Data And edge – ‘Da-Edge’, To Be A New Phenomenon In The Banking Industry Across Indian Market

 

By Nilesh Gupta, Head of CloudFirst & Edge Services, 3i Infotech 

The digital payment space across the world has witnessed a steady transformation since March 2020. The lockdown period in major countries witnessed significant limitation in spending among consumers with the physical currency and forced them to use digital wallets and online mode of payments. Businesses and consumers including me found alternative payment methods choosing digital over cash payments and safer procurement methods with e-commerce from groceries to luxury items. When more than half of the world went online, so did the growth of data on the edge. To be more precise - intelligent data could empower these digital wallet companies, financial institutions and banks to know more about you and me with the power of Artificial Intelligence and big data built together.  

The digital footprint, that includes all the trail of data consumers leave behind while using the online mode for spending is easily accessible to these companies, with them keeping a close tab on our when, what, how, where etc. Also, with this same data, banks suggest and take informed decisions on our behalf as to where our next investment should be, renew our insurance based on last purchase and if possible, suggest a better premium, offer more discount on our favorite restaurant the next time we visit etc. With respect to banking industry, data and edge are going to be a new phenomenon in the making. If I had the liberty to coin a new word, I would call it ‘Da-edge’ (pronounced as: the-edge). 

In the banking industry, edge services will be an important component for mission-critical infrastructure that will be even more powerful when combined with AI, cloud, and 5G. With Covid-19, customer experience had a new benchmark and it essentially kept technology and business model compete with each other. Though the banking sector is invested heavily in legacy infrastructure for reasons we all know best, yet the industry is known for being an early adopter of next-gen technologies including cloud, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, blockchain and more. Many of the banks are now moving out of their legacy infrastructure to tap the new phenomenon and provide a better customer experience every day. 

With the ability to put infrastructure and applications at the edge, banks can speed up their real-time alerts by processing their data at the edge and creating a genuinely on-demand customer experience. Let’s imagine you are at an offline store buying a shoe, at the payment counter you don’t want to enter your passcode, but instead use the banking app on your smartphone which then becomes your swiping machine and with just your good-looking selfie, the payment is done. This means AI-based real-time video analytics needs to be executed to connect to your bank, make an informed decision to approve the payment based on validation of the selfie (by choice or forced) and account balance to pay the store. The combination of edge computing and cloud will help banks utilize these distributed systems by processing data on the edge location and sending relevant data to the cloud to be processed and saved. 

Imagine the death by legacy infrastructure, which will happen if banks do not move away from propriety and legacy applications that run on hardware which cannot scale to match today’s customer experience and demand. IDC predicts that 80% of banks in India will run trade finance and treasury workloads as SaaS or on PaaS architectures. Banks should look at moving to cloud as an opportunity to upgrade their technology and continue to serve its customers. Cloud and edge technology enable banks to adopt a new paradigm for delivering creative channels, reducing time to market of new offerings, satisfying customer expectations, and complying with country specific regulatory compliance at a cheaper cost. Today, there are better security solutions in place that protect bank’s customer data proactively. Whether the data is in cloud, at the edge or in-transit, SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) based solutions help to provide an end-to-end security solution on cloud with centralized visibility across banking hybrid landscape that provide administrators with better monitoring abilities and management. 

Cloud and edge computing could offer a lot of potential for banking institutions in different ways that have not been fully addressed yet. Many industry experts have already mentioned in the recent past that digital transformation has taken an acceleration and we have achieved many years of transformation in just few months. Cloud computing could produce unprecedented customer experience and will be the first step in the right direction, by enabling new ways of interacting with customers while strengthening their own brand. Speed has become paramount to securing a competitive advantage on cloud within the banking industry to maximize the profits. 

Magicbricks Introduces Its New Campaign- “Property Sahi. Aur Ab Services Sabhi.” With Bollywood Star Ayushmann Khurrana

Partnering with consumers for over 15 years, in their search for a dream house, Magicbricks is now ready to walk hand in hand with consumers through the multiple stages of the consumer journey of making a house a home. Being a leader in the real estate space, Magicbricks further bolsters its position as a full stack real estate service provider through its transformed avatar, marked by a uniquely engaging campaign- “Property Sahi. Aur Ab Services Sabhi” that catches the pulse of Indian consumers.

