Amaron Launches Its Brand Mascot ‘Ron’ For The Indian Market

* The Rons, with the glowing ‘A’ on their chest and surrounded by rings of energy, represent the tremendous power packed inside the All-New Amaron batteries.

Amaron, India’s leading automotive batteries brand, recently unveiled their mascot – The Ron. And there’s not just one Ron; there are many of them, each representing energy in its powerful, modern and sustainable form. Launched to coincide with the All-New Amaron batteries, The Rons have become a trailblazer for the automotive batteries industry, which has, till now, not been known for using brand mascots.

A futuristic figure created in Amaron’s green brand colour scheme, the Rons, with a glowing ‘A’ on their chest signify the tremendous energy at the heart of the All-New Amaron. With digital screens for faces, Rons are capable of displaying emoticons, GIFs and more. Rons are surrounded by rings of energy, representing the tremendous power packed inside the All-New Amaron batteries.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that energy now has a face you can recognise - Rons. With Brand Amaron pushing the boundaries of its markets, the launch of a mascot seems the ideal step to take, to help bring the brand to global markets.

This is a marked change in how the industry interacts with consumers. Mascots create an emotional connect with people, and become indelibly etched in their memory, as they come to represent the brand over time. It is a major step forward for how the industry looks to engage with consumers and stakeholders alike.

Speaking about the launch of Ron, Mr Jayadev Galla, Chairman and Managing Director, Amara Raja Batteries Limited, said “We had always planned to launch a brand mascot and were waiting for the right opportunity. Brand ambassadors and celebrities are valuable, but they don’t become uniquely identifiable with a brand for extended periods. A mascot is timeless and unique. And this is the right time to introduce the Rons, with Amaron expanding not just across India, but into international markets. As we launch the All-New Amaron batteries, We expect our Rons to bring global recognisability to Amaron over time”

The mascot was created by the Design Cell at Ogilvy India. Speaking about the project, Sujoy Roy, Executive Creative Director, said “We worked on the Rons for over a year, trying to create the ideal mascot. We didn’t want to go the way of typical cereal mascots, or simplistic human figures, or animals. Amaron needed a mascot that did justice to the brand’s evolution and expansion - something stylish, modern, and truly 21st-century, representative of Amaron’s core promise of energy that lasts long, really long.”

With the nation returning to the roads in a major way after the challenges of the pandemic, this is an exciting time for the automotive battery industry. Very soon, Rons will dot the nation’s landscape, and become the face of energy.

About Amara Raja Batteries Limited

Amara Raja Batteries Limited is an Energy and Mobility enterprise and one of the largest manufacturers of energy storage products for both industrial and automotive applications in the Indian battery industry. 

In India, Amara Raja is the preferred supplier to major telecom service providers, Telecom equipment manufacturers, the UPS sector (OEM & Replacement), Indian Railways and to the Power, Oil & Gas, among other industry segments. Amara Raja’s industrial battery brands comprise PowerStack®, AmaronVolt® and Quanta®. The Company is a leading manufacturer of automotive batteries under the brands Amaron® and PowerzoneTM, which are distributed through a large Pan-India sales & service retail network.

The Company supplies automotive batteries under OE relationships to Ashok Leyland, Ford India,

Honda, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, and Tata Motors. The Company’s Industrial and Automotive Batteries are exported to countries in the Indian Ocean Rim.

Chennaiyin FC Sign Former Bundesliga Striker Petar Sliskovic

Chennaiyin FC have roped in former FSV Mainz striker Petar Sliskovic ahead of the upcoming season.

A product of FSV Frankurt’s youth academy, Sliskovic made his professional debut at the age of 19 in the Bundesliga with FSV Mainz and played for the club for five seasons, until 2015.

This marquee announcement comes right after the Chennaiyin FC camp was bolstered by Ghanaian forward Kwame Karikari’s services.

Welcoming Sliskovic to the club, Chennaiyin FC co-owner Vita Dani said: “Petar Sliskovic is a great addition to our squad. Having played in many different clubs in Germany with some top coaches and players, Sliskovic also has the experience that some of our youngsters can feed off.”

Sliskovic plays mostly as a centre-forward and has 136 goals and 16 assists to his credit from 359 games. Most of his career, he has played highly competitive football in Germany.

He was also part of FSV Mainz side that emerged the U-19 Bundesliga champions in 2008-09.

