SIDBI Provides First Approval To Government Of Tamil Nadu Under SIDBI Cluster Development Fund

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), the principal financial institution engaged in the promotion, financing and development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has provided the first approval under SIDBI Cluster Development Fund (SCDF) to Government of Tamil Nadu in a special event held at the Tamil Nadu Assembly today.

The in-principle approval letter was handed over by Shri Sivasubramanian Ramann, IA&AS, Chairman and Managing Director, SIDBI in the presence of Shri M. K. Stalin, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Minister for Finance, Shri Thangam Thennarasu, Minister for Industries, Shri T. M. Anbarasan, Minister for Rural Industries, Shri V. Irai Anbu, IAS, Chief Secretary, Shri S. Krishnan, IAS, Finance Secretary, Shri N. Muruganandam, IAS, Principal Secretary - Industries, Shri V. Arun Roy, IAS, MSME Secretary, Smt. Chitra K. Alai, Chief General Manager, SIDBI and Dr. R. K. Singh, Chief General Manager, SIDBI.

The project specific moderately priced loan assistance under SCDF will be extended by SIDBI to State Government for upgrading various existing MSME clusters and for developing new industrial infrastructural facilities in the State of Tamil Nadu.

Shri Sivasubramanian Ramann, IA&AS, Chairman and Managing Director of SIDBI said, “The thrust shall be laid on clusters in sectors/subsectors which can directly benefit the MSMEs in the state and to bring them to a level ‘NEXT’ wherein they emerge vibrant, higher on the value chain and become sustainable. SIDBI shall complement these with its customized direct lending products being channelized in the supported clusters, setting an example for other institutions to adopt and replicate. On need basis SIDBI shall also examine supporting the soft infrastructure issues in select clusters relating to technology, skilling/upskilling, energy efficiency, market and credit connect. A pilot has been launched in Ambattur leather cluster.”

The expert committee on MSMEs headed by Shri U.K. Sinha has recommended a more focused engagement of SIDBI with State Governments for MSME development and promotion including use of Priority Sector Shortfall (PSS) funds to create a low-cost lending window for State Governments for infrastructure projects in clusters.  Accordingly, SIDBI has set up Project Management Units (PMUs) in 11 states namely, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujrat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu., The PMUs in co-ordination with SIDBI and State Governments has given policy/scheme inputs on Innovation Voucher Programme scheme, New Entrepreneur cum Enterprise Development Scheme, undertaken rapid profiling of migrant labors options for entrepreneurship in PMU States etc.

SCDF has been setup with support of RBI to support the hard infrastructure facilities in clusters pan India. The fund is envisaged to support setting up, upgrading and renovation of MSME infrastructure in areas other than agriculture.  The major sectors include industrial and agri-allied sectors in the MSME eco-space, social sector projects in and around MSME clusters and connectivity to MSME Clusters.

Tata Motors Honors Olympians Who Narrowly Missed The Podium Finish But Inspired Billions

* Presents them with the Altroz, #TheGoldStandard of hatchbacks

Tata Motors, India’s leading automotive brand today handed over the keys of Altroz - the gold standard of hatchbacks to the Indian athletes who narrowly missed the bronze medal in the recently held Tokyo Olympics. They may not have won a medal but have won hearts of millions and inspired billions through their commendable performances. To recognize and congratulate them, Tata Motors honored 24 Olympians across categories such as Hockey, Wrestling, Golf, Boxing and Discuss throw. An Altroz will be handed over to each athlete, in the High Street Gold colour to mark his or her gold standard efforts.

According to Mr. Shailesh Chandra, President, Passenger Vehicle Business, Tata Motors, “We are extremely proud of our athletes for the sheer commitment and the indomitable spirit they showed at the recently held Tokyo Olympics and it is my honour to share the same platform with them today. Resonating their spirit and acknowledging their hard work, we are ecstatic to present to them the Tata Altroz, the gold standard in premium hatchbacks. As they continue to inspire each one of us, we wish them all the very best for their future and are confident that in years to come, they will bring to our country success galore.

ALTROZ has been receiving a lot of love and appreciation from the audience and is reaching new heights of success. Altroz comes with a futuristic design, 5 Star Global NCAP safety and a host of premium features such as touchscreen infotainment, leatherette seats, iRA connected car technology, Automatic headlamps, Rear AC vents and many more.

