Mool Nets A Seed Round Of Funding From NextGen Technology Fund

Mool Innovation Labs, which operates as a SAAS Tax saving & salary optimisation product,  has caught the attention of investors and has received seed funding from Next Generation Incubation Scheme (NGIS) of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI). Pontaq Ventures India LLP is the fund manager of the aforesaid fund. 

Founded by Seemant Shrivastav and Subhashree Mishra in 2019, Mool aims to fundamentally change the way people deal with money starting from salary. It employs smart algorithms and machine learning technologies to personalise finance and taxation and offers smarter investment and borrowing options. Mool is planning to invest the funds into charging up their go-to-market strategy, product development, and expanding the team.

Mool’s innovative approach to automation and personalization has given it an edge in attracting a strong client base. Speaking about the funding, Seemant, co-founder at Mool said, “We thank STPI & Pontaq Ventures for showing confidence and trusting our vision to build a world-class fintech platform. Mool has built technology to simplify the tax & financial jargon by optimising compensation benefits and also provides financial literacy to its customers. Today, our youth is crippled by limited knowledge of salary structure and needs guidance on saving and investment options. We’re intensely passionate about solving this problem and providing users the option to grow their money through effective planning.”

Prem Barthasarathy, Managing Partner, Pontaq Ventures India LLP stated, “Mool has identified a crucial problem being faced by employees today and is trying to build financial discipline for today’s generation by simplifying taxation and finance. We like their approach to solving personal taxation conundrum and giving their customers a user-friendly platform that has an objective to optimize their savings.  We are excited to partner with Mool in this journey.”

Mool Innovation Labs is a leading fintech startup that aims to leverage technology  for corporate employees by facilitating effective tax planning, smart investments, insurance, and borrowing options. Mool simplifies the personal financial and taxation jargon and makes it accessible to all. With the products of Mool, organisations and employees can now maximise the value of their salaries without a hassle. Mool’s mission is to create a platform to educate everyone, optimize the growth of their money, and empower them with rich facts and proven analysis for decision making. 

NSDC Partners With Varthana Finance Private Limited To Provide Financial Assistance To Students For Skill Development Courses

* The partnership aims to cater to the underserved population and increase the reach of financial assistance

National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), a strategic implementation and knowledge partner for Skill India Mission, working under the aegis of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India, has partnered with Varthana Finance Private Limited to provide financial assistance to the students in skilling ecosystem. This will enable the achievement of the main objective of Skill loans initiative. The partnership aims to bridge the education financing gap for low-income population so that youth in India can avail financial assistance from financial institution to undertake desired courses.

"We have partnered with Varthana to commit to providing technical and vocational training to millions of underprivileged students who are otherwise turned down," said Ved Mani Tiwari, COO and Officiating CEO of NSDC. "NSDC has been in the skilling ecosystem for over a decade and is bringing in its knowledge and proficiency to narrow the existing gap between the demand and supply of skills. It acts as a felicitator in skill development mission and bring together the enterprises, companies and organizations that provide skill training. This partnership will ensure the seamless funding to build scalable and profitable vocational training initiatives. This way we enable support systems which focus on quality assurance, information systems and train the trainer academies either directly or through partnerships. This is another step in the direction towards supporting and empowering youth skilling and upskilling while also increasing their employability."

"Varthana offers financing to aspiring students to help them access opportunities to invest in themselves. We focus on education because we believe it is a powerful way to help unlock the potential that every individual has,” said Steve Hardgrave, Co-founder and CEO of Varthana. “The support of NSDC enables private companies like Varthana to enter and serve this important segment in a much more comprehensive fashion than would otherwise be possible. We hope that the training students receive, will help them pursue careers and livelihoods that are both satisfying and allow them to support and care for their families economically."

India’s skill sector is largely unorganized and unregulated, and underprivileged students bear the brunt of the consequences because they lack access to education facilities. Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) holds great potential for economic mobility and development in India, which has one of the largest workforces in the world. Although rapid strides have been made in creating a network of formal institutions providing a wide range of skills and addressing the skill gap, TVET in India, is currently limited, and plagued with several issues including access to financing. As a part of the partnership, Varthana would be making funds accessible to students enrolling in skill development training at attractive rates. This is in line with Varthana’s mission of bridging the education financing gap for low-income populations so that youth in India can have access to quality, affordable education.

