Hero Motocorp Sells 4.54 Lakh Units Of Motorcycle And Scooters In July 2021

* Introduces two new products – New Glamour XTEC And Connected’ Maestro EDGE 125

Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, sold 454,398 units of two-wheelers in July 2021. 

Most of the retail touch-points of the company are operational across the country, although localised lockdowns imposed by certain states in the wake of sporadic coronavirus cases continue to restrict the customer movement.

India’s rural economy and semi-urban market is expected to bounce back on the hopes of good monsoon and customers’ preference for personal mobility.

Hero MotoCorp continues to monitor the on-ground situation and remains optimistic about continuously improving consumer sentiment in the coming months with the onset of the festive season.

The beginning of second quarter saw the company strengthening its 125cc segment with the launch of two new products – the popular motorcycle Glamour in ‘Xtec’ avatar and an advanced, ‘connected’, and feature-rich new Maestro Edge 125 scooter.

In keeping with its aggressive expansion plans in its global business, Hero MotoCorp also commenced retail sales in the key market of Mexico. The Company introduced an extensive portfolio of products, including motorcycles and a scooter, thereby catering to the diverse segments of customers. These include popular motorcycles such as the Xpulse 200, Xpulse 200T, Hunk 190, Hunk 160R, Hunk 150, Eco 150 TR, Eco 150 Cargo, and Ignitor 125, and the Dash 125 scooter.

In keeping with its ongoing Covid-19 relief initiatives, the company also extended its support towards the creation of a 50-bed COVID Ward and ICU at the Janakpuri Super Specialty Hospital, New Delhi.

World’s First Tech-Enabled Business Platform, Della Leaders Club Founded By Jimmy Mistry Opens New Chapter In Bengaluru

* DLC Bengaluru Chapter (India’s Unicorn Capital) launch was at the hands of two first-generation Unicorn Founders & DLC Global Committee Members Nakul Aggarwal, founder of BrowserStack, and Richard Pattle, Co-founder and CEO of True Beacon

* As a part of its first round of fund-raising, Della Leaders Club aims to raise 7 Million USD in three months valuing the firm at 70 Million USD. Membership fee is estimated at 4000 USD annual subscription. With this model, it plans to clock revenues of 380 USD Million in the next 5 years. Fund Raise is being led by Ashith Kampani, Ex MD, JM Financials & Ex Merrill Lunch

Considered to be the Silicon Valley of India, Bengaluru has earned many appellations that has drawn start-up founders, entrepreneurs, leaders and brands to the city. With the intent of fostering an eco-system encouraging leaders, Jimmy Mistry, innovator, design thinker and social entrepreneur announced India’s first Chapter launch of Della Leaders Club – world’s first technology enabled business platform designed to create a robust support system for leaders across industries, in Bangalore.

Supported and mentored by the top leaders in the city, Della Leaders Club is a Global Community of entrepreneurs, professionals and young leaders giving equal importance to business and lifestyle for the entire family. Membership covers member, spouse and adult children. The prominent entrepreneurs and corporate honchos from Bengaluru (Names of speakers from Bangalore, attached behind) graced the occasion and extended encouraging words in support of this new initiative by founder, Jimmy Mistry.

Speaking at the launch, Nakul Aggarwal, Co-founder at BrowserStack an Indian SaaS-based Unicorn start-up with USD 4 billion enterprise, who celebrated the first India chapter launch said, “Bengaluru has emerged as the world’s fastest growing tech ecosystem and provide the ease of doing business. It’s fantastic too to see a global platform like Della Leaders Club laying its foundation in this energetic city. I would like congratulate Mr Mistry for building a safe and trusted go to platforms for entrepreneurs like us.”

Richard Pattle, Co-founder and CEO of True Beacon, added, “The start-up ecosystem in India is disrupting the world and to keep pace with the rapid challenges it is important to have a platform like Della Leaders Club that will nurture business leaders. My heartiest good wishes to Mr Mistry and I look forward to closely working with the DLC team.”

DLC aims to act as a catalyst to drive people from the Life of Success to a life of significance.  Della Leaders Club primary offerings shall be the World of forums that consists of Global, Regional or Chapter specific for 6 to maximum 10 members. These peer forums continue for life and provide a support system in a non-competitive environment.

With DLC launching its first Chapter in Bangalore, considered to be the Silicon Valley of India, was a natural preferred city. Besides known for its high tech industry, incubators and start-ups community, Bangalore also got a vibrant lifestyle needs. We are confident enough to provide a meaningful contribution to the industry leaders and society at large with our Bangalore Chapter launch.

