Tesla to Start Selling Cars in India in Early 2021; Likely to Setup R&D Centre in Bangalore

* Union minister Nitin Gadkari has confirmed that Tesla will start selling operations in India next year. The company may also set up a manufacturing plant in India if it gets a good response.

US Based Billionaire Elon Musk’s clean energy and electric vehicle company Tesla will start operations in India early next year, confirmed Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.

Tesla is initially expected to sell its vehicles in India, and it would also look at setting up a manufacturing facility at a later stage depending on demand, Gadkari told the media.

Gadkari has already held a few rounds of talks with top Tesla executives. Some states have also held meetings with the electric car company for sales of its vehicles in India.

At a recent media event, Gadkari said there is focus on developing electric cars and added that a lot of Indian firms are also looking at developing electric cars.

US electric vehicle maker Tesla is in talks with the Karnataka government to set up a Research & Development (R&D) centre as well as their manufacturing bases in the state, said Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan during curtain  raiser meet for the 23rd edition of Bangalore Tech Summit.

On Sunday, Musk said Tesla plans to enter the India market in 2021, but not in January. This, however, is not the first time Musk said that Tesla is entering the Indian market. In October, too, the billionaire CEO of Tesla suggested that the company will start India operations “next year for sure".

The report indicated that Tesla would open pre-bookings for its Model 3 vehicle and the deliveries would be made by June. It is unlikely that the company will stitch partnerships with dealerships to sell its car.

Potential customers should note that even though the Model 3 is one of Tesla’s more affordable cars, it will not be cheap in India as they will arrive as completely built units (CBU) with a high import duty charge. While there is no confirmation on the pricing, reports suggest that one Tesla Model 3 will cost Rs 55 lakh in India.

Indira IVF’s Successful Clinical Outcome Rate is a Result of its Cutting-Edge ART Technology in India

* India’s biggest fertility chain incorporates Electronic Witnessing systems and Closed Working Chambers technologies

Indira IVF, India’s leading fertility chain credits it clinical success rate to their commitment in implementing advanced technology like – Electronic Witnessing systems and Closed Working Chambers across its centres. Indira IVF was the first organisation in the country to have conducted over 100,000 procedures and has established itself as the largest infertility specialist clinics chain in India.

The Electronic Witnessing technology imported from Denmark and Closed Working Chambers technology from Australia address two very critical facets of assisted reproductive techniques (ART). The former utilises RFID (radio frequency identification) chips that are tagged on test tubes of sperm samples and dishes where eggs are stored; this ensures monitoring and that there is no mix-up of unrelated samples. Closed Working Chambers provide a controlled and suitable environment, similar to the human body, for the handling of these samples; this provides clean and safe processes that increases the likelihood of success by manifold.

Speaking about the development, Mr. Nitiz Murdia, Co-founder and Director at Indira IVF said, “We understand that infertility in India is not only a medical condition, but it also comes with societal consequences. Couples undergoing treatment face a host of challenges, and uncertainty related to outcome is a major concern. Thus, the assurance that an IVF cycle will lead to a successful pregnancy is paramount.”

“With the aid of unique, advanced cutting-edge technologies from abroad such as Electronic Witnessing systems and Closed Working Chambers, it is our humble attempt to give equal access to all who trust us for their treatment and help put their mind at ease. It is by means of empathy and meticulous standardisation processes that we have been able to attain a 74% success rate at Indira IVF so far,” Mr. Murdia added.

Dr. Rajeev Kayestha, Regional Director (N/W) of CooperSurgical, the company that provides the Electronic Witnessing technology, RI Witness™, to Indira IVF said “We are proud to partner with Indira IVF who is the biggest employer of our technology in the country. Given the fact that IVF specialists work on several procedures at a time, the RI Witness™ technology is a fool proof system that completely eliminates the chances of any kind of mix-up at all stages of an IVF procedure.”  

The foundation for Indira IVF is set on the principle of increasing access to affordable state-of-the-art IVF treatment to aspiring individuals and couples. The introduction of these technologies furthers this cause and empowers people to take control of their reproductive health.

