BharatPe Forays Into Secured Loans: Launches Gold Loan For Merchant Partners

 

·         Aims to facilitate disbursals of Rs.500 crores by the end of 2022

·         Merchants can avail gold loans of upto INR 20 lacs

·         Lowest interest rate at 0.39% per month

BharatPe, one of India’s fastest-growing Fintech companies, today announced the launch of Gold loan for its merchant partners. This marks the entry of BharatPe in the secured loans category. The company has partnered with RBI-approved NBFCs to offer gold loan of up to Rs. 20 lacs. BharatPe has already launched the Gold Loan offering for its merchants in Delhi NCR, Bangalore and Hyderabad and will be scaling this to 20 cities by the end of 2022. It has set a target of facilitating disbursals of Rs. 500 crores by the end of 2022.

An industry leader in Fintech segment, BharatPe is facilitating gold loan at an extremely competitive interest rate of 0.39% per month. The loan application process is fully digital and the loan is disbursed within 30 minutes of completion of the assessment process. Merchants can see the best offer for them and apply for a gold loan via the BharatPe app. The company is providing doorstep as well as branch collection facility, in partnership with NBFC partners. The merchants can take loans for a duration of 6, 9 and 12 months and have an option to repay the loan via Easy Daily Instalments (EDI). BharatPe will also be launching the EMI option for repayment shortly. The QR code-enabled product offering makes gold loan application easy, with minimal paperwork.

Speaking on the launch of gold loan, Mr. Suhail Sameer, CEO, BharatPe said, “Credit gap is one of the biggest roadblocks in the growth journey of offline retailers. Over the last couple of years, we have been aggressively focussing on solving this by facilitating unsecured loans in partnership with NBFCs. We have been able to facilitate disbursals of over Rs. 3000 crores to 3 lac merchant partners. With Gold loan, we have ventured into the big-ticket, secured loan category. Gold loan will enable us to further empower our merchant partners and positively impact millions of small businesses. We had conducted a pilot for the product for 2 months and the response has been very encouraging. We facilitated disbursals of Rs. 10 crores during the pilot phase. We are confident that with our lucrative gold loan product that is available at competitive interest rate, industry-best disbursal rate and with the option to pay via EDI, we will be able to facilitate gold loan disbursals of Rs. 500 crores by the end of the year.”

BharatPe has been facilitating unsecured loans of up to Rs. 7 lacs, to offline merchants and kirana store owners. The company offers collateral-free loans for 3/6 and 12-months duration. The loan application process is 100% digital and the merchants can pay via Easy Daily Instalments (EDIs). The company emerged as one of the largest B2B fintech lenders in the times of the pandemic in 2020. Recently, BharatPe announced that it has increased its network of POS business (BharatSwipe) by 25X to 250+ cities in the last 12 months. BharatPe has already deployed over 1.25 lakh BharatSwipe machines across offline shops. Achieving this rare feat in a short span of close to 1.5 years, BharatPe has scripted history as the fastest-ever scale-up on POS business in India.

Vi Brings Gaming For Its Customers, In Association With Nazara Technologies

* Vi Games Offers 1200+ Android & HTML5 based mobile games across 10 genres, on Vi app

Leading telecom service provider, Vodafone Idea Limited today launched a new proposition for gaming enthusiasts in India - Vi Games on the Vi App - in partnership with Nazara Technologies Limited (BSE: 543280) (NSE: NAZARA), an India based diversified gaming and sports media company. Through this deep-integrated association, Vi customers will get access to a wide range of gaming content including popular game titles from various franchises in India on its gaming platform - Vi Games. 

Vi Games on the Vi App offers an immersive gaming experience with 1200+ android and HTML5 based mobile games across 10 popular genres like - Action, Adventure, Arcade, Casual, Education, Fun, Puzzle, Racing, Sports and Strategy.

Gaming is one of the biggest segment amongst the entertainment category, estimated to cross 500 Mn users within 2022 in India, as per a FICCI-EY report. It is the most popular choice for fun and relaxation by Indian consumers and is expected to garner even higher share in the time and money spent by users over next few years.

A report ‘Digital Reset: Touching a billion Indians’ by Deloitte and CII indicated that the national average time spent by Indian consumers on online gaming is over 4 hours.

