Re-Opening Up Of International Travel To Boost Exhibitions And Events

 

The Government of India’s move to allow fully vaccinated foreign tourists to visit India is a welcome step and will provide a fresh lease of life to the exhibitions and events industry as well as travel, hospitality and aviation sectors.

Worldwide, the exhibition industry is restarting their operations with exhibitions being held from Las Vegas to Barcelona, Dubai to Shanghai. The Indian Exhibition Industry which organizes around 550 events annually with revenues of about Rs.26,500 crores per annum is also opening up to organize shows once again. A few shows have been held in Delhi, NCR and Bangalore.  Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) successfully hosted the India International Jewellery Show Premiere 2021 from 15th to 19th September 2021, which is one of the top 5 gems and jewellery shows of the world.  The show was organised following all the safety protocols laid down by the government and was a grand success. More exhibitions are in the pipeline to be organized at BIEC.

Welcoming the government move to open up international and domestic travel, V. Anbu, Director General & CEO, BIEC and IMTMA and President, UFI said, “With the massive vaccination programme initiated by the government and around 80 crore population already being vaccinated, things are expected to normalize by end of this year.   With the pace of vaccination, I presume that around 70% of the population of the country will be fully vaccinated by end of 2021.  It would also be useful to consider opening up of scheduled commercial flights for fully vaccinated people from countries, which mutually agree to recognize and share vaccination data. This will encourage both tourists as well as business visitors make their travel plans ahead of the year-end tourism, exhibition and events season. Opening up of scheduled flights will provide a strong vote of confidence for India’s vaccination drive and assure visitors of safe travel within India.”

About BIEC

Located in Bangalore, BIEC has a built area of 1,10,000 square metres. BIEC is India’s first LEED-certified Green Exhibition and Conference Facility. Halls 4 and 5 have been conferred with ‘Gold’ rating by Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) and US Green Building Council (USGBC). BIEC is a member of various global associations such as UFI (The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry), IAEE (International Association of Exhibitions and Events), AFECA (The Asian Federation of Exhibition and Convention Associations), ICCA (The International Congress and Convention Association), and IEIA (Indian Exhibition Industry Association).

Mid-Range Smartphones Emerge As Customer Favourites This Festive Season, Reveals Amazon Survey

Amazon.in today revealed the findings of its ‘Great Indian Mobile Survey’. With thousands of respondents from tier 1, tier 2 & 3 cities and towns, the survey provides insights on customer preferences for smartphones this festive season.

As per the findings of the Great Indian Mobile survey, 37% of respondents are looking to buy a mid-range smartphone between INR 15,000 – INR 25,000 making it the most desired price point for the festive season. Samsung, Xiaomi and OnePlus emerged as the most preferred smartphone brands, with over 24% of respondents looking to buy Samsung mobile phones followed by Xiaomi and OnePlus. Redmi Note 10 Series, OnePlus Nord Series (Nord 2, Nord CE), OnePlus 9 Series and Samsung M21 and other Galaxy M series phones topped the popularity chart among the respondents.

With regards to product attributes, Performance, Camera, battery capacity, display quality (in this order) are the top features determining purchase decisions. It’s interesting to note that when it comes to display, people find Display type (LCD, AMOLED) and Display resolution (HD+, FHD+, QHD+) to be more important attributes than display refresh rates.

The survey also reveals interesting insights on respondents’ preferences for a 5G phone . More than 54% of respondents are looking for a 5G compatible phone. The demand for bigger battery phones is also strong with over 46% respondents preferring phones with 5000mAh – 6000mAh battery.

During the festive season, 96% of respondents prefer AMOLED display for a richer viewing experience. More than 66% of respondents prefer FHD+ Resolution Display. Over 61 % of respondents prefer a smartphone with 120Hz display refresh rate.

“With the festive season just around the corner, the Great Indian Mobile Survey helps us understand customer’s preferences and also allow us to know what smartphone shoppers are looking for during the season. The findings revealed interesting insights from thousands of customers across various demographics of the country. We use this insights and continue to work with our sellers and brand partners to bring the best-in-class smartphones and accessories across price points for customers,” said Nishant Sardana, Director – Mobile Phones & Televisions, Amazon India.

With the impact of COVID-19 on disposable incomes, customers prefer no-cost EMI and other affordable finance options which allow them to buy their desired phone without worrying about high interest rate or paying upfront. More than 31% of respondents are looking forward to buying phones on Instant bank Discount, this festive season followed by additional exchange bonus offers. Others finance offers like No Cost EMI, Advantage Just for Prime are also considered by customers. Over 21% of respondents are looking for lucrative exchange offers and 20% are looking to avail No Cost EMI.

