Sharekhan Forays Into Discount Broking with Espresso Offers a ‘Pay When You Profit’ Pricing Model

Sharekhan, a full subsidiary of BNP Paribas, and one of the leading retail full-service brokers in India, announced today the launch of Espresso (myespresso.com), a new discount broker via a separate company.

Three months ago, Beta testing of the project (Project Leapp) had commenced. Simplified Login (using mobile number/ email id), Holding Report, Ledger Report, and Tax Report have been considered as ‘above expectations’ by our Beta-testers. Key take away from Beta-testers is that the new platform was meeting their needs and requirements with specific features especially appreciated.

Importantly, beyond platform innovation, Espresso doesn’t believe that discount broking should be all about lower brokerage. It can serve a much larger &required purpose. Based on this mindset, Espresso sees itself as a brand that has been built with the purpose “We care that you succeed”. As a testimony to this philosophy and taking into account that most traders would have both, winning and losing trades, no brokerage will be charged on loss-making intraday trades. In addition, Delivery trades will be free of brokerage.

In order to help clients experience Espresso, a special 3 months FREE BROKERAGE offer will be provided to any customer opening an account before 22nd Oct 2020

Sharekhan’s CEO Jaideep Arora says, “For us it was not about when we enter discount broking. Our quest was to find the right value proposition for the new generation of traders & investors. Once we arrived at ‘we care for your success’ as our main reason to be, the resulting ‘Pay When You Profit’ part was a natural outcome. We will continue to find more such promises to help people become better at trading & investing. Only then can one truly champion retail participation in equity markets.”

R. Kalyanaraman Espresso’s Chief Customer Officer says,“Our unique Beta testing approach shows we are -“ a listening organisation” and that is how we want to deliver Espresso’s promise of “We care for your success”. Only by listening to customers will we be able to work for their success and make their journey smooth and profitable.”

The Espresso ‘founding’ team, as they like to call themselves, are experienced Sharekhan hands -R.Kalyanaraman will be the Chief Customer Officer (20yrs at Sharekhan), Chandresh Khona will play the role of  Product Offerings Head ( 10yrs at Sharekhan) and Rizwan Khan will be the Technology Innovation Head (18 yrs at Sharekhan)

Espresso’s “We care for your success” promise will be delivered via:

* Pay Rs.20 per order Only When You Profit (for Intraday trades across segments –Equity, F&O, Commodity & Currency)

* The brokerage waiver is only on one side (buy/sell) of the order

* Zero Delivery Brokerage

* 1 yr Premium Subscription free for MoneyFlix, wherein there are 100+ videos that have trading & investing strategies movie-fied

* Inaugural offer of 50% off on Trade Booster Program – a 7 day online course to learn disciplined trading

About Sharekhan:

Sharekhan was founded in 2000 and is a full subsidiary of BNP Paribas, a leading European banking institution. Sharekhan services more than 20 lakhs clients aggregating more than 51041 Cr of assets (AUM)*, operates via 142 branches all over India and more than 3050 franchisees. It provides equity & derivatives execution,  DP services,  Portfolio Management, Mutual Funds & Corporate Deposits. Sharekhan executes on average more than 1.08Mn trades/day** and performed 1.8 bn trades since inception.

*AUM as of 31st Aug 2020

**Trades as daily average in Q2(Apr-June) of 2020

India's Homegrown Startup -The Black Lover - Introduces Only Black Clothing Line

Black is your favorite and we know it. Hence, the all-new homegrown website The Black Lover has launched their brand to satiate your perennial love for black. A state-of-the-art e-commerce fashion store that has a curated array of all black and only black commodities for both men and women. For the first time, the ardent black lovers can shop all their favorite black products from a single website.

