ADIF Becomes A Party To The CCI Probe Into Apple's Alleged Abuse Of The App Market

The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) has officially become a party to the ongoing case against Apple before the Competition Commission of India (CCI) over the big tech firm’s alleged abuse of market power in the apps market. The complaint was originally filed by Jaipur-based non-profit ‘Together We Fight Society’ arguing that Apple’s imposition of a high in-app fee and other restrictions hurts competition by raising costs for app developers and customers, while also acting as a barrier to market entry. 

The CCI in late December 2021 ordered a probe into Apple’s business practices in India,  saying that the regular it was of the initial view that the tech giant had violated certain antitrust laws.

Apple’s app store practices have been restrictive and at times even violative of the rights of app owners to conduct their business and are facing scrutiny from antitrust regulators in the  United States, Europe, Japan, Australia, and the Netherlands. In December 2021, the Dutch anti-trust regulator found Apple’s App Store policies to be in violation of its competition laws and has since levied a series of penalties against the company over non-compliance with its order.

Individual organizations have also mounted legal action against Apple over its business practices. Epic Games, for instance, filed a lawsuit in the United States after it was forced off Apple's App Store for redirecting customers to cheaper subscriptions and payments outside the App Store.

Big tech firms like Apple and Google have monopolised the app economy and continue to impose predatory policies on their app stores – such as forcing the use of their own payment systems – that harm the startup ecosystem and India’s developers. IOS and Android have a combined market share of 99.03% in India. Given their dominant position, their policies affect a large number of users and developers, and changes to their policies have a major impact on businesses.

“Both the gatekeepers of the app economy have been known to rig the game in their favour by indulging in abusive practices and abusing their dominant position. There is an urgent need to reign them in so that the interests of the scores of small players that make up the internet and app economy are protected,” said Sijo Kuruvilla George, the Executive Director of the Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF).

By insisting on the usage of only its billing system, the big tech firms are ensuring they have an unfair advantage over other payment and billing systems. We need the CCI to study such practices by the big tech so that Indian developers can have a fair chance of fighting and surviving.

Anupam Mittal, the founder and CEO of Shaadi.com, said: “For the betterment and continued growth of the Indian startup ecosystem, it’s crucial that the internet, and specifically the app economy, is made fair, transparent and open. If the anti-competitive and monopolistic practices along with the gatekeeper policies of big tech firms are not kept in check, there is bound to be a detrimental impact on Indian entrepreneurs and businesses and ultimately the sovereignty of the country.” 

Union Bank of India Launches Digital Solution Product “Trade nxt”

* It will minimize the requirement of physical documentation & reduce turn-around time with better governance and enhanced security and controls 

Union Bank of India announced the launch of ‘Trade nxt’ (trade.unionbankofindia.co.in/UBIFCC/portal#/login), an online platform for providing comprehensive cross border trade finance services to Indian Exporters and Importers. It offers seamless entry and processing of letters of credit (LC), bank guarantees, export/import bills, disbursement of export credit, outward & inward remittances, dealer financing and much more. 

‘Trade nxt’ is a next generation digital banking platform that enables all corporates as well as MSMEs to transact all the cross border export-import transactions in a hassle-free way as it offers an array of services in one place, which eliminates the need for companies to visit a bank branch to initiate a trade transaction and ensures better governance with enhanced security and controls. Companies can now initiate a transaction from the comfort of their place 24/7 in a safe and secure manner. 

‘Trade nxt’ platform will also enable the regulatory online auto reporting through Import Data Processing & Monitoring System (IDPMS), Export Data processing & Monitoring System (EDPMS) and other statutory reporting pertaining to ODI/ FDI/ LRS transactions, which will make the process much more convenient. 

 It is a user-friendly application with customised dashboards, OCR based transactions, artificial intelligence, bulk uploads, with additional features like customised MIS/ reports and many other features are made available in ‘Trade nxt’. 