Witnessing a huge influx of inquiries from Tier II and Tier III cities, and in its effort to provide affordable and best in class treatment, the company added five new centres in Tier-III cities namely, Nanded, Warangal, Sirsa, Gulbarga, Ujjain, and the recent one being in Noida. Indira IVF today has a total of 94 centres across India.

About Indira IVF

Indira IVF is India’s largest infertility speciality clinics chain with 94 centres across the country, supported by a passionate workforce of over 2200 people. Indira IVF performs about 33,000+ IVF procedures a year – the highest number in the country.

As a responsible leader, Indira IVF constantly strives to dispel the stigma, taboo, myths and misinformation about infertility. Indira IVF is also committed to developing and grooming talent for fertility treatments. Through the Indira Fertility Academy, it collaborates with like-minded organisations and institutions to further this cause. Having perceived the potential of Indira IVF in the sector, TA Associates, a leading global equity firm from the U.S., invested in the organisation in 2019.

Indira IVF was founded in the year 2011 in Udaipur, Rajasthan by Dr Ajay Murdia.

JK Tyre Gets Recognition From CII for its Sustainable Manufacturing Practices Globally

JK Tyre & Industries Limited, a leading Tyre manufacturer, has been on the forefront of sustainable growth.  As its ethos, it has been making all out efforts to maintain its leadership in energy usage and this reduction in carbon footprints.

JK Tyre’s efforts have been recently recognized by ‘being’ conferred with two prestigious recognitions from Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

JK Tyre’s plant in Kankroli, Rajasthan won National Water Award for its exemplary efforts in water conservation taking a 3M approach to water conservation – Measure, Monitor and Management. The award was announced during the 14th CII National Awards for Excellence in Water Management 2020.   JK Tyre’s Kankroli plant has the lowest water consumption in the world, in the Tyre Industry.

The Company’s Chennai plant was recognized as Excellent ‘Energy Efficient Unit’ for the sixth consecutive time since 2015. Additionally, the plant also qualified for the recognition of ‘National Energy Leader’ during the 21st National Award for Excellence in Energy Management 2020 Forum by CII.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Anil Makkar, Manufacturing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd said, “JK Tyre has set industry benchmarks for its efforts towards carbon footprint reduction and judicious use of resources. Our effort to create an environmentally conscious organization will help pave the way for industries to go green in the future.  Both Kankroli and Chennai are special projects and receiving such prestigious recognitions for our efforts will further motivate us to continue in this path towards sustainable development. Our aim is to adopt and promote sustainable practices across our plants globally.”

The Company has successfully provided a plethora of water saving solutions in its Kankroli plant. The Air Handling Unit has had a replacement from nozzle type to cellulose pad, to decrease water loss through evaporation. Additionally, rainwater harvesting points have been set up across 4 points in the plant, which has led to a decrease in lake water consumption from 620 KLD to 348 KLD and an increase in rainwater consumption to 13.6% of total fresh water use.

The Chennai plant has effectively reduced the energy consumption by 11.6% that resulted into excellent cost savings in the span of three years. The plant has also achieved 13% reduction in total CO2-e Emission intensity at 0.88 ton/ton of production. Additionally, the plant is using 57% of total power from renewable source of wind and solar.

JK Tyre & Industries Limited:

The flagship company of JK Organisation, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd is amongst the top 25 manufacturers in the world. Pioneers of radial technology, the Company produced the first radial tyre in 1977 and is currently the market leader in Truck Bus Radial segment. The Company provides end-to-end solutions across segments of passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, farming, Off-the-Road and two & three-wheelers.

A global force, JK Tyre is present in 105 countries with over 180 Global distributors.  The Company has 12 globally benchmarked ‘sustainable’ manufacturing facilities - 9 in India and 3 in Mexico – that collectively produce around 35 million tyres annually. The Company also has a strong network of over 4000 dealers and 550+ dedicated Brand shops called as Steel Wheels and Xpress Wheels.

