Emirates Secures Summer Flight Schedules To European Cities

Emirates expects a busy summer and is set to operate as scheduled over the peak travel season, including at its 39 European points with its London Stansted route re-starting from 1 August.

With over 24,000 scheduled passenger flights to and from 129 airports around the world for July and August, Emirates has been co-ordinating with its ground handling partners at airports around the world, ensuring they are up-to-date with operational requirements and are prepared to support smooth passenger movement.

Emirates has also worked closely with other stakeholders at Dubai Airport to support its flight schedule and services, provisioning additional resources to ensure efficient operations at the hub, including for transiting passengers. Those visiting Dubai or doing a summer stopover can ease through departures and arrivals with speedy biometrics-enabled check-points; and utilise various convenient options for mobile, online, home, and self-check in.

The double-decked Emirates A380 aircraft is also being deployed to serve high customer demand at over 30 cities around its network, this includes popular European cities: Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Rome, Paris, Madrid, Manchester, Milan, Vienna, and Zurich.

Whether travelling for the holidays or to visit family and friends, customers can look forward to all of Emirates’ signature experiences. On ground, this includes complimentary Chauffeur Drive airport transfers for First and Business Class customers in nearly all cities served by Emirates. Onboard, customers in all cabins can expect freshly prepared meals inspired by the season and region, and an unmatched selection of the latest movies, TV shows, radio, live TV, podcasts and more on the 5,000 channels of on-demand entertainment on Emirates ice.

Flight updates and travel advisories: To receive the latest flight updates, customers are encouraged to download the Emirates App or update their contact details by clicking on the ‘Manage My Booking’ tab on emirates.com. Customers should also check the latest travel requirements and advisories before their journey, and plan to arrive early at check-in, allowing extra time to clear airport formalities.

Dedicated lounges: Customers flying in First and Business Class, and qualifying Emirates Skywards members can take advantage of an early check-in to refresh and relax in Emirates’ dedicated Lounges at 21 airports outside of Dubai, including recently re-opened facilities in Bangkok. In Australia, Emirates Lounges in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth are scheduled to be re-opened by the end of July. For the rest of its global network, Emirates has arrangements with lounge partners in 100 other airports. Paid lounge access is also available to customers travelling in other classes, for more information visit: https://www.emirates.com/ae/english/experience/our-lounges/

Dubai summer holidays and stopovers: Dubai is the place to be this season with The Dubai Summer Surprises, one of the city’s major shopping and entertainment events, running a packed line-up of events, family activities, and shopping promotions. The Emirates boarding pass doubles up as a discount card for the summer until 30 September 2022. Emirates’ customers can simply show their boarding pass and a valid form of identification to hundreds of retail, leisure and dining outlets to enjoy fantastic discounts throughout Dubai. Learn more about My Emirates Pass here: www.emirates.com/myemiratespass

About Emirates

Emirates’ 36 years in India have been defined by progressive investment, partnership and growth. In October 1985, Emirates launched flights from Dubai to Delhi and Mumbai which formed the base of its initial route network. Since then, Emirates has grown its India operations to serve a total of nine destinations across India – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Thiruvananthapuram. For more information on Emirates’ current operations, network, travel support, guidance, customer and employee safety, visit www.emirates.com 

Ignitho Names Former Cognizant, Mindtree Exec As Chief Delivery Officer; To Grow Its India Presence In Chennai To 500

Ignitho Technologies, a US headquartered data science and digital engineering company, has named Ramesh Ramaswamy as its Chief Delivery Officer. Ramesh brings to Ignitho more than two decades of delivery leadership experience and was with Cognizant and Mindtree for close to a decade each, playing key leadership roles in delivery and account management. His core experience is in driving large-scale IT programs, setting up and growing businesses, and increasing operational efficiency. Ramesh will nurture Ignitho's client relationships as well as develop high-performance teams as the company gets ready to cross INR 100 Crore ($15 million) in revenue by 2023. Ramesh will also drive Ignitho’s India team expansion plans in Chennai to 500. Ignitho sees the expansion of its India operations as critical to sustaining its rapid growth and has also lined up plans to move to a larger development center in Chennai.