As a part of its first round of fund-raising, Della Leaders Club aims to raise Rs.  50 Crore ($7 Million) in three months, valuing the firm at US$ 70 mn. This initial funding will be invested into creating a robust technology backend for the company and chapter development and setting up a State of Art infrastructure for DLC expansion across globally and India. DLC has already invested in a cutting-edge tech-enabled platform that is being developed under guidance of a globally renowned mentor & team of consultants. The membership revenue is projected from three months from the launch of each phase and the membership fee is estimated to at USD $4000 per year. With this model the community plans to clock revenues of US $ 380 million in next 5 years.

DLC Bangalore Chapter will host three You-Turn theme-based events in a year which will be an ensemble of professional learning, recreation and entertainment. YouTurn events will also have curated luxury lifestyle exhibitions for the entire family. Global leaders and experts will be invited to speak at the 19 DLC Global Summits in India held at Della Resorts Headquarters, Lonavala. Entire studio, amphitheatre, banquets have been created to host the Global delegates. The members will also have exclusive access to the DLC Genie, a progressive web application and bespoke brand experiences.

About Della Leaders Club

Della Leaders Club has over 2,000 Global Honorary Committee Members across 15 cities globally. Cities include New York, London, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Ahmedabad, Indore.

The purpose of the technology platform is to give ready-to-apply business knowledge across 26 committees comprising 13 business committees and 13 lifestyle committees covering the latest trends to keep business leaders ahead of the curve. DLC concept has already gone viral, hence we have successfully been able to onboard men and women of eminence coming from IVY leagues and their alumni associations to 9 unicorn start-up founders, EO, YPO members, Forbes listers, NYC Best Sellers, Grammy Award Winners, Top Government Attorneys and UN affiliates. The organization lives by an ethos of diversity and equality that encompasses all nationalities, faiths, genders, ages and areas tied together by the spirit of entrepreneurship. 

Kaspersky And Airtel Join Forces To Make Online Journeys More Secure For Customers

* Airtel customers now purchase Kaspersky security solutions for PC and Smartphones via Airtel Thanks app 

Global cybersecurity company Kaspersky has partnered with Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”) – India’s premier communications solutions provider, to ensure instant security for internet users in India. 

The collaboration between the two companies will allow Airtel customers to purchase Kaspersky Total Security solution directly from the Airtel Thanks app in a matter of few clicks. What’s more! Airtel customers also enjoy exclusive deals on these advanced solutions from Kaspersky. 

Airtel customers simply need to download the latest version of Airtel Thanks app> Go to ‘Shop’ section> Go to lifestyle offers> Click on the Kaspersky banner and get started. Airtel Thanks also enables seamless payments through cards, net banking and UPI.      

The alliance is formed with the aim to increase the cybersecurity awareness amongst Indian internet users and encourage them to practice cyber safety in the wake of growing cyberthreats. 

Cyberthreats are constantly evolving and cybercriminals in the past 2 years have been actively targeting internet users in India. In the first quarter of 2021 Kaspersky products detected 37,650,472 different Internet-borne cyberthreats. Mobile users are also at risk as cybercriminals are constantly targeting them for financial gains, as well as to obtain important private data. Mobile threats in India have drastically increased since 2019 and are becoming more targeted and sophisticated in nature. India ranked 7th amongst the countries attacked with Mobile Threats in 2020. 

The top mobile threats targeted at the smartphone users globally were, Adware which topped the list with 57% (3,254,387 detections).Talking about the other threats, the number of backdoors detected almost tripled from 28,889 in 2019 to 84,495 in 2020. The number of detected Android exploits increased seventeen fold, and the number of Trojan- Proxy threats had increased by twelve times. Kaspersky solutions detected 156,710installation packages for mobile banking Trojans in 2020, which is twice the number of attacks detected in 2019. However, a decline in ransomware trojans was witnessed as we found 20,708 installation packages for ransomware Trojans in 2020, a decrease of 3.5 times as compared to the previous year. 

Eugene Kaspersky, CEO of Kaspersky, said: “We’re very much looking forward to supporting Bharti Airtel, the leading global telecommunications company and one of the biggest mobile service providers, in its goal to protect their users, create a more secure internet, and build a safer digital world together with Kaspersky. I’m convinced that this partnership will further contribute to establishing Airtel as an innovational pioneer and a leader in its industry." 