JK Tyre’s unwavering commitment towards innovation is reflected through its state-of-the-art global research and technology centre – the Raghupati Singhania Centre of Excellence - in Mysore, which houses some of the world’s finest technologies and techniques.

JK Tyre launched India’s first ever ‘Smart Tyre’ technology-and introduced Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) which monitors the tyre’s vital statistics, including pressure and temperature. The company recently rolled out its 20 millionth Truck/Bus Radial tyre becoming the first and the only Indian company to achieve this milestone.

It is the only Indian tyre manufacturer to be included in the list of Superbrands India in 2019 for the seventh consecutive year. JK Tyre has been conferred the Sword of Honour for Safety across its plants by the British Safety Council,UK. The company entered the Limca Book of Records with the country’s largest off-the-road tyre - VEM 04.

JK Tyre is also synonymous with motorsport in the country. For over three decades, the Company has relentlessly worked towards shaping India’s positioning as the motorsport hub of Asia, developing the right infrastructure for the sport and promoting young talent in the arena.

Ghadi Detergent Launches #BachaavMeinHiSamajhdaariHai Awareness Campaign in India

To encourage health and safety amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, RSPL Group, manufacturers, and marketers of Ghadi – India’s no. 1 detergent powder unveiled its all-new #BachaavMeinHiSamajhdaariHai campaign. Ghadi detergent is India’s first brand to create awareness through its packaging.  

India’s first awareness initiative via packaging aims to reach more than 10 crore Indian households. They will be reminded of always wearing a face mask and to be more responsible and committed to public safety.  

The awareness initiative will be showcased on the Ghadi detergent packet wherein the actual logo is covered with a printed mask. In addition to the messaging on the pack, Ghadi detergent is also activating a huge network of distribution channels, simultaneously asking their retail partners to join the movement to spread the message.  

Ghadi has supported this initiative with a digital film that shows a small girl in a shop making her dad realise that the best way to show you care is by wearing a mask – just like the exhibit on Ghadi pack. The film also shows the importance of washing face masks regularly. 

Speaking on this occasion, Mr Rahul Gyanchandani, Joint Managing Director of RSPL Group said “These are challenging times for each one of us. During this tough period, we need to stay and fight this challenge together. Everyone should take care of our near and dear ones and do our bit for the society. Under this initiative, we are also distributing one million masks. Ghadi detergent reaches millions of homes across India and we decided to do our bit to spread this important message.” 

Nakul Sharma, VP and ECD, ADK Fortune said, “For us, this initiative is not limited to just a message. Thus, we wanted to put a mast on the Ghadi itself and reach it to every household. So, we dressed Ghadi with a mask to take this idea to the common people, as Ghadi reached millions of the households in India. This mask message film has already notched 65 million views during the initial few days only, which is very encouraging and is proof that this campaign is having an emotional impact and accelerating change.” 

About Ghadi Detergent: 

Ghadi Detergent is manufactured by RSPL, a Kanpur based approx Rs 7,000 crore diversified conglomerate in India. The detergent brand was founded by Shri Muralidhar Gyanchandani and Shri Bimal Kumar Gyanchandani in 1987. The vision of the brand is to give superior brand experience and value for consumers’ money. The tagline “Pehle Istemaal Kare Phir Vishwaas Kare” (First use then believe) is on the tongues of millions. Ghadi detergent is India’s number one detergent. 

Teachers Adopting Online Tutoring Witness 400% Average Growth in their Teaching Practice: Teachmint

* Data based on the analysis of increase in student enrollments observed by teachers within 8 weeks from sign-up on the Teachmint app

* Teachers’ claim this growth can be attributed to 5 main factors: ease with which business can be digitized end-to-end, capacity to overcome logistical limitations & increased geographical reach, ability to create customized teaching methodologies, access to time & resource saving features and the capability to leverage positive word of mouth on connected social networks

Teachmint, India’s leading EdTech company focused on India relevant digital tutoring solutions, today revealed that teachers who have made a switch to online tutoring from the conventional physical classroom set-up have witnessed an average 4x growth in their teaching business in 8 weeks of signing up. This data is based on the analysis of the spike in the number of student enrollments observed among active teachers on the platform. 

