Lava Revolutionizes e-Education With A Range Of Tablets For students

Indian mobile handset brand, Lava International Limited, announced the launch of its latest student-centric tablets. The series has been developed specifically to support online education. Priced between Rs. 9000- 15000, this series has three different screen sizes to choose from.

Lava’s e-Education series has 3 Tablets- Magnum XL, Aura & Ivory. All these three devices come with a big screen size, powerful battery and superior audio quality which renders an uninterrupted learning experience for students. The tablets are exclusively available for purchase on Flipkart, starting today.

“The biggest challenge for children and their parents is effective integration of technology with the current education needs for a unified learning experience. With these new products we hope that we are able to help ease their development even in this COVID time. Learning can be done easily from home, and features like big battery support long study hours without the discomfort of charging your device after each class.” said Sunil Raina, President & Business Head, Lava International Limited..

Lava Magnum XL comes with a big screen size of 10.1 inches and a powerful 6100 mAh battery. The screen has a IPS LCD display with 390 nits of brightness so that tender eyes are protected while their study online. It has a 2MP front camera and 5 MP rear camera as well. The tablet has an internal storage of 32 GB which is further expandable up to 256 GB. Powered by MediaTek 2GHz quad core processor, Lava Magnum XL comes in dark grey shade and metallic finish that makes it look stunning and a class apart. The device is priced at Rs 15,499.

Lava Aura comes with a screen size of 8 inches and a long lasting 5100 mAh battery. The tablet comes with 32GB internal storage which is expandable upto 256GB, 8 MP rear camera and 5 MP front camera. Lava Aura also comes with a metallic finish and a MediaTek 2GHz quad core processor. The tablet is priced at Rs 12,999.

Lava Ivory comes with a screen size of 7 inches. This compact device comes with a unique textured hairbrush finish on the back. With an internal store of 16GB and an expandable capacity of up to 256 GB, it gives an option to store diverse data files. Due to its handy size, this tab also acts a perfect outdoor companion. Device has a 5MP primary camera and a 2MP Selfie camera and is priced at Rs 9499.

Tejinder Singh, Head- Product, Lava International Limited said, “Education sector witnessed a huge disruption due to the pandemic. Students were suddenly dependent on their parent’s device for their classes. This new series of Lava devices have been specially designed to address requirements of students and are affordably priced for parents. With new age learning, online education will always be an integral part of global education system, and these devices are designed to become the perfect companion for your child’s big dreams.”

In an effort to support students further with online education, Lava has partnered with EduSaksham to offer free courses* along with the entire range of Tablets. This partnership with EduSaksham has made Lava Tablets education driven, enabling students to utilize the device to support learning in all forms and formats, ranging from online classes as well as other mediums of learning like education oriented YouTube channels and E-Books etc.

Accenture Q2 Result Sees Strong Growth; Raises FY21 Guidance

Q2FY21 revenue beats estimates on the back of double-digit growth in outsourcing business: Accenture's (ACN) revenues rose 8.5% YoY to USD12.1bn (5% in local currency), well ahead of its guided range of USD11.55bn to USD11.95bn. A decline in revenues from reimbursable travel costs affected revenue growth by ~2%. ACN's revenue growth returned to the pre-Covid level in Q2, a quarter ahead of its expectations. ACN has seen strong, broad-based demand across industries, services and geographic markets, resulting in an all-round beat in the overall operating performance and strong order booking. After falling for three quarters, consulting revenues grew 4.3% YoY to USD6.4bn (1% in local currency; including ~3% impact from a decline in revenues from reimbursable travel costs). Outsourcing revenues maintained strong momentum with 13.7% YoY growth at USD5.7bn (11% in local currency). New bookings stood at an all-time high of USD16bn (12.7% YoY, book-to-bill 1.3x), with consulting bookings of USD8bn (12.2% YoY, book-to-bill 1.2x) and outsourcing bookings of USD8bn (13.3% YoY, book-to-bill 1.4x). Operating margin expanded by 30bps to 13.7%. Utilization increased to 94% in Q2 (vs. 93% in Q1 and 91% in Q2FY20). Attrition inched up to 12% in Q2 vs. 9% in Q1. It added 22,365 net employees during the quarter.

