A big Scam in the Making Unearthed: CSIR had Perfect Plan to Cordon Off Millions to BR Shetty

In what seems to be a massive attempt by the Indian government to cover up the misdeeds of the much maligned UAE business tycoon, founder of NMC health and many of its sister concerns, BR Shetty, and to bail him out of his financial woes, a big scam has been unearthed recently.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), in collaboration with one of its constituent laboratories, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad had announced end April that they will now be setting up indigenous plants in India with an integrated pharmaceutical company LAXAI Life Sciences to jointly develop and manufacture APIs and its key intermediates. This announcement was made shortly after the government announced a Rs 14,000 crore package to incentivise production of APIs in the country and reduce import dependence of this key pharma input from China.

A person close to the matter revealed, “LAXAI Life Sciences was to be one of the first few to commercialise these products manufacturing APIs and intermediates at USFDA/GMP approved plants held by LAXAI through its subsidiary, Therapiva. Vamsidhar Maadi Patla, CMD, LAXAI Life Sciences and Nikhil Baheti, CFO, Therapiva were propped to provide just the ideal leadership with extensive experience and expertise in pharma to spearhead this breakthrough R&D, but it turned out that this was just a big show put up to mislead unsuspecting public into thinking what a grand deal this would prove to be. The real plan was to help BR Shetty regain a foothold in his crumbling empire.”

A closer inspection of their websites revealed only projections and capabilities with absolutely zero reference to any research and manufacturing that may have happened at their end. When these firms were contacted, however, no one came out in the open to comment.

An inside source, on conditions of anonymity said, “Since this was to be a collaboration with CSIR, these firms were projected to be much better than the others in pharma research and development. A lot of noise was made about the formidable credentials of these firms so that no one would question either their background or the basis of this deal. No one would ever suspect that the antecedents of these firms could be traced back to BR Shetty.”

Seemingly no due diligence was followed by CSIR in going ahead with this collaboration. When, Information and Credit Rating Agency of India Limited (ICRA India), an independent and professional investment information and credit rating agency, assessed Therapiva’s documents, it was ascertained that it was a firm immersed in debts with very poor net worth.

On further investigation, it emerged that both the companies were owned by a certain Omnicare Drugs India Private Limited, Hyderabad which had 61% stake in the companies. The parent company of all these establishments was traced to be Neopharma Holding Pvt. Ltd. based out of the UAE, one among the many business ventures of BR Shetty.

The source added, “Shetty has been closely associated with the RSS ever since the Jan Sangh days and has openly pledged his support to the PM Narendra Modi claiming that he will be investing billions of dollars in healthcare infrastructure in Varanasi as well as healthcare, education, agro products, tourism and film city projects in J&K proclaiming this to the PM in the many public events organised by BJP, that he participated in. With the PM having such an ardent follower in Shetty, it seems he is now lending as much covert support as he can to Shetty so he can go back to being the czar of his kingdom.”

Shetty flew to India in February to care for his ailing elder brother, who has since passed away. While Shetty claims that he has ‘launched his own legal and forensic investigations and will share the results with appropriate authorities’, he is grappling to pay off a debt of $6.6 billion, far higher than the $2.1 billion it had initially revealed. Creditors have moved against the top management, with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) as well as the bank of Baroda, India filing criminal cases against him and NMC having been placed under administration given that the real debt is approximately 3.5x the reported amount.

Since, the announcement by CSIR came just 10 days after ABCD filed a criminal complaint against Shetty and just about 3 weeks after London banks froze all his bank accounts, there seems to be an unmistakable nexus between the government and Shetty to not just keep him afloat but also to help him tide over his financial woes with the taxpayers money. There seems to be definitely much more going on behind the curtains, than what is meeting the eye!

