EVRE And FreshWorld Join Hands To Support Dedicated EV Fleet

* Partnership to expand operations to 12 cities for 500 chargers for 1000-strong EV fleet

EVRE, one of India’s leading providers of electric vehicle (EV) charging integrated infrastructure, has partnered with Bengaluru-based fruits and vegetables retail company FreshWorld to provide electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions to fruit and vegetable vending e-carts in Bengaluru.

FreshWorld owns and operates a vast EV fleet for achieving the last-mile delivery of its products through the hub & spoke model, where EVRE will provide the charging and parking infrastructure to this extensive fleet in the cities of operations.

Announcing the partnership, Rajiv Rao, Founder and CEO FreshWorld said, “This partnership provides with the right domain support to manage our clean-mobility infrastructure, as we increase our focus to our customers, offerings and expansion.  Each extra charging hub will enable us with an opportunity to go farther into each territory using EVs and offer eco-friendly options of doorstep delivery of our products.  The only challenge being faced by a unique retailer like us was the support infrastructure to reach out to the wider audience.  With this hurdle out of way, we are looking forward to achieve our mission for pan-Indian operations while minimising our carbon footprint”.

Speaking about the partnership, Krishna K Jasti, Co-Founder and CEO of EVRE said, “It gives us pride in associating with a brand like FreshWorld that is utilizing the true benefits of clean-mobility for its core business.  This is another milestone in our journey as we are partner another important player in the EV ecosystem that mutually strengthens our 600-strong EV charging stations network across the country.  Backed by another partnership, we are firm and steadfast in our goal to achieve the 50,000 mark by end of 2023.”

During the first phase of long-term partnership, EVRE will support FreshWorld with 100 charging stations for its EV fleet of 150 EVs on Bengaluru.  EVRE will lease the land, provide the parking and charging infrastructure, operate & maintain, and take care of the insurance, safety and security of these hubs.  Over the next few months, as FreshWorld expands to new cities, EVRE will provide the support to park and charge this dedicated EV fleet with its existing and upcoming infrastructure at respective locations. 

The partnership is pegged to support a 1,000 strong EV fleet with 500 charging stations across 12 cities by 2022 Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and others. 

About FreshWorld: FreshWorld is a Retail start-up venturing into a 'Farm to Home' concept by organizing fruits and vegetables (FnV) retailing, in a distinctive street vending format employing eco-friendly delivery mechanisms using battery operated carts.  Going forward, FreshWorld plans to lease the e-carts rather than its earlier model of owning them. It is also launching an app through which customers can book their requirement of fruits and vegetables which will be delivered through the e-carts on their door step in a model that will become an on demand FnV delivery service. All billings are digital.FreshWorld will have an Unparalleled & Unrivalled capability of providing ‘Instant Gratification ‘with ‘Touch and Feel’ to customers who order on the FreshWorld App. Digital Order and Traditional Delivery will form a strong and differentiated business model and this initiative will help Freshworld in achieving its goal of being an innovative & disruptive FnV retailer.

About EVRE: EVRE is India’s leading integrated Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure company that follows EAAS (Energy-as-a-Service) model, offers public charging infrastructure in a pay-per-use model in nine cities across India.  EVRE is working towards enabling EV-ready communities and cities with sustainable Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure that are not only convenient but that prompts consumers to make the switch with ease. 

Founded in 2017, EVRE aims to enhance the experience of the EV users with smart and connected infrastructure for seamless and immersive consumer experience through its patented charging stations integrated with ComputerVision technology. EVRE is the only company in the world to integrate this technology with EV charging stations. EVRE is also ensuring sustainability through its solar powered Intellipoles which are solar street lights integrated with a hybrid charger compatible with 2, 3, and 4 wheelers, and an Air Quality Index system. The AQI Index will bank upon solar power as a symbol for the drive towards using clean energy systems through sustainable measures.

EVRE plans to establish and maintain 50,000 EV charging stations by 2023.

Samsung Bets Big On Premium Large Screen Televisions & Washing Machines In Bangalore

* Clocked 292% growth in 55-inch & above smart TVs while premium refrigerators and washing machines sales grew by 23% and 46% respectively in Karnataka

The festive season is the most exciting time for the year when people upgrade their homes to make it festive ready. Consumers in Karnataka are upgrading to Samsung’s big screen TVs, refrigerator and washing machines to equip their homes with latest technology.