De Beers Forevermark Presents Its 10th Annual India Forum

De Beers, the world’s leading diamond company has made several exciting and significant announcements at its 10th annual forum held over the last three days. The announcements include – the De Beers Forevermark rebrand, the launch of the Forevermark Avaanti collection, the new Code of Origin programme and new partnership with National Geographic. Hosting a hybrid virtual and in person event, the diamond brand reached out to over 8 lakhs partners, diamantaires, manufacturers and patrons.

This year’s theme,‘Make Life Brilliant’ reflects De Beers’ purpose and belief that its diamonds have the power to Make Life Brilliant for its customers, communities and the planet, from its commitment to Building Forever and its bold and ambitious 2030 sustainability goals to its timeless jewellery designs.

During the event, De Beers announced that Forevermark™ will be renamed De Beers Forevermark. The name change, is part of De Beers’ wider brand transformation, focused on connecting consumers to the significant social, environmental and responsible sourcing benefits the company creates for the people and places where it discovers diamonds, will create a closer connection between Forevermark and the iconic De Beers brand, De Beers Group’s Building Forever sustainability commitments, and the company’s more than 130 years of diamond expertise. The name change will also deliver important benefits for retail partners, enabling greater storytelling about the positive impact De Beers Forevermark diamonds support throughout the value chain. The name change will apply across all the Forevermark channels, with guests having the opportunity to experience the new De Beers Forevermark brand environment. Additionally, the jewellery house has released its new De Beers Forevermark Diamond Jewellery Verification Report that will authenticate the entire product and not just the diamond a consumer purchases.

Nancy Liu, CEO, De Beers Forevermark said, “We are delighted to welcome our partners to our 10th De Beers Forevermark forum. Over the past decade, we have seen the evolution and development of the diamond industry, along with shifting consumer behaviours. Consumers are increasingly demanding that the brands they purchase reflect their values and inspire trust. A Forevermark diamond has always stood for the highest standards of beauty and responsible sourcing and by aligning Forevermark more closely with the De Beers name, we can directly connect the Forevermark promise with the values and expertise signified by De Beers.”

Adding to its portfolio of designs De Beers Forevermark launched its latest fine jewellery collection, Forevermark Avaanti. Embodying the spirit of possibility, inspiring the wearer to realise their power and make a lasting statement every day - thirty-six stand-out pieces sweep around like a ripple, symbolising the start of something new. Featuring a rare De Beers Forevermark diamond set in 18k yellow, white, or rose gold, the clean, circular designs are also available with the added brilliance of pavé diamonds.

Displaying the latest technologies in retail to its partners, the jewellery house also presented its new virtual store, which will provide consumers with an exclusive first look at the Forevermark Avaanti collection ahead of its launch in India on 10th September. Immersing themselves in the 3D experience, consumers will have the opportunity to explore the collection to find their favourite products alongside the collection's campaign. They will also be able to sign-up for email and WhatsApp updates, allowing them to be the first to shop the collection as soon as it is available.

Attendees at the forum were introduced to De Beers’ new trusted source program, Code of Origin. In India, the Code of Origin program will cover a range of diamonds from 0.08 carats and below. Each piece of jewellery that is accompanied by a Code of Origin certificate provides the consumer with the assurance that the diamonds contained within it are natural and conflict free, and were discovered by De Beers in Botswana, Canada, Namibia, or South Africa. Moreover, it lets the consumer know that the Code of Origin diamonds in their jewellery have had a positive impact on the people and places where they were found, helping to provide jobs, education, healthcare and wildlife conservation. The Code of Origin programme is currently running with a limited number of development partners ahead of it being scaled up in 2022.

Also announced during the event was the launch of Okavango Eternal, a strategic partnership between De Beers and National Geographic to address one of the most critical conservation challenges in Africa: protecting the source waters of the Okavango Delta and the lives and livelihoods they support. The five-year commitment, which will help protect Africa’s endangered species, ensure water and food security for more than one million people and develop livelihood opportunities for 10,000 people, represents a critical inward investment to underpin the resilience and long-term recovery of the region in the years ahead. The partnership is focused on working hand in hand with communities throughout the Okavango to deliver shared ecological solutions that lead to shared economic opportunity.