Besides FSV Mainz, the 6’4 striker has also played for several other German clubs including Hallescher FC, Viktoria 1889 Berlin and MSV Duisburg.  

“I am very happy about my move to Chennaiyin FC. It's a great club to go to, I hear. And I'll give everything to make sure we succeed,” Sliskovic said ahead of maiden stint in India.

FC Aarau is the only non-German club Sliskovic has played for so far in his 12-year long career. The 31-year-old spent two seasons at the Swiss club, starting from 2014-15 and featured in 31 matches for them across competitions, registering five goals and two assists.  

He has also represented Croatia U-21 team.

ASK Investment Managers Achieves The 1,000 Subscribers Cap For Its Latest AIF, Raises Over Rs. 1,200 Crore

ASK Investment Managers Limited (“ASK”), one of India’s largest asset and wealth management companies, announced the closure of the Golden Decade Fund.

The long only and close-ended category III alternative investment fund (AIF) achieved a milestone of 1,000 subscribers, 87% of the investors are Individual Resident Indians. The maximum subscriptions have come from Mumbai followed by investors from Delhi and NCR.

The fund focusses on spaces where stronger growth may sustain for longer on account of sustained value transfer such as new private sector banks, speciality chemicals, consumers, etc. To attract investments from HNIs (High Net Worth Individuals) and UHNIs (Ultra High Net Worth Individuals) for long-term and consistent wealth creation, ASK has limited the scheme’s term to four years without any restrictions of a lock-in period.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sunil Rohokale – MD & CEO at ASK Group said, “The Golden Decade Fund has received an immensely positive response and we continue to receive enquiries. Our strong research with disciplined investing during all market conditions and adaptation of digital technologies for a seamless, paper-free application have made HNI, UHNI, and family offices place their confidence in the fund despite volatile market conditions. It testifies to our consistent delivery of the investment objective of the fund and deep client engagement.”

Prateek Agrawal, Business Head and CIO, ASK Investing Managers, added, “We aspire to generate long-term returns for clients by investing in potentially high-growth sectors, which are likely to be India’s growth drivers in the coming years. These sectors offer substantial wealth creation opportunities for investors. We are confident that we will be successful in achieving capital preservation and appreciation over the long term.”

About ASK Investment Managers Limited (ASK IM) | ASK Investment Managers Limited (ASK IM) is a leading asset and wealth management company, primarily catering to the HNI and UHNI market in India. It is a part of the ASK Group, a leading player in the asset & wealth management business in India. ASK IM was one of the first companies to obtain a license for portfolio management services in India. It is the largest company in domestic discretionary listed equity Portfolio Management Services, excluding the FPI (foreign portfolio investment) and FPI others category, according to assets under management as of March 31, 2022. Among their many industry-first initiatives, they were the first Portfolio Management Company to set up operations in GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec) city for overseas investors. They have also launched India's first AIF with digital client onboarding; a paperless and easy-to-follow process.

About ASK Group | ASK is a leading player in the asset & wealth management business with a presence of over three decades. It primarily caters to the HNI and UHNI market. A true believer in the Indian growth story, it has grown on the strength of its relationships with its global clients. 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 services clients through 20 offices and branches across India, Dubai, and Singapore. 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 is managing assets over Rs. 78,900 crore as on May 31, 2022.

Degpeg Secures 2.93 Cr In Round Led By The Chennai Angels With Participation From VCats

The Chennai Angels (TCA), one of India’s foremost angel investment groups, today announced an investment of Rs. 2.93 crore along with Venture Catalysts in Degpeg, a Bengaluru-based live commerce platform that enables brands, retail, commerce businesses, and influencers to go live from their website or choose from a platter of 30+ social and community channels. This funding led by The Chennai Angels with participation from Venture Catalysts, will be used by Degpeg to further develop their product offerings and grow their marketing activities. 

With a vision of becoming a full-stack global live commerce platform, Degpeg offers an outstanding solution when it comes to integrating live commerce and its benefits into a brand. Degpeg brings to the table an entire 360-degree approach. From marketing to growth, Degpeg offers a complete range of solutions for brands and retail businesses including content, performance Marketing, influencers, and tech integration with any e-com or sales solution.

Vipul Jain, Founder, Degpeg said “Live streaming has been gaining momentum over the last few years in various business categories including games, education, content creators, and corporates. We implement a futuristic approach to position the company as a leading video and live commerce solution for all kinds of brands and businesses across the world. This funding from The Chennai Angels will assist us in taking this vision forward.”

