Housing Demand Rises 4.6% QoQ iIn Q1, 2022; Supply Remains Stable, Reveals Magicbricks PropIndex Report

* Mumbai (15.2%), Gurugram (9.6%), Noida (8.2%) and Delhi (5.6%) have witnessed highest QoQ growth in demand.

* Pan-India prices increased 1.3% QoQ & 6.4% YoY; reflecting resilience of the housing markets vis-a-vi other real estate assets

Recovering from the pandemic-induced slowdown, the residential real-estate industry demonstrated inherent strength in Q1’ 2022, with pan India housing demand rising 4.6% QoQ and 6.7% YoY, reveals Magicbricks’ latest PropIndex Report for Q1’ 2022. Mapping trends in 13 cities across the country, the report highlights that Mumbai (15.2%), Gurugram (9.6%), Noida (8.2%) and Delhi (5.6%) witnessed highest QoQ growth in demand while Greater Noida (6.0%), Mumbai (3.8%), Ahmedabad (3.2%), and Chennai (2.9%) exhibited maximum QoQ growth in supply. The report also shares that delivery, size, location, connectivity and amenities are significant deciding factors for homebuyers and homes located in gated communities with health and security facilities have emerged as most preferred.

Elaborating on the same, Sudhir Pai, CEO, Magicbricks commented, “Increasing project completions, attractive offers from developers, supportive policies and improving employment opportunities have boosted buyer-confidence in the real-estate industry. While the present geopolitical situation is impacting the supply chain and input costs, we expect the momentum gained thus far to continue across demand and supply backed by new launches tailored to the evolving needs of consumers and all-time low home loan interest rates. In each of the cities mapped, the peripheral areas continue to be hotspots of demand driven by infrastructure development. These trends signal optimism and a stable outlook for the industry for the coming quarters.”

Market specific take-aways from Magicbricks’ Propindex Report Q1’ 2022:

1. Bengaluru’s housing demand increased 3.7% QoQ. There was continued preference for bigger homes; 2BHK and 3BHK constituted 79% of the total demand and 81% of the total supply.

2. Chennai’s residential market is driven by demand in affordable localities, which accounted for 68% of total demand. The supply witnessed a growth of 2.9% QoQ and is likely to continue increasing in the coming quarters with new project launches, indicating a healthy outlook.

3. Delhi's housing demand grew 5.6% QoQ while the average price increased 0.4% QoQ. The residential market was dominated by 3BHK and above configurations that constituted 64% of the demand. In Noida and Greater Noida, the aggregate demand for residential markets witnessed a 6.8% QoQ growth, whereas supply increased 0.2% QoQ and average prices increased 2.1% QoQ.

4. Demand in Mumbai's residential market increased 15.2% QoQ. New residential launches increased the supply by 3.8% QoQ; while average prices increased 1.4% QoQ. The demand and supply for 2BHK configuration constituted 40% and 42% respectively in Q1’ 2022.

5. Pune’s housing demand and supply observed a QoQ increase of 3.9% and 2.2%, respectively. Home buyers are inclined towards 2BHK configuration; 2 and 3 BHK units commanded the bulk of the demand with a combined share of 78%. 

The report further predicts an onward trajectory for 2022 due to external stimuli such as digitisation of land records, increased allocation of INR 48,000 crores under PM Awas Yojna and PM Gati Shakti, that are expected to further strengthen infrastructure and boost investments in the real estate sector.

About Magicbricks: India's no 1 property site

As the largest platform for buyers and sellers of property to connect in a transparent manner, Magicbricks has monthly traffic exceeding 2 crores and an active base of over 15 lakh property listings. Magicbricks has metamorphosed into a full stack service provider for all real estate needs, with 15+ services including home loans, pay rent, movers and packers, legal assistance, property valuation, and expert advice.

With 15+ years of experience and deep research-based knowledge, Magicbricks also presents a repertoire of insight-driven platforms like MBTV- India’s leading online real estate YouTube channel, and other proprietary tools so that home buyers can access all information related to price trends and forecasts, locality reviews and more.

