Indian Real Estate In Top Cities Has Become Affordable With Property Prices Correcting And Interest Rates Falling: Knight Frank Report

Real estate across India’s top eight cities has become more affordable with property prices correcting and interest rates falling to multi-decade lows. Prices of residential properties have fallen across most of the top eight cities in the last one year between 1% and 9%. The fall is much steeper when compared to 2016 and ranges between 16% and 19%, according to the latest findings of Knight Frank India for the months between July and December 2020.

The sharpest correction of 19% has come in Chennai, followed by Pune, where prices have corrected by 17% in the last four years. Mumbai, the most expensive real estate market in India, has also seen a sharp fall of 16% in residential prices. Bengaluru, which has traditionally been an end-user driven market, has seen a minor increase of 2% in these last four years. However, NCR continues to hold on to its prices and has seen no correction in the last four years.

With the fall in prices and interest rates at multi-decade low, the report highlighted that affordability had improved for India’s top eight cities in the last decade. The affordability is calculated by taking into account the movement in housing prices, household income and the interest rates and its impact on affordability.

Mumbai, though still remains the most expensive city to own a house in India, has seen the affordability improve significantly from 100% in 2011 to 61% in 2020. This means that an average household in Mumbai needs to spend around 61% of their income towards EMI. Ahmedabad remains the most affordable market in the country with 24%, while affordability in NCR has improved from 64% in 2011 to 38% in 2020. Bengaluru has seen affordability index improve from 53% to 28% in the same period.

Meanwhile, the second half of 2020 saw a revival in residential sales, which can be primarily attributed to price corrections across all major markets and fall in home loan rates. Sales in the top eight cities increased 60% in the July-December 2020 period compared to the first half of last year, with these cities recording sales of 94,997 units. Annual sales, however, remained affected by the pandemic and declined 37% in whole of 2020 compared to the year before. Stamp duty cut in Maharashtra bode well for sales in Mumbai and Pune.

Interestingly, the mid- and high-end segment performed better in the second half of 2020, leaving behind the affordable segment. The over `50-lakh category constituted 57% of all sales in H2 2020 while the share of affordable category stood at 43%. Also, a rise was witnessed in transactions in the high-end category.

However, total launches across the country were lower by 34% in 2020, at 146,628 units. In H2 2020, the new launches increased by 42% compared to the January to June 2020 period. Unsold inventory levels declined 2% for the whole of 2020 and stood at 4.25 lakh units. However, sluggish sales velocity in mid-2020 helped quarters-to-sell (QTS) to rise to an average of 10.1 quarters from 8.9 quarters in the January-June period.

The office market in top eight cities recorded transactions of 22.2 million square feet in H2 2020, while new completions were recorded at 17.2 million sqft. The year began on a high note with office leasing achieving 96% of the quarterly average of 2019 in Q12020. However, the government-imposed lockdown due to the pandemic led to temporary economic inactivity and translated into a sharp fall in office leasing activities in Q2 2020. With the return to normality, gross leasing revived to 31% of the quarterly average of 2019 in Q3 2020, eventually surging to a staggering 115% in Q4 2020.

Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director of Knight Frank India, said, “While the events of 2020 may hasten the evolution of the office space into a more flexible, sustainable and wellness-oriented environment in the long run, it is unlikely that the need for traditional office space will reduce in the foreseeable future.”

Aspire Systems Joins Hands with World Vision India To Support COVID-19 Affected Households

Aspire Systems India (P) Ltd. (Aspire) has partnered with World Vision India to support one of its landmark projects – ‘Restoration of livelihood for COVID-19 affected households in Virudhunagar and Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu’. The program aims to help 100 beneficiaries with livelihood options based on their needs, such as supply of agriculture inputs, livestock, setting up of small shops, etc.

On signing the MoU, Gowri Shankar Subramanian, CEO – Aspire Systems, said, “Our philosophy of ‘Attention. Always.’ encompasses society, making it a practice for the organization and our employees to lend a helping hand to empower people from economically backward sections. Extending our support since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been collaborating with various NGOs to provide the best aid possible. We are glad to be partnering with World Vision India in their efforts to support the needy and provide them with sustainable livelihood opportunities. The best part of this initiative is the imparting of necessary training to the selected beneficiaries, which will empower them to be self-sustained individuals.”

