Land Rover Opens Bookings For New Range Rover In Indian Market

* True to its roots: The New Range Rover leads by example with breathtaking modernity, peerless refinement and unmatched Land Rover capability informed by over 50 years of evolution

* Modern luxury: New Range Rover is defined by presence and formality, achieved by the harmony of proportions, surface and lines

* Materiality choices: Luxurious alternatives to traditional leather include a new premium textile that combines Ultrafabrics™ and Kvadrat™ wool-blend 

* Peerless refinement: Engineers have reduced the cognitive load on the driver at every point, while next-generation noise-cancelling with headrest speakers creates the ultimate refinement

* Perfect poise: Integrated Chassis Control with Dynamic Response Pro provides supreme ride comfort using Electronic Air Suspension that primes the vehicle for corners using eHorizon data

* Dynamic agility: Standard All-Wheel Steering combines superior high-speed stability with exceptional manoeuvrability at low speeds – and a turning circle of less than 11 m1 

* Breadth of choice: New architecture provides Standard and Long Wheelbase bodystyles with luxurious four, five or seven-seat interiors 

Powertrains: Available in 3 powertrains- 3.0 l diesel, 3.0 l petrol and New 4.4 l petrol

* Serene performance: New 4.4 l Twin Turbo V8 petrol delivers trademark Range Rover drive, with Dynamic Launch enabling 0-100 km/h in 4.6 seconds

* Tranquil sanctuary: Cabin Air Purification Pro features PM2.5 filtration and nanoe™ X technology, helping to significantly reduce odours, bacteria, viruses and allergens 

* Configure yours: The New Range Rover is available to order now with prices starting from ? 231.91 Lakh, ex-showroom India

The elegant New Range Rover defines modern luxury, providing more refinement, customer choice and scope for personalisation than ever before. 

Range Rover is the original luxury SUV and has led by example for 50 years, combining serene comfort and composure with all-conquering capability. The New Range Rover is the most desirable yet, mixing breathtaking modernity and aesthetic grace with technological sophistication and seamless connectivity.

Rohit Suri, President and Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover India, said: “The Range Rover sits at the pinnacle of luxury SUVs in India and the new fifth generation Range Rover ups the desirability quotient significantly higher.”

Land Rover’s new flexible Modular Longitudinal Architecture underpins every aspect of this luxury SUV, from its unmatched capability and agile handling to its peerless refinement. By combining state-of-the-art engineering techniques with new levels of virtual development and Land Rover’s punishing development programme, the New Range Rover will deliver new levels of quality. 

The new luxury SUV is available in SE, HSE and Autobiography models. A First Edition will be available throughout the first year of production, based on the Autobiography model and featuring a unique specification. It is exclusively available in a Sunset Gold Satin finish, among a choice of five exterior colours. Both Standard (SWB) or Long Wheelbase (LWB) body designs are available with five seats, while the New Range Rover LWB model is available with a third row for extended comfort for up to seven adults. 

Breathtaking Modernity

The fifth-generation luxury SUV takes Land Rover’s modernist design philosophy to the next level, with a contemporary interpretation of its trademark profile to create an incredible design statement. It continues to lead, bringing breathtaking modernity, aesthetic grace and sophistication to Land Rover’s latest flagship. 

The New Range Rover is defined by three lines that can trace their origins back through the generations; the falling roofline, strong waistline and rising sill line. These trademark features combine with a characteristically short front overhang and a distinctive new boat tail rear – complete with practical split tailgate – to create an elegant profile that conveys Range Rover’s peerless presence.

The unbroken waistline showcases Land Rover’s attention to detail as the rounded edge of the door meets the glass in a simple, clean finish thanks to a specially engineered hidden waist finisher. The design-enabling technology combines with flush glazing, hidden-until-lit lighting and precise detailing to create the impression that the vehicle has been milled from solid. 