Welcoming Ramesh Ramaswamy to the leadership team, Joseph Olassa, CEO says, "Ignitho will hugely benefit from Ramesh's delivery expertise and industry experience, which enabled him to deliver successful digital engagements for an enviable list of clients over the years in the US and Europe. Ramesh will also collaborate with our CTO, Ashin Antony in building industry-leading expertise in data science, AI, automation, and product engineering at Ignitho." Scott Nugent, Chief Commercial Officer added, "As Ignitho continues to onboard Fortune 500 and Nasdaq listed companies as clients in North America and Europe, our customer-centric leadership and industry expertise will continue to be key differentiators, something Ramesh will augment. In addition, we are looking at Ramesh to further ramp up our India team in Chennai via the amazing tech talent pool available to us in the region, to fuel our growth plans.

Sharing his excitement at joining the leadership team, Ramesh Ramaswamy says, "Ignitho is today seen as a challenger vendor and a strategic partner in data science, AI, automation, and product engineering services. Ignitho's engagement model delivers tier-1 service quality with the agility, accessibility, and innovation-focus of a scale-up. Having proven the model, we have now lined up plans to disrupt the pure-play IT services industry using our AI-led Digital Engineering capabilities. As Ignitho continues to aggressively expand into the US and European markets, I'm looking forward to giving impetus to this momentum. In addition, I’m also looking forward to ramp-up our data science and digital engineering team at our India Development Center in Chennai."

Established and led by industry veterans from top-tier IT services companies like Cognizant and Mindtree, Ignitho has built an enviable track record of being a challenger vendor in data science and digital engineering services. Ignitho’s POD-based teams come with a product engineering mindset and discipline in agile delivery, enabling digital agility and business growth for its clients. In addition, Ignitho’s parent company, Nuivio Ventures Inc, brings together an ecosystem of innovative enterprises, early-stage investors, and passionate entrepreneurial professionals to build software platforms and products. In addition, the unique model of entrepreneurship via Nuivio Ventures provides like-minded professionals a platform to fuel their startup dreams.

About Ignitho & Nuivio: 

Ignitho, a Nuivio Ventures company, delivers Data Science and Digital Engineering solutions, taking Enterprises from ambition to success in the Data Led, Cloud Enabled, Digital Economy. Ignitho’s POD-based project teams come with a digital engineering mindset and discipline in agile delivery, enabling accelerated business growth for its clients. Ignitho’s engineering services are powered by its Innovation Labs, which leverages the Frugal Innovation methodology co-developed with Jaideep Prabhu, Professor at the University of Cambridge.

Headquartered in the USA, Ignitho services its customers through its primary offices in New York and London, with additional offices across North America, Europe, and Asia. Read more at www.ignitho.com & www.nuivio.com 

PNB Introduces Pre-Approved Personal Loan In 4 Clicks And single OTP Via Digital Channels

Punjab National Bank (PNB), nation’s leading public sector bank introduces  ‘Pre-Approved Personal Loan in 4 Clicks and Single OTP ’ on the mobile Banking App PNB One, that unifies multiple services of PNB on a single platform. Customers can now get  personal loans with just four clicks and a single one-time password (OTP). The end-to-end digital journey takes less than a minute with instant disbursal in the account

The 24*7*365 end-to-end digital service will offer customers a seamless and convenient experience i.e. customers no longer need to visit the branch as they can do it from the comfort of their home, office or  anywhere anytime.

‘Pre-Approved Personal Loan in 4 Clicks and Single OTP ’was launched by Shri Atul Kumar Goel, MD & CEO of PNB, at the Bank's head office in New Delhi, in the presence of Executive Directors -  Shri Sanjay Kumar, Shri Vijay Dube, and Shri Kalyan Kumar, CGMs, senior officials and other bank staff.

At the event, Shri Atul Kumar Goel, MD & CEO of PNB, said: “Having understood the opportunity due to the growing demand of digital loans due to busy schedules amongst the current generation, we are delighted to offer the Pre-Approved Personal Loans to our customers through our digital channels. In addition to providing access to instant credit, there is no hassle of documentation for loans up to Rs. 4 lakh. PNB hopes that this product will serve as an example of responsible digital lending for the banking industry and prove to be one of the best products in the retail sector.”

Eligible customers can avail the facility through the digital lending platform PNB Instaloans which can be accessed through Bank’s corporate website and the mobile banking app PNB One

PNB customer care center can be reached at 1800-180-2222 for further information. Currently, the bank is offering this service to salary account holders and pension accounts.