Owing to this trend, Samsung, India’s largest and most trusted consumer electronics brand, saw 292% increase in 55 inch and above smart TVs, 23% growth in Frost Free Refrigerators above 350-litres and 46% growth in washing machines above 9 kg capacity, in the month of September. Overall, in Karnataka, Samsung has captured a significant market share of 26% for TVs, 32.4% for refrigerators and fastest growing for washing machines, thus, making Samsung the market leader in the refrigerator category.

‘‘Samsung provides retailers such as us and customers with unique value propositions, the best price, a great user experience, excellent customer service, super-fast delivery for the unique and innovative products. With increasing adoption for smart appliances and a positive consumer sentiment towards purchases, we believe that the festive sale numbers in 2021 will surpass last season’s festive sales levels,’’ said, Raj Kumar Pai, Managing Director, Pai International.

Samsung has a wide range of revolutionary premium and lifestyle TVs such as Neo QLED TV, QLED TVs, The Frame TV, The Serif TV, Crystal 4K UHD TVs that not just enhances your living room with its beautiful design but also offer exceptionally true-to-life picture and sound quality for a cinematic viewing experience.

Alongside, consumers are looking to buy high capacity, fully automatic washing machines such as Samsung Eco Bubble with Hygiene Steam feature to ensure high standards of cleaning and hygiene. This trend has been observed not only in big cities but in tier-II and tier-III cities as well as rural areas of Bangalore.

Consumers are also demanding high capacity refrigerators that offer additional food storage and enhance the aesthetics of their kitchens. To address the growing demand, Samsung recently launched BESPOKE French Door refrigerator lineup, available in 4-Door Flex Family Hub™ and 4-Door Flex French Door models, with a unique blend of personalised aesthetic and premium refrigeration. It not only offers design innovation but also technology innovations.

Samsung has seen strong growth pan India for its consumer electronics business and is expecting the overall sale to grow by 30% and sale of its premium category of TVs and digital appliances to grow by 65%, this festive season.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. 

Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems and memory, system LSI, foundry, and LED solutions. For the latest news on Samsung India, please visit Samsung India Newsroom at http://news.samsung.com/in. For Hindi, log on to Samsung Newsroom Bharat at https://news.samsung.com/bharat. You can also follow us on Twitter @SamsungNewsIN

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Sells 12440 Units In October, Registering A 34% Growth Over Sales In September 2021

* Clocks a cumulative wholesales growth of 78% from January to October in 2021 when compared to the corresponding period last year

Toyota Kirloskar Motor today announced that the company sold a total of 12,440 in the month of October 2021, thereby clocking a growth of 34% when compared to the wholesales in September 2021. For reference, the company had sold a total of 9284 units in September 2021 and a total of 12,373 units in October 2020.

Commenting on the sales, Mr. V. Wiseline Sigamani, Associate General Manager(AGM), Sales and Strategic Marketing, TKM said, “Demand in the market has been robust in the last few months and this can be attributed to various factors besides pent up demand. Customer orders too have been on a constant rise, restoring normalcy in demand trends when compared to pre-Covid times.

In the month of October, we have been able to register a 34% growth when compared to our sales in September 2021. Our cumulative wholesales from January to October has also reported a growth of 78%, when compared to sales in the corresponding period last year. Our flagship models Innova Crysta & the Fortuner, continue to dominate their respective segments. The Toyota Vellfire too has been performing exceptionally well, reiterating customer’s confidence in the brand. The Glanza and the Urban Cruiser are garnering good booking orders and we are working towards immediately catering to the pending orders in these segments”.

Eco-Friendly ‘Sprouting’ Vegetable Seed Diya This Diwali From East-West Seed India

* Initiative to counter climate change

East-West Seed India has conceptualized a plantable seed diya on the occasion of Diwali this month. Under a special campaign titled ‘Yeh Diwali Seed Wali,’ these eco-friendly diyas have been designed with seeds of Butternut (Cucurbita moschata), and Bengal Yellow, Marigold - both are much-loved crop varieties from East-West Seed India. Butternut has a sweet, nutty taste similar to a pumpkin and a tan-yellow skin with orange fleshy pulp. It offers a good source of fiber, vitamin C & A, magnesium, and potassium.

