While it registered domestic sales of 57,742 units in January 2021, a growth of 28% over last year.
In the commercial vehicles segment, total domestic sales were at 32,909 units lower by 3% from 33,860 units in January 2020.
Total passenger vehicle units in January 2021 stood at 26,978 up by 94% from 13,894 in January 2020.
As part of the partnership, Pradeep Bhandari will use Koo, as a platform to run opinion polls, post the latest updates on election analysis and allow followers on Koo to express their thoughts and opinions on the elections. All you need to know about the upcoming elections in Bengal, Tamil Nadu and other states will be shared by Pradeep Bhandari on the platform. This election year Jan Ki Baat will initiate conversations in regional languages, set the agenda & shape the narrative on Indian politics and Indian elections through factual, educative, data driven on-ground analysis through the Koo platform. Koo and Jan Ki Baat partnership will be seen on the Koo App and across Jan Ki Baat platforms starting 1st February 2021.
Aprameya Radhakrishna, Co-Founder and CEO of Koo, said “Pradeep is the master of election result predictions and his on the ground approach is what the youth of India would love to follow. The tie up with Pradeep and Jan Ki Baat will allow a vast audience who love local Indian languages to connect with him as he travels across India to bring the latest on elections in Indian languages on Koo.”
Pradeep Bhandari, Founder and CEO, Jan Ki Baat said, “As India completes 75 years of independence in 2022, Indian languages will strongly shape & dominate the discourse of patriotic youth of India. I have personally experienced the power of Indian languages while travelling across 400 constituencies & connecting with people. Collaboration with 'Koo' will help 'Jan Ki Baat' reach the masses and involve them in this patriotic journey.”
Jan Ki Baat and Koo will collaborate with Koo editorially and seamlessly integrate their content. Koo is an award winning app which has won the Aatmanirbhar Bharat App award, Google Play Store’s Best Daily Essential App of 2020 and has had a special mention by the Prime Minister in his Mann Ki Baat. Koo is a perfect example of the quality of product and team that has taken up the call to build India’s own tech ecosystem.
About Koo:
Koo was founded in March 2020, as an inclusive micro-blogging platform in Indian languages where people from across different regions in India can express themselves in their mother tongue. Just 10% of India speaks English. 90% prefer Indian languages. There’s no place on the internet for them to express themselves in their native language and discover others from the same community. Koo provides a voice to Indians who prefer Indian languages. This is how Koo has become a game-changer that is available in multiple languages such as Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, etc.
About Jan Ki Baat:
'JAN KI BAAT' is India's youngest and most followed brand on psephology, political analysis and data insights. It was founded in the year 2017 by the dynamic and popular media entrepreneur, PRADEEP BHANDARI. Since its inception in 2017, JAN KI BAAT led by PRADEEP BHANDARI has predicted 16 out of 18 elections in India accurately. As the name suggests, 'JAN KI BAAT' is strongly connected with citizens on the ground, it understands, analyses and decodes their pulse to predict its impact on Indian polity. 'JAN KI BAAT', a unique brand, has gained immense popularity among masses because of PRADEEP BHANDARI's electrifying TV presence. His sharp political analysis and accurate prediction rate even earned him the 'election wizard' moniker on National Television.
Aditya Birla Education Academy (ABEA), India’s leading professional development institute for teachers, today launched a Post Graduate Diploma in Global Education (PGDGE) in association with B. K. Birla College of Arts, Science, and Commerce (Autonomous), Kalyan to provide educators with an opportunity to carve a career in international education through a blended learning curriculum that integrates rigorous and contemporary academics with the application through school-based practice.
The goal of this course is to help educators develop teaching skills and knowledge in accordance with best global practices and become more effective teachers. This online program also provides an opportunity for working professionals to transition into the education space and make a smooth career switch. As the course is developed and delivered by globally renowned academicians, it promises academic excellence. The salient features of PGDGE are practicum based teaching and learning, internship opportunities in reputed Indian schools, and campus placement assistance.
