Mswipe Launches Micro ATM Service For SMEs; Boosts Convenience Banking For Customers

* Mswipe’s ATM Express to increase footfalls at merchant outlets in Tier 2 and 3 cities 

Mswipe, India’s leading financial services platforms for SMEs, today launched ATM Express, a micro ATM which allows merchants to offer their point-of-sale (POS) terminals to customers for cash withdrawal, check bank balance among other features. The ATM Express will help merchants bring additional footfalls and add revenue stream through commission.

Mswipe will utilise ATM Express to increase access to banking facilities through its SME network, especially in Tier 2, 3 and 4 cities with limited ATM facilities and bank branches.

According to RBI, till June 2020, there were an estimated 84 crore debit card holders and about 2.10 lakh onsite and offsite ATMs in India. On an average, there is one ATM for 4,000+ debit card holders, and even fewer in Tier 3 and 4 cities.

Mswipe’s ATM Express is a cost-effective way for banks to serve their customers, as it eliminates the cost of setting up ATM kiosks and overheads such as rent, maintenance, CMS and security. Customers can withdraw a maximum of Rs.10,000 twice a day from the ATM Express at no additional cost.

Mswipe Founder and CEO Manish Patel said, “Mswipe has been in the forefront of helping SMEs grow their businesses through our innovative and user-friendly digital payments solutions. Our ATM Express service is a natural extension of Value Added Services (VAS) possibilities via Mswipe’s smart POS terminals. It will enable both merchants and retailers bring conveniences to customers, serve as an additional source of revenue for the SMEs, increase footfalls in their stores, and prevent long queues at regular bank ATMs.”

Merchants will earn commission on providing ATM Express facilities and their customers will be only be charged for availing ATM services as per the charges of the issuer bank.

Mswipe Business Head - Micro ATM and VAS Vivek Patil said, “Availing ATM services continues to be challenge in Tier 2-4 cities due to limited number of ATMs or non-functional facilities. By layering micro ATM services on POS terminals which are available even in the smallest of shops, we are empowering merchants to simplify the life of their customers and at the same time generate revenue for themselves. ”

Mswipe is the only player with a full range of digital payments solutions for SMEs in India, including UPI QR, NFC-based Tap and Pay, POS and Payment Link. The company is the largest POS acquirer with 6.75 lakh POS and 1.1 million QR merchants, and the fastest-growing issuer of its prepaid Moneyback Card.

About Mswipe

Mswipe aims to be India’s largest financial services platform for SMEs by providing seamless digital payment and other value-added financials services. It is the largest independent mobile POS merchant acquirer and network provider with 6.75 lakh POS and 1.1 million QR merchants across the country. Mswipe offers a host of payment acceptance services for SME’s enabling them to accept - cards, wallets, mobile payment apps and bank apps, contactless and QR payments. Headquartered in Mumbai, Mswipe began operations in 2011. Its key investors include B Capital, UC-RNT, Falcon Edge Capital, Matrix Capital Partners, DSG Partners and Epiq Capital.

Keysight Delivers Power Of Four Unique Instruments Through Single Graphical Interface

* New Smart Bench Essentials (SBE) lab bench products offer a compact and stackable design ideal for small manufacturing businesses and modern university teaching labs

Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS), a leading technology company that delivers advanced design and validation solutions to help accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world, has launched a portfolio of Smart Bench Essentials (SBE) lab bench products that deliver the power of four unique instruments, including a triple-output power supply, an arbitrary function generator, a digital multimeter and an oscilloscope, through one powerful graphical interface offering integrated data management and analysis capabilities.

General test labs, as well as university teaching labs, need test instruments that are connected to each other, connected to the lab, connected to the cloud and connected to innovation. These differentiated connections enable customers to accelerate insights, whether in learning, teaching or troubleshooting.

Keysight’s SBE lab bench products are reliable and capable instruments developed for the design and test of products in manufacturing and R&D, offering a compact and stackable design that is ideal for small manufacturing businesses.

Keysight’s SBE lab bench products are also perfect for modern university teaching labs that require an enhanced environment conducive to sharing and maximizing learning. Remote learning technology is the new normal accelerated by the recent Covid-19 pandemic. Most universities struggle to adapt to this new environment, seeking a blended learning experience with the right technologies.

