Toyota Kirloskar Motor Sells 10,216 Units In The Month Of May 2022

* Cumulative wholesales from January to May registers a 16% growth when compared to the corresponding period in May 2021

TKM today announced that the company sold a total of 10,216 units in the month of May 2022, thereby registering a substantial growth when compared to its wholesales in May 2021. TKM had sold 707 units in May 2021, as a result of the impact brought in by the second wave of the pandemic. Moreover, cumulative wholesales from January to May this year has registered a growth of 16% when compared to the same period last year, thereby witnessing month on month wholesales gravitating back to pre-Covid times in 2019.

Commenting on the month’s performance, Mr. Atul Sood, Associate Vice President, Sales, and Strategic Marketing, TKM said, “Demand continues to peak as we have very encouraging booking orders and enquiries for all our models. The cool new Glanza has received an overwhelming response from our customers as it is their trust and faith in the brand that helps us perform better. Segment leading models like the Innova Crysta and the Fortuner continue to perform well and generate healthy booking orders. The Camry Hybrid and the Vellfire, continue to garner strong demand and our focus going forward would be to meet the immediate needs of our customers”.

Tata Consultancy Services And Deakin University’s DeakinCo. Join Hands To Amplify Clients’ Business Outcomes Through Technologies

Deakin University’s corporate learning and development division, DeakinCo. has joined forces with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to co-develop a corporate learning program for business leaders and decision makers. This would meet the growing need to understand, manage and progress adoption and application of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics and robotics across their businesses.

The program, for senior managers and leaders was launched at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi in the presence of Sarah Storey (Australia’s Deputy High Commissioner to India), Glenn Campbell (CEO, DeakinCo.), Ankur Mathur (Head, Education Business, TCS) and Ravneet Pawha (Vice President – Global Alliances, Deakin University).

The event was attended by senior executives from the industry and the panel discussion on ‘Application of Critical Technology skills for better business outcomes’ featured experts Piotr Pluta (Education Business Unit Advisor, TCS Europe and Global Lead, Corporate Digital Academy TCS Education), Prashant Garg (Partner, Ernst and Young) and Avik Sarkar (Associate Professor, Indian School of Business).

This new program brings together Deakin's academic excellence and its significant experience in lifting workplace capability for its clients and TCS' extensive industry networks and experience.

Facilitated by leading academics and industry experts, the program is designed to address specific capability gaps in non-IT decision making and leadership positions. This will help understand the business imperative of adopting AI and machine learning. The program provides learning and current real life case studies on the use and governance of AI and machine learning and is tailored to each industry and business.

Designed to be delivered either digitally or as a blended experience incorporating both face-to-face and self-paced sessions, the program will have customisable elements to meet the needs of each client. This includes detailed, industry-relevant case studies, practical workshops, and direct access to leading practitioners.

"Both Deakin and TCS realise the importance of anticipating future workforce needs and that there's a real risk of falling behind," said Professor Iain Martin, Vice Chancellor, Deakin University.

"In areas such as AI and machine learning, we are already seeing some of the consequences of this across the world, including India, with employees and businesses unable to bridge the skills gap – things are moving so fast, and competition is fierce. This program combines strong theoretical knowledge with up-to-the-minute industry know-how, which ensures participants are able to stay ahead in these rapidly evolving fields. DeakinCo., Deakin University’s corporate learning division, is absolutely at the forefront of new skills training and works directly with the industries that require it to remain competitive."

"We are delighted to partner with DeakinCo., Deakin University’s corporate learning division, to help talent from across India’s leading organisations and across the world in developing digital skills," said Ankur Mathur, Head, Education Business, TCS.

"This partnership brings together unique academic and industry expertise in technology areas, to help leaders and decision makers with non-IT backgrounds enhance their skills and grow their businesses by applying new technologies. At the same time, this partnership is a testament to our deep commitment and passion for digitally transforming education. It further highlights our continued investment in bringing credible and unique learning programs to the Indian market.”

