Tinder Introduces Prompts: A New Way to Share Bite-Sized Glimpses into your Personality

* ‘2020 has finally made me realize’ is the most adopted prompt in Bangalore

* Did you hear? There’s a new way to put your personality front-and-center on Tinder.

Writing the perfect bio can be nerve-wracking, and so to help members better introduce themselves to potential matches, Tinder recently released Prompts, a new in-app feature that lets members respond to questions or finish a sentence to display on their profile.

Text Prompts can be added directly to your profile, right alongside your photos. Aside from helping your profile stand out they can also serve as icebreakers. “With Text Prompts, we’re excited to give our members a way to highlight their personalities with just a few words. We hope that these will lead to more connections and conversations during a time when many of us are craving a change in routine and someone new to talk to” added a Tinder spokesperson.

How is Bangalore using Prompts? We’re glad you asked.

Tinder analysed the top 5 most adopted Prompts in Bangalore, and of all available Prompts, ‘2020 MADE ME REALISE’ had the highest adoption, signaling how much our daily lives have changed from every perspective--including how we gauge compatibility with potential matches on Tinder. “The one thing I won’t take for granted again” comes in at number 2, displaying how members' profiles reflect this  unprecedented time we’re all in together.

Here’s how it works.

1. It just takes three taps to access Text Prompts: 👉 Profile icon in the top right corner of your app 👉 Add Media 👉  Text Prompt

2. Pick your fave(s): Tap the dice in the top left of the screen to see more Prompts. Pick the one(s) that speak to you and provide a response. These will display as a photo, so when potential matches swipe through your profile, they’ll be front-and-center. Here are some of our favorites!

I’m talking to my pet about…

I’m finally binging 

3. That’s it: once you tap “Add”, your Prompt response will be added to your profile photos. You can rearrange the order of the photos, or remove them - at any time. 

4. Check back 👀 New Prompts will appear as weeks go by. So if you’re looking to refresh your profile as the world dates digitally, look no further than Prompts. After all, we know we aren’t going anywhere to take new photos. 

On Tinder social distancing has not meant disconnecting. Forced to stay home, browsing Tinder became a way to socialize; conversation on Tinder has been up an average of 39% and the average length of conversations is 28% longer. In India, May 3rd was the peak of this chattiness: on that day Tinder members sent an average of 60% more messages vs. the start of lockdowns in early March - above the global average. At its peak, swipe volume* among members in India was up 32%.*

*The information included in this campaign represents overall Tinder trends, not the personal information of any specific, identified individual or member.

Grinntech Signs MoU with Government of Tamil Nadu; Appoints Mr. E. Balasubramoniam as President

 

Grinntech, an investor-backed start-up specialising in Lithium-Ion batteries for EVs and energy storage systems announced the next step of their growth plans with two significant announcements.

MoU with the Government of Tamil Nadu

On Monday, 12 October, 2020, Grinntech executed an MoU with the Government of Tamil Nadu which outlines the Company’s intent to establish a Battery and Battery Management System manufacturing facility in the state of Tamil Nadu to cater to the anticipated growth of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in India.

Grinntech, which has attracted several industry veterans as investors since its incubation at IIT-Madras Research Park, already operates its R&D and pilot manufacturing facility in Chennai. In addition, the Company has outlined plans for outlay of almost Rs. 100 Crores for R&D, product development and production facilities which will lead to the employment of 250 staff over the next five years. The company has showcased a range of high-tech Lithium-Ion batteries, along with their proprietary Battery Management Systems, suitable for 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers, light vehicles and farm tractors. The company is engaged in discussions with a number of OEM manufacturers and fleet operators for supply of Batteries and related systems.

“We are grateful to the Government of Tamil Nadu for their vision in attracting investment in the fast-growing EV and EV-component sectors. Chennai has had the label of “Detroit of the East”. Now, as the global auto industry shifts to electrification, this initiative by the Government of Tamil Nadu will help India’s EV industry be future-ready”, said Puneet Jain, Co-Founder of Grinntech.