Speaking on the progress of the initiative, Sathappan, General Manager (CSR) – Aspire Systems, commented, “The team is currently in the process of shortlisting beneficiaries and evaluating their needs, which is scheduled to be completed by January 2021. The key highlight of this project is that it will be regularly monitored and reviewed by the field volunteers and project coordinators to assess the status of the livelihood and food security program. The restoration efforts will help the beneficiaries in enhancing cash flow in the community to meet the daily consumption expenses and improve food and nutrition security among affected and reverse migration households.”

"We have all felt the unprecedented economic impacts of COVID-19 affecting the lives of wage labourers and small vendors to a greater extent. This impact requires strategic and sustainable approaches to build a resilient community and enable families with increased sustainable income so that they could provide better for their children", said James Neil Devasahayam, Head - Technical Support, World Vision India. "This partnership aims to mitigate the economic impacts of COVID-19, protect local livelihoods by providing support to restart their source of income and boost the country’s resilience to future climate-related disasters".

World Vision India will leverage the Wealth Ranking tool and vulnerability mapping to identify potential beneficiaries. In addition, focussed group discussions will be conducted with the community to verify the status of beneficiaries’ household level. The beneficiaries of this program will also include families who have faced reverse migration.

About Aspire Systems:

Aspire Systems is a global technology services firm serving as a trusted technology partner for more than 200 customers across the globe. We work with the world's most innovative enterprises and software product companies, helping them leverage technology to transform their business in the current digital landscape. Our proven approach to Software Engineering & Digital Technologies helps companies to run smart business models. Our core philosophy of ‘Attention. Always.’ communicates our belief in lavishing care and attention to our customers and employees. The company currently has over 3000 employees, globally and is CMMI Level 3 certified. We operate across North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific and have been recognized for the 11th time in a row as one of the Top 100 ‘Best Companies to Work For’ by the Great Place to Work® Institute. To know more about Aspire Systems, visit https://www.aspiresys.com/

About World Vision India:

World Vision India is one of the country’s largest child-focused humanitarian organisations. With over seven decades of experience at the grassroots, we employ proven, effective development, public engagement and relief practices empowering vulnerable children and communities living in contexts of poverty and injustice to become self-sufficient and bring lasting change. We serve all children regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender as a demonstration of Christ’s unconditional love for all people. World Vision India works in 143 districts (as on 1st Oct, 2020) impacting around 26 lakh children and their families in over 6200 communities spread across 23 states and 3 union territories to address issues affecting children, in partnership with governments, civil societies, donors and corporates.

CropIn Raises US$20 Million in Series C Funding Round Led By ABC World Asia

CropIn, a leading global artificial intelligence and data-led agri-tech organization empowering stakeholders to reimagine agriculture with data, has raised US$20 million in a Series C funding round led by ABC World Asia, an Asia-focused private equity fund dedicated to evidence-based impact investing. 

Existing investors Chiratae Ventures, Invested Development and Ankur Capital also participated in this funding round. Other new investors in this round include CDC Group and Kris Gopalakrishnan’s family office Pratithi Investment Trust. 

CropIn will use this capital infusion to focus on its global expansion, while continuing to innovate on its machine learning-based predictive analytics platform, SmartRisk to further strengthen its artificial intelligence capabilities. CropIn is also investing to penetrate deeper in its target markets globally. Recently, CropIn opened an Amsterdam office, and will be hiring local leaders to drive growth in the European market.

CropIn’s data-driven farming solutions enable agri-enterprises and growers to ‘maximize per-acre value’. Its farm data and agronomy management platform, SmartFarm, empowers stakeholders to improve efficiency, productivity, predictability, and sustainability of their crop value-chains. SmartFarm enables agri-enterprises to adhere to food safety standards thereby ensuring farm-to-fork traceability. The platform helps growers adopt sustainable farming practices to build long term economic viability and resiliency for local farming communities. CropIn has partnered with several global players in agriculture, including development finance institutions and government entities in 52 countries, to drive their digital and sustainability goals.

CropIn’s SmartRisk platform improves underwriting and risk assessment, enabling banks, insurance providers and other financial institutions to make informed underwriting decisions, identify new markets and expand product portfolios to service high-volume low-ticket opportunities. By analyzing and interpreting farm-centric data for over 388 crops with nearly 9,500 variants across trillions of data points that grow every day, SmartRisk helps achieve high prediction accuracy at a plot-level. It does this by combining computer vision with deep-learning algorithms, on multispectral imagery derived from aerial scouting (satellites and drones), field scouting data, and hyperlocal weather. 