The sophisticated surfaces provide a clean and contemporary appearance – and contribute to a drag coefficient of 0.30, making this the most aerodynamically efficient luxury SUV in the world.

The exterior colour palette elevates New Range Rover’s elegant proportions and clean surfaces while the interior options are more sustainable, responsible and progressive than ever. Customers have a wider choice of materials and finishes, including innovative textiles and tactile Ultrafabrics™ with a continuation of Land Rover’s pioneering relationship with Kvadrat™ – Europe’s leading manufacturer of premium textiles. It is combined with Ultrafabrics™ to create a defining materiality option that is lighter and generates only a quarter of the CO2 of traditional leather.

Peerless Refinement

The New Range Rover makes every journey an occasion to be remembered, combining advanced technology with modern luxury to deliver peerless refinement for every occupant, including those in the new third-row seats. By eliminating unwanted noises, vibrations and distractions – and reducing the cognitive load on the driver and passengers – occupants will arrive at their destination feeling refreshed, even after the longest journeys.

Advanced speaker technology builds on the fundamental refinement provided by the MLA-Flex body architecture to deliver serene cabin calmness – ensuring passengers enjoy a first-class experience. It uses the 1 600 W Meridian Signature Sound System to create one of the quietest vehicle interiors on the road, with additional 20 W speakers in the four main headrests for the most immersive sound experience.

The third-generation Active Noise Cancellation3 system monitors wheel vibrations, tyre noise and engine sounds transmitted into the cabin and generates a cancelling signal, which is played through the system’s 35 speakers. These include a pair of 60 mm diameter speakers in the headrests for each of the four main cabin occupants, which create personal quiet zones similar to the effect when using high-end headphones.

The New Range Rover brings new levels of wellbeing to the luxury SUV sector and Cabin Air Purification Pro is the culmination of this pioneering technology. It combines dual-nanoeTM X technology for allergen reduction and pathogen removal, to help significantly reduce odours and viruses, while CO2 Management and PM2.5 Cabin Air Filtration enhance air quality. 

The Range Rover was the first luxury SUV to feature Electronic Air Suspension, in 1992, and the New Range Rover continues this pioneering approach with Dynamic Response Pro and pre-emptive suspension that uses eHorizon Navigation data to read the road ahead and prime the suspension to provide perfect responses. 

The new Tailgate Event Suite2 takes the Versatile Loadspace Floor backrest concept to new heights, combining additional lighting and audio features to create the perfect vantage point for outdoor relaxation.

Seamless Technology

The New Range Rover maintains its rich bloodline of pioneering innovation with a suite of technologies designed to effortlessly enhance convenience, efficiency, refinement and safety. Land Rover’s latest Electrical Vehicle Architecture (EVA 2.0) is the enabler-in-chief and includes Software-Over-The-Air (SOTA) updates for more than 70 electronic modules, meaning the New Range Rover will constantly evolve, improve and remain up to date as it matures. 

The New Range Rover elevates Land Rover’s award-winning Pivi Pro infotainment technology with its largest ever touchscreen. The 33.27 cm (13.1) curved, floating screen embodies the architectural lightness of the interior with a minimalist frame design. 

Pivi Pro works in harmony with an elegant new semi-floating 34.79 cm (13.7) Interactive Driver Display, which features new high-definition graphics based around a three-panel layout that intuitively reflects the design of the Pivi Pro homescreen. Customers can choose from a variety of configurations, including a conventional analogue layout, using the steering wheel controls. 

Rear passengers can enjoy a new Rear Seat Entertainment (RSE) system, which provides adjustable 28.95 cm (11.4) HD touchscreens mounted on the rear of the front seatbacks. They can be operated independently and support the connection of most devices with an HDMI port. The 20.32 cm (8) Rear Seat Touchscreen Controller4 mounted in the centre armrest of Executive Class Rear Seats provides quick and intuitive control for the perfect seating position, elevating the luxurious rear-seat experience.  

