NASSCOM Recognizes Kovai.co At Emerge 50 Awards 2021

Kovai.co, a multi-product enterprise SaaS company specializing in enterprise integration and knowledge management space based out of Coimbatore, India, and London, UK., has been recognized in NASSCOM Emerge 50 Awards 2021 under the “SaaS” Award Category.

NASSCOM Emerge 50 awards is India's most prestigious and prominent awards in the software product industry, with the mission to find and recognize the most innovative software product companies who would be the future trendsetters from India. While the Indian SaaS ecosystem remains robust with a strong base of startups as well as unicorns, NASSCOM has identified the top 5 business models that are emerging within SaaS landscape leading to the evolution of the market. This category includes companies that offer vertical and horizontal solutions ranging from Mobile SaaS to BI and analytics.

Kovai.co's leading product - Document360 is the #1 rated Knowledge base platform engineered for growing companies. Users can instantly create, collaborate, and manage a public or private knowledge base. Thanking NASSCOM on this recognition, Saravana Kumar, Founder and CEO of Kovai.co highlighted how difficult & challenging it was for their enterprise products BizTalk360 & Serverless360 R&D team to get apt knowledge base solution.This triggered the R&D team to develop the product Document360 which is now widely being used by different enterprises and is one of the fastest growing products for Kovai.co.

For 2021, under the “SaaS award” category NASSCOM received an overwhelming number of applications and Kovai.co was one of the final winners. Other categories recognized for Emerge 50 Awards 2021 included – Fintech, Health Tech, Retail Tech, Logistics, Enterprise, Strategic sector, and more.

"To have been a part of NASSCOM Emerge 50 awards is a great privilege by itself, and winning it is a prestigious honour for us. Like we often say, our tagline #TogetherWeGrow is a testament to the fact that we couldn’t have achieved this without the support of our customers and employees. For us to be recognized in this category, given that we are based out of a tier 2 city in Coimbatore with a team of 250+ people; it is a proud moment. We want to thank the entire jury for identifying companies like ours!” he concluded.

About Kovai.co

Kovai.co is a multi-product enterprise SaaS company specializing in enterprise integration and knowledge management space based out of Coimbatore, India and London, UK. Kovai.co is a technology partner of choice for many of the world’s leading enterprises to manage and monitor their Microsoft BizTalk and Azure Serverless environments. Kovai.co’s product team consists of thinkers and innovators who are re-defining the way robust Enterprise Software and SaaS products are built.

Indipaisa And Hitachi Payment Services Introduce New Fintech Platform

* Developed for MSMEs, the platform will further boost financial inclusion

Hitachi Payment Services, India’s foremost enabler of both cash and digital payments and Indipaisa, a member of the Nexxo Network, an international network of Fintech companies operating in the Middle East, Asia and Europe, recently tied up to develop a new Fintech platform for India’s MSMEs. With its future-ready, digital payment capabilities, Hitachi Payment Services will provide a superior technology framework for the new Fintech platform for India’s MSMEs. 

Indipaisa’s mission is to empower Micro, Small & Mid-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), and the new Fintech platform will drive a range of financial solutions to help India’s 63 million MSMEs take charge of their business finances. In partnership with Hitachi Payment Services, Indipaisa will offer a range of payment solutions to match the specific needs of Indian MSME owners and operators, to help them grow their businesses, comply with government tax laws, and build a better future for themselves and their families.

Mr. Anuj Khosla, CEO - Digital Business of Hitachi Payment Services said, “As one of India’s leading solution providers to the digital payments ecosystem, we have seen the ecosystem positively evolve in the last few years and are happy to associate with Indipaisa for the new Fintech platform. Our technological know-how, centralized infrastructure and expansive network will further help in democratizing digital payments, thereby providing an impetus towards financial inclusion for the marginalized MSMEs.”

Mr. Aizaz Tahsildar, CEO of Indipaisa said, “Indipaisa is very proud and honoured to work with Hitachi Payment Services to help Indian small businesses align with India’s digital drive for a cashless society.” Mr. Tahsildar added, “We plan to offer high-quality digital platform for fintech services at affordable prices for Indian MSME market; which is simple, easy and fast to manage by the owners and operators of MSME. Having innovative leaders with deep payment domain knowledge in fintech gives us a strong competitive advantage to successfully execute our plans in India.”

