INT. To Host Eastern India’s Biggest Annual Flagship Conclave - Digital Success Summit On August 5

* Registrations open for the event; this year’s focus theme to be digital growth playbook

Leading full-cycle product engineering company - offering a confluence of technology, analytics and marketing - INT. (Indus Net Technologies), is all set to host the third edition of its flagship Digital Success Summit on August 5th at the Hyatt Regency, Kolkata. The focus this year is creating a Digital Growth Playbook for attendees, encompassing the areas of marketing, technology and analytics.

The summit will witness a lineup of stalwarts from the digital technology landscape including names such as Arjun Vaidya –CEO Dr.Vaidya’s, Santosh Panda – Co-Founder & CEO Explara.com, Udit Goenka – Founder & CEO FirstSales.io, Vivek Bajaj – Co-founder Kredent Infodege, Pallav Nadhani – Co-founder & CEO Fusioncharts, Vikas Chawala – Co-founder Social Beat, Suyash Saraf – Founder Dot & Key Skincare, Kashif Raza – Founder Bitinning, AJi Issac Mathew – CO-founder & CEO INT.Techshu.

Under the theme of Digital Growth Playbook, the distinguished gathering will discuss on growth hacking for personal as well as corporate branding, amplifying business growth through influence, content marketing, data analytics, video marketing, omni-channel marketing, and blockchain to cite a few.

Over a short period of time, the Digital Success Summit has established itself as Eastern India’s most sought after and popular industry conclave in the digital technology landscape.  The previous edition pre-pandemic, witnessed over 1000 attendees with 81 percent being CXOs and 60+ speakers.

The registration link for the event is Digital Success Summit 2022 with special rates on offer till July 29, 2022.

Abhishek Rungta, Founder & CEO, INT. said: “The new normal has transformed the conventional world in a multi-dimensional way and digital assumes prime prominence now. Within the digital technology landscape too, marketing, technology and analytics are triggering a wave of disruptions for businesses across sectors to benefit. It is in this context; we call upon industry representatives to make the most out of the Digital Success Summit and gain know-how from the best of thought leaders in this space.”

About INT.:

INT. (Indus Net Technologies) is a full stack software engineering solutions company with pioneering legacy spanning 25 years, over 500 clients and 11,000 plus client projects. Over the years it has built industry recognition as an innovator and strategic digital partner championing the cause of human-centric and outcome-driven solution offerings.

Apart from India, the company has global presence spanning the UK, the USA, Singapore and Canada. INT. has a dedicated and niche focus on banking, insurance, financial services and pharmaceuticals and healthcare industries. With over 750 INTians on board and growing, the company follows a unique lean structure across the organization, with only three levels of hierarchy including the top management.

Zoho Celebrates Milestone Investments, R&D, And Growth Across India

* Continued Commitment to Innovation Powers 38% Year-Over-Year Growth, 80 Million Global Users, and the Opening of 59 New Offices Through Zoho's Transnational Localism Initiative

Zoho Corporation, a leading global technology company, announced achieving a rate of 38% year-over-year growth and surpassing the 80 million user mark. In addition to ongoing global expansion, the company continues to grow its product portfolio and make investments in automotive, robotics, and health care technologies. Zoho also celebrated opening 59 new global hub-and-spoke offices in rural areas and small cities over the last two years to expand into new markets and further support local communities.

The announcement, made at Zoho's annual analyst summit, affirms the company's commitment to developing resilient solutions that support all businesses, many of which have been negatively impacted by recent economic disruption.

"We've long felt that we have a responsibility to the communities and world around us, whether that be through providing job opportunities to those with less access or by delivering products that help business grow to their potential," said Sridhar Vembu, CEO of Zoho Corporation. "Our approach from the start of Zoho—now 26 years ago—still rings true today: nurture people and businesses, and lower the barrier of entry. Cost effective, yet built-for-scale products and regionally located offices aside, Zoho has built its business by being a partner that helps people thrive. Our success is their success and vice versa."

Investments

Zoho has made strategic investments in the areas of automotive, robotics, and health care technology to support the development of and access to advanced solutions by those in need. These includes an investment in Silicon Valley-based smart electric utility vehicles and powertrains manufacturer Boson, which focuses on light utility vehicles (LUVs). Boson's initial focus is on farming, and Zoho shares that focus as it expands into rural areas across the globe.