Inviting Vi customers to enjoy seamless gaming through Vi Games, Avneesh Khosla, Chief Marketing Officer, Vodafone Idea, said “We are seeing a significant uptake of gaming consumption in India with more than 95% of gaming enthusiasts using the mobile device to enjoy a wide variety of content. Deeper penetration of smartphones and 4G availability has led to meteoric growth and adoption of gaming content making it a popular choice for fun and entertainment. We see gaming as a major focus area of  our digital content strategy and we intend to build a comprehensive play encompassing most facets of gaming with the aim of establishing Vi as a preferred destination for both, casual as well as serious gamers. Our partnership with Nazara Technologies will elevate the gaming experience that we offer to our consumers through a wide bouquet of exclusive games available on the Vi app for our users.”

The Vi Games proposition will initially have casual gaming content and gradually be developed to host social gaming and even eSports in the future.

“Gaming is not only the future of entertainment in India but already a key mode of entertainment for hundreds of millions of Indians playing games on their mobile phones every day. Nazara is delighted to work with Vi to bring our entire portfolio of gaming content, esports and interactive entertainment to their larger user base” said Nitish Mittersain, Founder & Group MD, Nazara Technologies Limited.

Vi Games has gaming content into 3 categories - Platinum Games, Gold Games and Free Games, on the Vi App.

1.      Gold Games will form the largest base of the content library. Vi users can access these games through a Gold Pass offering 30 games for just Rs 50 for postpaid and Rs 56 for prepaid, with a validity of 30 days.

Post-paid users with Rs. 499 and above plans will be offered 5 free gold games every month.

2.      The Platinum Games will be available on pay per download basis through a Platinum Pass priced at Rs. 25 for postpaid and Rs. 26 for prepaid

3.      Vi Games will also host 250+ free games on the platform for all Vi customers.

Eye Care Tips For Students During Examinations Summer Months

By Dr. Shibu Varkey, MS, DNB, DO, FRCS (UK) Regional Medical Director, MaxiVision Eye Hospitals

Examination season is again around the corner, students preparing for 10th, 12th and various entrance exams are in a feverish pitch of activity. So, a few suggestions on how to take care of eyes during this period are certainly in order

1.      Sleep deficiency: A minimum of 7 hours of sleep is essential to maintain good health for the eyes as well as the whole body and mind, sleep deficiency leads to eye problems like recurrent styes (eye boils), which causes pain and swelling of the eyelid and results in loss of study time.

# plan and manage study time to get enough sleep

2.     Dietary deficiency: Students tend to skip meals or depend on fast foods, nutritional deficiencies tend to cause fatigue and loss of concentration and again affects the eyes with blepharitis, dry eyes and eyelid infections # eat balanced healthy meals at regular intervals. Foods rich in vitamins A, D,E, B complex, minerals and Omega 3 are essential for students preparing for exams.

3.      Dehydration: Due to intensity of studies, some students forget to drink enough water and fluids, this results in dehydration and frequent headaches, inability to focus and tired eyes.

# Drink atleast 3 to 3.75 litres of fluids per day.

4.     Postural problems: Bad posture affects the neck, shoulders, lower back and the eyes, especially in students who have poor eye muscle balance and astigmatism.

# study, preferably, in sitting posture with feet firmly on the ground arms and shoulders well supported and book at least 20 inches from the eye, book kept at 60 degrees. Take short breaks to stretch.

5.     Duration of study: The stress on eye muscles when studying for 8 hours is equal to the stress on leg muscles from running 50 to 60 kms. So studying without rest for 10 to 12 hours causes intense pressure on eye muscles and has now been shown to be related to development of myopia (glass power), spasm of eye muscles, eye strain, inability to focus the eyes, eye pain and severe headaches.

# take short breaks every 30 minutes and look at far objects for 10 seconds to relax the eye muscles.

6.     Digital Eye Strain: Earlier known as Computer Vision syndrome, is very common among students nowadays. Redness, irritation, foreign body sensation in the eye are leading symptoms. When computers or smartphones are used for long durations of time the tears in the eye gradually evaporate. Normally a person blinks about 20 times in a minute but during computer and mobile phone use, the blink rate decreases to once or twice in a minute.

This reduces the replenishment of the evaporated tears and causes dry eye syndrome.

Air conditioning also removes moisture from the skin and eyes and leads to dryness.

# Students who use computers and mobile phones must be careful to follow the 20 20 20 20 rule.

#Hold the device 20 inches from the eye.

#take a break of 20 seconds every 20 minutes

#look at any object 20 feet away.

#blink 20 times every minute

#Air conditioning should be frequently switched off and should never blow directly on to face.

