Nielsen’s Bharat 2.0 Study Reveals 45% Growth In Active Internet Users In Rural India Since 2019

* Female Active Internet Users grow by a whopping 61% since 2019 

Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics released its Bharat 2.0 Internet study. The study provides a detailed overview of the penetration of internet usage amongst all active internet users across India along with the trends in browsing on the internet.

The study reveals that India has 646 million active Internet users aged 2 years and above as on December 2021. Rural India registered a presence of 352 million internet users, which is almost 20% higher than urban. The study also revealed that almost 60% of the rural population is still not actively using the internet, paving headroom for further growth. Urban India on the other hand has registered a 59% penetration growth with 294 million active internet users.

How are we trending? A look at these numbers for users, 12 years and above

* As per the study, number of active Internet users is 592 million who are aged 12 years and above. Compared with 2019, active internet user base for 12 years and above has shown an impressive growth of ~37%.

* Rural users’ growth at 45% continues to outshine urban users’ growth at 28% over 2019.

*  Female users’ growth in last 2 years is a whopping 61% as compared to male users who grew at 24%.

* 1 in every 3 female internet users in rural are actively using the internet.

* Almost 90% access the internet on a daily basis. 50 years and above users too are active and are not left behind with 81% accessing it daily.

* Mobile phones have remained the key device for all internet usage across sectors.

“Availability of budget smartphones and affordable mobile data along with the Indian government’s efforts to strengthen the existing digital infrastructure through compelling initiatives such as Digital India and powered by one of the cheapest data prices in the world enabled by the Telecom companies, have led to enhanced and faster levels of internet adoption across the country”, said Dolly Jha, Managing Director, Nielsen India. “Nielsen’s Bharat 2.0 Study showcases a strong upsurge in the number of female active internet users across rural India, this coupled with rural India’s willingness to adopt technology at a faster pace”.

Other Trending Activities on the internet (for 12+ years):

Video Watching: While Social networking or chatting remains the top activity on the internet across India with 503 million active internet users, video watching and listening to online music are among the top 5 activities done on the internet. Close to 440 million users watch videos on the internet of which 54% are from rural India. The Male to Female split among active internet users is 60:40.

Online Shopping: Despite 56% of active internet users belonging to rural India, online shopping remains to be heavily dominated by its urban counterpart. 47% of the online shoppers are from NCCS A.

Online Banking and Digital Payments: Users of Online Banking and Digital Payments have been identified as urban, affluent users (from NCCS A) with 2/3rd of the users belonging to the age bracket of 20 to 39 years. While the usage is higher in urban areas, 46% of its users are from rural India. This activity is more common among males as the male to female divide is 69:31.

Methodology: Bharat 2.0 Study is designed to establish the Internet penetration and user profile for the country. The methodology is composed of face to face systematic stratified random survey across all states and town/villages. This was carried out from September 2021 to December 2021 covering ~110,000 household members across ~27,900 households

ABOUT NIELSEN

Nielsen shapes the world’s media and content as a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics. Through our understanding of people and their behaviours across all channels and platforms, we empower our clients with independent and actionable intelligence so they can connect and engage with their audiences—now and into the future.

An S&P 500 company, Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN) operates around the world in more than 55 countries. Learn more at www.nielsen.com or www.nielsen.com/investors and connect with us on social media.

RMZ Corp Achieves UL Verified Healthy Building Mark For Indoor Air

* RMZ Infinity now UL Verified has excellent indoor air quality performance

RMZ Corp, one of Asia’s largest privately-owned real estate owners, investors, and developers, announced today that they have achieved the UL Verified Healthy Building Mark for Indoor Air for their RMZ Infinity property in Bengaluru. This achievement is in line with RMZ Corp’s commitment to incorporating high environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards across its operations. RMZ Infinity, a 1.21 million-square-foot office space, is designed to accommodate a modern, high-density office environment with futuristic architecture that is both flexible for tenant fit-outs and technologically smart. The property has been evaluated to rigorous indoor air quality (IAQ) standards and guidelines and has plans for the advancement of IAQ in the future.