The Great Indian Mobile Survey was taken by close 10,000+ customers on the mobile category page on Amazon.in in September, 2021.

About Amazon.in                                                                                                               

The Amazon.in marketplace is operated by Amazon Seller Services Private Ltd, an affiliate of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). Amazon.in seeks to build the most customer-centric online destination for customers to find and discover virtually anything they want to buy online by giving them more of what they want – vast selection, low prices, fast and reliable delivery, and a trusted and convenient experience; and provide sellers with a world-class e-commerce platform.

For more information, visit www.amazon.in/aboutus

Sony Pictures Networks India Signs Exclusive Non-Binding Term Sheet With ZEE Entertainment

* Combined Company Would be a Market Leader Across Genres & Languages in Linear and Digital Distribution

Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) today announced that they have entered into an exclusive, non-binding Term Sheet to combine both companies’ linear networks, digital assets, production operations and program libraries.  The non-binding Term Sheet provides an exclusive negotiation period of 90 days during which ZEEL and SPNI will conduct mutual diligence and negotiate definitive, binding agreements. The combined company would be a publicly listed company in India and be better positioned to lead the consumer transition from traditional pay TV into the digital future.

The merger of ZEEL and SPNI would bring together two leading Indian media network businesses, benefitting consumers throughout India across content genres, from film to sports. The combined company is expected to benefit all stakeholders given strong synergies between ZEEL and SPNI.

Under the terms of the non-binding Term Sheet, Sony Pictures Entertainment, the parent company of SPNI, would invest growth capital so that SPNI has a cash balance of approximately USD $1.575 billion at closing for use to enhance the combined company’s digital platforms across technology and content, ability to bid for broadcasting rights in the fast-growing sports landscape and pursue other growth opportunities. Sony Pictures Entertainment would hold a majority stake in the combined company. Current ZEEL Managing Director & CEO Punit Goenka is to lead the combined company. The combined company’s board of directors would include directors nominated by Sony Group and result in Sony Group having the right to nominate the majority of the board members. 

It is anticipated that a final transaction would be subject to completion of customary due diligence, negotiation, and execution of definitive binding agreements, and required corporate, regulatory and third-party approvals, including ZEEL shareholder vote.

About Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI):  Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation, Japan. SPNI has several channels including Sony Entertainment Television (SET and SET HD), one of India's leading Hindi general entertainment television channels; MAX, India's premium Hindi movies and special events channel; MAX 2, another Hindi movie channel showcasing great India Cinema; MAX HD, a high definition Hindi movie channel airing premium quality films; WAH, the FTA channel for Hindi movies; SAB and SAB HD the family-oriented Hindi comedy entertainment channels; PAL, a genre leader in rural Hindi speaking markets (HSM) showcasing the best of Hindi general entertainment and Hindi movies from SPNI’s content library; PIX and PIX HD, Sony BBC Earth and Sony BBC Earth HD, the premium factual entertainment channels, Sony AATH, the Bangla entertainment channel; YAY!, the kids entertainment channel; sports entertainment channels – SONY SIX, SONY SIX HD, SONY TEN 1, SONY TEN 1 HD, SONY TEN 2, SONY TEN 2 HD, SONY TEN 3, SONY TEN 3 HD; SONY TEN 4, SONY TEN 4 HD; Sony मराठी, the Marathi general entertainment channel; SonyLIV - the digital entertainment VOD platform; and Studio NEXT the independent production venture for original content and IPs for TV and digital media. SPNI reaches out to over 700 million viewers in India and is available in 167 countries.

About ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. is a media & entertainment powerhouse offering entertainment content to diverse audiences. With a presence in over 173 countries and a reach of more than 1.3 billion people around the globe, ZEEL is among the largest global content companies across genres, languages, and platforms. ZEEL is present across broadcasting, movies, music, digital, live entertainment, and theatre businesses, both within India and overseas, with more than 260,000 hours of television content and houses the world’s largest Hindi film library with rights to more than 4,800 movie titles across various languages. ZEEL has also produced several movies for theatrical release and is the fastest growing music label in India. It has presence in the digital space with ZEE5 and has also ventured into live events.

Over 500 Women Employees Benefitted Under Altimetrik Women’s Initiative For Networking Growth And Success (WINGS) Initiative

* India GPTW ranking shows steady growth from 91 in 2017 to 36 in 2021

* Current ratio - 24.78% female to 75.18% male

* 552 women were hired in the last 12 months (2038 Total Hires)

Altimetrik a U.S.-based, digital business enablement company continues to be a game changer in hiring and helping women grow within its organization.