Kids Back To School? Here’s How You Can Rebuild Their Immunity And Encourage Healthy Growth

* Attributed to Dr. Ganesh Kadhe, Associate Director, Nutrition Medical and Scientific Affairs, Abbott

The pandemic kept most kids restricted to virtual classrooms for close to two years. Lack of physical activity, increased screen time and unhealthy dietary habits have had immense impact on the physical, mental and social development of children. Additionally, kids are prone to ‘immunity debt’ as a result of not being exposed to the outside world, which causes a slower and inadequate development of the body's defence system, eventually leading to negative consequences when one returns to normal life.

With restrictions now easing up and schools reopening, students are all set to flock back, meet their friends and indulge in much needed physical playtime as well as social interaction. While parents are relieved to see their kids slowly resume normal life, there is understandably an element of anxiousness. The biggest question in their minds is on how strong their child’s immunity is at present since kids in school are bound to be surrounded by their friends and teachers — and germs.

Here comes the importance of nutrition in building the immune system in addition to aiding proper growth and overall development of a child.

The lack of a sufficient, varied, and nutritious diet can affect the cognitive development of a child, interfere with learning, and weaken their immune system.   

There are
several key nutrients that play a part in regulating, building, and strengthening the body’s immune system and promoting healthy growth in kids. These nutrients are found in foods like lean protein, fruits, vegetables, dairy, legumes, nuts, and grains. Parents should consider adding it in daily breakfast or lunch

Vitamin C: An essential vitamin that is produced in the body, it is abundantly found in many food groups. Fruits like oranges & lemons are a great source of vitamin C; so are vegetables likes broccoli, cauliflower, and peppers

Vitamin E: A key antioxidant that helps keep the nervous system healthy and it is important nutrient that supports cell development. Moderately required in the children, Vitamin E can be found in vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, leafy & green vegetables

Selenium: An important mineral that is essential for health functioning of the body and ensuring healthy cells. It is a great antioxidant and is usually found in abundance in vegetables. Foods like Beans, mushrooms, and sunflower seeds are great source of this mineral. It is also found in poultry and certain seafood

Arginine: This is an important amino acid that plays a key role in growth by promoting the multiplication of cells in the growth plate of the bones to help them grow faster when there is a delay in growth. Sources of Arginine are dairy products, non- veg foods, nuts etc.

Vitamin K2: An important micronutrient that helps to transport calcium in the bones and ultimately helps build stronger bones.  It is found in fermented foods, dairy, eggs, and meat

Zinc: An important nutrient for growth and immune system, it can be found in lean meat, poultry, seafood, milk, whole grain products, beans, seeds, and nuts

Iron: A mineral that our bodies need for many functions as it helps muscles store and use oxygen. It is found in dark green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, legumes, pumpkin seeds, eggs, meat

Iodine: Iodine is a mineral the body needs to make thyroid hormones which control the body's metabolism and many other important functions. It is found in sea food and iodized salts

Parents should focus on protecting children by providing healthy nutrition to strengthen immunity and optimize physical, cognitive, and social development. Feeding a child, a nutritious, balanced diet, which is beneficial for their holistic development and growth is easier said than done. This is especially true when parents are confronted with fussy eating that limits a child’s nutritional intake. Getting innovative with mealtimes and introducing fun, gamified ways to get your kids to eat their veggies and greens and pulses is something most parents struggle with on a daily basis. In such scenarios, it is recommended to opt for a health food drink/supplement that offers key macro and micronutrients that aid growth and build immunity in toddlers. One such solution is science-based childhood nutrition supplement PediaSure that offers a complete and balanced nutrition solution with 37 nutrients and is clinically proven to bring visible growth to children in 90 days.[1]

OPPO F21 Pro Sets A New Benchmark In Smartphone Photography With The Segment-First, Flagship Sony IMX709 Selfie Sensor

* The flaunt-worthy F21 Pro also comes with AI Portrait Enhancement and segment-first microlens

Leading global smart-device brand, OPPO will launch its F21 Pro Series and OPPO’s Enco Air2 Pro on 12th April 2022.

The OPPO F21 Pro will feature the Flagship Sony IMX709 RGBW (red, blue, green, white) selfie sensor that is 60% more sensitive to light and reduces noise by 35% when compared to the previous generation IMX615 RGB sensor. It allows users to capture crisp, clear and evenly-exposed photos. With OPPO’s Quadra Binning algorithm, two W pixels are added to each R, G, and B pixel so that the sensor can detect red, green, blue, and white signals. This boosts light intake without reducing colour information, improves cross-platform compatibility and image processing efficiency. OPPO’s imaging R&D team designed the IMX709 using the 22nm process to consume lesser power than any other flagship front camera image sensor.