The SmartRisk AI has processed more than 160 million hectares of land area, and has the potential to impact 70 million farmers globally in the next 3-5 years. Thus far, CropIn has positively impacted 13 million acres and 4 million farmers through the SmartFarm and SmartRisk platforms. Smallholder farmers associated with CropIn’s clientele also observed their crop yields increasing by nearly 25% in the first year and subsequently experienced optimised yield improvements in the following years, by integrating the recommended advanced agricultural techniques and quality inputs into their farming practices through CropIn’s agri-tech platforms.

“The robust, predictive power of digitalisation offers tremendous potential for the agriculture industry to leapfrog its many challenges in the coming years. The industry is capturing more data than ever, on everything from agronomy, weather and logistics to market price volatility, which has helped reduce acute data gaps throughout the value chain. In order to improve yields, optimise production and improve resilience and sustainability, agri-businesses are increasingly relying on innovative agri-tech solutions like artificial intelligence, data analytics, and the internet of things. We, at CropIn, are excited to advance the ‘AI-Culture’ for Agriculture,” says Krishna Kumar, Founder and CEO of CropIn.

Based in Singapore, ABC World Asia invests in companies that demonstrate commitment to generating positive and measurable social or environmental impact, alongside the ability to deliver compelling risk-adjusted returns. 

“Sustainable food and agriculture is a core investment theme for ABC World Asia. The agriculture industry is an important pillar of the global economy, in particular driving Asia’s growth and feeding the region’s rapidly increasing population. The industry now faces challenges more pronounced than before, with the COVID-19 global pandemic highlighting the vulnerability of global food supplies and impacting the livelihoods of many smallholder farmers. CropIn’s digital solutions will enable farmers to utilize real-time data for better decision-making and improved farm productivity. This investment underscores our support of such smart and sustainable agri-tech solutions that can build resilience in agriculture,” said David Heng, Founder and CEO of ABC World Asia. Ms Sugandhi Matta, Managing Director of ABC World Asia, will also join CropIn as a board member.

Existing investors of CropIn include BeeNext and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Strategic Investment Fund (London and Seattle). Over the last year, CropIn has established an advisory board comprising Barrett Mooney (Chairman of Board at AgEagle), Ranveer Chandra (Chief Scientist at Microsoft), TVG Krishnamurthy (Member of the Board of Directors at Ola), and Dr Iya Khalil (Global Head of the AI Innovation Center at Novartis). 

According to Karan Mohla, Partner, Chiratae Ventures India Advisors, “As active investors in the agri-tech space as well as in companies pioneering deep-tech and AI, we are truly excited about the innovative models that CropIn is building out in farm management and predictive analytics. In creating and building out a platform for multiple participants in the agriculture ecosystem, CropIn has established itself as a true global leader. With the leadership of Krishna and co-founder Kunal Prasad, they have built out a tremendous world-class team and advisory board and are on the precipice of achieving massive scale as a global company.”

Ambit Corporate Finance acted as the financial advisor to CropIn for this funding round. With this new round of investment, CropIn has raised a total funding of US$33.1 million to date.

About CropIn

CropIn is a leading global AI-driven agtechÿ organization that provides SaaS and data solutions to ag-enterprises globally. CropIn enables businesses in the agriculture ecosystem to adopt a data-driven approach through its ground-to-cloud technology solutions. 

CropIn’s unique suite of platforms - SmartFarm and SmartRisk - enable various stakeholders to adopt and drive digital strategy across their crop value-chains and operations. The company empowers the ag-enterprises with data insights that help drive initiatives around Digitization, Predictability, Traceability, Financial Inclusion, Climate Smart Agriculture and Sustainability. 

About ABC World Asia

Headquartered in Singapore, ABC World Asia is a private equity fund dedicated to impact investing. Impact investing encompasses the intention to generate positive, measurable social or environmental impact, alongside a compelling risk-adjusted return.

ABC World Asia was established by Temasek Trust, the philanthropic arm of Singapore headquartered investment company, Temasek. The fund’s investment strategy aligns with Temasek’s ABC Framework for an Active Economy, a Beautiful Society and a Clean Earth, building on the ideals of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

ABC World Asia will focus on themes including – financial and digital inclusion; better health and education; climate and water solutions; sustainable food and agriculture; and smart and liveable cities.