Featuring its brand ambassador, Ayushmann Khurrana, Magicbricks launched the first of the three TVCs of the new campaign today which also debuts a unique sonic signature as a new brand asset. With this campaign, the brand aims to evolve with the changing needs of Indian consumers by providing a bouquet of 15+ services like expert advice to home loan, legal assistance to consultation on vaastu & décor amongst many others.

Commenting on the launch of the new campaign Mr. Devarshy Ganguly-Head of Marketing, Magicbricks, said, “As a market leader for 15 years, we have had the opportunity to understand the evolving needs of our consumers. This has helped us thoughtfully create a bouquet of services which brings seamless convenience to consumers across the buying journey and beyond. The new campaign celebrates our partnership with consumers, reinstates our messaging and brand purpose- Magicbricks will now be a one stop solution for everything that is needed to transform a house to a dream home.

Further, our association with Ayushmann has grown from strength to strength. He is synonymous with trust and credibility, values that also define Magicbricks.”

Commenting on the association Brand ambassador and Bollywood star Ayushmann Khurrana said, “Buying a house is a milestone in anyone’s life and Magicbricks’ new campaign ‘Property Sahi. Aur Ab Services Sabhi’ is all about converting a house to a home. Magicbricks has truly endeavored to address issues related to property services, and its transition into a full stack service provider will help consumers immensely. It has always been a delight to work with Magicbricks, and I am elated to be a part of this transformational journey for the brand.”

Ankur Suman- Partner & ECD- RK Swamy BBDO, said, “We wanted to present the big transformation in Magicbricks not as a new business objective but as a genuine response to fulfill the changing needs in the new world. The challenge was that the communication shouldn't lose sight of the core, while talking about the new offerings. We are happy we were able to do it in a manner that's very relevant and relatable to all of us as consumers.”

The first film is a manifesto for the brand's new avatar. Opening with a warm and relatable monologue by Ayushmann Khurrana, the film looks back at the 15 years journey of Magicbricks and how it opens doors of new opportunities for homebuyers with an expanded portfolio of services by Magicbricks. Evolving with changing customer requirements, the film is a voice over led film where Brand Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana takes the viewers through the lives of various households strung together in an engaging montage. The film sets the stage for the brand’s move into the various home-related services in a manner that is hassle-free and best-in-class. In terms of tonality of all the films, it continues to follow a warm, wholesome slice of life approach which over the years has become an identity of all Magicbricks communication.

The campaign has been conceptualized by Ankur Suman and Pragya Bhatnagar from RK Swamy BBDO, Delhi as a set of three TVCs, which reflect evolution of brand with changing aspirations of Indian consumers. With this campaign, Magicbricks has planned a high decibel multi-media national communications outreach of six to eight weeks across media.

About Magicbricks: India's no 1 property site

Magicbricks is India’s No.1 property site. With monthly traffic exceeding 20 million visits and with an active base of over 1.5 million+ property listings, Magicbricks provides the largest platform for buyers and sellers of property to connect with each other in a clear, transparent manner. With this in mind, Magicbricks has innovated several product features, content, and research services, which have helped us build the largest audience pool. 

Cloudnine, India’s Premium Birthing Centre Announces Three New Appointments To Its Board Of Directors

Cloudnine, India’s premium birthing centre in India has announced the appointment of three new independent directors to its board. Ms. Nupur Garg, a leading investor in private equity and venture capital space and founder of WinPE, Ms. Lizzie Chapman, an entrepreneur pioneering Buy Now, Pay Later in India and CEO & Co-Founder of ZestMoney and Mr. Parthasarathy VS, Vice Chairman & Non Executive, Non Independent Director on the board of Allcargo logistics and Independent Director with LIC of India and mentor to several start-ups. These appointments come into effect from January 2022. Following these appointments, the Board will comprise nine (9) directors, three (3) of whom are independent directors, three (3) are Executive Directors and three (3) are Non- Executive Directors.

Speaking at the side-lines of these appointments says Dr R Kishore Kumar, Founder & Executive Director, Cloudnine "We are pleased to welcome Nupur, Lizzie and Parthasarathy as our newly appointed independent directors to Cloudnine’s board. They join Cloudnine at an exciting time as we continue to expand our mission of delivering healthy mothers and happy babies across India and continue to build deeper relationships with customers by fulfilling our purpose of delivering their bundle of joys with our core philosophies of clinical excellence, comprehensive care and celebration. The addition of these 3 experienced members complements our board of directors and their expertise across diverse industries and global businesses with strong oversight will be invaluable to Cloudnine as we grow our business and pursue our mission to offer pregnant mother wellness and not an illness“.