■    Health & Public Services and Financial Services lead growth: Growth in Q2 was driven by Health & Public Services (14% in local currency) and Financial Services (10% in local currency). Communication, Media & Technology maintained its growth momentum and recorded 9% YoY growth in local currency (vs. 3% in Q1FY21). Products also returned to growth, up 2% YoY in local currency. Resources remained weak and fell 7% YoY in local currency. The company expects to sustain broad-based growth momentum and expects Resources' growth trajectory to improve.

■    FY21 guidance further raised to 6.5%-8.5%: ACN raised its revenue growth guidance for FY21 to 6.5%-8.5% in local currency from 4%-6% previously. The guidance continues to assume about 1% negative impact from a decline in revenues from reimbursable travel costs. The operating margin is expected to expand by 30-40bps to 15%-15.1% (earlier 14.8%-15%). ACN expects Q3FY21 revenues to be in the range of USD12.55-12.95bn, up 10%-13% YoY in local currency. The company expects OCF and FCF to be in the range of USD7.65-8.15bn and USD7-7.5bn, respectively.

■    Earnings call takeaways: Management noted that ACN has returned to the pre-pandemic growth trajectory, a quarter ahead of their expectations, while continuing to expand market share faster than the pre-Covid rate. Revised guidance factored in better than expected H1 and sustained growth momentum in H2. ~50% of ACN's revenues came from seven industries that were less impacted by the pandemic and in aggregate grew in low double digits in Q2. The severely affected industries, namely Travel, Retail, Energy, High-Tech (including Aerospace and Defense) and Industrial (collectively ~20% of revenues) reported improvement in revenue growth and posted a mid-single digit decline in Q2 (vs. double-digit decline in Q1). ACN signed deals worth over USD100mn with 18 clients in Q2. The company spent ~USD1.1bn on 19 acquisitions in H1 and increased its M&A budget to at least USD2bn for FY21 (from ~USD1.7bn). It expects M&A to contribute ~2.5% to revenue growth in FY21 (earlier ~2%). The company announced a one-time bonus, equal to one week of base pay, for all employees below managing director.

■    Read-through for Indian IT peers: ACN's strong Q2 performance and second-time upward revision in FY21 revenue growth guidance (from 2-5% in early FY21; 4-6% at Q1-end) reflect strength in demand, particularly in outsourcing. A broad-based demand recovery and sustained growth momentum in revenue/order booking of the outsourcing business augur well for Indian IT peers. The Nifty IT index rose ~9%/~28%/~116% in last 3M/6M/12M. Strong demand environment, sustained acceleration in revenue growth and robust order booking should support higher valuations, in our views. We prefer INFO, HCLT and TECHM among Tier 1 companies.

First Advantage Launches Vendor Screening Solution For Empanelment Of Vendors Across Indian Market

* Helps minimize company’s potential risk by screening current and prospective agencies, customers, vendors and suppliers

First Advantage, India’s leading Background Screening firm, announced the launch of Vendor Screening solution for pre- and post-screening services for empanelment of vendors.

Vendors have a pivotal role in the growth of an organization and in many cases represent the  face of a brand to its consumers and audience. Lack of vendor screening can lead to unwanted consequences like law suits due to wrong partnerships, potential fraud and abuse, financial failure leading to breach of contract which can result in serious ramifications on a company’s public image.

Vendor Screening solution from First Advantage delivers complete view of third party’s risk profile and helps minimize a company’s potential liability by screening its current agencies, prospective customers, vendors and suppliers. It also helps businesses take decisions to expand operations by verifying vendor’s credentials.