The Ministry of Electronics & Technology recently felicitated Union Bank of India for achieving highest percentage of digital payments transactions under the category of large and medium banks at “Digital Payment Utsav”. Union Bank of India also became first public bank to go live on Account aggregator (AA) ecosystem. In the zeal to accelerate its digital transformation. 

Key benefits of the ‘Trade nxt’ platform: 

Initiate transactions anytime, anywhere; with minimal dependency on the branch  

Facility of uploading scanned copies of documents is available, wherever applicable. 

Prefilled templates for similar transactions or options to Copy from previous transactions 

Auto generated regulatory declarations 

Saves time and cost of manually printing and signing documents through in-built Maker & Checker functionality in customer portal 

Auto generated transaction advice and SWIFT messages 

Track status of transaction initiated by you through transaction tracker 

Set Auto Reminders for future payment & Bill due dates 

Intelligent and customized Dashboard 

Dedicated Relationship Manager desk 

Digitize trade finance transactions 

Initiate transaction through upload option (Paperless cross-border transactions). 

Symphony limited Ropes-In Ace Cricketers Harbhajan Singh, Shikhar Dhawan For A Unique AI-Led Campaign

India’s most loved air cooler brand Symphony limited has roped in the country’s sought-after cricketers Harbhajan Singh and Shikhar Dhawan for a unique AI-led nationwide initiative. The brand has partnered with Rephrase AI to create hyper-personalized video films for over 2,300 retailers across India. This is the first time in the consumer durables industry that a brand has leveraged artificial intelligence and initiated geo-targeting for each retailer. The heartwarming videos will witness India’s popular cricketers appreciating dealers for their constant support and efforts for providing great customer service.   

Known for being one of the largest homegrown brands, Symphony has always supported small and local businesses and has been a strong advocate of Vocal for Local. Along with the personalized videos, Symphony has also given letter of recognition, a certificate and a couple of goodies as a token of appreciation. The brand has taken this thought a notch higher by paying a tribute to the work of their trade partners. It strikes an emotional chord by going out of the way in reaching out to the people that matter.   

Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Anuj Arora, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Symphony Limited says, “We are ecstatic to have partnered with reputed cricketers, Harbhajan Singh, and Shikhar Dhawan. They came on board to create AI driven customized videos for our dealership partners who are an integral part of our company. The objective is to create brand love and deepen the bonding with our trade partners. We are consistently brainstorming and innovating to come up with intriguing campaigns. With this initiative, we hope to strengthen our relationships and reach new heights together.”  

Speaking on the collaboration, Harbhajan Singh says, “I am honored to be a part of this initiative spearheaded by Symphony Ltd. There are multiple layers of processes and teams to make a brand successful and achieve the goal of sales. Taking a note of the work of trade partners and their efforts is an excellent way to acknowledge their contribution. Homegrown brands in India are doing a fantastic job and ensuring a good turnaround! I wish Symphony the best for their stellar work!”   

Speaking on the collaboration, Shikhar Dhawan, who is exclusively managed by RISE Worldwide, India’s largest independent Sports and Entertainment Company, commented, “I am pleased to partner with Symphony for their new campaign that motivates their partners. I always believe in appreciating teamwork and this campaign celebrates their hard work. I look forward to being a part of it.”   

Nisheeth Lahoti, the co-founder at Rephrase.AI mentions, “Generating AI videos with 2 big stars and a compelling narrative was a fresh challenge for us - however, seeing the commitment of the brand to build something for the distributor network was compelling. Rephrase.ai created a digital avatar that cloned the face and voice of the cricketer and use AI to generate a unique video for more than 2000 stakeholders.”  

