Jupiter Meta Launches India’s First Fully Curated NFT Marketplace

* To Unveil ‘Icons of Singara Chennai’ project consisting of 12 pieces of art

India’s first fully curated NFT marketplace, developed by Jupiter Meta, will go live on 23rd February. The digital marketplace will focus on verticals such as music, film, and gaming, creating singular experiences for each user and enabling everyone to maximise their time in the metaverse. Jupiter Meta—cofounded by Sathyan Rajan and Chakradhar Reddy Kommera—plans to expand in the growing Web 3.0 space as the startup looks to bring people a more involved and personal feel to their metaverse interactions.

Jupiter Meta’s marketplace is backed by its own level-1 Rubix blockchain technology with zero gas fees. The blockchain is green, sustainable, and 100% secure, ensuring users have a fast, safe experience.

The company will also simultaneously kick off the country’s first-of-its-kind digital wall art, commemorating the essence of Chennai and labelled the ‘Icons of Singara Chennai’. The project is a collection of digital art pieces of monuments, locations, food, places of worship, beaches, and other symbolic representations that capture the spirit of the city. These items will reflect the city’s past, present, and future and will be sold as NFTs for people to own in the Jupiter Meta marketplace. Each piece is part of a larger art project and has a value associated with it, depending on the size and representation.

The project’s art is being led by Karthik SS of 108 Collective. The collaborative group is renowned for its surreal, abstract styles and has developed many installations across India. The digital project will feature the group’s perspective of Chennai, rendered through a blend of artists’ creativity and historical background. The artists will also physically recreate the art on walls at a popular location in Chennai later as part of a beautification drive.

Manasa Rajan, Business Head, Jupiter Meta, said, “Jupiter Meta is an outcome of our vision to create a metaverse for all, for every creative mind, and not just tech buffs. We are witnessing just the beginning of a revolutionary shift in what Web 3.0 can allow us to do and are happy to be starting our journey with the marketplace. We’re all defining pop culture at this very moment, and it’s only going to get bigger.”

“As someone with strong Chennai roots, the project is very personal. This is a celebration of Chennai, its people, language, and flavours. And also the technology that the city prides itself on. As artists, the metaverse is huge for us, and new opportunities are everywhere,” said Karthik SS.

Jupiter Meta owns the NFTs and will sell them on its marketplace. There will be 12 art pieces, and the company plans to mint multiple copies of each for sale. To buy an NFT, buyers will have to register on the marketplace and open a wallet account. The NFTs will be sold on a fixed-price basis.

Link to marketplace: http://www.jupitermeta.io

About Jupiter Meta

Jupiter Meta is India’s first fully curated NFT marketplace. Founded in 2021 by industry veterans Sathyan Rajan and Chakradhar Reddy Kommera, Jupiter Meta will allow users to buy, sell, and trade NFTs, across a range of segments like music, film, art, and culture, with a built-in metaverse to provide personalised, immersive digital experiences. The company aims to expand the notion of the metaverse in India and include everyone as part of a seamlessly connected digital reality. Running on its own 100% secure, green, sustainable level-1 blockchain technology with zero gas fees, Jupiter Meta ensures users have a fast and safe experience.

Aditya Birla Fashion And Retail Limited Selects Accenture To Accelerate Its Digital Transformation Journey

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL), one of India’s leading fashion companies, announced its collaboration with Accenture (NYSE: ACN) for a digital transformation program designed to drive growth, increase business agility and improve operational efficiency.

As part of its transformation strategy, ABFRL has chosen Accenture to design, develop, and deploy an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system based on SAP S/4HANA® to streamline business processes and improve visibility and accessibility of data across ABFRL.

The new ERP system will support ABFRL which owns brands such as Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England across stores in India to efficiently manage multiple fulfilment channels and consolidate disparate technology systems. It will be designed to enhance customer service by combining ABFRL’s manufacturing and retail functions into a digital core using SAP S/4HANA® for Fashion and Vertical Business.

Praveen Shrikhande, Chief Digital and Information Officer at ABFRL, commented, “We are happy to partner with Accenture on a digital transformation program. To stay ahead in today’s fast-changing fashion industry, it is important to spot and react with speed to changes in consumer preferences. The consolidation and digitization of our core ERP system will help us improve agility and responsiveness in a digital-first world, even as we expand our operations and integrate new businesses to grow our brands and product portfolio, enter new consumer segments, and expand into new markets.”

Manish Gupta, Lead for Accenture’s Products industry group in India, said, “The disruption of the past two years has made it clear that technology is paramount for businesses as we shape the future of retail. Our collaboration with ABRFL will not only help them build an integrated digital core across manufacturing, wholesale and retail functions to drive operational efficiencies, but also unlock new value for future disruptions and growth.”