To earn the UL Verified Healthy Building Mark, RMZ Corp participated in a thorough evaluation process that included an audit, on-site inspections, visual inspection and IAQ testing, among other assessments like measurement of total volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, ozone, and a mold and moisture inspection. The program includes an annual reassessment coupled with surveillance at the midyear point to maintain the verification.

“We feel proud to receive the UL Verified Healthy Building Mark for Indoor Air for RMZ Infinity, Bengaluru. The recognition is of great importance for our communities and a milestone to providing indoor environments that support occupant health and wellness. This is one of the many ways that UL can help building owners, property managers and corporations earn trust from their tenants and employees. We constantly seek to enhance our focus areas to further contribute to our society and environment,” Thirumal Govindraj, Senior Managing Director & Member of the Executive Board, RMZ Corp, stated. 

One of the most respected names in safety, security and sustainability in buildings, safety science leader UL developed this program to provide credible, third-party verification for evaluating buildings against rigorous IAQ standards and guidelines. The UL Verified Healthy Building program can verify marketing claims in five areas: indoor air quality, water quality, building hygiene, lighting and acoustics before re-occupancy following an extended period of vacancy, such as during the coronavirus outbreak. The program also helps communicate a positive message by differentiating indoor spaces with Verified occupant health and well-being marketing claims. 

“By earning the UL Verified Healthy Building Mark, RMZ Corp has taken an important step in advancing indoor air quality. This is a critically important effort as stakeholders from investors to tenants and regulatory bodies prioritize sustainability and wellness in buildings.” said Sean McCrady, director, of Assets and Sustainability, Real Estate and Properties at UL.

The tiered UL Verified Healthy Building program verifies that an indoor space achieves exceptional indoor environmental performance based on a range of criteria. For more information about the program, visit https://www.UL.com/services/verified-healthy-buildings. For more information about the RMZ Infinity building, visit  https://www.rmzcorp.com/our-spaces/bengaluru/rmz-infinity/.

About RMZ Corp

The company’s Massive Transformative Purpose is to imagine, create and transform for the future. They own and operate a real asset portfolio of 67 million square feet and are poised to grow to 350 million square feet of assets by 2032. They are amongst the only zero-debt real estate companies globally. Their innovative approach to developing and managing real estate invariably raises the industry’s bar for quality and sustainability. By taking a leap of faith and adapting to, and indeed embracing the digital universe, they are driving a sustained transformation program to deliver superior real assets with elevated member experiences.

RMZ currently owns US$12 billion worth of real assets that are operational and under development. The organization plans to diversify into new asset classes, such as Industrial, Logistics and Hospitality, through new platforms and global partnerships. Additionally, the company plans to invest in and develop both brownfield and greenfield projects leveraging its strategic, development management and financial engineering capabilities, which will focus on adding value to and enhancing its development portfolios.

RMZ Corp has racked up many triumphs and garnered many accolades - from curating the only development project from India to winning the 2020 ULI Asia Pacific Awards for Excellence to be the first company globally to achieve a WELL Health—Safety Rating for Facility Operations and Management. The company has developed the largest portfolio of assets certified under LEED Arc, a building performance monitoring and scoring platform. RMZ Corp, today, ranks among the world’s flagship real estate firms.

Tata Motors Launches e-Cargo Transport Solutions With The All-New Ace EV

* Partners with Amazon, BigBasket, Flipkart and their logistics partners for green intra-city deliveries

* Signs Memorandum of Understanding to deliver 39,000 Ace EVs

Tata Motors, India’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, today marked a significant leap forward in its drive towards promoting sustainable mobility with the launch of the all-new, revolutionary Ace EV – the electric version of the ever-popular Ace, exactly 17 years after redefining India’s freight movement. The new Ace EV, India’s most advanced, zero-emission, four-wheel small commercial vehicle (SCV), is a green and smart transport solution ready to serve a wide variety of intra-city applications.

