Bank Of Baroda Partners With U GRO Capital For Co-Lending To MSMEs Across India

* Co-lending partnership to offer ₹1,000 crore loans across 200+ channel touch points pan-India  

Bank of Baroda, one of the country’s largest public sector banks, announced a co-lending partnership with U GRO Capital, a BSE listed NBFC engaged in lending to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME). The first loan disbursement under this program commenced on the occasion of Bank of Baroda’s “114th Foundation Day”. The Bank is amongst the first PSBs to start co-lending in partnership with U GRO.  

This program has been launched under the revised co-lending guidelines wherein U GRO will be co-lending under their product named as “Pratham”, with Bank of Baroda. This will help MSMEs to avail customized lending solutions at a competitive rate of interest with a significant reduction in turn-around time. The loan amount would range from ₹50 lakh to ₹250 lakh to be offered at an interest rate starting from 8% with a maximum tenure of 120 months. 

During the inauguration of this co-lending program, Shri Vikramaditya Singh Khichi, Executive Director, Bank of Baroda said, “We are glad to have joined hands with U GRO Capital by way of this co-lending program, which resonates with our intent to extend support to more MSMEs. We believe that forging such partnerships is the way forward and collaborative efforts leveraging individual entities’ expertise are of utmost importance to take co-lending to MSME segment to the next level. This is a significant advancement in the same direction.” 

Under the partnership, both Bank of Baroda and U GRO Capital will serve the unserved and underserved MSMEs by leveraging low-cost funds of Bank and higher reach of the NBFC. The programme is accessible across 200+ channel touch points at nine large centres pan-India namely Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. For fast delivery of the loan, the bank has established a centralized processing unit at Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat. 

About Bank of Baroda:  

Bank of Baroda (“The Bank”) established on 20th July 1908 is a State-owned banking and financial services organisation, headquartered in Vadodara (earlier known as Baroda) in Gujarat, India. 

Bank of Baroda is India’s leading public sector bank with a strong domestic presence supported by self- service channels. The Bank’s distribution network includes 8,300+ branches, 11,600+ ATMs, Cash Recyclers supported by self-service channels and over 23,000 Business Correspondents. The Bank has a significant international presence with a network of 96 branches/offices of subsidiaries, spanning 19 countries. The Bank has wholly owned subsidiaries including BOB Financial Solutions Limited (erstwhile BOB Cards Ltd.), BOB Capital Markets and Baroda Asset Management India Ltd. Bank of Baroda also has joint ventures for life insurance viz. IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited and India Infradebt Ltd., engaged in infrastructure financing. The Bank owns 98.57% in The Nainital Bank. The Bank has also sponsored three Regional Rural Banks namely Baroda Uttar Pradesh Gramin Bank, Baroda Rajasthan Gramin Bank and Baroda Gujarat Gramin Bank. 

ADIF Aims To Transform The Indian Startup Ecosystem To Be Among Top 3 Globally By 2030

* Committed to building an alliance of individuals and organisations that are vested in the success and growth of the startup ecosystem. 

* ADIF aims to be the voice of Indian startups and represent their views before the government and industry forums  

ADIF (Alliance of Digital India Foundation), a think tank for India’s digital startups shared its plans to meet its objective of the long-term prosperity of the Indian startup ecosystem. While India is the 3rd largest startup ecosystem in the world, it ranks only 20th in the global start-up ranking. ADIF aims to transform the Indian startup ecosystem to be among the top 3 globally by the year 2030. In the process, ADIF will also be evangelising the Indus Valley playbook as an alternative ideology to the Silicon Valley playbook. 

At its core, ADIF wants to build an alliance of individuals and organisations, all of whom are driven towards making India the best startup nation globally. We aim to achieve this goal through championing the sector, celebrating our wealth creators, increasing trust within the players, evangelising the Indus Valley playbook, facilitating market development, driving collaboration in the ecosystem and representing the voice of the startup sector with the government and industry forums. 

Speaking on the mission and vision of the foundation, Mr. Sijo, Executive Director – Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) said, “There are over 50 unicorns in India today – a number that was unimaginable 10 years ago. We are currently the third-largest ecosystem in the world, and with that, we have truly arrived on the global stage. Now that we are here, we have a genuine opportunity at pursuing the journey of being the best in the world. Our mission is to transform the Indian startup ecosystem to be among the top 3 globally by the year 2030.” 

