NSDC Collaborates with TCS iON to Enable Virtual Training for Skilling Ecosystem Across India

With the vision to provide uninterrupted online learning to millions of students across the country during the ongoing pandemic, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)  has collaborated with TCS iON, a strategic unit of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization. This coalition will provide NSDC’s training partners access to the TCS iON Digital Glass Room, enabling them to move classroom vocational skills training to online mode for millions of students across the country.

The objective of this partnership is to enable NSDC’s Training Partners to continue with their scheduled training and lessons; learners to learn from home under the guidance of professionals; skill seekers to participate in various learning engagement activities digitally and complete the hands-on sessions post the lockdown is eased.  Both the training partners and the learners can continue to adopt digital technologies in addition to the physical hands-on sessions in a “Learning as Usual” mode.

“In today’s disruptive environment, digital solutions provide live virtual classrooms and self-study courses, enabling continuity of training and learning. NSDC’s collaboration with TCS is aimed at facilitating innovative methods to promote skill training and access for learners.” said, Dr. Manish Kumar, MD & CEO, NSDC.

The TCS iON Digital Glass Room will enable trainers to deliver lectures, create and share content, share and evaluate assignments, conduct formative tests, and monitor learners’ progress. The platform also enables online collaboration among students and trainers through debates, quizzes, polls and surveys. Students and trainers can share posts, like, vote and chat with each other, ensuring seamless education.

The alliance strengthens NSDC’s online content aggregation platform – eSkill India, through which it enables e-learning amongst skill seekers and will contribute towards strengthening the Skill India mission. NSDC’s robust network of over 500 training partners across the country will now be able to access the TCS iON Digital Glass Room to seamlessly transition to a virtual teaching and learning environment and continue with their skilling programs, during the lockdown and thereafter.

“Over the years, NSDC has been providing excellent services in various aspects of skilling in India. We are extremely delighted in providing TCS iON Digital Glass Room to NSDC’s training partners so that trainings go on uninterrupted and in a smooth manner during the unprecedented pandemic. It is our endeavour to empower our partners with all the necessary digital skills so that they can encounter any given situation.” said Venguswamy Ramaswamy, Global Head TCS iON.

Over the last 10 years, NSDC, operating under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), has collaborated with the private sector, state governments, small and medium size businesses, industry sector experts, academic institutions, and foreign government agencies to build a vibrant skilling ecosystem in India. With more than 500 partners and 11,000+ training centres across India, TCS iON’s offering Digital Glass Room will help in supporting training across sectors.

“TCS iON Digital Glass Room” is a solution that enables training institutions to rapidly go live with classes within few hours of sharing the user data. TCS iON is offering this solution free to every training institution in the country.  Currently, the platform supports more than 3.2 million learners and it aims millions of new learners to be benefited from this solution. The programme facilitates digital learning through groups or communities’ structure. Training Partners can now seamlessly transition to a virtual teaching environment and continue teaching the students beyond the traditional classrooms. Trainers can deliver lectures, create and share content, share and evaluate assignments, conduct formative tests and monitor learners’ progress. It can also enable online collaboration amongst the students through debates, quizzes, polls and surveys. Students and faculty can like, vote, share and chat with each other. The training partners and the learners become productive in TCS iON Digital Glass Room in a matter of just a few hours. The offering is free for all Training Partners in India who can directly register at https://iur.ls/DigitalGlassRoom   

Retail Aggregator F5 Closes Seed Round Led by Venture Catalysts

Venture Catalysts, India’s first, largest and pioneering integrated incubator and accelerator platform, recently invested an undisclosed amount in retail aggregator F5. The New Delhi-based startup, incubated by Gurgaon based leading Incubator, Huddle, has previously raised funding from prominent angel investors and micro-VCs including LetsVenture, Madhusudan Kela backed Singularity, Artworks Founder Mohit Satyanand, Tres Ventures, Country Delight founders and Startup Buddy to name a few. 

Founded by IIM-Lucknow alumni Raghav Arora and Lalit Kumar Aggarwal in 2018, F5 is committed to creating a unique and first-of-its-kind supply chain and retail aggregation model that specifically caters to the workplace retail segment, which is an estimated $64 billion industry. Keeping in line the government’s ‘Vocal for Local’ campaign, the company is also empowering neighborhood shops and small businesses by providing them with end-to-end support to reach more customers. 