IIPC Celebrates World Chocolate Day With Live Demo And Love of Chocolates At Bangalore's Chocolat Building, Indiranagar

Each year July 7, is celebrated as the 'World Chocolate Day' Its the day when chocolate lovers around the world indulge in their favorite treat without any guilt. And in Bangalore, IIHM Institute of Pastry and Culinary (IIPC) located at Chocolat building in Indiranagar displayed  lot of love on World Chocolate Day with a special and very interesting Live Demo session, along with a wide spread of European favourite confectionery items.  So on the occasion, chocolate lovers present made sure to enjoy all kinds of goodies made from chocolate while also stayed mindful of the consequences of overindulging.

Pastry makers, aspiring pastry chefs and home bakers enjoyed a live session conducted by the distinguished pastry chefs - Chef Avjit Ghosh, Director IIPC, Chef Michelle Peris, Executive Pastry Chef and Chef  Riya Arora, Chief Instructor. Enthusiasts took  this opportunity to learn the tricks of making hand-rolled truffles, flavoured with Royal Chai Ganache and Saffron Crunch.

Chocolate lovers made this event a hit,  by being a part of this extraordinary experience at IIPC. A spread of exquisite goodies made from chocolate awaited the guests at IIPC.. Chocolate lovers thoroughly enjoyed and indulged, guilt-free, in their favourite confectionery items on this special day. Some of the items on the spread included :

· Dark Chocolate Cannelloni with Almond and Cocoa Nib Mousse

· Caramel and Chocolate Meringue Tart

· Flourless Chocolate Cake, with Praline and Coconut Crunch

· Milk Chocolate Profiterole, with Cocoa cream and Streusel

· Intense Brownie with Whipped ganache and Orange Jus

· Mini Glazed Berliners with Hazelnut and Chocolate Custard -rolled truffles,

Celebrating World Chocolate Day for the first time, Dr Suborno Bose, the Chairman and Chief Mentor of IIHM, said, “It is our pleasure to celebrate this special day dedicated to chocolate and chocolate-lovers. IIPC is providing a wonderful opportunity to people who love to bake and experiment with new items with this special live session at our campus. IIHM always tries to highlight the important days in the year and bring something new and exciting for everyone.”

Chef Avijit Ghosh, Director, IIPC said, “This is an amazing opportunity for us to showcase some exclusive chocolate recipes and items for our guests. World Chocolate Day is earmarked for chocolate lovers to enjoy their favourite chocolates-inspired confectioneries and we are trying to do just that.”

Candidates interested in learning the art of pastry-making have a wonderful opportunity ahead to become a certified professional pastry chef from the best culinary school in India. At IIPC, students can learn and enhance their skills from the world’s best chefs. Their skills will be recognised and they will find placements in the best organisations in the world. IIPC is recognised by the Craft Guild of Chefs, a leading professional body for chefs.

Hero MotoCorp Launches Hero Dirt Biking Challenge (HDBC) - A Pan-India Talent-Hunt Program

Building on its customer-focused approach and providing the ideal platform to the country’s youth, Hero MotoCorp - the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters -today announced Hero Dirt Biking Challenge (HDBC) - the first-of-its-kind pan-India talent-hunt program by an OEM (original equipment manufacturer).

The Hero Dirt Biking Challenge is aimed at providing the much-awaited platform for budding riders, enthusiasts and amateurs who want to pursue their passion in off-road racing and make a name for themselves in the field.

Making it truly pan-national by spanning across the nook and corner of the country, the HDBC will reach as many as 45 cities to find India’s top amateur off-road riders. The winner and two runners-up will receive the popular Hero Xpulse 200 4V motorcycle and sponsorships contracts from Hero MotoCorp worth Rs. 20 lakh. 

Further spreading its popularity among the youth, the HDBC will be telecast over MTV and streamed over Voot in the month of November 2022.