SBI Further Empowers Farmers with YONO Krishi; Introduces Kisan Credit Card Review on the Platform

Kisan Credit Card (KCC) 

* Bank introduces KCC Review feature on the YONO Krishi platform which has been witnessing great response from farmers

* YONO KCC Review to enable farmers access their KCC limit on YONO in just four clicks

* YONO KCC Review to benefit more than 75 lakh farmers

* YONO KCC review will empower farmers to embrace digital technology and make them future-ready

* YONO Krishi platform offers a one-stop solution to all farmers’ agricultural needs

Country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) continues to empower its farmer customers by offering them technology backed agricultural solutions with YONO Krishi. The recently launched platform that caters to all the requirements of farmers – from sowing to harvesting and then selling – has been receiving significant traction from the farmers. In the current unprecedented times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SBI is set to make lives easier for its farmer customers by introducing the KCC Review option on YONO Krishi. With this added feature, farmers will no longer need to travel the distance to visit the bank branch to apply for a revision in their KCC limit. KCC Review option on YONO Krishi will help farmers apply for the same in just 4 clicks from the comfort of their homes without any paperwork.

Recognizing the fact that not all farmers may have access to smartphones, SBI has also streamlined the KCC review process at its branches. KCC Review on YONO Krishi is expected to benefit more than 75 lakh farmers having KCC accounts with SBI. The feature of paperless KCC review will not only help farmers save costs and effort involved in applying for revision of the KCC limit, but also make the process quicker for them especially during the harvesting season.

Rajnish Kumar, Chairman, SBI said, “Introduction of YONO KCC Review on YONO Krishi is SBI’s yet another initiative to make our farmer customers, future-ready by offering them constant digital innovations pertaining to their agricultural needs. This new feature has been added keeping in mind millions of our valuable farmer customers’ convenience and safety. We believe that they will now be experiencing hassle-free application process for their KCC limit revision. With a Digital-First approach, it is SBI’s continuous endeavor to provide innovative digital banking solutions to all our diverse set of customers across the country.”

Apart from KCC Review, the multi-lingual YONO Krishi platform - which is bringing-in technology to farmers in more than 10 vernacular languages - is offering services such as YONO Khata, YONO Bachat, YONO Mitra and YONO Mandi to its farmer customers. These unique offerings facilitate farmers with Agri loan products, an online marketplace to buy and rent agricultural inputs and equipment, customized farming advisory, investment, and crop insurance products, instant agri gold loan, upgrade to scientific farming practices, and much more. With YONO Krishi, SBI has opened the doors of digital agriculture to farmers. In just one year of its launch, YONO Krishi has disbursed more than 14 lakh Agri Gold loans and has seen more than 15 lakh clicks on YONO Mandi and YONO Mitra

YONO itself has grown by leaps and bounds over the last two and a half years since its launch. It has seen more than 58 million downloads with over 26 million registered users. YONO has partnered with over 80 e-commerce players in more than 20 categories. The bank’s flagship banking and lifestyle platform – YONO is also tasting success in international markets such as the UK and Mauritius.

Accenture Announces the Winners of Third Annual Accenture Ventures Challenge for Indian Developers

 Accenture has announced four innovative startups as the winners of the third edition of Accenture Ventures Challenge in India for developing unique, scalable solutions to help businesses accelerate the business transformations prompted by the Covid-19 crisis.

This year more than 550 startups were evaluated across four categories -- ‘supply chain resilience’, ‘digital commerce’ and ‘systems resilience,’ and ‘responsible technology.’ The final category is at identifying solutions that help organizations create positive social and environmental impact in these times.

The judges selected the following winners based on unique, scalable solutions to help businesses accelerate the business transformations prompted by the Covid-19 crisis.

Atlan, in the Systems Resilience category, for its modern data workspace that enables diverse data teams to collaborate harmoniously.

Charmboard, in the Digital Commerce category, for its AI based application that provides interactive experience at scale for users from videos.

Increff, in the Supply Chain Resilience category, for its algorithm driven merchandising platform that increases inventory turns and warehouse management system that exposes 100% inventory simultaneously to all sales channels.

Wysa, in the Responsible Technology category, for its global platform for early-stage mental health support at scale, with a unique (digital + AI + human) model that is anonymous and clinically assured. 

 This year, the Accenture Ventures Challenge was hosted in collaboration with Microsoft’s 100X100X100 program. The winner in each category will be given an opportunity to join the Accenture Ventures Open Innovation partner program and co-create solutions for Accenture clients around the world. Winners will also get access to benefits from the Microsoft ScaleUp program, which supports Seed or Series A B2B startups to scale and co-sell with Microsoft sales teams.