Launching the Ace EV, Mr. N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons and Tata Motors, said, “E-mobility is an idea whose time has come. At Tata Motors, we are moving with speed and scale to lead this change – in passenger cars, commercial vehicles and Jaguar Land Rover. I am delighted today that with the launch of the Ace EV, we are entering a new era of e-cargo mobility. Tata Ace is India’s most successful commercial vehicle ever. It has revolutionised transportation and created millions of successful entrepreneurs over the years. It will further build on this legacy by providing a technologically-advanced, clean and smart mobility solution. I am excited about the electrification of commercial vehicles.”

The new Ace EV, co-developed in rich collaboration with its users and supported by a diligently curated ecosystem, offers a holistic solution for e-cargo mobility. In addition to addressing the core need of timely cost-effective and efficient last-mile deliveries, the Ace EV also serves the future commitment and aspirations of its conscientious customers to achieve net zero carbon footprint.

Tata Motors also announced signing of strategic Memorandum of Understanding with leading e-commerce companies and logistics service providers – Amazon, BigBasket, City Link, DOT, Flipkart, LetsTransport, MoEVing and Yelo EV. This includes delivering 39,000 units of the Ace EV; setting up dedicated Electric Vehicle Support Centres for maximum fleet uptime; deployment of Tata Fleet Edge – the next-gen optimal fleet management solution; and support of Tata UniEVerse, the proven enabling eco-system of relevant Tata Group companies.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Girish Wagh, Executive Director, Tata Motors, said, “The introduction of the Ace EV marks a major milestone in our journey to deliver zero-emission cargo mobility in India. Building on our experience and success with electric buses, we have designed use-case specific EV solutions for intra-city distribution. These solutions effectively cater to the application needs and deliver a superior value proposition to all stakeholders. We are much encouraged with the support and response received from our e-commerce customers, with whom we begin this journey of zero-emission cargo mobility.”

Tata Ace EV: Transforming logistics with a green, future-ready solution

image002.jpg@01D85B2BThe Ace EV is the first product featuring Tata Motors’ EVOGEN powertrain that offers an unparalleled certified range of 154 kilometres. It delivers a safe, all-weather operation with an advanced battery cooling system and regenerative braking system to boost the driving range. The vehicle allows regular and fast charging capabilities for high uptime. It is powered by a  27kW (36hp) motor with 130Nm of peak torque, to ensure highest cargo volume of 208 ft³ and grade-ability of 22% allowing easy ascend in fully loaded conditions. The Ace EV’s container is made of light-weight, durable materials that perfectly suit the requirements of e-commerce logistics.

About Tata Motors

Part of the USD 109 billion Tata group, Tata Motors Limited (NYSE: TTM; BSE: 500570 and 570001; NSE: TATAMOTORS and TATAMTRDVR), a USD 34 billion organization, is a leading global automobile manufacturer of cars, utility vehicles, pick-ups, trucks and buses, offering extensive range of integrated, smart and e-mobility solutions. With ‘Connecting Aspirations’ at the core of its brand promise, Tata Motors is India’s market leader in commercial vehicles and amongst the top three in the passenger vehicles market.

Tata Motors strives to bring new products that fire the imagination of GenNext customers, fueled by state of the art design and R&D centers located in India, UK, US, Italy and South Korea. With a focus on engineering and tech enabled automotive solutions catering to the future of mobility, the company’s innovation efforts are focused to develop pioneering technologies that are sustainable as well as suited to evolving aspirations of the market and the customers. The company is pioneering India's Electric Vehicle (EV) transition and driving the shift towards sustainable mobility solutions by preparing a tailor-made product strategy, leveraging the synergy between the Group companies and playing an active role liasoning with the Government in developing the policy framework

With operations in India, the UK, South Korea, Thailand, South Africa, and Indonesia, supported by a strong global network of 103 subsidiaries, 9 associate companies, 4 joint ventures and 2 joint operations as on March 31, 2021, Tata Motors’ commercial and passenger vehicles are marketed in countries, spread across Africa, Middle East, South & South East Asia, Australia, South America, Russia and other CIS countries.