WaterScience CLEO ABS Kiddo Handheld Shower Bath Filter For Hard Water Softening & Chlorine- Frog Fits, Pig Fits And Ducky

DUAL FILTRATION - Kiddo Hand Shower Filter protects your child’s hair & skin from hard water, chlorine and sediments with a unique filtration system to give double protection from irritants in their bath.

FUN SHOWERHEADS - Make your toddler's bath more fun with the hand shower heads in fun animal variations- Froggy, Piggy and Ducky. Choose your kid’s favourite animal.

EASY INSTALLATION - The Kiddo hand shower can be easily installed by fixing the Shower Filter to mixer tap or a regular tap. Plumber may be needed to install the bracket to hold the Animal handheld shower.

ONE SIZE FITS ALL - The Kiddo Shower Filter can be used on standard taps and mixers measuring 22mm, 24mm & 28mm. Use the connectors for an easy setup.

Price- INR 2995

Kiddo shower filters are available on Amazon and waterscience.in

Link-https://www.amazon.in/WaterScience-CLEO-Softening-Accessories-Municipal/dp/B09NXPR22F/ref=sr_1_5?crid=25B685N3IJNB9&keywords=waterscience+cleo+abs+kiddo&qid=1645427047&sprefix=waterscience+cleo+abs+kiddo%2Caps%2C216&sr=8-5

Airtel’s Self Optimising Network Solution Wins The Innovative Mobile Service And Application Award At GTI Awards 2022

Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), India’s premier communications solutions provider, today said that its A-SON (Self Optimising Network) solution has won the Innovative Mobile Service and Application honour at the prestigious GTI Awards 2022.

A-SON has been fully developed by Airtel’s in-house network and digital engineering teams for proactive auto optimization of mobile networks, especially TDD (1800 MHz) to ensure that Airtel customers enjoy world-class high-speed data and voice experience. The solution has been deployed by Airtel across its mobile network operations. The innovation is future ready to address similar and new challenges in the 5G domain.

Commenting on the win, Randeep Sekhon, Network Director, Bharti Airtel said, “We are obsessed with delivering best-in-class experience to our customers. A-SON is yet another solution from our innovation factory to ensure our network teams are able to predict network issues ahead of time and deliver seamless connectivity round the clock. This honour from GTI is another endorsement of our efforts.”

GTI is an influential international cooperation platform in the telecommunications industry. The GTI Awards recognize outstanding contributions in 4G and 5G, and innovative businesses and services. The awards also aim to encourage innovative products, solutions and applications that address the challenges faced by its operator members, as well as contributions to the industry and the GTI.

Founded in 2011, GTI counts 139 operators as well as 247 key vendors from around the world in its membership. In 2016, GTI 2.0 was officially launched aiming to further promote 4G evolution, promote 5G development and cross-industry innovation.

About Airtel

Headquartered in India, Airtel is a global communications solutions provider with over 480 Mn customers in 16 countries across South Asia and Africa. The company ranks amongst the top three mobile operators globally and its networks cover over two billion people. Airtel is India’s largest integrated communications solutions provider and the second largest mobile operator in Africa. Airtel’s retail portfolio includes high speed 4G/4.5G mobile broadband, Airtel Xstream Fiber that promises speeds up to 1 Gbps with convergence across linear and on-demand entertainment, streaming services spanning music and video, digital payments and financial services. For enterprise customers, Airtel offers a gamut of solutions that includes secure connectivity, cloud and data centre services, cyber security, IoT, Ad Tech and cloud based communication. For more details visit www.airtel.com

70% Of Architects Say Consumers Today Are More Actively Considering Both Design And Safety For Their Homes

Ahead of the very first edition of the ‘GeeVees Awards’, Godrej Locks & Architectural Fittings and Systems, a business unit of Godrej & Boyce conglomerate, released the findings of a survey conducted with a niche set of architects and interior designers across the country.

The aim of this survey was to gain an insight from Architects and Interior Designers on how their clientele/consumers look at home safety.  The survey revealed that 77% of architects have found that people who stay in single family homes today are more concerned about home safety and security features. The survey also gave a glimpse into the consumer mindset present in urban versus rural markets. For example, over 63 % of the respondents said that people in larger cities are more serious about home safety and security whereas 25% felt that clients in tier II cities were serious about home safety. This indicates, that people living in metro/tier I cities are more consciously investing in home safety solutions as compared to tier 2 cities.

Further highlighting the emphasis on home security, over 36 % of these architects and interior design community said that their customers aged between 35 to 44, are particularly concerned about property security, personal and family safety. This younger age group is where architects majorly see customers proactively implementing solutions against theft or unauthorised entry. They are also keener to include conscious designs into their home architecture.

