Zirca Digital Solutions Received Its First-Ever Patent For ContentiQ

* The patented product is Asia’s first integrated advertising management platform ~

Taking another successful step towards innovating and staying ahead of the curve, Zirca Digital Solutions has recently acquired its patent for ContentiQ. This latest patented product is designed to help brands and agencies ease their campaign and account strategy. It offers a unified dashboard, on a SaaS platform, using which campaigns can be managed and optimized to achieve the campaign goals with high effectiveness.

The dashboard consolidates results from across CDNs: search, social, video as well as various publishers. It presents a holistic view of consumer responses on ads and sets of recommendations using which ad performance can be crafted to address the primary campaign objective.

Zirca aims to aid brands to customise consumer conversations  through ContentiQ by placing consumers’ responses firmly at the core. This ensures that the message is communicated in the best-suited format, relevant to the consumers, and promises to deliver objectives effectively.

Being an independent global digital solutions provider with a passion for results, Zirca also enables brands to integrate ad response data with their CRM, thus, giving them a transparent view of digital spending. Zirca’s unique understanding of the consumer is also achieved through its partnerships and innovation. By providing a different perspective on the attribution of sales on the digital spends, it closes a big gap in understanding the drivers of product sales.

Neena Dasgupta (CEO and Director, Zirca Digital Solutions) said, “This patent places Zirca into a unique position in delivering and optimising multi-dimensional campaign objectives for a brand. With this differentiated offering, we can ensure high returns for clients’ spends on advertising. Tying up various aspects of campaigns and ad management to ensure that these objectives are met is among the firsts in the industry. We’re delighted with ContentiQ being our first patented product.”

Karan Gupta (Managing Director, Zirca Digital Solutions) adds, “We are applying for patent for this product in several countries so that Zirca’s unrivalled approach is recognized across different markets. Clients in these markets will be able to utilize our tailored services to fulfil their localized objectives.”

Zirca’s patented product ContentiQ also enables entities who are investing in ad spends to reconcile the responses of the ads using Blockchain technology.  

About Zirca Digital Solutions:

Zirca is a 360-degree digital solutions provider who is spearheading digital consumer insights and evolution of media sales in India. At Zirca, Consumer Insights, Content and Brand Solutions, Media, Representation and Platforms — work in tandem to create high impact campaigns executed with extreme precision to unlock the value of clients’ digital assets.

Zirca has evolved into an independent global digital solutions firm that provides cutting-edge digital content and advertising solutions to brands across industries and in key markets across India and South-East Asia.

ZIRCA works with multiple Indian and global publishers and platforms to enable them to monetise their multi-channel assets in India. Zirca represents few leading global brands like The Economist, Fast Company, Inc.com, Mail Online, and Microsoft in India.

Dr Ranjan R Pai, President-MAHE & Chairman-MEMG, Named In The EdelGive Hurun India Youngest Philanthropists List

Dr Ranjan R Pai, chairman of Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG) and President of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) was named as one of the youngest philanthropists in the 8th annual EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021. The list highlights the country’s most generous individuals who have contributed to the development of the nation through their philanthropic efforts. The report was prepared by Edelgive Foundation in partnership with Hurun India.

Dr Pai, who is 48 years old is one of the youngest people to have made to the list which features individuals who donated Rs 5 crore INR or more during the period under consideration. With philanthropic contributions worth 17 crore Dr Pai has directed his efforts to the cause of education.

The Edelgive Hurun list includes entrepreneurs from various sectors like pharmaceuticals, software, automobile, finance etc. who apart from creating wealth have also given back to the society. The forum celebrates the efforts of such individuals and also throws light on the sectors and regions which have benefitted from these philanthropic endeavours. The list was prepared after surveying India’s most successful entrepreneurs, their philanthropic contributions and cross referencing them with media reports and data from the charitable organisations. The research for the report also included meetings with scholars, experts, and senior members of charitable foundations.