Appointment of Mr. E. Balasubramoniam

Taking yet another step in their growth strategy, Grinntech also announced the appointment of Mr. E. Balasubramoniam as President of Grinntech. Mr. Balasubramoniam, brings over 35 years of experience in the auto industry including prior leadership roles in Maruti-Suzuki, Tata Motors and most recently as Senior Vice-President at Ashok-Leyland and CEO of the Nissan-Ashok Leyland JV. Mr. Balasubramoniam is an alumnus of IIT-Madras.

“We welcome Mr. Balasubramoniam to Grinntech. Our culture of blending the innovation and entrepreneurship of a start-up with domain competence needed for managing complex operations will benefit from his wealth of experience in key areas such as business development, program management, sourcing, and operations.” said Nikhilesh Mishra, Co-Founder of Grinntech.

Dr. V. Sumantran (former Vice-Chairman of Ashok Leyland) and Mr. Lakshminarayan (Co-Founder and former Vice-Chairman of Cognizant) as Directors of Grinntech extended their welcome to Mr. Balasubramoniam and expressed their confidence that with the Government of Tamil Nadu’s timely policy, Grinntech would emerge a strong contributor to India’s goals for self-reliance and to the globally emergent EV industry.

About Grinntech

Grinntech is an investor-backed, growth-phase start-up, specialising in Lithium-Ion batteries for EVs and energy storage systems along with our proprietary BMS and connectivity systems. Our product range has established new standards in safety, intelligent controls, energy-density, power-management, long life, and reliability. Apart from a range of standard products, we also undertake custom battery development for customers in India and abroad. 

Grinntech works closely with leading global technology companies and cell suppliers, bringing cutting-edge advances in semiconductor, materials, cell-chemistry and formats. We employ contemporary techniques in our manufacturing including cell-characterisation and production testing. Our expertise has been recognised by our customers, many of whom are market leaders, and we are working with many of them to power their future EV endeavours.

Magicbricks Will Enable Online and Offline Assistance During the Entire Application Process

* Tools and expert advice will help applicants make the correct decisions

* Instant approval of pre-approved home loans to make negotiations better

Widening its portfolio of Property Services marketplace, Magicbricks, India’s No.1 property site, today announced its entry into Home Loans services with the country’s 13 leading lenders in its bid to offer homebuyers a plethora of integrated services from the discovery to the transaction phase. In order to enable homebuyers to avail medium to long term loans to finance their dream home, Magicbricks’ latest offerings will allow loan seekers to compare the best available offers and rates, gain online and offline assistance during the application process and also get a wide range of home loans including balance transfers and loan against property.

Magicbricks’ Home Loan platform, offers visibility on the best rates and schemes offered across 13 partner banks that include SBI, PNB HFL, HDFC LTD, ICICI Bank, Bank Of Baroda, Cholamandalam, Hero Fincorp, Sundaram Home Finance LTD, L&T Housing Finance LTD, IIFL, IDFC First, Bajaj Finserv and Federal Bank. Magicbricks will enable loan seekers in better decision making with the help of tools and expert advisory. Loan seekers can start by filling out the application form, based on which Magicbricks associates will provide them free expert advice on the best loan offers for their segment, and take away all their hassles including online or doorstep pickup of supporting documents and submission to the banks. Magicbricks will then coordinate with the banks while they review the forms/documents for approval, and assist the customer right up to the actual disbursal. Through this service, homebuyers can also avail pre-approved home loans that would enable them to negotiate better with the seller.

Excited at the launch of the new service, Mr. Sudhir Pai, CEO, Magicbricks, said: “We are extremely delighted to widen our Property Services with our latest offerings, Home Loans. It is aimed at offering a seamless experience to the home buyer in identifying and availing the best loan for the dream home. Increasingly, consumer preference is shifting toward affordability as around 50% of home buyers are now looking for properties within Rs.20-Rs.50 lakh range. With interest rates now at an all-time low our Home Loans service will help home buyers simplify this complex process and manage budgets smartly. We will be adding more services to our Property Services marketplace as we move ahead in our journey of becoming India’s first full-stack service provider in the real estate space.”