The F21 Pro also features an advanced AI Portrait Enhancement feature that is a solution to the problems that customers face in front and rear portrait shooting. It can differentiate between beauty spots and skin blemishes and identify subjects—based on ethnicity, gender and age—to offer personalised and natural face retouching.

OPPO has introduced a 2MP microlens on OPPO F21 Pro—with support for 15x/30x magnification—that allows you to explore textures, colours, shapes and sizes at a microscopic level. The inclusion of the microlens involved more than simply making room for an additional lens on the phone: At the structural level, OPPO installed the microlens module on the back cover instead of mounting it on the motherboard. OPPO also added a new Orbit Light around the microlens for illumination as the short focal length of this lens required the phone to be very close to the objects that are photographed.

Thanks to the ingenuity of OPPO’s engineers, the device delivers high image versatility, level of quality, and attention to microscopic detail. The design of the Microlens and Orbit Light matches the design aesthetic of the OPPO F21 Pro while it delivers on performance.

OPPO Enco Air2 Pro: This new TWS, launching alongside the F21 Pro series, will feature a 12.4mm titanized diaphragm driver, wide sound fields, potent bass, crystal-clear vocals and active noise cancellation which is capable of capturing and cancelling out ambient noise at various frequencies.

The OPPO Enco Air2 Pro adopts a dual-layer, transparent bubble design with a refractive top cover that adds a unique touch of translucent lightness.

About OPPO Mobiles India Private Limited

OPPO is a leading global smart device brand. Since the launch of its first mobile phone “Smiley Face” in 2008, OPPO has been in relentless pursuit of the perfect synergy of aesthetic satisfaction and innovative technology. Today, OPPO provides a wide range of smart devices spearheaded by the Find and Reno series. Beyond devices, OPPO provides its users with the ColorOS operating system and internet services like OPPO Cloud and OPPO+. OPPO operates in more than 50 countries and regions where more than 40,000 OPPO's employees are dedicated to creating a better life for customers around the world. 

Information Technology: Q4FY22 Preview: Seasonal Moderation In Growth Momentum; Margins To Remain Under Pressure

* We expect healthy revenue growth momentum to continue on the back of a broad-based demand environment, albeit seasonal factors should weigh on QoQ growth. We expect USD revenue growth of 0.9-4.9% QoQ (1.2-5.2% CC) for Tier-1 IT services companies. Tier-2 IT services companies are expected to grow in the range of 3.6-7.6% CC QoQ.

*  Except for COFORGE, MPHL and ECLX, EBITM is expected to remain flat- to lower sequentially due to higher backfilling costs amid a tight labor market, increase in travel and other discretionary costs with the easing of travel restrictions, and back-to-office trends.

*  We expect INFO to guide 12-15% CC YoY revenue growth with 22-24% EBITM for FY23. HCLT is likely to guide for double-digit revenue growth while lowering EBITM guidance range to 18-20%. Wipro should guide for 2-4% CC QoQ revenue growth for Q1FY23.

* After significant outperformance in H1FY22, the Nifty IT index return came in line with the broader markets in H2FY22. We believe continued revenue growth momentum with stable margins is required to sustain current valuations. Our pecking order is INFO, WPRO, HCLT, TECHM, and TCS among Tier-1 names, and MPHL, ROUTE, BSOFT, ECLX, FSOL and PSYS in mid-caps.

Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. Elevates Anuj Jain As Managing Director

* He succeeds Mr. H M Bharuka who was the Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Kansai Nerolac Paints 

 * Mr. Jain will be responsible for steering the next phase of the company’s growth and bolstering the brand’s presence in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh. 

Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd (KNPL) has elevated Mr. Anuj Jain as Managing Director, Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. He succeeds Mr. H M Bharuka, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Kansai Nerolac Paints who has been spearheading the company for the last 21 years.  

