Boeing To Set Up Its Second Largest Unit at Aerospace Park Near Kempegowda International Airport

The Karnataka government has finally approved the setting up of US aerospace major Boeing’s new engineering and product development facility near Bengaluru.

Boeing will invest Rs 1,152 crore on the facility, which is touted to be its second largest outside its headquarters in Seattle. The terms and conditions of the company’s investment proposal were finalised and approved by the government during the last Cabinet meeting two weeks ago, an government official said. A high-level delegation of Boeing officials met Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and discussed the investment proposal. 

The Boeing facility, spanning over 36 acres, will be located at the Aerospace Park near Kempegowda International Airport. Once completed, the project is expected to generate around 3,000 jobs. “The recent approval is with regard to lease conditions. There were certain relaxations made in some categories which were considered critical and prestigious for the project,” said the official in the industries department. The State High-Level Clearance Committee (SHLCC), headed by the the chief minister accorded an in-principle approval to the Boeing proposal.

However, if sources are to be believed, there was a stalemate between the government and the Seattle-based commercial aircraft major over the lease agreement. The company is expected to start work on its Devanahalli facility by the end of this year. “They want to have a function in December. Given the urgency they have shown in the project, I believe they want to start at the earliest,” the official said.

According to the official, the company would work on new product development, develop new technologies, components and assemblies of control equipment at the proposed facility. “It will develop a wide variety of products. It will focus on all categories including passenger aircraft, military aircraft of different sizes as well as unmanned aerial vehicles,” the official said.

Earlier, Boeing had said that it expects Indian airlines to order up to 2,100 new aircraft worth $290 billion over the next 20 years which, according to the plane maker, is the highest-ever forecast for the country.

It also had said it expects single-aisle planes like the next generation 737 and 737 Max to account for most of the deliveries.

Microsoft India Announces Cloud Champions 11 Program to Recognize Partners for Accelerating SMB Cloud Growth

Strengthening its commitment towards partners in India, Microsoft India has announced the launch of a unique engagement program Cloud Champions 11. Through this program, Microsoft will recognize 11 Cloud Solution Providers (CSPs) for achieving significant growth in their business between December 2020 and March 2021.

The Cloud Champions 11 program is open to all active Microsoft partners in India with existing CSP business, CSP direct resellers and CSP indirect resellers catering to SMB customers. Participants will be evaluated basis the YoY growth achieved during program duration. For new partners who do not have a revenue baseline for a comparable period, evaluations will be based on the highest revenue and program terms.

Harish Vellat, Senior Director, Small and Mid-Corporate Business, Microsoft India said, “Our partners have been delivering innovative cloud solutions to help customers reimagine their businesses and achieve more. We support our partners by investing in the tools and services they need and rewarding them when they deliver strategic solutions to drive exceptional customer outcomes. The Cloud Champions 11 program honours the deep resilience of our partners and their outstanding commitment towards customers for transformative solutions in these challenging times.”

All registered partners will get an opportunity to attend the inaugural event hosted by the Microsoft leadership team understand Microsoft’s offerings for partners as well as a business coaching session. The 11 Cloud Champions will receive special recognition at a Champion’s Night event and coaching from international business coach Mitali Chopra. They will also get access to a choice of virtual experiences, especially curated from across the globe, such as sessions on positive thinking, family fitness, piano meditation, cooking masterclasses, and interactive music festivals.

For more information on the program, visit https://www.cloudchampions11.com/.

About Microsoft India:

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft set up its India operations in 1990. Today, Microsoft entities in India have over 11,000 employees, engaged in sales and marketing, research, development and customer services and support, across 11 Indian cities – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. Microsoft offers its global cloud services from local data centers to accelerate digital transformation across Indian start-ups, businesses, and government organizations.

Somany Launches Sanitization Products with Activio Food Sterilizer and Hindware Purge Surface Disinfectant Generator

Somany Home Innovation Limited, makers of ‘Hindware Appliances’, in response to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis has forayed into the safe-essentials segment with the launch of disinfectant products - Hindware Activio food sterilizer and Hindware Purge surface disinfectant generator. Priced at INR 4990 and INR 9999, respectively, Hindware’s Activio is available at Metro cash & carry stores as well as general retail stores across India and Hindware’s Purge is available at evok.in, croma and reliance. The products will soon be available over Flipkart and Amazon.in as well. Keeping consumer’s health and hygiene as the top priority, the company has invested in its R&D to build the technology products, offering the disinfection against the viruses and diseases to Indian consumers

The ongoing pandemic has affected organizations and people alike, forever changing the way people live, work, study and interact through social distancing. To eliminate viruses and bacteria, Somany Home Innovation Limited has launched Activio by Hindware, a food sterilizer to clean fresh produce, meat, and cutlery. Equipped with a capacity of 10L, the device utilizes all-natural Ozone Purification Technology to eliminate traces of pesticides germs, preservatives, and ripeners among others. It disinfects and sterilizes every bit of the products thoroughly that cannot be achieved with normal washing. Equipped with specially curated air burst stone, Activio generates potent micro-bubbles to wash all foreign residues on the surface of fruits and vegetables and removes toxic substances that can cause major illnesses, infections, and organ diseases.