There are 2.5 lakh teachers who have signed up on Teachmint till date and this number is growing by more than 50,000 new registrations every month. Through this period of growth, the trend of tutors on the platform scaling their practice has stayed its course even after the pandemic induced lockdown had started to wind down over the last two months. Individual teacher growth stories range from a 200% growth to 1000% growth in student enrollments, with some teachers now adding as many as 1600 students to their classrooms, clearly underscoring the value educators can derive by switching over to digital platforms. 

A deeper analysis of factors driving this growth has thrown up a few major reasons for the switch. The first of which is the fact that teachers are now easily able to digitize their entire teaching businesses including content delivery, student engagement and administrative workflows.

A digital presence also means that tutors are now able to take their classroom to any corner of the world and are no longer inhibited by their own geographical location. Another reason for this unprecedented growth can be attributed to the fact that digital classrooms create time and resource efficiency like never before, allowing tutors to cater to a significantly larger number of students.

An interesting byproduct of achieving such scale is that tutors, who are now also armed with a powerful set of online tools, can create imaginative and tailored teaching methodologies for their students, thereby providing a more immersive learning experience. All these aforementioned factors have thus resulted in a new generation of tech savvy tutors unafraid of leveraging the positive buzz from within their own social networks, enabling to add students to their classrooms at an unprecedented rate.

Mihir Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO, Teachmint said, “Face to face tutor lead teaching is the mainstay of the Indian education sector, making a strong case for digitization of tutor services as opposed to content based self-learning models. However, this form of teaching is traditionally cost-heavy and is difficult to scale. Digitization has dissolved boundaries and unlocked opportunities for teachers to scale beyond physical & geographical limits without any capital investment. Today, teachers on Teachmint are seamlessly teaching a greater number of students from neighboring cities and imparting a superior learning environment and experience.” 

“Now, teachers can focus on their specialty and subject expertise to address a much larger student segment more efficiently and at much lower cost per student”, he added. 

Exemplifying the benefit of scale that can be achieved through digital teaching is Ajay Gupta, a Delhi based tutor who prepares students for CA examinations. Mr. Gupta has been able to expand his student base from 3 to 50 students within a month of subscribing to Teachmint. Sharing his experience Mr. Gupta said, “I am really fortunate to be a part of Teachmint. It is simple, easy to use and extremely user friendly. Once I adopted digitization my students started to spread the word among their networks and I now have students from as far as Jammu all the way to Chennai. It is amazing that I was able to bring on-board all these new students within the first month itself. The operational challenges of attendance, tests etc. are managed easily on the app which helps teachers focus more on the content than the management.” 

Udit Narayan Sahu, who runs an English class on the Teachmint app, is yet another success story of grassroot digitization. A teacher who had been running a physical institute in the Janjgir-Champa district of Chattisgarh for about 4 years, Mr. Sahu lost almost all his students due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He joined the Teachmint app in early December. “This is my first experience teaching online and I have found it to be easier than expected. In my two weeks on the app, I have been able to reach out to add 37 new students to my classroom from surrounding areas.  In the beginning I thought this will be how I tide over till things are back to normal. Now I have realised that I would probably never want to teach offline full-time again.”

It is no secret that the ongoing global public health crisis has fast-forwarded the adoption of online learning solution. Students, teachers and even parents have adjusted to the new normal of online education enabled by brands like Teachmint who enable tutors with the tools to run their classes in a manner that enhances the learning experience and allows them to customize their unique method of imparting education. As per teachers’ feedback, the best part of Teachmint is how easy it is to use. The platform also helps them create a real-life classroom experience digitally with various tools to choose for conducting classes, and most importantly ability to have uninterrupted and clear classes even in low network/bandwidth areas. 