MIT-Manipal-MAHE, India, Awarded With IMC RBNQ Milestone Merit National Quality Award For Leadership

The Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT), Manipal has received the prestigious IMC Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Award (IMC-RBNQA) in the Leadership Category. The Milestone Merit National Quality Award for Leadership accorded to MIT-Manipal-MAHE is the recognition given for the pivotal role of the top leadership of MAHE and MIT-Manipal in steering MIT-Manipal to achieve greater heights in the journey of performance par excellence.

The chief guest for the event Mr Harsh Mariwala -Chairman-Marico Ltd., & CMD, Kaya Ltd., presented the award to Cdr. (Dr.) Anil Rana, Director, MIT-Manipal, in the presence of Mr Niraj R Bajaj Director, Bajaj Auto Ltd., & Chairman-IMC RBNQ Award Trust, Mr Suresh Lulla, Co-chairman, IMC Quality, Juzar Khorakiwala, President, IMC Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Anant Singhania, President (Elect) and Ms Maya, Director, IMC-RBNQA. Dr K Sivian, Former Chairman of ISRO, the recipient of IMC Juran Quality Medal 2021.

Speaking of MIT’s achievement Dr Ranjan Pai, President – MAHE & Chairman, MEMG, Bengaluru said “Manipal Institute of Technology has always focused and worked towards providing quality education facilities for the overall development of students. We are extremely honoured to be given this prestigious award. I congratulate the entire MIT family for their dedication and efforts which has made this possible”

Dr HS Ballal Pro-Chancellor of MAHE said “Established in 1957, MIT Manipal to this day remains one of the top institutions in the country and a crown jewel for MAHE. The leadership and faculty have enhanced the proficiency of the students through continuous training and development. MIT has also continuously worked for the betterment of the society and is an example for other institutions to inculcate the same values”

Lt Gen (Dr) MD Venkatesh, Vice-Chancellor of MAHE said “MIT has not only focused on academics, but also encourages the spirit of entrepreneurship amongst its students. There is a continual effort to raise the standards when it comes to education and social service. This award is truly well deserved, and we wish the staff and the students all the very best for their future endeavours”

Cdr ( Dr) Anil Rana, Director, MIT expressed his happiness and said “It was a great honour to receive the prestigious IMC Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Award (IMC-RBNQA) in the Leadership Category, on behalf of MIT-Manipal, in the Leadership Category Mumbai on 30th April 2022. MIT-Manipal has been bestowed with this honour for its excellence in academic and research quality, focusing on overall student development, concern for the environment and safety, community service, and human resource management.  The unique model that ensures experiential learning by the students and the whole-hearted support for their innovation and entrepreneurial pursuits is something that sets apart MIT-Manipal from all others.

The honour was greatly enhanced by the presence of the former ISRO Chairman Dr K Sivan who shared the same platform with me and received the prestigious Dr Juran quality medal.

The Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT), Manipal was established in 1957 as one of the first self-financing engineering colleges in the country. In 2000, it became a constituent institute of the deemed university - Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) which has been accorded the status of Institute of Eminence (IoE) by HRD, Government of India.

Greater Autonomy To Define The Future Of Software Development: Atlassian Survey

* Autonomy seen as highest among US and Indian developers and lowest among Germans 

Atlassian Corporation Plc (NASDAQ:TEAM), a leading provider of team collaboration and productivity software and the maker of Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket and Trello products, has released its first-ever global State of the Developer report. The research shows that autonomy trumps all with greater autonomy making developers happier at work, despite more frequent context switching and increased job complexity. Developers who enjoy more autonomy tend to spend more time coding and are able to work on a greater number of products and services. 

The report uncovers important trends in how developers' attitudes and preferences about their work have changed over the past year, including the rise of ‘You build it, you run it’ (YBIYRI) as a practice. YBIYRI is an increasingly common software development methodology with almost 60% of teams currently working this way. Teams working in YBIYRI require new and diverse roles, especially when they are transitioning into the practice. 

A look at India’s developer ecosystem 

The research shows that autonomy levels for developers globally is high, with 50% claiming strong autonomy. Additionally, stronger autonomy correlates with positive feelings about work, and autonomy is at its highest in the US and India (57% and 56% respectively) and lowest in Germany (29%).  