Commenting on the launch of PGDGE, Mrs. Neerja Birla, Founder and Chairperson, Aditya Birla Education Trust said, “The pandemic severely disrupted everything including the education system. While teachers were not ready for the unexpected shift to online, they ensured that learning doesn’t stop for their students. Educators today need to be equipped with a teacher-training-program that is more hands-on in its approach to tackle the dynamic landscape in international education. With this aim in mind, we are happy to announce the Post Graduate Diploma in Global Education in association with B.K. Birla College (Autonomous), Kalyan. It is an absolutely remarkable step for us to be able to provide this platform for teachers and help them acquire practical learning and teaching skills within a global context.”
The participants from PGDGE will be able to develop their skills and learn to teach with the best global methods, acquire relevant experience through internships to operate in institutions, learn the use of educational technology in teaching and learning and, bring in reflective practices for self-development. The course structure consists of 8 modules of 12 hours each. There is action research-based work in every module. While the course allows the participants to access study material online, post queries, and practice their skills at their convenient time, it requires attendance at scheduled sessions or classes. At the end of every session, non-graded assignments are conducted, and at the end of every module, graded assignments are conducted.
The course offers an internship program in reputed schools across the country and offers campus placement assistance towards the end of the academic year. At the end of the course, final examinations are conducted to test the learnings inculcated from the program. The online classes are held on weekends for this year-long PGDGE that commences on 15th April 2021. To be eligible for the course, the applicant must be a graduate in any discipline. The course fee is Rs. 75,000 (inclusive of taxes) payable in 3 installments and merit-based scholarships are available.
About Aditya Birla Education Academy
Aditya Birla Education Academy is India’s leading professional development institute for teachers. Aditya Birla Education Academy aims to engage educators in the new-age global processes of education and empower them to evolve into the best knowledge-givers they can be, as they nurture young minds and contribute towards shaping the future. Aditya Birla Education Academy is providing a platform for educators to further their professional development through relevant and uniquely structured courses that meet their needs across the spectrum of education.
About Aditya Birla Education Trust
Aditya Birla Education Trust (ABET) is an organisation committed to the cause of education and mental health, with an objective to nurture young minds. Right from establishing the Aditya Birla World Academy, an International School with an Indian soul, to The Aditya Birla Integrated School, which acknowledges the need to cater to children with different learning needs, ABET has always prioritised the importance of a child’s overall development. Further under the aegis of ABET, the Aditya Birla Education Academy provides professional development opportunities for educators, and engages, empowers and equips them to contribute towards shaping the future of young minds. In an endeavour to stamp out stigma surrounding mental health concerns, ABET has established Mpower, a holistic mental health care initiative, which has become the pioneer of mental health awareness in the country. Aditya Birla Education Trust runs under the zealous leadership of its passionate and committed Founder & Chairperson, Mrs. Neerja Birla.