Find below links to some of the videos 

https://youtu.be/kNntyvz7ozw  

https://youtu.be/Dg3I7t3IiVw  

https://youtu.be/5uRl7o1smzw   

Symphony Limited:  

Symphony, an Indian Multi-National Company with presence in over 60 countries is the world’s largest manufacturer of air-coolers. From inventions to innovations, energy responsibility to environment stewardship, Symphony is a market leader which has been cooling customers for generations. The massive supremacy of Symphony coolers in the residential, industrial, and commercial segments has made the brand synonymous with ‘cooling.’ Founded in 1988, in Gujarat, India, Symphony Limited established a new category of evaporative air-cooling in India, taking it to the globe. As a disruptor of a highly unorganized sector, the company has set high benchmarks comprising 201 trademarks, 64 registered designs, 15 copyrights and 48 patents, defining the gold standard of air cooling. 

Horizon Aerospace Wins Boeing Contract For Maintenance And Support Of Its Key Defence Platforms

* Collaboration in Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) of wheels and brakes for Boeing’s C-17 Globemaster, P-8I and IAF VIP 737 transport fleet

Horizon Aerospace has won a contract with Boeing for the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) of three key Boeing defence platforms in India, the P-8I operated by the Indian Navy (IN), and the C-17 Globemaster and VIP 737 transport fleet operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF). This strategic collaboration aims to grow capabilities in India in the areas of wheels and brakes MRO of IAF and IN maintainers. 

“The collaboration with Boeing strengthens and enriches our existing relationship. The enhanced collaboration underscores the growing international recognition for Horizon’s capabilities in the aerospace and defence domain. We are proud to partner with Boeing and excited, to have been chosen to work with them on such prestigious and critical projects that build as well as test India’s indigenous MRO capabilities,” said Per Smedegaard, Group President, Horizon Aerospace, Defsys Solution.

Horizon Aerospace (India) Pvt Ltd have been a part of the SAFRAN SPOT network, and a part of ECOSERVICES (Pratt & Witney & S. T Aerospace JV) networks. This co-operation will undoubtedly enhance Horizon offers and capabilities under Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative of the Government of India.  Boeing is one of the top aerospace companies for enabling implementation of best-in-class processes and operations in their supply chain.  Horizon’s collaboration with Boeing will enable Horizon to enhance its capabilities, on-time delivery and quality processes.

“This collaboration enriches our partnership with Horizon Aerospace, brings them aboard our Boeing India Repair Development and Sustainment (BIRDS) hub initiative, and is an important milestone as we continue to grow supplier-partner collaboration in India, for India. It will help us in our goal to generate value for our defence customers locally through faster turnaround, exceptional operational capability and readiness on Boeing aircraft”, said Ashwani Bhargava, Director, Supply Chain Management, Boeing India.

BIRDS hub is an in-country network and alliance of suppliers led by Boeing in India that envisions a competitive MRO ecosystem for engineering, maintenance, skilling, repair and sustainment services of defence and commercial aircraft. This network aims to drive high industry benchmarks in India for maintenance and repair, platform availability, customer satisfaction, quicker turnaround time.

About Horizon Aerospace

Horizon Aerospace has been providing highly reliable and quality service, which helps in keeping aircrafts flying. The OEM supported service centre has over 700 assemblies serviced per month, and is one of the largest MRO service providers in India today. It is EASA, DGCA and CEMILAC certified and has a dedicated team of certified professionals to render accuracy in servicing. Horizon QMS is AS9110C certified and currently supports Civil and Military aircraft fleets. Horizon Aerospace has grown to become a trusted name in maintenance, repair and overhaul of sub-assemblies that form an integral part of Civil and Military aircrafts.

Horizon is approved on Safran Landing System and Collins Aerospace Global Network and processes over 600 wheels and brakes per month. Since inception in 2006 Horizon has delivered 59,000 Plus units without failure.

With a modern infrastructure and a pool of highly trained and experienced technicians Horizon is providing excellent and highly reliable service. All trainings are carried out by OEM trainers (Safran and Collins Aerospace). Horizon is audited by the OEMs in addition to DGCA and EASA at regular intervals.