Mr. Nebil Ben Aissa, Chairman of Indipaisa said, “We are very excited to invest in India and offer our financial services to empower Indian small business owners and operators and help them build a better future for their businesses and their families. Our experience in servicing Indian small business owners and operators in the Middle East and other markets gives us confidence that our solutions will deliver value and gain traction in India”.

Supply Chain Visibility Leader FourKites Gives Back To Chennai Community

* ourKites Donates $50,000 to UNICEF to support children in need in local communities

FourKites, the #1 global supply chain visibility platform, today announced a donation of $50,000 to UNICEF. The move represents the company’s commitment to the Chennai community and its growing employee base. The funds donated to UNICEF by FourKites will be used toward improving the lives of children in need.

Commenting on the developments, Mr. Mathew Elenjickal, FourKites Founder and CEO, said, “We are pleased to be a part of UNICEF’s groundbreaking work helping children across the globe. The last two years have been tough on all of us and, during this time, our employees and their families remained committed to supporting their community and co-workers. Our donation to UNICEF is a token of gratitude and appreciation for their efforts.”

FourKites places great importance on corporate social responsibility and, with the support of its employees, has actively contributed to the betterment of society through various initiatives. During the COVID-19 outbreak, FourKites organized a global fundraiser for offering relief measures in India. The company donated a sum of over rupees twenty-nine lakhs toward healthcare and humanitarian intervention during a time of great need. Additionally, FourKites contributed a sum of $10,000 to the PM care fund. The company also joined hands with non-profit organization Give India to donate $40,000, which helped provide oxygen concentrators at Indian military hospitals under army commands at Lucknow, Kolkata, Pune, Chandimandir and Udampur.

“Taking care of our people means we also take care of our communities,” said Ms. Rashi Jain, Managing Director of FourKites, India. “Today, we offer everything from mentoring to professional reimbursement, employee assistance programmes and community service. We are proud to offer even greater opportunities for support and development as we grow.”

2021 was a year of record growth for FourKites around the world, and particularly in APAC, with 120% year-over-year growth in APAC shipments tracked, and 95% growth in new APAC customers. The company was also recognized as a Great Place to Work® by the Great Place to Work (GPTW) Institute for the third consecutive year. With a team of over 250 people in India across Engineering, Product and Operations, FourKites recently announced plans to add over 100 engineers in India across various skill sets, including front end, OCR, back end, NLP, AI and DevOps.

About FourKites: FourKites® is the #1 supply chain visibility platform in the world, extending visibility beyond transportation into yards, warehouses, stores and beyond. Tracking more than 2.5 million shipments daily across road, rail, ocean, air, parcel and courier, and reaching 176 countries, FourKites combines real-time data and powerful machine learning to help companies digitize their end-to-end supply chains. More than 1,000 of the world’s most recognized brands — including 9 of the top-10 CPG and 18 of the top-20 food and beverage companies — trust FourKites to transform their business and create more agile, efficient and sustainable supply chains. To learn more, visit https://www.fourkites.com/.

Spinny outlook 2022 - Continue To Expand To More Than 30 Cities By End Of This Year

* With a significant organic growth trajectory driven by customer recommendation in 2021, the company aims continue growth with car ownership services in new cities of the country

The automotive consumer behaviour is increasingly being altered by the ongoing pandemic. As health and hygiene concerns take prominence amongst consumers, there is a significant change towards personal mobility & buyers shifting to the digital world. Spinny, a full stack used car buying platform focuses on providing a safe & smooth used car buying & selling experience with its #WithExtraCare initiative. Nothing exemplifies this better than the growing number of buyers who’ve got a used car delivered to their home with a complete online transaction.

With a significant growth journey in 2021, Spinny – the full-stack online-to-offline used car retail platform aims to expand to more than 30 cities by the end of 2022 and will strengthen its online deliveries to simplify the used car buying process for consumers. The Company will bring more technological advancement and modern solutions with contactless home deliveries this year in line with increasing consumer shift towards safety, convenience, and environment-friendly personal mobility.  Presently, Spinny is in 22 cities, including Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Indore, Kochi and Coimbatore. With SellRight by Spinny®, the brand facilitates hassle free selling experience from the seller’s home. They are already active in the cities connected with the bigger cities such as Hubli, Mangalore, Mysore, Ambala and Karnal.

In alignment with Spinny’s principles and strategies, the company had introduced a special initiative #WithExtraCare during the pandemic peak that provided a completely contactless car buying and selling experience for customers. The protocols for social distancing and sanitization of cars have continued and earned trust from customers to set a benchmark in the automobile segment.