The Home Loan facility is in the long list of smart property solutions that Magicbricks would be launching in the next few weeks. Through Magicbricks’ Home Loans loan seekers can use calculators for EMI calculations, check eligibility, balance transfer, and also get access to key FAQs and articles to understand the nuances of the loan process.  The service also allows loan seekers to view and compare the rates and offers that are available for their loan type, along with the benefits and the eligibility criteria across all banks. For every partner bank and financial institution, there are dedicated pages listing offers, benefits, eligibility criteria, and lists of documents needed for the application. Loan seekers will also get access to a dashboard that would enable them to keep track of their application status.

About Magicbricks:

Magicbricks is India’s No.1 property site. With monthly traffic exceeding 20 million visits and with an active base of over 1.4 million+ property listings, Magicbricks provides the largest platform for buyers and sellers of property to connect with each other in a clear, transparent manner. With this in mind, Magicbricks has innovated several product features, content and research services, which have helped us, build the largest audience pool.

Fincare Small Finance Bank Disburses First Loan Under PM Svanidhi Scheme

Fincare Small Finance Bank (FSFB) today reports the disbursement of its first loan under Prime Minister Street Vendor’s Atmanirbhar Nidhi Scheme (PM SVA Nidhi). The scheme is aimed towards empowering and enabling the street vendors. The loan of Rs 10,000/ - was disbursed to Mrs. Lakshmamma, a coconut seller in Bellandur, Bangalore. The Bank with the help of its digital initiatives was able to ensure that the total cycle of sanctioning the loan and withdrawal was hassle free.

The PM SVA Nidhi scheme is aimed at empowering individuals from marginalised sections and promoting government’s agenda of building a self-reliant India.

Mr. Rajeev Yadav, MD & CEO, Fincare Small Finance Bank said, “We are proud to be part of the PM’s vision of providing small working capital loans to street vendors under the PM Svanidhi Scheme. As a leading small finance bank we aim to take this social initiative forward and help in creating a culture of self-reliance for marginalized sections to overcome financial stress caused by the pandemic and empower them to be stronger financially.”

As of September 2020, Fincare SFB serves over 26.5+ Lakh customers in 19 States/Union Territory, has deposits worth Rs. 5,200 Crore, its loan book stood at Rs. 5,290 Crore and has a workforce of 7,700 +. With an aim to transform banking for its customers, Fincare SFB strives to cater to the needs of the base of the pyramid – micro and small enterprise segments in rural India.

About Fincare Small Finance Bank:

Fincare Small Finance Bank commenced banking operations on July 21, 2017 under Section 22 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, after receiving the final license from the RBI in May 2017. Fincare SFB has been included in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, published in the Gazette of India dated April 13, 2019.

Powered by technology, Fincare SFB has set the vision to be the first of its kind ‘Rurban’ Bank enabling financial inclusion of its rural customer base and providing modern, innovative and digital solutions to the digitally-savvy, metro and urban customers.

Nutraceutical Intervention Towards Wound Healing After Cancer Surgery

Wound healing, substitution of destroyed or damaged tissue by newly produced one, can classically be divided into four steps: haemostasis, inflammation, cell proliferation and tissue maturation. With each successive phase in the normal sequence of wound healing, the immune system orchestrates a wide variety of processes. Different immune cells have been shown to peak in number and activity at different times during the healing cascade, thus helping distinguish the different stages of the process. As the ardent votaries in the laboratories as well as clinics have witnessed in past decades, enormous efforts have been directed to develop beneficial techniques for achieving speedy recovery minimizing the scar, ensuring function preservation. To avert infection and stimulate a proper healing process, the classical approach for wound management still remains as topical administration of antibacterial or colloidal agents. The healing process may be dismayed by both internal and external factors, viz., necrotic tissue, pathogen contamination, entrapment of non-native materials, comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus, etc., causing a delay in each phase of recovery. Often times, skirmishes brake out when wound closure gets affected by colonization of an invading microbial agent. It turns out that, due to synergistic bacterial development pattern, chronic wound infections are polymicrobial. On the other hand, acute wounds are generally associated with a diminished microbial load, scab formation and immune cells infiltration in the initial phase, while healing is correlated with re-epithelialization, angiogenesis and fibroblast migration.