It was observed that tool sprawl could be the worst in India with 78% of developers saying they are using more than six tools. In the US, this number is 72% while only half of the developers in Germany (50%) use more than six tools.  

What should leaders consider when building and managing development teams? 

Developer autonomy trumps all – The research shows that greater autonomy makes developers happier at work. Additionally, developers who enjoy more autonomy tend to spend more time coding and are able to work on a greater number of products and services. Autonomy levels are highest for developers who have been in their roles for 6-10 years, within larger companies (250-1000 employees), and in teams running YBIYRI. 

Developers are taking more responsibility – The rise of YBIYRI as a practice has seen development teams doing more to support the code they work with. The research shows almost 60% of developers now work this way, with a larger number agreeing that they should be responsible for more of the software product lifecycle than they currently are (over 65%). Developers who are close to a product or service have the potential to improve it further when given a high degree of ownership. Engineering leaders should create more space for development teams to take on YBIYRI responsibilities, ensuring they have the right tools, processes, and rituals to be successful. 

Coding or tooling is a matter of preference – Two-thirds of developers (65%) say that writing new code is the most valuable skill in their role, while 74% feel that being able to read code is vital. Yet 58% of developers don’t feel that writing code from scratch will be required as part of their roles in the future, and 51% say they mainly assemble code written by others. Managers and team leaders should let developers lean into those preferences rather than dictating “how things are done around here.” 

Fewer tools isn’t always the best outcome – A majority of developers are using more tools to get work done than before (almost 70%), and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Flexibility in tools is the key. Those with more flexible tools say it simplifies their work, making them happier in their roles, while those adopting a growing number of inflexible tools face the risk of tool sprawl. Almost half of the developers surveyed say they have a stable toolchain (46%). The remainder has increased the number of tools either with flexible tools (38%) or inflexible tools (16%). 

Dinesh Ajmera, Site Lead and Head of Engineering, India, Atlassian said, “Our State of the Developer report presents some important findings on the state of play across the global software developer ecosystem, especially in the context of India. Among Indian developers, it was particularly heartening to see that our developer community in comparison to the other countries enjoyed a greater degree of autonomy and thereby stated to be happier at work." 

“I believe this report presents an array of findings that will help leaders understand the changing dynamics of the developer ecosystem. At Atlassian, we recognize this and believe that by empowering our teams with the correct set of tools, technologies and processes we will be able to usher in a greater degree of autonomy and build efficiencies for teams," he further added. 

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach 

Greater autonomy is the future of software development. This means more freedom to decide which tools developers use, what they work on, and how that work gets done. 

Atlassian is dedicated to providing the tools that facilitate this alignment and autonomy for teams of all sizes. With the recent launch of Compass, a new Atlassian program to create new products in collaboration with customers, developers are now going beyond coding and are empowered with the autonomy to connect the tools they want to use. 

To find out more about the research and download the report, please visit - Autonomy is the future of software development - Work Life by Atlassian  

About Atlassian 

Atlassian unleashes the potential of every team. Our team collaboration and productivity software helps teams organize, discuss, and complete shared work. Teams at more than 225,000 customers, across  large and small organizations - including Bank of America, Redfin, NASA, Verizon, and Dropbox - use Atlassian’s project tracking, content creation and sharing, and service management products to work better together and deliver quality results on time. Learn more about our products, including Jira Software, Confluence, Jira Service Management, Trello, Bitbucket, and Jira Align at https://atlassian.com/. 

About the research 

Atlassian’s first State of the Developer report seeks to uncover the attitudes, preferences, and behaviors of modern software developers. The study offers a range of perspectives on how developers are working, their perception and attitudes on the future skillsets required to succeed, how they’re managing tool sprawl, and what drives job satisfaction. This research looks into the trends shaping software development and their impact on development teams in markets across the world. The survey ran for a month between August and September 2021, targeting 2,182 respondents across four countries: Australia (21%), India (36%), Germany (16%), and the United States (27%). 