In 2022, the trend of personal mobility shifting steadily towards used cars continues to gain more traction. Significantly, the used car industry market numbers are slated to record a robust 15% growth uptick in FY2022. As per SIAM, pre-owned car sales are poised to increase at 10% CAGR by 2024.

Understanding the consumer concerns during the pandemic, Spinny provides a contemporary solution at each of its touchpoints to serve a ‘simple and delightful car ownership’ at the core of every experience whether it’s buying or selling a car.

Spinny’s continuous focus on digitization keeps all safety measures in check and offers enhanced services through home deliveries and pick-ups #WithExtraCare. All Spinny employees and staff are double vaccinated and go through a training to offer personalised service while maintaining social distancing and car hygiene. With each test drive, customers get a complimentary safety kit with masks, gloves and sanitizers.

Elaborating on its performance, Niraj Singh, Founder & CEO – Spinny, said, “We take heart in Spinny’s inherent ease of usage and our quality, we believe, in determining what today’s car buyer wants. We are taking the facile and fair Spinny method to new cities in India. The developments were driven by customer’s acceptance in online purchases. In 2022, we will continue to earn customer’s trust with transparency and cater to the needs of the consumers with utmost precautions & keeping all safety measures in check.”

In sync with its growth and expansion, Spinny intends to augment its workforce by 5000+ employees by the end of 2022. The Company’s employee-focused policies make it a perfect environment to work and grow. 

In 2021, the brand had announced its association with sports icons PV Sindhu, a believer and a customer of Spinny and Sachin Tendulkar, a strategic investor and the lead brand ambassador.

About Spinny

Founded in 2015, Spinny is a used car retailing platform that aims to bring about transparency and convenience in the car buying and selling process in India. Spinny operates across the entire value chain of pre-owned cars, embedding superior technology and processes to deliver a premium experience to customers. As a testimony of Spinny's commitment to transparency and quality, every car on the Spinny platform comes with a 200-point inspection checklist, 5-day no-questions-asked money-back guarantee, and 1-year after-sales warranty. Currently, Spinny has 36 car hubs & is operational in 22 cities – Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Indore and Coimbatore.

For more information visit: https://www.spinny.com/ 

Pre Budget Expectation Quotes From Indian 'C' Level Officers Ahead Of The Union Budget 2022

Mr. Sushanth Pai, Chief Financial Officer, Matrimony.com stated that, “Some sectors such as travel and hospitality have been heavily impacted due to the current situation. The budget should focus on support to revive such sectors. A study of all the policy reforms needs to undertaken with greater intensity to see how they can be implemented effectively and with speed, so that the basic ecosystem of well-being can be boosted.”

Pre budget expectation quote from TenderCuts ahead of the Union Budget 2022

Nishanth Chandran, Founder & CEO, TenderCuts stated that, “The $ 40 billion meat industry is growing at a rapid pace with the introduction of several schemes by the Central government aiding the livestock sector in 2021. The Government assistance in providing cold storage facilities through credit linked back-ended subsidies available at the rate of 35% of the project cost in general areas and 50% in hilly and scheduled areas has paved way for entrepreneurship. To continue with the momentum, the government should also work towards attracting investments offering more subsidies on electricity tariffs to develop perishable logistics infrastructure, which is another route that can be explored.”

pre-budget Quote for 2022 from Mr. Rakesh Jain, CEO, Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd. 

“For the Union Budget 2022, the Government should consider bringing healthcare facilities, such as diagnostic centers, specialty hospitals, wellness facilities, under the “Infrastructure” category. This will bring in funding from large institutions, including insurance companies that seek and have regulatory obligation of investments in “Infrastructure assets”. The insurance and healthcare sector need to evolve together to boost access to quality and affordable healthcare to the masses.”