Since 2021, Zoho has announced investments in: electric motorcycle company Ultraviolette Automotive in partnership with TVS Motor Company, Voxelgrids, an Indian startup that builds Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners, forming a consortium of local technology companies based in the Kongu region of Tamil Nadu, India, and Genrobotics, an Indian startup building robotics and AI-powered solutions for social issues.

Innovation and R&D Diversity

Zoho's investment and innovation philosophies are rooted in the research and development of powerful, unified tools that are customizable to any organization's distinct business needs and vision. More than 60% of the company's workforce is devoted to engineering, both in the development of new technologies and building ways for those apps to complement and integrate with one another. To date, Zoho has developed more than 55 apps, having grown from 40 only two years ago. Though the scope of our offerings continues to increase, our price does not, and we remain committed to affordability—offering both free and paid versions of every product—and delivering software tailored to the distinct needs of small and medium-sized businesses.

Zoho's Proven Growth Philosophy: Transnational Localism

Zoho continues to celebrate global expansion through its Transnational Localism effort, first introduced in early 2020 as a means to create self-reliant local communities and economies. Since then, the initiative has grown to include new global offices, local hiring, partnerships with local organizations and government bodies to lower the technology adoption barrier for businesses, upskilling courses in association with educational institutes, language localization including RTL support for languages like Arabic, and local pricing for several countries. The offices opened as part of Zoho's Transnational Localism efforts follow a hub-and-spoke model, with larger offices serving as hub to several dozen small spoke offices located in rural areas and towns around the world. This method of growth allows employees to stay in their hometowns and contribute to their local community while working for a leading, globally recognized technology company.

The company improved access to both software and localized Zoho support, opening 59 hub-and-spoke offices in the last two years. In addition to aggressive expansion into new territories and markets, including Canada, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia, Zoho has announced plans to add 100 new small-scale offices in rural districts across India in the next few years.

Zoho celebrated impressive regional growth, with headcount up by 300% outside of India since the start of 2020. It also aims to hire at least 2,000 employees across engineering, technology, and product development, particularly software developers, quality assessment engineers, web developers, designers, product marketers, writers, technical support engineers, and sales executives within the next year. The recent openings of Zoho's McAllen and New Braunfels, TX, offices in April 2022 and December 2021, respectively, exemplifies this mission. Since its ribbon-cutting, the McAllen office now hosts 40+ employees from surrounding communities, and has maintained an ambitious hiring cadence. The New Braunfels office has added more than 30 employees since its opening.

Disclaimer: All trademarks, product names, and company names cited herein are the property of their respective owners.

Nestlé MILO Collaborates With Inspire Institute of Sport To Support India’s Top Athletes

Nestlé MILO joins forces with Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS), one of India’s premier training centers that has a vision to create and develop Olympic champions in India. MILO has always believed in the importance of sports and in providing nourishing energy to young champions. Sharing the same ethos, IIS leverages its world-class infrastructure, finest coaching and sports science to scout for young athletes and train them to become future Olympians of our country. They have already been successful in producing three Olympic medalists, including Tokyo Gold medalist Neeraj Chopra. In this unique partnership, as the Official Dairy Partner of IIS, Nestlé India will contribute one year worth of Nestlé a+ milk and MILO RTD to IIS athletes. MILO with IIS has also launched a new campaign featuring javelin star Neeraj Chopra along with budding athletes, high jumper Dev Karthick from Tamil Nadu and judo champ Olivia from Manipur. The campaign titled ‘Khudse’, highlights how these champions succeed by encouraging and motivating themselves to push boundaries beating their own records.

Speaking on the partnership, Olympic Gold Medalist Neeraj Chopra said, “It is extremely encouraging to see an established brand like MILO partner with the Inspire Institute of Sport and work collectively towards the common goal of helping athletes be the best versions of themselves. I am a firm believer in the power of self-motivation and am thrilled to be part of this campaign between IIS and MILO which aims at taking this message to the countless young athletes across our country who are training hard every day. I hope that through this campaign we are able to inspire the next generation of Indian athletes to push harder and give their best.”