The other product Purge, a surface disinfectant generator creates a disinfectant solution using purified water, in less than three minutes, which can be sprayed over different types of surfaces such as furniture, household appliances, bathtub, keyboard, mouse, vehicles, fruits, and vegetables, utensils, etc. Purge is tested and certified by TUV-SUD South Asia Pvt. Ltd. for the effective removal of viruses up to 99 % large extent.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Rakesh Kaul, CEO & Whole Time Director, Somany Home Innovation Limited, said, “COVID-19 has changed the dynamics of human lifestyle. Social distancing, mask and hygiene have become an intrinsic part of our lives. This habitual change in consumers is here to stay, and with increase sentiment towards hygiene, there is a huge demand-supply gap of disinfectant products including, food sterilizers and surface disinfectant generators. At Somany Home Innovation Limited, our consumer’s health is our top priority. With the launch of Purge and Activio, we are hopeful to narrow the existing gap in the health and hygiene segment.  We expect a very encouraging market response from this launch as consumers are on lookout for hygiene products that are effective.”

Activio food sterilizer comes with 3 pre-set functions that provide users with dedicated modes for cleaning fresh produce, meat, and cutlery. The device comes with a capacity of 10L ensuring that you do not need an extra washing bowl to sanitize your groceries, keeping your contact with germs minimal.

Purge surface disinfectant generator is specially designed to keep your house, vehicles, and office place free from bacteria, germs, etc., and sanitized. Purge uses NaCIO/HOCI, which is a disinfectant solution, created through electrochemical reactions using in-built electrodes. The NaCIO solution generated by Purge disinfectant is extremely effective in disinfection and removal of pathogen microbes. The product boasts all-in-one sterilization, disinfection, algae removal, and deodorization feature along with economical usage.  With just 5 W power consumption, this 420 gm device can hold up to 200 ml of disinfectant and comes with a 1-year warranty.

Hindware Appliances is one of the fastest-growing consumer products company in the country with largest range of IOT enabled connected appliances providing customers with offerings ranging from water heaters and water purifiers to air coolers, air purifiers, fans, and kitchen appliances, which are all relevant in the modern consumer lifestyle of today, with each contributing to make better homes a reality in India. Currently, Somany Home Innovation Limited (SHIL) has a network of over 9,250+ retail outlets, 700+ distributor partners and our network of more than 800 modern retail stores across India. Recently, the company expanded its product category into IoT enabled appliances across water purifiers, water heaters, air purifiers and chimneys. 

About Somany Home Innovation Limited (SHIL):

Somany Home Innovation Limited (SHIL) is a leading Home Improvement Solutions company in India. The makers of the ‘Hindware Appliances’, the company is listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The company houses a range of products under Consumer Appliances, Home Retail Solutions, and Furniture and Kitchen Fittings business.

SHIL’s focus on R&D activities helps the company to enhance capacity to conceive innovative ideas infused with varying degrees of novelty and this has led the company to apply for over 26 patents since its inception. 

Bayer Partners with Arogya Finance to Provide Eylea Easy Pay Program in India

 

* Bayer partners with Arogya Finance to introduce the Eylea Easy Pay Program in India, with an aim to improve patient adherence and increase access to the innovative treatment solution Eylea. The program will be available in eye hospitals across the country.

* Eylea, or Aflibercept solution, is indicated for the treatment of Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) and Wet Age-related Macular Degeneration, which are visual impairment conditions.

* Presently, India has 67 million cases of diabetes. Diabetic macular edema (DME) is the leading cause of visual loss in people with diabetes mellitus affecting up to 10% of patients.[1]The prevalence rate of AMD In India ranges from 1.2% to 4.7%[2] and the disease mostly affects people aged 40 and above.  Wet AMD accounts for roughly 10% of AMD cases, but almost 90% of AMD-related central vision loss.

Bayer has announced its collaboration with social healthcare venture Arogya Finance to introduce the Eylea Easy Pay Program in India to provide flexible and affordable payment solutions to help patients in India access Eylea (aflibercept solution) treatment. Through this partnership, Bayer and Arogya Finance have increased the accessibility of the innovative treatment solutions, thus reducing the immediate financial burden on patients and their families. These financing solutions will be available across the country. Centers in states like Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka, Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu Uttar Pradesh, to name a few, will offer this program to their patients.