Glenn Campbell, CEO, DeakinCo. said, "This program is designed for leaders and decision makers who are overseeing AI projects and don't have a technical background. It will provide them with knowledge and case study exposure to understand the business imperative of adopting and implementing AI throughout their organisation’s operations. Issues of governance, risk and ethics are also covered."

About DeakinCo.

DeakinCo., a division of Deakin University are workplace education and skills recognition specialists. DeakinCo. help individuals and organisations evaluate and recognise current skills and capability, identity and rectify gaps and build new skills, and provide pathways to higher level qualifications that further strengthen employment skills and career options. For more information, visit www.deakinco.com/

About Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that has been partnering with many of the world’s largest businesses in their transformation journeys for over 50 years. TCS offers a consulting-led, cognitive powered, integrated portfolio of business, technology and engineering services and solutions. This is delivered through its unique Location Independent Agile™ delivery model, recognized as a benchmark of excellence in software development. 

A part of the Tata group, India's largest multinational business group, TCS has 592,000 of the world’s best-trained consultants in 46 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of US $25.7 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022 and is listed on the BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) and the NSE (National Stock Exchange) in India. TCS' proactive stance on climate change and award-winning work with communities across the world have earned it a place in leading sustainability indices such as the MSCI Global Sustainability Index and the FTSE4Good Emerging Index. 

For more information, visit www.tcs.com and follow TCS news @TCS. 

HexaHealth & Milaap: On A Path-Breaking Mission To Ensure Wellness For All With #IfPossible

HexaHealth, a healthtech start-up launched with the aim of providing free-of-cost surgery support for people from all strata of society, has launched a one-of-a-kind crowdfunding campaign called #IfPossible in association with Milaap - among India’s most trusted crowdfunding platforms. This initiative aims to ensure the right to good health for people from the lower-income groups.

Our country is in critical need of such initiatives. According to a PHFI (Public Health Foundation of India) report, close to 55 million Indians fall below the poverty line in a single year solely because of their expenditures on healthcare. A survey by The Lancet reveals that almost 2.4 million Indians die of treatable conditions every year. Even more disappointing is the fact that out of the 136 nations studied in their report, ours is the worst situation.

HexaHealth aims to impact 100+ lives over the next six months through this initiative. This will involve identifying eligible patients through online campaigns and conducting on-ground camps across 5 cities. Free-of-cost doctor consultations will be facilitated and organised to diagnose medical conditions; documents will be verified and amounts raised disbursed systematically to hospitals providing treatment. The crowd-funding platform partners will help scrutinise patient profiles and hospitalisation bills to ensure genuine utilisation of the corpus amount.

“It is unfortunate that because of financial constraints, the “right” to good health usually ends up becoming a “luxury” for such patients. They do not have insurance support or coverage under government benefits. And they depend on their immediate earnings for their daily needs, so there are hardly any savings leftover that can cover the cost of medical treatment. At HexaHealth, our efforts are to ensure nobody is denied a healthy life only because they are shouldering responsibilities – be it financial requirements of the family, children’s education or any other pressing commitments We aim to be there for our patients, in all ways possible – physical, emotional and financial. With this initiative, we hope people from all across the country will come forward and donate to a cause that will bring an invaluable change in the lives of people less fortunate,” says Ankur Gigras, Co-founder, HexaHealth.

The Milaap Foundation is happy to support the HexaHealth initiative. “While Milaap has, over the years, focused on serious health issues that may take time to resolve, this time we are concentrating on concerns that can be resolved with elective surgeries, helping bring a new lease of life to people who need it the most. Such patients are usually in so much discomfort that even getting a good night’s sleep, enjoying a hearty meal or working at their full potential, becomes challenging. Besides, if they are not attended to in time, there may be serious consequences. Together, HexaHealth and Milaap hope to enable all to lead happy, healthy lives,” says Ajith S Babu, VP, Milaap Foundation.  

About HexaHealth

With a singular focus on making the surgery experience for patients convenient, stress-free and simple, HexaHealth is currently operating in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore and Jaipur. By the end of this year, HexaHealth plans to have a strong presence in all major cities across India. 

