LTI Partners With IIT Madras To Collaborative Research In Field Of 5G

Larsen & Toubro Infotech (BSE: 540005, NSE: LTI), a global technology consulting and digital solutions company is  partnering with IIT Madras, one of India’s leading research institutes for collaborative research in the field of 5G. Through this collaboration, LTI and IIT Madras aim to innovate in the emerging 5G space and enable 5G frameworks validation, low frequency RF deployments and use case testing with 5G test bed.

As part of this partnership, LTI and IIT Madras will promote research towards development of low-cost, low-frequency 5G network setup for better connectivity in rural India. The key objective of this effort is to create a 5G base station and single-box solution to enable rural connectivity. LTI will work closely with IIT Madras to design these low-cost base stations and network for rural connectivity. LTI will also provide expertise for research capabilities and offer relevant infrastructure support for this initiative.

Highlighting the need for such projects, Mr. Nachiket Deshpande, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Board Member, LTI, said, “5G promises to facilitate the next level of innovation to build a smarter society, but it is important to ensure that these benefits reach every part of our country. LTI’s partnership with IIT Madras reflects our commitment to leverage this technology to connect people from remote parts of India in a better way.”

This project is part of LTI’s 1step CSR program and reflects its commitment towards promoting research and innovation (SDG 9 - Industry, innovation, and Infrastructure). Through its support for development of an indigenous 5G network, this partnership is also aligned with the Government of India’s ‘Make-in-India’ initiative.

Speaking about the R&D Capabilities of IIT Madras, Prof. Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean (Alumni and Corporate Relations), IIT Madras, said, “IITM's 5G testbed project is an effort to encourage Indian startups and the industry to take an early lead in 5G. The goal of the project is to build a test bed that closely resembles a real-world 5G deployment.” 

Further, Dr. Radha Krishna Ganti, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras and Principal Investigator for this CSR project, said, “The 5G technology has immense potential and could prove to be the best option to bridge the digital divide in India. For evolved urban areas, it will help advance and enhance the benefits of digital technologies over a faster connectivity network. Our core strength of academic excellence will provide the right partnership platform needed to contribute towards these digital goals of our nation. We look forward to our collaboration with LTI and aim to create positive impact for society at large.”

The collaboration with IIT Madras further reinforces LTI’s expertise on 5G based solutions. LTI will also work with IIT Madras to build and validate use cases leveraging the 5G test bed for application in multiple domains like Smart manufacturing, Industry 4.0, Smart Cities and Media.

These efforts are aimed at building a cutting edge 5G framework and enabling end customers to leverage the 5G infrastructure in accelerating their digital transformation journey.

About LTI:

LTI (NSE: LTI) is a global technology consulting and digital solutions Company helping more than 475 clients succeed in a converging world. With operations in 33 countries, we go the extra mile for our clients and accelerate their digital transformation journeys. Founded in 1997 as a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Limited, our unique heritage gives us unrivalled real-world expertise to solve the most complex challenges of enterprises across all industries. Each day, our team of more than 40,000 LTItes enable our clients to improve the effectiveness of their business and technology operations and deliver value to their customers, employees and shareholders. Find more at http://www.Lntinfotech.com or follow us at @LTI_Global.

DE-CIX And Lightstorm Partner To Accelerate Access To DE-CIX Internet Exchange Platform

*  Lightstorm’s customers will be able to directly access DE-CIX’s Internet Exchanges, allowing them to benefit from an extended network coverage and superior network performance 

Lightstorm, India’s first carrier-neutral network infrastructure platform, today announced a partnership with DE-CIX, the world’s leading interconnection platform operator, to provide direct connectivity to DE-CIX’s Internet Exchanges from any of 45+ multi-tenant data centers (MTDC) where Lightstorm has a presence.