Millennials’ penchant for the raven-hue has encouraged us to include a wide range of sections. The men in black and women in black stores comprise a highly stylised collection of formals. Whereas casual for men and women store is here to suffice the everyday necessity of leisure outfits. It does not end here; we also have a diverse collection of traditional wears under The Made in India Store for all of those who cannot leave out black even on traditional ceremonies. The unparalleled need for black in our everyday lives and our household has compelled us to have an all-Black Store that includes a wide range of stools, cushions, mugs, sippers and backpacks. The most fascinating idea of The Black lover is that you can personalise your outfit which will be styled by professional designers and launched on our website on your birthday with your name and picture. While facilitating an easy purchase through COD within a price range of Rs 99- Rs 999, we do not compensate on the quality of the products either. Thereby, creating a synergy between supreme quality and reasonable prices to deliver products of the finest standards. For iOS and Android users our app of the namesake is readily available on Play Store and App Store.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Akshay Kumar, CEO, and Founder – “We are excited about the official launch of our brand. The Black Lover is not just an e-commerce website it is my childhood dream and adulthood passion. With our incandescent effort, we envision to make it a favorite amongst everyone. At The Black Lover, customers are our king and we will put every effort possible to serve our customers at best. Our goal is to help our consumers to buy the best quality black clothing at the most affordable prices.”

About The Black Lover

The Black Lover Pvt. Ltd. Is an e-commerce company founded in 2020 by Akshay Kumar. The Black lover has launched its product range under the name 'TBL apparels & merchandise' with categories including men in black, women in black, men's casual, women's casual, Blackstone & seasons special. It has a unique store for all your fashion & lifestyle needs being the first e-commerce Store for Black lovers. We aim to provide a hassle-free & enjoyable shopping experience to shoppers across India, Italy & Australia with the widest range of products on its portal. The brand is making a conscious effort to bring the power of fashion to shoppers with the latest & trendiest products available in black colour.

Website:- https://www.theblacklover.com/about/    

upGrad Hosts a One-of-a-Kind Virtual Valedictorian Ceremony with MICA, Ahmedabad

India’s largest online higher education company upGrad in partnership with MICA hosted an online Valedictorian Ceremony, held over the weekend for approximately 1291 learners. Gracing the event with their presence were Chief Guest Tushar Vyas, President of GroupM and Dr. Anita Basalingappa, Chairperson of Online Programmes at MICA, along with the upGrad Co-founder and MD, Mayank Kumar.

MICA and upGrad celebrated the successful completion of PG Certification in Digital Marketing and Communications of around 1,300 learners. These learners included seasoned working professionals with an average work experience of 3-25 years, with organisations including Fortune 500 Companies. MICA and upGrad also recognised over 20 learners. These included learners who scored the highest CGPA and those who went beyond the academic curriculum including those who went out of their way to help their peers, some set inspirational benchmarks for others, pushing them to do better, while many achieved stellar career transitions.

Addressing the learners, Dr. Anita Basalingappa, Chairperson of Online Programmes at MICA said, “We welcome you to the MICAn Community and it’s strange yet wonderful to see that you’re receiving your certificate in a completely digital environment. The scope of Digital Marketing, powered by Data Science is endless as even governments are interested in creating digital solutions.” She also mentioned the importance of security and privacy in this arena and advised learners to keep an eye on that space of the Digital Marketing industry as well.

President,  GroupM, South Asia, Tushar Vyas was the guest speaker at the Valedictorian Ceremony and spoke at length about his experience of being one of those at the cusp of the digital revolution. Talking about starting the first digital unit in his company he said, “I started my journey with "Why digital”  – you are fortunate that you are not going to face the “Why” question anymore and that will allow you to focus more on the “What” and “How” of Digital marketing.” He is himself a MICA Alumni who passed out about 22 years ago.

He acknowledged the pace of the changing digital world and said, “Digital education like this can help you navigate, but what will help you thrive is an adaptive approach to different terrains of the new normal world and childlike curiosity. Be prepared to keep transforming! One must see these challenges and seek fresh opportunities and for this, We need to observe, explore, ask questions, and again venture into the unknown.”

Mayank Kumar, Co-Founder, and MD, upGrad concluded the Valedictorian Ceremony with a Vote of Thanks that encompassed the MICA and upGrad community and the learners who made this day possible. He said, “This event is yet another milestone achieved. We are delighted to be a part of the MICA journey and enable our learners to attain meaningful outcomes. Such academic titles not only help individuals complete the learning experience but also prepare them for a rapidly growing industry, without them having to worry about the external barriers and other travel constraints.”