As a workplace retail brand and an aggregator of local but high-quality refreshment stores, the startup has successfully on-boarded 4000+ paid consumers across Delhi and Lucknow, whilst enabling and optimising the revenue of these vendors. With tea as its primary offering, F5 sells more than 8000 cups of tea per day on average, recording annual revenues worth INR 150 lacs.

The USP of F5 lies in its multi-faceted, multi touchpoint approach to providing new opportunities for its partner vendors to up-sell and cross-sell their products ranging from refreshments to services, thereby creating a dynamic micro-market and increasing revenues of its partners by 40%.

Putting light on F5, Raghav Arora, Co-Founder F5, highlighted “Our consumers wanted us to have physical stores and be near them for their immediate needs. Just a couple of months back, we decided to cater this demand by partnering with already existing vendors. We have so far partnered with 20+ such vendors and have plans to partner with 5000+ vendors within NCR only. For customers, we are a brand for their workplace needs that is fresher and more authentic. For our vendors, we have become their access point for multiple partnerships that can boost their business and revenues. F5 is also becoming a unique supply chain for many tech and non-tech consumer brands,”

Speaking on the investment, Dr Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, Founder, Venture Catalysts, said, “The COVID-19 crisis has posed unprecedented challenges to India’s business ecosystem, making us realize the importance of local manufacturing and supply chains. As emphasised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is the time to revive our local industries and businesses that struggle to cope with larger brands despite offering quality products/services. F5 is doing exactly this – upskilling as well as providing technology, delivery and management support to local vendors and SMEs while helping organize the highly fragmented workplace retail space. The startup has already exhibited a robust growth trajectory, and we are confident that the latest funding round will further add to its strengths.” 

Expressing his delight, Lalit Kumar Aggarwal, Co-Founder F5, added, “We are delighted to get Venture Catalysts on board alongside other investors. We will use the funding to optimize our supply chain operations and reach a wider audience. While we have started our journey quite recently, the investment from Venture Catalysts comes as validation of our work. We look forward to a fruitful association with them.”

“From day one, the F5 team has focussed on localisation, quality, hygiene and efficiency, as the four mantras to their business, in order to successfully provide their service to all their stakeholders. As an incubator, and their partners, their growth has also showcased a lot of discipline towards these moats, and it’s a delight to have the VCATS team joining as part of this journey”, Sanil Sachar, Founding Partner, Huddle.

Over the next year, F5 plans to expand the scope of its retail aggregation and supply chain through “workplace retail delivery service” by offering a wide range of products such as extended portfolio of refreshments, meals, beverages along with and services including delivery pickups and drop offs, micro ATMs, and mobile recharges, among others. The company also looks forward to enabling and empowering more local stores in the country that lack infrastructural support. 

About VCats

Venture Catalysts is India’s first integrated incubator. It invests $250K – $1.5 Million in early stage start-ups that has potential to create enduring value for over a long period of time. Venture Catalysts brings a lethal combination of Capital, Mentoring and Business Network to help investee companies to succeed. Their innovation provides value to start-ups through its angel network, funding, community, services and co-working facility.

M12, Microsoft’s Venture Fund, Opens Office in Bengaluru, India

M12, Microsoft’s venture fund, announced its local presence in India with the opening of an office in Bengaluru. The office will pursue investment opportunities across the region, focusing on B2B software startups in the sectors of applied AI, business applications, infrastructure, security, and vanguard technologies. M12 seeks to invest in disruptive enterprise software startups in the Series A through C funding stages, targeting both local and cross-border solutions. 

The new office is a step forward in M12’s long-term commitment to the Indian startup ecosystem. The deep technical and business talent from India’s world-class engineering schools and major R&D centers are among the primary draws to the region. M12 has already been remotely investing in India since 2019; its portfolio includes category leaders such as Innovaccer and FarEye. In 2019, the fund hosted a marquee summit in Bengaluru to share thought leadership in technology trends with influential leaders from startups and venture capital funds.

