel said, “Millennials, I believe is one of the most misunderstood segment of the present times. Lower savings and higher spending by millennials is being caricatured to present them as financially irresponsible dreamers, much averse to reality. Their spending and borrowing behavior reflects where they are currently in their lives -- settling down, renting out, new job, starting families’ etc. CASHe believes millennials are ‘achievers’ - independent at an early age and nurturing the attitude to grow while combating multiple challenges through financial discipline.”

“The Indian banking infrastructure has not evolved enough to include the gamut of needs by this emerging section of the population and this is where new-age digital lending companies like CASHe step in – an industry estimated to touch $100 billion by 2023. Representing the ‘chief wage earners’ and the largest demographic cluster of the country, millennials are redefining the Indian consumer story and thus have the potential to deliver the country from the current economic upheaval. It is therefore essential to create an ecosystem that matches their needs, while driving initiatives to bridge the gap between male and female borrowing, in order to truly create a financially inclusive economy” he further added.

OK Boomer’, a Social Media Campaign by Columbia Pacific Communities’ Encourages Engagement with Baby Boomers

Columbia Pacific Communities kick starts 2020 with a topical campaign titled “Ok, Boomer,” that aims to call out ageism and propagate the philosophy of “positive ageing,” the brand’s core philosophy.

"OK Boomer" is an ageist catchphrase that came to existence as an internet meme in 2015. By mid-2019, millennials and younger generations started to widely use it to dismiss or mock the Baby Boomer generation as narrow-minded and outdated. Mainstream media has covered this phenomenon widely.

To challenge the catchphrase, Columbia Pacific Communities launches a 10-day campaign by the same name to bat for the seniors and position Baby Boomers as a generation that not only made path breaking contributions and continue to do so but also remain extremely relevant.

With many decades of experience in tackling life behind them, senior citizens are the ‘go-to people’ for advice ranging from life, health, parenting, career. The campaign urges the audience to leverage the rich experience and wisdom of baby boomers and turn to them for life advise, just the way they would turn to google to answer some of their life dilemmas. 

Commenting on the social media campaign, Piali Dasgupta, VP – Marketing, Columbia Pacific Communities says, “Our campaign has been conceptualised capitalising the ageist catchphrase “OK Boomer” that came into existence as an internet meme in 2015. It is a reaction to the catchphrase. By mid-2019, millennials and younger generations started to widely use it to dismiss or mock the Baby Boomer generation as narrow-minded and outdated. We, as a brand, stand for showing the world the power of positive ageing.

The campaign was conceived to not just celebrate the contributions of baby boomers in various fields such as technology, music, art and culture, but also leverage the rich life experiences and wisdom of senior citizens to share life lessons and advise. ”

The campaign aims to redefine the term “ok boomer,” used often as an insult towards senior citizens and instead presents golden agers as a generation that has paved the way  for the current generation.

The campaign, being run on Instagram and Facebook pages of Columbia Pacific Communities, and also as search ads on Google, comes with a call to action. The audience is urged to share their worries or dilemma in the comments sections that will be answered by the expert seniors from the community.

Let's end ageism and begin a meaningful, positive conversation with boomers.

HIL Limited Embraces IIOT - Introduces First Connected Shop Floor at its Chennai Plant

HIL is betting big on Digitalization. They are introducing disruptive technologies like RPA, IoT, Predictive Analytics and many others to bring in more efficiency. Part of the of their journey on Industry 4.0 “Connected Shop Floor” is launched in Chennai plant.

CK Birla group-owned building material solutions company, HIL Ltd. recently introduced “Connected Shop Floor” in its Chennai plant that has capacity of 1.98 lakh CuM to manufacturer block and block jointing mortar. HIL’s first step towards IIOT, the new Connected Digital Shop Floor will connect all machines to single network enhancing the plant’s efficiency. The company is betting big on digitalization and industry 4.0 to bring traceability, reduce defects and improve asset efficiencies at its plants.

As part of HIL’s digitalization journey, the company is also introducing disruptive technologies like Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and  Predictive Analytics to bring in more efficiency.

Commenting on the development, Mr. Dhirup Roy Choudhary, CEO & MD of HIL Limited, said, “The current industrial sector including the construction sector is undergoing a fundamental structural change akin to the industrial revolution. HIL’s strategy is to leverage digitalisation and Industry 4.0 journey to augment our state of art factories’ ability to deliver quality products and to manufacture products of varying customer requirements in a timely manner. We believe a connected factory at our Chennai plant is a string start and will significantly improve the production process by enabling end-to-end product visibility. Further, predictive analytics will aid decision making and promote responsiveness.”

Real time machine parameters are being captured through digital logbooks, Sensors, Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems and plant level dashboards have been created to monitor and review critical parameters. The platform generates instant alerts and same can be leveraged by the operations team for expeditious corrective actions.

“Technological Innovations are an integral part of our process to sustain quality and the Connected Shop floor at our Chennai part equips HIL with real time data to take corrective actions to increase plant efficiency. As a company, our next focus is to predict failures in Quality and Maintenance.” said Murali Raj GR, CIO HIL Limited.

The current phase of the launch, helps digitize data, trigger alerts and monitors and provide descriptive insights. The next step is to generate predictive insights by leveraging data from the current phase and eventually generate prescriptive insights, which would focus on finding the best course of action in a given scenario.