The graduation ceremony was made extra special for the students with a live performance by When Chai Met Toast, a four-member neo-folk Indie band from Cochin who has recently released three new singles. The PG Certificate in Digital Marketing and Communications has been offered by MICA online for the past seven years along with a partnership with upGrad since 2017.

You can also click on this link to watch the full recorded ceremony video: https://youtu.be/Km88UiGpv_k

About upGrad:

upGrad is India’s largest online higher education company. Founded in early 2015, upGrad has on-boarded over 34.5K paid learners and impacted around 8 lakh individuals globally, within a short span of 5 years.

upGrad provides online programs in the areas of Data Science, Technology, Management and Law to college students, working professionals and enterprises. These programs are designed and delivered in collaboration with top-notch universities like IIT Madras, IIIT Bangalore, MICA, NMIMS Global Access, Jindal Global Law School, Duke CE, Deakin University, Liverpool John Moores University and others.

With an 80% program completion rate, robust tech platform, outcome-based learning approach, industry-relevant curriculum, finest university credentials, strong mentorship, and steadfast placement support, upGrad has established its position as the leader in the Indian education system.

upGrad Elevate, a virtual hiring drive for upGrad users/alumni offers the opportunity to interview with 300+ hiring partners ensuring successful career outcomes they deserve.

IIIT Bangalore and upGrad's PG Diploma in Data Science is India’s first-ever PG Diploma to be recommended and validated by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM). The program is India's largest Data Science program with over 10,000 alumni & learner-base, which now provides learners with certification from NASSCOM FutureSkills, thereby making the program aligned to Government approved National Occupational Standards (NOS) to facilitate the upskilling of India’s IT workforce and make them abreast of the new-age skills. Through this first-of-its-kind collaboration, upGrad joins NASSCOM’s mission to make India a hub for innovation and a global hotspot for a skilled talent pool.

In the most recent news, LinkedIn ranked the edtech major upGrad as no. 1 in the #LinkedInTopStartups 2020. This is the third time in a row that upGrad has been featured in the top list. upGrad has been awarded the title of ‘Best Tech for Education’ by IAMAI in 2019. Also, received the ‘Best Education Brands’ award by Economic Times in 2018, and Most Innovative Companies in India' by Fast Company in 2017.

SBI Card Collaborates with Google to Enable Cardholders to Make Payments Through Google Pay

SBI Card, India’s largest pure-play credit card issuer, today announced its collaboration with Google to enable cardholders to use their SBI Credit Cards on the Google Pay platform. SBI Credit Card users will now be able to make card payments using Google Pay app on their Android smartphones. Cardholders can make safe and secure payments using Google Pay in three modes- via Tap and Pay at NFC enabled PoS terminals, by scanning Bharat QR code at the merchant as well as online payments, without using the physical credit card. This launch is in line with SBI Card’s endeavour to promote zero contact, digital forms of payments for a safe and enhanced customer experience.  

A highly secure payment experience is enabled through tokenisation, whereby cardholders use Google Pay to pay through a digital token attached to their phone, without having to share physical card information with the merchant. Google Pay is a widely accepted payment app accepted at multitude of merchants in India with deep penetration in metros as well as non-metros. Through this association, SBI Card aims to provide cardholders the option to pay via Google Pay and offer them a safe payment experience on their mobile phones. Currently the feature is available for SBI Credit Cardholders on Visa Platform. 

Cardholders have to do a one-time registration of their SBI Card on Google Pay platform by following some simple steps: 

Download latest version of Google Pay app on Android mobile phone 

In settings under payment methods, press ‘Add Card’ 

Enter Cardholder Name, Card Number, Expiry, CVV and Confirm OTP 

Post OTP authentication the card is registered for payments and can be used at NFC- enabled terminals, Bharat QR enabled merchants and for select online merchants 

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Ashwini Kumar Tewari, MD & CEO, SBI Card said, “At SBI Card, we continuously endeavor to push the boundaries of innovation to make life simpler and better for our consumer. The collaboration with Google Pay is another positive step in this direction. Our association with Google Pay, one of the leading providers in payments space, will enable us to offer safe, convenient digital payment solutions to a vast user base.  As smartphone penetration in India soars, credit cards have also changed form to reside securely on the mobile phone and our partnership with Google opens up a new, secure and seamless payment route for our customers using smartphones.” 