Vendor Screening solution from First Advantage includes:

* Company verification Online Research

* Company verification site visit

* TAN Validation

* Validation of Certificate of Incorporation

* Court Record Research

* Address Verification

* India Database checks

* Global Database checks

Speaking on the launch, Amit Singh, Head Commercial of First Advantage India says, “For any organization, checking a vendor’s credentials, as well as those of its owners is an essential practice before providing a vendor access to business assets, facilities and workforce. This may protect a company from downtime besides potential loss in revenue and future liability. Vendor Screening Solution launched by First Advantage serves to reduce  risk and enhances  employees, client & brand safety, reveal a company’s past performance trends, history & reputation and deliver quality verification with faster turnaround time.”

For more details log in towww.fadv.co.in.

About First Advantage

First Advantage is a winning combination of searches and service that provides insights to reduce risk while improving the quality of the talent and the reliability of the renters, standing out in the tech industry as a whole. First Advantage achieves success through innovation – whether that means innovative product development or enhancement to the candidate experience. Powering this through agile transformation, robotic process automation, artificial intelligence, block chain, products for the next generation employees – monitoring, fraud, facial recognition, and many others.

As a trusted partner to over 35,000 organizations, First Advantage has offices in 25 locations across 15 countries and conducts 75 million international background screens.

Rapido Releases New Campaign #GoOhhWithRapido, Highlighting Ways To Beat Traffic

* Looks to bring awareness to the customers on the benefits of using Rapido service

* Highlights different use cases to show Rapido’s edge to manoeuvre through any situation and make users reach their destinations

* The company has invested a whopping INR 40 Cr. for the campaign’s production and success

Rapido, India’s largest bike taxi platform, today announced the launch of its new 360-degree marketing campaign #GoOhhWithRapido, that highlights the benefits of using the Rapido service, especially if you are a peak hour traveller. The campaign goes live across the country with a special focus on top metros like Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Guwahati and Kolkata. The campaign aims to drive awareness of the advantages of using a bike taxi.

The ad campaign is a rap that takes the consumers through four use cases - aimed at establishing the key pillars of Rapido – Convenience, Affordability, Accessibility and Availability.

In the first case, a young man at the end of his patience waiting for the public transport to arrive, books a Rapido bike service, that arrives in two minutes, which does not only make him but everyone standing at the stop, #GoOhhWithRapido and at its accessibility. The second use case shows a woman getting out of the metro and availing an already available Rapido, making her #GoOhhWithRapido and its availability. The third use case is Rapido helping an employee, who is late for office, reach the office 10 minutes earlier, making the employee and the office security guard and colleagues #GoOhhWithRapido and the convenience it provides while travelling through traffic. The fourth use case show cases a husband reaching home from office on time and at an affordable rate that makes the couple #GoOhhWithRapido.

Announcing the campaign, Amit Verma, Head of Marketing, Rapido, said, “With everyday commuters looking for a safe and affordable option to commute to work in every city, our objective is to increase the awareness about the many advantages that a bike taxi ride provides.  #GoOhhWithRapido is our initiative   to urge viewers to choose an efficient way for everyday commuting. We hope that commuters no more wait for long hours for their commute or feel the need to haggle with drivers to reach their destination and simply book a ride that make them reach their destination, in the most efficient and safe manner.”

The campaign was conceptualised and brought to life by Enormous Brands and was produced by Cinephilia. The rap was sung by the music director, Aman Pant. Rapido recently announced a $20Mn budget for this year’s bullish focus on its marketing efforts and has spent INR 40 crore for the campaign, including media and production costs. 

With the market slowly moving towards normalcy consumers stepping out to travel to work, Rapido aims to put its best efforts to ramp up brand awareness and acquire new users, along with a focus on enhancing in-app user experience. 