He also added, “Traditionally, we have had access to Silicon Valley literature, but the way Indian founders have driven their startups has been based on a very different playbook – this literature is more suited to the Indian or any emerging startup ecosystem. We as a country have created a lot of knowledge among ourselves on how to look at an alternate model of entrepreneurship and wealth creation. At ADIF, we will compile this knowledge and take it to our young entrepreneurs and help fuel the next wave of entrepreneurs. Furthermore, our ecosystem is still very nascent, so it’s understandable that the policies haven’t fully caught up. ADIF will thus also focus on advocating for favourable policies, figuring out solutions that are in the best interest of everyone and driving them.” 

ADIF plans to adopt a three-pronged approach to transform the Indian startup ecosystem: Building an Alliance of Founders and Startups, Club ADIF and Policy Lab. These three pillars will form the backbone of ADIF’s mission to forge a joint roadmap for a strong vibrant Digital India. As part of the alliance, ADIF will bring together all individuals and organisations that are vested in the success and growth of India’s startup ecosystem. 

Club ADIF is a collaborative trust layer that enables sharing of knowledge and best practices at an informal peer to peer level. Policy Lab is to ideate and advocate for favourable policies for the sector and to ensure their adequate representation in front of the government and industry bodies.  

A Section 8 non-profit organisation, ADIF was founded by the likes of Sairee Chahal of Sheroes, Murugavel Janakiraman of Matrimony.com and Ritesh Malik of Innov8. ADIF is committed to inspiring India’s youth to consider technology entrepreneurship to create jobs and wealth in our society, thereby promoting entrepreneurship across the nation. 

About Alliance of Digital India Foundation 

The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) is a think tank for India’s digital start-ups formed to fully capitalise on the sector’s promise with the objective of its long-term prosperity in mind. ADIF's mission is to transform the Indian startup ecosystem into among the best in the world while upholding the essence of the Indian startup playbook or the Indus Valley Playbook and ensuring that it emerges as a strong alternative to the dominant Silicon Valley Playbook. 

Indian Psychologists And Professor Launches BBIT = A Unique IQ Test Made In India

 
Dr. Jagannath Prasad Das, one of the world’s leading cognitive psychologists and a reputed professor in psychology launched BBIT or the Brain-Based Intelligence Test, a unique IQ test, made for Indian population with a passion to find the answer, unmatched in scope and power that represents a major advance in understanding how our brain works.

This unique IQ test, made for Indian population with a huge sample size, enables educators and curriculum developers to enhance the cognitive processes for a robust foundation in academic learning, especially in reading and math. This test also assists clinicians in the diagnosis of impairment of cortical functions as evident in conditions like stroke, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury. Additionally, this test has diagnostic criteria to identify hyperactivity and specific learning difficulties in children. is the brainchild of Dr. Jagannath Prasad Das, who is an internationally recognized expert in Educational Psychology, Intelligence and Childhood Development. Some of his significant contributions to Psychology include PASS theory of Intelligence and the Das-Naglieri Cognitive Assessment System.

Dr. JP Das from Bhuvaneshwar is currently the Emeritus Director of the Center on Developmental & Learning Disabilities and Emeritus Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Alberta, Canada. He is a member of the Royal Society of Canada and was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2015, the highest honour that Canada can confer on its citizens.

His outstanding research on reformulating the concept and measurement of Intelligence has captured national and international interests. An elite team of psychologists under the guidance of Dr. JP Das has developed this IQ test which measures significant cognitive processes.

BBIT launched all over India on July 17, 2021, through an online event, where the stalwarts of academia, educationists, psychologists, and other eminent personalities will be participating. The launch event will be inaugurated by Shri. Rajesh Tope, Minister of Health, State of Maharashtra, and presided by Dr. Kalidas D Chavan, Registrar, University of Health Sciences, Maharashtra.

To find out more about BBIT, visit www.bbitindia.com

Tatvic Analytics And Dataiku Announces Strategic Partnership For Enterprise AI Platform

* To deliver AI-enabled marketing & data analytics solutions for transformative enterprises

The news is finally out! Tatvic Analytics and Dataiku are pleased to announce that they have entered into a global strategic partnership, combining Tatvic’s industry-leading marketing and data analytics solutions with Dataiku, the world's most advanced industry- and use case-agnostic Enterprise AI platform.

As enterprises across the globe are looking to leverage advanced AI, Data Analytics, & MarTech solutions, this collaboration between Tatvic & Dataiku aims at enabling their customers to drive a transformative impact while further strengthening their sales and marketing functions.