“We’ve aptly themed this year’s forum ‘Make Life Brilliant’. Today more than ever, we are aware of our ability to connect to an even wider range of consumers with our social purpose and to make life brilliant not just for this generation, but for future generations. This year’s forum is a momentous occasion for us where we adapted both virtually and physically to the new normal. It is an opportunity for us to bring our partners together, to interact and transact over three days, and we have made several new and exciting announcements including, our De Beers Forevermark rebrand, the launch of the Forevermark Avaanti collection, and our new Code of Origin programme as well as our motivating new partnership with National Geographic,” said Sachin Jain, Managing Director, De Beers India.

The De Beers Forevermark Forum was marked a success both on-ground and virtually. The brand now gears up for the upcoming season.

Godrej Interio Boosts Its Digital Foray To Drive Richer Consumer Experience

* Witnesses a stupendous increase of 43% through online sales till July-21 compared to last year; targets 40% growth in online sales by the end of F.Y 22 ~

* 29% of the revenue generated from the Southern markets result from online sales ~

Godrej & Boyce, the flagship company of the Godrej Group, announced that its business Godrej Interio, India’s leading furniture brand in home and institutional segments has revealed that ‘home storage’ has been the highest selling category through online sales since the Covid-19 pandemic hit India. The company also announced that their Interio division is targeting 40% growth through online sales via its own D2C platform, by F.Y.22 and further eyes 30% growth over the next two years.

In line with the global trend in the furniture retail industry, Godrej Interio has been investing heavily in key digital technologies, automation, and processes to build a robust, truly omni-channel, omnipresent furniture brand with the largest footprint across the country.

At the backend Godrej Interio introduced ‘Robotic Process Automation’ to automate the processes resulting in speeding up the communication as many team members were working from home. It also implemented technology to reduce the cost of being connected to all stakeholders along with reducing the cost of the supply chain. Whereas on the front end, the company introduced innovative digital tools like visual search on its website to help customers choose the perfect product for their living spaces. Godrej Interio also brought in artificial intelligence (AI) which scans designs, materials, geometrics and recommends products based on the configuration of the home that people have. The 360-degree walkthrough of the store lets consumers zoom in on products and also interact with the store personnel. In addition to this, the company has also brought in a 3D configurator wherein a customer along with the sales team can customize products and visualize how the room looks before finalizing the purchase.

Subodh Mehta, Senior Vice President (B2C), Godrej Interio said “The pandemic has pushed brands to improve their online shopping experience for consumers with a renewed thrust to seamlessly integrate technology. Taking cognizance of this change in consumer behaviour, we at Godrej Interio have blended our digital and retail stores to deliver a complete Omni-channel experience to our customers by increasing our penetration through online channels. Our retail strategy has taken a little diversion of bringing in more digital tools at the point of sale to make consumer’s decision-making journey easier. We are also increasing the delivery points from 2,000 pin codes to 5,000 pin codes. We have interior designers who work with customers in helping them visualize the looks once they purchase our furniture and provide design consultancy too. Our user friendly, e-commerce enabled website provides consumers with a great opportunity to discover and purchase our range online.”

Godrej Interio plans to bring all of its dealers onto the e-commerce portal so that the customer can directly book orders and it can be delivered to any part of the country from its dealers to customers. It also plans to introduce ‘Consumer Internet of Things’ (CIOT) in products, moving ahead. Earlier last month, Godrej Interio was also conferred the title of India’s Most Desirable Brand Award 2021 by Trust Research Advisory under the ‘Furniture Retail’ category. The brand has taken a giant leap from 186 in 2020 to 38th position this year.

About Godrej Interio:

Godrej Interio (GI) is India’s premium furniture brand in both home and institutional segments with a strong commitment to sustainability and centers of excellence in design, manufacturing, and retail.

Led by the largest in-house design team in the country in the furniture category and awarded with 37 India Design Mark Awards till date, GI aims to transform spaces with its thoughtfully designed furniture to create brighter homes and offices with products that have the highest design quotient in aesthetics, functionality and technology. With consistent pursuit of excellence and a special focus on health and ergonomics, GI’s product portfolio comprises a massive range.

Today, we design and manufacture furniture for office spaces, homes, educational institutes, healthcare facilities, laboratories and more. Along with furniture we offer Audio Visual and 360 Degree Turnkey solutions. Each of our product range revolves around comfort and aesthetics while delivering well-designed, fun and functional furniture solutions. Briefly, Godrej Interio transforms dream spaces to life!