Sharing his thoughts on the association, Mahesh Bhupathi, renowned tennis player and IIS Advisory Board Member said, “It’s imperative that the right brands partner with the collective push to help our athletes achieve global success, and that’s precisely what Nestle’s coming on board with the Inspire Institute of Sport underlines. We’ve always said that for us to be able to compete consistently and win on the big stage, it’s going to take the coming together of all stakeholders, and brands are a vital cog in that wheel.”

Commenting on the partnership, Mehernosh Malia, Head – Dairy Business, Nestlé India, “We are proud to partner with Inspire Institute of Sport and extend our humble support to them in building the future sporting talent of India. Their rigorous screening process, state-of the art training facilities, experienced coaches and mentors from around the world will help them realize their mission. Our partnership with IIS is a perfect fit with MILO’s commitment towards nourishing young champions and inspiring them to develop the grit within. Through the new campaign ‘khudse’ we encourage young champions to not wait for any external reinforcement but to cheer for themselves and push their own boundaries, with their grit and passion”

Rushdee Warley, CEO, Inspire Institute of Sport, added, “Nutrition plays as defining a role as some of the more obvious aspects, when it comes to determining success in sport. MILO is a product that’s been associated with young athletes and nutritious energy for a long time now, and this  association between Milo and IIS is a step in the right direction.”

Creative Agency Name: Bullet on wheels

TVC Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBUPu_pLGFc

LTI’s Data Products Unit Fosfor Partners With Women In Data

* Partnership to promote diversity in the data and analytics market space

Fosfor, the Data Products Unit of Larsen & Toubro Infotech (BSE: 540005, NSE: LTI), a global technology consulting and digital solutions company has partnered with Women in Data (WiD), a non-profit with the mission of creating diversity in data careers.

WiD is a global community of women in data careers with nearly 50 chapters across 30 countries. It is a place for data enthusiasts of all backgrounds to connect, grow, and lead together.

The goals of the partnership are twofold:

1.       The Fosfor team will collaborate with WiD on efforts to educate women in college and in the workforce on opportunities in the data and analytics field.

2.       The Fosfor team will work with WiD provide mentorship and career opportunities to women in the data and analytics field—and to leverage Women in Data’s extensive network to secure talent for its rapidly growing organization.

The partnership is built on a number of collaborative thought leadership initiatives as well as Women in Data memberships for Fosfor team members.

Siddharth Bohra, Chief Business Officer, Cloud & Data Products, LTI, said: “We firmly believe that product design benefits greatly from gender diversity, especially in the field of Artificial Intelligence, where algorithmic bias can be directly countered by a more diverse group of developers. We’re therefore excited to partner with Women in Data to further increase the gender diversity of our Fosfor team, and to support its women with learning, networking, and leadership opportunities.”

Kelley Lieberman, Head of Marketing, Women in Data, said: “Our partnership with Fosfor brings two exciting opportunities to Women in Data. First, we look forward to helping the Fosfor organization itself become more diverse. Beyond that, Fosfor’s unique suite of products covers the entire data-to-decisions lifecycle—meaning they are used by a broad range of both business and technical users, representing a broad range of job roles that can benefit from the kind of diversity Women in Data exists to promote. We are especially excited to explore ways to bring our message to this extraordinarily broad Fosfor user base.

LTI launched Fosfor in December 2021 and the five products of the suite are being leveraged by dozens of marquee clients for their mission-critical data and AI needs. More information on Fosfor can be found at www.fosfor.com. More information on Women in Data can be found at www.womenindata.org. 

About Fosfor

The Fosfor Product Suite is the only end-to-end suite for optimizing all aspects of the data-to-decisions lifecycle. Fosfor helps you make better decisions, ensuring you have the right data in more hands in the fastest time possible. The Fosfor Product Suite is made up of Spectra, a comprehensive DataOps platform; ; Aspect, a no-code unstructured data processing platform; Optic, a data fabric to facilitate data discovery-to-consumption journeys; Refract, a data science and MLOps platform; and Lumin, an decision intelligence platform. Taken together, the Fosfor suite helps businesses discover the hidden value in their data. The Fosfor Data Products Unit is part of LTI, a global technology consulting and digital solutions company with hundreds of clients and operations in 31 countries. For more information, visit www.Fosfor.com.

About Women in Data

Women in Data (WiD) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2015 by Sadie St. Lawrence when she noticed the lack of women representation as she began her own journey into data. Concerned about the prospect of gender equality in a data-driven future, the first chapter of Women in Data was launched with a mission to increase diversity in data careers. Today, Women in Data is a global community of 30,000 data enthusiasts of all backgrounds located in more than 30 countries around the world coming together to increase awareness, create opportunities and empower women in data careers.