About Milaap Foundation

Milaap stands tall among the top online fundraisers in India, with a focus on health issues. Till date, it has organised over 6,36,000 fundraisers, raised over Rs 1,930 crores and managed over Rs 79 lakh donations. By bringing hope, relief and joy to thousands across the country, Milaap has earned respect and love across the country. 

ASK Property Investment Advisors Announces The Initial Dlosure of INR 610 Crores / USD 80 Million of Its Real Estate Fund

ASK Property Investment Advisors (ASK PIA) announced the initial closing of the Real Estate Fund (RESOF IV). This is the sixth real estate fund by ASK PIA. Over the last few years, private equity investments in income yielding commercial, Industrial, residential and data centres have increased significantly. The increase is primarily led by foreign capital inflows in India.

Mr. Amit Bhagat, CEO & MD, ASK PIA said, “We have announced initial closure of more than Rs 610 crores (US $ 80 Mn), which will be invested in the established residential markets of Mumbai, Pune, Noida, Gurgaon, Bengaluru and Chennai. Domestic investors account for 50% of the real estate fund raised, while overseas investors account for the remaining 50%. We are targeting a fund size of INR 2,000 Cr.”

“We have finalised a few investments and are prepared for accelerated deployment given a very healthy pipeline and a structurally resilient residential segment.”, he added.  

Mr. Sunil Rohokale, MD & CEO, ASK Group said, “The swift rebound, as indicated by a significant increase in sales velocity following the Covid period, has been very encouraging. We believe the residential market is already on a growth trajectory in 2022 and is likely to follow the same trend in the coming years. Selection of suitable developers, relevant micro markets and entry at the right price have always been our strength. Our portfolio projects have shown robust performance and witnessed y-o-y growth of more than 70% in sales value in FY2021-22. The average prices have risen by over 10% and this is likely to sustain given the increase in purchasing power in the segment."  

According to ASK PIA research, end user demand combined with declining inventory on one side and employment generation combined with income growth in service industry, IT, financial services and allied sectors are the drivers for sustained demand in the residential sector.

About ASK Property Investment Advisors| ASK Property Investment Advisors (ASK PIA) is the alternate asset investment arm of the ASK group set up to manage and advise real estate dedicated funds. ASK PIA also received approval for the first real estate focused fund of funds in Gift city for offshore investors. The focus is on private equity investments in self-liquidating mid-income & affordable residential and commercial segments. ASK PIA has raised around Rs. 5,000 crs (USD 800 mn) since 2009 and investors include Family Offices, Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNI), High Net Worth Individual (HNI) and Institutions.

About ASK Group | ASK is a leading player in the asset & wealth management business and primarily caters to the HNI and UHNI market with over three decades of presence. ASK has been a true believer in the Indian growth story and over the years has grown hand-in-hand with its clients across the globe. ASK is represented in India through its three key businesses: Portfolio Management Services & Alternative Investment Funds – ASK Investment Managers Ltd.; Real Estate Private Equity – ASK Property Investment Advisors; and Wealth Advisory and Multi-Family Office Service – ASK Wealth Advisors. It has 20 offices and branches across India, Dubai, and Singapore through which it services the needs of clients. It caters to multiple asset classes and investors (such as HNI, institutional, family office, pension funds, funds of funds and sovereign wealth funds) across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. ASK group manages assets over Rs. 82,600 Cr as on April 30, 2022.

BOB Financial Crosses The One Million Credit Cards Mark

BOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda (Bank) that issues and manages Bank of Baroda Credit Cards, has crossed the 1 Million Credit Cards mark.  

As per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, Bank of Baroda Credit Cards have grown 9X over the last four years – from 0.12 million cards in March 2018 to over 1.1 million cards in March 2022. Further, the monthly spends on credit cards have grown 10X over the same period – from Rs. 80 crore in March 2018 to Rs. 830 crore in March 2022.  