Venkatesh V, the Lead Investor from The Chennai Angels (Director & CEO of Cavin Kare Pvt Ltd), said, “Social commerce is evolving into a robust consumer vertical and Degpeg is uniquely placed to capitalize on this opportunity with a well-identified niche and superior technology. The team at Degpeg has exhibited great insight, planning ability, and execution track record in their journey so far. We at The Chennai Angels are excited to come on board with DEGPEG and look forward to partnering with them during this growth phase. Over the years, The Chennai Angels have been actively involved in several new tech start-ups and we are eager to see them scale higher in the years ahead.”

About The Chennai Angels

The Chennai Angels (TCA, www.thechennaiangels.com) is one of India’s most active Angel Investing groups. Founded in the year 2007, it is comprised of successful entrepreneurs and business leaders with a track record of starting and scaling large enterprises. Over the years, TCA has invested in over 60 start-ups. TCA portfolio companies benefit from the collective expertise and rolodex of its members.

About Degpeg

Degpeg is a SaaS based live commerce platform which helps brands (retail, commerce, media etc.) globally to enables Livestreaming commerce over brand digital assets (web, mobile app) connected with social, marketplace & chat platforms worldwide.

Bengaluru Among The Top 5 Tier I Cities With Maximum Demand For Tyres This monsoon

-          Apollo and Bridgestone were the most widely searched brands in Bengaluru

-          Demand for tyres in Tier II cities witnessed a growth rate of 67%

-          Demand for four-wheeler tyres rose by 54% while that for two-wheelers remained stable

Fueled by a high demand rate in Tier-II cities this monsoon, online searches for tyres in India have shot up by 51% with MRF, Apollo, and Bridgestone being the top-3 most searched brands, reports the latest Just Dial Consumer Insights.

Consumer searches on Just Dial, India’s No.1 local search engine, reveal that demand for tyres during the April-May-June’22 quarter rose by 51% YoY and 20% QoQ. Searches in Tier-II cities shot up by 67% YoY while in Tier-I cities it remained stable. Tier-I cities also saw a 14% QoQ growth while in Tier-II it was marginally ahead at 18%. Demand for car tyres rose by 54% (YoY) but that for two-wheelers remained stable across the country.  

Commenting on the consumer trends, Mr. Prasun Kumar, CMO, Just Dial, said: “The jump in demand for tyres is in line with the overall sentiment in the passenger vehicle segment that has remained in green on a YoY basis backed by some new launches. The rise in demand in the category for tyres across the country has been driven by Tier-II cities that are witnessing a growth rate in demand higher than the national average. To cope with the rising consumer sentiment, we have aggregated a vast range of tyre dealers on our platform so that our users can get the best deal. This has resulted in Just Dial becoming the go-to platform for automobile users while searching for new tyres.”

Just Dial Consumer Insights also revealed that MRF, Apollo, Bridgestone, CEAT, JK, Goodyear, Michelin, Yokohama, TVS, and BKT were the top-10 most searched tyre brands in the country with the top-3, MRF, Apollo, and Bridgestone, dominating 77% of the searches on the platform.  

Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad are the top-5 markets in Tier-I cities that saw maximum demand for tyres. MRF was in maximum demand in Delhi, Chennai, and Hyderabad while Apollo’s top-3 markets were Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Bengaluru. For Bridgestone, most of the searches were from Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. 

Among Tier-II towns and cities, maximum traction for tyres was from Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Thiruvananthapuram, and Lucknow. The demand growth rate (YOY) for MRF and Apollo in Tier-II markets was around 58% each while for Bridgestone it doubled. 

About Just Dial Limited

Just Dial Limited provides local search related services to users in India through multiple platforms such as Desktop/PC website (https://www.justdial.com), mobile site (https://t.justdial.com), mobile apps (Android & iOS), over the telephone (Voice, pan India number 88888-88888) and text (SMS). Justdial’s latest version of JD App, is an All-in-One App, replete with features like Map-aided Search, Live TV, Videos, Stock quotes, etc. to make the life of the consumer infinitely smoother & more engaging.

The Company has recently launched its B2B marketplace platform, JD Mart. JD Mart platform, available at https://www.jdmart.com and via apps on Play Store and App Store, is aimed at enabling millions of India’s manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers to become internet-ready in post-COVID era, get new customers and sell their products online. The platform offers digital product catalogues to businesses and aims at digitalising India’s businesses, especially MSMEs, across categories. Buyers can discover quality vendors offering a wide selection of products to choose from, spread across millions of categories to suit all B2B needs.