The company has several diversity initiatives to recognize, cultivate talent and create an empowering culture for women employees. Nurturing this culture of innovation and empowerment has allowed Altimetrik to grow and consistently improve its GPTW India rankings over six years, from 91st to 36th best place to work in 2021.

Its pivotal initiatives, such as providing resources, networking opportunities and support groups to help women stay focused on their careers, bringing women-specific issues to the foreground and addressing them to enable and empower, have awarded the company Best Workplaces for Women 2021 by reputed agencies in India.

“Altimetrik is proud of its women power. Our Women’s Initiative for Networking Growth and Success (WINGS) program which was launched on the International Women’s Day represents our commitment to attract women talent, nurture leaders and create inclusive workplaces,” says Ranga Kanapathy, Head of India Technology Center, Altimetrik.

“In the last one year, we have been able to strengthen our women force by hiring over 500 professionals in the various departments of Altimetrik taking our women ratio to 24.78%. We intend to work towards narrowing the men to women ratio further in the coming years”, added Mr. Kanapathy.

The company through its ‘Rebound - Back to Work program,’ re-hired 13 women who had been on a career break between 6 months and 3 years.

Over 500 of India’s women employees and leaders have so far benefitted through the various activities initiated via WINGS, that covered programs on financial literacy, Impostor Syndrome, managing stress while working from home amongst others. This included learning series with external coaches and aspire series by interacting with fellow women.

“WINGS program aims to deliver growth through diversity, overcome unconscious bias and create a truly gender-neutral culture that supports growth and leadership for all. Our commitment to enroll 80% of potential resources into full-time roles through diversity initiatives and to engage with multiple diversity partners that boost the inclusion agenda, continues to grow,” said Krishna Muniramaiah, Head HR - APAC, Altimetrik.

Aparna Prabhu, Manager; Program Management shares “Working at Altimetrik has been a great learning experience. While getting hired at Altimetrik was fantastic, I was worried about balancing my responsibilities at work and at home. But the work culture and ethics here have changed my fears to joy.”

“Diversity here is an integral part. WINGS has provided a safe space for women to be heard. I can now network and learn from fellow women professionals which is a huge value. I feel appreciated, respected and included in Altimetrik”, adds Aparna.

Globally, Altimetrik is GPTW certified across US and Uruguay other than India. In the recent survey, Uruguay was ranked #9 Great Place to Work amongst notable companies like Mercado Libre, McDonalds, Direct TV, Oracle NetSuite etc.

About Altimetrik: Altimetrik is a digital business enablement company. We deliver bite-size outcomes as organizations scale digitalization to accelerate revenue growth without disruption to existing business operations. With an end-to-end perspective, our practitioners and agile engineering teams create solutions that drive transformation and achieve business goals. With offices across the globe and over 4000 energized practitioners, Altimetrik partners with clients ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies alike to enhance their agility, empowerment, and success.

Hero Motocorp Achieves Guinness World Record Title For The Largest Online Photo Album Of People Planting Plants

Hero MotoCorp - the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters - has been recognized by Guinness World Record for creating the ‘Largest Online Photo Album of People Planting Plants’. As a part of the Hero Green Drive initiative, a total number of 132,775 images of people planting plants were received to achieve this prestigious title.

This is the second consecutive world record by Hero MotoCorp in quick succession after being recognized by Guinness World Records for creating the ‘Largest Motorcycle Logo’ in August 2021.  The logo was made with 1845 of Splendor+ - the country’s most iconic commuter motorcycle - at its manufacturing unit in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh.

The record for the ‘Largest Photo Album of People Planting Plants’ was announced to mark the International Zero Emissions Day on September 21, 2021 and is in continuation of the celebrations with regard to the Company’s achievement of the monumental milestone of 100 million vehicles in cumulative production on January 21, 2021.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Malo Le Masson, Head of Global Product Planning and Strategy, Hero MotoCorp said, “The year 2021 began with a lot of excitement as we celebrated the monumental milestone of 100 Million cumulative sales. Since then, we have had several significant milestones such as the 10th anniversary year of the Hero Brand, Guinness World Records™️ of the Largest Motorcycle Logo, record sales of one lakh units in a single day and now Guinness World Records™️ title for the 'Largest Online Photo Album of People Planting Plants', with 137,775 plants being planted and recorded on picture.  Through this record, we have proven that Hero MotoCorp is committed to make our planet greener, while still abiding to strict covid-19 protocols.”

The GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ attempt for ‘Largest Photo Album of People Planting Plants’ was announced on July 28 on the World Nature Conservation Day. Several participants including employees, stakeholders and masses from across India and the company’s global markets participated in Hero Green Drive by uploading an image of them planting a plant.