Venus Remedies Responds To Ukrainian Embassy's Request For Humanitarian Aid

*   Supplies life-saving drugs worth $30,000 in the first batch

Responding to the Ukrainian Embassy’s request for humanitarian aid in the form of life-saving medicines for displaced people in the war-ravaged country, Venus Remedies Ltd, one of India’s leading research-driven pharmaceutical companies, has dispatched the first batch of essential medicines worth $30,000 to Ukraine through its embassy in New Delhi.

Appreciating the gesture, the Ukrainian Embassy said in a statement issued on May 2 that Venus Remedies has “proved that it is not only a business-oriented company but also a responsible organisation which has always stood firm for such noble causes to help people around the globe”. “We thank Venus Remedies for providing aid to the people of Ukraine in their most difficult times and readily accepting our request to supply us life-saving drugs free of cost,” it said.

Akshansh Chaudhary, President, HR, Venus Remedies, who flagged off the relief aid from the company’s premises in Panchkula, said, “With millions of people bearing the brunt of this devastating war, it is a humanitarian crisis that calls for the need to rise to the occasion and reach out to Ukrainians with life-saving essential supplies."

Praying for an end to the violence and human sufferings in Ukraine, Venus Remedies employees have been holding candlelight vigils at Venusian Chambers, the company’s upcoming headquarters in Dappar, and illuminating the office building in colours of the Ukrainian flag.

The company has also launched a social media campaign to motivate people in India and abroad to make voluntary contributions for the noble cause. Venus Remedies employees have responded enthusiastically to the appeal by coming forward with donations in large numbers.

About Venus Remedies

Panchkula-based Venus Remedies Ltd (NSE: VENUSREM, BSE: 526953) is among the leading injectable manufacturers in the world. Having presence in 75 countries with a portfolio of as many products spread over Europe, Australia, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Commonwealth States, Middle East, Latin America and Caribbean region, the company has nine globally benchmarked facilities in Panchkula, Baddi and Werne (Germany), apart from 11 overseas marketing offices. Its manufacturing units are certified for ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 18001 and OHSAS. The company has also been approved by European-GMP, WHO-GMP and Latin American GMP (INVIMA), among others. Venus Remedies has  more than 100 patents, 70 trademarks and 12 copyrights for its innovative research products worldwide.

ONMO Launches Crypto Payments For Mobile Gaming Players Globally

ONMO, the  direct-to-consumer social esports mobile gaming platform from OnMobile has announced enabling transactions through Bitcoin for players across the globe. While ONMO users in India can play using real money, users in other parts of the globe will now have the choice of using Bitcoins to pay entry fees for 1-on-1 battles and daily multiplayer tournaments and play a wide variety of games on the platform.  

Commenting on the new release, Krish Seshadri, CEO, ONMO said “Gamers have been well habituated to virtual items and understand the value of virtual currencies. Our goal is to provide our global players with the best experience. With the rapid adoption of Crypto, we have now added Bitcoin as the main payment method to play games on ONMO across the globe. We will soon add other Crypto currencies to the payment methods in the ONMO wallet”.

With the addition of Bitcoin payments, ONMO brings together two of the fastest-growing markets - crypto and esports - making it versatile and easy to use. Bitcoin payments offer cross-game and cross-region compatibility coupled with streamlined payments. The platform will facilitate more cryptocurrency payment options in the future providing its global users with the best game experience and empower them to wager against each other.

About OnMobile and ONMO

OnMobile [NSE India: ONMOBILE] [BSE Ltd: 532944], is a global leader in mobile entertainment. Headquartered in Bangalore, India and with offices in all regions of the world, OnMobile is focused on building cutting-edge Mobile Gaming products while also offering a wide array of products such as Videos, Tones, & Contests. Based on current deployments, OnMobile has over 80 million monthly users across the globe. A product of OnMobile, ONMO is a social esports platform that offers short game moments across popular game titles. Players can explore different formats of gameplay, 1-on-1 battles, multiplayer tournaments, or solo challenges on the product.  With offices in Canada, Sweden, and India, ONMO blends current trends like social play, casual short gaming & esports supported by cloud gaming & vision AI technologies into a unique mobile gaming offering.

For further information, visit www.onmobile.com; www.onmo.com