Announcing this here today, Ranjivjit Singh, Chief Growth Officer (CGO), Hero MotoCorp, said, “The Hero MotoSports Team Rally - the rally-racing team of Hero MotoCorp - has been India’s flag-bearer in international rally racing and we are now bringing that expertise to mentor the youth in India through HDBC. This will give a further boost to the off-road riding culture in the country. Thanks also to the Hero Xpulse 200 4V, the youth have now got an accessible option to pursue their passion in off-road riding. I am sure this first-of-its-kind initiative in the country will open doors for riding enthusiasts and provide India with its future champions. We wish all the participants the very best of luck.”

The participants of the HDBC will also get a Golden Opportunity to be trained by the Hero MotoSports Team Rally - one of the top international teams and the only Indian team ever to win a stage at the Dakar Rally. Hero MotoSports Team Rally riders Ross Branch, Joaquim Rodrigues, Sebastian Buhler and Franco Caimi will work with the top participants and provide them with invaluable coaching.

To register and for more details on Hero Dirt Biking Challenge, interested participants may log on to www.hdbc.in.

After screening of the online submissions, the first rounds will be held over multiple weekends in 45 cities and the shortlisted participants from this round will move to the regional rounds that will be held across 18 cities.

The top-100 selected riders will go to a five-day regional bootcamp, where they will get another golden opportunity – this time to be trained by none other than the ace Indian rider CS Santosh.

The bootcamp will conclude with a race and the top-20 participants will then move for the finals to be held at the world-class Center of Innovation of Technology (CIT), Hero MotoCorp’s state-of-the-art R&D center in Jaipur.

At CIT, the top riders will be trained and mentored by the Hero MotoSports Team Rally over five days before the final race to choose the eventual winner for the coveted prize.

Netflix India And Film Companion Spotlight The Next Generation of Filmmakers With ‘TakeTen’

The creative community, Film Companion and Netflix India have come together to support the next generation of India's storytellers. The ten finalists of 'TakeTen,' underwent an intensive week-long workshop facilitated by over twenty of India's finest creative leaders covering a wide variety of aspects in the filmmaking process. All 10 finalists will now create fully-funded short films that will be presented on Netflix India’s YouTube channel.

The ‘TakeTen’ workshop included sessions on editing, production design, screenplay development, music, cinematography, lighting, and laying the groundwork for short films.

Acclaimed professionals such as Reema Kagti, Tisca Chopra, Guneet Monga, Neeraj Ghaywan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Kabir Khan, Vishal Dadlani, and Shakun Batra mentored the budding filmmakers during their creative journey.

"It's always exciting to meet new filmmakers, because they carry infinite possibilities for all of us connected with films and music, within their dreams. These are the people who may well redefine how films are made, how the business is run and most crucially, 'what works'. I’m really looking forward to watching all their films and excited to see what we discussed has translated into the way they've worked with music", said Vishal Dadlani, who conducted a session on music and how to skillfully incorporate music that fits and adds value in short films.

Reema Kagti, whose session focused on translating thoughts into on-screen stories, said “It was great fun to speak to the ten finalists. I’m looking forward to seeing them create magic through their films!”

Tisca Chopra said, "Netflix and Film Companion have done a great job with selecting these young filmmakers. It was so gratifying to see them have such a mature take on cinema. I can’t wait to see the films they will make!" Her workshop on the power of short films highlighted the art form as a means to communicate more in less.

“I am so thrilled that ‘TakeTen’ finalists got to learn from the best in the business and so grateful to all the artists who made time to inspire a new generation of filmmaking voices!” said film critic, author and Film Companion editor, Anupama Chopra.

The finalists of ‘TakeTen’ are Barkha Naik & Suyash Kamat from Goa, Hitarth Rakesh Desai, Ria Nalavade & Sameeha Sabnis from Mumbai, Murali Krishnan from Thiruvananthapuram, Manasvini Boovarahan & Sandip Kishan Anbuselvan from Chennai, Rohan Shyam Chowdhury from Kolkata and Aditi Sharma from Noida.

Manasvini Boovarahan, one of the TakeTen Finalists, said “The workshop made the whole process of filmmaking seem so much less intimidating. It was a relief to know that the professionals also go through problems just like us.”

“Multiple speakers said do not be afraid to make mistakes as they can be magical, which has helped me to rearrange my own mental state with my team, which is going to help a lot,” said Sameeha Sabnis, who also learned about power of saying “I don’t know” while making a film.