“One of the biggest issues the world is addressing today is conserving the environment. Working towards a greener planet is one of the ways to achieve that. Everyone can contribute their bits to take forward this cause. We at East-West Seed also keep looking at opportunities to create awareness about going green. And therefore, this time, our team came up with this concept of Seed Diyas with the campaign of

‘Yeh Diwali Seed Wali.’ The thought behind these seed diyas is to kindle the interest in kitchen gardening to people of all ages. Diya for Diwali represents many auspicious things such as light, knowledge, purity, and new beginnings. Our biodegradable seed diya can be in your garden or in a pot, which can grow in plants. Keeping with the concept, the packaging materials used in seed diyas are also eco-friendly. Our associate who helped make this concept a reality is a start-up that trains rural women in making these diyas. We have distributed these as gifts to all our partners,” said Sanjay Gahilot, Director, Marketing of East-West Seed India.

About East-West Seed India:

East-West Seed is a global leader in the tropical vegetable seeds market with three and a half decades of experience in breeding, producing, and delivering high-quality vegetable seeds. Founded by Dr. Simon Groot, winner of the World Food Prize 2019, East-West Seed is ranked #1 in the 2019 Global Access to Seed Index, which recognizes the commitment and performance in providing the World's smallholder farmers access to quality seeds.

Diwali Crackers: Eyecare Precautions To Be Taken While Bursting Crackers

By Dr. Satya Prasad Balki, M.S  F.C.A.S (AEH), Consultant ophthalmologist

MaxiVision eye hospitals

With our country achieving the fabulous milestone of a billion Covid shots administered, waning Covid case numbers, a bull run in the stock markets, tourism picking up again, a general sense of euphoria and relief, one can only say that the festive season is truly upon us, and we can expect it to be a -‘Dhamaka’ Diwali!

Diwali is probably the biggest festival in our country and with the stress and toll that Covid put us through last year, I am sure people want to spare no excuse in indulgence this time around. Diwali is one of the busiest and stressful times for an eye doctor and for good reason, a kitchen running overtime, lamps, lightings, and fireworks-well there’s a recipe for disaster if there ever was! While I am all in for the celebrations, I also would like my readers to exercise caution.

Hazardous injuries to any part of our body are quite common and can range from mild to severe burns, as an eye doctor I would like to draw your attention to the eye injuries that can occur and safety precautions to be followed.

Our body has an instinctive mechanism to close the eyes shut when it expects an injury but sometimes it's not adequate. If we look at the structure of the eye, the outermost part Called the cornea is transparent and allows light to enter the eye and give vision, it is similar to watch glass and any kind of trauma to it usually leaves a permanent scar which results in diminished vision. The eye is a round structure with an inherent pressure within it which keeps it in this shape, any penetrating trauma seen in callous and close proximity to fireworks causes rupture of these tissues and is often difficult to treat.

Hot oil from the lamps or while cooking can fall in the eyes and cause scalding of the superficial layers of the eye, electrical burn injuries from faulty wiring and lights can cause thermal burn injuries. Of all fireworks can cause the most damage, as they are akin to the effects of a blast injury albeit on a smaller scale, Injuries to the eye vary from small foreign body to severe penetrating injury requiring immediate surgical intervention.

Here’s the first aid guide you can follow-

In mild cases as in hot oil or foreign body, Wash the eye thoroughly by splashing copious amounts of clean drinking water, alternately you can use a shallow cup of water close to the eye and blink repeatedly.

Consult your eye doctor to remove the foreign body and prescribe appropriate medications.

In severe bleeding cases with direct impact to eyes with fireworks, wash eye with clean water, cover the eye with a clean cotton pad or towel, do not apply any pressure, and consult an eye doctor immediately as it may require surgical intervention.

Precautions to be taken-

·         Use protective eyewear, maintain a safe distance, and keep utensils above waist level while cooking.

·         While lighting fireworks, maintain a safe distance after lighting, use a face shield, easily available nowadays thanks to Covid.

·         DO NOT handle live fireworks or fling them in the air.

·         Adult supervision is a must for Children around fireworks.

·         Always keep a bucket of water close by.

·         Motorists should be careful and wear a helmet as many people light fireworks on the road.

·         Do not try to self-medicating and use readily available drops at home, give appropriate first aid and consult your eye doctor.

Conforming to the old adage ‘’prevention is better than cure’’ it is best to be cautious and avoid such scenarios altogether. Health, wealth, and happiness, wishing it all in abundance!!

Wish you a safe and happy Diwali!

