Thursday, March 5, 2020

Jaguar Land Rover India has Partnered with Tata Power for End-to-End Charging Solutions



Highlights

* Jaguar Land Rover India has partnered with Tata Power for end-to-end charging solutions for its range of electrified vehicles to be launched in India
* Tata Power will provide full charging solutions to Jaguar Land Rover Retailers and customers, along with the required after-sales support
* The partnership will benefit customers of the upcoming Jaguar I-PACE that will arrive in India in the second half of this year as well as future Jaguar Land Rover Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV)

Jaguar Land Rover India has announced today that it has entered into a partnership with Tata Power to offer end-to-end EV charging solutions. Tata Power will provide charging solutions for Jaguar Land Rover in India, across its retail network of 27 outlets in 24 cities and at customer’s residence and/or office. India’s largest integrated Power Company, Tata Power will be responsible for providing a range of AC and DC chargers, starting from 7 kW to 50 kW capacity. Tata Power will be the preferred partner to facilitate the installation and management of chargers at the designated premises and other after-sales related support services.

Rohit Suri, President & Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover India said:

“The partnership with Tata Power will be a tremendous value addition for Jaguar Land Rover customers as it provides a one-stop solution to their charging needs and also provides easy accessibility to the wide network of public charging infrastructure being set up by Tata Power across India. This tie-up is one step forward in creating the right ecosystem enabling a simple and hassle free charging experience for owners of our first Electric Vehicle, the Jaguar I-PACE, which makes its debut in India later this year.”

Ramesh Subramanyam, CFO & President - New Business, Tata Power Company Limited said:

“Tata Power is delighted to work with Jaguar Land Rover India as an end-to-end EV charging partner. As India’s leading integrated player in the EV charging space, we will provide Jaguar Land Rover India’s EV customers with easy, ubiquitous and seamless charging experience at their Homes, Offices and Public places. This partnership is also an endorsement of their faith in us and our ability to deal with the electrified range of vehicles that Jaguar Land Rover will bring into India.”

About Tata Power

Tata Power is India’s largest integrated power company and, together with its subsidiaries & jointly controlled entities, has an installed capacity of 11,265 MW. A pioneer in the field, it has a presence across the entire power value chain: Generation of renewable as well as conventional power including hydro and thermal energy; transmission & distribution, trading and coal & freight logistics. With renewable energy assets in solar and wind accounting for 30% of the company's portfolio, Tata Power is a leader in clean energy generation. In line with the company's view on sustainable and clean energy development, Tata Power is steering the transformation of utilities to integrated solutions by looking at new business growth in EV charging & storage, distributed generation & rooftops, micro grids and home automation & smart meters.

Tata Power have a network to over 120 charging points across public, captive, residential & corporate segments addressing different charging standards

Jaguar Product Portfolio in India

The Jaguar range in India includes XE (starting at ₹ 44.98 Lakh), XF (starting at ₹ 49.78 Lakh), F-PACE (starting at ₹ 63.78 Lakh), XJ (starting at ₹ 111.30 Lakh) and F-TYPE (starting at ₹ 90.93 Lakh). All prices mentioned are ex-showroom prices in India.

Land Rover Product Portfolio in India

The Land Rover range in India includes the Range Rover Evoque (starting at ₹ 54.94 Lakh),  Discovery Sport (starting at ₹ 57.06 Lakh), the New Defender (starting at ₹ 69.99 Lakh) the Range Rover Velar (priced at ₹ 71.87 Lakh), Discovery (starting at ₹ 75.60 Lakh), Range Rover Sport (starting at ₹ 87.02 Lakh) and Range Rover (starting at ₹ 182.25 Lakh). All prices mentioned are ex-showroom prices in India.

Mindfields Named One of Asia-Pacific’s Leading Service Providers in Automation and Artificial Intelligence


Mindfields, the global Intelligent Automation, and Artificial Intelligence advisory firm today announced that IDC Financial Insights has named it as one of the leading service providers in the recently released IDC Perspective: Six Capabilities from Leading RPA Service Providers That Advance Financial Services Institutions toward Intelligent Automation. The IDC Perspective recognises Mindfields as a leading service provider which has the desired capabilities to offer ready propositions in intelligent automation solutions to the financial services industry in Asia/Pacific.