Suyash Kamat, a TakeTen finalist said, “The whole week was about making connections between the ways different filmmakers approach the process. I have certainly gained a sense of clarity regarding my film and how to focus on it.”

About Netflix: Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 222 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries, feature films and mobile games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any Internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.

About Film Companion: Film Companion, founded by Anupama Chopra, is India’s leading entertainment journalism platform. The platform is a celebration of movies and storytelling. Film companion is pan-India and covers entertainment from across the country and abroad. It’s a platform committed to quality with balanced, well-researched journalism and its hallmark is credibility. Film Companion brings to you engaging and informative content on movies that includes reviews of films and web shows, interviews, film festival news, features and masterclasses.

Vestian, In Association With FICCI, Releases Report About ‘Shifting Trends In Indian Office Market’ And Understanding The New Cogs

* The report consists of market trends observed in the seven major cities of the country, encompassing Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Mumbai, and NCR

* Office absorption in the first half of 2022 recorded at 27.2 million sqft; equals the absorption witnessed during pre-pandemic period of H1 2019

* New office completions pegged at 26.9 million sqft in H1 2022, depicting a 32% YoY improvement

* The pandemic-impacted period spanning H1 2020 to H1 2022 saw total absorption of 103.56 million sqft and the completion of a new 98.8 million sqft

* Bengaluru leads the way in both absorption and new office space completions during the pandemic years, followed by Hyderabad

* Evolving market dynamics, taking into consideration factors such as infrastructure push, ESG compliance, proptech adoption and strengthening co-working and start-up ecosystem, that have increased bearing on the office market

Vestian, in association with FICCI, released a report today titled ‘Shifting Trends in the Indian Office Market: Understanding the New Cogs’. The report walks us through the office market trends during the COVID-19 outbreak and sheds light on the key insights that were perceptible in this period.

Mr Sanjay Dutt, Joint Chairman of FICCI Real Estate Committee and MD & CEO, Tata Realty & Infrastructure Ltd., said, “FICCI and Vestian have co-created this report on emerging trends that are being adopted in office spaces by companies across the country. We observe that India is leading to changing work cultures and environments. I am confident that the report’s findings would be useful not only for realtors but also for consumers, the government, research & academic institutes, and the industry. These ideas and deliberations would help us all go a long way in addressing the regulatory challenges and reflect on our way forward.”

Dr Shrinivas Rao, FRICS, CEO, Vestian, said, “This report aims to provide an insight into the various facets that emerged during the pandemic, most of which are still evolving constantly in tandem with the change in scenario. With the COVID-19 event impacting occupier expectations and consequently leading to a shift in market dynamics, it is imperative to understand the opportunities presented in the new environment. Newer cogs such as proptech, ESG implementation and policy changes have emerged on the real estate scene and harbour potential to take the sector to the next level of development.”

Gearing up for the future by understanding the new cogs in office market dynamics:

Push to infrastructure development has been one of the major catalysing factors to stimulate the market in the aftermath of the pandemic. Additionally, policy announcements such as granting infrastructure status to data centres and rebuilding of the SEZ norms would undoubtedly impact the office market.

In FY 2021, approximately 30 companies hired 3.6 lakhs freshers, out of which India’s top 5 tech companies such as TCS, Infosys, Cognizant, HCL Tech, and Tech Mahindra have hired 2.3 lakhs freshers. This alone would translate into the absorption of over 18.5 million sqft of office space in India.

With ESG coming into the picture, the emphasis on sustainability has driven up considerable investment in green buildings and clean energy infrastructure. Compared with conventional structures, buildings with stronger environmental credentials that depict ESG compliance generate higher rents, fetch higher sale prices, increase retention rates, and also demonstrate lower rates of obsolescence.

India’s co-working spaces, initially occupied by start-ups and freelancers are now seeing increasing preferences by larger corporations in Tier I as well as Tier II cities. Not surprisingly, the sector accounted for nearly 20% of the transacted space during H1 2022 as against 15% in 2021.

With the hybrid work model increasingly being seen as a preferred mode of working post the pandemic, companies must now contemplate a futuristic vision for the workplace, determine the areas of investment and retraction, and come up with a stable strategy on how to meet the changed requirements of the workforce. Thus, as we progress through 2022, we expect to see the office market gearing up to meet these imminent occupier requirements and move in the direction of an improved work environment in the near future.