Efficient and powerful all-LED lighting is provided on every New Range Rover, with the new high-definition Digital LED Headlights providing a beam range of up to 500 m. They create an exceptional design detail and feature Signature daytime running lights, animated indicators, Adaptive Front Lighting and Image Projection technology on start-up, making them the most advanced headlights ever fitted to a Land Rover. 

New Manoeuvring Lights help drivers complete low-speed manoeuvres in dimly lit surroundings with complete confidence, by creating a carpet of light around the perimeter of the vehicle, working with the 3D Surround Camera system to provide effortless manoeuvrability. 

Serene Capability and Composure

The flagship of the Land Rover family represents the pinnacle of refined capability thanks to advanced hardware and software systems working in complete harmony, enabled by the new MLA-Flex body architecture. This unrivalled breadth of dynamic capability is governed by Land Rover’s Integrated Chassis Control – a single control system for a suite of advanced technologies that tailor the vehicle dynamics to suit every mile of every journey, to pre-emptively and reactively fine-tune the driving characteristics.

Every New Range Rover features All-Wheel Steering for an effortless drive with heightened high-speed stability and improved manoeuvrability at low speeds, ensuring it is equally at home on the open road and negotiating tight urban streets. 

The electrically operated rear axle provides up to seven degrees of steering angle and, at low speeds, turns out-of-phase of the front wheels, giving the New Range Rover a turning circle of less than 11 m1 – the smallest of any Land Rover. At higher speeds the rear axle turns in phase with the front wheels for enhanced stability and comfort. 

Fully independent air suspension isolates the cabin from surface imperfections more effectively than ever, for serene composure at all times. It combines industry-leading air springs volumes with twin-valve dampers – all managed by in-house-developed Adaptive Dynamics control software. 

All of this technology feeds into Land Rover’s award-winning Terrain Response 2 system, which harnesses the various chassis systems to automatically provide the perfect settings for the surroundings, from a choice of six driving modes, to minimise driver workload across all terrains. Alternatively, the driver can select the most appropriate setting manually or, use Configurable Terrain Response to create a bespoke chassis set-up.

Powertrain Efficiency

The New Range Rover maintains its compelling combination of effortless performance and peerless refinement with a comprehensive line-up of advanced six- and eight-cylinder powertrains. 

The New Range Rover provides the latest mild-hybrid (MHEV) 3.0 l petrol engine, delivering power of 294 kW and torque of 550 Nm, and 3.0 l diesel engine, delivering power of 258 kW and torque of 700 Nm. A powerful new petrol flagship – 4.4 l Twin Turbo V8 delivering power of 390 kW and torque of 750 Nm – ensures increased refinement and performance.

The six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines feature the latest 48 V MHEV technology which harvests energy usually lost under deceleration and braking to boost fuel efficiency. The system’s clever belt-integrated starter motor ensures more responsive and refined operation of the stop-start system and provides extra assistance to the engine when accelerating.

The New Range Rover is available to order now with prices starting from Rs 231.91 Lakhs ex-showroom India. To know more about the New Range Rover, visit www.landrover.in.

3i Infotech Wins A Multi-Year Contract With A Major US Based Supply Chain And Enterprise Product Company

* To provide cloud and managed services as part of the long-term engagement  

3i Infotech Limited (BSE: 532628, NSE: 3IINFOTECH), a global Information Technology company, committed to accelerating business transformation, is now providing cloud and managed services to Bamboo Rose, a US based industry-leading Multi-Enterprise Product and Supply Chain Platform. As part of this multi-year contract, 3i Infotech will be the preferred infrastructure managed services provider (MSP) as well as Microsoft cloud service provider (CSP) for Bamboo Rose globally. Additionally, both the companies are committed to working on a joint go-to-market in select geographies. 

Bamboo Rose connects members of the retail business community to streamline product innovation, development, sourcing, and supply chain operations helping clients bring great products to market faster and at higher margins. It serves 85+ major retailers and 400 brands connecting 50,000 suppliers and 150,000 user members globally. 