Among other factors, this growth was driven by initiatives such as: 

The launch of a completely revamped product suite in 2018; 

Industry-first alliances with professional institutions in 2020; and  

The implementation of a best-in-class processing platform and 100% digital onboarding in 2021 

In CY2022, cobranding with IRCTC, HPCL, Defence Services, and partnerships with fintechs have been some of the key initiatives in the ongoing transformation journey. 

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Shailendra Singh, MD & CEO, BFSL said, “In 2017, we started on a journey of transforming BOB Financial into a leading credit card issuer in India. Crossing the 1 million credit cards mark is an important milestone. However, while we celebrate this achievement, our ultimate aspiration is to become one of the largest Credit Card issuers in the country, serving customers of every demographic and socio-economic classification.” 

BFSL has been focusing on investing in people, processes and technology to enhance customer experience. This includes 100 percent digital onboarding and state-of-the-art modes of service – both assisted and self-service. The company has also built upon its association with Bank of Baroda and other key partners to launch strategic co-branded cards to grow its credit card franchise.  

About BOB Financial Solutions Limited: 

BOB Financial Solutions Limited was established in the year 1994. It is a Non-Banking Financial Company, wholly owned by Bank of Baroda. The Company’s primary business is in credit cards with its key differentiator being simple, easy-to-understand products that are fairly priced and efficiently serviced. A pioneer in the space of credit cards, BOB Financial offers an array of products catering to all segments of customers. It is leveraging state-of-the-art technology to provide unique payment solutions to its customers. For more information, visit www.bobfinancial.com.  

Emergence Festival: Prepare yourselves For The First Ever NFT Ticketing Music Extravaganza In India

Blocktickets the first ever multi chain NFT-based ticketing platform will be selling NFT tickets of a Music Festival in India - Emergence. Tickets for the event will be generated on blockchain and sold as NFTs giving the participants a unique experience. Aspire entertainment is hosting the emergence Festival at The Lalit Hotel in Mumbai on the 4th and 5th of June 2022, starting at 12 p.m. IST.

This is India's first music event in which anyone may purchase a ticket in the form of an NFT (Non-fungible Token), which can be saved as a souvenir or sold to a collector on the secondary market.

Blocktickets, a blockchain technology start-up that pioneered the minting of NFT-based tickets, will be weaving this one-of-a-kind experience for everyone. To maintain safety and provide the best experience to the public, they have a limited quantity of 2000 tickets available for purchase.

Anyone who wants to be a part of this one-of-a-kind and first such event in India can visit their official website https://blocktickets.io/ to buy the unique NFT tickets.

More than 30 musicians from around the world will perform at the Emergence Festival. Emiway Bantai, Zepheyrtone, Marri Ferrari, Helixy, Stylo, and more notable acts are among the performers performing on a large techno stage configuration that will bring the atmosphere to life. There will also be a flea market with over 100 stalls to browse through and shop from. To know more about the event and to check the guidelines, participants can check the official website and social media handles.

“Blocktickets is transforming the mundane tickets that were destined to be discarded into a delightful experience. We strive to make the ever-evolving event business even more beautiful and entertaining for all stakeholders through smart contracts, tokens, and NFTs. It's a one-of-a-kind technique in which marketers may leverage brand NFTs to creatively engage with ticket buyers, and by personalising tickets as special NFTs, more revenue channels can be developed.”, Says Abhinav Garg, Founder,  Blocktickets. 

On the 17th of March, Blocktickets hosted the World's First Holi Event on Metaverse, selling over 2000 NFT tickets in less than half an hour after going online. The company is now collaborating with the country's largest event organisers and the Indian film industry to host events in Metaverse or provide NFT-based ticketing services.

BlockTickets leverages blockchain technology to provide a transparent and decentralised system for the creation and sale of smart tickets, which is a novel concept. The platform was created to address the flaws in the current offline ticketing system, which wastes $15 billion in tickets each year due to scalping. The company recently made an entry into the Indian market and is looking to collaborate with event organizers and artists as the acceptance for blockchain technology increases in the country.