Red Hat And Accenture Expand Alliance To Accelerate Hybrid Cloud Innovation

* Companies collaborate on new solutions to help organizations operate in the cloud continuum, adopting open hybrid cloud technologies to drive innovation and IT modernization at scale

Red Hat Inc., the world’s leading provider of open source solutions, and Accenture (NYSE: ACN) have expanded their nearly 12 year strategic partnership to further power open hybrid cloud innovation for enterprises worldwide. The companies are jointly investing in the co-development of new solutions to help organizations more seamlessly navigate a multi- and hybrid cloud world, define their strategy, and accelerate their pace of innovation to get to value faster.

With the combination of Accenture Cloud First and Red Hat OpenShift, organizations are better equipped to embrace the cloud continuum – a range of capabilities, from public to private to edge computing, all connected by modern networks and built with a zero-trust security mindset – to accelerate enterprise reinvention. A hybrid solution brings the public cloud benefits of innovation, speed, consumption and scale with private cloud advantages of regulatory compliance, performance and data gravity.

To further help organizations migrate to hybrid cloud, Red Hat and Accenture are co-developing new solutions over the next year with an initial focus on the following four areas:

Open hybrid cloud application and mainframe modernization – With the boundaries for public and private cloud blurring and no one-size-fits-all solution, Accenture and Red Hat are helping clients develop a holistic cloud strategy that embraces hybrid to enable greater operational efficiency and drive innovation based on Red Hat OpenShift.

Automation – As organizations continue to modernize, they need consistent, resilient and standardized solutions for managing their cloud estate. Accenture and Red Hat are developing solutions that automate and orchestrate workloads across the IT infrastructure to reduce risk and lower costs of technology operations. This includes the development of Accenture solutions on Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform to deliver stable, automated cloud computing capabilities. As a result, the companies helped one client achieve a 99% reduction in downtime for rolling upgrades, a 100% reduction in downtime for operating system patching, and 50% faster development time through infrastructure as code.

Edge Computing – The scale and complexity of data created by connected devices are continuously pushing the limits of network and infrastructure capabilities. New solutions under development by Red Hat and Accenture are focused on analyzing and processing data where it is generated to improve the customer experience and reduce latency. With Red Hat OpenShift and Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform, applications can be deployed and automated at the edge, reducing dependency on a physical footprint.

Sovereign Cloud – Organizations are navigating an intricate patchwork of technology solutions while aligning with new, emerging industry standards and compliance requirements in various countries and sectors. Accenture and Red Hat are jointly committed to helping clients control the location, access to and processing of their data in the cloud through open source technologies and services.

Red Hat and Accenture have worked together to deliver transformative outcomes for hundreds of organizations across industries. For example, Finanz Informatik, an innovative IT partner for the financial sector, worked with Red Hat and Accenture to implement an ambitious next-level multi-channel architecture for its core banking applications. Using Red Hat OpenShift and Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform, with strategic support from Accenture, Finanz Informatik modernized its IT infrastructure to significantly improve business agility and more quickly respond to evolving customer needs.

Unlocking the rich value and capabilities of hybrid cloud requires deep collaboration across an ecosystem of IT vendors. A recent IDC white paper sponsored by Red Hat revealed that organizations can accelerate application migration projects by 47% and achieve a three-year return on investment of 523% when implementing Red Hat OpenShift with a Red Hat accredited global systems integrator such as Accenture1. With this expanded partnership, Red Hat and Accenture bring together robust partner ecosystems, equipped with deep technical expertise to support customers across any cloud and any industry, in order to support multi-partner engagements and deliver tailored cloud solutions.

Supporting Quotes

Stefanie Chiras, senior vice president, Partner Ecosystem Success, Red Hat

“Operating in the hybrid cloud enables customers to optimize their existing systems with the added layers and capabilities necessary to support innovation and efficiency at scale. At Red Hat, we believe that success not only lies in the technical components we bring to the cloud, but also with the impactful partnerships that drive successful implementations and business outcomes. Our long-standing collaboration with Accenture means that customers have access to the open source solutions they need and expertise they can trust to navigate the complexities of open hybrid cloud and grow their business where it needs to be - in the cloud.”