Commenting on the new client win, Mr. Thompson Gnanam, Managing Director & Global CEO, 3i Infotech Limited said, “New 3i Infotech is a one stop technology orchestrator who plays the role of a cloud transformation specialist, managed services provider and cloud services provider taking end-to-end business KPI, partner of choice to scale and accelerate business of our next generation cloud native, digital first clients like Bamboo Rose.” 

Mr. Kamal Anand, CTO at Bamboo Rose said, “With 3i Infotech, we will achieve our goal of a centralized, rationalized and optimized cloud operations center with embedded industry best practices. The complete cloud infrastructure backend support provided by 3i Infotech helped us monitor the key activities and the managed services accelerated our business operations. We would like to thank the team for their continuous assistance.” 

About 3i Infotech 

Headquartered in Mumbai, India, since inception in 1993, 3i Infotech has been committed to driving business value across multiple industry verticals. 3i Infotech, today, has emerged as a leading name in propelling the current wave of digital transformation initiatives, with deep domain expertise across BFSI, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Retail and Government sectors. The Company has over 4500 employees in 30 offices, 15 countries and across 4 continents. With a wide range of IT services, 3i Infotech has successfully transformed business operations of customers globally. The Company has a very strong foothold and client base in geographies like North America, India, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

Website: https://www.3i-infotech.com/  

Lincode Raises Fresh Round Funds From Accel And Four Others

*  Launches state-of-the-art AI/ML-powered solutions for Manufacturing sector  

* Lincode, a leading AI visual inspection company, has closed its another round of funding. 

Founded by Rajesh Iyengar, Founder and CEO, and Ritika Nigam, Co-founder and CTO, Lincode enables manufacturers to identify surface defects, identify and measure individual components, and generate real-time data about products on the production line through its flagship industry 4.0 solution, the Lincode Visual Inspection System (LIVIS). 

Speaking of the investments, Rajesh Iyengar said: “The automotive industry has shown an impressive adoption of manufacturing technologies. The manufacturers are not hesitant to deploy technology or a solution that they know will bring them high ROI. For instance, our AI-backed visual inspection solution has made the inspection of the production lines much more efficient than the traditional vision systems. The manufacturers have seen a drastic difference with our solution.” 

Ritika Nigam added, “The manufacturers see that microscopic surface defects were detected with the highest precision and accuracy within the established cycle times and now we have seen an ever-growing demand amongst the automotive manufacturers. I certainly believe the industry is now more than ready to invest in manufacturing technologies. The future of smart automotive manufacturing is very promising.”

Shekhar Kirani from Accel showed his optimism in the offerings of Lincode, saying, “We are excited about how Lincode is taking industry 4.0 to the next level, leveraging AI/ML to revolutionize precision manufacturing. Quality inspection is a critical challenge faced by manufacturers across the industries  and Lincode has an amazing IP/Tech to address in multiple categories and markets. They are seeing great early success with their products across the globe.”  

Seconding him is K C Chea of Tech Coast Angels, San Diego: “The Lincode computer vision technology is very promising for the automotive industry and manufacturing in general.  The solution will deliver higher quality products at a lower cost.  We invested in Lincode because we believe Lincode is the future as customers demand zero defects. ”

Hus TIgli of Tech Coast Angels added, “Lincode has demonstrated that its technology has achieved impressive results in defect detection vs. traditional machine vision technologies. We believe that these phenomenal AI-enabled results and the quick set-up times achieved are real differentiators for Lincode.” 

“We believe in backing entrepreneurs who are looking to transform industries and even creating new ones leveraging technologies like AI. We see a lot of synergy between our vision and what Lincode is trying to achieve.” says Robbie Dutta of Nurture Ventures.