Commenting on the appointment says, Raviganesh Venkataraman, Chief Executive officer & Executive Director, Cloudnine, “We are pleased to welcome the newly appointed independent directors to our board. With their proven leadership across industries and experience, we are confident that Cloudnine will immensely benefit of their expertise and knowledge to the Board as well as executive management experience in innovation, strategic planning, execution, governance, finance, and service.”

About Cloudnine birthing center: Cloudnine, is India’s leading chain of women, childcare, and fertility hospitals headquartered in Bengaluru spread across 16 facilities in Gurgaon, Noida, Chandigarh, Panchkula, Chennai, Mumbai and Pune. Founded by neonatologist Dr.R. Kishore Kumar with his team of three co-founders in 2006, Cloudnine Group of Hospitals is backed by marquee investors – True North, Matrix Partners, Sequoia India. We are committed to setting new standards in healthcare by offering comprehensive maternal, fertility, gynaecological, neonatal and pediatric care. Having celebrated over 100000 births across regions, with a 3000+ strong team, Cloudnine has been the pioneer in this specialty sector with continued effort to add new locations across India while continuing to maintain and excel international standards of care. For more information, visit www.cloudninecare.com or write to info@cloudninecare.com 

Dealing With The Invisible Aftereffects Of Covid-Fatigue

Recuperating post Covid-19 needs to be dealt with as seriously as the actual infection. A recent study found that nearly 69% of patients recovering from Covid-19 reported persistent fatigue.1 Covid-fatigue is a real problem that most people are unable to even identify which eventually delays and impacts full-term recovery. 

The pandemic has heightened the attention we pay to our health. With a disease as infectious and injurious as Covid-19, it is important for us to be aware and informed of immediate as well as long-term health implications. Understanding these implications will enable us to appropriately deal with them to ensure that we are making the right choices and decisions for ourselves and our loved ones. While a negative test result is definitely reason enough to be relieved, it should not be viewed as a green signal for rushing back to our usual way of life.

Common signs and symptoms that linger over time after a viral infection like Covid-19 includes shortness of breath, cough, muscle pain or headache, depression, or anxiety amongst others. However, one of the most common aftereffects is Covid-fatigue - the constant fatigue as well as lack of energy and focus that affects our daily lifestyle.

The food that we consume directly affects the way that we feel and the way our bodies function. A healthy, balanced diet play an important role in our overall health and immune systems. This is as true during an illness as it is in the recovery phase.

One of the key factors to post Covid-19 recovery and managing Covid-fatigue is to allow your body the time and right nourishment to heal and strengthen itself says Jothydev Kesavadev, MBBS and MD, Government Medical College, Trivandrum. Ensuring a healthy, balanced diet comprising the 5 food groups should be your companion through the sickness period and even later in the post recovery stage to help your body successfully fight external infection. As part of your successful post-Covid lifestyle, it is important to monitor and maintain ideal body weight. Post any illness, there is a natural tendency to overeat to try and regain lost energy. This can result in excessive weight gain which comes with its own set of health issues. For those seeking to regain energy and stamina post convalescence, it is advisable to adopt smart, healthy and balanced eating habits complemented by requisite nutritional supplement intake.

Understand the nutrition that your body needs - The role of nutrition in overcoming the effects of Covid-19 is substantial given that overall health starts to weaken as the virus settles into the host’s body. Even after the virus is long gone, the body is still weak. The best way to tackle this problem is to recognise your body’s nutrition requirement and address it with an appropriate, balanced diet or a nutritional supplement. A weak body is also fertile ground for future infections and diseases given that immunity levels are low. Strengthening your body from the inside with the correct nutrition is vital to re-building your immunity shield.

Stay high on hydration - Keeping your body well hydrated is important for many reasons – to regulate body temperature, deliver nutrients to cells, and keep organs functioning properly. Lack of hydration or fluids can, leave you feeling lethargic with difficulty in focusing on cognitive tasks.