Sajith Sivanandan, Business Head: Google Pay and Next Billion Users - India said, “We’re delighted to be collaborating with SBI Card in bringing Indian users the highest standards of security with global standards like tokenisation and remain committed to furthering the cause of making payments more secure, convenient and effortless in the years ahead.” 

About SBI Card 

SBI Cards and Payment Services Limited (formerly known as SBI Cards and Payment Services Private Limited) (“SBI Card”) is a non-banking financial company that offer extensive credit card portfolio to individual cardholders and corporate clients which includes lifestyle, rewards, travel & fuel and banking partnerships cards along with corporate cards covering all major cardholders’ segments in terms of income profile and lifestyle. Presently, the brand has a wide customer base of over 10 million. It has diversified customer acquisition network that enables to engage prospective customers across multiple channels. SBI Card is a technology driven company.  

P.S. The brand name of the company is ‘SBI Card’ and it is registered in the name of ‘SBI Cards and Payment Services Limited’. The company is trading under the entity name ‘SBICARD’ on stock exchanges. 

Indian High Courts Witness Surge in "Abortion Cases, Pregnant Persons Continue to Suffer"

High Courts in India are currently witnessing a substantial increase in abortion cases, finds Pratigya Campaign’s new legal report. ‘Assessing the Judiciary’s Role in Access to Safe Abortion- II’ report has analysed cases seeking permission of termination of pregnancy from the High Courts in India from May 2019 to August 2020. There were total 243 cases filed across 14 high courts and one appeal before the Supreme Court. In 84% of the cases, permissions were given to terminate the pregnancy.  

74% of the total cases, were filed post the 20-week gestation period, 23% of the total cases were filed within the 20-week gestation period and should not have gone to the courts at all. Out of 74% cases (filed after 20 weeks cut off) 29% cases were related to rape/sexual abuse, 42% related to foetal anomalies; and out of 23% cases (filed even before 20 weeks) 18% cases were related to sexual abuse/rape and 6% of foetal anomaly. 

Commenting on the legal aspect in India and the study findings, Anubha Rastogi, Pratigya Campaign Advisory Group Member and author of the report said, “The increasing number of cases only indicate to the fact that access to safe and legal abortion services in this country still leaves a lot to be desired. It is imperative that any change in law takes note of these increasing trends and moves towards a rights based, inclusive and accessible legislation on abortion. Any new law/amendment cannot be based on third party authorisation like the medical boards and has to be respectful of a decision that involves the registered service provider and the pregnant person.” 

Speaking at the launch of the report, VS Chandrashekar, Campaign Advisory Group member, Pratigya Campaign said, "The fact that even women/girls with gestation below 20 weeks have had to go to courts is distressing.  The MTP Act allows termination of a pregnancy upto 20 weeks. A large number of the below 20 weeks cases are of survivors of sexual abuse and this only increases their trauma." 

During the lockdown, access to abortion became even more difficult although there was some respite once the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare declared access to abortion as an essential service. During the lockdown 112 cases were heard at various high courts; and 62 were from Bombay High Court. 

The report emphasises on how crucial it is for the law to adapt in accordance to the changing times. The MTP Amendment Bill 2020, is awaiting a nod from the Rajya Sabha and a few changes have been recommended by civil society organisations, which if accepted would make the Act progressive and rights based. It is imperative that access to abortion becomes a legal right for women at least in the first trimester. It is also necessary that the opinion of the doctor, that the pregnant person is consulting, should be considered as primary and the only one required. The setting up of medical boards which has been done by the Courts while dealing with cases of this nature has only created further obstacles for pregnant persons in accessing safe and legal abortion.  