Tata Motors Introduces The Magic Express Ambulance; Forays Into Compact Ambulance Segment

 

Key Highlights:

* Compliant with AIS 125 government norms for ambulance category

* Compact dimensions with easy manoeuvrability in city driving conditions

* Can accommodate 5 attendants, apart from the patient and the driver

* After sales assurance through Sampoorna Seva 2.0 and driver benefits under the Tata Samarth program

* The only manufacturer in the country to offer a multitude of patient transport solutions

Tata Motors, India’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, introduces the Magic Express patient transport ambulance, designed specifically for healthcare mobility in the economy ambulance segment. The Magic Express Ambulance is designed to support medical and health related services, which assumes significance especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The compact dimensions of the vehicle enables easy manoeuvrability on Indian roads, resulting in speedy movement of patients requiring emergency care, thereby saving lives. It is ergonomically designed to provide sufficient space, safety and comfort for the patient and the attendants, while being fully compliant to AIS 125 norms.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Vinay Pathak, Vice President, Product Line, SCV & PU, Tata Motors said, “With the introduction of the Magic Express Ambulance, Tata Motors fulfils its commitment to provide the best healthcare mobility solutions. Tata Motors has been working closely with the medical fraternity to understand the requirements, and we have tailor-made a vehicle that perfectly ticks all the boxes when it comes to patient transportation. With the introduction of the new segment, Tata Motors now offers a wide range of solutions in the ambulance segment, with affordable, reliable and regulation-compliant ambulances.”

Tata Motors is the only manufacturer in the country to offer a wide range of healthcare solutions; the affordable Magic Express Ambulance, the Tata Winger Ambulance; serving the healthcare segment for various customised medical needs: basic life support, advanced life support, and the multi-stretcher 410/29 Ambulance.

The Magic Express Ambulance comes with the essential equipment including an auto-loading stretcher, medical cabinet, provision for an oxygen cylinder, doctor’s seat and fire extinguisher along with internal lighting, flame resistant interiors and an announcement system. The ambulance is equipped with AIS 125 certified retro reflective decals and a beacon light with a siren. The driver and patient compartments are separated by a partition wall, which increases safety, especially while transporting COVID-19 patients. It’s powered by best-in-class 800cc TCIC engine, which delivers 44hp of power and 110Nm of torque. Moreover, with its robust build, it requires minimum upkeep, gives a superior performance and offers low cost of ownership, making it a hassle-free vehicle.

It leverages the highly successful Magic platform, which has been a benchmark of India’s last-mile public transport sector for the past 13 years. In addition, the Tata Magic ambulance is engineered keeping in mind Tata Motors’ ‘Power of 6’ philosophy, which promises superior profitability, vehicle performance, driving comfort, convenience and connectivity, along with safety – all with a lower total cost of ownership (TCO). The Magic Express Ambulance is an ideal vehicle for customer segments like hospitals, nursing homes, government health departments, health NGOs or start-ups who are a part of the Indian healthcare ecosystem. The Tata Motors SCV passenger range comes with a warranty of 2 years / 72000 kilometres.

Tata Motors also extends various vehicle care programs, fleet management solutions, annual maintenance packages and resale for commercial vehicles under the Sampoorna Seva 2.0 initiative. Some of the standout features of these bouquet of benefits are Tata Alert offering 24x7 roadside assistance for all vehicles under warranty, Tata Kavach ensures that all accidental vehicles insured under Tata Motors Insurance are repaired within 15 days, and a service turnaround time guarantee under Tata Zippy to ensure maximum uptime.

About Tata Motors

Tata Motors Limited (NYSE: TTM; BSE: 500570 and 570001; NSE: TATAMOTORS and TATAMTRDVR), a USD 35 billion organization, is a leading global automobile manufacturer of cars, utility vehicles, pick-ups, trucks and buses. Part of the USD 113 billion Tata group, Tata Motors is India’s largest and the only OEM offering extensive range of integrated, smart and e-mobility solutions. It has operations in India, the UK, South Korea, Thailand, South Africa, and Indonesia through a strong global network of 103 subsidiaries, 10 associate companies, 3 joint ventures and 2 joint operations as on March 31, 2020.