The partnership will allow Lightstorm’s customers to easily and quickly connect to the DE-CIX platform through its high-speed software-defined SmartNet network. Being able to access DE-CIX’s global Internet Exchange (IX) from any of the MTDCs will allow Lightstorm to further bring down latency for its customers, improve network resilience and provide an overall more optimized content experience to their users. 

Lightstorm’s innovative network is designed to provide extreme resiliency to business users. It leverages utility-grade fibre infrastructure along with leaf-spine mesh network architecture to ensure 100% uptime, greater resilience and an extremely low latency network. Lightstorm’s first-of-its-kind utility-grade fiber network, SmartNet, connects seven key economic hubs with over 12,000 km of fiber, connecting 45+ MTDCs currently and aiming to 100+ MTDCs in the near future. 

Trusted by close to 2,500 networks across the world, DE-CIX provides premium interconnection services and operates 32 carrier and data center-neutral Internet Exchanges in Europe, the Middle East, North America and Asia. DE-CIX operates one of the world’s largest Internet Exchanges, with close to 11 terabits of data throughput per second. In India, DE-CIX operates four IXs, in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. In 2021 DE-CIX Mumbai became the largest IX in the APAC region.

Together, Lightstorm and DE-CIX will provide a superior experience in bringing content closer to the users in one of the largest growth markets for Internet traffic in the world. DE-CIX’s award-winning global multi-service platform offers interconnection services specifically designed for the needs of enterprises, e.g. catering to cloud connectivity needs, offering network security services, and closed user groups for enterprises to create their own exclusive interconnection ecosystem with their chosen partners. 

“We are committed to providing a truly state-of-the-art network infrastructure to Indian service providers and content players. Partnership with DE-CIX is a new milestone in our journey and allows us to provide greater value to our customers by allowing them to easily access the DE-CIX platform and enhance the end user’s experience. We are excited to partner with DE-CIX and are confident that it will provide a reliable exchange of traffic, allowing for improved performance for our customers,” says Amajit Gupta, Chief Executive Officer at Lightstorm. 

“We are thrilled to partner with Lightstorm to expand our partner network in India. Reliable connectivity is the bedrock of digital businesses and direct access to our Internet Exchanges will allow Lightstorm’s customers to benefit from improved reliability, better network performance, and modern interconnection services. We look forward to working together to provide truly world-class Internet connectivity to its partners,” says Ivo Ivanov, Chief Executive Officer at DE-CIX. 

8th International Young Chef Olympiad Themed On UN Sustainable Development Goals All Set For Virtual Culinary Battle From Jan 30

After the huge success of YCO 2021 on the virtual platform, YCO 2022 will once again capture the online platform with another exhilarating edition of the World’s Biggest Virtual Culinary Battle, the 8th International IIHM Young Chef Olympiad. 

The competition will commence with a grand virtual opening ceremony on January 30th and will continue with a nail-biting competition till the closing ceremony on February 5th, 2022.  

YCO 2022 promises to rekindle the spirit and excitement of this culinary extravaganza through the virtual platform. Organised by the International Hospitality Council, London in association with the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM), the 8th edition of YCO is all set to be another grand event with more variety as over 40 countries will compete with each other from their respective geographical locations. Carrying an important theme of Global Goals, YCO 2022 attempts to promote the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals that aim to make the world a better place to live.

The top 10 finalists of the culinary competition will be vying for the coveted Best Young Chef title that will include prize money of $5,000 and a digital certificate. The next best ranking from 11 to 20, will compete for the Plate Trophy. The other category of awards include three Best Knife Skills in the  Allocated time, Best Crème Caramel, Best Vegetarian Dish, three Best Hygiene and kitchen practice awards, six Ambassador Awards, six Mentor Awards, Best Use of Kitchen Cut Management Award, Spirit of Young Chef Olympiad International Award and International Diamond Research Award. 

The Competition Schedule: 

Calculating and co-coordinating all the time zones of the participants, all the countries have been divided into eight groups. The culinary competition will start with four groups of five participants competing in Round 1 of the event for the first two days. 