The survey aptly also shows that the concerns among citizens has resulted in increased demand for conscious designs and architecture in terms of safety and security while making home buying decisions. 70 % of the architects say that their clients like to consider both physical and digital components, such as locks, doors, and technology. Additionally, as a result of the pandemic, there has been an increase in concern for safety and cleanliness, with a staggering 79 % of consumers expressing interest in employing features such as contactless and secure entrance door access while keeping health concerns in mind.

While giving us intriguing insights, this survey only reinstates what the GLAFS team already considers while designing and innovating products for their consumers. The study will furthermore add value to their process of developing more sustainable and conscious ideas in building their products and services.

Commenting on the research report, Shyam Motwani, Executive Vice-President and Business Head, Godrej Locks & Architectural Fittings and Systems, said, “Architects and interior designers have a key role in ensuring that the earth is both sustainable and secure for future generations. With that in mind, we wanted to conduct this small study with a group of respected architects and interior designers to understand their own expertise and through them get a glimpse into understanding the consumers, i.e. today’s home owners and buyers. The insights show that people have been thinking of design and safety together and are more conscious about all elements in their home, to what is most sustainable, to what is best for personal safety.”

He further added, “By focusing on conscious design at 'The GeeVees,' we hope to bring together architects, interior designers, builders, developers, PMCs, and other connected members of the fraternity to set the standard for the country's future design.”

The ‘GeeVees Awards’, which will be held on 19th March will be held in association with the Festival of Architecture and Interior Design (FOAID), an industry recognition platform dedicated to celebrating the most innovative and conscious ideas in architecture and interior design.

About the survey

Godrej Locks & Architectural Fittings and Systems conducted this survey with a niche group of architects and interior design community, from throughout India. It elicited their opinions on customer desires, ranging from environmental effect and conscientious design to home safety and security elements.

About Godrej Locks & Architectural Fittings and Systems: 

Godrej Locks is a 123-year-old leading manufacturer of innovative locking devices. Since its inception in 1897 by Ardeshir Godrej, the name ‘Godrej’ has become synonymous with trust, protection and integrity. From the first Anchor branded lock in 1897 to the first ever spring less lock in 1907, to the iconic 'Nav-Tal' in 1954, and to the postmodern biometric locks, Godrej has set every benchmark in the locks industry. Over the years, Godrej Locks and Architectural Hardware & Fittings have changed in form, function and scope of application. But one thing still remains the same – the solid stamp of trust and reliability. Godrej Locks adhere to global quality norms and hold ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certifications.

Beyond Locking solutions, the brand also caters to Architectural Fittings, creating innovative, premium, comprehensive hardware solutions. The range which consists of door, furniture and glass fittings has been designed to fit perfectly into today’s hi-tech residential and commercial establishments. Most products caters to needs for safety, privacy, fire & smoke checks and energy saving with ease. These devices meet international quality standards like UL Rating, EN Rating, CE Certification and fire-rated.

The Kitchen Fittings by Godrej Locks & Architectural Fittings and Systems includes SKIDO, i.e. Smart Kitchen Drawers & Organisers - an innovative range of smart kitchen storage solutions, designed in India to meet the unique requirements of the Indian Kitchen. The Godrej Cartini range of knives- showcase cutting-edge design, a fine quality blade and the highest level of durability. These premium kitchen and hobby equipment range are also made in India, to suit home and professional needs.

The brand has come a long way in delivering world-class smart locking solutions. For more information, log on to https://www.godrej.com/godrej-locking-solutions-and-systems

Godrej Locks is a business unit of? Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd

Godrej Interio Wins ‘India’s Most Trusted Retail Furniture Brand 2022’ In TRA Research Report

* Wins prestigious crown of ‘India’s Most Trusted Retail Furniture Brand -2022’ in ‘Furniture Retail category 

Godrej & Boyce, the flagship company of the Godrej Group, announced that its business Godrej Interio, India’s leading brand in home and institutional segments has been conferred India’s Most Trusted Brand Award 2022 by Trust Research Advisory under the ‘Furniture Retail’ category. The brands that appear in the Most Trusted Brands report have been successful in creating an image in the minds of consumers related to high levels of quality, value, rarity, extraordinariness.