Raj Wickramasinghe, Hybrid and Emerging Platform lead, Accenture

“Organizations are increasingly turning to hybrid cloud to help overcome complex challenges around core business functions like customer service and supply chain, and to drive growth and innovation. Through our expanded alliance with Red Hat, we can further help clients embrace the cloud continuum to enable greater operational efficiency and drive innovation.”

Robert Bersdorf, division head for multi-channel applications, Finanz Informatik

“Our business-critical applications are used every day by nearly 400 financial institutions, so regulatory compliance, security and reliability are crucial. Our hybrid cloud strategy is critical for helping us drive resilience, while balancing agility with stability and security. By using OpenShift and Ansible Automation we took a pioneering step forward to embrace the private cloud to continuously deliver innovation while delivering a seamless experience and maintaining the performance of our own technology estate. It was a great experience working with Accenture and Red Hat on this project and together pushing the envelope.”

NIC Honestly Natural Ice Creams Names Blue Lotus Communications As Its PR Strategy Partner

Walko Food Company Pvt Ltd has named Blue Lotus Communications as its communication partner for all of its four brands (owned by its subsidiary), which include NIC Honestly Natural Ice Creams, Grameen Kulfi, Cream Pot, and Café Chokolade, as well as any future brands. Following a multi-agency pitch, Blue Lotus Communications was awarded the mandate.

Blue Lotus will work with Walko Food Company Pvt Ltd. to establish strong customer communication, raise brand awareness, and increase media visibility for NIC Honestly Natural Ice Creams as part of its partnership.

Commenting on the tie-up Himanshu R. Bajpai, Head of Marketing at Walko said "We are excited to partner with Blue Lotus Communications as our PR strategy partner because we were impressed by their passion and research capability. We are glad to embark on a focused public relations campaign for NIC Honestly Natural Ice Creams in order to communicate directly with the consumers who have shown us their love by making us the fastest growing ice cream brand in India,"  

Mirroring these thoughts N. Chandramouli, CEO of Blue Lotus Communications said "It is a pleasure for us to work with NIC Honestly Natural Ice Creams because we personally believe in the growth potential of company and the brand. The entire Blue Lotus team is excited to work with them and add more value to the brand through our PR experiences in the consumer space.”

Jeetendra Bhandari, a first-generation entrepreneur, created the NIC Honestly Naturals Ice Creams brand from the ground up. The brand's mission is to provide the highest-quality ice creams, including exotic Indian flavours suitable for the local & international palate, while also using healthy and natural ingredients.

Blue Lotus Communications is rated among the top PR agency, and has worked with reputed national and international brands in the past. Blue Lotus Communications is a 20-year-old award-winning PR agency, which uses a proprietary Brand Trust Matrix to help create and enhance trust in brands through public relations.

Walko Food Company Pvt Ltd.:

NIC Honestly Natural Ice Cream was launched in 2015 on the principles of providing uncompromising quality, innovation, and a superior customer experience. Honestly Natural Ice Cream is not only their motto; it is also a promise that contains no artificial flavours, colouring agents, or preservatives. NIC Honestly Natural Ice Creams is the most popular ice cream brand on food-tech platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato, with flavours ranging from fruit and dry fruit variations to international flavours such as Mediterranean Sea Salted Caramel, Madagascar Chocolate, Belgian Chocolate, French Vanilla, and those inspired by Indian sweetmeats such as Gulab Jamun, Sheer Khurma, Til Gud, and Gajar Halwa, to name a few.

L&T Technology Services Lends Technical & financial Support To IIT Madras’ Avishkar Team For Hyperloop Project

* Team Avishkar aims to build world's largest vacuum testing facility for Hyperloop, the 5th mode of transportation featuring a high-speed train that travels in near-vacuum tube at speeds of 1,200 Km/Hr

Indian Institute of Technology Madras Students’ Team Avishkar Hyperloop has received investment from global pure-play engineering services provider L&T Technology Services Limited (LTTS) to develop innovations in the Hyperloop landscape.  LTTS is providing funding & technical support to Team Avishkar on their Hyperloop project.