Tatvic’s partnership with Dataiku aspires to deliver more value and innovation to their customers by making available a wide range of AI & ML-driven data & analytics solutions to their diverse set of projects across industry sectors such as; eCommerce, BFSI, Media & Publishers, Travel & Booking, Content/OTT, among others.

Ravi Pathak, Co-Founder & CEO, Tatvic Analytics, said, “We are proud of our association with Dataiku. It will go a long way in enabling Tatvic Analytics to offer more precise, tailormade, and effective data solutions to our clients. We plan to incorporate Dataiku’s solutions across a broader data continuum, machine learning, Data Ops, ML Ops, and Analytics apps, among others, for our enterprise customers.”

Commenting on its collaboration with Tatvic, Jiunn Hao Choo, Channels & Alliances, Lead - APAC of Dataiku, said, “Our collaboration with Tatvic Analytics is key to expanding our reach in the marketing analytics domain. We're looking forward to having even more people — from business experts to data scientists — using Dataiku to tackle new and exciting use cases.”

About Tatvic Analytics Pvt. Ltd. - Headquartered in Ahmedabad, India, with offices across North America, APAC, and UAE, Tatvic Analytics offers end-to-end Data & Marketing Analytics Consulting Services & Solutions. It is the only Indian company with Full Stack capabilities on Industry-Leading Marketing & Cloud Platforms with expertise in Marketing, Cloud Computing & Ads. Through its core competencies in website and mobile app analytics, besides conversion rate optimization, the company provides a one-stop marketing technology platform.

Tatvic offers a wide range of solutions to businesses for data collection, analysis, and data visualizations, with data activation for marketing, by widening reach in the right target groups.

About Dataiku - Dataiku is one of the world's leading AI and machine learning platforms, supporting agility in organizations' data efforts via collaborative, elastic, and responsible AI, all at an enterprise scale.

Hundreds of companies use Dataiku to underpin their essential business operations and ensure they stay relevant in a changing world, including models driving fraud detection, customer churn prevention, predictive maintenance, supply chain optimization, and much more. Dataiku is built for companies looking to democratize AI across their organization, bringing agility and preparedness to the business through the use of data by everyone from analysts to data scientists.

EdTech Major LEAD Launches India’s First Mobile-Based Coding And Computational Skills Program

* Program in line with NEP 2020 vision of coding skills for students at early age 

* CCS to be affordable and accessible to students in 2,000+ partner schools 

Mumbai-based K-12 EdTech major, LEAD, has announced the launch of India’s first mobile-based coding and computational skills (CCS) program for Classes 1 to 8 across all its 2,000+ partner affordable private schools in Tier II cities and towns, and above.

The CCS program is a best-in-class mobile-friendly program that revolutionises computer classes in schools and trains students with 21st century skills at an early age.

Coding has always been a part of a classroom set-up with students being trained in computer labs. But with schools closed due to lockdown, students can use the LEAD app on their mobile phones to attend the CCS program online and derive 100% in-class experience from the comfort of their homes. This unique initiative fulfils LEAD's goal of making high-quality content and excellent learning affordable and accessible to every child in India.

The announcement is in line with the National Education Policy 2020 that underscores the importance of digital literacy and technology in schools, including training students in coding skills at early grade levels. The program aims to deliver a robust curriculum to help students improve critical thinking and other cognitive faculties, and enable them to explore new and exciting opportunities in their educational and career paths.

LEAD Co-founder and CEO Sumeet Mehta said, "With an objective to transform the old computer science curriculum, we were the first to introduce CCS in schools. This was even before the NEP guidelines were put in place to make Coding a part of students' core curriculum. However, after the second wave hit us and online schooling gained momentum, there was a real challenge to take high quality CCS to middle income families who don't have a dedicated computer for their child. So we developed India's first ever Coding program that can be learnt over a mobile phone. This initiative truly democratises access to coding and computational skills and propels our children into a new world of opportunities, thereby staying true to our brand promise. Now parents in small towns don't have to worry about spending thousands on coding programs because their LEAD Powered School will bring it to them as a part of their school curriculum itself.”

The program combines the 'Use, Think, Build' approach with excellent curriculum and accessible technology that helps students make practical use of software programs to design and build websites, games, apps, and much more.

