Govt of Haryana Signs MoU with India Accelerator to Drive Startups

 In the quest of building a robust startup ecosystem in Haryana, India Accelerator –India’s only institution with Global Accelerator Network has recently entered into an MoU with startup Haryana and the Department of Information Technology, Electronics and Communication (DITECH). The association strategically creates an ecosystem in the state that stimulates innovation and growth of disruptive startups.

The Department of Information Technology, Electronics, and Communications, Government (DITECH) Haryana has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India Accelerator in the presence of Special Secretary, DITECH, Mr. Rajnarayan Kaushik, Chief Technology Officer, DITECH, Mr. Nitin Bansal and Munish Bhatia, General Manager & Partner, India Accelerator. 

In the past decade, the adoption of technology has paved the way for innovative startups to emerge in the country. With the newly signed MoU, India Accelerator provides immense support to the startups registered with Startup Haryana through knowledge sharing at different stages of their entrepreneurial journey. It further extends its services free of cost to highly-potential startups thereby, creating a holistic and sustainable ecosystem in the state of Haryana. 

Ashish Bhatia, CEO, and Founder, India Accelerator said, "Partnership between India Accelerator and Startup Haryana will be a big step to bring Public-Private collaboration to build the startup ecosystem in the state of Haryana. India Accelerator will be helping startups in Haryana by bridging the gap between industry and startups.”

The growth of a startup depends on access to capital, strategic partnerships, customer exposure, mentor guidance, and more. As part of the collaboration, India Accelerator provides access to its exclusively designed online program to equip the community of young entrepreneurs with the right knowledge, mentorship, and connections to move beyond the early stage of the startup. Additionally, it also provides access to a comprehensive platform for every student, professional, or entrepreneur who can set and achieve their personal and professional goals with the help of personalized mentorship programs. 

While giving information about ongoing efforts to foster Startup ecosystem in the State, Special Secretary, DITECH, “Mr. Rajnarayan Kaushik, said that the association between Startup Haryana, DITECH, and Startup Ecosystem Partners will help in creating an ecosystem that stimulates independent thinking and innovative ideas to help Startups in different stages of their entrepreneurial journey in addition to sharing of knowledge/information for promotion of the startup ecosystem in Haryana.”

India Accelerator is a formal partner with Global Funds such as Emphasis Ventures (EMVC), SGAN & Global Accelerator Network Venture Funds along with its own network of investors. The startups in the cohort will get access to varied investment options and massive perks by India Accelerator under its membership with GAN like AWS, IBM Cloud, Google Cloud, SendGrid,Zoho & HubSpot etc.

Cult.fit Kicks-Off its ‘FitStart’ Sale from December 22, 2020 in India

With a view to welcome the New Year with a renewed commitment to health and fitness, cult.fit, India’s largest fitness platform from the house of cure.fit, announces the launch of its year-end FitStart Sale. 

Kicking off on December 22, 2020, with Hrithik Roshan as the face of the campaign, this much-anticipated sale will, for the first time, offer fitness packs at attractive prices for cult.fit’s offline & online fitness classes.

With a challenging year ending, cult.fit hopes to inspire and motivate people to get back to their fitness goals in 2021 and recommit to #BeBetterEveryday. FitStart sale serves as a reminder to fitness enthusiasts that whether from home or at the centers; cult.fit can help them get started on their fitness journey and bounce back from any setbacks in the past year.  

Moreover, in Bangalore, cult.fit will be offering fitness packs via the newly-launched ‘Cult Pass’ – an all-access pass that will allow customers to work out at the best quality gyms and Cult centers across the city.  

Commenting on the FitStart sale, Naresh Krishnaswamy, Growth and Marketing Head, cure.fit, said: “With the end of 2020 fast-approaching, we recognize that the year was fraught with challenges and may have held many of us back from achieving our fitness goals. However, it’s never too late to hop back on and recommit to ourselves, making our health an even bigger priority in the coming year. So, for 2021 we are offering everyone a fresh start with our sale. Also, with the growing demand and preference for at-home workouts, we are offering curefit.live packs for sale too along with the cult.fit center packs. We are excited to have Hrithik on board to help promote this campaign and look forward to welcome both new and old members to our Cult community.” 