Hyundai Motor India Nationwide Freedom Drive from August 14–21

 Hyundai Motor India Ltd., country’s first smart mobility solutions provider and largest exporter since inception, today announced the commencement of Nationwide Freedom Drive across all Hyundai workshops, with an objective to make customers mindful of Periodic Maintenance Schedule. Customers can avail special offers on Labour, Car Sanitization & Under body coating for their Hyundai cars from August 14 – 21, 2020.

Commenting on the Freedom Drive, Mr. Tarun Garg, Director – Sales, Marketing & Service, said, “Hyundai’s philosophy is to be the Lifetime Partner of its customers and Freedom drive is a step towards providing a delightful customer experience. This unique service initiative is aimed at educating customers about periodic maintenance with an intention to provide seamless service experience, enhancing customer’s peace of mind.” 

Customers’ offers and benefits for Freedom Drive at select Dealers include:

• Free 50-point check & hi-touch points sanitization

• Complete interior sanitization packages starting from ₹ 599

• Up to 20% discount on labour charges

• 15% discount on Underbody Coating

With over 1300 service outlets, HMIL is committed to provide the most comprehensive and qualitative service. Hyundai service facilities can also be experienced via 360° Digital & Contact-less Service. From online service booking through Hyundai Care App, Vehicle status update via WhatsApp, Pick & Drop from home/office and online payment facility, a touch free service experience is ensured for the customers, wherever they are and whenever they want to. Hyundai has endeavoured to establish service benchmarks in the industry with its leading service initiatives and No.1 rank in JD Power Customer Service Index study for 3 years consecutively.

‘Made in India’ Social Media App, Explurger, Built on AI to be Launched on the Independence Day for Global Audience

 

APP 

* The new-age social media app ready to be launched on Aug 15, to further India’s ‘Aatma Nirbhar Bharat’ Mission

* Packed with exciting features such as sharing high-quality pictures, videos, creating a bucket list, achieving Explurger levels, sharing future travel plans, automatic Travelogue and much more

* India’s own social media app for the world to connect

* Go #VocalforLocal with Explurger

Centered on user experience, a completely home-grown new-age social media app ‘Explurger’ is ready for a long-awaited global launch on Aug 15, 2020. The app is built to stimulate Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Mission and promises to put India on the world map with the world social media giants.

Explurger is proud to be a truly ‘Made in India’ app — fully conceived, designed, coded by Indians — that offers a safe and secure platform for all its users spread across the globe.

With its simple yet innovative AI-based features, Explurger is packed with exciting features like sharing high-quality pictures, videos, creating a bucket list, achieving Explurger levels, sharing future travel plans, automatic travelogue and much more. 

Jitin Bhatia, Founder, Explurger, talking about the inspiration, says, “Being a software developer at heart, I have always wondered about the fact that despite some of the best apps in the world being powered by Indian brains, there is no social media app in the top category which could be called truly Indian.

So, I was looking for an idea to build an Indian app. Some three years back, upon returning from a business trip, my staff told me that it was probably my 30th trip in that year. That had me thinking that if there were a way to keep a count of the number of times one travels away from home, or tells people how many miles they have travelled, that would be something. And that was my Eureka moment. That’s how Explurger was born. Finally my labour of love, some 2.5 years later, Explurger is all set to be my Independence Day gift to India and the world. I hope people download it and reciprocate my love. I’d love to see PM Modi, US President Trump and Mark Zuckerberg Explurging.”

Although there are several Indian-origin social media apps available in iOS and Android, but Explurger outshines them with its following features:

Complete Travelogue: Check-ins are temporary, Explurge-Ins are forever. Every time you create a post, the AI automatically updates your personalised Travelogue.

Bucket List: When a friend shares a picture/video from a cool place, just add it to your bucket list. So, whenever you’re in the area, Explurger would remind you to check out that place.

Future Travel Plans: Make your future travel plan announcements exciting with a ‘Live Countdown Timer.’

Explurger Levels: Now for the first time ever, gamify your social media experience with Explurger. Everytime you explore a new country, city, cafe, or share a post or get Kudos on your wall, your Explurger level goes up. Go, flaunt it! 

Kudos: Show your approval, give your fellow Explurgers Kudos. Why stick with one like when you can give up to three kudos!