Additionally, ABFRL will use Accenture myConcerto® — an insight-driven platform — to define a transformation vision and build a value case that guides its manufacturing, delivery and change management operations, and underpins the company’s continuous innovation.

Accenture’s Retail industry group helps retail companies and their ecosystem partners adapt to change, remain resilient and stay true to their purpose in a responsible way. To learn more, visit  https://www.accenture.com/us-en/industries/retail-index. 

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.

About Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited

ABFRL is part of a leading Indian conglomerate, The Aditya Birla Group. With revenue of Rs. 5,249 cr., spanning retail space of 8.4 million sq. ft. (as on March 31, 2021), it is India’s first billion-dollar pure-play fashion powerhouse with an elegant bouquet of leading fashion brands and retail formats.

The Company has a network of 3,212 stores across approximately 31,000 multi-brand outlets with 6,800+ point of sales in department stores across India (as on 31st March 2021). ABFRL’s ‘Lifestyle brands’ include Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England established for over 25 years. The ‘Youth Western Wear’ comprises American Eagle and Forever 21.  ‘Super Premium brands’ extends to The Collective, India's largest multi-brand retailer of international brands, Simon Carter and select mono-brands such as Ralph Lauren, Hackett London, Ted Baker and Fred Perry. The ‘Innerwear, Athleisure and Active wear’ segment is establishing itself as India's most innovative and fashionable brand. Pantaloons is one of India’s largest fast fashion store brand. The Company’s portfolio of Ethnic wear brands is built with craft-based brand Jaypore, mid-premium women’s wear brand Marigold Lane and premium men’s wear brand Tasva. The Company’s has also entered into strategic collaborations with India’s leading designers Sabyasachi, Tarun Tahiliani and Shantanu & Nikhil.

Schwing Stetter Conducted “Technovation 2022” At Cheyyar, Tamil Nadu From February 7-13, 2022

* A successful Experiential Platform for Customers and Vendors

* The event witnessed the order booking and key handovers for 96 machines and generated new leads for 449 equipment

* Signs MoU with HPCL & Gulf Oil

Schwing Stetter India, one of India’s largest manufacturers of concreting and construction equipment’s, conducted the much-awaited, “Technovation 2022” which spanned from February 7th till 13th 2022 at the company’s Global Manufacturing Hub, located in Cheyyar, Tamil Nadu.

Maintaining the Covid protocol and safety measures in mind, this event had around 2000 customers over the course of 1 week. Some prominent customers who visited were State Trading Organization plc,  Godrej RMC, Ultra Tech Cement, ACC, and so on. Members of key trade Associations like the Builders Association of India (BAI), Construction Equipment Rental Association (CERA), also attended this event.

During this event, Schwing signed two MoUs with Gulf Oil and HPCL to launch a range of genuine oils for construction equipment. This trailblazer of a partnership aims to bring to the market a range of products that include high technology & high-quality lubricants like premium hydraulic oil, engine oil, axle oil, gear oil & high-end synthetic gear oil for their concrete pump, batching plant, concrete mixture & self-loading mixer and the entire range of Construction equipment.

The event featured a display of 70+ technology-driven products and brought in an experience zone for customers, vendors and new-age entrepreneurs. Visitors were able to experience the product, understand new technology and understand the business impact. Schwing had signed deals with customers across 20 product categories.

The seminars were presented by over 20 speakers from different segments of the industry with 18 topics and a lively exchange of knowledge-sharing sessions by impressive technical experts from renowned research institutions and tech industries.

Also during a exclusive event on day 1 along with presence of Press personnel, Schwing Stetter awarded to 40 candidates with Operator  certifications , getting trained in the Global manufacturing Hub and 15 Trainees were offered JOB opportunities within Schwing Stetter and also with the Customers of Schwing Stetter. 

Speaking about the success of the event, Mr. V.G. Sakthikumar, Managing Director of Schwing Stetter India said, “Keeping in line with our vision ‘Customer-first approach’, Technovation 2022 was a successful platform that helped us to bring our customers and vendors closer to us and have an opportunity to experience our R&D and technology expertise, especially in our Global Manufacturing Hub facility. We do hope to have this event more frequently to have a perfect knowledge-sharing platform and bring technology closer to our customers & vendors.”

