Govt Of Telangana Dedicates 3000+ Public Wi-Fi Hotspots Powered By ACT Fibernet To Citizens Of Hyderabad

* Hyderabad now has India’s largest Free Public Wi-Fi Network. Hotspots deployed across schools, hospitals, public libraries, malls, metro rail among others

25 Mbps for all guest users, ACT customers to get home Wi-Fi speeds

In its efforts towards further accelerating ‘Digital Telangana’, Government of Telangana today commemorated 3000+ public Wi-Fi hotspots in Hyderabad as part of the Hy-Fi project in collaboration with ACT Fibernet. Launched in the presence of Shri. K. T. Rama Rao, Hon’ble Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development, Industries, and IT & Commerce, Govt. of Telangana, Mr. Jayesh Rajan, Principal Secretary of the Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT) Departments of the Telangana government, Mr. Bala Malladi, Chief Executive Officer, Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd and other dignitaries, and officials.

The pandemic has propelled the adoption of digital platforms among citizens in the country, and it is expected that the demand for internet accessibility will grow by manifolds in the coming years.  Installation of Wi-Fi hotspots is an ideal solution to enable more people stay connected and provide the benefits of internet. With this launch, Hyderabad becomes one of the first cities in India to deploy public wi-fi network at such a large scale.

Each of the 3000 Wi-Fi hotspots are powered by ACT SmartFiber™ Technology, that will ensure superfast and safe internet experience. This technology enables users with smooth, seamless connectivity for video content, including calling, streaming, and ultra-fast file transfers on ACT’s Gigabit-enabled network at scale. With implementation of the SmartFiber™ technology, a study by InMobi in April 2021 has concluded that in addition to being the largest ISP in Hyderabad, ACT is also the fastest service provider in Hyderabad, and the best broadband for streaming.

Users will have to login through “ACT Free Hy-Fi” portal with their phone number and use free internet for 45 mins at 25 Mbps speed and 1 GB data limit without any cost and can also top up further as and when needed. Existing customers of ACT, when they login with their ACT credentials, will get their current home broadband speeds.  For example, if the customer has a 100 Mbps plan at home, he will get 100 Mbps speeds when he logs into wi-fi hotspot. These hotspots are located across the city in malls, hospitals, public parks, metro stations, public libraries, metro stations, educations institutions etc. for easy access.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri. K. T. Rama Rao, Hon’ble Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development, Industries, and IT & Commerce, Govt. of Telangana, said, “Hyderabad has been rated as one of the best cities in the world by several studies. The 3000 active hotspots now make Hyderabad a truly global smart city. I am happy that a great number of people will now be able to enjoy free internet and make good use of it. ACT Fibernet has been a trusted industry partner for many years, and I thank them for their support to expand the Hy-Fi project.”

Shri Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary for IT, Industries and Commerce, Govt. of Telangana, said, “Hyderabad now has the largest active public free wi-fi network which can be accessed in most of the public locations. Through Hy-Fi, all of Hyderabad can now connect to the internet free of cost and benefit from the opportunities that the digital world provides.”

Mr. Bala Malladi, CEO Atria Convergence Technologies (ACT), said, “ACT Fibernet has always believed in leveraging internet connectivity as a force of good – to enable social transformations. The free public Wi-fi will help bridge the digital divide, be it for students, health workers or even general public. It is an honour to be part of this prestigious project by government of Telangana and do our bit for the citizens of Hyderabad “

With the government’s constant push on ‘Digital India’ and making internet affordable for all, internet penetration is set to reach newer heights in coming years. ACT Fibernet has been a catalyst to drive adoption of fiber broadband internet In India since 2000 and is the largest ISP in Hyderabad and one of the largest in India.