Speaking about Dr Ranjan Pai’s inclusion amongst the youngest philanthropists, Dr H S Ballal, Pro Chancellor, MAHE said “The Manipal family has a strong legacy of charitable endeavours right from the days our founder DR T.M.A Pai. He always believed Healthcare and Education are the two critical areas of human development and strived to develop those fields. His legacy has been carried forward by his son Dr Ramdas M Pai and now his grandson Dr Ranjan R Pai. Being one of the youngest people to be included in this list speaks volumes of Dr Ranjan’s commitment to corporate responsibility”.

Lt. Gen (Dr.) M.D. Venkatesh, Vice-Chancellor, MAHE said “Dr Ranjan Pai has always been an excellent entrepreneur with a deep sense of responsibility. Through his charitable undertakings he has steered his energies into empowering people and improving their way of life through education and healthcare. His inclusion in the list is a proud moment for us indeed”. 

MyGate Acquires MyCommunity Genie To Strengthen Community Commerce Play

* Technology platform to unlock benefits of group buying for residents of 25,000+ communities

MyGate, India’s largest community app, has announced its acquisition of MyCommunity Genie, a Bengaluru-based community commerce platform, in a part-cash, part-equity deal. Following a number of successful pilots and focused efforts on home services and seasonal products over the past three months, MyGate’s community commerce vertical has been growing at 50% month-on-month. MyCommunity Genie’s strong technology infrastructure and its team’s expertise in the space will enable MyGate to further accelerate this growth.

MyCommunity Genie powers group buying for 100s of communities and has over 150 sellers across Bengaluru. It provides communities with a framework for residents to come together and buy as a group to unlock higher savings for all, using an adaptive discounting model. For sellers, in addition to delivering high-value, single-destination orders, the platform also solves numerous operational pain points with regard to procurement, packaging, delivery and payments. Following the acquisition, all MyCommunity Genie systems will be integrated into MyGate.

This acquisition would provide MyGate with the necessary tools to bring scale to its long-term plans in community commerce, enabling its 25,000+ communities to unlock the power and savings of group buying. For example, a group buying deal in Bengaluru that led to the sale of 15,000kgs of alphonso mangoes would go pan-India come next summer.

MyCommunity Genie was founded in 2019 by Gagandeep Singh (IIT Delhi, ex-Google, Bloomreach, Ola), who has a deep understanding of e-commerce and search relevance. With a combined 40 years of experience in commerce, Gagandeep and MyCommunity Genie’s founding team members Mahendra Kumar, Vaishali Bhati and Zoheb Arif will play an integral role at MyGate to achieve the ambitious targets set for the medium term. Gagandeep Singh will join the leadership team at MyGate.

On the acquisition, Abhishek Kumar, Co-founder and COO, MyGate, says, “We are big believers in the power of group buying and community commerce. There is immense potential in the space, with greater savings for residents and larger volumes for sellers. Excited to welcome aboard Gagandeep and the entire team at MyCommunity Genie to help us realise our vision.”

Gagandeep Singh, Founder, MyCommunity Genie, says, “We’re very proud to become part of MyGate, the organisation best positioned to enable community commerce, and look forward to scaling our group buying technology to the 25,000-plus communities on their platform.”

According to a report by Redseer, Gated Community: A $500 billion consumption story in 2026, the 16 million or 6% Indians that live in gated communities account for $245 billion or 45% of national consumption today and will account for $500 billion by 2026. The report further estimates that community apps are poised to capture a $35 billion market via community commerce. MyGate is the market leader in the space, with an 82% share.

Karnataka Emerges As The 2nd Highest State In Number Of Transactions In Q3’21

* Digital payments have shown rapid penetration across the state

* Offline payments in the state are at an all time high

PhonePe, India’s leading fintech platform, today announced key digital payment trends from Karnataka as a part of the PhonePe Pulse Q3 (July - September) 2021 data. In what is a true validation of the reach and penetration of digital payments in the state, it has emerged as the 2nd highest in the number of overall transactions, with Maharashtra taking the top spot.

Here are some interesting trends and insights from the state:

* Bengaluru Urban was the top district in number of transactions accounting for ~63% of total digital transactions in the state at 48 Cr. transactions. This was followed by Mysuru with 2.5 Cr transactions and Bengaluru Rural with 1.82 Cr. transactions.

* Merchant payments has been Karnataka’s favourite use case, overtaking money transfer volumes back in Q3’2019 - more than a year ahead of the time it took for the same to occur pan-India. In Q3’21, merchant payments volumes beat money transfers volumes by ~5% on average across India. In Karnataka though, Q3’21 merchant payment volumes came in at 36% more than money transfers volumes. 

* Dharwad district saw the highest rebound in transaction volumes QoQ as the 2nd lockdown eased towards the end of June’21 and early July’21 . The district saw a 50% increase in the number of QOQ transactions, while Bengaluru Urban came in second with a 46% increase in transactions.

* Finally, mutual fund transactions in Karnataka increased by 33% in Q3’2021 relative to the volumes we saw in Q2’2021, indicating that digital payment platforms such as PhonePe are demystifying the investment process and making the product more accessible to all.

Speaking about the trends, Karthik Raghupathy, Head of Strategy and Investor Relations at PhonePe said, “It is fascinating to see the increasing penetration of digital payments in Karnataka. We are seeing phenomenal growth across all key metrics such as transactions, users and categories across the state, and the post-pandemic recovery has given a further fillip to this. It is going to be an exciting next quarter with the festivities and the holiday season, and we are already looking forward to the next set of interesting insights and trends emerging from Karnataka for Q4 2021.”

PhonePe recently launched PhonePe Pulse, India’s first interactive website with data, insights and trends on digital payments in the country. The website leverages geo-spatial technology to analyze digital transaction habits of over 335 Mn Indians, from 2000+ Crore transactions by consumers to show how India is paying, down to the district level. PhonePe Pulse is India’s go-to destination for accurate and comprehensive data on digital payment trends. With over 46% market share, PhonePe’s data is representative of the country’s digital payment habits.

Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations Releases Vehicle Retail Data For November 2021

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) today released Vehicle Retail Data for November’21.

November’21 Retails

Commenting on how November’21 performed, FADA President, Mr. Vinkesh Gulati said, “Auto retail for the month of November continued to remain in negative zone despite Diwali as well as marriage season in the same month. The unwanted rains in southern states further spoiled the party. Unless Rural India starts showing signs of strength, overall retails will continue to remain weak.

While the 2W segment saw almost at par sales compared to last year (which itself was a bad year), overall sentiment remained low as marriage season also didn’t help in revival except in one or two states. Apart from this, crop loss due to incessant rains and flood in southern states, high acquisition price as well as fuel costs kept the customers away. Further, there are no signs of increase in inquiry levels which is a bigger cause of concern.

PV continues to face the brunt of semi-conductor shortage. While the new launches are keeping customer’s interest high, it is only the lack of supply which is not allowing sales to conclude. The extended waiting period is now starting to make customers jittery and this may lead to loss of interest in vehicle buying.

The CV segment continues to see traction in M&HCV segment. This aided by low base resulted in double digit growth. The bus segment is still witnessing a dry run as educational institutes continue to remain closed. With diesel prices at record highs, supply of CNG vehicles are not able to meet the demand. Tight liquidity and unavailability of finance for customers who availed moratorium are also acting as sales barrier.”

Near Term Outlook

The new variant of Covid ‘Omicron’ has once again gripped the entire nation in fear. This will further impact the overall vehicle demand.

Educational Institutions and offices which were planning to reopen fully have once again deferred their plans and are allowing work/study from home. Price rise due to high input costs and high fuel costs are continuing to add customers woes.

FADA is hopeful that the chip shortage will ease in times to come and therefore reduce waiting period of vehicles and help in increasing sales. On the 2W front, we once again request all OEMs to announce attractive scheme which can work as a stimulus for growth in sales. FADA additionally requests them to consistently work on a 21- days inventory cycle.

Overall, we remain extremely cautious and hope that India does not see a 3rd wave with the new Covid variant. We also urge the Central as well as all State Governments to aggressively drive the vaccination coverage so that India is not caught off-guard and recovery to pre-covid levels is not derailed.

Key Findings from our Online Members Survey

Inventory at the end of November’21

Average inventory for Passenger Vehicles ranges from 10 – 15 days

Average inventory for Two – Wheelers ranges from 30 – 35 days

Liquidity

Good =                  39.5%

Neutral =             36.5%

Bad =                     24%

Sentiment

Neutral =             38.9%

Good =                  32.3%

Bad =                     28.7%

Expectation in December

De-growth =       45.5%

Flat =                     38.3%

Growth =             16.2%

CollegeDekho Appoints Sudhir Bhargava As New Chief Financial Officer

* The announcement comes at the back of CollegeDekho’s recent Series B funding of US$35 Mn and its hyper-growth phase 

* Sudhir is an expert financial strategist and was the Executive Vice President of Info Edge where he was instrumental in taking them public and subsequently was CFO of Career Launcher and MyMoneyMantra. 

* Sudhir is an FMS graduate and brings with him 28 years of rich experience in Corporate Finance, Corporate Development and Investor Relations 

CollegeDekho, India’s largest higher education ecosystem has appointed Sudhir Bhargava, an expert financial strategist with about 30 years of experience in the internet, education, management advising and services industries, as its Chief Financial Officer.  

In his new role, Sudhir will oversee and negotiate strategic mergers and acquisitions alongside leading fundraises and stakeholder management. Sudhir’s appointment comes at the time when CollegeDekho has raised US$ 35 million in its Series B funding and is planning to use the funds to expand into new geographies outside of India, further build its products and services portfolio, and acquire Indian and global companies that complement CollegeDekho’s vision.  

Sudhir is highly skilled in investor relations, IPO, fund raising, corporate development, corporate finance, treasury, and business planning. He served as an Executive Vice President of Info Edge India Limited (parent company of Naukri.com), where he was part of the IPO team and handled investor relations, while playing a key role in corporate development.  

On the appointment of Sudhir as Chief Financial Officer, Ruchir Arora, Founder & CEO, CollegeDekho, said, “We are excited to have Sudhir onboard. He brings with him enormous expertise in domains representing a wide spectrum of finance, and has vast exposure to the service business such as the internet and education. This combination will help CollegeDekho strengthen the strategic alignment of its finance and business development functions, as it grows exponentially adding new verticals. The entire team at CollegeDekho is looking forward to having a wonderful experience working with Sudhir for years to come.”  

Talking about his joining CollegeDekho, Sudhir Bhargava, CFO, CollegeDekho said, “CollegeDekho is disrupting the college discovery space and is growing rapidly in a booming domain. India’s demographics and the value its society attributes to education offers the company a vast opportunity. I see tremendous scope for CollegeDekho to grow multifold and am excited to be a part of its momentous journey.”  

Sudhir obtained a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Marketing from Faculty of Management Studies - University of Delhi. He started his career as a Consultant with AF Ferguson and Co, then worked in corporate Banking at ICICI Bank and thereafter as Regional Manager - Sales at HSBC Asset Management India. Besides his 11+ year stint with InfoEdge, Sudhir had also served as a CFO of two companies: MyMoneyMantra, and CL Educate Ltd.  

The higher education market in India accounts for over 50% of the Indian education market, valued at US $135 billion in FY20. As an ecosystem leader, CollegeDekho is propelling a change in India’s higher education space making it more student-oriented with its portfolio of services including admissions in India, study abroad, education financing at 0% interest, hostel accommodation, online courses and coaching.  

Hyundai Showcases Commitment To Electrification In Indian Market

* Announces Expansion of Line-up to 6 BEVs by 2028 and Introduction of Dedicated BEV Platform – E-GMP

·         Hyundai’s line-up of 6 BEVs will cater to multiple segments including Mass market and Mass Premium segments in India

·         Hyundai’s Battery Electric Vehicle line-up by 2028 will comprise of a total of 6 BEVs across different segments and body styles including SUV

·         Hyundai will also introduce its dedicated BEV Platform E-GMP (Electric Global Modular Platform) as well as modified platforms in India

·         HMI will work towards the development of Electric Vehicle infrastructure in India with strategic collaborations to drive a widespread adoption of BEVs in India

Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL), country’s first smart mobility solutions provider and largest exporter since inception, today announced its roadmap to drive the electric mobility revolution in India with the expansion of its line-up to 6 Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) for the Indian market by 2028. Further, Hyundai will also introduce its dedicated BEV Platform – E-GMP in India, showcasing its commitment towards smart Indian customers.  

Commenting on the corporate announcement, Mr. S S Kim, MD & CEO, Hyundai Motor India Ltd., said, “Hyundai has been at the forefront of the electric mobility revolution in India, with the introduction of India’s 1st Electric SUV - KONA Electric in 2019. Hyundai Motor India has been delighting customers with the most innovative and technologically advanced mobility solutions over the last two and a half decades. As we continue to redefine the mobility space, today we are yet again showcasing our commitment towards Indian customers with the announcement of expanding our BEV line-up to 6 vehicles for the Indian Market by 2028. At Hyundai, we are taking experiences Beyond Mobility and are strongly focusing on Intelligent Technology, Sustainability and Innovation. Keeping in line with this thought, we will introduce our dedicated BEV Platform – E-GMP as well as modified platforms for battery electric vehicles in India. By driving the adoption of electric mobility at scale in India, Hyundai will become the fulcrum for transformation of a brighter and better tomorrow.”

ELECTRIC GLOBAL MODULAR PLATFORM (E-GMP)

Hyundai Motor Group globally showcased its E-GMP dedicated BEV platform for future electric vehicles, marking a new era for the brand. Driving the pump-to-plug revolution, Hyundai will pioneer the development of future electric vehicles with this dedicated BEV platform that comprises of vehicle chassis that includes the battery, motor and power electric system. With scalable dimensions, this platform will form the backbone of different types of vehicles. With an innovative interior packaging vehicles developed on E-GMP will feature a flat floor, slim cockpit and a flexible & spacious cabin. E-GMP has been developed on 4 Key Pillars of:

·         Modularity – With one platform that can facilitate many body types, feature a modularized battery system and create greater synergies with BEV component sharing.

·         Reliability – Featuring a low center of gravity, use of Ultra High Strength Steel and 8-point battery mounting, E-GMP will pave the way to highly reliable BEVs of the future.

·         Usability – With a flat floor and flexible seating layout as well as an innovative interior space that offers sliding console and sliding 2nd row seats, E-GMP will usher in a new dimension of usability

·         Performance – Featuring a large battery capacity up to 77.4 kWh, 2WD/ 4WD capabilities, improved handling and capability to achieve a top speed of 260 km/h, E-GMP will drive in a new age of fun-to-drive electric vehicles

LINE-UP OF 6 BEVs BY 2028

Catering to the diversity of the Indian market, Hyundai’s line-up of 6 Battery Electric Vehicles will cater to multiple segments including Mass market and Mass Premium segments in India. To further delight customers, Hyundai will introduce these BEVs in different body styles including SUV body shape by 2028, thereby offering a wide range of models for customers to choose from.

25 YEARS OF COMMITMENT TO MAKE-IN-INDIA

Over the last two and a half decades, Hyundai Motor India has been fueling the Make-in-India movement by leading the automotive industry with excellence in manufacturing. Aligning with the Government’s vision of Electrification, Hyundai has worked towards the development of a concrete BEV roadmap that will breathe life into the Electrification ecosystem in India, focusing on localization of manufacturing synergies for Battery Electric Vehicles.    

ELECTRIC VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE

Hyundai Motor India to work towards the development of BEV infrastructure in India with strategic collaborations to drive a widespread adoption of BEVs in India. Hyundai Motor India will work towards the development of a customer centric BEV charging solutions with a focus on:

·         Home Charging

·         Public Charging station

·         Charging Facility at HMIL Dealer Network

·         Peace of Mind with 24 X 7 road side assistance