“Even if the MTP Amendment Bill 2020 is passed in the current form, the number of cases approaching the courts is not likely to reduce.  Therefore, to avoid this, the proposed amendment to ‘increase the gestation limit from 20-24 weeks’ should be extend to all pregnant persons who need to terminate a pregnancy, instead of being restricted to only to certain categories of women as defined in the MTP Rules. Similarly, the ‘no upper gestational limit proposed for fetal anomalies’ should be extended to survivors of sexual abuse/rape.  Forcing a person to carry a pregnancy out of rape to term is a violation of her right to life and dignity,” Chandrashekar added.  

Adding to this, Rastogi said, “Currently abortion is a conditional right and is available only based on the opinion of the doctor.  66 countries around the world including Canada, Nepal, Netherlands, Sweden, South Africa and Vietnam allow abortion at will of the pregnant person for up to 12 or more weeks of gestation. Therefore, I strongly believe that first trimester abortions should be allowed as per request/decision of the pregnant person and it should become a legal right. I would also like to add that medical boards should not be constituted and the decision to terminate a pregnancy should be solely between a pregnant person and the provider. The number of specialist doctors to constitute such boards is limited in many districts and smaller towns.  Constituting Medical boards at all levels would be an operational nightmare. Medical boards will further add to delays and complicate access to abortion, apart from putting unnecessary burden on an already weak health system”. 

Note to Editors: Cases have been accessed on the basis of search words like 'abortion' and 'medical termination of pregnancy' on websites like Indiankanoon, SCConline and Manupatra and legal news sites like Live Law and Bar & Bench and the High Court websites. Attempts were also made to confirm and verify this information from lawyers, practising before various High Courts, to ensure that any cases that were left out in this process are accessed. Needless to say, each High Court has its own manner of sharing orders and judgments and each website is unique and therefore, despite the best efforts of the team, cases may have been left out. 

About Pratigya Campaign for Gender Equality and Safe Abortion  

Pratigya is a network of 110+ individuals and organisations working towards protecting and advancing women’s rights and their access to safe abortion care in India, working with governments, organisations and media at the national and state levels. The advocacy coalition is guided by an expert panel-the Campaign Advisory Group Foundation for Reproductive Health Services India hosts the coalition secretariat and works closely with different stakeholders to reduce barriers to safe abortion. 

QuEST and NASSCOM Foundation Launch the Resurgent Communities Initiative to Foster Digital Skills and Entrepreneurship

* To help 2000+ residents of Mithun Reddy Layout, Bellandur become self-reliant

* Will provide digital skills, job opportunities, and entrepreneurship skills through a phased approach

QuEST Global, a global product engineering and lifecycle services company, and NASSCOM Foundation, today announced the launch of their Resurgent Communities initiative. The year-long initiative aims at helping the communities who lost their livelihood due to the COVID-19 pandemic to sustain themselves and thrive in the new normal. QuEST has partnered with NASSCOM Foundation as the first organization from the industry to support a community under the Resurgent Communities initiative to help it become self-reliant. More than 2000 residents of Mithun Reddy Layout at Bellandur in Bengaluru will receive support through this initiative.

The Resurgent Communities initiative is divided into three phases spread across the next 12 months. The first phase aims at providing immediate relief by distributing ration kits to 400+ households and sensitizing the community on how to co-exist and continue their day-to-day chores without being infected.

In the Reform phase, school-going children will be provided with education and at least one adult per household will be made digitally literate.

The third phase will enable the community to re-imagine their livelihoods by getting skilled or creating new, more robust micro-entrepreneurship. The initiative will also work towards creating intra and inter-community collaborations to create women self-help groups and community level associations etc. The NASSCOM Foundation and QuEST will partner with an on-ground NGO - Smile Foundation - who will help both the organizations in executing this initiative.

The relief work started today and was marked by the presence of leaders from QuEST and NASSCOM Foundation, and volunteers from both organizations distributed relief kits to the residents.

Speaking at the occasion, Niketh Sundar, Chief People Officer, QuEST Global, said, "We are delighted to partner with NASSCOM Foundation to support the community at Mithun Reddy Layout, Bellandur and enable them to become self-reliant. Education and skill development have now become the most important and powerful tools that play a critical role in shaping the lives of communities and their people. The Resurgent Communities program aims at sustainable development of communities by providing them with digital skills, job opportunities, and entrepreneurship skills. Through such initiatives, our focus is to provide basic skills for the underprivileged, thereby creating opportunities to enhance their livelihood for a better tomorrow that will benefit the entire community. We are looking forward to associating with NASSCOM Foundation, where we can engineer a change for the communities around us."