Spread: With a click of a button, now share all your exciting Explurges on other social media apps out there as you post it on Explurger!

Rate on the go: This app allows you to rate an experience, cafe, city, or place!

Explurger is all set to make its mark in the global market.

Aspirational Bharat Sees 120% Spike in Work Productivity on Smartphones During COVID-19: TECNO-CMR MICI Survey

 

Survey Report

* Consumers in Aspirational Bharat are seeing a >50% spike on smartphone usage during lockdown, including 120% on productivity.

* Beyond work, consumers spent increased time on their phone for consuming content, including video OTT (70%) and audio OTT (60%), and gaming (62%).

* Fast-depleting Battery life and limited screen size were the biggest challenges that consumers faced with their smartphones.

A new Mobile Industry Consumer Insights (MICI) Survey, conducted by CyberMedia Research (CMR) in association with TECNO Mobile, has for the first time provided a comprehensive understanding of changing consumer behaviour and smartphone usage patterns in Aspirational Bharat. The CMR MICI survey revealed that consumers of Aspirational Bharat saw a 120% spike in smartphone usage for productivity compared to pre-COVID levels.

According to Prabhu Ram, He ad- Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR, “The smartphone is a key daily driver for consumers living in cities and towns beyond Tier I. We call this the Aspirational Bharat. What the survey highlights is how smartphone usage is changing, during lockdown and in the neo-normal, cutting across use cases, such as productivity, personal development, and leisure. In preparation for the neo normal, consumers in Aspirational Bharat are seeking smartphones that offer larger screen size and much better battery life.”

Echoing the sentiment from TECNO’s perspective, Mr. Arijeet Talapatra, CEO, TRANSSION India said, “As a leading smartphone company commanding substantial presence and market share in the Aspirational Bharat’, we have iterated the growing importance of telecommuting and productivity usage of smartphone in the wake of COVID-19. In Aspirational Bharat, where affordability and utility go hand in hand, smartphones have emerged as a primary medium of work, information and entertainment. The CMR MICI Survey reinforces the fact that TECNO has the sense of the pulse of its aspirational consumers. And with our SPARK series, which focuses on battery, display, and camera in sub-10K smartphone category is a testimony to TECNO’s deep commitment of introducing products with segment-first features at a disruptive price point where the consumer is more ready to experiment with the product. We are optimistic that our latest launches Spark 6 Air smartphone and TWS Minipod M1 will be well-received by the audience and enable our consumers to find a work-leisure balance in this Neo Normal.”

(A) COVID-19 and Impact on Smartphone Usage in Aspirational Bharat during lockdown

* During COVID-19 Lockdown (March 25 - May 31), smartphone usage spiked by 50%, with smartphone usage for work surging by >100%.

* Smartphone users in Aspirational Bharat depend on their smartphone to empower their professional and personal life.

* 84% of consumers depend on their smartphones, for instance, for accessing information on government schemes, weather patterns, and market linkage information for farm produce.

* 83% of consumers use their phones for content consumption including creating and consuming short-form videos, music and videos.

* 83% feel empowered, using their smartphones for online banking, shopping, and utility bill payment, among others.

* Beyond work, consumers spent increased time on their phone for consuming content, including video OTT (70%) and audio OTT (60%), and gaming (62%).

* Around three in every seven users in Aspirational Bharat have started some new activities and hobbies during the period of lockdown. For instance, 21% of the consumers have learnt new skills, 19% have listened to music, while 18% have taken up new hobbies on their phones.

* One in every three parents depend on their smartphone for facilitating their kid’s online education during lockdown.

(B) Smartphone Usage in the Neo Normal (June onwards)

* Two in every seven users (29%) have faced some challenge while working from home.  One in every seven users (15%) faced difficulty in managing work-life-balance as well as productivity issue.

* The top three smartphone features that consumers have started relying more in the neo normal are Camera (61%), battery life (57%) and sound quality (51%).

* Some consumers faced problems with their smartphones –  phone overheating (58%), limited screen size (47%) and swift battery drainage (46%) were the top three challenges.

* When it comes to their next smartphone purchase, consumers are looking for smartphones that offer long battery life (54%) and large screen size (53%) for viewing to cope with neo normal.