About Schwing Stetter India Private Limited:

Incorporated in June 1998, and commencing its manufacturing operations in 1999, Schwing Stetter India is a 100% subsidiary of Schwing GmbH, a 1.30 billion USD German concreting machinery manufacturer and a part of XCMG group. Schwing Stetter is a pioneer in manufacturing equipment for concrete preparation, placement, transportation, and recycling. Schwing Stetter (India) Private Limited manufactures concrete batching plants, concrete placing booms, concrete pumps, concrete truck mixers for transporting readymade concrete to construction sites, concrete truck mixers with concrete pumps, concrete recycling plants, plastering pumps, self-loading mixers, and sludge pumps.

Schwing Stetter (India) sells and services equipment like concrete pavers, aerial working platform, all terrain crane, cold milling machine, crawler crane, excavator, horizontal directional drilling, motor grader, rotary drilling rig, tower crane, truck crane and wheel loader are our various newer range of equipment that have been launched recently from GOMACO and XCMG. We cater to the requirement of infrastructure developers and act as an OEM supplier to various cement companies who offer ready mix concrete. Schwing Stetter has its manufacturing units in 12 countries including Germany, Austria, USA, Brazil, Russia, Ostrava, UK, India supported by sales and service centers in France, Netherlands, Austria, and Sweden as well as representations in more than 150 countries Worldwide. 

“Framework For Digital Skills Needs To Be Strengthened For Meeting Industry Demands, Creating A Strong Industry-Skill Linkage”: PM Modi

It is imperative to prepare the ‘demographic dividend’ of the country as per the demands of the changing job roles”, said Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi at a Post Budget seminar held today. During the webinar, to encourage participation in the skill ecosystem by enabling digital skills, a session was held on the theme — Towards Fostering Strong Industry-Skill Linkage by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) with participation from Department of promotion for Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and Ministry of Tourism. The discussion was a part of a series of seminars inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He addressed the first session themed — Digital University: Making World Class Higher Education Accessible for All. The webinar was attended by the government officials, industry experts and representatives of key associations.

During his address, the Prime Minister spoke about the five priority areas — universalization of quality education; skill development; inclusion of India’s ancient experience and knowledge of urban planning and designing into education; internationalization and focus on Animation, Visual-Effects, Gaming and Comic (AVGC). He further stated that DESH Stack e-portal (Digital Ecosystem for Skilling and Livelihood) aims to bring together academic, industry demands and linkages, improves employment prospects and enable the start-up ecosystem.

The webinar led by MSDE was co-chaired by Shri Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, MSDE, Shri Anurag Jain, Secretary, DPIIT and Shri G. Kamala Vardhna Rao, Director General, Ministry of Tourism. The panellists for the session were Shri N.S Kalsi, Chairman, National Council for Vocational Education & Training (NCVET); Shri Amber Dubey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Shri Manish Sabharwal, Vice Chairman, Teamlease Services. The session was moderated by Mr. Ved Mani Tiwari, COO, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).

Shri Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, MSDE shared his thoughts on the latest initiatives announced in the Budget 2022 and expressed his views on how partnerships can be reorientated with the current demands of the industry, he stated, “In the current environment, from agriculture to service sector, the dynamics have completely changed. While the basic human needs remain the same, there is a rapid change in production, distribution, and consumption patterns. Therefore, it is pertinent that we promote soft skills, imbibe the culture of learning, and focus on multiskilling, as these initiatives will empower our youth and promote nation building. Further, DESH will remove information loss between stakeholders and resolve existing asymmetries. It is also critical that academia and industry work hand in hand as the pandemic has taught us that how existing skills can vanish overnight, and new job roles can evolve swiftly. Therefore, a culture of skills should be developed that builds the capabilities of our workforce and prepares them for the World of Work.”

Making his observations, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship shared, “We need to build on what we have achieved in skilling in the last five years. The endeavours under Skill India need to be integrated with education, ensuring students can easily access the skill ecosystem. Stronger employment and entrepreneurship outcomes need to be the by-product of our skill initiatives synergising with the dynamic demands of the rapidly changing industries- local and global. We should be able to boost the skill development framework with the launch of DESH Stack e-portal, ensuring India becomes a leader in word-class technology”

Mr. Ved Mani Tiwari, COO, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) summarised the session and said, “This session has highlighted a clear cohesion among ministries and departments by showcasing their zeal to collaborate and work together. The discussion and suggestions from today’s session are indeed a true reflection of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of Sabka Prayaas, Sabka Vikas. A detailed report incorporating all the suggestions shared by the speakers today will be sent to the PMO on February 24, 2022.”

During the session, Shri Anurag Jain, Secretary, DPIIT, stated, “In her Budget speech, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity. The initiative is a GIS-based spatial planning and analytical tool with 200+ layers, enabling better visibility to the executing agency. Under this, every department will now have the visibility of each other's activities providing critical data, bringing about more comprehensive planning and execution of projects. The data exchange among all mode operators will also be brought on the Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP), designed for application programming interface (API), improving international competitiveness. This will bring about a sustainable development driven by seven engines – roads, railways, airports, ports, mass transport, waterways and logistics infrastructure.”