In his tenure spanning over 30 years at Kansai Nerolac Paints, Mr. Anuj Jain has worked in various capacities and played a pivotal role in driving growth organically and inorganically along with business excellence. Mr. Jain commenced his journey with Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. in 1990 as a management trainee. He worked with the decorative sales function covering various markets in the North and South regions of India. Being recognized for his noteworthy contribution and expertise in marketing, he rose the ranks to take over as Vice-President, Decorative Marketing & Sales in 2003. Subsequently, he was promoted to Director, Decorative for Kansai Nerolac Paints in 2010. He has been serving as Executive Director in charge of the Sales & Marketing, Manufacturing, Technical & Human Resources functions since 2018.   

Commenting on his appointment Mr. Anuj Jain, Managing Director, Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd said “I express my heartful gratitude to the Board and Kansai Paints Japan for entrusting me with this enormous responsibility and for their unstinted support, rendered during my tenure as the Executive Director. I look forward to strengthening the company’s position and taking it to greater heights with the support of our Nerolac family. The focus on innovations to grow our business is in sync with our plans to establish Nerolac as a ‘Paint+’ brand. Backed by our principal Kansai Paints Japan and the technological prowess we have built in India, we will continue to provide superior, sustainable solutions to our customers.” 

About Kansai Nerolac Paints Limited: 

With a rich heritage of over 100 years in the paint industry, Kansai Nerolac Paints is one of the largest paint companies in India and the leader in industrial segment. A wholly owned subsidiary of Kansai Paint Co. Ltd., Japan, which is among the Top 10 companies worldwide, Kansai Nerolac manufactures a diversified range of products ranging from decorative paint coatings for homes, offices, hospitals and hotels to sophisticated industrial coatings for industries. Kansai Nerolac has established itself as a leader in product innovation with its initiatives including no added lead, low VOC and HD finishes with brands like Excel, Suraksha, Impressions, etc. Its product portfolio and customer awareness campaigns promote environmental sensitivity. www.nerolac.com 

3i Infotech Provides Oracle Cloud Customers In US With Next-Gen Secured Desktop-As-A-Service

3i Infotech, a leading provider of IT solutions and advisory, and a member of Oracle Partner Network (OPN), today announced that its desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) product, NuRe Desk has achieved ‘Powered by Oracle Cloud Expertise’ status. NuRe Desk is now available in the Oracle Cloud Marketplace for customers to access. NuRe Desk provides virtually seamless integration of the applications to the users from any device, while deployed on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). The solution provides DaaS for employees by delivering desktops, CRM & other applications - on premise, outsourced or remote work providing a no compromise work speed even with low bandwidth. 3i Infotech’s NuRe Desk also offers deep security that integrates with OCI’s data isolation, data security, internal threat detection, and highly automated threat remediation. 

Powered by Oracle Cloud, NuRe Desk offers OCI customers these additional benefits: 

Optimize cost: With the ‘pay as you go’ model, organizations reduce their total cost of ownership by up to 40% while increasing the agility and productivity of employees. 

BYOD or Work from Anywhere: Regardless of location, IT Managers can administer their entire fleet of devices. With NuRe Desk, users have the freedom to work from their own choice of device like tablets, PC or smart phones. As an MSP (Managed Service Provider), 3i Infotech provides a secured DaaS that can be connected with just a browser. 

End-to-end managed service: NuRe Desk can bring all the functions under a single console for the end-to-end service. The solution reduces the complexity which comes with virtual desktop and helps ensure better performance. This frees the IT team for focused tasks instead of having to manage the VDI environment and the various aspects involved making it a tedious process. 

Data Security Control and Customized security: NuRe Desk offers the solution to replace the thick Client based computing and thus reduces the time and efforts required for managing the OS and Windows vulnerabilities in end point devices. It replaces the traditional VPN method with zero-trust network access and helps prevent data from vulnerability. Based on the user requirement, access and security can be customized with features and policies, irrespective of the locations, devices used and end user. 

NuRe Desk is a simple, smart and secure solution for any industry or enterprise. Building the NuRe Desk DaaS solution on OCI was easier than it would have been with other providers. Some of 3i Infotech’s customers run on-premises infrastructure, which requires stretching the capacity of in-house resources. By moving the virtual desktop solution to OCI, these customers gain operational efficiency and more robust security. Oracle Cloud Guard provides a layer of security that is always running on 3i Infotech’s behalf and helps provide more comprehensive security. 