Keysight’s PathWave BenchVue application software complements the SBE series enabling customer to configure instruments quickly, while operating on the same PC screen to test device under test. It stores data on a PC and exports it in standard readable formats for post-analysis work and report generation.

A picture containing text, black, control panel

Description automatically generatedKeysight’s SBE series also offer the optional PathWave Remote Access Lab software and the PathWave Lab Manager software to enhance the lab experience and productivity. Keysight’s PathWave Remote Access Lab software enables university teaching labs to transition to online learning seamlessly. It allows students to remotely access the lab setup and perform lab work through the web browser. Keysight’s PathWave Lab Manager software works seamlessly with the Smart Bench Essential series instruments to manage lab assets effectively and productively.

“All four instruments have a consistent look and feel, the same graphical user interface and connectivity,” said Christopher Cain, vice president of Electronic Industrial Products at Keysight Technologies. “The setup of four test instruments connected through the powerful PathWave application software allows engineers to focus on their insights and innovation, not managing their test instruments.”

Keysight’s SBE series is a combination of hardware and software that accelerates an educators' teaching experience and students' learning experience, as well as improves an electronic design and manufacturing engineers' ability to analyze and troubleshoot products, delivering the following key benefits:

* Elegantly integrated, enabling users to focus on insights and core innovation, not managing instruments.

* Configure, control and monitor multiple instruments from a single screen.

* Test, analyze and share lab instruments and data remotely from anywhere, providing learning during the pandemic and global access to remote instrumentation.

* Automate common tasks from test set up, data collection, to report generation.

* Centrally manage an entire lab of instruments and configuration to maximize productivity.

KeysightCare

Keysight’s SBE lab bench products include built-in KeysightCare Technical Support.  Customers receive:

* Two-business-day technical response

* Access to the online knowledge center, 24x7, containing decades of R&D expertise in thousands of technical articles and programming examples

* Tracking of support cases for faster response at the self-service web portal

About Keysight Technologies

Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS) is a leading technology company that helps enterprises, service providers and governments accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world. Keysight's solutions optimize networks and bring electronic products to market faster and at a lower cost with offerings from design simulation, to prototype validation, to manufacturing test, to optimization in networks and cloud environments. Customers span the worldwide communications ecosystem, aerospace and defense, automotive, energy, semiconductor and general electronics end markets. Keysight generated revenues of $4.3B in fiscal year 2019. 

LawSikho And Webster University Launch Online ‘Diploma In International Business Law’

LawSikho, India’s leading online education company that creates advanced and practical legal courses, has collaborated with Webster University to curate and execute an online education legal course – Diploma in International Business Law. Through this collaboration, LawSikho and Webster University aim to create high-impact learning experiences for learners by offering a next generation blended learning, comprising five modules, which have been co-created to provide a learner with a great legal learning experience.

Owing to the current situation, the first batch of this course shall commence virtually. Subsequent batches will have to attend a 7-day immersion week, which would be held in Webster University’s campus in Geneva, Switzerland for students at a separate fee.

Speaking about the collaboration, Ramanuj Mukherjee, CEO, LawSikho said, “With the Indian education system primarily being imparted online, this collaboration with Webster University will help amplify the learning capabilities and experiences of the students looking to understand international business laws through this course. We continue to seek opportunities wherein we can help connect learners to the best universities and institutions around the world to be able to gain international experiences.”

“The ‘Diploma in International Business Law’ is first of its kind collaboration for Webster University Geneva in Asia. We are bringing high quality Swiss education and the best legal education to students in this part of the world in collaboration with LawSikho,” said Professor Dominique Jolly, Chair of the Walker School of Business and Technology, Webster University, Geneva.

About LawSikho

LawSikho is India’s leading online education company that creates advanced and practical legal courses and customized training programs catering to lawyers, leading businesses and universities. Bridging the gap between theory and practice in legal education. Over the years, LawSikho has become a formidable eco-system which consist of practical legal knowledge, repository of insights, video lessons and a library of how-to guides and templates that can elevate a legal practice and help it scale faster.

About Webster University

The University is a private, non-profit Institution established in 1915 by the Sisters of Loretto, who sought to make education accessible to all, Webster has an extraordinary history reflecting a determination to equalize higher education. For 40 years, the University has been building a network of campuses to serve local communities. Today, Webster University serves more than 12,000 students across 50 residential, metro, military, and international locations.