IDC Financial Insights indicates that institutions which choose an intelligent automation service provider based on six identified capabilities, typically achieve more favorable and long-term results from their automation deployments. The report maps and analyses these six capabilities for eight leading service providers including Mindfields. These capabilities are:

Ability to deliver desired business outcomes
Process identification and optimization
Ability to deliver enterprise wide scale
Security, governance, and post-deployment support as core tenets
Intelligence powered by AI technologies and innovative tools; and
Availability of talent and strong ecosystem support.
Mohit Sharma, Founder and Chairman, Mindfields said, “All of us at Mindfields are enthused to be part of the report and we thank IDC for shortlisting us for this report.  The report is truly an acknowledgment of our steadfast commitment in enabling our clients to Grow for Tomorrow by offering disruptive Intelligent Automation (IA) services. Mindfields has been focused on scaling up the automation journeys of its clients and bringing down the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for automation.”

The IDC report is an important enabler for Financial Services institutions to understand the various nuances in the implementation or scaling of automation solutions. It recognizes the importance of our CoE.exe, MindUni and MindEzy offerings.

Mindfields has been a partner to several leading Financial Services Institutions in the Asia Pacific region on their automation journeys. Mindfields uses a comprehensive approach including the use of RPA, Intelligent Automation, AI and other innovative technologies to deliver business outcomes. Its product portfolio includes a Centre of Excellence platform (CoE.exe), a cloud-based automation management platform (MindEzy), an onshore, offshore or hybrid support offering (MindSupport), Mindfields IP based IA consulting and bot development training programs, which are customized for both graduate and corporate professionals (MindUni) and a finance function automation package (CFO.exe). Mindfields has implemented over 1000 processes and deployed more than 400 robots in production on a global basis.

Mindfields is a pioneer of Automation Advisory Services in the Asia-Pacific region and works with several leading enterprise clients including organisations such as ANZ Bank, ING, Rabo Bank, Equifax, iCare, AMP, CIBC, Pepper Finance, Suncorp, Aus Post, Water Corporation, St John of God Healthcare, Edith Cowan University, Australia Post, Australian Super, Sensis and Seek to assist in their Intelligent Automation and Digital Transformation journey.

About Mindfields
Founded in 2006, Mindfields is a vendor-agnostic Intelligent Automation and Artificial Intelligence advisory firm, providing strategy services to CXO level executives across verticals on emerging and disruptive technologies. Mindfields started its Automation Advisory offering in 2013 and was among the first few on a Global basis and the first in Australia to offer such advisory services. Mindfields is globally recognised by Gartner, IDC, ISG and HFS Research as a leading, niche Intelligent Automation (IA) advisory firm. We enable our clients to 'Grow for Tomorrow'. We have been ranked among the top 20 fastest growing Australian firms in the Deloitte Fast 500 in 2017. Mindfields has been expanding its footprint and presently has operations in Australia, Asia and the United States. 

Top 5 Business Apps in India Through Which You Can Take Personal Loans


Thanks to internet the world is digitalized, everything is just a click away and you can buy anything and everything right from the vegetables to any electrical appliances. And sometimes, we all face a shortage of funds in order to purchase these things. Traditional banking involves a lot of paperwork and long and tedious procedures to process loan applications. In the alternate if you land up borrowing money from money lenders then you will get stuck with high rates of interest and almost everytime they would ask for some form of collateral, making the process very dubious. However, today with technological advancements and a fintech revolution we have the immense flexibility of using Apps which provide quick, safe and hassle-free personal loans, sometimes within minutes. We bring to you our analysis of India’s top 5 Apps which provide personal loans:

1.    Bajaj Finserv

Bajaj Finserv offers Personal Loan for financing a wedding to tackling a medical emergency, funding higher education to renovating your home. Instant approval, minimal paperwork, no collateral, disbursal in just 24 hours. The app has 12,000+ partner outlets in over 150 cities with Croma, Vijaya Sales, Hometown, Home Centre, Urban Ladder, Helios, and more, which allow consumers to shop around in any of them.