Hon’ble Supreme Court Upholds Dream11 Online Fantasy Sports Format As ‘Game Of Skill’

* Dismisses Special Leave Petition while reaffirming judicial orders passed on the matter

The Hon’ble Supreme Court, by its order dated 30th July 2021, has dismissed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) that alleged that the Online Fantasy Sports (OFS) format offered by Dream11 amounted to gambling, wagering and betting and is not a ‘Game of Skill’. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has once again reaffirmed the judgements passed by the Punjab & Haryana High Court and the Bombay High Court, and has upheld the judgment passed by Hon’ble Rajasthan High Court, where the legality of the online fantasy sports format as offered by Dream11 as a ‘Game of Skill’ was sustained. Thus the legality of Dream11’s online fantasy sports format as protected by the Constitution of India, is now final by law and in fact.

While deciding on the Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the Hon’ble High Court of Rajasthan had declined to entertain it, stating that in the light of orders passed by Punjab & Haryana High Court and Bombay High Court, the matter of gambling has already been put to rest. 

Interestingly, the Hon’ble High Court of Rajasthan in another PIL (Ravindra Singh Choudhry V State) had reiterated the same stance. The Hon’ble court went on to narrate certain specific best practices from the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports Federation (FIFS) charter, including the resemblance an OFS contest has with the real-life match, choosing a fantasy sports team that resembles the real world team, the contest running for the full duration of the match, no team changes being allowed after the start of the match, to list a few, as existing in the format offered by Dream11. The order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court has once again upheld the format of OFS offered by Dream11.

Said Harsh Jain, Co-Founder and CEO of Dream11, “We are happy that the Hon’ble Supreme Court has upheld the legality of the Dream11 fantasy sports format. We reiterate our commitment to driving sports engagement through fantasy sports, which brings sports fans closer to the sports they love and helps build a larger sports ecosystem in India.” 

Said Gopal Jain, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India, elaborating on the matter, “The Supreme Court while dismissing the SLP against Rajasthan High Court Order, has emphasized that, with the dismissal of SLPs against orders of Punjab & Haryana and Bombay High Court, the issue of gambling is already decided by it. Simply put, the Fantasy Sports formats which are in line with the analysis of the Punjab & Haryana High Court are games of skill and are legal formats no more open to scrutiny.”

Added Mahesh Agarwal, Advocate on Record, Supreme Court of India, “The Supreme Court has repeated its position and cleared the air that Dream11 Fantasy Sports constitutes a game of ‘skill’ and is not ‘gambling’. By re-affirming its earlier orders on the fantasy sports platform offered by Dream11, it has yet again given its final stamp of approval on the legality of the platform.

Interestingly the Dream11 format of online fantasy sport is based on the format approved by the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports Federation, currently the only judicially affirmed and industry-recognised format that is permitted under law. We hope that the online fantasy sports industry continues to abide by the judicial precedents as mentioned above and follow the rules of fair play, ethics and governance established and administered by the FIFS.”

About Dream11

Dream11 is the world’s* largest fantasy sports platform with 110 million+ users playing fantasy cricket, football, kabaddi, basketball, hockey, volleyball, handball, rugby, futsal, American football & baseball, on it. A homegrown Indian brand, Dream11 helps Indian sports fans to actively engage with real-life sporting events and showcase their knowledge of sports. Fantasy sports has been deemed a ‘Game of Skill’ by the honourable Supreme Court of India.

Dream11 is the flagship brand of Dream Sports, one of India’s leading Sports Technology companies. Other brands under the Dream Sports umbrella include FanCode, a premier digital sports destination that personalizes content and commerce for all fans, DreamX, a sports accelerator, DreamSetGo, a sports experiences platform and Dream Pay, a payment gateway.

NSRCEL-IIM Bangalore Organises Fintech Festival To Celebrate Success Of Incubation Program With ICICI Securities

* Selected fintechs have raised over Rs 25 crore of funding during the programme

NSRCEL―the incubation arm of Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB) today organised its first-of-its-kind Fintech Festival to celebrate the success of its fintech startup incubation program in partnership with ICICI Securities, India’s leading financial services firm. The successful day-long event was a testament to the eventful 12-month long journey of NSRCEL's startup incubation program. The event witnessed deliberations and discussions on the fintech industry for incubated startups and Fintech enthusiasts alike.