ITC Aims To Meet 100% Of Electrical Energy Needs From Renewable Sources By 2030 As A Part Of Its Sustainability 2.0 Vision

• At present, more than 40% of its electrical energy consumption is met through renewable sources like wind, solar and biomass. Offsite solar projects in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana & Tamil Nadu and onsite solar projects in West Bengal and Tamilnadu are under execution.

• Aims to achieve a 50% reduction in specific emission and 30% reduction in specific energy consumption to mitigate climate change risks

ITC Limited, one of India’s leading multi-business conglomerates and a global exemplar in sustainability, has set itself the target to meet 100% of purchased grid electricity requirements from renewable sources by 2030. In line with its philosophy of ‘Responsible Competitiveness’, the Company has adopted a low carbon growth strategy which encompasses a large renewable energy footprint. At present ITC meets over 40% of its electrical energy requirement through renewable sources like wind, solar and biomass. As a part of its Sustainability 2.0 Vision, ITC is planning to invest further in strengthening its renewable energy portfolio in order to contributemeaningfully to the fight against climate change. 

Investments in renewable energy

In its endeavour to contribute to a ‘cleaner and greener’ environment, ITC has been expanding its renewable energy footprint over the past two decades. The company has already made significant investments in renewable energy assets (Wind and Solar projects combined). This will improve Renewable Energy share of company by additional 6% from current levels.

Current renewable energy portfolio

The current renewables portfolio of ITC consists of 138 MW of wind power plants and 14 MW of Solar plants with ~53MW of additional solar capacity under execution. Projects are also underway in the area of other sources of renewable energy like solar boiler or biomass boilers. 

At present, ITC uses renewable energy across 20 factories, 9 hotels and 6 office buildings spanning states such as Telengana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Haryana, West Bengal and Punjab.  

In 2018, ITC became the first private sector entity to wheel renewable energy across states through Inter-State Open Access mechanism. Currently, the 46MW Wind power plant in Andhra Pradesh owned by ITC supplies power to over 15 ITC establishments in 8 states. This has led to a higher Renewable energy utilization for the company.

Emission Reduction Targets

Besides investing in new renewable energy assets, ITC also aims to achieve a 50% reduction in specific emission and 30% reduction in specific energy consumption by 2030 over a 2014-15 baseline. Such efforts in decarbonizing energy consumption through low-carbon energy solutions will be met through large-scale digitalisation and R&D initiatives, cross-sectoral collaborations and partnerships.

Talking about company’s resolve to mitigate climate change risks, Mr Sanjiv Rangrass, Group Head –R&D, Sustainability and Projects, ITC Limited said,” As a sustainability pioneer and an exemplar in environment stewardship, ITC has been emphasizing on the need to decarbonize energy consumption through green energy solutions in order to mitigate climate change risks. Since making sustainability a core objective in all business operations two decades ago, we have worked on a low carbon growth plan, in which expanding our renewable energy portfolio is our top priority. To pursue continuous improvement in energy and emission related performance, we have taken up specific energy and Greenhouse Gas emission reduction targets. The results of our 360-degree sustainability initiatives are manifest in the Company’s decade-longachievements even as our businesses expand rapidly together with the creation of 6 million sustainable livelihoods.”

Details of new renewable energy projects

Offsite Solar projects

ITC is currently executing several offsite solar projects totalling 50 megawatt in several states such as Bihar (5.1 MW), Uttar Pradesh (9 MW), Karnataka (13.4 MW), Haryana (7 MW) and Tamil Nadu (14.9 MW) to expand its renewable energy footprint further. It is also pursuing an offsite solar project in West Bengal to meet the huge electricity needs of ITC’s establishments within the state. 

Rooftop & on-site solar projects

Driving innovation further, large areas of the ITC’s Integrated Consumer Goods Manufacturing and Logistics (ICML) facilities and rooftops of factories and warehouses are beingused for solar power generation. ITC also executing onsite solar projects in West Bengal (2.7 MW) and Tamilnadu (3 MW).

ITC Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy

ITC, as part of its initiative to channelize knowledge-sharing and collaboration between different teams with valuable and varied experiences in green energy projects, constituted a Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy (CoE RE) in 2014. The CoE RE currently consists of over 100 members from different divisions and units actively taking part in initiatives to drive the green objectives for the company. 