Pradipt Kapoor, CIO, Bharti Airtel said: “As customer lifestyles become increasingly integrated with digital platforms, it becomes paramount for all of us to secure these journeys with the right solutions. Airtel is working round the clock to deliver a secure network experience through world-class infrastructure and partnerships. We are delighted to partner with Kaspersky and make their solutions easily accessible for Airtel customers, who can purchase and install these in a matter of minutes and enjoy complete peace of mind.”     

“Malicious apps, to spyware, mobile banking trojans, adware, phishing attacks, ransomware attacks, etc, are some of the most risky threats that a smartphone user has to be safe and secure from at all times. In a time when data privacy has become one of the most supreme criteria of our lives, smartphones become the greatest and most important source of our personal and sensitive data. Keeping this in mind, protecting our phones from the various online threats should be our highest priority. The first and the easiest step towards practicing cyber safety is by installing a reliable security solution to our devices. Increasing our cyber maturity and being aware of the constantly evolving threats is also the responsibility of an online user, in order to protect themselves from the nefarious cybercriminals”, said Mr. Dipesh Kaura, General Manager, Kaspersky (South Asia). 

Mr. Dipesh added, “Our association with Airtel is not only a strategic business partnership for us, but is also an important collaboration in order to increase cyber awareness amongst the growing number of smartphone users, who also may be potential targets of cybercriminals. With an affordable and accessible internet connection available today, we have opened our gates to a great digital future, and we have taken yet another step towards securing this digital future with the help of Airtel. We look forward to our association with them, and hope to instil an increased sense of cyber awareness amongst Indian users as much as possible”. 

Through this association with Airtel, Kaspersky looks forward to a positive reaction from the users, and hopes to encourage them to take a step forward towards securing themselves. Both the companies are trying to ensure instant security to the users and contribute towards making Digital India a lot more safe and secure. 

Consumers can now conveniently avail of Kaspersky Total Security solution on the Airtel Thanks app and move closer to achieving cybersecurity. 

TKM Registers 143% Growth In Domestic Wholesales During July 2021

* Clocks a total of 13105 units thereby registering a growth of 49% when compared to sales in the previous month in June 2021

Toyota Kirloskar Motor today announced that the company sold a total of 13,105 units in the month of July 2021, thereby registering a growth of 143% when compared to the domestic sales in the month of July 2020. The company also clocked a 49% growth in domestic sales when compared to sales made in June 2021. For reference, TKM had reported wholesales of 5386 units in the month of July 2020 and 8801 units in the month of June 2021.

Commenting on the monthly sales, Mr. V. Wiseline Sigamani, Associate General Manager (AGM), Sales and Strategic Marketing, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “July has been a good month for us as we have witnessed a significant surge in both demand as well as wholesales numbers, second month in a row. Our pending orders were already very encouraging since June and in July, our retail sales have also been promising thereby drastically bringing down the gap between wholesales and retail figures. The Innova Crysta and the Fortuner deserve a special mention here as both these models have significantly contributed to our total sales, thereby reiterating their segment leadership positioning in their respective segments. Even the Glanza and Urban Cruiser are doing consistently well month on month, especially owing to the need for personal mobility in the post Covid era.

We understand that such a surge in demand cannot be attributed to pent up demand alone, but also to the fact that there is a clear sign of positive momentum in the market. Having said that, some parts of the country are still under restrictions and once these restrictions are curbed, we hope that it will further aid demand as well as sales.  The company’s aim right now is to cater to pending orders of our customers as well as focus on vaccination of both our employees, their families as well as dealer & supplier staff, so as to be able to minimise the risk of infections in the future. Companywide, 97% of our employees have received their first dose of vaccination and we are in the process to complete vaccination for all our employees, including the ones ‘working from home”, concluded Mr. Sigamani.

Gen Z Indians Are Swiping Right On New Pals To Beat The Corona Blues: Tinder

* ‘New connections’, ‘fun hangouts’, and ‘friends within communities’ among top 5 reasons to swipe

* 90% of Gen Z Indians are using their dating apps to find new people or simply stay connected

* Virtual connections are here to stay; 47% of Indian singles say they feel more virtually creative today when compared to 2020

For over a year-and-a-half, the quarantine has left Gen Z Indians craving for a social life glo-up. Sure, we saw interesting trends to stay distracted. But, unfortunately, the Dalgona Coffee only took us so far. Tinder’s recent survey spills that every 1 out of 3 surveyed Gen Z Indian today feels lonely due to lack of social interactions (35%); and believes they’ve had to hit pause on their entire lives (34%).