Ashok Pamidi, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has posed challenges like never before, even though a lot of states and cities have lifted the lockdown, the marginalized communities continue to get disproportionately affected with loss of daily wage work and income. A study has shown that non-migrant workers may have an income drop of 57%. For India, with almost 22% of its population living in poverty with wages less than $2 a day, this can be devastating.

Providing relief to these communities is only a temporary solution. NASSCOM Foundation's Resurgent Communities initiative hopes to take the Prime Minister's agenda of a self-reliant India forward. The initiative seeks to help communities become self-reliant by not just providing them with relief, but shaping their future through education for the youth, and digital skills, job and entrepreneurship skills for the adults. We are grateful to QuEST Global in taking the lead and supporting the community at Mithun Reddy Layout, Bellandur, and urge all our member companies to become a part of this initiative by supporting similar communities across India.”

QuEST Global, a product engineering and lifecycle services company, has always been driven by purposeful passion. The company firmly believes that technological innovations driven by human intellect, education, and entrepreneurship have been responsible for making most of the advancements in our society. The social outreach program of QuEST is firmed up on the founder's principles - aspiration, humility, and hunger - that encourage its employees to achieve goals and do things for the betterment of the society. Over the years, the company has supported several schools in Bengaluru, Belgavi, Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Pune, and Trivandrum through the provision of scholarships and infrastructure development.

Tata Motors Rolls Out the 3,00,000th Tiago from Its Sanand Plant

Tata Motors, India’s leading automotive brand, today rolled out the 3,00,000th Tiago from its Sanand facility in Gujarat. Launched in 2016, the Tata Tiago has been lauded in most quarters for its groundbreaking design, technology and driving dynamics. It was the first product under the IMPACT design philosophy and brought to the market a host of segment first features at the time of it launch.

Adding to its laurels, the Tiago is not only Tata Motors’ most awarded car but it also became the highest selling hatchback in the country in August 2018. Earlier this year, the Company launched the BS6 version of the car as a part of Tata Motors’ New Forever range, which also became the recipient of the 4-star adult safety rating, awarded by the Global NCAP, adding another feather to its cap. Equipped with best in class safety features such as Dual Air Bags, Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Corner Stability Control (CSC) & Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, Rear Parking Assist and much more as standard across variants, the Tiago is undoubtedly the safest car in its segment.

The Tiago 2020 sports a more confident, mature design while being young, premium and fun. Available in both manual and AMT options, it comes fitted with the company’s all new Revotron 1.2 Litre BS6 petrol engine.

For more details, please visit https://cars.tatamotors.com/cars/tiago.

About Tata Motors

Tata Motors Limited (BSE: TATAMOTORS), a USD 45 billion organisation, is a leading global automobile manufacturer of cars, utility vehicles, buses, trucks and defence vehicles. Part of the USD 100 billion Tata group, Tata Motors is India’s largest and the only OEM offering extensive range of integrated, smart and e-mobility solutions. Tata Motors has operations in the UK, South Korea, Thailand, South Africa, and Indonesia through a strong global network of 109 subsidiary and associate companies, including Jaguar Land Rover in the UK and Tata Daewoo in South Korea.

With a focus on engineering and tech enabled automotive solutions catering to the future of mobility, Tata Motors is India’s market leader in commercial vehicles and amongst the top four in the passenger vehicles market. With ‘Connecting Aspirations’ at the core of its brand promise, the company’s innovation efforts are focused to develop pioneering technologies that are sustainable as well as suited to evolving aspirations of the market and the customers. Tata Motors strives to bring new products that fire the imagination of GenNext customers, fueled by state of the art design and R&D centers located in India, the UK, Italy and Korea. Internationally, Tata commercial and passenger vehicles are marketed in countries, spread across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia, South America, Australia, CIS, and Russia.