ISBR Bengaluru Adjudged The Best Emerging Business School With Industry Collaborations

* Rated Platinum Institute Category by AICTE - CII Survey 2020

ISBR Business School, a leading business school based in Electronic City, Bangalore, has been judged as the Best Business School with Industry Collaborations in the Emerging Business Schools Category by the AICTE-CII Survey 2020. The Survey assesses the status of partnership between institutions and industry on six basic parameters such as curriculum, faculty, governance, infrastructure, placements and research and services / project & skill development. ISBR has scored high in every parameter and emerged on top from among 69 shortlisted management institutions that participated in the survey across India.

The AICTE-CII Survey for Industry-Linked Technical Institutes maps Industry linkages of Indian technical institutes in four broad streams – Engineering, Management, Architecture and Pharmacy. It showcases the best practices of partnerships with industry and highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the ecosystem of technical education in India.

The continuous and sustainable efforts made by ISBR in establishing active industrial collaborations under different categories, have helped in the holistic development of the institution, faculty, and students, thereby enhancing the technical skills and the employability of the students in the corporate sector. In 2019, the flagship program of the ISBR Business School, Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) got NBA accredited. ISBR have been consecutively ranked as the Platinum institute by the AICTE- CII survey for 5 years in a row.

Dr. Lakshman Kumar, Director, ISBR, said, “We are excited to receive this honour from the apex advisory body of education in the country. Creation and dissemination of knowledge has been the motto which drives everyone at ISBR. The school is working towards securing its place among the global rankings of promising business schools. Faculties and management at ISBR believes in learning and un-learning and re-learning. It is this spirit that has enabled the school to retain the quality of delivery that we have been providing year after year to our stakeholders. We prepare our students to think boldly and act confidently in any environment, fostering him to be a lifelong learner, a transforming leader for the society. ISBR is a different path taken towards creating a socially conscious and effectively employable workforce for the future”. 

About AICTE- CII Survey

Conceptualized by CII in 2011 as a pilot and implemented in close coordination with AICTE since 2012, the AICTE-CII IndPact Survey is now a mature tool to measure the depth and extent of collaborations between technical institutions in the country and industry. It was given the name IndPact in 2013 and the two words which have been combined to arrive at this name are “Industry” and “Impact”. The scope of the survey has increased manifold in the past eight years. It was initially launched only for six streams of engineering discipline in 2012. After its huge success, its coverage was expanded to other disciplines such as management, pharmacy and architecture in the following years. In 2014, participation was expanded to include all types of institutes such as self-financed institutes (including deemed universities), government institutes, government-aided institutes and centrally funded institutes (IITs, NITs etc). From 2017, participation in the first level of this survey became mandatory for all technical institutions in the country.

ISBR Business School

ISBR Business School founded by young entrepreneur, Mr. Manish Kothari, is a leading management institution with collaborations with International universities of Europe, US, and Australia. The first campus of ISBR was set up under the aegis of Bangalore Education Trust established in the year 1990.

The edifice of ISBR is built on three building blocks. The Governing Council, The Academic Advisory board & the board of Studies. These Apex bodies, individually & collectively, contribute towards a high standard of Academic Governance. With the competence & experience of the best minds from Academics & Industry, ISBR is envisioned as an institute of high academic standards. ISBR takes pride in being a place where students and faculty can pursue knowledge without boundaries, a place where theory and practice combine to produce a better understanding of our world and ourselves.

DcodeAI, An AI-Focused EdTech Startup Launches New AI Learning Platform For Students

* DcodeAI offers Device agnostic, Gamified and Cloud-based Do-It-Yourself (DIY) curriculum for learning Artificial Intelligence (AI) across their 10,000+ school network in India

* Aims to democratize AI learning in India as well as other global markets in Africa, UK, USA and UAE

DcodeAI, an India based EdTech startup focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI), has launched new DIY learning platform including Natural Language Processing (NLP), Computer Vision (CV), Data Science for children aged between 12 and 18 years. With Angel funding of USD 500,000 from Sultan Chand & Sons (P) Ltd., Educational Publishing House, DcodeAI was launched earlier this year, with the vision to equip the next generation of learners with AI skills, without having a formal coding background. It aims to democratize AI learning among primary and secondary level students across 10,000+ schools that are currently part of its network.