He further emphasized on the need for dynamic skilling environment, exposure to industry requirements (reskilling, upskilling) and NSQF alignment with industry needs. Shri G. Kamala Vardhna Rao, Director General, Ministry of Tourism expressed his views during the seminar and said, “Tourism sector was one of worst hit sectors during the pandemic but today, it is witnessing new opportunities in the form of wellness, adventure and medical tourism, homestays and more. Currently, more than 8.5% of the total employed are in the tourism and allied sectors. This data highlights the importance of manpower in the sector and emphasises on the need for continuously engaging with other sectors while imparting new skills in the workforce. In addition, Drone Shakti will open new avenues for India’s youth as far as digital empowerment and digital technology for modern generation are concerned. Also, Gati Shakti will give us the opportunity for the placement of skilled labour.”

In the session, broader aspects on strengthening the skill ecosystem by enhancing digital skills were discussed. The panellists shared their views on the recent announcements made by our finance minister in the Budget 2022 including deliberations on DESH stack e-portal that aims to empower citizens to skill, reskill or upskill themselves through digital training. Further, the session covered aspects for the successful implementation of National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) targeted to fulfil the dynamic industry needs, expansion of emerging technologies and training through Drone Shakti scheme, helping increase domestic manufacturing and creating employment capabilities. The facets related to PM Gati Shakti programme were also discussed along with the discussions around emerging sunrise sectors, tourism and logistics.

The panellists shared their views on multiple initiatives, elaborated on creating better synergies between skill ecosystem and the industry, and expressed their thoughts on how India can surge towards a future of technology-powered growth with digital skilling. In this regard, Shri N.S Kalsi, Chairman, National Council for Vocational Education & Training (NCVET), stated, “The pandemic has accelerated the usage of technology in our day-to-day life. Unprecedented interruptions which the industry and businesses have taught us the mantra of digital first. In addition, NCVET is closely collaborating with industry in identifying the competences and skills required, including future skills to guide the development of qualifications and skill training for the existing and entry level workforce.” Shri Manish Sabharwal, Vice Chairman, Teamlease Services expressed, “As we transition to a technology-powered future, we slowly realised that it is not only possible to separate employment, employability and education, but also there is a need to innovate at the intersection of education and skilling. To strengthen the skill ecosystem, we need to break down traditional barriers and be open to learning while earning, learning with flexible delivery and align it with qualification modularity.” Shri Amber Dubey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation envisions that Drone Shakti will turn out to be a game changer in India’s economic and social progress, drones will see similar expansion as India’s mobile users.

Hero MotoCorp, Creates New Role Of Chief Growth Officer To Leverage Emerging Opportunities In Post-Covid- World

* INTEGRATES MARKETING, SALES, AFTER SALES & PARTS BUSINESSES

* RANJIVJIT SINGH ELEVATED TO THE NEW ROLE OF CHIEF GROWTH OFFICER

With an eye on making the best of emerging opportunities in the future, Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, has created a new position, titled Chief Growth Officer, integrating the Marketing, Sales and After-Sales functions.

Ranjivjit Singh – who has been heading Marketing - is being elevated to this newly constituted role of Chief Growth Officer, with immediate effect.

“We are now entering a new era of opportunities and growth, with the world rapidly coming out of the Coronavirus pandemic. As we gear up to further consolidate our leadership by leveraging these emerging opportunities, we must stay nimble and dynamic which requires synergies between the key customer-facing functions of Marketing and Sales & After-Sales,” said Mike Clarke, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer, Hero MotoCorp.

With more than three decades of experience and extensive expertise in all aspects of business operations and brand management, Ranjivjit joined Hero MotoCorp in July 2021 and has contributed immensely towards enhancing the brand salience and customer affinity of Brand Hero.

The leadership team at Sales & After Sales (SAS) - Ashutosh Varma (Head- National Sales), Manish Srivastava (Head – Service) and Akhilesh Vijay (Head – Parts Business) - will continue in their current roles and report to Ranjivjit.

Naveen Chauhan, who has been heading the SAS function since April 1, 2020, has decided to move on and pursue opportunities outside of the Company. He will stay on in the organization till February 28 to ensure a smooth transition.

Naveen joined Hero MotoCorp in 2015 and worked in various assignments across sales, service and parts, before taking on the leadership role as Head of SAS. He spearheaded this critical function in the midst of a very difficult phase that saw the peak of the Coronavirus pandemic and multiple lockdowns of markets across the country.