About B. K. Birla College of Arts, Science and Commerce (Autonomous), Kalyan
B. K. Birla College of Arts, Science and Commerce (Autonomous), Kalyan affiliated to University of Mumbai was established in 1972, by Kalyan Citizens’ Education Society with the blessings of Late Syt. B. K. Birla ji and Late Smt. Sarala ji Birla. The college has accomplished a spectacular growth over the last four decades and grown as a multi-faculty premier institution of higher learning with an enrolment of more than 11,000 students (7,000 plus students for UG, PG and Research Programmes and 4,000 plus students in Junior College). The college is reaccredited by NAAC (3rd Cycle) and awarded ‘A’ Grade (CGPA - 3.58) in 2014. The College has been granted ‘College of Excellence’ status (2015 - 2020) by UGC, New Delhi. The College has been certified with the ISO 9001: 2015. The college has been awarded the ‘Best College Award’ (in the Urban category) by the University of Mumbai (2009). The College has also been awarded the ‘IMC - RBNQ Performance Excellence Trophy - 2011’ in Education. B. K. Birla College has a vibrant work-culture with holistic approach to education. The teaching - learning process is supported using ICT, interactive exercises, projects, assignments, etc. in addition to traditional teaching - learning method. The college has been granted ‘Autonomous Status’ by University Grants Commission and University of Mumbai from the Academic Year 2018 - 19. This autonomy has enabled the college to enhance the quality, innovation in curricular content, pedagogy, evaluation methods, etc in order to make students globally competent, more skilled and job-ready. Under Autonomous Status the college has introduced M.Sc. in Data Science and Big Data Analytics and M.Sc. in Finance in the academic year 2019-20, and M.Sc. in Artificial Intelligence and M.Com. Accounting Finance in the academic year 2020-21. These courses have been envisaged to cater to the diverse needs of the market. B. K. Birla College stands committed to the cause of higher education, catering to the diverse needs of the students and enabling them to develop as intellectually alive and socially - responsible citizens ready for continuous and professional growth.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor today announced that the company sold a total of 11126 units in the month of January 2021, thereby clocking a growth of 92% in domestic sales, when compared to its wholesales in the month of January 2020. For reference, TKM had sold a total of 5804 units in the domestic market in January 2020.
Wholesales January 2021 2020 Month on month Growth
Domestic 11126 5804 92%
Commenting on the month’s performance, Mr. Naveen Soni, Sr. Vice President TKM said, “The new year started on a positive note for us and our sales growth stands testimony to the same. Our wholesales have been very encouraging and the booking orders have also witnessed a significant rise. We launched the new Fortuner and Legender in the New Year to cater to the growing aspirations of our loyal customers who are seeking more style, comfort, and performance. We are humbled by the tremendous customer response for both the models, which shows in the continued trust and confidence in the Fortuner, which has been the segment leader since its launch more than a decade ago. Moreover, the new Innova Crysta launched in November last year, has also received an overwhelming response from the market.
Last month, we also achieved a significant milestone of clocking total sales of over 50,000 units for the Toyota-Suzuki alliance models, Glanza & the Urban Cruiser, ever since the launch of Glanza in June 2019. Both the models have proved their popularity in their respective segments and have also allowed us to welcome many new customers into the Toyota family”, he concluded.
Airtel did this over its existing liberalised spectrum in the 1800 MHz band through the NSA (Non Stand Alone) network technology. Using a first of its kind, dynamic spectrum sharing, Airtel seamlessly operated 5G and 4G concurrently within the same spectrum block. This demonstration has emphatically validated the 5G readiness of Airtel’s network across all domains - Radio, Core and Transport.
Airtel 5G is capable of delivering 10x speeds, 10x latency and 100x concurrency when compared to existing technologies. Specifically, in Hyderabad, users were able to download a full length movie in a matter of seconds on a 5G phone. This demonstration has underlined the company’s technology capabilities. The full impact of the 5G experience, however, will be available to our customers, when adequate spectrum is available and government approvals received.
Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO, Bharti Airtel said: “I am very proud of our engineers who have worked tirelessly to showcase this incredible capability in Tech City, Hyderabad today. Every one of our investments is future proofed as this game changing test in Hyderabad proves. With Airtel being the first operator to demonstrate this capability, we have shown again that we have always been the first in India to pioneer new technologies in our quest for empowering Indians everywhere.”
“We believe India has the potential to become a global hub for 5G innovation. To make that happen we need the eco system to come together – applications, devices and network innovation. We are more than ready to do our bit.” added Gopal Vittal.
About Bharti Airtel
Headquartered in India, Airtel is a global telecommunications company with operations in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa. The company ranks amongst the top three mobile operators globally and its mobile network covers a population of over two billion people. Airtel is India’s largest integrated telecom provider and the second largest mobile operator in Africa. At the end of September 2020, Airtel had approx. 440 million customers across its operations.