‘Sehar’ Selected At The Asian Film Festival Barcelona, 2021

* The movie starring Pankaj Kapur in the lead is selected under the ‘Official Competition Section’

Sehar, a movie produced by Golden Ratio Films has been selected at the Asian Film Festival Barcelona 2021. The film will be competing for the best film under Official Competition Section. It will be screened on the FILMIN app from 28th October to 10th November, 2021. Golden Ratio Films (GRF) is a Vistas Media Capital subsidiary based out of Singapore and a significant production and distribution entity in Bollywood and in the Indian Content Space.

Directed by Munzir Naqvi, the movie starring Pankaj Kapur revolves around, Mahendra Nath Kaul Azad, a famous Urdu poet is also a teacher of Urdu at Awadh Degree College, Lucknow. He is informed of the decision to close-down the Urdu department. Azad is completely taken by surprise. In a last attempt to save Urdu he along with his disciples, start teaching at smaller government Urdu schools. The anti-Urdu forces are not able to curb the revolutionary spirit of Azad. Subsequently, the results of Urdu schools in the state begin to fare better than in the previous years, waging war against these communal forces.

Piiyush Singh, Producer said, “We are delighted to be selected in one of the most prestigious film festivals in Europe on Asian Cinema. We want to continue making movies that motivate people to think and see the world from a different perspective. The efforts put in by the team to portray the struggles to revive Indian languages have touched the hearts of many.”

Munzir Naqvi, Director, Sehar exclaimed, “I am honored that our film ‘Sehar’ has been selected in the prestigious Asian Film Festival Barcelona, and especially since they nurture young debut filmmakers and independent films. Through this film, we have made sincere efforts to keep this language alive and we are sure the audience will appreciate our efforts.”

GRF’s film 'Bhonsle' was also screened at this festival in 2019 and won Best Director & Best Screenplay awards. 

Over 100 Paytm Users Won? 1 Lakh Each By Doing UPI Money Transfer In The “Paytm UPI Cashback Dhamaka”

India’s leading digital ecosystem for consumers and merchants Paytm has been running its “Cashback Dhamaka” program, which is a cashback festival. Aligned with the celebration of the festive season in the country, Paytm has been awarding 10 people with ?1 lakh cashback each everyday. So far, 130 users have won ?1 lakh cashback.  

Users have been winning for payments made through all the payment options offered by the company — Paytm Wallet, Paytm UPI, Paytm Postpaid (Buy Now, Pay Later), credit cards/debit cards, Paytm PoS, All-in-One QR code, Soundbox among others.  

Paytm users from Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kerala, Karnatakaand many other states have won so far. Many users said the win came to them at an opportune moment with the festivities around the corner, so they can buy gifts for friends and family. 

But there were many interesting stories too. Tufan Maji, 26-year old farmer from Bardhman, West Bengal who won the cashback told Paytm that he will be using the winning amount to buy agricultural equipment. Pritam Das, a 22-year old winner from Assam, said he would invest the amount in stock markets.  

In exciting news for Paytm users, the festival is far from over and users still stand a chance to win big bucks through payments done through the app.  

The company had earlier announced that during the peak festive season (October 14-November 14), everyday 10 lucky winners will win ?1 lakh each.. 

Users can win cashback by using Paytm for their mobile, broadband DTH recharges, utility bill payments, money transfer, booking travel (flight/bus/train) tickets, paying credit card bills, filling fuel at petrol pumps, booking movie tickets, FASTag payments, transactions at online and offline kirana stores, or payments at retail outlets, shopping malls, food courts, restaurants and many more.  

About Paytm:  

Paytm is India’s leading digital ecosystem for consumers and merchants (1), and offers payment services, commerce and cloud services, and financial services to 333 million consumers and over 21 million merchants, as on March 31, 2021. Paytm is India’s largest payments platform (1) based on the number of consumers, number of merchants, number of consumer to merchant transactions and revenue, as on March 31, 2021, and with a GMV of ?4,033 billion of FY2021. One 97 Communications Limited (“Company”) is the largest payment gateway aggregator in India for FY2021 based on total transactions, with the widest ecosystem of payment instruments (1). The Company’s lending business (offered in collaboration with financial institution partners), includes personal loans, merchant loans, as well as its Buy Now, Pay Later product i.e. Paytm Postpaid. The Company’s financial institution partners disbursed 1.4 million loans in Q4FY21.