About Cure.fit 

Cure.fit Healthcare Pvt Ltd is a holistic integrated healthcare platform headquartered in Bangalore. Founded in 2016 by Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori, Cure.fit aims to address preventive healthcare through a combination of engagement, coaching and delivery using a mix of online and offline channels. Cure.fit caters to living a healthy life through its critical dimensions- Cult.fit, Mind.fit, and Care.fit. While Cult.fit focuses on physical strength and fitness, Mind.fit focuses on mental wellbeing and Care.fit on integrated medical and lifestyle care. 

Cure.fit is an app based service provider and is available on Android and iOS. 

For more information on cure.fit: https://www.Cure.fit/ 

Noise Partners with Vijay Sales to Expand its Presence to Retail Outlets

* Noise’s entire range of product portfolio including the audio and smart wearables will be listed on both offline and online platform of Vijay Sales

Noise, the Indian connected lifestyle brand has announced its first-ever offline presence by joining hands with Vijay Sales, India’s leading electronics retail store chain. With this association, Noise has further intensified its foothold in India by offering its entire portfolio of products on both online and offline platforms of Vijay Sales. The partnership will further enable customers to buy products from www.vijaysales.com and 50 of Vijay Sales’ 100 plus stores across cities. The company will further expand its presence with other outlets of Vijay Sales in the upcoming months.

Leveraging the wide network of India’s one of the large format retail (LFR) chains - Vijay Sales, Noise intends to expand its reach by tapping larger customer base and strengthening its foothold in India through both offline and online channels. Under this partnership, Vijay Sales will be offering 2X MyVS reward points on purchase of any Noise products across the website and stores until the 1st of January,2021. The partnership will allow its customers to buy Noise products at competitive pricing for the market segment catering to 18-34-year-olds.

Speaking on Vijay Sales’ association with the brand, Ashish Gupta, Director, Vijay Sales, said, “This association seems promising as Noise has a variety of trendy neckbands, true wireless headphones & smart wearables that have been designed in a way that they strongly appeal to youth. We are hoping that our collaboration with them will go a long way.”

Sharing the announcement on the alliance, Gaurav Khatri, Co-founder, Noise, said, “We are pleased to announce our first alliance with India’s most preferable destination for consumer electronics. With this partnership, wewill be registering our first retail presence with a brand that resonates with our objective, values and outlook and equally excited to have them on board with us. We are committed to curate products which resonates with the spirit of Indian consumers andwith this alliance, we have taken one more step towards our customers that will help us serve them better.”

Noise, known as one of the fastest growing tech lifestyle companies, has been catering to the growing demands of earwear and smart devices in India for the past three years and due to its constant efforts, has also emerged as the market leader in both the audio and the smart wearable categories. The company has recently been ranked as India’s no.1 Wearable Watch Brand by the IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, Q3 2020. The current market share of the brand is 28.5% based on unit shipment as per the report issued. Noise has witnessed an exponential growth with 17X Y-O-Y in past 24 months.

The consumer durable industry picked up post the relief from the lockdown and Vijay Sales saw a value growth of over 7-8% from June,2020 onwards. Vijay Sales experienced a significant growth in its digital and accessories business post the lockdown due to work and school from home which sets the stage for Noise’s success in the stores and the website.

About Noise:

Founded in 2018 by Gaurav Khatri and Amit Khatri, Noise is an Indian aspirational connected lifestyle brand that is changing the way India remains connected. Established with a vision to redefine how India imagines connected devices and, Noise has managed to create a great mark on the market with its impressive line-up of products in the Smart Wearables and Wireless Earphones categories.

As per a recent report published via reputed global industry analysis firm Counterpoint Research, Noise is the second most sold brand for truly wireless (TWS) earphones in 2019 in India. Noise has been listed as one of the top brands on Amazon and Flipkart for four years in a row. Noise has been recognized as India’s No.1 Wearable Watch Brand in 2020 by IDC Worldwide Wearable Device Tracker reinforcing its position as a category leader.