Last year, ICICI Securities joined hands with NSRCEL, by contributing its CSR funds to support promising startups in the fintech space through a structured program. Over 240 fintechs from all over the country applied for the programme. For a pre-incubation program, 25 firms were shortlisted, of which 10 underwent an intensive nine-month incubation journey. Today’s programme formally concluded the programme.

The success of the programme could be judged from the fact that during the last nine months even as they were undergoing the incubation programme, the 10 select fintech startups have cumulatively raised Rs 25 crore as VC/angel funding.

"These endeavours are crucial at this juncture to leverage benefits from the myriad opportunities available to make Fintech founders future-ready and generate more employment opportunities. By focusing on a particular area with support from highly qualified faculty, talented learners, and industry luminaries, we can create a much stronger impact in the thriving fintech industry especially in the era of rapid digitalisation," said Prof. Venkatesh Panchapagesan, Chairperson NSRCEL at IIMB.

The event began with a welcome note address by Prof. Venkatesh  Panchapagesan  and saw robust discussions and debates on key topics including the opportunities and challenges in fintech, venture capital for fintech venture with global perspective, market expansion opportunities from Indian context, global fintech and aspirations on scaling up, and post incubation relationship between NSRCEL and ventures.

"Our partnership with NSRCEL and IIM-Bangalore is a small but meaningful contribution towards supporting young entrepreneurs. We believe that our great Country can only achieve its full potential through such sustainable entrepreneurial ventures which can serve as a vehicle for channelizing the demographic dividend by creating jobs for serving the needs of the end consumers. We are confident that such partnerships will open the doors to immense opportunities and lead to a virtuous job creation and economic growth cycle. India has bolstered its position in the field of technical innovation globally and with a dynamic and young population, it can turn many innovative ideas into realities. We are proud of our partnership with NSRCEL, and we are hopeful of giving wings to the aspirations of many more young entrepreneurs through collaborative efforts," said Mr. Vijay Chandok, MD & CEO, ICICI Securities.

Industry experts and dignitaries who participated in the discussions include Mr.  Akhil Handa (Chief Digital Officer, Bank of Baroda), Mr.  Vijay Chandok (Managing Director & CEO, ICICI Securities), Mr. Ashish Kumar Chauhan (MD & CEO of Bombay Stock Exchange), Mr. Hero Choudhary (Managing Partner, Beenext), Mr. Shwetank Verma (Co-founder, LEO Capital), Mr. Abhishant Pant (Founder FinTech Meetup & Angel Investor), Mr. Varun Mittal (Fintech Lead ASEAN EY), Sayali Karanjkar (PaySense), and Anand Sri Ganesh (COO, NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore).

The ten fintechs which underwent the incubation journey are:

1-ALGOFOX (https://www.algofox.in/)

Algofox is a financial firm offering end to end solutions to create and manage wealth in stock market. The following services are provided by Algofox:

1. Stock market courses (NCFM/NISM Certifications) 2. Algo trading solutions and marketplace

3. Health insurance, mutual funds, life insurance guidance 4. Live trading desk

2-IDOS (http://www.myidos.com/)

IDOS is an accounting & financial management software that enables you to easily manage accounting, taxation and financial processes. It also empowers you with data and curated reports for decision making and analytics.

3-CREDOCHAIN (https://credochain.com/)

A digital lending platform for banks and NBFCs, Credochain, helps them originate, credit assess, process, and monitor MSME loans through an integrated platform.

4-HYLO CHALLENGER PRIVATE LIMITED (https://hylo.biz/)

HYLOBIZ is SME distribution value chain focussed Neobank, digitising the Receivables | Payables | Credit Access through Seamless integrations with SMEs ERP/accounting tools and the partner banks over the Open banking APIs ecosystem.