IBSFINtech SaaS TMS, InTReaX Is Powered By Oracle Cloud And Is Now Available On Oracle Cloud Marketplace

IBSFINtech, the Enterprise TreasuryTech company, a leading provider of solutions for end-to-end digitization of Cash, Liquidity, Treasury, Risk, Trade Finance, and Supply Chain Finance functions of corporations and a member of Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), today announced that its SaaS Treasury Management Solution, InTReaX™ has achieved Powered by Oracle Cloud Expertise and is now available on Oracle Cloud Marketplace, offering added value to Oracle Cloud customers.  The SaaS TMS InTReaX™ delivers  the benefits of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure’s (OCI) deep and broad platform of public cloud service capabilities. OCI enables IBSFINtech to build and run a wide range of applications in a scalable, secure, highly available, and high-performance environment.   

SaaS TMS InTReaX™ is a SaaS offering for Cash & Liquidity, Currency Risk, and Hedge Accounting, integrated with Refinitiv's suite of risk and financial data solutions. The solution is hosted on one of the most secure, flexible, and scalable cloud infrastructure, OCI. The SaaS TMS enables the treasury teams to do more with less and facilitates critical decision-making with access to real-time and accurate information. 

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, security, integration, 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.

“It has been our constant endeavor to offer future-ready solutions to our customers, and we do this with a thorough understanding of their changing needs. Treasury automation is a critical focus area for CXOs today. Having been mandated by boards, corporations globally are augmenting their corporate finance functions with robust treasury automation solutions. Our association with Oracle Cloud is a step forward in offering customers cloud-native solutions to support their business transformation journeys,” said CM Grover, MD & CEO, IBSFINtech India Pvt Ltd. “IBSFINtech’s participation in Oracle PartnerNetwork with the Powered by Oracle Cloud Expertise further extends our commitment to the Oracle community and enables customers to easily reap the benefits of IBSFINtech SaaS TMS InTReaX™. We look forward to leveraging the power of Oracle Cloud to help us achieve our business goals.” 

"The cloud represents a huge opportunity for our partner community," said David Hicks, vice-president, Worldwide ISV Cloud Business Development, Oracle. "IBSFINtech’s commitment to innovation with the Oracle Cloud and quality execution helps our mutual customers receive cloud-enabled Treasury Management solutions ready to meet critical business needs."

Powered by Oracle Cloud Expertise recognizes OPN members with solutions that run on Oracle Cloud. For partners earning the Powered by Oracle Cloud Expertise, this achievement 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.

About IBSFINtech

Incepted in 2006, IBSFINtech is a Bengaluru-based home-grown enterprise TreasuryTech company. It provides end-to-end digitization and automation solutions for the cash and liquidity, treasury, risk, and trade finance management (TRTFM), and supply chain finance requirements of medium and large corporates. Backed by AI, Data Analytics, and MIS technologies, the company's integrated risk management solution helps businesses drive visibility, improve control, mitigate operational risks, and optimize organizational efficiency for various Indian and Global organisations. 

IBSFINtech's broad customer base is spread across Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Gurgaon, and Noida in India and international markets such as Singapore and Europe. Some of its marquee clients are Vedanta Group, Mphasis, Wipro Enterprises, Maruti Suzuki, JSW Steel, etc. Global clients include IMR Metallurgical Resources, JSW International, and many more.

About Oracle PartnerNetwork

Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) is Oracle’s partner program designed to enable partners to accelerate the transition to cloud and drive superior customer business outcomes. The OPN program allows partners to engage with Oracle through track(s) aligned to how they go to market: Cloud Build for partners that provide products or services built on or integrated with Oracle Cloud; Cloud Sell for partners that resell Oracle Cloud technology; Cloud Service for partners that implement, deploy and manage Oracle Cloud Services; and License & Hardware for partners that build, service or sell Oracle software licenses or hardware products. Customers can expedite their business objectives with OPN partners who have achieved Expertise in a product family or cloud service.  To learn more visit: http://www.oracle.com/partnernetwork