Today, diabetes affects close to 67 million people in India, [4]and approximately 3-4.5 million of them develop visual impairments[5] due to diabetic eye diseases, such as Diabetic Macular Edema (DME). Bayer’s Eylea is used for the treatment for both Wet AMD, which affects the elderly population and DME, which affects diabetics, and is administered via an injection directly into the eye. Since Eylea is an ongoing treatment for chronic eye conditions, treatment adherence is important.

Bayer launched the “Eylea 4 U” Patient Assistance Program in 2020 with the objective of improving access and adherence to the treatment by Indian patients. In continuation with this aim, Bayer and Arogya Finance have collaborated to tackle the central issue of patient adherence by reducing the upfront financial burden of treatment that usually impacts the patient and their families. The benefits of this collaboration include lower up-front payments, flexibility in payment options and easy equated monthly instalment (EMI). With treatment accessibility and patient centricity as the key focus, Eylea Easy Pay aims to help patients and caregivers focus on effective management of the condition.

“At Bayer, we have always been committed to a Patient First approach to treatment. We aim to provide effective and innovative solutions to address unmet health needs, while supporting our patients in accessing and adhering to their treatment plans. By collaborating with Arogya Finance, we extend our commitment to delivering solutions to improve and maintain vision, to support patients on their journey to better health,” said Manoj Saxena, Managing Director, Bayer Zydus Pharma & Country Division Head South Asia.

Commenting on the partnership, Jose Peter, Co-founder and CEO, Arogya Finance said, “We at Arogya Finance work to establish an ecosystem which benefits the patients and their caregivers through ease of financing solutions for treatment. Arogya Finance has partnered with Bayer so we can work together to deliver flexible financing solutions that support increased patient access to treatment to enable a greater number of individuals across India to benefit from the innovative therapy.”

Dr. Bhujang Shetty, Chairman Narayana Nethralaya, Bangalore commented, “There is an urgent need to drive attention towards avoidable vision loss in India. Preventive care, diagnosis and adherence to long term treatment has been impacted during the pandemic. In Bangalore, we have observed a drop in patient adherence to treatment for Wet AMD and DME, often due to financial constraints. This programme of financial support offered by Arogya Finance in collaboration with Bayer will definitely help patients to maintain good treatment compliance, thus ensuring they can access the best treatment options available. Such programmes allow patients and their caregivers to focus on maintaining health with greater confidence and convenience, while reducing the financial burden.”

TradeIndia.com Becomes Recognized Google My Business Partner, Aims to Help SMEs go Digital

TradeIndia.com, one of the leading online B2B marketplaces in the country, is now a trusted Google My Business partner. The company can now effectively register local SMEs so that their business listings can be found on Google Search and Maps. As a recognized Google My Business Verifier, TradeIndia can now authenticate businesses onsite at their place of business in very little time.

Once confirmed, businesses can edit and update their business details, view insights about their business listing, and interact with existing and potential customers. The content provided includes photos, hours of operations, customer reviews, etc. Businesses adding accurate information to their profiles is key to providing a good experience for potential customers.

More and more customers are increasingly checking details online before making a purchase decision. This is an opportunity for all small businesses to show up at the right time and connect with their potential buyers. By showcasing their business profiles in a hassle-free way, SMEs can go online and improve their digital visibility by interacting with millions of potential consumers.

Over 5.5 million SMEs that are a part of TradeIndia’s state-of-the-art digital platform will be able to create detailed business profiles on the Google My Business program to achieve greater engagement and customer connectivity. The high-quality listing will lead to higher footfall with the increased probability of business deal closure.

Speaking about the collaboration, Mr. Sandip Chhettri, Coo,Tradeindia.com "It is truly a privilege to be recognized as a trusted Google My business Partner. This will enable local businesses to create customized business listings that appear on Google Search and Map features which will help them provide information regarding their products and/or services and enhance the overall customer experience. This will directly aid countless small businesses in the country to generate greater visibility and customer engagement.”

Gaining visibility and consumer traction can prove invaluable for small businesses in the new normal. As a recognized Google My Business Partner, TradeIndia is assisting SMEs to gain the necessary eyeballs by driving high customer engagement.

About TradeIndia.com:

TradeIndia.com is an online Business to Business (B2B) portal for small businesses based in India and around the globe. The portal was started in 1996 by Bikky Khosla and is maintained and promoted under the flagship company, Infocom Network Ltd. The company is headquartered in New Delhi, India, and has branch offices in more than 42 cities across India.

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/