This app lets you to login using the Aadhar Card, and social media profiles. You can edit the personal details easily on the app. You can share the first 6 digits of your Credit Card to increase the chances of getting an approval. This will also make you eligible for higher loan amounts. The app ensures not to use your Credit Card details for any banking purpose. And no money will be deducted from the card. After disbursal of the loan amount, you can shop across any of the partnered outlets like, HomeTown, HomeStore, Helios, etc.

2.    Indiabulls Dhani Loan App

Indiabulls Dhani supported by Indiabulls Consumer Finance Limited is fastest digital loan fulfillment platform in India, which provides instant loan disbursal. Dhani provides loans from ₹ 1000 to ₹ 15 Lakhs instantly within 3 minutes directly in its customer’s bank account. Loans have tenure beginning from three months and going up to thirty six months. Indiabulls Dhani is the only loan providing company which enables its customers to earn rewards along with their personal loan. You have an opportunity to reduce your EMIs by earning Dhani points which gets converted into cash on every timely monthly installment payment. Indiabulls Dhani has a customer base of more than 2 million people and the company offers higher loan amounts on additional loans availed from Dhani.

3.    PaySense

PaySense, a digital platform to get an online Instant personal loan which has partnered with IIFL, Fullerton and Northern ARC for the disbursal of personal loans.

With this app, you can avail personal loan from ₹ 5000 to ₹ 5 lakh. Based on person’s risk profile loan amount and tenure is decided. Salaried individuals having a salary of ₹ 12,000 per month and self-employed individuals earning ₹ 15,000 per month are eligible to apply for the loan. The KYC documents and bank statements are required to establish your eligibility for the loan. Once documents are approved loan is disbursed within 5 hours. It has presence in 43+ cities

4.    EarlySalary

EarlySalary is an innovative lending platform that changes the way loans in India are taken. It is popular among the young generation because of its easy payback option in easy EMIs. Flexible repayment tenure from 90 to 365 days. No prepayment charges applied, one can pay interest only on the amount used.

To avail of the loan using this app, no credit history is required. Loan ranging from ₹ 5,000 to ₹ 2 lakh can be availed using this app. Cash is transferred to your bank account in minutes. For EMI purchase, this app can be utilized at Amazon, Flipkart, and Big Bazaar.

5.    LoanTap

LoanTap uses cutting edge technology to deliver fastest loans online.  It provides loans in the category of two-wheeler loans, flexible personal loans, lifestyle and celebration loans, home loans and lower instalment loans. Repayment options of the app include accelerated payment options and bullet repayment to the principal outstanding. They provide customized loans to the customer according to their need.

LoanTap offers EMI Free Loan between ₹ 1 Lakh to ₹ 10 Lakh. However, the final loan amount is decided basis one’s eligibility and credit checks. The loan tenure is from 6 months to 5 Years. The process of applying for the loan is simple and requires minimal documentation.

ACT Fibernet to Provide ‘ACT Stream TV 4K’ Device on Rental Model to all Customers


Amazon Prime video, Netflix add to bill and other new features now available on upgraded ACT Stream TV 4K. Special promotion provides 100+ Live TV channels complimentary.

ACT Fibernet, one of India’s largest wired ISPs (Internet Service Provider), today announced roll out of its upgraded media streaming device – ACT Stream TV 4K to all its customers, on a device rental model starting as low as INR 200 + Taxes per month. Earlier ACT Stream TV 4k was available only to select customers in Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad markets.

All your entertainment in a single screen

ACT Stream TV 4K is a streaming device that lets users view both TV channels and Video on Demand through a single unified user interface. Powered by android tv, the device comes with Dolby Audio, Bluetooth, and USB support, and over 3000 apps from the Google TV store.