About CMR – TECNO Mobile MICI Survey

The Mobile Industry Consumer Insights (MICI) Survey by CyberMedia Research (CMR), in association with TECNO Mobile, is the first-ever, comprehensive study of changing consumer behavior on smartphones in Tier-I, Tier-II and Tier-III cities and towns of India, across three phases: pre-COVID-19, during pandemic, and neo-normal.

The CMR Mobile Industry Consumer Insights (MICI) Survey covered 1052 respondents cutting across ten study locations, including, New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Surat, Indore, Guwahati and Sonipat. The study covered consumers in the age groups of 20 to 35, and socio-economic levels of SEC B & SEC C, having a affordable smartphone in the price range of INR 6000 – 10000.

For results based on a randomly chosen sample of this size, there is 95% confidence that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 3% of what they would be if the entire population had been surveyed.

BPO and IT Sectors Lead Talent Demand Recovery with Double-Digit M-o-M Growth: RecruiteX

* BPO (15%), IT (10%) and BFSI (7%) emerged as the top three sectors with maximum M-o-M growth in talent demand in July 2020   

* BFSI – had shed most talent demand in June 2020 - picked up the pace and gained 7% growth in talent demand in July 2020 M-o-M study

* Customer Services/Tele Calling, Front Office/Administration and IT/Telecom were the most sought after job profiles in July 2020

* Vadodara (over 30% growth) and Hyderabad/Secunderabad (16%) were the top gainers for talent demand in July 2020 study

* Professionals with 5-10 years of experience were most in-demand in the review month

With ‘recovery’ as the key focus in ‘Unlock3’, talent demand is already picking pace as BPO and IT/Telecom sectors noted a double-digit growth in July 2020 analysis. TimesJobs RecruiteX noted that BPO (15%), IT (10%) and BFSI (7%) emerged as the top three sectors with maximum M-o-M growth in talent demand in July 2020.      

TimesJobs RecruiteX is a monthly recruitment index that records the demand and supply of talent at India Inc.

Overall, talent demand in July 2020 grew by 2% M-o-M, pushed largely by growth in high volume sectors like BPO, IT and BFSI.

Talking about the details of RecruiteX July 2020 edition, Sanjay Goyal, Business Head, TimesJobs and TechGig said, “The talent demand trends for July 2020 are heartening. Though the overall growth in July 2020 is only 2% since it’s based largely on high volume sectors as BPO, IT and BFSI, I’m very confident that this trend will continue in the coming months. I foresee the talent demand to pick up from here on as India Inc has actively started working towards the road to recovery. Smart companies are, now, focussing on constructive learnings from this difficult situation which would help them to grow in future. ”

Industry-wise (MoM growth):

Following its growth pattern of June 2020, the BPO sector saw an impressive 15% M-o-M increment in talent demand in July 2020 too. The IT/Telecom and BFSI sectors had witnessed (-6%) and (-2%) de-growth respectively in June 2020 but bounced back in July 2020. Here are the top three sectors for talent demand in July 2020:

·         BPO: 15%

·         IT/Telecom: 10%

·         BFSI: 7%

Functional areas:

Customer Services/Tele Calling job profile jumped from 4% growth in talent demand in June 2020 to 18% growth in July 2020. On the other hand, Front Office/Administration profile had clocked 21% growth in June 2020, but could only register 11% growth in July 2020 analysis of talent demand. Here are the top three job profiles as per talent demand in July 2020:

·         Customer Services/ Tele Calling: 18%

·         Front Office/ Administration: 11%

·         IT/Telecom: 8%

Location-wise:

Most talent demand in July 2020 was posted in Tier-II cities, with Vadodara recording a growth of over 30%. Among the metropolitan cities, Chennai saw the most growth with 10% increment. Mumbai and Delhi noted 8% and 1% growth in July 2020. Bengaluru noted de-growth of (-7%) in July 2020.  Here are the top three cities as per talent demand in July 2020:

·         Vadodara: over 30% growth

·         Hyderabad/Secunderabad: 16%

·         Ahmedabad: 11%

Work experience-wise:

Professionals with 5-10 years of work experience were most in demand, and this category noted 11% M-o-M growth in talent demand. Here are the categories of work professionals as per talent demand in July 2020:

·         5-10 years of work experience:11%

·         2-5years of work experience: 8%