Attributed to Dr. Alok Khullar, CEO, Gleneagles Global Health City  

“The outbreak of Covid-19 has taught the healthcare sector some important lessons. The healthcare sector has and will continue to play a crucial role in saving lives, treating other ailments while tackling the pandemic. With the disruption caused to the healthcare sector during this period, we urge the government to give adequate importance to the healthcare sector in the upcoming Union Budget 2022 by considering –  

Special schemes that should be provided for formal training of doctors and nurses to enhance skills and bandwidth to offer care to a larger population which will help strengthen the quality of healthcare resources in the longer run 

Building capacity for Intensive Care by enhancing skills of nurses and by providing better equipment and infrastructure 

Significance to be given to Appropriate Screening for Non-Communicable Diseases to ensure timely diagnosis and treatment which will help in reduction of hospitalisation in the last minute 

Upgrading infrastructure at Primary Health Care level for early Outpatient treatment thus reducing Hospitalization time and cost 

Benefits to be given to manufacturers of Healthcare equipment & consumables under the ‘Make in India’ campaign for high quality products and healthcare equipment to be manufactured at reasonable costs 

Healthcare organisations must be given access to working capital and preferential funding to ensure that the overall cost of operations is reduced 

Healthcare sector needs to be considered as a priority and an essential service. Various subsidies and benefits should be given on land rates and other necessities such as electricity, as it will pave for accessible and affordable healthcare with better infrastructure and high quality treatment improving access to care and better patient outcomes.” 

An Opportunity For Decisive Transformation And Win Back India’s Farmer

* Budget expectations from Mr. Randhir Chauhan – Managing Director, Netafim India and SVP, Netafim Ltd  

Agriculture continues to be a dominating employment generating sector and contributes a significant proportion to the country’s GDP. Even in the unfortunate pandemic, the sector climbed new heights with record production of various food grains, exhibiting resilience and ensuring food security. Despite the success in terms of production that has ensured food security in the country, food inflation and volatility in prices continue to remain high causing inconvenience to consumers and uneven income for farmers. Besides pandemic wrecking substantial physical, social, economic and emotional havoc on all the stakeholders of the Indian agricultural system, locust infestation from East Africa to India, Natural calamities, and depleting natural resources only added to the sector’s woes. Even though the policymakers accelerated a raft of measures and announced reforms to give thrust to the sector, it has reached an inflection point that needs immediate attention. Thus, the forthcoming budget offers an opportunity to fix an array of ancillary problems and fast run the wheels of reforms to accelerate the growth engine of the Indian agriculture sector. 

Alignment of Micro-irrigation coverage with ambitious Vision India@2047 

While the Government is working on the blueprint for India@2047 to be ‘future ready’, it is important to accelerate India’s growth and adoption towards new-age agriculture practices with optimum utilization of resources. The average penetration of micro-irrigation in the irrigated area (drip & sprinkler) is estimated at 17% which is much lesser compared to countries like Israel (90%), Russia (78%), Spain (75%), the USA (55%) and Brazil (52%). We need to have an ambitious target and align the execution process to take micro-irrigation coverage to 60-70% in the next 25 years.  

Identifying areas and crops to integrate the benefit of micro-irrigation with structured governance and execution strategy will help the country climb a newer height of fiscal growth. To do so, the government may create 5 years bucket of appropriate execution and monitoring roadmap for the next 25 years backed by adequate budgetary support consistently. 

Process streamlining measures in irrigation subsidy  

While the micro-irrigation coverage has benefitted millions of farmers, the scheme implementation leaves a lot to desire at the execution level. The delays in the disbursal of micro-irrigation subsidies under the PMKSY program are hampering its progress. Online portal for an end-to-end process execution and visibility, transparency in the process for fund disbursement, ensuring checkpoints at various stages and adherence to timelines would bring the efficiency in subsidy disbursal and support farmers to be debt-free much conveniently. 

Providing infrastructure status to the Micro-irrigation industry 

Infrastructure status would help the micro-irrigation manufacturer (95% of which comes under MSME) in reduced operating costs, thereby accelerating the industry growth as well as bring the equipment cost down for the farmer community. 

Aligning different schemes together for exponential benefit – Solar and Micro-irrigation, Agriculture alongside Solar installations, and others 

Focus on renewable energy like solar would ensure energy security in the agriculture sector as well as in the rural landscape and address environmental concerns. Making farmers energy-sufficient would also reduce the burden on government energy subsidy bills. Solar installation-friendly agriculture would help farmers with reduced operational costs, boost land utilization and improve overall income. 

Diversification programs to increase crop productivity  

12 percent of the cropped area under Fruits & Vegetables (F&V) leads to 24 percent in value terms, in contrast to 13 percent area under oilseeds which gives only 6 percent in value terms because of lack of scalability. Policymakers may consider promoting domestic oilseeds and oil palm cultivation with higher productivity measures to address the demand cycle. Similarly, disrupting rice cultivation that covers more area and water utilization through drip technology would improve yield, save water and reduce carbon emissions. Drip irrigation adoption also have the potential to facilitates crop diversification thus, making a direct impact on farmer incomes. 