“Customers today enjoy content on TV and across Video on demand platforms. With the ACT Stream TV 4K, we wanted to bring convenience and value to our customers. In line with our promise of Feel the Advantage, customers can now view/ stream all their favorite content (Streaming Apps+ live tv) in one place. Customers will also be eligible for special offers on Netflix (cash backs) and popular apps like Hooq and Zee5.”, said Ravi Karthik , Marketing Head , ACT Fibernet.

Updates in Current release:

1.       Now with Amazon Prime

To provide customers with a complete entertainment experience, the device will now have Amazon Prime integrated into it along with existing streaming apps such as Netflix, Hotstar, Sony Liv, Hooq, Zee5, YouTube, Sun NXT.

2.       Netflix add to bill and cashbacks:

ACT Stream TV 4K now also comes with unique feature of single click subscription where customers can sign up for Netflix and pay via their ACT Fibernet bill from Inside the device and enjoy cashbacks up to Rs. 500 p.m.

3.       Special Promotion: 100+ Live TV channels and extra data complimentary

Customers will be able to watch their favorite shows from 100+ live TV channels including premium channels, and get 100 GB data each month complimentary till August 31st, 2020 as part of the launch

4.       How to get the ACT Stream TV 4K:

Option 1: Device Rental: Customers can visit Customers can visit www.actcorp.in/streamtv4k and book their ACT Stream TV 4K. they need to pay a one-time refundable security deposit of INR 1000 and choose one of two rental plans –

1.       Monthly device rental fee of INR 200 + Taxes

2.       6-Month device rental fee of INR 1000 + Taxes (and save Rs.200)

Option 2: Purchase

ACT Stream TV 4K can also be purchased on the website www.actcorp.in/streamtv4k at MRP of Rs.4499/-

All customers will get special promotional offer of 100+ TV channels, 100 GB extra data per month along with 1-month Zee5 and 2-months HOOQ subscription complimentary.

About ACT Fibernet

ACT Fibernet, one of India’s largest wired ISPs (Internet Service Provider) in India. ACT Fibernet is headquartered in Bangalore has operations in 19 Indian cities with over 1.5 million customers. ACT Fibernet is known for its cutting-edge technology and high-speed broadband connectivity that the company provides to its customers. ACT Fibernet was the first broadband service provider to bring 1 Giga speed connectivity in India to the city of Hyderabad in 2017, followed by Bengaluru and Chennai in 2018. 

Digital Transformation and Future of Tech Jobs in India - Survey Report by Simplilearn

Highlights

* Over 1750 professionals participated in Simplilearn’s annual survey on “Digital Transformation and Future of Tech Jobs in India.”
* AI, Data Science, and Cloud Computing remain the hottest fields for 2020

Simplilearn, a leading digital skills training provider, published the findings of its annual survey titled “Digital Transformation and Future of Tech Jobs in India”. The survey provides insights into how digital transformation is impacting the Indian workforce. Simplilearn surveyed over 1750 learners and IT professionals in India to understand their views on upskilling, emerging digital skills, and the nature of future jobs.

How Digital Transformation affects the Indian workforce

Digitization is today transforming businesses globally and across India. Organizations are gradually integrating new technologies like AI and machine learning, which are proving effective in increasing productivity and efficiency at workplaces. Remarkably, 44.7% of respondents shared that the company’s shift to digitization has motivated them to invest in upskilling themselves. 25.6% of the survey respondents stated that digitization has helped improve their performance at work, and 12.7% said that it opened new project opportunities. Another 7.9% said it attracted new job opportunities.

Digital Skills needed in today’s job market

Automation will soon replace job roles that involve repetitive tasks, and in turn, it will create new job opportunities in the field of technology. A World Economic Forum report stated that AI will create 58 million new jobs by 2022; this is a strong indicator of the need to upskill and reskill employees. The survey highlights that the interest in skills related to AI and Machine learning has increased from 18% in 2018 to 30 % in 2019. Including AI and ML, the top 4 new skills for 2020 include 26% for Data science, 18% for cloud computing, and 10% for cybersecurity.