Take baby steps – Resist the urge to get back to life as it was before you were detected with Covid-19. Your body has undergone tremendous stress and needs time to work its way back to initial stamina levels – one jumping jack or squat at a time! For those keen resuming exercise routines, phase out your return over a comfortable period. Ease your way back in with small, achievable milestones, re-familiarize yourself with your body and most importantly, listen to what your body has to say.

Covid-fatigue hits everyone differently. For some, it could last a few days and for some, it could linger on for weeks or even months. The solution to overcoming this is simple and rests with you.

1 Mandal S, Barnett J, Brill SE, et al. ‘Long-COVID’: a cross-sectional study of persisting symptoms, biomarker and imaging abnormalities following hospitalisation for COVID-19. Thorax 2020 [Online ahead of print]

General MM Naravane, Chief Of Indian Army Staff To Inaugurate Ahmedabad Design Week By Karnavati University On Feb 26

* Third edition of ADW is themed  on Design and Innovation In Defence and Aerospace; Thought Leaders, Startups, Investors from Defence Design Fraternity to participate. The ADW to kick off on Feb 26, 2022.

The third edition of Ahmedabad Design Week (ADW)– a melting pot of ideas and insights – organised by Karnavati University, based in Uvarsad, Gandhinagar, is all set to kickstart from February 26 at the varsity’s sprawling campus. The Ahmedabad Design Week will be held on 26th, 27th and 28th February, 2022. Karnavati University is a state private university dedicated to excellence in teaching and is focused on interdisciplinary learning. This year’s theme for ADW 3.0 is Design and Innovation in Defense and Aerospace – a topic of strategic importance.

The event will be inaugurated by the Honourable General MM Naravane, Chief of Army Staff, Indian Army; along with Shri Hari Babu Srivastava, Outstanding Scientist and Director General – Technology Management (TM), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), on February 26.

Explaining the rationale behind this year’s theme, Shri Ritesh Hada, President, Karnavati University, said, “ADW 3.0’s themed on Design and Innovation in Defence and Aerospace, is very much in line with Government of India’s mission of achieving Atmanirbharta in defence manufacturing in India.”

“ADW will create a platform for starting a dialogue on the role of design in defence and aerospace, use of emerging technologies and bring together design practitioners, defence sector veterans and innovators to deliberate upon this. This will also be an opportunity to encourage innovators to explore defence sector,” Mr Hada further explained.

ADW is a confluence of design thinkers, thought leaders and practitioners from across the globe and the sole theme of the event is to facilitate discussion, deliberation and identification of scope and the application of design in various domains, fields, and industries.

One of the key highlights of ADW 3.0 will be the final tranche of India’s biggest Defence Startup and Innovation Challenge – the DRDO Defence Innovation Challenge which will be hosted by DRDO in association with Karnavati University. The challenge is aimed at supporting Startups, Micro Small and Medium Entreprises (MSMEs) and innovators to come up with unique solutions and breakthrough technology interventions in National Defence and Aerospace sector. The challenge will encourage participants to create prototypes and enable them to commercialise products and solutions they have developed. The winning teams will be rewarded with prize money and angel funding worth upto Rs 50 crore.

Sharing his thoughts about the event, General MM Naravane, Chief of Army Staff, Indian Army, said, “Designing takes the experience of the past, breaks the mould of the present, and looks to create things anew for the future. Wishing ADW 3.0 all the success in taking forward design and development in defence and aerospace sectors.”

Some of the other eminent speakers who would be part of the event include Lieutenant General KJS Dhillon, Former Director General, Defence Intelligence Agency; Dr Sudhir Mishra, Former Director General, CEO and MD, BrahMos Aerospace; Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, DRDO; Major General M Indrabalan, Additional Director General NCC, Bihar and Jharkhand NCC and Prahlad Kakkar, Founder, Genesis Film Production, among others. 

Bank Of Baroda Rolls Out Instant Savings Account Opening Through Tablet Banking For Self Help Groups

* Will result in ease of banking for SHGs and facilitate easier access to credit 

In an industry-first move, Bank of Baroda (Bank), one of India’s leading public sector banks announced that it has introduced instant digital opening of Savings Accounts for Self Help Groups (SHG) through tablets (bob World - Tabit). 

With SHG account opening through bob World - Tabit, the Bank has digitised its SHG on-boarding process, enabling instant account opening and providing a superior and more convenient banking experience to Self Help Groups. This initiative will also facilitate faster credit linkages for SHGs, supporting the Government of India mission [under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM)] and result in ease of banking. 