“Our partners are our key to success, and Oracle has been an integral part of this ecosystem for us. We identified a need among our customers to bring desktop virtualization as a SaaS offering and needed a trusted cloud technology infrastructure partner to deliver it seamlessly. We chose Oracle Cloud Infrastructure because its enhanced data management capabilities give customers operational efficiency, robust security, migration support, and manageable virtualization all together,” said Thompson P. Gnanam, Managing Director and Global CEO, 3i Infotech. 

“With digital transformation of enterprises at the core of what we do, we needed an able technology partner that could help deliver a differentiated value proposition to our customers at a global scale. In Oracle we found a strategic fit, as the company’s cloud lineage and expertise combined with 3i Infotech’s market know-how would pave the way for our synergistic growth in the coming years,” said Sax Krishna, Chief Growth Officer, 3i Infotech. 

"The cloud represents a huge opportunity for our partner community," said David Hicks, vice president, Worldwide ISV Cloud Business Development, Oracle. "We value 3i Infotech’s commitment to innovation with Oracle Cloud and quality execution to help our mutual customers receive cloud-enabled DaaS solutions ready to meet critical business needs." 

The Oracle Cloud Marketplace is a one-stop shop for Oracle customers seeking trusted business applications offering unique business solutions, including ones that extend Oracle Cloud Applications. Oracle Cloud is an enterprise cloud that delivers massive, non-variable performance and next generation security across a comprehensive portfolio of services including SaaS, application development, application hosting, and business analytics. Customers get access to leading compute, storage, data management, integration, security, HPC, artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain services to augment and modernize their critical workloads. Oracle Cloud runs Oracle Autonomous Database, the industry's first and only self-driving database. 

The Powered by Oracle Cloud Expertise achievement by an OPN member offers customers confidence that the partner's application is supported by the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure SLA, enabling full access and control over their cloud infrastructure services as well as consistent performance. 

Upstox Aims To Grow Indian Customer Base By 3x During FY23

This season, Upstox, as part of its multi-year partnership with Indian Premier League (IPL), launched a new campaign ‘Own Your Future’. The objective of the campaign is to promote financial inclusion in the country. The campaign aims to encourage young Indians to invest in the equity market, own assets that will grow over time, and control their financial future.

With over 9 million customers, Upstox is getting close to hitting another milestone in the company’s history by crossing 10 million customers. The ever increasing number of customers on the platform testifies that people across the country are actively choosing Upstox as their investment platform.

“Our exponential growth is proof that customers trust us and recognize the value of our cutting-edge technology and our hassle-free investment process. We are growing 3X year-on-year and we are anticipating the same growth of 3X by the end of FY23. We aim to have 200 - 300 million customers onboarded in the next four to five years. Upstox believes that wealth creation should be democratized, welcomed, and adopted by everyone in India and Upstox strives to play a significant role in enabling and empowering Indians in their financial investment journey.” said Kavitha Subramanian, Co-Founder, Upstox.

Upstox's current customer base is over 9 million, with investors from Tier 2 and 3 cities in India representing about 85% of the customer base. Over 80% are millennials. Nearly 70% are first-time investors. The company believes millennials are playing an active role in driving equity market participation in the country and thereby participating in India’s growth story. The millennial mindset is inclined towards experimentation and portfolio diversification and hence the company’s financial literacy efforts will continue  to scale up.

Upstox is set on the path to build a diverse suite of investment products for customers and become a trusted partner for all their investment needs, by catering to the specific needs of different segments. Upstox’s product, content and marketing will all be designed to expand into more regions, languages and use cases.

In order to be the financial platform of choice for Indians, the company will continue to innovate and  invest heavily in the new-age tech stack and features. Recently Upstox has integrated with WhatsApp for IPO application and demat account opening, and launched features such as Good-Till-Triggered (GTT) and instant withdrawal. Upstox is working on building a new version of their application that will transform the way its customers invest and make hassle-free investment decisions with the help of educational content. Upstox is set to build an on-the-go, simple, intuitive, and seamless experience for its users that helps to build their confidence in their investment decisions.

The company has been on an aggressive growth trajectory since the last few years. Partnering with IPL would further enable Upstox to capitalize on cricket craze to further strengthen the brand among younger demographics. The company expects that Tier 2 and 3 towns will lead the increasing equity participation in the country.