Airtel’s portfolio includes high speed 4G/4.5G mobile broadband, Airtel Xstream Fiber that promises speeds up to 1Gbps, converged digital TV solutions through the Airtel Xstream 4K Hybrid Box, digital payments through Airtel Payments Bank as well as an integrated suite of services across connectivity, collaboration, cloud and security that serves over one million businesses.
Airtel’s OTT services include Airtel Thanks app for self-care, Airtel Xstream app for video, Wynk Music for entertainment and Airtel BlueJeans for video conferencing. In addition, Airtel has forged strategic partnerships with hundreds of companies across the world to enable the Airtel platform to deliver an array of consumer and enterprise services.
Building on the XT variant, the Tiago Limited Edition will be available in manual transmission, with three single tone colours - Flame Red, Pearlescent White & Daytona Grey. Additional features include:
· New 14-inch Bold Black Alloy Wheels
· 5-inch Touchscreen Infotainment by Harman, consisting of:
o 3D Navigation through Navimaps
o Reverse Parking Sensor with Display
o Voice Command Recognition
o Image & Video Playback
· Rear Parcel Shelf
Commenting on the launch of this new variant, Mr. Vivek Srivatsa – Head - Marketing, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors said, “Since its launch in 2016, the Tiago has been very successful in its segment and has been appreciated by all. Following the same, the product’s BS6 version was introduced in 2020 which also received a 4 star safety rating by GNCAP at launch, making it the safest in its segment. With more than 3.25 lakh happy customers on the road, the Tiago has evidently received tremendous market response. We are confident that through the introduction of this limited period variant and in alignment with our New Forever philosophy, we will continue to bring excitement in this space while catering to the ever evolving demand of our consumers.”
Alternative asset manager Brookfield on Friday announced its Rs 3,800-crore initial public offer (IPO) for its real estate investment trust (REIT), giving investors a share of over 1.4 crore square feet of its commercial properties across the country.
With the IPO coming amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the global asset manager said there is no data to suggest that work from home is the new normal and exuded confidence that benefits like closely working together for productivity purposes will eventually get teams to work from offices.
REITs are a relatively newer platform in India and so far two REITs have been listed.
The issue will open for subscription on February 3 and close on February 5, and bids can be made for a minimum of 200 units and in multiples of 200 thereafter by bidders other than anchor investors.
Investors will be able to buy a unit of the REIT in the band of Rs 274-275, valuing the trust at Rs 8,327 crore at the upper end of the band, Ankur Gupta, managing partner, real estate said, adding that the net asset value (NAV) per unit is Rs 311.
Gupta said hybrid models of working from home or from outside office spaces were already in place even before the pandemic and added that when the economy is firing on all cylinders, 'we need to see how efficiently we deliver on services and products,' he noted.
'As long as the economy is doing well, commercial realty has a very strong reason to do well,' he told reporters in a virtual press conference ahead of its IPO.
Admitting that tenants were looking at consolidating their presence very early into the pandemic, he said leasing prospects look robust now.
Brookfield is offering 1.4 crore square feet of its portfolio in the REIT and proposing to reduce its shareholding in the same to 54 per cent post-issue. The proceeds of the issue will be used for de-leveraging, Gupta said.
The REIT is on the lookout for adding another 1.5 crore square feet of space in the next few years and investors in the REIT will stand to get returns in the form of dividends from the long-term leasing out of the commercial properties.
Bulk of the commercial properties are buildings leased out to technology, finance, financial technology, media and other service-sector players, especially multinationals, for long term leases, Gupta said, adding that they have over 90 per cent occupancy at present.
All the properties have been working through the lockdown, collections have been over 98 per cent and 5 lakh square feet of space has been re-leased during the pandemic, he said, adding it has a leasing pipeline of 16 lakh square feet where conversations with prospective clients are on.
Kaku Nakase, president and country head of Bank of America, one of the lead managers, said this is the first REIT in Asia for Brookfield and added that the pandemic has made India more important for multinational companies.