Godrej Interio has 7 manufacturing facilities situated at Mumbai, Khalapur, Haridwar, Shirwal, and Bhagwanpur. GI’s Shirwal Plant is Green Co Platinum Certified, and Mumbai Plants are Green Co Gold Certified. GI is widely known for its comprehensive sustainability certifications for its products in furniture category.

GI commitment to the environment has resulted in manufacturing products with lesser environment footprint. Our pioneering efforts include designing less environment burdening products, usage of eco-friendly materials and setting up less polluting and consuming processes, ensuring eco-friendly packaging and transportation and finally the extended responsibility of recycling/reuse of used furniture and scrap, thus ensuring a lifecycle approach to green. GI has the widest range of green choices for our customers which not only includes products but also services such as green interiors and recycling.

Currently present in over 650 cities with 250 exclusive showrooms and 800 dealers, GI is one of the largest divisions of Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd., part of the Godrej Group, one of India's largest engineering and customer product groups.

The brand boasts of noteworthy awards received so far- CII Exim Bank Award for Business Excellence 2016, Superbrands 2017-18, Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Brand 2018 Gold (Home Furniture and Modular Kitchen), TRA’s India’s Most Consumer focused brand 2019, GreenCo Star Performer Award 2019, National Energy Leader Award at CII National Award for Excellence in Energy Management 2018.

FADA Hosted Its 3rd Auto Retail Conclave ‘Thriving Through Disruption’

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) hosted the third edition of the Auto Retail Conclave today on the theme of ‘Thriving Through Disruption’. Participants included Indian and global automaking companies, industry stalwarts as well as FADA members from across the nation.

Our distinguished Chief Guest, Hon'ble Union Minister, Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister of Heavy Industries, inaugurated the conclave along with Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, as Guest of Honour. Also present on the occasion were Mr. Kenichi Ayukawa, President, SIAM and Mr. Sunjay Kapur, incoming President ACMA.  

Hon’ble Union Minister of Heavy Industries, Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, acknowledged the significant contribution made by the dealers’ community to the auto industry and economy and said: “The auto industry should play a vital role in making India a manufacturing hub under the visionary leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji. The Indian government has been making efforts to promote India as a global business-friendly destination. We are promoting Clean, Green & Atmanirbhar Bharat campaigns in India and revitalizing the green mobility movement.”

Additionally, “he urged the automobile industry to continue making efforts to make India an Atmanirbhar manufacturing hub not only for India but globally and to contribute to the success of the government's Automotive Mission Plan 2026”.

Mr. Vinkesh Gulati, President, Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) said, “The Covid-19 pandemic has had a marked impact on automobile dealers. Many dealerships are family-owned small, mid-sized businesses and partnership firms. The resilient industry has survived the pandemic by managing finances prudently and restructuring the overall dealer business. However, the pandemic and the exit of several prominent auto OEMS has hurt the dealers extensively. While the government has done a lot to promote the viability of the sector, we request it to consider protecting the auto dealers’ rights who have been impacted by the unexpected exit of MNCs with whom they had signed up as long-term partners. Giving industry status will create a sense of equilibrium in this industry.

“The auto retail sector employs over 45 lakh people. It contributes Rs 95,000 crores in direct and indirect taxes and other levies to the Central and State Exchequers. The sector has a minimum set-up cost of INR 1,50,000 crores; 60,000 acres of own land and an investment of INR 2,25,000 crores. In fact the Auto Retail Sector is the largest Sector in the country and every state’s economy. The enormous size and potential of this segment of retail sector can be gauged from the fact that auto retail is 3 times the size of rest of the organized retail.

Industry status will give us better financing options in terms of priority lending from banks, financing from top lenders, private equity investments, easier access to domestic and global funds and more tax benefits. This will boost the confidence of the sector immensely and will result in the scaling up of infrastructure bringing in new investments to make the sector foster growth.”

The conclave witnessed a series of panel discussions on optimization, reinforcement and agility of the dealerships. The key topics for the Power Panel discussion were ‘Strengthening our Relationship’ & ‘Future of Auto Retail’.