Abhi Kumar, India Lead for M12, said: “Typically, we see the greatest hurdles in a startup’s journey as they scale from local success to global challengers, and then again when they go on to become category leaders. Both inflection points require specific and deep organizational strength, proven talent, GTM partnerships, and global investors. M12 is proud to be co-located in the region, and to bring experience and resources that will help startups successfully navigate these inflection points.”

Post-investment, the startups in M12’s portfolio can elect to work with the fund’s Portfolio Development team, which is dedicated to unlocking growth opportunities. Portfolio companies are actively supported through connections to Microsoft’s go-to-market resources, access to Microsoft technology and internal thought leaders, co-marketing opportunities, and engagement with engineering teams to explore product integrations.

Since its founding in 2016, M12 has invested in 90 companies. A financial- and founder-focused fund, M12 maintains a technology-agnostic approach to investments. The 27-member global team has decades of experience in investing, product innovation, business development, go-to-market, R&D, and entrepreneurship. M12 investors take board seats as part of their investments to provide founders with active support and engagement.

The Bengaluru office joins an M12 network that includes San Francisco, Seattle, London, and Tel Aviv. M12 (formerly known as Microsoft Ventures) also partners with several of Microsoft’s broad startup engagement programs, such as Microsoft for Startups. Microsoft also has an active business development team that engages on strategic M&A. These separate teams are deeply collaborative to offer startups the full value of the Microsoft ecosystem.

About M12

M12, Microsoft's venture fund, invests in enterprise software companies in the Series A through C funding stages with a focus on applied AI, business applications, infrastructure, security, and vanguard technologies. As part of its value-add to portfolio companies, M12 offers unique access to strategic go-to-market resources and relationships globally. M12 has offices in San Francisco, Seattle, London, Tel Aviv, and Bengaluru. Visit https://m12.vc to learn more.

Carter’s W.A.R. to be Showcased on Discovery and Discovery Plus, Highlights the Truth Behind Human-Wildlife Conflict in Africa

Discovery, the country’s leading real-life entertainment channel, is all set to present an inspiring 10-part series titled CARTER’S W.A.R. (Wild Animal Response) starting 15th June at 10 PM on Discovery and Discovery HD and newly launched Discovery Plus app. In this engaging series, wildlife investigator, hunting guide and conservationist Ivan Carter, determined in his efforts to spread awareness and save the wildlife of Africa, uncovers the many threats it faces. From heavily armed poachers butchering elephants for their tusks to the slaughter of rhinos for their horns, with each episode, Ivan looks deep into the threats that the wildlife of Africa faces and tries to find solutions. He takes the viewers inside the real Africa to the front lines of the wars being waged on its wildlife.

“This series is completely different to other shows because it doesn’t just focus on poaching. We see every angle, we see why animals are poached, we learn and understand the poachers’ perspective as well as the animal’s perspective and of course the perspective of the conservationist. This series goes a lot deeper than any other poaching show,” says, Ivan Carter. “We were shocked by the realities of what we discovered. I have lived in Africa all my life, but I still didn’t realise just how big some of the illegal wildlife trade was and how terrible the impact has been on wild ecosystems.”

Sai Abishek, Director–Content, Factual & Lifestyle Entertainment – South Asia, Discovery, said, “We have always supported and elevated storytellers who are doing extraordinary work and showcasing inspiring stories. The issue of human-wildlife conflict is complex and CARTER’s W.A.R explores all nuances to bring out the facts for audiences in a very engaging manner.”

Tune in to CARTER’S W.A.R., which premieres in India on Monday, 15th June at 10 PM, every Monday and Tuesday only on Discovery, Discovery HD and on newly launched app Discovery Plus.

Namaste, Fleets! Twitter Introduces Way to Have Conversations in India

Twitter 

* India is among the first three countries to test a new feature, Fleets

* Fleets are for people to share their ideas and momentary thoughts. These posts disappear after 24 hours and have no Retweets, likes or public comments

* Fleets will be available for everyone in India on Twitter for iOS and Android in the coming days in updated app versions

Twitter in India is testing out a new way to have conversations about your fleeting thoughts on the service  – Fleets. They disappear after 24 hours and there aren't any Likes, Retweets, or public replies. We learned from research that people don’t Tweet because Tweets are public, feel permanent, and display the number of Retweets and Likes. We hope Fleets will empower many more people to express themselves more freely. India is the third market globally after Brazil and Italy where Twitter is rolling out this feature to test.