Growing knowledge of the physiologic role of various nutritional elements has led to the recognition of certain nutrients like amino acids (glutamine etc.), vitamins (A, C, E etc.), antioxidants (beta-carotene, coenzyme Q10 etc.), fatty acids (Omeag-3. medium chain triglycerides etc.), trace elements, minerals etc. in wound management. It is obvious that a higher level of attention and research are required to evaluate the microbial effects on wound-healing ability, potential new therapeutic agents that can regulate the cross-talk between microflora, pathogens and the innate immune response, and lead to wound healing acceleration. Current research has witnessed a major impact of commensal microorganisms, beneficial bacteria, on multiple physiological processes including protection against pathogenic invasion and infection as well as immunomodulatory effects in tissue repair. Of many, Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and bifidobacteria are some of the most widely studied species that improve host welfare and are most commonly referred to as probiotics.

To this end, Esperer Onco Nutrition (EON) is rejoicing the launch of a new product, namely, Liss WH which is augmented by probiotic blend (Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus fermentum and Bifidobacterium bifidum) having multifarious functions namely, collagen synthesis, H2O2 production, enhanced absorption of dietary vitamin D and E, induction of crucial cytokines (TNFÿ, IFN-ÿ, IL-10, etc.), increase in neutrophil infiltration, anti-microbial activity, etc. It is also enriched with natural antioxidants and immuno-nutrients such as ÿ-carotene, coenzyme Q10 and mixed tocopherols which help in the prevention of infections in the surgical wounds, thus speeding up the recovery after cancer surgery. The osmolarity (280 to 300 mosmol /Litre) is suitable for enteral tube feeding and better nutrient absorption. Furthermore, EON intends to extend its research towards exploring nano-nutraceutical intervention for use in surgical wound healing in recent future. EON believes that the combination of nanotechnology with the existing protocol can pave the way for future medication of wound management. 

HCL Technologies Wins ‘Proactive Customer Service 2020 Microsoft Partner of the Year’ Award

HCL Technologies (HCL), a leading global technology company, today announced it has won ‘Proactive Customer Service 2020 Microsoft Partner of the Year’ Award. HCL was honored among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology.  

“The Global Partner of the Year award is a testimony to the capabilities and investments HCL has made towards ensuring that our customers derive significant business benefits from their Microsoft Dynamics 365 implementations,” said Kalyan Kumar, Corporate Vice President and CTO for IT Services of HCL Technologies. “HCL’s Microsoft Ecosystem Unit, formerly known as HCL PowerObjects, has been a strategic anchor for these initiatives wherein we work very closely with Microsoft to deliver industry and horizontal solutions aligning with enterprise requirements for agility, speed, and innovation.”  

The Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards recognizes Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered exceptional Microsoft-based solutions during the past year. Awards were classified in several categories, with winners chosen from more than 3,300 nominations across over 100 countries worldwide.  

“Winning a Global Partner of the Year award from Microsoft is an extremely important achievement in this channel,” says Satish Chandrasekaran, Executive Vice President, HCL Technologies. “Being recognized globally for our proactive customer service performance is a true testament to the innovation and hard work our team exhibits daily across all verticals, horizontals, and workloads. We view ourselves as the very best in the industry and this recognition confirms that.” 

This recognition demands consistent demonstration of high-quality service to Microsoft customers using technologies from the Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Business Applications stack. This is the second consecutive year HCL Technologies has earned recognition in both Customer Service and Financial Services, having been named the Partner of the Year in both categories in 2019. 