Day 3 will be reserved for the International Diamond Research Award Symposium, A General Symposium with 8 Panel Discussions with speakers from around the World on various interesting topics and United World of the Young Chefs where each of the participating countries prepares their National Dish and shares the recipe as well for all online viewers followed by Q&A. 

The results of the preliminary round and the qualifiers to the Plate Trophy and the Grand Finale will be announced on this day.

Day 4 and 5 will have the Plate Trophy and Grand Finale competitions for Groups 1 and 2 . The Closing Ceremony and Prize Distribution ceremony will be held on February 5th.

A strong Technical back-up: 

Beside the culinary extravaganza, YCO 2022 will be an equally great technologically feat.

The participants will be cooking from their institute kitchens or their own homes after making ample arrangements in keeping with the competition rules and regulations. They will have to cook under the watchful eyes of four cameras placed at strategic angles so that their workstation is in clear view of the judges. The competition will be conducted through video conferencing. 

All kitchens of the World have been connected through 4 Cameras each, to be viewed LIVE and monitored from the YCO control room across 24 Time zones and 7 days making this one of the most complex systems of web created to make this 8th Virtual International Young Chef Olympiad possible.

Along with this, every day YCO will also be broadcasting LIVE 27 Guest Expert Sessions from around the World for global student audiences.  

The panel of judges has been split into teams of five with a nominated lead judge to coordinate the judging of each group and to gather and collate feedback on each competitor. 

Separate breakout rooms for the judges and adjudicators have been designed so that they can discuss and review their marks and comments within themselves before declaring results.

This rather tedious task of setting up the technical backup for the competition has started almost three months before the competition as participants have to prepare the competition areas in their college kitchens and the Olympiad team has to review the same to avoid last minute glitches. 

The Judging Process: 

YCO 2022 will have a panel of distinguished experts from the culinary world as judges led by the Chairman of the Jury, Prof David Foskett MBE. Eminent chefs and personalities from the international culinary and hospitality industry including Sicilian Chef Enzo Oliveri, Michelin-star and founder of Kitchen Cut, Chef John Wood, Michelin star chef and co-founder of Galvin Restaurants Chris Galvin, Chef Stuart Littlejohn, Executive Chef of the prestigious Oxford and Cambridge Club, London, Chef Anton Edelmann, cookery writer and maitre chef des cuisines, Hotel Savoy, London, Chef Stefan Hogan, Executive Head Chef – Corinthian Palace Hotel, Malta, Chef David Graham, Chef Steven Carter and many other renowned personalities from the international culinary world will judge the competition on the virtual platform. 

On the virtual platform, they will be able to judge the presentation, colour and cooking process.  At the local level, participants will have to invite three judges who must be registered chefs, to judge the nutritional value and taste of the food being prepared. These marks will add up to the final marks.

The Principal judge and mentor Padma Shri Chef Sanjeev Kapoor will also be present in the judging rounds. Indian celebrity chefs like Chef Abhijit Saha and YCO Brand Ambassador, Chef Ranveer Brar will be present online to judge the competition at different levels. 

The Awards:

Besides winning the title and other culinary awards, there are a number of other important awards that are given to the participants that reflect the essence and spirit of the Young Chef Olympiad.

These include the Ambassadors Award where all participants must write a 500-word statement about their ambitions of becoming a chef and how they wish to develop themselves as good chefs. 

Kitchen Cut Chef Management Award – this award will go the participant who will have best recipe nutrition analysis and recipe costings. This will be marked by Chef John Wood. 

International Diamond Research Award - YCO 2022 is joining the IIHM Global Centre for Hospitality and Tourism Research in a new initiative this year. It has decided to extend research opportunities to culinary students and teachers in the field of global hospitality and tourism industry. Colleges and universities have been asked to submit a research paper of not more than 5000 words on  the theme of YCO 2022, THE UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE  DEVELOPMENT GOALS.  The International Diamond Research Award with a substantial cash prize will go to the best research paper. 