Connected shop floor at HIL Ltd. was installed through Deloitte and Altizon’s Datanois Mint platform.

About HIL

Established in 1946, HIL Limited is a flagship company of the $2.4 Billion conglomerate, CK Birla Group. The company offers comprehensive building materials and solutions since last 70 years and has achieved market leadership by developing and marketing most sustainable and relevant products which are future ready, high quality and have innovation at its core. HIL has 6 major brands- Charminar, Birla Aerocon, Charminar Fortune, Hysil, Birla HIL and recently acquired German flooring brand, Parador. The company boasts of 21 state-of-the art manufacturing facilities in India, and two manufacturing sites in Germany and Austria.  It is committed to innovation through dynamic R&D facilities in India and Germany. Having pioneered in green technology keeping in mind the paradigm shift to green building materials almost a decade ago HIL diversified into vast range of products that are environmentally viable and conducive. Given its strong emphasis on customer centricity, HIL Limited also ensures a widespread reach through an extensive sales and distribution network spread across India and 80 countries globally. Its strengths are truly its employees, loyal dealers and satisfied customers. With consistent efforts to grow the business sustainably, HIL is also certified as Great Place to Work ® and  Mr Dhirup Roy Choudhary, it’s MD and CEO was awarded as “The Most Promising Business Leader of Asia 2018 & 2019” by the Economic Times. The company also has been a recipient to the Iconic Brand Award, Asia’s Most Trusted Company Award, Best Company of the Year Award and has been maintaining the Superbrand status for many years now.

City Hosted An Industry Meet Ahead of ‘Wings India 2020’ in Hyderabad from March 12-14, 2020

Indian aviation and technology leaders gathered in Bengaluru for industry meet ahead of “Wings India 2020”, Asia’s largest civil aviation event. Pradeep Singh Kharola, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, Usha Padhee, JS, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Dr. S Unnikrishnan Nair, Chairman, Director, Human Space Flight Centre ISRO along with other senior government officials graced the occasion.

Addressing the event, Pradeep Singh Kharola, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India said, ” Over the last decade, India has witnessed a robust civil aviation market, and through this event we aim to provide a congenial forum that will cater to the rapidly changing dynamics of the sector, focusing on new business acquisition, investments, policy formation and regional connectivity.”  He added, “Bengaluru being the IT capital of India, it has the potential of becoming the aviation capital of India”.

Wings India 2020, a flagship event of the Indian Civil Aviation industry will be held at Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad from March 12-15, 2020.

‘Wings India 2020’- a four-day event themed: “Flying for All’’ is an international platform focused on the new business acquisition, investments, policy formation and regional connectivity in the civil aviation industry.

Speaking at the event, Dr. S. Unnikrishnan Nair, Director, Human Space Flight Centre ISRO said, “India is set to trigger revival of the global aviation sector. The civil aviation and space industry together will have a world class training facility for pilots and astronauts. We are sure that the exhibition for aviation as well as space fraternity is a platform to develop new growth spots that can be targeted to ensure a positive curve.”

Earlier, welcoming the dignitaries, Usha Padhee JS, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India said, “This summit aims to bring all players, facilitators, and regulators of aviation fraternity under one roof to explore opportunities together. It’s a platform for all civil aviation sector stakeholders to achieve greater synergies; learn from best practices of each other”.

Wings India 2020 is also Asia’s largest and most popular gathering in the industry. Organized by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govt. of India, AAI and FICCI the event is expected to attract top leaders, special invitees in foreign ministers for civil aviation and global CEOs, suppliers, strategic partners, organizations and the media.

International Exhibition and Conference on Civil Aviation sector, providing a congenial forum catering to the rapidly changing dynamics of the sector, focusing on new business acquisition, investments, policy formation and regional connectivity.

It will provide a much desired fillip to the aviation and restructured focused forums shall be instrumental in attaining the objective of connecting the Buyers, Sellers, Investors and other stakeholders at a common vantage forum ‘WINGS INDIA 2020'. Hyderabad being the hub of Aviation remains the natural host of the event.

Aakash Institute Opens Its 8th Centre at RR Nagar in Bengaluru

Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL) launched its eighth centre in the city at RR Nagar on Saturday to cater to students from the outskirts.

Aakash Institutes train students from classes 8 to 12 and for competitive examinations such as NEET and JEE.

The centre has fully-equipped physical classrooms and video content libraries. "The admission process has started in the centre. The first batch will start on March 24," said Aakash Chaudhry, Director and CEO, AESL.  The AESL now has 13 centres in Karnataka including eight in Bengaluru alone. It's planning to open another three to four centres in Bengaluru in order to serve students near their neighbourhood. 

Aakash Institutes train students from classes 8 to 12 and for competitive examinations such as NEET and JEE.  Besides direct admissions, the AESL also admits students under its scholarship programme through the Aakash National Talent Hunt Examination and through the National Eligibility and Scholarship Test where 80% of the tuition fee is waived for successful candidates.

The AESL now has 13 centres in Karnataka, including eight in Bengaluru alone. It's planning to open another three to four centres in Bengaluru in order to serve students near their neighbourhood.