“It is an honor to recognize the winners and finalists of the 2020 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards,” said Gavriella Schuster, Corporate Vice president, One Commercial Partner, Microsoft. “These partners go above and beyond, delivering timely solutions that solve the complex challenges that businesses around the world face – from communicating and collaborating virtually to helping customers realize their full potential with Azure cloud services, and beyond. I am proud to honor and congratulate each winner and finalist.” 

HCL is also a member of the 2020-2021 Inner Circle for Microsoft Business Applications, an elite group of Microsoft’s most strategic Business Applications – Dynamics 365 and Power Platform partners from across the globe. 

About HCL Technologies 

HCL Technologies (HCL) empowers global enterprises with technology for the next decade today. HCL’s Mode 1-2-3 strategy through its deep-domain industry expertise, customer-centricity and entrepreneurial culture of ideapreneurship™ enables businesses transform into next-gen enterprises.  

HCL offers its services and products through three business units - IT and Business Services (ITBS), Engineering and R&D Services (ERS) and Products & Platforms (P&P). ITBS enables global enterprises to transform their businesses through offerings in areas of Applications, Infrastructure, Digital Process Operations and next generational digital transformation solutions. ERS offers engineering services and solutions in all aspects of product development and platform engineering while under P&P, HCL provides modernized software products to global clients for their technology and industry specific requirements. Through its cutting-edge co-innovation labs, global delivery capabilities and broad global network, HCL delivers holistic services in various industry verticals, categorized under Financial Services, Manufacturing, Technology & Services, Telecom & Media, Retail & CPG, Life Sciences & Healthcare and Public Services.  

As a leading global technology company, HCL takes pride in its diversity, social responsibility, sustainability and education initiatives. As of 12 months ended June 30, 2020, HCL has a consolidated revenue of US $ 9.93 billion and its 150,287 ideapreneurs operate out of 49 countries. 

Paytm Payment Gateway Launches Same-Day Bank Settlement for Businesses

 Paytm, India's leading payment gateway service provider has today announced the launch of same-day settlement facility for all kinds of fund transfers on its payment gateway. This will help business partners to settle money transfers anytime in their bank account on the same day of receiving payment, without waiting for the next day.

Paytm’s new same-day settlement feature will help businesses that depend upon immediate availability of funds to pay down-stream partners. This includes e-commerce companies, government institutions, and all businesses involving inventories, especially those involved in day to day trading who depend heavily on cash procurements.

The feature can be accessed from Paytm Merchant Dashboard or Paytm for Business app. The minimum amount that can be transferred is Rs 50, and the maximum amount is Rs 2 lakhs in a single transfer request. The merchants can define frequencies and the funds will transfer automatically. Frequencies can be once a day, twice a day or even three times a day.

Saloni Malhotra, Vice President - Paytm said, “The launch of same-day settlement facility is in line with our aim of strengthening the Digital India mission by making high-frequency & high-value business transactions completely cash-less. This facility will strengthen businesses that are dependent on daily cash requirements. The feature is especially useful in this post lockdown period when businesses are getting ready for the upcoming festive season. Every single day reduced from their working capital cycle is a big relief for them.”  

She further added, “We will continue to launch innovative features that make digital transactions more convenient & efficient for our merchant partners compared to cash transactions. We will soon introduce merchant-facing APIs for triggering on-demand settlements and checking outstanding payable amounts.”

According to RedSeer Consulting, a Bangalore based consulting and research firm, which recently launched the report titled “Indian Mobile Payments – 5x growth by 2025”, the Payment gateway aggregator market in India currently stands at INR 9.5 Tn & is expected to grow by 2.4x driven by large value transactions. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19% in the next 5 years to reach INR 22.6 Tn by FY 25. Paytm is the fastest growing payment gateway; in the last 5 years, it has grown from 40 Mn transactions per month in FY 15 to 400–450 Mn transactions per month in FY 20. Paytm leads especially in the new age business space and has built strong traction in enterprise business. Also, it has a strong presence in the retail business segment by acquiring merchants through direct routes and via other aggregators.