With rising digital transformation across sectors, AI, Data Science, and Cloud Computing remain the fields with the highest demand for 2020.  The report predicts the average yearly salary of a Data Scientist will be between Rs 5 lakh to 42 lakh, followed by the range of Rs 4.97 lakh to 50 lakh per year for someone in Cloud Computing and Rs 5 lakh to 70 lakh per year for Artificial Intelligence related jobs.

How professionals are sponsoring their career growth with skilling programs

For organizations today, it is of utmost importance to invest in digitally upskilling their employees to prevent both the company and its workforce from becoming obsolete. 58.3% of survey respondents stated that they take up upskilling courses at their own cost, while 10.5% have the company sponsoring. The remaining 31.2% indicated that they and their organizations contribute together to the cost of upskilling programs.

Sharing his views on the Simplilearn annual survey, Krishna Kumar, Founder and CEO of Simplilearn, said, “With the maturing technology sector, employers are looking for validation of an employee’s skill sets with relevant certification. Professionals do understand that they need to upskill to stay relevant in their careers and are focusing on getting hands-on learning from the digital skilling courses they take up. We are today seeing a rise in self-financed training by professionals, as compared to 2018. Though this method of training is gaining traction, sizable shares of professionals still depend on their organizations to fund their upskilling needs. Therefore time is now for enterprises to make L&D a boardroom discussion.”

The ultimate motivation to upskill

Beyond the challenges to upskill lies the motivation level of a professional. As per the survey, the top three reasons for upskilling are as follows and highlights that salary hikes remain a strong motivator for upskilling, with 33% of professionals agreeing. Survey respondents cited additional motivating factors: 27% of professionals choose to upskill to get opportunities related to hands-on and industry-relevant projects, and another 21% wish to upskill for rewards and recognition.

Today, the Indian workforce understands that their roles will evolve as technology progresses. As they feel the impact of new technologies, both professionals and organizations will have to acquire new technology skills to keep pace with the emerging job trends in 2020.

Pat Fry, Former President and CEO of Sutter Health, Joins CitiusTech’s Board of Directors

CitiusTech, a leading provider of healthcare technology services and solutions, announced today that Patrick (‘Pat’) Fry, former President and CEO of Sutter Health, has joined its board of directors.

“I am thrilled to join the CitiusTech board,” said Pat. “The healthcare industry faces many new challenges today, and technology is playing important role in shaping the future of the industry. I look forward to working with CitiusTech’s leadership team as they continue to deliver next-gen solutions and drive innovation in healthcare.”

Pat Fry brings over 30 years of healthcare experience, having joined Sutter Health in 1982 and becoming president and CEO in 2005. Under his leadership, Sutter Health went on to become one of the nation’s leading healthcare systems. Fry’s achievements include overseeing the implementation of one of the nation’s most sophisticated and comprehensive electronic health records, creation of the Sutter Medical Network, which unites Sutter’s 5,000 aligned and affiliated physicians and implementing My Health Online, which provides more than 1 million Northern Californians with anytime online access to their personal health records. He also led the growth of the Sutter Health Plus health plan.

“It is an honor for us to bring on board an accomplished industry leader like Pat. His leadership and rich experience in building and scaling healthcare organizations will be a significant asset to CitiusTech. We look forward to working closely with Pat to solve complex industry challenges,” said Rizwan Koita, CEO of CitiusTech.

Fry is past chair of the California Hospital Association board of directors. He has also served on the American Hospital Association Governing Council and AHA Regional Policy board.

About CitiusTech

CitiusTech (www.citiustech.com) is a specialist provider of healthcare technology services and solutions to medical technology companies, providers, payers and life sciences organizations, with over 4,000 professionals worldwide. CitiusTech’s services and solutions include management consulting, healthcare software development, healthcare interoperability, regulatory compliance, BI/analytics, consumer engagement, care coordination and population health management. CitiusTech helps customers accelerate innovation in healthcare through solutions and accelerators for clinical quality reporting, healthcare big data, cloud computing, mobile health and predictive analytics. With cutting-edge technology expertise, world-class service quality and a global resource base, CitiusTech consistently delivers best-in-class solutions and an unmatched cost advantage to healthcare clients worldwide.