Dr Suborno Bose, the Chairman of the YCO Global Council and CEO of IHC, said, “YCO 2022 is going to be another culinary and technological extravaganza for the world to  see and experience. The competition is getting bigger and better each year and despite the constraints, we are successfully upholding the feeling of global brotherhood and camaraderie. This year we have notched up a step further in making the UN Sustainable Development Goals the theme of YCO 2022. Through this platform we are opening up research opportunities for students from all over the world to do research on this subject and bring out ideas that will help to achieve these SDGs.”

To View the World’s Biggest Competition LIVE Register

Here: - Register :- https://iihm.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvcumvpzMiE91eCuR_UibPZSb5VYsbJeJe 

Opening Ceremony Highlights of last year may be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NOowDXZE_w&t=8s

Sixty Nine Percent Of Indian Consumers Are Frustrated With Navigating Content On Streaming Video Services: Accenture Report

* “Streaming’s Next Act” report highlights the need for content aggregators to give consumers greater control

Nearly seven-in-ten subscribers to multiple streaming services in India expressed frustration with their viewing experiences, according to a new report from Accenture (NYSE: ACN), and 46% of those surveyed indicate they spend more than six minutes searching for something to watch.

The “Streaming’s Next Act: Aggregators to play a starring role in making consumers happier” report surveyed 6,000 consumers globally to understand their preferences, beliefs, and behaviors on their video content streaming experiences. In addition to the challenge of finding something to watch, consumers in India also think more than 60% of the content they are paying for is not relevant to them. Furthermore, 81% of those surveyed in India say they wish their profile from one service could easily be shared with another service that may offer them better, more personalized content.

Saurabh Kumar Sahu, managing director and lead for Communications, Media and Technology practice, Accenture in India said, “As the video streaming segment has matured, consumers are increasingly finding the experience to be complicated, expensive and hard to use. Evolving consumer preferences and tough economics will create challenges for video streaming platforms. To win in this competitive space, the ecosystem needs a major reset, in addition to providing consumers greater control over their viewing experience.”

Accenture’s research also indicates that while consumers care more about the content delivered by streaming services, they find the navigation experience with the growing number of services to be increasingly frustrating. Content aggregators can address this concern by unifying access across streaming services through application software, services and data-sharing agreements. Aggregators can also foster flexibility and personalization for viewers by serving as a single platform with curated content that enables them to select exactly what they want to watch.

“Till now, most Indian OTT platforms have tried to differentiate through content and majority of their investments have gone into flagship titles. With changing viewing patterns, this needs to change and factor in scenarios like shared viewing. For the next phase of growth, these platforms need to focus on improving consumer experience and product features,” said Neeraj Sharma, managing director – Communications, Media and Technology, Accenture in India.

The report also offers the following considerations for companies in the streaming entertainment ecosystem—from video, music and podcasts to gaming—so they can start on a journey of deeper consumer relationships:

Consider your play in the aggregated world. Determine if you want to be an integrator or the integrated, so you can either shape distribution deals to entice subscription video on demand (SVOD) and advertising-based video on demand (AVOD) services to participate or partner with the entities vying to be the preferred integrator.

Start planning for a distributed data model. Invest in data privacy and make that commitment known to your consumers, so they are confident sharing data that is critical for integration and personalization services.

Be ready to stretch. Think beyond SVOD and AVOD services to consider music services, podcast and e-book services, video games, home security, food delivery services and more. 

Engage in experimentation. Players with data-driven experimentation at the core of how they operate will be far more ready and nimble to adapt to changing consumer preferences. 

Research Methodology

Accenture conducted research to gain an understanding of global consumers’ preferences, beliefs and behaviors on their video content streaming experiences. The online survey of 6,000 consumers, ages 18 and older, across 11 countries (Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, India, Japan, South Africa, Spain, UK and US), was designed to identify significant changes to the existing direct-to-consumer (D2C) media environment and offer suggestions for brands across the media spectrum to adapt their model to be more relevant and successful with customers. Fieldwork was conducted between October and November 2021.