Reliance General Insurance Empowers Customers with a Rapid Vehicle “Claims Slution Powered By Microsoft Azure AI”

Reliance General Insurance (RGI), a 100% subsidiary of Reliance Capital, has brought in speed and acceleration to its vehicle claim process by introducing ‘RAPID’ equipped with image analytics powered by Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services and Azure Machine Learning capabilities.  This end-to-end solution has helped RGI provide a much faster and seamless customer experience while making vehicle claims. 

India, which is one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing auto insurance markets, relies largely on traditional ways to renew policies and process repair claims, which usually required inspectors to physically look over vehicles and assess damages. This leads to a delay in the process of inspection, resulting in keeping the cars and policy holders off the road for longer. To mitigate this challenge, Reliance General Insurance collaborated with Celebal Technologies, a Microsoft partner, to create the new AI solution, which allows customers to buy or renew policies anytime, anywhere. 

The new age technology uses Artificial Intelligence to identify damage from the vehicle image feeds and procures the correct assessment which gets instantly delivered to consumers.  In this process, right from the accident spot, the insured can access Reliance Selfi app to intimate the claim, upload the photos and documents to get the claim registered. Once the claim is generated, the AI tool starts processing and almost instantly generates a provisional repair work order for the customer. It also gives an option to the customer to opt for on-the-spot settlement which can be credited in customers' account immediately. 

RAPID brings down the process of claims intimation to claims settlement period, to complete in less than an hour, from an otherwise time-consuming and hassled process that took an average period of 10 to 12 days. 

Talking about this initiative, Mr. Rakesh Jain, CEO, Reliance General Insurance Company Limited commented, “Introducing this AI-based solution, makes the entire vehicle claims process completely superfast and hassle-free for our customers. This technology brings the much-needed acceleration to more than 60% of claims we receive for our passenger vehicles which have just peripheral damages. With the use of RAPID, a significant decrease in the claim processing time is achieved, which will result in an enhanced customer service experience. This initiative connects well with our Brand Philosophy Tech + Heart, offering tech solutions with human touch.” 

Venkat Krishnan, Executive Director, Commercial Partners, Microsoft India, said, “Microsoft’s goal is to amplify human ingenuity by making the benefits of AI accessible and valuable to everyone. We are pleased to collaborate with Reliance General Insurance to bring the power of Artificial Intelligence and its transformative impact to reimagine the experience for their customers. We thank our partner Celebal Technologies for creating the solution, which makes the both the renewal and claims processes agile and more efficient, in a secure and scalable manner.”   

About Reliance General Insurance 

Reliance General Insurance, a part of Reliance Capital, is one of the leading general insurance companies of India.  The Company offers a well-rounded and comprehensive bouquet of products including Motor Insurance, Health Insurance, Travel Insurance, and Home Insurance, and offers customized solutions to meet the protection needs of each customer. Reliance General Insurance has a wide network of more than 40,000 intermediaries across 136 branch offices across India for offering its products and services to retail, corporates and SME clients. 

Tata Motors to Increase Commercial Vehicle Prices from January 2021

Tata Motors, India’s leading vehicle manufacturer, today announced that there will be a price increase across its commercial vehicle range, effective January 01, 2021.

The steady rise in material and other input costs, impact of forex and transition to BS6 norms, have cumulatively escalated the cost of manufacturing vehicles. The company had thus far been absorbing the addition in costs but with their steady rise in line with market trend, it has become imperative to pass at least some portion of the cost increase to customers via appropriate price revisions 

The price increase is expected across the portfolio of M&HCV, I&LCV, SCV & Buses. The actual change in price will depend on individual model, variant and fuel type. Tata Motors will continue to offer best in class value in each segment with low total cost of ownership and increasing profit potential for vehicle owners.