New Accenture Research Finds Hidden Value in Closing the Equality Progress Gap


A significant gap exists between the way leaders and employees view progress toward equality in their organizations, according to a new cross industry research from Accenture. Closing the gap will yield substantial benefits for companies and their employees.

The report, “Getting to Equal 2020: The Hidden Value of Culture Makers,” which covers several industries across 28 countries including India, found that organizations are at an inflection point: Today’s workforce cares increasingly about workplace culture and believes it is critical to helping them thrive in the workplace (reported by 88% of women and 77% of men in India), and majority of leaders (91% in India) believe an inclusive workplace culture is vital to the success of their business. 

At the same time, there is a perception gap: nearly all leaders in India (94%) believe their people feel included, yet just one third (36%) of employees agree.  Two out of three leaders (66%) feel they create empowering environments where people have a sense of belonging, however less than half (48%) of employees agree.

Most leaders also rank diversity and workplace culture low on their list of top organizational priorities. A majority of leaders in India ranked brand recognition and quality (84%), and financial performance (78%) at the top of their list of priorities, while only 37% ranked diversity on top. Also, only 37% ranked culture at the top.

“For every organization today, building a culture of equality needs as much focus as any other business goal,” said Rekha M. Menon, Chairman and Senior Managing Director, Accenture in India. “In an era where innovation drives growth, people are the most valuable source of competitive advantage, and equality and empowerment are key to unleashing their potential.”

Narrow the gap, accelerate progress

Aligning leaders’ perceptions with those of their employees would yield significant upsides. Everyone—both women and men—would advance faster, and global profits would increase by US$3.7 trillion, including US$ 1.35 trillion in the Asia Pacific region.

If the gap were closed by half:

In India, the proportion of women who feel like a key member of their team with real influence over decisions would rise from 1-in-5 to more than 1-in-3.
The annual retention rate in India would increase by 2% for women from 88% to 90%.

The research is especially timely for leaders, as employee expectations are only set to increase. In India, it was found that a large percentage of Gen Z is more concerned with workplace culture than Boomers: (81% vs. 72% respectively).

The Culture Makers

The report identified a small percentage of leaders—‘Culture Makers’—who are more committed to building equal cultures. These leaders recognize the importance of factors such as pay transparency, family leave and the freedom to be creative in helping employees thrive.

Globally, Culture Makers are much more likely to have spoken out on a range of workplace issues, including gender equality (52% vs. 35% of all leaders) and sexual harassment/discrimination (51% vs. 30%). They hold themselves accountable, leading organizations that are nearly twice as likely to have publicly announced a target to hire and retain more women.

While just 6% of leaders surveyed globally, are Culture Makers, they represent a more gender-balanced group compared to the broader group of leaders surveyed (45% women vs 32% of all leaders, respectively). Additionally, a full 68% of them are Millennials, compared to 59% of all leaders. They are more likely to lead organizations where people advance, focus on innovation and remain committed – and their organizations’ profits are nearly three times higher than those of their peers.

Achieving a culture of equality

The report lays out steps to help close perception gaps and drive progress toward a more equal culture that benefits everyone and enables leaders to continuously evolve their strategies to meet changing needs.

The research reaffirms that bold leadership, comprehensive action and an empowering environment are proven anchors for creating a culture of equality:

* Bold Leadership – Leaders must truly believe that culture matters and prioritize it. For example, benchmark progress toward a culture of equality by setting and publishing targets; and reward and recognize leaders and teams on progress. A culture of equality starts at the top.
* Comprehensive Action – Go beyond the data. Leaders should engage in a meaningful, continuous dialogue with employees. Consider face-to-face meetings, focus groups, town halls. Conducting ongoing, real-time conversations with employees helps to capture feedback and empower leadership to quickly drive change.
* Empowering Environment – Encourage and cultivate Culture Makers. Create opportunities for future Culture Makers to opt-in and take on specific culture-related roles within their organizations and find ways to bring leaders and culture-minded employees together to develop specific, actionable solutions.   

Total Pageviews