LEAD Chief Product and Learning Officer, Riku Sayuj said, “With our CCS online program, we aim to transform the way children learn in conventional schools and enable them to stay relevant in the digital world and ahead of the technological curve. Our initiative is in line with the government's vision of introducing coding in schools and prepares K-12 students for the future. We enable LEAD Powered Schools to adhere to the NEP guidelines even in these tough times, thereby ensuring overall development of the child.”

Teaching children coding and computation at an early age boosts their cognitive and reasoning skills, creative thinking, data analysis and visualisation, and problem-solving abilities. It also trains children in the use of computers safely and responsibly, and improves academic competence and performance.

About LEAD

LEAD is promoted by Leadership Boulevard, one of the fastest growing EdTech companies in India. It combines technology, curriculum and pedagogy into an integrated system of teaching and learning, thus improving student learning and teacher performance in schools across the country. LEAD partners with 2000+ schools with an estimated 8 lakh+ students in more than 400 cities, including tier 2 to tier 4 cities, in 20 States. 

Salman Khan Unveils The First Promo Of India’s Biggest Reality Show – BIGG BOSS OTT On VOOT

Seems like the actor is back yet again to treat his fans on Eid!! Salman Khan always ensures that his fans get their Eidi from Bhai every year. This year, Salman Khan released the promo of India’s most sensational reality-show - Bigg Boss OTT as his Eid 2021 treat for fans.

Voot recently announced the premiere of Bigg Bos OTT and the first six weeks of this highly anticipated reality show will be accessible to fans in the palm of their hands 24X7. Ever since the announcement, fans have been brimming with excitement and are waiting to witness the biggest show in all its glory and with the break of its first promo featuring the one and only - Salman Khan, the anticipation will increase two-fold.

In the promo, witness Salman Khan bursting with joy has he declares and warns the audience to gear up for the craziest, most sensational season ever. The ‘janta’ factor this time will be Over The Top  by giving the common man the uncommon powers. It will give audience a chance to enjoy direct and deeper engagement, connection, and indulgence in the comings and goings of the house! Overall, the show promises a unique experience with a lot of drama, entertainment, and emotions. So, BIGG BOSS OTT Ke Mazze Loot, pehli baar starting only on VOOT

Commenting on this all-new Bigg Boss OTT, Salman Khan said, “It’s great that this season of Bigg Boss will have a digital first with Bigg Boss OTT, 6 weeks ahead of television. The platform will see unparallel interactivity where the audience will not only get entertained but also participate, engage, give tasks and more - It’s truly for the people and by the people. My advice to all contestants is to be active, entertaining and conduct themselves well in the BB house.”

Stay tuned to this space for more details on BIGG BOSS OTT on Voot.

Fujitsu Appoints iMocha As Its Global Skills Assessment Partner

Fujitsu, a leading Japanese multinational information and communications technology equipment and services company, has appointed iMocha, the world’s largest AI-powered skills assessment platform, as its global skills assessment partner for faster hiring of job-fit candidates. 

With this global partnership, iMocha will help Fujitsu automate the assessment candidates on technical and language-based competencies. In the first phase of the global rollout, iMocha’s AI-powered skills assessment platform will be implemented in more than 7 countries across Asia and Europe. 

Commenting on this partnership, Fujitsu’s Senior Vice President said, “After years of lucrative regional partnership with iMocha, scaling this on global level seemed like the natural next step for us. We have used iMocha’s AI-powered skills assessment platform extensively and saw numerous notable results in our hiring processes including considerable reduction in time-to-hire, and we are sure that we will see similar results on global level too.” 

On this partnership, iMocha’s CEO and Co-founder, Amit Mishra, commented “We are delighted to be Fujitsu’s Global Skills Assessment Partner. Our mission has always been to make recruitment simpler and efficient, and Fujitsu partnering with us is a testament of our achievements. We are certain this partnership will yield great results for the both of us.” 

Fujitsu has been associated with iMocha since 2019. During this period, they have cut down their dependency on technical teams and improved their time-to-hire and interview-to-selection ratio using iMocha’s multilingual assessments, remote proctoring features, skill-wise assessment report, and more.  

About iMocha 

iMocha is the world's largest AI-powered digital skills assessment platform that helps organizations build winning teams. iMocha empowers organizations to thoroughly assess employees and candidates for identifying and benchmarking their skills proficiency according to industry or company standards. The organization serves 300+ clients globally including Ericsson, Capgemini, Fujitsu among many others.