For Twitter to serve the public conversation, which is its mission, more people need to feel comfortable having conversations. There need to be more ways to have conversations on Twitter with less pressure and various controls. Fleets are fast and familiar. People can tap on their own avatar to start, add text or media and hit send. That’s it, that’s how one Fleets.

Manish Maheshwari, MD, Twitter India: “India is important for Twitter since it is one of our largest and fastest-growing audience markets globally. We are excited to bring the Fleets experiment to India and make it one of the first three countries in the world to experience this new product. From the test in India, we’ll learn how adding a new mode of conversation changes the way Indians engage on Twitter. It’ll also be interesting to see if it further amplifies the diversity of usage by allowing people to share what they’re thinking in a way that is light-touch and light-hearted.”

Fleets from the accounts one follows are always right on top of one’s timeline. People can see who’s seen their Fleet by looking underneath a post. They can tap on someone’s avatar to see what the person has shared since they last were on Twitter. Alternatively, one can also find an account’s Fleets by looking on their profile page.

To create a new Fleet, follow these simple steps:

* Tap the avatar on the top left of your profile to create a new Fleet

* Start typing or tap a media icon to add photo/s or video/s

* Tap ‘Fleet’ to post

To view someone’s Fleet:

* Tap an avatar to see their latest Fleets

* Swipe down to see newer Fleets and up to see older Fleets

* Swipe left or right to see Fleets from other accounts you follow

To engage with your followers on Fleets:

* Buttons to reply and react are available when Direct Messages (DMs) are open

* Followers can reply privately via DM or quickly react with an emoji, and continue the conversation privately in DMs

* Replies and reactions will appear in DMs along with the Fleet they are responding to

People can also report a Fleet using the ‘...’ menu

Mo Al Adham, Twitter Group Product Manager: “Twitter is where people go to see and talk about what’s happening. We want people to be able to have conversations on Twitter in different ways, with less pressure and more control. That’s why we’re testing a way to share their fleeting thoughts.”

Since starting to test Fleets in Brazil, Twitter has seen people become more comfortable sharing what’s on their minds. People who don’t usually Tweet are starting more conversations and sending both Fleets and Tweets. When people send a Fleet, they often share a number of thoughts rapidly.

Fleets will be available for everyone in India on Twitter for iOS and Android in the coming days in updated app versions.

FlipSpaces Launches REBOOTSPACES to Reinvent Commercial Interiors in Post COVID World

Interiors 

* The Commercial design and build venture has launched a cutting-edge product and service suite to help businesses tackle COVID-19 while resuming their operations 

* The brand has also launched its work from home range to help brands create aspirational Home Offices for their teams

Flipspaces, India’s leading commercial interiors venture has launched REBOOTSPACES, a line of products and services that focuses on creating next generation commercial spaces that are intuitive, empathetic, and safe, along with ergonomic workspaces to facilitate a seamless home office experience.

Backed by a research-based consultative approach, REBOOTSPACES presents brands with an integrated offering of products ranging from Social Distancing, Hygiene and Sanitisation and Touchless Automation mapped specifically to a brand’s requirements.

Commenting on this move, Vikash Anand, Director - Sales and Marketing, Partner, Flipspaces said,  “Commercial real estate leasing and expansion is expected to bounce back after a muted demand for the first quarter post lockdown since such physical spaces cater to what working professionals look for, which is culture, community, and connection. However, the fundamental tenets of work and workspace design will change, so will the products that go into a workspace. Smart products promoting Social Distancing, Hygiene and Sanitisation and Touchless Operations will be in demand and the REBOOTSPACES portfolio provides exactly that.”

India has 45 million SMEs alone which employ approximately 11% of the working population of the country. This workforce works from different commercial spaces (offices, retail stores, healthcare and education institutions, hospitality outfits) spread across the country. REBOOTSPACES product line is focussed on helping brands restart their operations while providing a secure and hygienic work environment for their teams.

“Smaller outbreaks of the COVID virus are expected to keep happening for a longer time. The smallest of such instances can bring businesses to a screeching halt. Hence, business owners will place hygiene at the very top of their priority list ensuring a safe and productive work environment for their employees and clients”, added Ankur Muchhal, Co-Founder, Director - Research and Development.