5- JARVIS INVEST (www.jarvisinvest.com)

JARVIS is a revolutionary strategy. It ensures that the investment decision making process is devoid of human emotions through juxtaposition of the power of Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning with Quantitative and Fundamental analysis of equity stocks. This enables the investment management process to systematically uncover and exploit sources of Alpha.

6- GIMBOOKS (https://www.gimbooks.com/)

GimBooks offers an easy to use, Mobile first and cloud based Bookkeeping platform, geared mainly towards small and micro-sized businesses in India. It uniquely offers domain- based bookkeeping, in which the interface and features of the App are customised as per the industry the user is coming from.

7- WEALTHEASY.AI (www.wealtheasy.ai, www.patterneffects.com)

Wealtheasy.ai helps busy individuals, who want to generate regular income from the stock market with a small capital base. Wealtheasy.ai uses a patented framework powered by machine learning and tested over 10 years of data to uncover hidden investment opportunities, manage risk and automate execution with minimal screen time for users.

8- PAYMATRIX (https://paymatrix.in/)

Paymatrix enables individuals to borrow on their existing credit card for unplanned expenses or during cash crunches and pay vendors even if they do not have a Point of Sale terminal.

9- ZIMYO (https://zimyo.com/)

ZimyoTM is a unique cloud-based HR and benefits solution for SMBs to attract and manage talent by offering employee benefits that even their bigger counterparts cannot offer; i.e. — payday loans, Insurance, Investments, etc.

10- PHI COMMERCE PVT LTD (http://www.payphi.com/)

A tech-first payments company empowering businesses to provide seamless payment experiences across omni-channels. PayPhi is addressing payments collection, processing & distribution requirements across online, in-store & on-the-go channels. This versatile platform used by Networks, Banks, Processors and Large Businesses

About ICICI Securities

ICICI Securities Limited (I-Sec) is a subsidiary of ICICI Bank Ltd. The company began its operation in May 1995 and continues to grow its operation through expanding its client base and providing different type of services.

I-Sec operates www.icicidirect.com, a virtual financial supermarket, meeting the three need sets of its clients- investments, protection, and borrowing. Through its four lines of businesses -- broking, distribution of financial products, wealth management, and investment banking-- I-Sec serves customers ranging from the retail and institutional investors to corporates to high net-worth individuals to government.

I-Sec is listed on National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). For details, visit: www.icicisecurities.com

About NSRCEL

With programs specifically catering to entrepreneurs with profit ventures and social ventures, also student and women entrepreneurs, NSRCEL offers its support to various players of the startup ecosystem.

NSRCEL brings together startups, industry mentors, eminent academicians from its parent institution Indian Institute of Management Bangalore and researchers who thrive on continuous interaction of theory and practice.

NSRCEL is also the first incubator with a program for tailored for social entrepreneurs and their unique challenges. For more info visit- www.nsrcel.org

Smart Lighting For Daily Living: Signify Expands Philips Smart Wi-Fi Ecosystem In India

·      Wide range of smart lighting LED products for your entire home - Downlighters, T-Bulb, T-Beamer and Batten

·      Simple operation using app that connects to your home’s existing Wi-Fi network

ü Easy control with WiZ app

ü Works with Wi-Fi

ü Tuneable white – Warm to cool daylight

ü EyeComfort Technology 

ü Smart Recovery Feature 

ü Pre-set modes 

Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, today announced the expansion of its Philips Smart Wi-Fi ecosystem in India. The portfolio now includes smart LED downlighter, T-Bulb, T-Beamer and Batten, in addition to the smart bulbs that were launched in 2019. You can now adjust your shade of white light, from a relaxing, warm white to an energizing, cool daylight, and enjoy pre-set modes to support your daily lighting needs.

The Philips Smart Wi-Fi products work on Wi-Fi and can be easily controlled using a mobile app or voice assistants such as Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. They operate on the WiZ technology platform and you can get started simply by installing the easy-to-use WiZ app on your smartphone or tablet and connect it to your home’s Wi-Fi network – no wiring, smart hub or additional equipment required.