About LTI:

LTI (NSE: LTI) is a global technology consulting and digital solutions Company helping more than 495 clients succeed in a converging world. With operations in 33 countries, we go the extra mile for our clients and accelerate their digital transformation. Founded in 1997 as a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Limited, our unique heritage gives us unrivalled real-world expertise to solve the most complex challenges of enterprises across all industries. Each day, our team of more than 46,000 LTItes enables our clients to improve the effectiveness of their business and technology operations and deliver value to their customers, employees, and shareholders. Find more at http://www.Lntinfotech.com or follow us at @LTI_Global.

Skybags Launches 2022 Backpack Collection With New Campaign #BackToCool, To Help Gen Z Celebrate Return To Life Post-Pandemic

Skybags, the youth-centred brand from the illustrious house of VIP Industries, is all set to help the nation’s Gen Z celebrate a stylish return to normalcy with the launch of its bold new #BackToCool campaign. Introduced just as its audience goes back to regular events in-person after two years, the campaign highlights the excitement of returning to normal life and creatively unveils the stylish 2022 Skybags Backpack Collection.

Capturing the thrill of finally going back to normal life after the pandemic, the chic new #BackToCool campaign highlights how Skybags’ backpacks are synonymous with style among the discerning Gen Z. Shot in a vibrant, colourful and edgy style, the commercial features all the exciting aspects of this special time- reuniting with friends in real time, playing team sports together, partying and socialising with the squad, and celebrating together in-person after a long hiatus- all while sporting the contemporary backpacks from Skybags’ latest collection.

This campaign aptly showcases Gen Z as they truly are- bold, vivacious and always on the move! The audacious new video also demonstrates how perfectly Skybags backpacks fit into their lives and focuses on riveting features that the brand offers such as built-to-last straps, premium back support with air mesh, rain covers and a 12-month international warranty. Complete with a young cast and hip music, the campaign aims to celebrate people’s desire to get back to normal life with a bang and will resonate with Gen Z audiences as they return to life as it was before the pandemic.

For over 50 years, VIP has revolutionised the luggage category with continuous product innovations, adherence to quality and international aesthetics. Their youth focused brand Skybags is a pioneer in the Indian market, offering distinctive designs, innovative features and appealing aesthetics for younger audiences. Building upon the success of their previous campaigns, the brand has raised the bar with the #BackToCool campaign by combining the joie de vivre of Gen Z with the effortless style of Skybags.

Backpacks are quickly becoming an essential fashion accessory for youngsters across India. Cognizant of this need, Skybags’ latest collection boasts of an exciting range of cool backpacks, trendy laptop backpacks and stylish rucksacks. With new price points and new categories like PU backpacks, biking backpacks and daypacks, Skybags’ 2022 collection has something stylish to cater to every need. 

At the launch of the #BackToCool campaign, Praful Gupta, Vice-President, Marketing, VIP Industries Limited, said, “At Skybags, we recognise that the backpack is now a go-to accessory for Gen Z and millennials. Staying true to our philosophy of ‘Move in Style’, the #BackToCool campaign aims to help our youth make a stylish return to normalcy post-pandemic. Both the campaign and the 2022 collection are deeply reflective of our audience- stylish and functional, discerning but playful, and conscious yet fun! Behind the sleek aesthetics of our new range lies over decades of design and engineering innovation, and we are excited to introduce this to the market in such a fun manner. We’re confident this campaign will resonate deeply with India’s Youth.”

Symphony Limited Announces Highest Ever Quarter Consolidated & Standalone Sales

* GROSS MARGIN HIGHER THAN PRE-COVID JUNE-19 QUARTER 

The Board of Directors have recommended an interim dividend of ? 2/- (100%) per equity share of ? 2 each, amounting to ? 13.99 crores for FY 2022-23.  

Mr. Nrupesh Shah, Executive Director of Symphony Limited has commented:   

Performance Highlights:  

Q1FY23 recorded the highest ever first quarter Standalone and Consolidated sales, up by 30% and 13% respectively vis-à-vis previous historical high. This was despite historical highest pre-season channel inventory (due to Covid-19 in previous two summer seasons).  