Raj Snehil Juneja, Managing Partner of Disruptors Capital said, “We are glad to partner with Lincode as seed investors. Lincode is uniquely spearheading industrial transformation globally.  Their strong competitive edge (reflected in extremely low false calls, high compatibility and IP) along with Rajesh and Ritika's execution capabilities, makes us believe they are disruptors poised for large scale success.”

Yashwanth Hemraj, Founding Partner of Arka Venture Labs concluded saying, “Our investment in Lincode aligns with our vision of backing game-changing cross-border vertical solutions that are built with three main components - AI, workflow automation and datasets. Lincode stands out among competitors, in its ability to execute and grow rapidly. We are very excited to back Rajesh and Ritika as Lincode embarks on becoming the go-to Visual Inspection solution in the factory floors for the largest OEMs and their supplier ecosystem.”

The automotive industry is witnessing a bullish trend and has been adopting smart manufacturing to a great extent. The industry is making large investments in smart technologies such as AI, IIoT, Automation, Big data, 5G, etc. to streamline and scale up the automotive manufacturing process for higher efficiency and production capacity.

By the end of 2022, automotive manufacturers expect that some 24% of their plants will be smart factories,and 49% of automakers have already invested more than $250 million in smart factories. However, only a few automotive manufacturers have translated this enthusiasm into real progress – some 42% of smart factory initiatives are struggling and the digital maturity of their manufacturing operations is below par.

The automotive sector has seen growth in its sales and increased adoption of critical manufacturing technologies, which is an important driving factor. This has led to the delivering of best-in-class quality of products that are available to the market in keeping with the demand due to better production capacity. 

About Us

Lincode is a leading AI visual inspection company that was founded by Rajesh Iyengar, the Founder and CEO, and co-founded by Co-founder and CTO, Ritika Nigam. Rajesh has to his credit three successful ventures and has over 19+ years of experience across IT, and manufacturing sectors. Rajesh has also developed a patent-pending Secure OS for IIoT. Meanwhile, Ritika Nigam has over 13 years of experience in senior technology roles and architecting solutions across multiple domains such as Extreme Healthcare, Adwords, HCM, IT and Networking.

Honeywell Expands OT Cyersecurity Portfolio With Active Defense And Deception Technology Solution

* The Honeywell Threat Defense Platform (HTDP) features autonomous deception technology from Acalvio, which helps thwart threat actors and provide accurate threat detection for buildings’ operational technology environments

* Acalvio is backed by a Honeywell Ventures investment; new product expands Honeywell’s relationship with Acalvio

Honeywell (Nasdaq: HON) and Acalvio Technologies announced today the launch of a new solution designed to detect known and unknown (zero-day) attacks across the operational technology (OT) environments in commercial buildings. Honeywell Threat Defense Platform (HTDP) powered by Acalvio® employs sophisticated active defense – featuring autonomous deception tactics to outsmart attackers – and provides high fidelity threat detection. Honeywell’s technology features an approach recommended by governments and cybersecurity standard bodies because of its ability to detect and control attacks.1

Traditionally, building OT environments rely on prevention technology and passive detection such as perimeter security and network traffic analysis to secure systems. Yet, more than 1 in 4 (27%) surveyed facility managers experienced a cyber breach of their OT systems in the last 12 months, according to a recent survey conducted by Honeywell Building Technologies. Threat actors continue to target building systems with both targeted attacks and ransomware attacks. These attacks can go beyond accessing private customer data and may potentially impair the operations for critical organizations that keep society running such as utilities, data centers, hospitals and airports.

HTDP uses deception tactics to confuse and mislead threats away from critical assets and devices, resulting in low false alerts and a high rate of detection. The solution leads threat actors to decoy assets, which appear to be valuable OT and IT devices; however, none of the devices are real and there is no access to the enterprise assets. The solution makes real, critical operational devices harder to find, slowing down adversaries and helping security teams capture them faster.