These smart lighting products let you create the perfect mood for every moment. By choosing the right shade of white light to suit different parts of your day, you can support your body’s natural circadian rhythm and enhance your well-being. You can also automate your lighting, using its timer and scheduling functions.

All Philips Smart Wi-Fi products are equipped with EyeComfort technology that is designed to be easy on your eyes, thereby reducing eye strain. They also have a smart recovery feature, so that your smart lights don’t lose their lighting mode even after a power outage.

The following Philips Smart Wi-Fi products are available across both offline stores and online retail channels including www.amazon.in.

Philips Smart WiFi T-Bulb – 10W (?1,999) and 12W (? 2,249)

Philips Smart WiFi T-Beamer – 20W (?2,399)

Philips Smart WiFi Batten – 24W/2600 lumens (?2,499)

Philips Smart WiFi Downlighter – 10W (? 2,099) and 15W (? 2,499)

About Signify

Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) is the world leader in lighting for professionals and consumers and lighting for the Internet of Things. Our Philips products, Interact connected lighting systems and data-enabled services, deliver business value and transform life in homes, buildings and public spaces. With 2020 sales of EUR 6.5 billion, we have approximately 39,000 employees and are present in over 70 countries. We unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world. We achieved carbon neutrality in 2020, have been in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index since our IPO for four consecutive years and were named Industry Leader in 2017, 2018 and 2019. News from Signify is located at the Newsroom, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Information for investors can be found on the Investor Relations page.

Tennis Ace Sania Mirza Conducts MasterClass On Fitness And Yoga For 8 Lakh Students At LEAD Powered Schools

EdTech major in K-12 segment, LEAD initiated its second MasterClass for over 8 lakh students of its partner schools pan India, with Padma Bhushan awardee Sania Mirza motivating students to adopt a healthy lifestyle through Fitness and Yoga. The Tennis champion highlighted the importance of physical and mental exercises for students to combat limited physical activity and anxieties.

With MasterClass, LEAD has launched an industry first initiative to provide school children with an exposure to overall development and growth by partnering with renowned experts to share their knowledge and experience. Prior to the initiative, students from small towns & cities didn’t have access to such opportunities. The first MasterClass on creative writing was held with eminent author Chetan Bhagat.

The MasterClass on ‘Fitness and Yoga’ with the sports icon was enriching for the students and their parents as Sania shared her mantra of ‘building inner core and muscle strengthen to remain fit’. A believer of achieving dreams at any cost, she explained the role of discipline in life to students by sharing anecdotes on how she managed both, sports and academics.

Sania chatted with mothers on their role in supporting their children in remaining mentally and physically strong during the pandemic while also taking care of their own health by indulging in fitness activities.

Padma Bhushan awardee Sania Mirza said, “The pandemic must never come in the way of our commitment to pursue our dreams. Fitness and Yoga is a great way for children today to build on their mental and physical strength. A healthy body and mind is central to overall growth and learning and in the present context it is important that schools provide these opportunities to students.”

LEAD Co-founder & CEO Sumeet Mehta said, "MasterClass provides access to an exclusive world that is otherwise unavailable to students and schools from small towns. Our mission is to make excellent education accessible and affordable to every child. Where would children otherwise have a chance to attend a live class from Chetan Bhagat or Sania Mirza? LEAD brings this to them because we believe that children from small towns, if given access and opportunity, can shine as bright as students from metros. And with successful celebrities such as Sania Mirza, students will get a dose of inspiration to take fitness and health seriously in life. Because a fit mind lives in a fit body. In future, we will bring more such Masterclasses to students of LEAD powered schools!”

Each month, LEAD’s MasterClass has skill-based themes such as Yoga, Public Speaking, Mental Maths etc. Every session will be power-packed with inspiring stories, live Q&A sessions with celebrities and instructors, engagement in the form of quizzes, discussion sessions, live fun activities and take-home assignments.