But many young singletons are embracing the corona blues by getting onto their dating apps, hoping to simply socialise from the comfort of their couches. This Friendship Day, Tinder India highlights the Gen Z outlook towards making new connections when social swiping today.

Yeah romance is cool, but have you ever swiped right on a friend?

Tinder’s recent study reveals that 9 in 10 Gen Z Indians are using their dating apps to find new people or simply stay connected, without worrying about romantic potential. “No surprise,” some would say, what with the pandemic robbing us of the opportunity to socialise or go out and about. In addition to finding romantic relationships and long-term partners, Gen Z Indians cited ‘making new connections’, ‘finding friends in their communities’, and ‘looking for fun hangout buddies’ as the top reasons to swipe today. Goes to show that meeting new people is just as important as finding romantic partners for this audience.

Food, jest, and movies on the minds of young singletons

“Finding my kinda weird” has been a dating essential for as long as we know. In Tinder’s survey  profiles with these passions are most likely to pass the vibe-check this Friendship day. While 41% Indian singles are open to matching with ‘a food lover, just like me’, around 36% hope to match with ‘the one with a sense of humour’ ,  and 32% hope to meet ‘movie enthusiasts’.

Gen Z Indians feel more virtually creative in 2021, but are also making bucket lists for IRL moments with their connections

The lockdown blues have made one thing certain: virtual dates and meaningful connections made online are here to stay. With over a year of online dates and conversations, 47% of Indian singles say they feel more virtually creative today when compared to 2020. In fact, as per Tinder’s ‘Future of Dating report’*, 7 in 10 Gen Z Indians surveyed admitted it was easier to make connections online (68%), while also agreeing that meeting new people online was liberating (67%)*.

While virtual dates and connections are a part of life, as many as 3 in 5 Indian singletons surveyed are looking forward to dipping their toes back into IRL moments and their ideal IRL dating bucket lists now feature simple yet meaningful activities such as ‘walks in parks’ (37%), ‘cooking meals together’ (31%), and ‘outdoorsy activities’ (25%).

Data as per survey conducted by Tinder in June 2021, capturing responses from 400 individuals in India, aged 18-25 years old.

*Future of Dating Survey data comes from 2000 singles surveyed in India fielded between September and November 2020

Hero Motocorp Further Augments Its Global Business Operations In Mexico

* Offers A Wide Range Of Products For Customers Through An Extensive Distribution Network

In keeping with its aggressive expansion plans in its global business, Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, has started retail sales in the key market of Mexico. 

The Company has introduced an extensive portfolio of products, including motorcycles and a scooter, thereby catering to the diverse segments of customers. These include popular motorcycles such as the Xpulse 200, Xpulse 200T, Hunk 190, Hunk 160R, Hunk 150, Eco 150 TR, Eco 150 Cargo, and Ignitor 125, and the Dash 125 scooter.

Sanjay Bhan, Head of Global Business, Hero MotoCorp, said, “This is an important development in our international business growth story. Mexico will be a key market for us in the future and this is the first step in this direction. The range of products that we have introduced here should excite and cater to a wide segment of customers.”

The product portfolio will be available across the country through the retail arm of the distributor, agencies and dealers, and will have attractive financing options. There will also be a wide network of service centers spread throughout the country. The products will be available with a warranty of three years or 30,000 kilometers.

Hero MotoCorp has a renewed Global Business strategy of R4 - Revitalize, Recalibrate, Revive and Revolutionize. With this strategy the Company has significantly enhanced its global operations both in terms of volumes and presence.

In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Hero MotoCorp registered its highest-ever monthly dispatch to global markets in March 2021. Carrying forward the positive momentum, it has witnessed growth in the current financial year (FY’22) too.

Sify Reports Revenues Of INR 6451 Million For First Quarter Of FY 2021-22

* EBITDA for the Quarter stood at INR 1454 Million

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS:

· Revenue for the quarter was INR 6451 Million, a growth of 23% over the same quarter last year.

· EBITDA for the quarter was INR 1454 Million, an increase of 26% over the same quarter last year.

· Profit before tax for the quarter was INR 440 Million, an increase of 65% over the same quarter last year.

· Profit after tax for the quarter was INR 329 Million, an increase of 91% over the same quarter last year.

· CAPEX during the quarter was INR 917 Million.

· Cash balance at the end of the quarter was INR 3515 Million.