To demonstrate their commitment towards providing a safe environment to the frontline Corona warriors, Flipspaces has also launched a series of outreach activities to address sanitization challenges including installation of Automated Sanitization Booths in police stations across Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore. These automated sanitization booths prove to be effective in disinfecting visitors in high footfall areas owing to a no-touch process.

As a sign of a new normal being reached in terms of business operations, several large MNCs like Tech Mahindra and TCS and many leading startups have instituted work from home options for sections of their workforce. To address the thought shift, REBOOTSPACES has also launched a Home Office Solutions line which addresses the need for working professionals to have a seamless and distraction-free remote working experience. 

“In this changing business environment, a special focus needs to be put on Home Office Options for certain sections of the workforce which can work remotely without loss of productivity. This will help reduce operational and real estate costs for brands and also provide greater safety and time and cost-saving for team members,” said Mrinal Sharma, Director -Operations, Partner, Flipspaces

Flipspaces has leveraged their domain knowledge in workplace strategy with global experience in designing and building for Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, and coworking spaces to put together resources required to fight this pandemic and adapt to a changed world of commercial interiors. 

About Flipspaces :

Founded in July 2015, Flipspaces is a tech-enabled venture in interior design, products, and projects for commercial spaces. Flipspaces follows a differentiated approach through its tech-suite which creates efficiency and enhances the customer experience in every step of their interior design and build journey. Flipspaces was co-founded by IIT alumni, Kunal Sharma and Ankur Mucchal, both serial entrepreneurs with a history of build, scale, and exit.

Paytm Expands 'Postpaid' Services to Kiranas & Other Internet Apps; Enhances Credit Limit Upto Rs. 100,000

Summary

* Available for recharges & bill payments on Paytm, online payments on internet apps and also for buying home essentials from kirana stores

* Introduces Paytm Postpaid Lite, Delight & Elite to offer unsecured loans

* Working with multiple NBFC partners to expand the offering

India’s leading financial services firm Paytm has announced a significant expansion of 'Paytm Postpaid' to a large set of payment use-cases. This service can now be availed to buy groceries, milk, and other home essentials from neighbourhood Kirana stores and also at popular retail destinations such as Reliance Fresh, Haldiram, Apollo Pharmacy, Croma, Shoppers Stop among others. Additionally, it has also been extended to various bill payments facilities available on Paytm, shopping on Paytm Mall, and online payments at internet apps such as Domino's, Tata Sky, Pepperfry, HungerBox, Patanjali, Spencer's among others. This service comes as a great relief to Paytm users during the ongoing lockdown, as the increased credit limit & a large set of use-cases will eliminate the need to withdraw cash for meeting monthly household expenses.

Paytm Postpaid is offered in partnership with two leading NBFCs with an instant credit line for various payments to Paytm app users. Seeing an increasing demand for consumer credit during the ongoing pandemic, the company has increased this credit limit up to Rs. 100,000 of monthly spends to enable payment for large items such as furniture and consumer electronics among others. Initially, select users will be shown a Postpaid icon in the Financial Services Section to avail Paytm Postpaid post completion of their online KYC with partner NBFC. The bill repayment can be done by the 7th of each month or earlier. Paytm Postpaid offers a passbook to analyze monthly spends to plan everyday expenses.

The company has introduced 3 variants of Postpaid viz. Lite, Delite and Elite which will be offered based on partner NBFC's assessment. While Postpaid Lite comes with limits up to Rs. 20,000 and a convenience charge which will be added to the monthly bill, the Delite and Elite offer credit limits from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 1,00,000 in monthly spends with no convenience charges. Postpaid Lite has been designed so that users without excellent credit score are also able to avail the convenience & benefits of this service. However, there is no cost associated with activating & keeping Paytm Postpaid or any of its variants.

Amit Nayyar, President at Paytm said, "Paytm Postpaid is our mission to provide access to credit to every Paytm user. During this ongoing pandemic, it becomes more important for us to stand by fellow Indians and give them the power to buy on credit when required.

We are excited to expand this service for payments at kirana and online stores that play an important role in the whole neighbourhood and online shopping experience. We will keep expanding the offering to include more and more Paytm users."