Justdial has also initiated transaction-oriented services for its users. These services aim at making several day-to-day tasks conveniently actionable and accessible to users from one App. With this step, Justdial is transitioning from being purely a provider of local search and related information to being a direct/ indirect enabler of such transactions. Justdial has also recently launched an end-to-end business management solution for SMEs, through which it intends to transition thousands of SMEs to efficiently run business online and have their adequate online presence via their own website, mobile site. Apart from this, Justdial has also launched JD Pay, a unique solution for quick digital payments for its users and vendors.

BharatPe Pushes Growth Pedal Harder: Facilitates Over INR 3600 Cr In Loans In Q1, FY23

 

·         112% QoQ growth in disbursals facilitated via BharatPe’s NBFC partners

·         Recorded 50%+ growth in TPV vs last quarter

·         BharatPe facilitated disbursals of INR 1400 crores in loans in June 2022

BharatPe, one of India’s fastest growing fintech companies, today announced that it has closed one of the highest growth quarters in the company’s history. The company doubled up on the successful last quarter (Q4 of FY22), by facilitating over INR 3600 Cr in loans in the first quarter of FY23; recording a staggering growth of 112% over the last quarter. BharatPe also hit an all-time high of US$ 18.5bn in annualized TPV - a growth of 50%+ over Q4, FY22.

The company facilitated disbursals to over 1.2 lac merchants in Q1, FY23, up from 66,000 merchants in the last quarter of FY22. The top merchant categories for loans included grocery, food and beverages, roadside kiosks and street vendors, as well as retail outlets. Additionally, BharatPe’s other product offerings, including the card acceptance POS businesses (BharatSwipe) and its Investment Platform for merchants recorded consistent growth (over 30%+) vs. the last quarter.

Speaking on this achievement, Mr. Suhail Sameer, CEO, BharatPe, said, ‘The pandemic has provided the much-needed tailwinds for the growth of digital payments and lending in the country. With our stronghold in the new power centers of lending (technology and data), BharatPe has been at the forefront of this change. Post a successful FY22 that we closed with a 3x growth in merchant loans, 2.5x growth in payments and a 4x jump in revenue, BharatPe has recorded its’ best ever quarter in Q1, FY23. We are on an incredible growth journey, driven by huge shift in behavior towards digital payment modes, rise of UPI and the increased acceptance of new-age fintech products. We have closed the last quarter with a 112% growth in total loans facilitated. These numbers are a testimony of the trust that millions of offline merchant partners and consumers have bestowed in us.”

Added Suhail “This dream run would not have been possible without the commitment and hard work of our world class team. We have bettered our performance of last quarter by a mile and will continue to focus on scaling our key segments – payments and credit businesses. We remain core to our mission of bringing financial inclusion to the last mile - across tier 3,4 and 5 cities and towns. We are on track to achieve our target of US$ 2 bn in loans facilitated (through our NBFC/ bank partners) across both consumer and merchant business by the end of FY23 as well as scaling payments TPV to US$ 30 bn by March 2023. Additionally, we will continue to explore partnerships with banks to launch new-age fintech products.”

Moving beyond the straight-jacketed approach of lending, BharatPe has sachetized credit in the form of small-ticket, short-term, and easy-to-repay loans up to INR 10 lakhs, in partnership with our lending partners. With flexible tenure options up to 12 months, the tailor-made solution is attuned to the occupation cycle of small businesses. BharatPe, earlier this year, in partnership with its’ NBFC partners, also forayed into secured lending, and plans to scale the gold-based lending product to 20 cities by the end of the financial year.

About BharatPe

BharatPe was founded in 2018 with the vision of making financial inclusion a reality for Indian merchants. In 2018, BharatPe launched India’s first UPI interoperable QR code, the first zero MDR payment acceptance service. In 2020, post-Covid, BharatPe also launched India’s only zero MDR card acceptance terminals – BharatSwipe. Currently serving over 80 lakh merchants across 225+ cities, the company is a leader in UPI offline transactions, processing 18 crores+ UPI transactions per month (annualized Transaction Processed Value of US$ 18.5 Bn in annualised payments). The company has already facilitated disbursement of loans totalling to over ?7000 crores to over 400,000 merchants, since launch. BharatPe’s POS business processes payments of over US$ 4 bn annually on its POS machines. It has a network of 1.25 lac+ machines across cities. BharatPe has raised over US$ 650 million in equity and debt, till date. The company’s list of marquee investors includes Tiger Global, Dragoneer Investment Group, Steadfast Capital, Coatue Management, Ribbit Capital, Insight Partners, Steadview Capital, Beenext, Amplo and Sequoia Capital.  In June 2021, the company announced the acquisition of PAYBACK India, the country’s largest multi-brand loyalty program company with 100 million+ members. In October 2021, the consortium of Centrum Financial Services Limited (Centrum) and BharatPe, was issued a Small Finance Bank (SFB) license by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). BharatPe also made its grand entry in the Buy Now Pay Later segment with the launch of postpe in October 2021.