Mr. Swapnil Dangarikar, Official Adjudicator from Guinness World Records said, “I am extremely delighted to award yet another Guinness World Records official certificate to Hero MotoCorp for their outstanding achievement to create the largest online photo album of people planting plants. With 132,775 photos uploaded to the album, Hero MotoCorp has made a noble effort to get people to plant plants and thus make everyone a part of an initiative to make a greener world. Hero MotoCorp, you are once again, Officially Amazing!”

The GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ Adjudicator was virtually present to witness the world record attempt and determine the veracity of the activity with support from independent witnesses, who were appointed as per official guidelines.

Year 2021 is marked by a series of exciting initiatives to celebrate the historic milestone of Hero MotoCorp surpassing 100 million units in cumulative production – one of the fastest global achievements by an automotive company.

The Company kicked-off the celebrations in January 2021 when its 100 millionth motorcycle, the Xtreme 160R, was rolled-out of its manufacturing facility in Haridwar, Uttarakhand.

Hero MotoCorp – under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) platform, ‘Hero WeCare’, has planted more than 2.37 Million trees till date, conserved 82 Million litres of water, and saved up to 30 Million units of electricity per year by replacing traditional bulbs with 100,000 LED lights in various districts.

Oasis Fertility Sets Its Goal To Be The Numero Uno In The Indian Fertility Industry

·        Impressive growth rate of 40% YOY compared to industry rate of 25%

·        On track to launch 11 new full-fledged IVF centres this year and double its network to 50 centres pan India in next 3 years

·        Despite the COVID pandemic, has become the preferred brand for couples due to their robust safety protocols

Oasis Fertility, a comprehensive healthcare provider offering quality services in the field of Reproductive Medicine and Advanced Infertility Treatments, has embarked on an ambitious growth plan in its journey to become the Numero Uno in the Indian fertility industry. The company has been growing at an impressive growth rate of 40% year-on-year outpacing the industry growth rate of 25% during the same period. As part of its expansion strategy, Oasis Fertility is on track to launch 11 new centres this year, and is aiming to double its network to 50 centres across India by 2024. 

Set up by seasoned healthcare entrepreneur Kiran Gadela, and renowned fertility specialist Dr. Durga Rao, Oasis Fertility today is one of the few nationally recognised brands in India. Backed by an experienced leadership team and ably supported by an expert medical team comprising India’s finest embryologists and best-in-class clinicians, Oasis has one of the highest success rates in IVF treatments internationally, with specialised full-fledged state-of-the-art centres for the less-discussed topic of male infertility and secondary infertility. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic challenge in the past 18 months, the company, thanks to its robust safety protocols and sanitisation efforts, has become the preferred brand for couples seeking to realise their parenthood dreams. 

Mr Kiran Gadela, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Oasis Fertility, said, “At Oasis Fertility, it is our continued endeavour to provide affordable but best-in-class evidence-based infertility treatments with compassion to couples, helping them realise their parenthood dreams. While the IVF market in India is growing rapidly, there is a clear need to address issues like standardization of clinical protocols, structured training, and ethical practices. Our patient-centricity, transparency and focus on minimizing dropouts with a tech-led patient engagement system has helped us achieve 2X growth figures even during the pandemic. We have some ambitious growth plans. With our planned expansion in focused markets, we want to offer our services to an even broader segment of the population, thus positively influencing the lives of couples to experience the wonderful bond called ‘family’.”

Although a relatively young branch of medical studies, assisted reproduction treatments (ART) to conceive has increased exponentially worldwide, especially amongst the urban population. This rise is attributed to stress, changing lifestyle patterns and other disorders. With this increased awareness and assisted by the technological advancements in the field, the fertility sector in India is expected to grow at +20 per cent CAGR annually, over the next 5 years.

Today, Oasis Fertility offers all kinds of efficient and evidence-based fertility treatments, all under one roof. The healthcare chain has successfully performed more than 15,000+ Cycles of IUI (Intra Uterine Insemination), 10,000+ Cycles of IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation), 100 Micro TESEs (Microsurgical Testicular Sperm Extraction) in Male Infertility leading to 35,000+ happy families. In the past 6 months, Oasis Fertility started 5 new centres, viz. Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), Pune-Kharadi (Maharashtra), Kompally & Begumpet in Hyderabad (Telangana) and Bengaluru (Karnataka), and today, has a pan India footprint of 17 centres across 7 states. Professionally-managed Oasis Fertility has a proven track record, scalable model and has achieved success in tier 2 towns of India.