Accenture’s research, and that of its ecosystem partners, employs ethical and responsible research methods. Respondents reveal their identities voluntarily, all personal data in the data set is anonymized, and results are reported in aggregate. Accenture commits to not using the data collected to personally identify the respondents and/or contact the respondents.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology and Operations services — all powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. Our 674,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at accenture.com.

Urban Company And Max Healthcare Join To Launch Free Health Workshops For All Service Partners

* Doctors from Max Hospitals  will conduct a series of 12 workshops for all Urban Company partners

* Urban Company partners will also benefit from free annual eye check-ups

Trusted by 3 million households, Urban Company announced a year-long collaboration with one of India’s largest healthcare providers Max Healthcare to build awareness on critical health issues and illnesses for the partners. As part of the collaboration, doctors from Max Hospitals will conduct monthly health talks and bi-yearly eye check-ups for Urban Company partners across North and West India.

The awareness workshops will be conducted virtually for service partners in Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh, and Mumbai. The sessions are designed to cover various topics, including awareness around cervical health, thyroid, heart health, women’s health, alcoholism and its repercussions, mental health and stress management, arthritis prevention, breast cancer, diabetes, AIDS etc.

Commenting on the collaboration with Max Hospital, Nikhil Shanker, VP - Customer Experience and Partner Experience at Urban Company said, “At Urban Company, the well-being of our partners has always been of utmost priority. These sessions will help us to continue building a strong partner community who are empowered and enabled with knowledge about their health and bridge the gap between our partners and access to medical advice. This partnership comes with additional benefits of discounts at Max Healthcare facilities for all our partners, should they face any health issues.”

“It is a good initiative by Urban Company for its partners. Awareness is the key to an overall wellbeing as well as early disease diagnosis and management. We look forward to an interactive session with their partners,” added a Max Healthcare spokesperson.

The first session on Cervical Health Awareness was held on 24 January, where Dr Seema Jain, Director of the Obstetric and Gynaecology department held a talk for more than 300 partners from across the country.

At Urban Company, through our seven-year journey, we have focused extensively on partner livelihood through our skilling programs and other security benefits. All active partners on the UC platform in India are covered under our Group Life and Accidental Insurance cover, in partnership with ACKO. Some of the key aspects covered under the policy are life insurance (INR 6 lakhs), disability cover (INR 6 lakhs), accidental hospitalization (INR 70,000), accidental OPD treatment (INR 10,000) among others. Further, all UC Plus partners in India have access to additional health insurance benefits, which includes up to INR 2 lakh in-hospitalization treatment, room/ICU expenses, OPD, medical equipment and 12 free online doctor consultations in a year.

About Urban Company

Founded in November 2014, Urban Company is Asia’s largest tech-enabled home services marketplace. The company offers services such as beauty and spa at home, cleaning, plumbing, carpentry, appliance repair, painting, etc. through its mobile app and website. It operates in 40+ cities in India, the UAE, Singapore, Australia and The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It has a partner network of over 35,000 hand-picked service professionals, who are empowered through training, technology, financial services, tools, product procurement and a host of other ecosystem enablers, thereby transforming them into organized and high-quality micro-entrepreneurs. This full-stack approach helps the company live up to its promise of delivering high-quality, delightful services at home.

About Max Healthcare:

Max Healthcare Institute Limited (MHIL) is one of India’s largest hospital chains (considering only income from healthcare services) in fiscal2021. It is committed to the highest standards of medical and service excellence, patient care, scientific and medical education.