'I Felt The Need To Become A Domain Expert Even After 25 Years In The Corporate Ecosystem', Says upGrad Learner Dr. Ramesh Kumar

~His passion for research and writing has helped him complete an extensive 36-month Global Doctorate program in just 10 months, with a strong research paper which was converted into a book titled ‘Cost of Poor Leadership’ ~

Dr. Ramesh Kumar, an upGrad learner from India's Silicon Valley, Bengaluru, is a distinctive example of how an experienced professional approaches LifeLongLearning. Having worked in the corporate ecosystem for about 25 years across diversified roles and from being a Mentor, Leadership coach, Visiting Faculty, and to Board Advisor, he has now achieved one of the highest terminal degrees - Global Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) with upGrad’s university partner Swiss School of Business and Management, Geneva. 

A certified leadership coach, Dr. Kumar in his previous corporate stints has been at the senior executive level for several years leading and transforming businesses into growth mode in India and overseas. Focused on leadership development, Dr. Kumar has spent years working with the best crop of leaders from India Inc. and trained them to become visionaries in their respective domains. He has also led global teams of ~5000 people and has trained them to drive concrete business results. 

Despite being an over-achiever and having donned multiple hats across domains, Dr. Ramesh felt the need to go a step further. “I felt the need to become a domain expert even after 25 years in the corporate ecosystem," said Dr. Kumar.

At the end of his program, he converted his research paper into a book under the same title, ‘Cost of Poor Leadership’. “Honestly, to become a ‘Doctor’ and enjoy the ‘Dr.’ prefix before my name was on my bucket list. Combining my years of experience along with research to create an impactful outcome was always a compelling reason for me and upGrad was indeed a sound decision. The global faculty support and learning assistance I received during the program were truly the plus points. While the journey of research is interesting and exploratory, the satisfaction from the accomplishment of creating something unique that could also guide future researchers is extremely fulfilling," he added.

Mayank Kumar, Co-Founder& MD, upGrad further added, “There is a common misconception that learning stops once you have attained a degree and have completed a number of years with an organisation. Even corporates globally need innovative leaders who can preempt business challenges and solve them through research-driven solutions. Therefore, Dr. Kumar’s journey is an encouragement for millions of such weathered professionals, who want to become experts in their desired domain but have parked the idea for a future date.”

An online DBA program which is rare to find, makes the learner stand out from the crowd of usual Master degree holders, thereby helping them earn better compensation for senior management or C-Suite roles. Professionals can opt for such global doctorate programs with upGrad’s university partners to reap the benefits of flexible online education without the challenge of loss of pay. These specially curated programs are at par with global education standards, offer international academic support, and one-on-one thesis supervision to help working professionals engage better with the content and chart out a rewarding career path for themselves. 

About upGrad 

upGrad - started in 2015 is a pioneer in the online education revolution, focused on powering career success for a global workforce of over 1.3 billion. It is one of the few Integrated LifeLongLearning Tech Companies in the world - spanning the college learner to the working professional from the age group of 18-50 years and across Undergrad courses, Campus & Job Linked Programs, Studying Abroad, short form to executive programs to Degrees, Masters and Doctoral - with a learner base of over 3 million across 100+ countries and over 300 University partners and a robust enterprise business with a client base of 1000 companies worldwide.upGrad’s Global Learning Engine rests on four pillars - (a) its large repository of original & owned content and IP, (b) its own best-in-class proprietary tech platform, (c) it's high touch human-led delivery service backed by coaches & mentors, and (d) an 85% course completion track record, backed by a further 80% career outcomes guaranteed performance. Already termed Asia’s higher EdTech leader it has offices in the UK, U.S., Middle East, India, Singapore & Vietnam, and with a presence in many more countries.