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.      

Tata Motors Drives In The All-New Tiago NRG In Indian Market

 

* Excites the passenger vehicle market with its Urban Toughroader -

Holding true to its ‘New Forever’ brand promise, Tata Motors today launched the all-new Tiago NRG. Adding yet another exciting product to its wide range of portfolio, this vehicle has been carefully crafted for those who live differently. Positioned as the 'Urban Toughroader’, the Tiago NRG is not only enhanced aesthetically with an SUV inspired design giving it a muscular look but is also tuned further with a higher ground clearance to give a tough road performance for the go getters. With 4 star safety rating by GNCAP, this vehicle will be launched in 4 attractive colours – Foresta Green, Fire Red, Snow White, Cloudy Grey, and will be available in showrooms from today at a starting price of INR.6,57,400, ex-showroom Delhi.

Commenting on NRG’s distinctive design and capabilities, Mr. Rajan Amba, Vice-President, Sales, Marketing & Customer Care, PVBU, Tata Motors said, “We are excited to bring to you this awesome version of our much-loved hatchback, the Tata Tiago. Truly energetic just like its name, the NRG fits well with the growing trend of bringing to market more SUV like vehicles. It is not only strong on the exterior but is feature-loaded & stylish in the interior, and is an absolute pleasure to drive with enhanced abilities to take over rough terrains.  Crowning the Tiago range, the NRG will continue to help us increase our brand presence. We are confident that our customers will appreciate the new Tiago NRG as much as its predecessor.”

UPL Ltd Q1FY22 Net Profit Rises 23 Percent To Rs. 678 Crores

* Strong Revenue, Margins and EBITDA demonstrates business resilience

UPL Ltd. (NSE: UPL & BSE: 512070), a world leader in sustainable agriculture products and solutions, today reported robust financial results for the first quarter ended June 30, 2021.

Commenting on the performance of the first quarter results Mr. Jai Shroff, CEO – UPL Ltd., said, “We have delivered strong and robust performance owing to our differentiated offerings, digitization, and collaborations across the food value chain. We continue to drive sustainable agriculture, launching our new global business unit - ‘NPP’ – Natural Plant Protection, dedicated to natural and biologically derived agricultural inputs and technologies. We also launched nurture.farm, a digital platform that advances resilience for farmers and the food system. In alignment to our OpenAg purpose, we are confident that these businesses will enable us to shape and scale sustainable agriculture. We remain committed to innovation and transformation in the food system, thereby delivering value to our stakeholders.”

·         Higher volumes and strong realisations in India drove growth despite delayed monsoons and second wave of Covid, market grew by 6-7% during the quarter

·         Strong growth across LATAM with Brazil leading at 40% increase vs Q1 last year

·         Higher volumes, strong realisations and increase in acreages in major row crops in North America

·         Supply constraints and unfavorable weather conditions in Europe

·         Unfavorable weather, reduced volumes and supply constraints offsets the growth from some ROW regions

Other Developments

·         UPL announced the launch of ‘nurture.farm’ - a digital platform which fosters resilient farmers, making agriculture simple, profitable and sustainable for generations to come through technology-led solutions

UPL announced the launch of ‘NPP’ – Natural Plant Protection – a new global business unit housing UPL’s comprehensive portfolio of natural and biologically derived agricultural inputs and technologies. NPP will act as a stand-alone brand, consolidating UPL’s existing biosolutions portfolio, network of R&D laboratories and facilities worldwide, which currently accounts for 7% of UPL’s total revenues. NPP’s global offering will continue to benefit from UPL’s extensive global distribution footprint, drawing on innovation, research, and development capabilities, and will be supported by UPL’s proven ability to bring products to market on a global scale

Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings retained the Investment Grade credit rating for UPL; Fitch upgraded its Credit outlook to “Stable”

The company received the prestigious Asian Sustainability Leadership Award for Excellence in Sustainability Performance Management for displaying commendable commitment to sustainability.