OYO Hotels & Homes Plans to Tap Into Leisure Destinations in Karnataka, Commits to Boosting Tourism in the State

* Shri M Lakshminarayana, Advisor to Honourable Chief Minister of Karnataka and Mr. Rohit Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, OYO India & South Asia discussed the company’s commitment to the state

* Following the introduction of the new tourism policy in the state, OYO is committed to boost tourism in the state and closely work with its partner network to offer ‘Sanitised Stays’ experience to the travellers

* In line with the new Karnataka tourism policy, OYO is committed to attract tourists from across boundaries  to the state to showcase its glorious tradition, rich culture and artistic excellence

* Currently, OYO enjoys presence in top cities such as Bengaluru, Mysore, Coorg, Mangaluru, Udupi-Manipal & Hubli in Karnataka

Supporting the state government’s move to introduce the new ‘Karnataka Tourism Policy 2020-2025’ to create inclusive socio-cultural growth and generate economic benefits for the people of Karnataka, OYO Hotels & Homes reiterated its commitment to boost tourism in the state. In a recent meeting with Shri M Lakshminarayana, Advisor to Honourable Chief Minister of Karnataka, the company highlighted its plans to strengthen its footprint in the state.

The discussion focused on the tourism and hospitality landscape in the state, government’s plan to promote Karnataka under its campaign ‘One State, Many Worlds’ to attract more tourists and promote the state as a preferred destination. The discussion also revolved around strategies and steps taken by the Karnataka government to revitalise the industry amid COVID 19. The discussion hosted by Mr. Rohit Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, OYO India & South Asia was attended by the company’s senior leadership team where the company shared details of its overall efforts to revive the sector, bringing demand for its hotel partners through alternative use cases and its plans to join hands with the government to facilitate new, improved ways of travel.

The hospitality chain plans to tap into inter-city travel, leisure and holiday-season travel demand and extend its ‘Sanitised Stays’ experience to the travellers given the steady boost in domestic tourism.

During the meeting, Shri M Lakshminarayana, Advisor to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka, said, “Karnataka has immense potential to become a world-class destination. Many cities and destinations in the state are unexplored. The state is home to a diverse range of beaches, wildlife, and pilgrimage destinations. As workations and home-stays gain popularity, it continues to be a big focus for the state. Some of the most popular destinations Kodagu and Chikmagalur have beautiful home-stays which are in huge demand. Road infrastructure, first-class transport connectivity with airports continues to attract more tourists and maintains the state’s reputation as an industrial and technology hub. We are excited by the potential that OYO Hotels & Homes possesses to collaborate with the hotel partners and bring affordable, quality, safe and hygienic stay-in experiences to the travellers visiting the state.”

Commenting on its plans for the state, Mr. Rohit Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, OYO India & South Asia said, “I would like to personally thank Shri M Lakshminarayana, Advisor to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka for his valuable time and insights. Karnataka is an important market for us. Over the past couple of years, we have enabled numerous economic opportunities at every level by partnering with hundreds of hotel partners in the state. Blessed with a pristine and unexplored coastline, Karnataka has the opportunity to become part of the country’s beach tourism landscape. We at OYO, are very excited by Karanataka’s tourism potential and are committed to growing and deepening our presence in the state. We, along with our hotel partners, look forward to delivering a safe, secure and comfortable experience to the travellers.”

OYO recently revealed its most-sought after 150+ leisure properties with the #EscapeRoutes catalog. These properties follow OYO’s ISO-certified quality management standards, with Sanitised Before Your Eyes and Contactless Check-in offerings. Other amenities include an in-house dining feature, great views and access to WiFi. Owing to the high demand for beach destinations across the country, OYO has also rolled out its ‘Chal Beach Chalein.’ campaign this week.

About OYO Hotels & Homes:

Opening its doors in 2013, OYO Hotels & Homes, a young hotel startup, today is the world’s leading chain of hotels and homes. OYO today operates in over 800 cities in 80 countries, including the U.S., Europe, U.K., India, Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Japan.