The channel inventory across the country is now normal and negligible.   

Standalone Gross Margin at 50.6% (Q1FY20 : 50.1%) and Consolidated Gross Margin at 45.6% (Q1FY20 : 45.3%) were higher than even June-19 quarter (pre-Covid), despite unprecedented increase in input prices and freight cost. 

Standalone and Consolidated EBITDA margin (%) was lower vis-a-vis to June-19 quarter (pre-Covid) on account of  

Increased Advertisement and sales promotion expense to sell historical highest pre-season channel inventory, D2C & E-Commerce promotions, and   

Increased freight and forwarding charges.  

All channels viz. general trade, modern trade, regional chain formats, D2C & E-Commerce, and rural markets posted strong performance.  

Newer channels namely D2C and E-Commerce continued to deliver robust incremental sales growth.  

D2C and E-Commerce platforms were initiated globally viz. in the USA, Mexico and Australia. They are having huge potential due to ground presence through fully operational subsidiaries, and local as well as global models.  

Large Space Venti-Cooling (LSV) business has been generating a strong position traction driven by new models, wider distribution network and indigenization of product manufacturing.  

The Company was bestowed with “Great Place To Work” certification and has been attracting the best talent across the functions.  

Way Forward:  

There is a decent visibility of consumer sales in the domestic market, with complete normalization of trade inventory and demand picking up. The Company continues to offer industry leading innovations, designs and formats.  

The Company continues to plough investment in domestic and global D2C and E-Commerce platforms and leveraging new age technology and tools for products as well as internal processes. 

Costs and service levels will be optimized through leveraging Indian and Global outsourced manufacturing facilities and agile supply chain strategy.  

The Company continues to pursue growth with a focused sense of purpose and responsibilities towards the society – cooling spaces without harming the earth.”   

ABOUT SYMPONY LIMITED: 

A world leader in evaporative air coolers, Symphony focuses on innovative design to create better and eco-friendly products for domestic, commercial, and industrial customers in 60 countries across the globe. At Symphony, design-driven innovation and green engineering are sustainable competitive advantages. The Company delivers market-leading products with engineering and design innovation, improved energy conservation, distinctive styling, and customer-centric design. 

Established in 1988, Symphony leverages a unique and successful asset-light business model for its residential coolers in India and in-house lean manufacturing for its industrial coolers in Mexico to achieve sustainable and profitable growth. 

Headquartered in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, Symphony is a global company committed to develop sustainable and responsible products. The Company leads the air-cooling industry's efforts to develop breakthrough green technologies to combat climate change. A publicly traded company in India having fully operational subsidiary companies in Mexico, China, Australia, USA and Brazil offering products in over 60 countries, Symphony continuously delivers value to its stakeholders in a profitable and predictable way.  

Union Bank of India Announces Strong Financial Results For Quarter Ended June 30, 2022

The Board of Directors of Union Bank of India today approved the accounts of the Bank for the Quarter ended June 30, 2022.

Key Highlights in Q1FY23

Strong Financial Performance:

Net Profit of the Bank improved by 32.02% on YoY basis during Q1FY23. Net interest income of Bank grew by 8.11% on YoY basis during Q1FY23.

Bank continues to demonstrate a strong liability franchise

The CASA deposits have increased by 8.69 %YoY. Bank now have a total deposits base at Rs.9,92,774 Crores as at the end of Q1FY23.

Business growth gaining momentum

The Advances have increased by 12.95 % on YoY basis respectively, while Deposits have increased by 9.27 % YoY basis respectively. Bank now have a total Business at Rs.17,21,409 Crores as on June 30, 2022.

Credit in Retail, Agri and MSME (RAM) segments

Bank registered 11.13 % growth in Retail, 14.04 % growth in Agriculture and 11.26 % growth in MSME advances on YoY basis. RAM advances as a per cent of Domestic Advances stood at 54.88 %.

Reduction in NPA: -

Gross NPA (%) reduced by 338 bps on YoY basis to 10.22% and Net NPA(%) reduced by 138 bps on YoY basis to 3.31% as on 30.06.2022.

Improved capital ratios

CRAR improved from 13.32 % as on 30.06.2021 to 14.42% as on 30.06.2022. CET1 ratio improved to 10.68 % as on 30.06.2022 from 9.77% as on 30.06.2021.