DcodeAI focuses on low code/no code tools and usage of AI to make learning easy, intuitive and personalized. Hence, even those without any coding background can start to learn and implement AI models. The new set of DIY learning programs is designed for students who can learn the concept of AI and hone their skills in data manipulation, data visualization, statistics, machine learning, deep learning and more. These learning programs are suitable for students who want to learn about developing Chatbots, Image Recognition Models, as well as Voice Recognition-based Bots and Home Automation Systems.

Kartik Sharma, CEO & Co-Founder, DcodeAI said, “In 2020, we have witnessed multiple disruptions in the education system of the country as well as the overall learning and development process of the students. The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India has given a clear clarion call for the need to democratize AI across all sectors. This journey of AI transformation has to start at the school level and this is what we, at DcodeAI, want to enable. We want to simplify the learning curve of students who want to use AI for solving problems and driving impactful innovations. Our immediate goal is to reach out to 500+ schools in India by Q1 FY2022 and further expand our global footprint in countries like Africa, UK, USA and UAE by Q2 FY2022.”

Additionally, to build capacities and acumen for AI within school teachers, periodic offline Teacher Training sessions will be conducted around courses on data science, automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

About DcodeAI

DcodeAI is making the next generation of learners equipped with AI without having even coding background. With the focus on low code/no code tools and using AI to make learning of AI concepts and fundamentals easy, intuitive and personalized, even those without any coding background can start to learn and implement AI models. DcodeAI offers DIY modules on Data Science, Computer Vision and Natural Language Processing for age groups 12-18. The company uses specialised orchestrated containerization to help learners run AI models without the need for any special computing resources or GPUs.

The venture was started in mid 2020 by Kartik Sharma and Ashish Aggarwal who have been running successful Edtech businesses with a network of more than 10,000+ schools. Kartik is an IITian and Artificial Intelligence Practitioner while Ashish graduated from NTU, Singapore and has significant experience with education business. The venture has raised USD 500,000 as Angel round from Sultan Chand & Sons (P) Ltd. and is on rapid product development and expansion phase.

JK Tyre Ties-Up with Hyundai Motor India to Drive Growth in the OEM Segment

* Becomes Tyre Partner for top-end variants of Hyundai Creta~

Indian tyre industry major and the pioneer of radial tyre technology in the country, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd., has become an exclusive tyre partner with Hyundai Motor India – one of the largest car manufacturer in the country - for its highest selling SUV, Creta.

Over the years, JK Tyre has introduced hi-technological products that are best suited for Indian roads. Through this association, JK Tyre is offering best-in-class technology, unmatchable performance, comfort and handling to the top-end variants of the Hyundai Creta with its UX Royale 215/60 R17 radial tyre.

With its 5-Rib asymmetric design, variable draft groove technology, stable shoulder tread blocks, waffle groove and aero wing design, JK Tyre’s UX Royal 215/60 R17 tyre is the perfect fit for Hyundai Creta. The tyre is capable of giving superior ride comfort with crisp handling and low noise even at all speeds. 

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. VK Misra, Technical Director, JK Tyre and Industries said, “We are proud to further strengthen our partnership with Hyundai India for one of India’s best-selling SUV’s Creta. Through this collaboration, we aim to provide supreme quality tyres with cutting-edge features to complement the ride quality for the customer. JK Tyre’s best-in-class technologies in radial tyres and tyre testing mechanism will ensure safety of customers driving Creta in multiple terrains. We are confident that this association will further strengthen our market presence and we look forward to a continued and reinforced partnership with Hyundai Motors.”

Commenting on the partnership, Hyundai Motor India, said, “All New CRETA has been a benchmark SUV ever since it was launched in March 2020. Offering customers exceptional performance, unparalleled comfort & convenience as well as opulent aesthetics, All New CRETA continues to be the customers’ brand of choice. Our partnership with JK Tyre to offer All New CRETA with UX Royale 215/60 R17, continues to carry forward this SUV’s premium offering with superior handling & driving dynamics.”

JK Tyre & Industries has joined hands as a tyre partner for Hyundai India’s exclusive membership club ‘Hyundai Mobility Membership’. Through this association, members of Hyundai Club across the country can avail exciting offers on JK Tyre’s products including their Smart Tyres range.

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.