India’s Leading Coaching Institute Veranda Race Launched in Kerala

The Kalpathi Group owned, Veranda Learning Solutions today announced the launch of Veranda Race, in Kerala. Veranda Race, India’s leading coaching institute for Banking, SSC, and PSC exams, will initially offer result oriented online training programs for Banking and Staff Selection Commission in Kerala. 

Veranda Race has launched two courses for students in Malayalam, namely, Bank Video Package for Banking, Insurance & RBI Exams and SSC Video Package for SSC, Railways & CPO Exams. The Bank Video Course fee is Rs.7500 and SSC Video Course is priced at Rs.8000. Veranda Race has a unique ‘6 level practice program’ which helps students improve their speed and accuracy in a short span of time, and their result oriented, strategic curriculum is developed exclusively for each type of competitive exams. Aspiring students can log into the website http://verandarace.com and opt for classes in Malayalam.

Veranda had recently acquired Chennai Race, for over 100 crore, to create the new brand called Veranda Race. By December 2021, Veranda Race is planning to launch course content in 11 Indian languages. During the financial year 2019-20, Race recorded sales of about INR 45 crores and had trained over 145,000 students for various competitive exams. Race has seen its students filling up about 60 to 80 percent of Tamil Nadu’s vacancies in the past 4-5 years.

On the launch of Veranda Race in Kerala, Suresh Kalpathi, CEO, Veranda Learning Solution stated “the objective of Veranda Race is to provide equal opportunities for every student with emphasis on best outcome at an affordable cost. Veranda Race focuses on ensuring rigor and discipline amongst enrolled students thereby giving them the best opportunity to get jobs once they appear for written examinations. We expect Veranda Race to grow significantly in the coming months and years with the addition of more products and languages”. 

Speaking on the acquisition of Chennai Race Mr. Kalpathi said “Race is a great brand to bring under our newly launched venture, Veranda Learning Solution, as it opens new possibilities in the core areas of our business. The acquisition of Race will bolster our offerings and will further define our position in the sector”.

Talking at the launch of the program in Malayalam, Bharath Seeman, Head of Veranda Race, said "the Veranda Race programs are set for rollout nationally, in the coming months, targeting a revenue of INR 50 crores in the first year. By the end of 2021, our content will be available in 11 Indian languages and we would be training around 50,000 to 60,000 students across the country. We have priced our courses around INR 7500/- to INR Rs. 8000/- which includes course materials and mentoring support”. 

“At Veranda Race we take pride in our ‘real result-oriented coaching’ approach. Our unique curriculum focuses on helping our students to land PSC and Banking jobs. At Veranda RACE the key metric to assess our success will be ‘number of students getting jobs’, which is the main goal of this venture.” Bharath added.

About Veranda Learning Solution

Veranda Learning Solution, the new ed-tech venture from The Kalpathi Group, is India’s first comprehensive 360-degree online education platform. Veranda Learning Solution offers training programs in test preparation for all competitive exams in India and abroad, including IIT JEE, NEET, GRE/TOEFL/IELTS/GMAT, IAS, State PSC, Banking/Staff Selection/RRB, CA/ACS related exams, Medical, K-12, NTSE and Olympiads. Veranda will also offer courses in software development namely databases, languages, development tools, cloud/analytics/big data/AI/ML platform and at an affordable price point. 

Veranda is a unique online platform that combines the best of technology, processes, and methodologies that delivers high-quality content, seeking to be one of India’s first to offer a comprehensive 360-degree education. Focused on academic outcomes for its students, Veranda adopts a multi-modal delivery system backed by a rigorous and disciplined learning framework.

About Veranda Race

Veranda Race provides unique training to its students with an aim of achieving 100% results. Race provides best Level coaching for all competitive Recruitment Examinations like Bank Probationary Officers, Clerks, Specialist Officers, Central Government Staff, Insurance Sectors, Railway Officers and TNPSC (State Commission) Exams. Race is the most awarded coaching institute in India and has filled 78% of the Public Sector Bank state vacancies in Tamil Nadu. Race students are constantly filling up about 60 to 80 % of Tamil Nadu’s vacancies in the past 4-5 years. Race is also the only Private Institute which is also a Govt Certified Exam Centre for various competitive Exams. 

Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa Praises Aditya Mehta Foundation for Raising Para Sports awareness as he Flags Off Infinity Ride 2020

The Karnataka Hon’ble Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Sunday flagged off Aditya Mehta Foundation's (AMF) ongoing Infinity Ride 2020 at Vidhana Soudha here on Sunday morning as India's first-ever para cyclist Aditya Mehta alongside members of country’s para cycling team resumed their journey.

A team of 30 cyclists as part of Infinity Ride 2020, a brain-child of Aditya Mehta Foundation which has so far covered 31 cities during their challenging 3842km-long journey from Kashmir to Kanyakumari visiting 36 cities in 45 days, arrived in the city on Saturday. The Infinity Ride aims to spread awareness about para sports and scout talent to train and nurture them at Asia's first-ever Infinity Para Sports Academy and Rehabilitation Centre in order to groom the talent and prepare them to win medals for the country at the international stage.

“I appreciate the support Aditya Mehta Foundation is giving to para athletes and people with disabilities to get them into sports. I wish them all the best in their journey and future endeavors. May they continue to organise such rides in the coming future,” the hon'ble CM Yediyurappa said.

Earlier after arriving in the city, the riders visited Mitti Cafe—a chain of inclusive cafes entirely run by specially-abled people, and shared their own life changing experiences with the specially-abled cafe employees highlighting the fact about how sports have not only empowered them but as sportsperson representing India has given a purpose to each of their lives.

"It’s great to see people coming in to support us in this mission. I would like to thank Karnataka Government and Hon’ble Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa who came to flag off the ride and motivated us," said Aditya Mehta, the founder of Aditya Mehta Foundation and also a Limca Book of Records holder who is currently on a mission to create para sports champions for India.

“We are also grateful for the support received from DGP CID PS Sandhu. We started building a strong relationship with BSF since the time he flagged off the ride in 2013 which I rode alone from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Since then he has been a mentor to the cause and vision to Aditya Mehta Foundation. And during our visit to Karnataka he helped us in every possible way,” Mehta added.

Following a stop in Bengaluru, the sixth edition of Infinity Ride will resume their remaining journey of 705km and head towards Tamil Nadu through Dharmapuri and further visit three more cities before reaching their destination Kanyakumari on December 31.

About Aditya Mehta Foundation (AMF):

“Our vision is to make India a superpower in the world of para sports.” Aditya Mehta Foundation (AMF) is a non-profit organisation which aids people with disabilities to pursue sporting careers while also providing them self-sustenance. The Foundation, which started in 2013, has grown by leaps and bounds in the short span of time. Based in Hyderabad, the foundation has managed to span out to virtually every corner of the nation and have contributed in creating para champions who have been winning medals for India. It represents a unique cause and seeks to help a neglected part of a fairly large population.

About Infinity Ride:

The AMF raises funds through its signature Fund-Raising event, the Infinity Ride, and also scouts for talent among the population of people with disability and trains them from the grassroots as well. With the money raised, it also provides counselling and helps them get better at their sport or even find a sport that is suitable for them. It provides the necessary equipment, training and funding for these athletes as well to help them grow in their sport and compete at the International level. Along with the civilian talent, a major part of the foundation’s efforts is directed at finding and nurturing talent from nation’s Central Armed Police Forces (BSF, CRPF and ITBP), which have a number of soldiers who have suffered debilitating or permanent injuries while serving the country at the border or in naxal-hit areas and now are trained to become potential talents for the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics. In its sixth edition, the upcoming ride will take place from Kashmir to Kanyakumari; traversing 3842 km through difficult and mountainous terrain with support of Border Security Force (BSF) who have partnered and supported AMF to execute the ride. Border Security Force (BSF) was the only organisation who believed in our cause from the very beginning and supported us since inception of this ride and later Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) also joined hands for this cause.