This award has been conferred upon Godrej Interio as a result of primary research based on the proprietary 10 behaviours of their brand trust matrix that have been studied and identified by TRA Research. This year’s research was conducted among 1617 consumer-influencers across 16 cities, 700 hours of fieldwork and generated nearly 3.5 lakh data points and 8,000 unique brand mentions, out of which the top 1000 brands have been listed in this year’s report. TRA’s Brand Trust matrix is a widely accepted brand model and it helps brand to understand how customers perceives them. TRA’s Brand Trust Report data provides invaluable consumer insights to leading Indian and global organizations, allowing them to enhance their brand’s scope and relevance in these fast-changing times.

Commenting on the award, Anil Mathur, Chief Operating Officer, Godrej Interio said “We are honoured to have received the title of ‘India’s Most Trusted Brand 2022’ in the latest TRA Research Report. Last year, we also earned the title of India’s Most Desired Brand, and these recognitions only reflect our commitment towards making our customer’s experiences brighter and better. Since our inception, Godrej Interio has always strived to deliver the best of products and services to our customers. We will continue to innovate and build on the trust earned, in the years to come.”

Commenting on the report N. Chandramouli, CEO, TRA Research, said "Trust only develops when the result of the interaction is perceived as highly beneficial to the consumer. With work from home becoming a constant, furniture has become an essential item in the household. In being ranked as India's Most Trusted Furniture Brand, Godrej Interio has displayed that it understands their customers and caters to their needs effectively".

About TRA Research

TRA (formerly Trust Research Advisory), a part of the Comniscient Group, is a Brand Intelligence and Data Insights Company dedicated to understand and analyze stakeholder behavior through 2 globally acclaimed, proprietary matrices of Brand Trust and Brand Attractiveness. Over a decade of research has helped us decipher the numerous characteristics that constitute the foundations of a brand. TRA conducts a primary research with consumers and stakeholders to assist brands with their business decisions based on our insights on Consumer Behavior. We provide Competitive Intelligence Reports mined from more than 15 million data-points on brand intangibles of 20,000 brands and also custom-made studies for the same. TRA is also the publisher of 'The Brand Trust Report' and of 'India's Most Attractive Brands'. We have also ventured into mapping Educational Institutes on a much needed factor of trust, based on our Brand Trust Matrix. India's Most Attractive Brands 2015, the second in its series has been recently launched.

About Godrej Interio:

Godrej Interio (GI) is India’s premium furniture brand in both home and institutional segments with a strong commitment to sustainability and centers of excellence in design, manufacturing and retail.

Led by the largest in-house design team in the country in the furniture category and awarded with 34 India Design Mark Awards till date, GI aims to transform spaces with its thoughtfully designed furniture to create brighter homes and offices with products that have the highest design quotient in aesthetics, functionality and technology. With consistent pursuit of excellence and a special focus on health and ergonomics, GI’s product portfolio comprises a massive range.

Today, we design and manufacture furniture for office spaces, homes, educational institutes, healthcare facilities, laboratories and more. Along with furniture we offer Audio Visual and 360 Degree Turnkey solutions. Each of our product range revolves around comfort and aesthetics while delivering well-designed, fun and functional furniture solutions. Briefly, Godrej Interio transforms dream spaces to life!

Godrej Interio has 7 manufacturing facilities situated at Mumbai, Khalapur, Haridwar, Shirwal, and Bhagwanpur. GI’s Shirwal Plant is Green Co Platinum Certified, and Mumbai Plants are Green Co Gold Certified. GI is widely known for its comprehensive sustainability certifications for its products in furniture category.

GI commitment to the environment has resulted in manufacturing products with lesser environment footprint. Our pioneering efforts include designing less environment burdening products, usage of eco-friendly materials and setting up less polluting and consuming processes, ensuring eco-friendly packaging and transportation and finally the extended responsibility of recycling/reuse of used furniture and scrap, thus ensuring a lifecycle approach to green. GI has the widest range of green choices for our customers which not only includes products but also services such as green interiors and recycling.

Currently present in over 650 cities with 250 exclusive showrooms and 800 dealers, GI is one of the largest divisions of Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd., part of the Godrej Group, one of India's largest engineering and customer product groups.

The brand boasts of noteworthy awards received so far- CII Exim Bank Award for Business Excellence 2016, Superbrands 2017-18, Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Brand 2018 Gold (Home Furniture and Modular Kitchen), TRA’s India’s Most Consumer focused brand 2019, GreenCo Star Performer Award 2019, National Energy Leader Award at CII National Award for Excellence in Energy Management 2018.

For further information,  visit https://www.godrejinterio.com/