With a focus on engineering and tech enabled automotive solutions catering to the future of mobility, Tata Motors is India’s market leader in commercial vehicles and amongst the top four in the passenger vehicles market. With ‘Connecting Aspirations’ at the core of its brand promise, the company’s innovation efforts are focused to develop pioneering technologies that are sustainable as well as suited to evolving aspirations of the market and the customers. Tata Motors strives to bring new products that fire the imagination of GenNext customers, fueled by state of the art design and R&D centers located in India, UK, US, Italy and South Korea. Internationally, Tata commercial and passenger vehicles are marketed in countries, spread across Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia, South America, Australia, CIS, and Russia.

Breathe Out Exam Stress In India With Headspace Minis On Snapchat

A stack of rough notes, sample test papers, and fresh stationery describe a student who is gearing up for exams. Stress and anxiety is inevitable and it’s important to keep calm and de-stress from time to time ahead of your exam day. It is also important to keep a close check on your friends as well to ensure they are relaxed and in a better frame of mind to give their best shot. For those seeking peace, meditation can help in many ways from relaxing your mind to help you focus better.

If pressed on time and unable to meet your friends in person, we recommend trying three Headspace mini-meditations on Snapchat that will help you and your friends feel relaxed instantly together.

●  Kick The Panic - this meditation set will allow you to recognize your fear and help you overcome feelings of panic and anxiety leaving you feeling refreshed

●  Just Breathe - when trying to keep up with practice sets and revising your lessons, it's important to take a moment and catch your breath. Just Breathe will help you make your study breaks more productivity by focusing on your breathing.

●  Me Time - as the name suggests, the meditation will help you disconnect from your routine for a couple of minutes and will allow you to bounce back feeling refreshed

The Headspace Mini on Snapchat was launched to provide a safe space for friends to practice meditation. In its first month of being live, over 5 million Snapchatters engaged with the Headspace Mini.

Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Introduces Exclusive ‘Hitachi Home’ In Chandigarh And Panchkula Market

* State Of the Art ‘Hitachi Home’ aims to be a One Stop Shop for consumers seeking for company’s inspired designs and innovations in Air Conditioning & Refrigerators

* Hitachi bullish on market expansion, channel strengthening, new line up and new store openings to beat the heat this summers for the consumers in Punjab

Johnson Controls - Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited, the joint venture company of Johnson Controls and Hitachi Appliances, Japan and manufacturer of India’s one of the premium air-conditioner brand ‘Hitachi’ is bullish and all set to seize the market leadership position in Punjab. The company has announced its aggressive expansion plans to scale up its channel partner network and strategic alliances in the promising air conditioner market of Punjab. In its endeavor to offer ultimate product experience, ease and comfort to its consumers, the company has also opened two exclusive Hitachi brand outlets called as ‘Hitachi Home’ in Chandigarh and Panchkula. ‘Hitachi Home’ is aimed to be a one-stop-shop for consumers of the region to experience the stunning designs, pathbreaking innovations and product solutions in residential air conditioning from Hitachi under one roof.

The company has also announced the launch of its super exciting range of new-age Room Air Conditioners for 2021. Hitachi Cooling and Heating India is offering a wide range of 30+ models and 90+ SKUs in Room AC category which caters to the ever-evolving need of Indian customers’ in both residential and light commercial spaces for their home, villas shops, boutiques , offices etc.

Inspired by nature and its Japanese roots, the new aesthetically appealing and premium looking product lineup includes Hitachi Cooling and Heating’s first ever ambience light introduced for Indian market. With the change in set temperature of AC, the Ambience light lets you know the ambience around you. Blue colour of ambience light means it’s a cool ambience and similarly Green colour & red colour of ambience light indicates comfort and warm ambience around you. Hitachi Cooling and Heating India’s new stunning ‘iconic wave design’ is inspired by naturally existing wave form and fusion line is inspired by the Japanese Kintsugi art. The company has also introduced new airCloud Home app for its Wi-Fi enabled ACs with smart geo fencing feature and voice command and a plethora of other futuristic air conditioning products and technologies.

Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Ltd. has partnered with Electronic Centre, Chandigarh’s leading consumer electronics store to open exclusive ‘Hitachi Home’ retail outlet in Sector 35-B,Chandigarh. The new ‘Hitachi Home’ retail outlet in Sector-16, Panchkula is in partnership with New Bansal Electronics.

Inaugurating ‘Hitachi Home’ in Chandigarh, Mr. Gurmeet Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, Johnson Controls - Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited said, “Our expansion and expropriation strategy focuses on investing in brand building, development of energy efficient products, strengthening our channel network and improving our post sale services. Hitachi is committed to set new consumer satisfaction milestones with its best in class products and solutions. Our innovations are developed keeping consumer needs in mind, because at Hitachi ‘New begins with you’.”

“Liaising with our channel partners is on the top of our priority list and we value their contribution and support in our mutual growth. Electronic Centre in Chandigarh and New Bansal Electronics in Panchkula are our proud category Channel Partners with a strong hold in their respective markets. It is our constant endeavour to respect and value such partners as they play a vital role in our journey”, Mr. Singh further added.

Talking about the partnership, Mr. Arun Goel, MD, Electronic Centre, Chandigarh said, “Since last 40 years, Electronic Centre in Chandigarh is seamlessly offering great products of high quality brands to its customers. We have a long and enriching association with Hitachi Cooling and Heating and we are very happy to start this new journey with the brand. The state-of-the-art experience zone at ‘Hitachi Home’ will have a unique product display area showcasing Hitachi’s diverse product line up of residential cooling solutions. These products will be at live display for a better understanding of the consumers.”

Hitachi currently has a strong nationwide distribution network. It currently consists of over 10,000 sales points and more than 290 exclusive sales and service partners. In a drive to become country’s most preferred air conditioning brand, the company with its good market share and high brand recall in the top 20 metro cities is now focusing on expanding its reach with deeper penetration in Tier 2 and 3 cities and towns.

Mr. Ravi Bansal, Owner, New Bansal Electronics, Panchkula said, “Our long association and experience with Hitachi has been very satisfying and enriching. It has provided the best platform for us to excel in the fast growing residential and commercial cooling segment. Customers at Panchkula are very progressive and demand best quality products. We are confident that our new and exclusive ‘Hitachi Home’ in Panchkula will empower our customers by giving them the opportunity to own a Hitachi with pride over other run of the mill air conditioning brands.”

Hitachi Cooling and Heating aims to reach every Indian household and become India’s leading air conditioning brand with its innovative product range, best in class indigenous manufacturing facilities, world-class R&D facility and a continuous endeavor to give its customers a better post sales service experience. The company has aggressive plans to promote and push ‘Made in India' ACs and aims to reduce its component imports to almost to half and increase exports three folds in the next three years.

About Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited:

Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited is a joint venture company of Johnson Controls, US and Hitachi Appliances, Japan. Through this joint venture, we have combined the rich heritage and innovative technology of Hitachi with the industry-leading expertise and a global network of Johnson Controls. The partnership is aimed at addressing the cooling needs faster, smarter and much more efficiently than ever before. Our customers will stand to benefit from our world-class R&D centres, where our researchers work tirelessly to provide innovative solutions and quality products that are designed to meet every expectation. Johnson Controls – Hitachi Air Conditioning Company has global presence, out of which India unit is called “Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited”

Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited manufactures a wide range of products under Hitachi brand, such as room air-conditioners (Split & Window ACs) to commercial air-conditioners including Chiller, Cassette Air conditioners, Ductable air-conditioners & VRF systems. Our company is not just limited to making air conditioners but also, into trading of Refrigerators.

Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited’s headquarter is situated in Ahmedabad, Gujarat with manufacturing plant in Kadi, Gujarat. Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited is amongst the top air-conditioning companies in India..