Key Features of the Instant SHG Savings Account through bob World - Tabit: 

Digitisation of the SHG account opening journey for instant account opening and customer onboarding 

Integrated service request registration during the account opening journey such as Personalised Cheque Book, SMS Alerts etc. 

Enhanced user experience for customers 

Built on the Aadhaar ecosystem 

Shri. Akhil Handa, Chief Digital Officer, Bank of Baroda said, “Bank of Baroda has been consistently working towards providing novel digital offerings to enhance customer experience and facilitate convenient banking facilities. In line with this vision, the launch of the instant SHG Savings Account opening through bob World - Tabit is one more earnest step towards providing easy banking services to SHGs, which shall fuel credit linkages and support the upliftment of rural customers. Going forward, we expect to open around 75% of the total SHG accounts digitally.” 

About Bank of Baroda:  

Founded on 20th July, 1908 by Sir Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, Bank of Baroda is one of the leading commercial banks in India. At 63.97% stake, it is majorly owned by the Government of India. The Bank serves its global customer base of over 140 million through over 46,000 touchpoints spread across 19 countries in five continents. Through Its state-of-the-art digital banking platforms, it provides all banking products and services in a seamless and hassle-free manner. The recently launched bob World mobile app provides customers with a saving, investing, borrowing and shopping experience, all under one single app. The app also serves non-customers by enabling account opening through video KYC. The Bank’s vision matches its diverse clientele base and instills a sense of trust and security. It is moving well in that direction and bob World is a testimony of its roadmap towards Digital Transformation. 

BSE EBIX And LIC Join Hands For “Distribution Of Insurance” Products

BSE Ebix Insurance Broking Private Limited, a joint venture of BSE and Ebix Singapore Pte Ltd., announced the signing of Insurance Broker Agreement for distribution of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) products on its state-of-the-art hi-tech platform. Under this agreement, BSE EBIX will offer their clients insurance products offered by LIC such as Life and Health, using its omni-channel digital presence. This partnership of two like-minded organizations aims at offering customer centric solutions backed by technological innovations and best in class services. 

EbixCash, a subsidiary of Ebix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIX) is in the process of seeking IRDA approval to transfer its share ownership in BSE EBIX from its parent Ebix Singapore Pte Ltd. to EbixCash Limited. 

Insurance is an important risk mitigating tool which protects the economic interests of individuals and organizations. BSE EBIX aim is to reach out to every citizen of India and provide insurance solutions to serve customers spread across the country, and ensure they are secured and protected. The launch of LIC products by BSE EBIX is a major development from the Company’s perspective since Life insurance is traditionally one of the fastest growing insurance segments in the country. 

Mr. Ashishkumar Chauhan, MD & CEO-BSE, said “At BSE EBIX, our objective is to reach out to every citizen of the country and provide insurance solutions as per their needs. Our partnership with LIC not only aims at providing relevant insurance products but will also provide best-in-class services to their customers through our unique digital initiatives. Further enriching the client experience, BSE EBIX's digital capabilities support servicing and help our clients select relevant policies.” 

BSE EBIX’s strategy is to have an unrivalled ‘Phygital’ pan India reach by combining the physical presence of tens of thousands of PoSPs with an omnichannel digital channel, thereby allowing its PoSPs to have access to extensive real-time quotes from insurance companies and to complete the entire transaction online on behalf of their customers. Through its technology, BSE EBIX empowers PoSPs to deliver best of the Insurance products and provide comfort to the end customers by transacting physically at the speed of digital technology. This presents a huge opportunity for BSE EBIX to build its Life insurance portfolio. 

BSE EBIX had beta launched its operations on February 7, 2020, with the offering of private car and two-wheeler auto insurance. The company aims to revolutionize not only buying of insurance from a consumer perspective but also enable insurers to distribute insurance products in a highly efficient manner, while automating and integrating complex back-end processes seamlessly with front end distribution. Currently, there are seven General Insurance companies in Motor, five Health Insurance Companies for Health Products and three Life Insurance Companies for Life Products on the BSE EBIX platform. Besides, we also issue Policies through offline mode with two more Insurance Companies.  As on date, BSE EBIX has registered over 10,500 Point of Sale Persons (PoSPs) out of which 4,677 are certified and ready to do business through BSE EBIX Portal.