Aspire Systems Commits To Cover The COVID Vaccination Cost Of Around 2500 Employees And Their Families

Aspire Systems, a global technology services firm, has announced its plans to cover the COVID-19 vaccination costs of their employees and their families. Around 2500 employees and their families will benefit from this initiative. The policy will support Aspire employees, their spouses and two children and the employees’ parents by reimbursing the cost of both the vaccine doses.

A certified ‘Great place to work’, Aspire has always given utmost importance to employees’ health and has urged Aspirians to register for the government’s vaccination programme. Aspire has supported its employees from the beginning of the pandemic with various initiatives including special leave for employees affected by COVID, insurance cover up to Rs 2 lakhs per person per family as well as a Work From Home allowance to help employees set up their home office. Aspire remains committed to extend their support even during the vaccination phase.

Mr. Dinesh Kumar TK, VP Human Resources, Aspire Systems, said, “Aspire Systems has always believed in an employee-first approach; hence this is a natural decision. We encourage employees to get themselves and their families vaccinated, as and when eligible and support the efforts to safeguard and contain the pandemic that has affected everyone across the globe.” 

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. Aspire works with the world's most innovative enterprises and software product companies, helping them leverage technology to transform their business in the current digital landscape. Its proven approach to Software Engineering & Digital Technologies helps companies run smart business models. Aspire’s core philosophy of ‘Attention. Always.’ communicates its belief in lavishing care and attention to its customers and employees. The company currently has over 3200 employees, globally and is CMMI Level 3 certified. It operates across North America, LATAM, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific. Aspire Systems has 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/ 

Mamaearth Launches First National Television Campaign For Face Wash With Shilpa Shetty Kundra As Endorser

Mamaearth, the toxin free personal care startup,launched a national television commercial featuring Shilpa Shetty Kundra, highlighting the goodness of natural ingredients in their face wash product. Mamaearth offers the best of nature backed by science, with natural ingredient-based products such as Vitamin C & Turmeric in their facewash. The film reiterates the brand's core purpose of propagating ‘Goodness Inside’ in products and actions.

Through this TVC, Mamaearth aims to showcase the glowing skin that comes from usage of their Vitamin C facewash which has thegoodness of naturalingredients grown in the garden. Conceptualized by Korra Worldwide, the film is set amidst a relatable backdrop with Shilpa Shetty Kundra and her friends, engaging in a fun conversation. The film starts with Shilpa walking towards the table with two bowls of garden-fresh salad for her friends. She calls it “Shilpa’s fresh garden salad”. When one friend eagerly enquires about the salad's source, her sister mockingly answers that it’s obviously from Shilpa’s garden. She then notices the glow on Shilpa’s face and teasingly questions the source of her glowing skin, to which Shilpa nonchalantly responds, that it is also from thegarden, crediting Mamaearth’s Vitamin C facewash for it. Her friends are left impressed. The film then moves onto Shilpa explaining the goodness of ingredients rich in Vitamin C, available in one’s garden, and how these ingredients give her skin a natural glow.  At the end, Shilpa also reminds us that Mamaearth is planting more trees as consumers order from its website, and every consumer can see the photo and location of the tree that is linked to their order.

Commenting on the campaign, Ghazal Alagh, Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer, Marketing, Mamaearth, said, “With the growing awareness of the benefits of traditional ingredients and recipes, millennials are increasingly looking for products with natural ingredients that are safe for them. Mamaearth has been striving to bring together nature’s goodness with science and create a product portfolio filled with goodness inside. Hence, the brand is fast becoming a preferred brand by millennials. We have tried to highlight this proposition in the film, and we are certain it will resonate with the millennials, and they will choose nature's goodness with Mamaearth products.”

Followed by the stellar success of the first television commercial, which made its debut on Bigg Boss, the second commercial will go live on television on March 12th and will be propagated across all social media and digital platforms.

Mamaearth is a brand built on the principles of Honesty, Natural, and Safety, and believes that goodness starts with the small things that each of us can do every day! The brand continues to live up to its promise of using the best of nature, no toxins, no harmful chemicals while being cruelty-free and plastic positive. Through their latest Plant Goodness initiative, the brand links every order made on the website to a tree they plant. 