Oasis Fertility has received growth capital in 2016 from India Life Sciences Fund II, a leading healthcare and life sciences-focussed fund, and was the first institutional investment in an IVF chain in India.

Bharat Petroleum, Bank Of Baroda RuPay NCMC Launch Platinum International Co-Branded Debit Card

BOB BPCL RuPay Co-Branded Debit Card To Provide 0.75% Cashback On Fuel Transactions At BPCL Outlets Upto INR 45 Per Transaction 

* Customers to receive a 5% cashback up to INR 50 on the first 2 transactions at BPCL outlets  

* Customers to earn 10 PetroMiles on every fuel transaction worth INR 100 that can be redeemed via BPC SmartDrive app 

Bank of Baroda (BoB) - India’s third-largest public sector bank and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) - a ‘Maharatna’ & a Fortune Global 500 Company have announced the launch of “BoB BPCL RuPay NCMC Platinum International co-branded Contactless Debit Card”.  

This personalised RuPay platinum international debit card comes with various benefits including 5% cashback up to INR 50 on the first 2 transactions at BPCL outlets. The customers will also receive 0.75% cashback incentive on fuel transactions up to maximum INR 45 per transaction at over 19000+ BPCL outlets across India.  

The BoB BPCL RuPay co-branded debit cardholders will further get an enhanced cash withdrawal facility of up to INR 50,000 at ATMs. They will also be able to shop for maximum INR 100,000 from e-commerce portals and physical outlets using PoS machines. Additionally, cardholders will have access to RuPay concierge services, domestic airport lounges along with an accidental insurance worth INR 200,000.  

The customers can onboard the BPCL PetroBonus loyalty platform and accrue handsome loyalty points (Petromiles). This will earn them 10 PetroMiles on every fuel transaction worth INR 100, which they can redeem for Rewards through BPCL SmartDrive app. 

The BoB BPCL RuPay co-branded debit card is powered with the “National Common Mobility Card” feature that enables contactless transactions across all the public transport systems in the country such as metros, buses, cabs suburban railways, toll, parking, and topping-up FASTags and also for retail purchases. All the above benefits with a nominal issuance fee of INR 250 per annum. 

Speaking at the launch, Shri. Ajay K. Khurana, Executive Director at Bank of Baroda said, “Our Bank believes in offering our customers the best of services and solutions through innovative products. This co-branded RuPay debit card from the partnership with BPCL and NPCI is one such product that provides contactless customer experience bundled with value added services. The fuel card is, amongst the best offering in the market.”  

Speaking at the launch, Shri P.S. Ravi, Executive Director (Retail) of BPCL said, “The BPCL BoB RuPay NCMC Platinum International co-branded contactless debit card is an important milestone in BPCL’s digital journey and in line with our Pure for Sure customer promise of continuously offering differentiated value to our customers alongwith the means of staying safe and contactless in their fuel transactions at BPCL fuel stations. We are delighted to partner with Bank of Baroda and NPCI and welcome customers to our card which is integrated with our PetroBonus loyalty program, a unique and differentiating feature of the card program. This unique technology integration will enable our customers to get rewarded with Petromiles each time they fuel at a BPCL fuel station across the country in addition to the bouquet of value ads making it truly the best-in-class co-branded debit card in the country.”  

Mr. Rajeeth Pillai, Chief Relationship Management and Marketing, NPCI said, “We are happy to collaborate with Bank of Baroda and Bharat Petroleum to launch the co-branded Platinum International Contactless Debit Card on the RuPay network. We endeavour to empower RuPay’s growing customer base with attractive offers and rewards for fuel transactions carried out at BPCL outlets. We believe that this partnership will add more value for our RuPay customers and provide a rewarding, convenient, and contactless shopping experience to them.”  

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 8,200+ 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. 

Visit us at www.bankofbaroda.in  

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bankofbaroda/ 

Twitter https://twitter.com/bankofbaroda 

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/officialbankofbaroda/ 

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdf14FHPLt7omkE9CmyrVHA 

⁸LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/bankofbaroda/ 

Photo Caption : 

Shri. V Nagarajan, Deputy General Manager, CRM (Digital), Retail Headquarters, BPCL with Shri. Subhankar Sen, Chief General Manager, Retail Initiatives & Brand, Retail  Headquarters, BPCL; Shri. Ajay K Khurana , Executive Director, Bank of Baroda and Shri. Akhil Handa, Chief Digital Officer, Bank of Baroda along with Shri. Sudhanshu Singh, Head Digital Business (Channels & Payments) at the launch of BoB-BPCL RuPay NCMC Platinum International co-branded Debit Card.