“The quantity and complexity of cyberattacks unfortunately are increasing every day, reinforcing the need for building owners and operators to rigorously monitor, maintain and protect their OT environments,” said Mirel Sehic, global director of cybersecurity, Honeywell Building Technologies. “Incorporating Acalvio’s autonomous deception technology into our OT cybersecurity toolbelt provides a highly effective solution to help protect our customers’ buildings from increasingly sophisticated attacks.”

Powered by Acalvio’s breakthrough deception technology, HTDP incorporates design-, intent- and industry-specific knowledge into a seamless workflow to deploy effective deception across distributed enterprise OT networks. Using specially crafted deception elements, HTDP also helps detect ransomware and even zero-day variants with precision and speed. HTDP uses advanced analytics to confirm and investigate threats.

“We’re excited to work with Honeywell to secure and keep building OT systems properly operating while also protecting the people and data throughout an organization,” said Ram Varadarajan, co-founder and CEO, Acalvio Technologies. “Importantly, this technology is something that can benefit every building and facility – especially those that do not have teams of cyber experts. It requires no prior knowledge of attacker tactics and can be deployed without special training or modifications to existing OT environments.”

The HTDP solution includes deployment and ongoing monitoring, freeing up internal security team resources. Advanced artificial intelligence makes the service easy to use and scalable. HTDP is well-suited for organizations that desire advanced intrusion detection in their building network without having to install or operate complex technology. HTDP can be deployed across both IT and OT environments as either an on-premises offering or cloud service.

Honeywell is committed to simplifying the cybersecurity equation for customers. This new offering also helps customers improve their resilience and business continuity efforts to help meet their environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. Honeywell’s relationship with Acalvio includes investment by Honeywell Ventures to further support the development of the latest cybersecurity solutions and disruptive technologies.

TECNO Introduces POP 5 Series, With Its 1st Device POP 5 LTE Featuring 5000mAh Battery & 6.52 HD+ Display Priced At Rs. 6299

* Available in three new exciting colors including Ice Blue, Deepsea Luster and Turquoise Cyan, the all-new TECNO POP 5 LTE can be purchased on Amazon.in as Amazon Specials starting 16th January, 2022.

* Interested buyers can click Notify Me tab on Amazon.in from January 12th 2022

TECNO, the global premium smartphone brand, has once again donned the mantle of being the industry leader and disruptor with its latest product offering, POP 5 LTE, under its ‘POP Series’ portfolio.

Boasting of segment first features such as 6.52 HD+ dot-notch display, 5000mAh battery, 8MP AI dual rear camera, the POP 5 LTE is powered by HiOS 7.6 based on Android 11 Go.  In addition, the smartphone packs in various smart features such as IPX2 Splash Resistant, enhanced 14 regional language support, 120 Hz sampling rate and face unlock — all this in a premium design and vibrant colors.

Today, the young generation is all about speed and they want to stay ahead in every race of life. Sharing the same spirit, POP 5 has been designed to help the country’s youth stay ahead in life. While the POP series smartphones are known for their all-rounder capabilities, especially display, camera, and battery which give an additional edge to the smartphones against their competitors, the POP 5 amplifies the value for money quotient to an all new level. With the launch of POP 5 LTE, TECNO has further cemented its position of being the industry leader in the 5-10K segment.

Commenting on the launch, Arijeet Talapatra, CEO of TRANSSION India, said, ‘We at TECNO endeavor towards democratizing premium technology for the masses and bridging the existing tech divide. With the POP series, our vision is to continue to focus on smartphones that can bring in the best features at industry disrupting prices. The latest POP 5 Series has been designed keeping in the mind the need of the hour requirements of the GENZ. We are confident that with the all-new POP 5 LTE hitting the markets, we will be successful in meeting the smartphone needs of the aspiring young clan of Bharat’

Key USPs of POP 5 LTE:

6.52 HD+ Immersive Display

The TECNO POP 5 LTE features a big 6.52 HD+ dot-notch display which is quite handy. With 480nits max brightness, the screen is clearly visible in sunlight. The 90.0% screen to body ratio gives you a near bezel-less experience.