MHIL has a major concentration in North India consisting of a Network of 17 healthcare facilities. Out of the total Network, eight hospitals and four medical centres are located in Delhi and the NCR and the others are located in the cities of Mumbai, Mohali, Bathinda and Dehradun. The Max Network includes all the hospitals and medical centres owned and operated by the Company and its subsidiaries, partner healthcare facilities and managed healthcare facilities.These Include State-of-the-art tertiary and quaternary care hospitals at Saket, Patparganj, Vaishali, Rajendra Place, and Shalimar Bagh in Delhi NCR and one each in Mumbai, Mohali, Bathinda and Dehradun, secondary care hospital in Gurgaon and Day Care Centres at Noida, Lajpat Nagar and Panchsheel Park in Delhi NCR and one in Mohali, Punjab. The hospitals in Mohali and Bathinda are under PPP arrangement with the Government of Punjab.

In addition to its core hospital business, MHIL has two SBUs - Max@Home and MaxLab. Max@Home is a platform that provides health and wellness services at home and MaxLab offers diagnostic services to patients outside its Network.

Biophore Receives Sub-License From MPP To Manufacture And Market Molnupiravir For COVID Treatment

* Can market in India and 104 other countries

* Has also received DCGI regulatory license for Indian market

* Licenses applicable for both API and finished product

Biophore India Pharmaceuticals has announced that it has received license from Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) on behalf of originator company MSD, a trade name of Merck & Co., Inc, Kenilworth, NJ, USA, to manufacture and market molnupiravir API and finished product in capsules form. The company said that the development of the product is complete and is gearing up for launch based on this license within the next one week. The license received by Biophore enables the company to launch the product within India as well as export to 104 other countries around the world. 

For the Indian market, the company has informed that it has already received the relevant regulatory approvals from DCGI and will be launching the product next week at one of the lowest prices currently in the market - Rs 1500 for a pack of 40 Capsules. 

Molnupiravir is an oral antiviral approved through the emergency use authorization route by the US Food and Drug Administration and UK authorities for treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19. Its effectiveness has been established through studies conducted across the world and is expected to significantly reduce hospitalization of COVID-19 patients, if taken at an early stage. In India too, DCGI has approved this product for the treatment of COVID-19 based on the review of clinical data available. 

Dr. Jagadeesh Babu Rangisetty, CEO at Biophore, says, “Biophore has been at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 and we are extremely proud of this fact. During the earlier wave, we had successfully scaled up and commercialized Favipiravir, the antiviral approved during that time for COVID treatment, in record time. We are also the largest Indian manufacturers of SBECD, a vital ingredient for Remdesivir injection manufacturing and have also developed Nirmatrelvir, which is the active ingredient in the other US FDA approved oral COVID antiviral. Similarly, we are committed to bring molnupiravir to the market in the shortest time possible complying to all quality and regulatory requirements - all our products are manufactured in US FDA approved facilities.”

About Biophore India Pharmaceuticals: 

Founded in 2007, Biophore India Pharmaceuticals is an established pharmaceutical company that develops and manufactures niche pharmaceutical products for the generic industry. Biophore’s state-of-the-art, multipurpose manufacturing facilities in Visakhapatnam comply with cGMP standards and meet the requirements of US and EU Drug regulatory authorities. Its technology development center in Hyderabad is equipped with infrastructure that facilitates the entire process of drug research from conceptualization to regulatory submissions. Biophore’s portfolio is spread across 30 therapeutic segments and specializes in development and manufacturing of pharmaceutical actives for Oncology medication, Contrast and Diagnostic media. To date, the company has filed about more than 100 drug master files and 150 patents for its unique portfolio.