Commenting on this, Gaurav Nabh, CEO Korra, said: " It's been an absolute pleasure working with the team at Mamaearth and Shilpa Shetty Kundrawho in every way embodies the brand. The film showcases Shilpa’s choices and its benefits, such as Mamaearth Vitamin C which helps restore natural glow.  With this piece of work and our upcoming projects we are together building Mamaearth into a uniquely positioned goodness inside brand in this very cluttered personal care category. Looking forward to more great work together with Mamaearth."

Deepak Kumar, Head of Creative Korra, said: “Mamaearth is all about goodness inside. And this goodness lies in the ingredients we choose to make our products too. While there are Vitamin C products in the market, the Mamaearth Vitamin C facewash gives a natural glow and the film featuring Shilpa Shetty Kundrahad to clearly showcase that. Shilpa has never just been a brand ambassador but someone who truly believes in our brand and natures goodness that comes inside every product. The film showcases a day in the life of Shilpa and why she chooses glow that’s comes from natures backyard."

The TVC conceptualized by Korra Worldwide is a 30-second film that will go live on television and will be followed by a shorter edit of 15 seconds, highlighting Mamaearth’s goodness in product and action. 

ABOUT MAMAEARTH 

Founded by husband-wife duo Ghazal Alagh and Varun Alagh, Mamaearth is Asia’s first brand with Madesafe certified products and offers 100% toxin-free & natural baby care, skincare, and hair care products. Driven by innovation and using the best of science and Ayurveda, the brand caters to young, aspirational, and increasingly conscious Indian consumers' personal care needs.  

In a short span of 4 years, Mamaearth has created a product portfolio of 120+ products packed with goodness inside, has reached over 5 million customers in 1000 Indian cities, and is the fastest-growing FMCG start-up to hit 500 Cr run rate in India. Mamaearth products are available on www.mamaearth.in major eCommerce platforms like Amazon, Nykaa, Flipkart, and over 4000 stores across the country. 

ABOUT HONASA CONSUMER PVT LTD

Honasa Consumer Pvt Limited (HCPL) is a digital-first consumer brands company creating the FMCG conglomerate of the future.  A company built on Honesty, Natural ingredients, and Safe care values, HCPL caters to millennial consumers' needs through innovative products, evolved propositions, direct-to-consumer marketing, and e-commerce fulfillment. Currently catering to over 1000 cities in India with brands like Mamaearth& The Derma Co., HCPL is building an ecosystem that helps benefit consumers and the community. Backed by Sequoia Capital India, Fireside Ventures, Stellaris Venture Partners, and Sharrp Ventures, HCPL is set to become a billion-dollar FMCG conglomerate in the next 5 years — spread across the globe but connected through a digital center of excellence. 

Studds And Rajasthan Royals Sign Multi-Year Deal For IPL 2021, 2022

* The association between the two brands will see STUDDS’ logo feature on Royals’ helmets and caps for the 2021 and 2022 editions of the IPL, and also launch co-branded limited-edition riding helmets to celebrate the union 

World’s largest two-wheeler helmet manufacturer (in terms of volumes sold in a year), STUDDS Accessories Ltd., has today announced its partnership with Rajasthan Royals as their Associate Sponsor for the Indian Premier League 2021 and 2022 seasons, which will see the helmet brand feature on the playing helmets and caps of the IPL team. Being a winner in the field of quality and safety, the brand has now stepped into the field of cricket as well, by affiliating with one of the most sought-after cricket franchises in the world , Rajasthan Royals, as their valuable partner.

Based on the terms of the arrangement, Rajasthan Royals will sport logo of STUDDS on the leading side of playing headgear including helmet and caps during the 14th and 15th editions of the league. As a part of this engagement, STUDDS will also produce exclusive, co-branded limited-edition riding helmets, which will be available for purchase in the market, making it a lifestyle choice for its customers. 

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Gaurav Bhola, GM-SALES & Marketing, Studds Accessories Ltd., said, “It’s a matter of pride for us to be associated with Rajasthan Royals as their associate sponsor. This partnership not just adds a Royal touch to our brand but also helps in further strengthening our commitment towards providing the best safety and quality products as well as services in the country. We would also like to thank the entire Rajasthan Royals team for coming on board with us in our journey to promote safety gear and we hope for a long term partnership with them.” 