5000mAh Powerful Battery with Optimized Ultra Power Saving Mode

POP 5 LTE offers a powerful 5000mAh battery that gives an uninterrupted smartphone experience for a long duration on a single charge. Its optimized power-saving modes give you a step ahead battery backup. This huge battery makes way for a whopping 31 days’ standby time, 115 hours of music playback and 18 hours of calling time.

Segment breaking 8MP High Definition Resolution Camera

The camera of the POP 5 LTE is equipped with 8MP AI Dual Rear Camera lens with F2.0 Aperture. It features various professional photography and videography modes such AI Beauty, AI portrait, 1080P Video, HDR Filters, 16 AI Scene Detection, 4X Zoom, and Dual Flashlight. The selfie camera is 5MP with F2.0 Aperture with Micro Slit Flashlight featuring adjustable brightness.

Exhibit your style with new stylish design

Today, smartphones are an extension of your personality. The youth-centric design of the POP 5 LTE makes the smartphone stand out of the clutter. Its bold, appealing and stylish. The phone features glossy finish, larger and bolder brand logo with visual light reflections.

Other Segment Breaking Features

IPX2 Splash Resistant: Can resist water that hits the product at a 15° angle or less.

Regional Language Support up to 14 Languages: The phone offers regional language support which will make your communications smooth

120Hz Touch sampling rate: To give the user non lagging experience the smartphone features 120Hz touch sampling rate.

All this with HiOS 7.6 based on Android 11 Go, the latest android with localized features such as Vault 2.0, Smart Panel 2.0, Kids Mode, Social, Turbo, Dark themes, Parental control, Digital Wellbeing, Gesture Call Picker and many more makes the POP 5 a perfect buy for the Gen Z in the sub 7K segment. The phone features 2GB RAM and 32GB Internal Storage, which can further be expanded up to 256GB via a dedicated SD card slot.

De Beers Forevermark Sees Strong Demand For Diamonds In South India In 2022

De Beers Forevermark, one of the most trusted diamond brands, is upbeat about demand for diamonds in South India in 2022. The brand had already witnessed a huge response last year, and is expecting to grow in double digits this year too given the pent-up demand. The brand continues to grow in South India, the largest market for De Beers Forevermark in India. While the brand has 270 doors in India spread over 60 markets, it looks forward to expanding this to 300and expanding its exclusive boutique stores as well from 12 to 30 by the end of this year. Of the 30 exclusive boutique stores, we will be setting up few stores in South India.

The company’s research has shown that there is increasing demand for its natural, rare, beautiful and responsibly sourced diamonds in South India and that consumers here value the diamond’s quality over size. The company is now focused on consolidation in the South as it sees immense potential in the growing number of metros, tier-2 and tier-3 cities in the region, where it partners with select authorized retailers who share the same brand ethos as De Beers Forevermark. The company is betting big on South India as key factors differentiate the region from the rest of the country and presents retailers with unique opportunities.

Commenting on the outlook, Mr. Sachin Jain, Managing Director, De Beers India, said: “The growth trajectory has been very strong for us in the past few years and we expect it will continue. People want to invest in luxury products but ones that hold value and want an assurance of genuineness. Despite the challenges experienced due to the pandemic, Indian consumers have expressed strong demand for diamond jewellery, outstripping demand for other luxury categories. We have created a world of unique precious jewellery - urbane, intricate, minimalistic designs that are informal and experimental for everyday wear. One of the key lessons the pandemic has taught us is to value that, which is genuine and real.”

In recent years, we have seen changing consumer practices by women with more and more of them buying diamond jewellery for themselves. We also see great demand for our natural diamonds from the younger generation this year as they prefer jewellery to complement their personality and define their individual style statement. Our expansion in the South is testament to our commitment to make contemporary jewels accessible to customers across different regions,” he added.