Social Alpha, CIIE.co, Be An Angel Network Announce Seed Investment Of USD 180K In Desi Hangover, A Sustainable D2C Footwear Brand

* The seed investment will enable the footwear brand to hire, grow their B2C clientele, strengthen their B2B network and expand across product categories and conduct R&D

* Desi Hangover creates sustainable footwear using an age-old vegetable tanning process

* The Mumbai-based start-up leverages traditional craftsmanship and technology to drive innovation to co-create products that have helped artisans achieve economies of scale

* Founded by Hitesh Kenjale, Lakshya Arora, and Abha Agrawal, Desi Hangover, catering to a global customer base, promotes conscious fashion

Social Alpha, CIIE.co, Be An Angel Network announce seed investment of USD 180K in Desi Hangover, a sustainable D2C footwear brand that has brought about prosperity in the lives of the Kolhapuri artisan community with predictable, financially rewarding livelihoods. Founded by Hitesh Kenjale, Lakshya Arora, and Abha Agarwal, Desi Hangover is showcasing Indian craftsmanship to domestic and international audiences, blending traditional styles with forward-looking footwear designs. The process innovations introduced in these rural shoemaking centres has augmented production manifold. Desi Hangover’s intervention has led to a three-time increase in remuneration for the artisan community. The start-up’s association has also encouraged women, who comprise 50% of the workforce, to become active contributors to the shoe-making process.

The Mumbai-based enterprise’s commitment to sustainability is reflected in the use of the centuries’ old vegetable tanning process that converts animal hide into usable leather. Vegetable tanning is universally regarded as an environmentally friendly option since it uses only organic substances.

India’s footwear industry is expected to grow 8 times by 2030. The domestic footwear market is estimated to reach $15.5 billion by 2022, from $10.6 billion in 2019. India is the 2nd largest producer of footwear in the world. Desi Hangover uses an omnichannel method, driving product sales through diversified online channels and offline retail partners.

Hitesh Kenjale, CEO of Desi Hangover said, “The world has not been exposed to Indian craftsmanship. The way we see it is that it has an enormous potential to become a global entity. We at Desi Hangover are building a new-age brand that showcases the hidden talent of our craft clusters to a global audience. We see immense growth potential in the offline distribution mediums. Our strong relationships built over the years will help us build a strong D2C channel supported by our offline networks. The fundraise will help us double down on the strategy.”

Commenting on the funding, Manoj Kumar, Founder and CEO, Social Alpha said,  The Desi Hangover team has demonstrated that sustainability is as much about protecting Mother Earth as it is about de-risking the livelihoods of the poor and marginalised sections of the society. At Social Alpha we are proud of our portfolio companies as they continue to demonstrate business case for sustainable consumption creating triple bottom line impact.

Chintan Bakshi, Partner – Incubation at CIIE.co said, “CIIE.co, with its regional mandate through CIIE Regional Innovation Foundation, regards Indian crafts as one of its focus areas and has supported and funded start-ups in the sector. Desi Hangover was part of the second edition of the Craft Accelerator that CIIE.co conducted in 2019. Start-ups like Desi Hangover are using technology, design interventions and business model innovation to develop world class products using the traditional crafts of India.”

Thaneshwar Singh, Founder – Be An Angel Network said,  “We invested in Desi Hangover as it promotes Indian traditional craftsmanship and has the potential to do so at a global level. At the Be An Angel Network, we not only want to back young entrepreneurs, but also allow young investors to invest in promising start-ups.”

About Social Alpha:

Social Alpha is a multistage innovation curation and venture development platform for science and technology start-ups that address the most critical social, economic, and environmental challenges through the power of entrepreneurship and market-creating innovations. Since its inception in 2016, Social Alpha has supported more than 150 start-ups, including 60+ seed investments. For more information, visit www.socialalpha.org 

LinkedIn: SocialAlpha

Twitter: @SocialAlphaIN

Facebook: SocialAlpha

Instagram: social_alpha_in 

About CIIE.co:

CIIE.co is the start-up incubation centre at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. It provides support to start-ups and entrepreneurs across their lifecycle by supporting early-stage start-ups from tier 2 and tier 3 cities, seed funding and acceleration support, research and insights and capital for growth.

About Be An Angel Network:

Be an Angel is an early stage investing platform, which identifies prospective start-ups in the pilot phase and supports them with the required funding and mentoring for future phases of growth.