An awards ceremony was also held to honour the winners of FADA’s Dealer Satisfaction Study - 2021. The survey was conducted by FADA in collaboration with PremonAsia, a consumer-insight driven consulting & advisory firm based in Singapore. The survey data was spread across sectors & segments on a pan India basis, covering a vast geography and OEM brands. 

MAHE Signs MoU With Anthem Biosciences To Boost Industry-Academic Research Opportunities

 

Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) and Anthem Biosciences, Bangalore, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to boost industry-academic partnerships. The prime focus of the MoU is to explore and evaluate potential industry-academic research opportunities and educational services and provide industrial training and internship opportunities to the students.

Dr. Mahadev Rao, Professor & Head, Department of Pharmacy Practice, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, MAHE, Manipal, said “It is our utmost privilege to be working alongside Anthem Biosciences. Our partnership aims to open avenues for students in the field of pharmacy practice, Medical & Clinical Operations, etc. for industry-academic research and provide them industrial training and internship to get real-time experience. We look for to this collaboration”

Anthem Biosciences is a CRISP (Contract Research and Innovation Service Provider) with the capacity to house over 1000 researchers and produce unique commercial medication actives. Anthem assists with drug testing for safety, efficacy (in vitro and in vivo), pre-clinical animal studies in a GLP facility, clone development, Antibody Drug Conjugates, R&D and manufacture of highly potent compounds, flow chemistry-based production, and large-scale commercial product manufacture, in addition to product research and development.

The MoU process was initiated by Dr. Mahadev Rao, Professor and Head, Department of Pharmacy Practice, (Co-ordinator Translational Research Centre), Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MCOPS) along with Dr. Praveen Kumar Shetty, Head & General Manager, Medical & Clinical Operations, Anthem Biosciences, and Dr. Narayana Sabhahit, Registrar, MAHE, Dr. Mallikarjuna Rao, Principal, MCOPS.

WhiteHat Jr Partners With Harvard Business Publishing, KPMG In India And Stanford Professor Jo Boaler To Bolster Employee, Teachers

WhiteHat Jr, a leading live one-on-one online learning platform, has built out a holistic people development charter by partnering with globally renowned institutions such as Harvard Business Publishing (HBP), KPMG in India and Mathematics thought leader and Stanford professor Jo Boaler, to create custom programs aimed at further developing and training employees and teachers and facilitating their capacity for growth, performance, and effectiveness. Through these collaborations, WhiteHat Jr will make accessible world-class initiatives to various divisions within the company ranging from the teacher workforce to operations to sales.

“Our focus has been on building organizational excellence that permeates through each and every function. A key driver of this purposeful and compassionate culture has been investing in the growth and personal development of employees at all levels,” said Trupti Mukker, CEO of WhiteHat Jr. "We are signing up with best in class institutions and thought leaders to help unleash the true potential of the people that matter - our employees and our teachers.”

In just over two years, WhiteHat Jr has not only emerged as a leading platform that has organically attracted registrations from 100+ countries and conducted 8.7+ million live classes but has also hired 16,000+ employees and teachers in India, with more than 65% of them being female.

WhiteHat Jr has been consistently investing in teacher training programs, including its in-house Learning Management System (LMS), comprising more than 10,000 hours of video content. The company now plans to expand its teacher training initiatives by collaborating with Dr. Jo Boaler, Nomellini-Olivier Professor of Mathematics Education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education to upskill its Math teachers by certifying them in a world-class Math teaching course.

In addition, Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) will design, develop, and deploy a strategic leadership learning experience for WhiteHat Jr’s cohort of leaders.

Last but not least, KPMG will provide a Competency Development Programme (CDP) to certify WhiteHat Jr's Customer facing and Operations teams based on the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt skills and programs.

WhiteHat Jr’s commitment to its employees also extends to various outreach initiatives, including comprehensive Covid care, health and wellness of its employees, mental health awareness programs, and commitment to reskilling employees while on remote work.

About WhiteHat Jr

WhiteHat Jr has been launched with the singular mission of empowering kids to become creators versus consumers of technology. The company has channeled students’ natural creativity through an engaging curriculum and personalized, live teacher attention. WhiteHat Jr’s 11,000+ strong teacher workforce conducts thousands of LIVE Coding, Math and Music online classes every day on its proprietary platform.  Cumulatively, the company has conducted more than 8.7 million classes to date.