“World of Christmas at Phoenix Marketcity" in the City - The Tree of Jubilation

With Christmas round the corner, it’s that time of the year again when Santa visits us and fills our homes with happiness and goodies. Yes, Its Christmas time! Phoenix Marketcity Bengaluru is all set to take Christmas celebrations to a whole new level this year with its mesmerising Christmas décor to spread the festive cheer! Be fascinated by the shimmering display of lights adorning this gigantic Christmas tree with an inimitable European design! The larger than life magnificent “Christmas tree” is making people go ‘woooow’ in amazement, also creating a wonderful photo opportunity for people to take memorable selfies. The mall is exquisitely lit, with Christmas jingles and sounds of hope filling the air. Festive offers, gifts, laughter, and happy people complete the picture.  

The tree is beautifully decorated with lit motifs, Christmas greens and baubles. Witness this beautifully laid out Christmas surprise all December at the mall and explore a wide variety of trees, baubles and festive trinkets at our Christmas pop ups, with exciting products curated from across the world. Get clicked and post your Christmas selfies to spread the magic of Christmas! 

Shoppers will be spoilt for choice as ‘World of Christmas’ at Phoenix Marketcity this year promises to be bigger and better than ever before with trending accessories, cute artifacts, home decor products and other exciting festive merchandise. This Festive Season gets more rewarding with INR 1cr worth prizes to be won on shopping, It is pouring deals at Phoenix Marketcity where customers can stand a chance to win grand prizes like Car, Bike and much more. That’s not all, Santa will be welcoming every visitor at Phoenix Marketcity to spread the festive spirit by handing out presents to little ones. 

Mr. Gajendra Singh Rathore, Senior Centre Director at Phoenix Marketcity Bengaluru said “We are delighted to wish all our customers a Merry Christmas and a very happy new year. Christmas at Phoenix has always been a special affair, we always try to do something unique and different every year to surprise our customers and have outdone what we did last year by setting up a magnificent ‘World of Christmas’ décor. That’s not all, we are also setting up a European themed Christmas market that will showcase Christmas products from all over the world which will be on sale so it is a great time to take home some Christmas goodies. We have gone one step further to ensure our customers are safe at the mall with our SOPs in place. We invite you to be a part of “World of Christmas at Phoenix Marketcity and experience the magic of Christmas! 

The Highlights: 

World of Christmas Bazaar: 

The Christmas flea market boasts of everything from chocolates to home décor, and red-nosed reindeer. There’s everything you can imagine here, from Christmas trees, Santa Claus toys, sparkling baubles and beautiful tinsels to snowflakes and icicles, artistic Christmas balls, handmade décor, stockings, wooden birds, home décor lights and tons more. 

‘World of Christmas at Phoenix Marketcity’ is a world marked by the sparkle and magic of the season in every single aspect. So be sure you don’t miss out on the most happening and lively Christmas celebration in Bengaluru this year! 

Christmas Carols and Gifting Santa: 

Acclaimed artists sing carols, while a generous Santa hands out gifts to lucky visitors spreading joy and smiles. 

Step in Out Food Festival on 12th December 

Phoenix Marketcity truly understands the privilege of meeting friends, eating at favourite restaurants & indulging in some entertainment. The Step in Out Food Festival is one of a kind experience packaged with all the favourite restaurants that comes with contactless dining, safety protocols, entertainment and a whole lot more! Get ready for a day full of scrumptious food, groovy music, entertainment and lots more on the 12th of December at Phoenix Marketcity to indulge in gluttony , extravagant experiences with great music , pop ups by  city's best restaurants and their Instagram able dishes at the day long food festival! 

Shop and Win: EOSS in the 3rd & 4th week of December 

About Phoenix Marketcity Bengaluru : Classified as a “Larger Lifestyle Engagement Destination”, Phoenix Marketcity Bengaluru offers visitors, an array of unforgettable experiences. With its truly international look and feel, tastefully done interiors and the best of food, fashion, and entertainment from the world over, Phoenix remains ‘The’ destination for the premium discerning customers of the city as well expats. With over 300 stores, representing an exhaustive mix of International, National and Regional premium brands, the mall offers the most comprehensive and compelling lifestyle shopping experience in Bangalore. More than just a Mall, Phoenix Marketcity, Bengaluru is in fact a veritable melting pot of fascinating cultures, beautiful clothing and high-end couture. It is a city within a city, an urban space where retail, entertainment and leisure offerings co-exist.