Wipro Earthian Awards 2021 Felicitate Excellence In Sustainability Education

Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company, organized the 11th edition of Wipro earthian awards for the year 2021. The annual awards recognize excellence in sustainability in education in schools and colleges in India.

Wipro earthian is one of India’s largest sustainability education programs for schools and colleges. The 2021 edition of the Wipro earthian school program received over 1000 project entries, out of which 20 winning and 20 shortlisted entries were selected by an independent jury. The 2021 College program has been temporarily paused.

The teams from schools demonstrated their understanding of biodiversity, waste and water through a combination of activity based learning programs and written essays.

The winning institutes were awarded a certificate along with a cash prize. The winning teams were felicitated by Wipro Chairman, Rishad Premji at a virtual event.  They will also get an opportunity to engage with Wipro and its sustainability partners through continuous collaborative programs that will enable a deeper understanding of issues critical to sustainability.

The virtual event featured keynote talks by Dr. Shekhar Pathak a Padma Shri awardee, who is an Indian historian, writer and academician from Uttarakhand and Yuvan Aves, a writer, naturalist, educator, and activist based in Chennai. Noted quizmaster, Lloyd Saldana also hosted the 2021 National Finals of the Wipro earthian Sustainability Quiz.

“Anurag Behar, Chief Sustainability Officer, Wipro Limited said, “Wipro earthian has evolved over the last decade to become the flagship program for sustainability education in India.We continue to be amazed at the quality of work from diverse schools across the country on complex ecological challenges facing us. It gives us reason for optimism, and we remain deeply committed to working with schools and colleges for the long term.”

The list of winning teams at Wipro earthian awards 2021 can be accessed here.

Since 2011, Wipro earthian, has engaged with more than 55,000 institutes, 1,30,000 students and 13,000 teachers. This year, we have had our largest participation so far, with more than 1300+ submissions across schools and college. The support from Wipro’s education partners such as Centre for Environment Education (CEE), C.P.R Environmental Education Centre (CPREEC), Wild Ecologues, state governments, organizations and educators in our Sustainability Educator Program, have helped expand the reach of the program. 

Aditya Birla Health Insurance Inks Bancassurance Partnership With Utkarsh Small Finance Bank

* More than 2.7 million Utkarsh Small Finance Bank Customers spread across 600+ branches to have access to this Health Insurance Solution

Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Limited. (ABHICL), the health insurance subsidiary of Aditya Birla Capital Limited (ABCL), a significant non-bank financial services conglomerate  announced its bancassurance partnership with Utkarsh Small Finance Bank, one of the leading Small Finance Bank in the country, for the distribution of health insurance products through the Bank’s network of branches Pan-India. 

Through this alliance with Utkarsh Small Finance Bank, Aditya Birla Health Insurance’s comprehensive suite of Health insurance plans, including protection health plans, will be available for purchase to 2.7 million+ customers of the Bank across 642 branches in 214 districts spread across 19 states and 2 Union Territories in the country.

Commenting on the association, Mayank Bathwal, CEO - Aditya Birla Health Insurance, said, "We are pleased to partner with Utkarsh Small Finance Bank, which is a fast growing name in the domestic banking sector. This bancassurance partnership will help further strengthen our distribution and unlock growth opportunities through the Bank’s wide network. This tie-up will help us reach the tier II and tier III markets with insurance solutions thereby increasing insurance penetration in the country. Our alliance with Utkarsh Small Finance Bank will also help empower the Bank’s customers with protection solutions from our comprehensive product portfolio.’’ 

Utkarsh Small Finance Bank MD and CEO Govind Singh said, "Insurance as a third party offering provides our customers a significant value proposition while choosing an insurance policy. This tie-up with Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Ltd, further strengthens our insurance product portfolio as it gives our client the flexibility to choose an insurance plan which suits their convenience and requirement.  This gives the Insurance company access and penetration to our customers located in the hinterland. This alliance is bound to strengthen our product offering and services in these markets to our customers as Insurance serves as a prudent option to manage risks arising out of natural and unnatural calamities”. 

Aditya Birla Health Insurance company has 175 branches located in India and has a diversified presence in than 2800 cities spread across the length and breadth of the country.  With a vast network of more than 9,500 hospitals, ABHI can provide health insurance facility to the deeper and underpenetrated parts of the country. The Bank's customers will benefit from a diverse range of new-age products offered by Aditya Birla Health to ensure a healthy life for self and their loved ones. With this new partnership, ABHI now has 12 Bancassurance partners with over 51,120+ direct selling agents all over India.