MANAGEMENT COMMENTARY

Mr. Raju Vegesna, Chairman, said, “Lessons learned from dealing with the first wave of the pandemic have stood us in good stead as we continue to provide mission-critical ICT services in a challenging environment.  India has quickly bounced back from the second with Enterprises slowly returning to at-office business. Mid-sized business, which bore the brunt of the pandemic, are becoming more active in the market for automation solutions. Sify is proud to have played a small role in helping Indian Enterprises to sustain their operations and become more resilient.

This year, critical requirements like the National data policy and continued remote access will push security to the top of the priority list for Enterprises. This is also expected to accelerate the interest in data center space on a pan-India basis.”

Mr. Kamal Nath, CEO, said, “With industries and people steadily returning to work, digitalization decisions are being accelerated. The trends of the previous quarters continue to be relevant, resulting in sustained interest in our Cloud@core portfolio of services. Work from anywhere, migration to hosted DC and hybrid cloud platform, strengthening of disaster recovery plans to enable business continuity, application modernization – all these market trends are reflected in our current customer engagements.

Data Center colocation business is one of the fastest growing segments in India. It is led by Hyperscale Cloud Providers, followed by Enterprises and supporting telecommunications players. We expect this to drive our future growth, alongside Cloud, Network and Digital services business”.

Mr. M P Vijay Kumar, CFO, said, “The operating performance has been stable. We continue to invest in expansion of our data centers, network connectivity and digital services. We will stay focused on our cost efficiency and liquidity management, given that the economic recovery is still regaining lost ground due to the pandemic. 

Cash balance at the end of the quarter was INR 3515 Million”.

GROWTH DRIVERS

The pandemic has accelerated the primary growth drivers in the market for cloud adoption, led by digital initiatives and transformation. This trend is triggering movement of workloads from on-premise Data Centers to Hyperscale Public Cloud and hosted Private Cloud in varied degrees, based on the digital objectives of Enterprises. This results in transformation of the traditional network architecture and transformation at the edge which connects the end user. The need for digital services like analytics, data lakes, IoT, etc are shifting the focus toward adoption of Hybrid and Public Cloud vs Private Cloud. Collectively, these trends are generating opportunities for full scale Cloud, DC and Network service providers with digital services skills.

KEY WINS

A summary of the major categories of customers who are signing up with Sify include:

Customers choosing Sify for migration of their on-premise data center to multi-cloud platforms like Cloudinfinit, AWS, Azure and Oracle. They also often entrust Sify with management and security.

Customers choosing Sify as their DC Hosting partner as they embrace hybrid cloud strategy.

Customers choosing Sify as their multi-service Digital Transformation partner.

Customers choosing Sify as their Network Transformation and Management partner as they migrate to Cloud-ready networks. 

A consolidated summary of the key highlights during the quarter is noted below:

Data Center centric IT Services highlights include:

A subsidiary of one of the oldest Indian MNCs contracted to migrate their on-premise DC to AWS Cloud, while another subsidiary contracted to migrate their SAP Workload to AWS Cloud.

A couple of startups, among them a gaming company and an OTT platform provider, signed up to migrate to a global CDN platform.

A nodal agency implementing payment related activities for the Central bank migrated to Sify Data Center.

A major paint manufacturer and a digital transformation startup focused on the financial sector contracted to move from their on-premise DC to Sify DC.

One of the country’s largest Private banks and a prominent Public sector finance institution contracted Sify to commission Private Cloud at their Data Center.

A State data center contracted to augment their Data Center and deploy non-IT services.

A Public sector bank migrated to Sify DC as part of their consolidation and expansion exercise.

Sify’s Cloud-based backend supply chain integration platform signed a prominent player in retail and another in healthcare, an online education platform, a financial services company and multiple non-banking financial companies.

Multi-year contracts for building and augmenting Security Operations Center came from two Public Services Insurance majors.

A Regional bank signed up to implement Digital certification for the universal ID and a private bank signed up for managed services.

Sify was accredited as an Independent Software Vendor for WhatsApp for Business.

Network centric services highlights include:

Sify added 53 new Network Services customers in the quarter.

One of the largest Private banks in the country contracted to connect their network to Near line Disaster Recovery.

A Private scheduled bank signed up for network consolidation and a large cooperative bank signed up to connect a few hundred locations.

A global retail major and a generic pharmaceutical multinational contracted with Sify for managed and secure SD-WAN services.

A Fortune Global 500 consulting major signed up for Cloud based collaboration services.

One of the country’s oldest MNCs contracted Sify to commission their Network Operation Center.

A social media major and a global OTT platform signed up for network nodes and connectivity expansion.

Sify invested in upgradation of the core backbone to 100G to support the next phase of growth and also in fresh capacity in key cities.