Policy & Budget outlay for Integrated Climate Smart Agriculture practices 

Climate change has led to reduced crop yields and farm productivity. Besides, the increased occurrence of invasive pests, weather variability, poor agriculture practices has also added to the deteriorating situation of climate change. The agriculture sector is one of the main contributors to the climate problem. It currently generates 19–29% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A shift towards Climate-Smart agriculture practices through proper policy and financial outlay can go a long way in achieving sustainable growth. 

Focus on creating infrastructures to support innovation and digitalization in Agriculture 

Special focus and fund allocation in the upcoming budget for infrastructure in rural areas would support the digitalization of agriculture and put the sector on the fast track. Currently, India is spending less than 1% of Agri GDP in R&D. An Agri innovation fund, which supports ag-tech solutions, start-ups, and digitalization at different levels of the Agri value chain can transform the agriculture economy in the future. 

Interest subsidy on agriculture for long term loans 

Access to credit remains one of the critical elements in a sustainable and more importantly a growing ecosystem. Interest subsidy on agriculture for long-term loans to help farmers with continual investment in farm mechanization and building state-of-the-art infrastructure would go a long way to develop a sustainable model in agriculture. Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for adopting micro-irrigation similar to CGTMSE for MSMEs will be helpful where initial support can be provided by the government. 

Special budgetary assistance for Micro Irrigation to State Government to overcome COVID impact 

The financial strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has left many states across the country to slash the budget for micro-irrigation. The policymakers should consider supporting the states through an additional corpus of funds either by direct special assistance program or increasing the existing Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) set up under NABARD to facilitate the states in mobilizing resources for expanding coverage of micro-irrigation. 

FedEx Express Tests Electric Vehicles In Indian Markets

FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the world’s largest express transportation company, today announced the start of electric vehicle (EV) trials in India as part of its global goal to achieve carbon neutral operations by 2040.

The trial of the electric vehicle, which is expected to conclude in a month in Bangalore, will test the vehicle technology within FedEx Express operations, assessing the vehicles’ operational effectiveness on a standard route fully loaded with packages. Following positive trial results, FedEx Express will extend the trial to Delhi.

With last-mile delivery burgeoning thanks to rapid e-commerce growth, each new electric vehicle added to the FedEx delivery fleet in India can reduce fuel consumption and emissions equivalent to five passenger cars.       

Mohamad Sayegh, Vice President, India Operations for FedEx Express said, “FedEx has a mission to connect the world responsibly and resourcefully, and I’m incredibly pleased to announce the launch of our electric vehicle trial in India, which is in line with our global goal to achieve carbon neutral operations by 2040.”

“With the growth of e-commerce in India, we’re constantly looking for ways to support this momentum while reducing environmental impact. The commencement of EV trials brings us one step closer to this vision,” he added.

Vehicle electrification is one of the key areas in FedEx’s journey toward reaching its carbon neutral operations goal. By 2040, it is intended that the entire FedEx global parcel pickup and delivery (PUD) fleet will be zero-emission electric vehicles. This vehicle electrification goal is being approached through phased programs to replace existing vehicles. The aim is for 50% of FedEx Express global PUD vehicle purchases to be electric vehicles by 2025, rising to 100% by 2030.

“The trial is a critical part of the integration of electric vehicle technology across our operations. Finding the right technology to serve our business, our customers, and our team members will play a key role in the successful integration of electric vehicles into the FedEx Express fleet,” Sayegh said.

The shift to electric vehicles also aligns with the FedEx commitment to enhance its services and solutions in India, offering customers connectivity and access to global markets, while helping safeguard the health of our planet.

About FedEx Express

FedEx Express is the world's largest express transportation company, providing fast and reliable delivery to more than 220 countries and territories. FedEx Express uses a global air-and-ground network to speed delivery of time-sensitive shipments, by a definite time and date.

About FedEx Corp.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenue of $90 billion, the company offers integrated business solutions through operating companies competing collectively, operating collaboratively and innovating digitally under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its 600,000 team members to remain focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. FedEx is committed to connecting people and possibilities around the world responsibly and resourcefully, with a goal to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2040. To learn more,  visit fedex.com/about.