LTTS will enable Team Avishkar to further gain traction on its breakthrough disruptions in the emerging domain of Hyperloop-based transportation solutions for futuristic commuting experience.

The Hyperloop model proposed by Team Avishkar can achieve a top speed of over 1,200 kilometres per hour. It is completely autonomous, safe, and clean. The team is spearheading Hyperloop Tube research in India and has already patented a novel and cost-effective tube design.  Hyperloop has been a buzzword in India for the last few years. Several companies have proposed routes including Mumbai-Pune and Chandigarh-Amritsar.

Commenting on this project, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “The vacuum tube, when developed, will be the first of its kind in academia anywhere globally and would be on par with the test facility of the commercial entity, Virgin Hyperloop One in the U.S.A. As such, ours would be the only one of its kind available in public, which we intend to utilize to organize international Hyperloop competitions.”

Avishkar Hyperloop is a student team from the Centre for Innovation, IIT Madras, focusing on revolutionizing transportation with Hyperloop technologies. It is a 70-member strong interdisciplinary team, drawing members from 11 different academic disciplines.

Prof. Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean (Alumni and Corporate Relations), IIT Madras, said, “CSR funds invested in developing sustainable technology solutions is the only way to be ready for tomorrow’s challenges. We are excited that LTTS has chosen this route.”

Team Avishkar is aiming to build the world's largest student-developed Hyperloop testing facility at IIT Madras and is hoping to complete the construction of this 500-metre-long Hyperloop facility by this year. This facility will be constructed at Discovery Campus, the Satellite campus of IIT Madras located about 35 km from the main campus.

Speaking about this Project, Mr. Amit Chadha, CEO and Managing Director, L&T Technology Services Limited, said, “The future of everyday commuting will be determined by the innovations and disruptions that we as a human race pursue today. LTTS, with its focus on ER&D and digital engineering, is committed to pushing the boundaries of modern transportation. As an engineering organization, we always look forward to rendering support to academic institutions on R&D activities in upcoming technologies.”

About L&T Technology Services Ltd

L&T Technology Services Limited (LTTS) is a listed subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Limited focused on Engineering and R&D (ER&D) services. We offer consultancy, design, development and testing services across the product and process development life cycle. Our customer base includes 69 Fortune 500 companies and 57 of the world’s top ER&D companies, across industrial products, medical devices, transportation, telecom & hi-tech, and the process industries. Headquartered in India, we have over 20,800 employees spread across 17 global design centers, 28 global sales offices and 89 innovation labs as of March 31, 2022. For more information, please visit https://www.ltts.com/

About IIT Madras

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) was established in 1959 by the Government of India as an ‘Institute of National Importance.’ The activities of the Institute in various fields of Science and Technology are carried out in 16 academic departments and several advanced interdisciplinary research academic centres. The Institute offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs leading to B.Tech., M.Sc., M.B.A., M.Tech., M.S., and Ph.D., degrees in a variety of specializations. IITM is a residential institute with more than 600 faculty and 9,500 students. Students from 18 countries are enrolled here. IITM fosters an active entrepreneurial culture with strong curricular support and through the IITM Incubation Cell.

Recognized as an Institution of Eminence (IoE) in 2019, IITM has been ranked No.1 in the ‘Overall’ Category for the third consecutive year in India Ranking 2021 released by National Institutional Ranking Framework, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India. The Institute has also been ranked No.1 in the ‘Engineering Institutions’ category in the same Rankings for six consecutive years – from 2016 to 2021. It was also adjudged as the ‘Top innovative Institution’ in the country in Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) in 2019, 2020 and 2021. ARIIA Ranking was launched by the Innovation Cell of Ministry of Education.