Mr. Jake Lush McCrum, COO, Rajasthan Royals, welcomed their new partner on-board, “At Rajasthan Royals, we are privileged to have the opportunity to work and associate with some of the best brands in the business. We are delighted to be welcoming on-board our new Associate Partner, STUDDS Accessories Ltd, which is known worldwide for its quality, and commitment to the safety of its consumers. I’m excited to see the content that the teams will create around this arrangement.”

STUDDS has been consistently undertaking exciting initiatives for its customer base to redefine the range of two-wheeler helmets and accessories with an aim to focus on style, design, and best in class quality.

With state-of-art manufacturing facilities which are four in numbers and having the capability to churn out more than 14 million helmets every year, STUDDS is very well poised to move upward in this industry.

About STUDDS Accessories Ltd.

STUDDS ACCESSORIES LIMITED is the world’s largest manufacturer of two-wheeler helmets. The company has two flagship brands STUDDS & SMK HELMETS. It has a wide range of helmets and motorcycle accessories, which keeps evolving every year with new technology, design and graphics. The brand believes that our focus on safety, quality and style makes us a lifestyle choice for our customers, and positions STUDDS and SMK as aspirational brands. Its flagship brand STUDDS is marketed and sold in 40 countries across the globe.

New Ecological Study Generates Methods And Results To Save Tropical Forest Ungulates

We are pleased to announce the publication of a new Scientific Monograph titled ‘Spatial Dynamics and Ecology of Large Ungulate Populations in Tropical Forests of India’ by CWS scientists and collaborators and published by Springer Nature. The publication is based on field work and analyses conducted on population ecology of five species of threatened ungulates: Gaur, Sambar, Chital, Muntjac and Wild Pig in the -Nagarahole- Bandipur protected landscape.

The study involved the conduct of line transect surveys on foot, designed and implemented advanced distance sampling methods. The data generated were analyzed using spatially explicit hierarchical distance sampling models, one of the first studies in the world employing these advanced methods.

The study rigorously estimated population densities of these five ungulates at both local and landscape scales, and explored causal factors underlying the variations in their densities in terms of different ecological and management factors.

The results showed that population densities of focal species locally varied between 0.2 and 5.1 /km2

for gaur, 0.5 and 8.1 / km2

for sambar, 0.9 and 39.8 / km2

for chital, 0.1 and 0.7 / km2

for muntjac

and, 0.1 and 1.1 / km2

for wild pig, in response to varying environmental factors..The analytic methodology of Bayesian Hierarchical modeling used by the authors, generated more rigorous and nuanced results useful for conservation, without involving any additional investment of resources compared to standard line transect sampling.

Quote 1 - Samba Kumar: “Our results have both scientific and management implications. These are the first population ecology data and results gathered at such fine-grained scales on these vulnerable species which are under threat across their range in Asia. The study also highlights the importance of strict anti-hunting measures and regulation of human impacts on habitats, which are far more important to recover these species than many of the expensive commonly employed habitat management practices. Our study also provides a scientifically robust decision-making framework to prioritize management actions to accomplish conservation goals”.

Quote 2 - Ullas Karanth: “The approaches we developed and the results we generated have wide application for surveying large ungulate populations all over the world. In view of the fact that almost all the putative line transect surveys now being conducted across Asia, including those in India, lack rigor and generate unreliable results, there is ample scope for adopting our methods in the future. Because tropical forest ungulates are under serious threat, I hope such adoption will be prioritized by the Government.”

Quote 3 - James Nichols: "With a few notable exceptions, our knowledge of the population ecology of large, mobile animals is very limited, primarily because of the difficulty of studying such animals at relevant spatial scales. The study reported in this book is exceptional in being well-planned, well-executed via an enormous, supervised field effort, and well-analyzed using state-of-the-art data-analytic approaches. As a result, the study provides strong inferences about the spatial ecology and conservation of the focal ungulates and provides a model for the large-scale study of mobile animal populations."

The scientific monograph titled, Spatial Dynamics and Ecology of Large Ungulate Populations in Tropical Forests of India’ is authored by N Samba Kumar, K. Ullas Karanth (Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS), Bengaluru), James D Nichols (University of Florida, USA), Srinivas Vaidyanathan (Foundation for Ecological Research, Advocacy and Learning, Pondicherry), Beth Gardner ( University of Washington, USA) and Jagdish Krishnaswamy (Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment).