Prasanna Trust Secures US$50,000 Grant From Goldman Sachs, Gives Analyst Impact Fund

* Grant to empower female students in India affected by the Covid-19 pandemic to continue their education

* Team from Goldman Sachs Bengaluru office reached finals of the global competition and voted ‘fan favourite’

A team of analysts from Goldman Sachs’ Bengaluru office, one of the firm’s deep fintech hubs, has secured a US$50,000 grant for Prasanna Trust, through the Goldman Sachs Gives Analyst Impact Fund competition.

The grant will help Prasanna Trust, a public charitable trust supporting marginalised sections of society in India, expand its scholarship program to empower 150 girls affected by the Covid-19 pandemic to continue their education, and grow its outreach beyond Bengaluru, to Mumbai, Hyderabad, Madurai and Chennai.

Bengaluru-based, Prasanna Trust was awarded a grant of US$25,000 after the team finished fourth in the global competition and received an additional grant of US$25,000 for being voted the "Fan Favourite." The "Fan Favourite" team was selected on the basis of real-time voting by both Goldman Sachs employees and external participants, including clients, incoming analysts and summer analysts of the firm, who attended the finals around the world.

In its sixth year, the annual Goldman Sachs Gives Analyst Impact Fund is an initiative that provides Goldman Sachs employees with the opportunity to collaborate with peers across global offices to win a grant for a non-profit organization of their choice. Since 2016, more than 3,300 analysts in 42 offices across the world have participated in the competition, securing over US$2.7 million in grants to 93 non-profit organizations globally. This year’s prize pool was US$600,000. An analyst is the entry level position at the firm.

This year, more than 600 analysts from 30 offices participated globally, and pitched ideas supporting nearly 300 non-profits, with innovative proposals to tackle issues spanning food insecurity and environmental sustainability to promoting STEM education and improving health outcomes for underserved communities. 

On December 9, the finalist teams addressed their pitches and presentations to Goldman Sachs Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David Solomon and the firm’s Partnership Committee in New York. Each proposal was assessed on the impact, scalability and uniqueness of the project; the team’s analysis of the project goals and financials; and the strength of the organization’s leadership and partnerships. 

Gunjan Samtani, Head of Goldman Sachs Services in India, said: “Goldman Sachs continues to focus on and support our communities amid the global pandemic. Each year, we are inspired by the innovative proposals from our young colleagues, who demonstrate the firm’s long-standing culture of philanthropy, teamwork and commitment to make an impact.”

Shakila Banu, Chief Operating Officer of Prasanna Trust, said: “The team of analysts, one of whom is a beneficiary of our scholarship program, makes this grant truly special. It is a testament to our work in the areas of education and women empowerment. This Goldman Sachs Gives grant will allow us to expand our efforts to bridge the education gap between the privileged and the poor, amid the pandemic.”

According to a January 2021 national policy brief1 by Champions for Girl’s Education in India, the pandemic is reversing the gains made in gender parity in education and empowerment of girls in India. The gendered impact of the pandemic on girls’ education is due to high engagement in domestic chores and care work, and low access to devices for digital education. Prior to the pandemic, girls were twice likely than boys to have less than four years of education. Additionally, a Right To Education Forum policy brief in India noted that 40 percent girl students dropped out of school in 2019.

Previously, several teams from India have successfully secured grants through this global competition, for India-based non-profit organizations such as HelpMeSee, Operation Asha, Digital Green Foundation, Khushi Baby and SwitchOn.

About Goldman Sachs

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a leading global financial institution that delivers a broad range of financial services across investment banking, securities, investment management and consumer banking to a large and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. In India, Goldman Sachs operates from offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

Since 2008, Goldman Sachs has committed nearly $3 billion to philanthropic initiatives, globally to academic partners and non-governmental organizations, including in India.

About Goldman Sachs Gives

Goldman Sachs Gives is a donor-advised fund through which Goldman Sachs and its current and retired senior employees provide grants to qualifying non-profit organizations globally. Goldman Sachs Gives has made more than $2 billion in grants and partnered with 8,000 non-profit organizations in 100 countries around the world.

Venus Remedies Makes The Cut For The PLI Scheme In Category C

 * Secures approval on the basis of its world-class R&D, growth potential through cutting-edge technologies, capabilities to penetrate global value chains

* Under this scheme, Venus Remedies will make a committed investment in plant and machinery, get incentives on incremental sales of pharmaceutical products

Riding on its outstanding R&D and global manufacturing capabilities, Venus Remedies Ltd, one of India’s leading research-driven pharmaceutical companies, has figured among the select pharmaceutical firms in India which have been picked for the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme of the Central government under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

The company, which is entitled to PLI to build on its existing capacities from the financial year (FY) 2022-23 to FY 2027-28, is among the non-MSME pharmaceutical companies which have been granted approval under the PLI Scheme in Category C involving companies with a manufacturing turnover of less than Rs 500 crore.

Stating that the company got the approval as a beneficiary of the PLI Scheme on account of   impressive marketing authorisations and dossier wealth in regulated markets, Saransh Chaudhary, President, Global Critical Care, Venus Remedies Ltd, and CEO, Venus Medicine Research Centre (VMRC), said, “This is an acknowledgement of our research competencies and manufacturing abilities. We have secured this approval on the basis of our world-class R&D, potential to grow in size and scale using cutting-edge technologies and capabilities to penetrate global value chains.”

Chaudhary said that under this scheme, Venus Remedies would make a committed investment in plant and machinery, and expanding its product portfolio, apart from adding new innovative and complex generics over the coming years.  The company will get incentives on incremental sales of pharmaceutical products based on yearly threshold criteria of prescribed percentage of growth in sales on year-on-year basis. The benefits accruing from this incentive will enhance the manufacturing capabilities of Venus Remedies through increase in both investment and production.

The PLI scheme has the potential to contribute significantly to achieving the larger objective of ensuring affordable healthcare in India as well as abroad on a sustained basis. It aims to give impetus to innovation, research and development and widen the product profile of Indian manufacturers. As many as 278 pharma companies had applied for benefits under three product categories under the scheme, out of which 55 were finally selected.

About Venus Remedies

Panchkula-based Venus Remedies Ltd (NSE: VENUSREM, BSE: 526953) is among the leading   injectable manufacturers in the world. Having presence in 75 countries with a portfolio of as many products spread over Europe, Australia, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Commonwealth States, Middle East, Latin America and Caribbean region, the company has nine globally benchmarked facilities in Panchkula, Baddi and Werne (Germany), apart from 11 overseas marketing offices. Its manufacturing units are certified for ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 18001 and OHSAS. The company has also been approved by European-GMP, WHO-GMP and Latin American GMP (INVIMA), among others. Venus Remedies has more than 100 patents, 70 trademarks and 12 copyrights for its innovative research products worldwide.

Johnson’s Baby Introduces New Milk + Rice Lotion That Is Enriched With Pure Milk Proteins Plus Rice Extracts

 * Unveils a new TVC that brings alive the benefits of a 24-hour moisture lock for babies who are entering a phase of exploration and doing something new every day

J&J Milk & Rice - New Packshot_Milk+Rice Lotion_200ml_FrontNational, December 10, 2021: Johnson’s® Baby announced the introduction of its New Milk + Rice lotion that seeks to support mums of growing babies who are entering a phase of milestones and exploration. As babies grow, mums want to be sure that their developing skin is equipped for all that their natural inquisitiveness will have them do during the day. Milkier and creamier*[1], Johnson’s® New Milk+ Rice lotion enriched with pure milk proteins plus rice extracts, does just that with its 24-hour moisture lock to help keep the baby’s skin nourished, moisturised and ‘baby soft’ all day.

A baby’s skin develops rapidly and needs the right nourishment to be healthy and develop right. A growing child is bound to do new things like crawling and walking and moisturisers need to deliver that extra nourishment to help equip their skin with the care it needs. The TVC conceptualized by DDB Mudra, brings alive these unique moments in the day and life of a mum and her baby, as they go about the home, exploring something new at each step.

The TVC seeks to assure mums that Johnson’s® Baby with the new Milk + Rice lotion will continue to nourish and celebrate their baby’s growing years. It brings out the richness of the lotion formulation, enriched with goodness pure milk proteins and rice extracts. It has 5x Vitamin E and Vitamin B5 to help keep skin nourished and moisturised.

According to Manoj Gadgil, Vice President Marketing, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health, India, “Johnson’s® Baby believes that ‘every baby must have a thriving start’. The new Johnson’s® Baby Milk + Rice lotion is a reiteration of this commitment to provide the best baby skincare products backed by science for every mum’s baby skincare requirement. We are dedicated to working with mums and dads, healthcare experts and scientists to ensure our products have the highest standard of care for babies at every age and stage of their growing years. The new Milk + Rice lotion with its purposeful ingredients seeks to reassure mums that their child’s developing skin will get the right nourishment, for that baby soft skin.”

Commenting on the TVC, Godwin Dmello, Executive Creative Director, DDB Mudra said, “We found the insight of growing babies seeing and feeling everything for the first time, to be a very powerful one. So, we told the story of this curious baby who’s enjoying her newfound freedom to move and explore. It sets up the need for the product to come in while being relatable and delightful for mothers.”

About Johnson’s® Baby:

At Johnson’s®, we’re committed to delivering the best for babies with products that are specially designed for baby’s skin. For more than 125 years, we’ve pioneered research to further understand the unique needs of baby’s eyes, skin and hair. This science is behind every one of our gentle and Clinically Proven Mild products, making Johnson’s® baby one of the most trusted brands amongst mothers in India.

To know more details about gentle care, visit www.johnsonsbaby.in

Link to the TVC: https://youtu.be/rFtPKezpWsI

UNDP And SAP Launch ‘Project Code Unnati’ To Foster Digital Skills And Entrepreneurship In Karnataka

* Description automatically generatedThe Initiative launched by Dr C. N. Ashwath Narayan, Hon’ble Minister for Electronics, IT & BT, Science and Technology, Higher Education, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, Government of Karnataka, will empower over 20,000 youth and 5,000 women across three districts in the state.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with SAP, launched the Project Code Unnati, to promote digital skilling and entrepreneurship development for youth and women across three districts in Karnataka.

The initiative was inaugurated by Dr. C. N. Ashwath Narayan, Hon’ble Minister for Electronics, IT and BT, Science and Technology, Higher Education, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, Government of Karnataka, in the presence of Dr. Shalini Rajneesh (IAS), Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Planning, Programming, Monitoring and Statistics, Government of Karnataka, Dr. S. Selvakumar (IAS), Secretary, Department of Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, Government of Karnataka, Mr. Ashwin D. Gowda (IRS), Managing Director, Karnataka Skill Development Corporation, Government of Karnataka, Ms. Sindhu Gangadharan, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, SAP Labs India, and Mr. Amit Kumar, Head, Inclusive Growth, UNDP.

As part of the Project Code Unnati, SAP and UNDP have curated three broad work-streams, that will directly impact the lives of over 20,000 youth, 5000 women, and 300 community-based enterprises in the districts of Dakshina Kannada, Raichur, and Bengaluru Rural during the project duration of three years.  These include:

Imparting digital literacy, enhancing entrepreneurial skills, and providing digital financial education for women

Building digital skills and entrepreneurship development at the university level for youth

Connecting youth to the Government incubation centers (Atal Incubation Centres), and providing them with opportunities to participate in design-thinking workshops, innovation challenges, and boot camps

Expected impact of SAP and UNDP partnership

20,000 youth will undergo 21st century and digital skills training coupled with Entrepreneurship Development Programmes (EDPs) in the target districts

Students will have the opportunity to attend and participate in design-thinking workshops, demonstrations, digital skills championship leading to scholarships, Youth Co Lab innovation challenges, boot camps, and connecting them with Atal Incubation Centers (AICs) of NITI Aayog in Karnataka

Creating a direct impact on the lives of at least 5000 women as a part of the Entrepreneurship Awareness Programme (EAP)

3,000 women from 500 self-help groups (SHGs) and micro-enterprises will be trained as part of the Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP)

300 women would be able to initiate their own businesses in three years, thereby increasing income level within 18 months of the commencement of the programme

Raising awareness at various levels by connecting industry and professional linkages, employee volunteering, and mentorship

Sindhu Gangadharan  SVP, SAP User Enablement & MD, SAP Labs India said “SAP’s Code Unnati in partnership with UNDP and the Government of Karnataka, aims at youth empowerment through employable skill training, career guidance, and entrepreneurship ecosystem in the State. To strengthen the New Education Policy of the Government of India, we created the content in Kannada along with UNDP, which will be available through the Code Unnati mobile app. Along with UNDP, SAP will also augment the rural entrepreneurship ecosystem to foster an inclusive and equitable economic development in Karnataka.”

Amit Kumar, Head, Inclusive Growth, UNDP India, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has compelled the world to embrace a new normal, with physical distancing being the way of life today. Equipping and empowering youth and women to utilize opportunities for transformation is critical during the pandemic. Our partnership with SAP will not only maximize our collective effort but will allow young people and women in India to take charge of their own lives and, in turn, make their communities a better and more inclusive space.”

Employees of SAP Labs India will provide strategic mentorship for all the initiatives. SAP Labs India has also created the Code Unnati digital platform as a mobile application which provides access to over 230 courses for Youth and the workforce of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

About UNDP

UNDP works across 170 countries and territories, to eradicate poverty while protecting the planet. UNDP helps in developing strong policies, skills, partnerships, and institutions so that the countries are able to sustain their progress. UNDP has worked in India since 1951 in most areas of human development, ranging from systems and institutional strengthening to inclusive growth and sustainable livelihoods, sustainable energy, environment, to climate change resilience. UNDP’s programmes continue to integrate a global vision for catalytic change synchronous with India’s national priorities.

With over 30 projects being implemented across several states today, UNDP India works to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to transform traditional models to achieve holistic and all-round development in the country.

For more information, visit https://www.in.undp.org/

Follow UNDP India on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn

Trend Micro Accelerates Business Growth With The Opening Of New Office In Mumbai

* To be the world's first anti-microbial facility that uses BioZone technology 

Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global cybersecurity leader, today opened its new office in Mumbai, India. Located in Bandra Kurla Complex, the 6879 sq ft office space has a Center of Excellence (CoE) and Executive Briefing Center (EBC). With the launch, Trend Micro aims to expand its cloud business in India and also grow its incident response and local support team. The company aims to continue its current focus on BFSI and specific areas in government including defense and state data center. 

The new Trend Micro office is designed to create a unique environment and ensure best in class services for its employees, with major investments in infrastructure. Equipped with cutting-edge and fully integrated technology, the facility is designed to accommodate future needs, suitable for video conferencing for both collaborative and remote work, particularly post-pandemic. The style of the building has been enhanced with the help of BioZone technology, to create the world's first anti-microbial facility. 

Mr. Nilesh Jain, Vice President, Southeast Asia and India, Trend Micro said, “This year has been a great year for us. Our new Mumbai office supports our customers and, it reiterates our commitment to India market and the cybersecurity industry. We see many enterprises in India taking the lead in technology advancements and staying ahead of the global market curve, including cloud adoption. This in turn provides more business opportunities for us to invest in this market. It also allows us to look at India as a place to launch strategic initiatives that include hosting Cloud One data center and XDR data lake, building our Managed XDR Center of Excellence for SOC partners, nurturing the cybersecurity talents in India through CPITS Program, developing our AMEA regional channel team in India etc., to scale up our operations across other regions and industries.” 

Mr. Vijendra Katiyar, Country Manager, India & SAARC, Trend Micro said, “We are happy to announce the launch of our state-of-art office space that reinforces our commitment to India market. Further to our existing Cloud One and XDR data centers, we also plan to setup a local support center in India to address the cybersecurity issues and concerns of our customers. With significant investments made in the cloud business, we will ramp up hiring and continue building the team. As our customers are the backbone of our company, we are bound to cater to their needs and meet their requirements.” 

Keeping in mind the user experience, Trend Micro office is built around a strong design concept, to create a new workspace language. The design provides flexibility for users by providing workspaces to fit diverse activities including lounges, phone booths and workstations. The primary idea of the office interior is to provide users with the diverse and flexible office space breaking away from the monolithic and boring office. Hence, the design strategically weaves the feeling of comfort and homeliness with formal office setting. The combination of all of these elements allows for a wide range of activities throughout the day, making the office more efficient and enthusing for its employees. 

As a cybersecurity leader, Trend Micro has been continually receiving many industry accolades and recognition globally. The company is named a Leader Once Again in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms. It is also a Leader in the Forrester New Wave™: Extended Detection and Response (XDR) Providers, Q4 2021 report as Trend Micro Vision One receives the highest score in Current Offering category in XDR Evaluation. IDC ranks Trend Micro as #1 in Workload Security market share for the third consecutive year, in the Worldwide Hybrid Cloud Workload Security Market Shares report, June 2021. 

About Trend Micro 

Trend Micro, a global cybersecurity leader, helps make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Fueled by decades of security expertise, global threat research, and continuous innovation, Trend Micro's cybersecurity platform protects hundreds of thousands of organizations and millions of individuals across clouds, networks, devices, and endpoints. As a leader in cloud and enterprise cybersecurity, the platform delivers a powerful range of advanced threat defense techniques optimized for environments like AWS, Microsoft, and Google, and central visibility for better, faster detection and response. With 7,000 employees across 65 countries, Trend Micro enables organizations to simplify and secure their connected world. www.trendmicro.com. 

ISRO & OPPO India Collaborates To Provide NavIC Application, Paving Way For Atmanirbhar Bharat

Indian Space Research Organisation, Department of Space, Government of India signs an MoU with OPPO India to strengthen the research and development of the NavIC messaging service to provide a convenient and user-friendly platform. This MoU will pave the way for future collaborations between ISRO and OPPO India to develop indigenous solutions by incorporating the NavIC short messaging feature in the smartphones released by OPPO India.

This MoU will enable ISRO and OPPO India to exchange technical information of NavIC messaging services so as to build rapid, ready to use, end to end application-specific solutions by integrating NavIC messaging service with the mobile handset platform keeping in mind the need of Indian users. This MoU further reiterates OPPO India's commitment towards India and its vision towards Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Commenting on this collaboration, Mr Tasleem Arif, Vice President, India R&D Head, OPPO India, said, “We’re excited to collaborate with ISRO to strengthen the NavIC application. Under our latest MoU, we will support ISRO with our industry-leading R&D capabilities to provide a seamless experience to the users of NavIC application. In line with our vision towards Make In India, OPPO will invest in further scaling the product with its competitive and experienced R&D team. To benefit our users and the government, OPPO will continue to create a positive impact in the society through our innovation and technology expertise.”

Dr. K Sivan, Secretary, DOS / Chairman, ISRO appreciated the efforts of OPPO, India in scaling NavIC application through their innovative R&D initiatives. He also urged OPPO, India to include NavIC in all their upcoming products .

NavIC system provides regional navigation services covering the Indian mainland and an area up to 1500 km beyond the Indian mainland. In addition to its primary function of providing PNT services, NavIC is also capable of broadcasting short messages. This messaging service is mainly used for broadcasting safety-of-life alerts in areas with poor or no communication , particularly in the oceans.

About OPPO Mobiles India Private Limited

OPPO is a leading global smart device brand. Since the launch of its first mobile phone - “Smiley Face” - in 2008, OPPO has been in relentless pursuit of the perfect synergy of aesthetic satisfaction and innovative technology. Today, OPPO provides a wide range of smart devices spearheaded by the Find and Reno series. Beyond devices, OPPO provides its users with the ColorOS operating system and internet services like OPPO Cloud and OPPO+. OPPO operates in more than 50 countries and regions with more than 40,000 of OPPO's employees are dedicated to creating a better life for customers around the world.

OPPO’s Hyderabad R&D center is the largest research center outside of China and is playing a pivotal role in innovation across fields including software, imaging, and communication network. Aimed at elevating global 5G experience, the brand also launched its first overseas 5G innovation lab in Hyderabad. In line with its commitment to Make in India, OPPO has a manufacturing plant at Greater Noida, established in 2016. As per Canalys February 2021 report, OPPO India witnessed the highest annual growth rate in 2020 among the top 5 players, with annual growth of +23% y-o-y.

Need To Implement Q-Commerce And Cmnichannel In Retail Will Continue To Grow In 2022

2021 witnessed disruptions in retail, with businesses optimizing their inventory and supply chain to ensure their fulfillment was immediate. They further evolved and added fulfillment centres, in their premises, to cater to new consumer needs like BOPIS (buy online and pick up in-store) or BORIS (Buy online and return in-store), curbside pick-up and same-day delivery.

Here are five trends from GOFRUGAL in the retail space that are sure to help retailers accelerate their growth.

1. Technology is a must to offer omni channel retailing

For one thing, the pandemic had stressed the criticality of the supply chain one more time. Retailers struggled to provide consistent experience while they kept introducing new channels like online sales, WhatsApp etc. There is a need for one single view of inventory to support all fulfillment options. Having consolidated inventory on all channels, retailers can easily manage channel-wise pricing and suggested-selling. Product recommendations are introduced while browsing online, in price checkers at the store, at kiosk counters and even endless aisles so they don't lose any orders. By introducing an endless-aisle and recommendation engine, retailers can upgrade from 'buy-stock-sell' to 'sell-source-supply'.

2. Q-commerce is the next big thing

Speed and convenience are fast becoming sought-after consumer currency, giving rise to Q-commerce. This next generation commerce, true to its name, suggests quick-commerce. It also means on-demand or rapid delivery and logistics for an improved last-mile experience. A delivery management mobile app builds a fool-proof Q-commerce system where businesses get complete control on delivery, delivery staff, cash flow and even returns.  Complex processes like manual entries, delivery book, delivery tracking, and manual accounting are eliminated, ensuring faster deliveries with optimum-route navigation capability.

3. Cloud is a catalyst to transform easily

Businesses of any size benefit from upgrading to the cloud as there is one version of the truth. Stakeholders have access to a single or source of data anywhere anytime. With cloud ERP, businesses can easily integrate and grow their businesses steadily. They can enjoy cloud elasticity for either scaling up or scaling down. With data being the fuel for businesses, they must protect and back up their data. Security will be the top 4 objectives in 2022. Cloud-based data back and restore solutions are easy to set up, and data is automatically encrypted and synced in real-time for 100% business continuity.

4. Discovering the benefits of AI and ML

AI, ML and IoT are also transforming the way retailers conduct their business. AI/ML can drive inventory control, predictive selling, demand forecasting, purchase automation, auto reorder and real-time data insights for faster decision-making. AI in the supply chain can help retailers enjoy efficiency as re-stocking happens automatically. It is calculated based on the demand for the product based on its sales history, seasonal trends, promotions, and other parameters. Mobile apps for stock-audit, stock-refill, GRN and stock-pick use AI/ML to automate manual processes like what to audit, buy, re-stock when, how and thus determining optimal staff with no compromise to customer service. Importantly, IoT is used to detect pilferage, fraud and any security issues alerting the user with notification alerts immediately for proactive action.

5. Customer experience Imperative

Physical stores will be re-designed and re-imagined catering to the new normal adhering to the safety guidelines giving rise to self-checkout contactless interactions. With a single view of the customer, retailers can better assess, review, and personalize the loyalty and marketing promotions, pricing, upselling/cross-selling, thus providing a seamless frictionless experience across all omni channel touchpoints.

Sharing his thoughts on the trends, Kumar Vembu, CEO and Founder, GOFRUGAL said,” The pandemic has set the cat among the pigeons. It's time traditional retailers embrace technology and date innovation to spread their wings and sail the retail skies. Digital technology brings in opportunities to get new customers and repeat purchases by existing ones. It also increases efficiency with automation of store operations, empowered employees, and reduced cost of managing operations among many other benefits. Amidst all this, the physical entity would continue to revolve and evolve to the changing needs of consumers.”