The consumer sentiment has improved dramatically in the recent past and consumers are seeking meaningful purchases. With increasing disposable income, growing middle class population, rapid urbanization, improving standard of living and consumer preference towards investment in gems and jewellery, the diamond industry is looking forward to high growth trajectory and gain a significant share of consumer spending.

Affordplan Swasth And NU Hospitals Announce Tie-Up To Help Patients Save On Their Medical Bills

* Affordplan Swasth And NU Hospitals To Launch A Healthcare Savings Card, Helping Manage Families’ Healthcare Needs In Karnataka

Affordplan Swasth and NU Hospitals have announced their collaboration on a healthcare savings card to make NU hospital services accessible for more patient families. The Affordplan Swasth card offers customers complete access to all the hospital services at NU Hospitals with financial benefits and a full range of healthcare financing options for their entire family. The card can be used easily at all branches of NU including Bangalore, Shivamogga, and Ambur.

Affordplan Swasth is a YES BANK prepaid card with a digital wallet that enables OPD (Outpatient Department) services, lab tests, purchase of medicines and goal-based EMI savings for all IPD (Inpatient Department) treatments. Equipped with a chip-enabled card, customers will also enjoy additional benefits in the form of instant cashback, exclusive hospital offers and exclusive discounts on preferred brands through the Affordplan Swasth partner tie-ups. Affordplan Swasth has already partnered with many hospitals in South India, delivering financial benefits to patients by lowering their medical expenses through their platform.

Aditya Sharma, CEO, Affordplan said, “We are proud to associate with the prestigious NU Hospitals in Karnataka. NU Hospitals have the ability to service a range of patients while keeping recovery and rehabilitation at the centre. With the emergence of the Omicron variant, we hope to extend quality patient care, through our partnership, and enable access to healthcare financing and cost savings faster and more effectively.”

Dr. Prasanna Venkatesh, Sr. Consultant Paediatric Urologist & Managing Director at NU Hospitals said “Affordplan is truly about empowering patients to take control of their healthcare financial planning. With this valuable partnership, we move forward towards healthier, happier patient care.”

Affordplan has partnered with hundreds of hospitals across 15 cities, having touched more than 5,00,000 patient lives through their product. They already have a strong hospital network footprint in Delhi/NCR, Bangalore, Jaipur. Mumbai, and Kolkata markets and are expanding aggressively in South India. As of now, they have active collaborations with 80+ hospitals in India.

About Affordplan

Launched in 2015, Affordplan is a first-of-its-kind fintech platform, which is at the intersection of finance, healthcare, and technology. They’ve partnered with hundreds of hospitals across 15 cities, having touched more than 5,00,000 patient lives through their product. Swasth – their current innovation is a healthcare savings card launched in collaboration with YES BANK, that can be used across OPD, IPD, lab, and pharmacy services. Affordplan Swasth offers a full stack of financial services for healthcare including an OPD wallet, IPD savings, medical loans, and insurance.

About NU Hospitals

NU Hospitals has been pioneering in Nephrology, Urology and Fertility (IVF) treatment over the last 22 years. Their highly specialized experts are richly experienced in treating rare and complex conditions. It was one of the first in Karnataka to conduct a successful kidney transplantation surgery and also the first to equip the Urology department with the most advanced flexible endoscopes. Having a robust team of subspecialty specific urology team at NU has significantly improved the overall success rates. Men’s Health Clinic is one of its kind in South-India dealing with Men’s Sexual and Reproductive Health. Male and Female Fertility (IVF) specialists comprehensively support the couples with the latest treatment and heartfelt compassion every step along the path to parenthood. They are Karnataka’s First Nephro-Urology Hospital chain with hospitals in Padmanabhanagar - Bengaluru, Rajajinagar - Bengaluru, Ambur – Tamilnadu, Shivamogga - Karnataka, and in the Male’ - Maldives.