Satmeet Singh, Head-Student Solutions at Varthana stated, “TVET is on the development agenda for many countries. Financing has been a huge barrier for students who wish to enrol for technical and vocational training courses. Varthana has been working closely with hundreds of skill development institutes to bridge this gap and has been financing students for skilling and upskilling through these courses.” Further adding that this initiative will provide significant financial support and employment opportunities to the students, he emphasized, “I would like to extend my gratitude to NSDC for bestowing their trust and giving us an opportunity to contribute to the nation’s growth through this initiative.”

All interested students can get in touch with their nearest NSDC approved training centres for more information.

VMware Named A Leader In The 2022 Gartner Magic Quadrant For Unified Endpoint Management For Fifth Year In A Row

* Company Also Receives Highest Product Scores in all Four Use Cases in 2022 Gartner® Critical Capabilities for Unified Endpoint Management Tools Report

VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) today announced it has been positioned by Gartner, Inc. as a Leader in the 2022 Magic Quadrant for Unified Endpoint Management (UEM). This is the fifth consecutive year Workspace ONE – a core technology supporting unified endpoint management requirements that is part of VMware’s Anywhere Workspace - has been named a Leader in the Gartner  Magic Quadrant for unified endpoint management.

In addition, VMware received the highest product scores in the 2022 Gartner Critical Capabilities for Unified Endpoint Management Tools report across all four defined Use Cases – Security-Centric Management, Remote Worker, Modern Windows Management, and Non-Standard PC.

“Today’s workforce faces key challenges like fragmented security, operational complexity and subpar experiences,” said Shankar Iyer, Senior Vice President and General Manager, End-User Computing, VMware. “In our view, this recognition validates our mission to enable employees to work from anywhere more securely and without friction, while supporting our customers’ most pressing priorities including workplace modernization, zero trust security, a great digital employee experience and profound time and cost savings.”

About VMware Anywhere Workspace and Workspace ONE

VMware Anywhere Workspace is an integrated platform that enables employees to work from anywhere with more secure and frictionless experiences. It brings together all the necessary solutions into a single experience for IT and employees, including Unified End-point Management with Workspace ONE UEM, desktop as a service (DaaS) with Horizon, Digital Employee Experience (DEX), and Workspace Security.

Workspace ONE UEM provides a comprehensive solution that enables companies to manage and better secure any device across all platforms. This UEM platform gives IT teams control over the highly diversified device deployments found in so many organizations today, while ensuring enterprise security at every level. Standout features include:

Manage Every Endpoint on Every Platform: Manage and secure all devices (mobile, desktop, special-purpose, etc.) and apps (native, SaaS, virtual, etc.) at scale with a single powerful solution by taking advantage of modern, cloud-native efficiencies.

Intelligence to Enlighten and Automate: IT teams get real-time visibility into the entire technology environment with Workspace ONE Intelligence, enabling informed, data-driven decisions. Proactive analytics help IT with faster resolution of issues that can negatively impact the overall digital employee experience (DEX) and security. Using the no-/low-code automation framework of Workspace ONE Freestyle Orchestrator, admins can automate routine and complex processes to minimize manual tasks for the IT team. 

Consistent Employee Experience: Employees work effectively on the go by providing a self-service unified app catalog that is consistent in look, feel, and function across all devices and platforms. The self-service digital workspace provides secure, single sign-on (SSO) access to all apps, actionable notifications, corporate communications, and support resources – all at one touch. Built-in per-app tunneling secures sessions even with apps behind a firewall. 

Automated Out-of-the-Box Device Onboarding: New devices register over the air during initial power-up with customizable configuration tools like Windows Drop Ship Provisioning, automated device enrollment with Apple Business Manager, zero-touch enrollment of rugged devices, and more. Admins can easily set up and customize the imageless configuration of work profiles such as email, VPN, Wi-Fi, apps, content, intranet sites, and other back-end resources. This gives employees immediate access to email, apps, and data within minutes of device startup, all of which ensures immediate user productivity and a positive employee experience no matter where the user is located.

Skit.ai Certified As A Great Place To Work® India For 2022

* Skit.ai was favorably ranked on the GPTW Trust Index© for Credibility, Respect, Fairness, Pride, and Camaraderie.

Skit.ai, a leading global Voice AI SaaS company, has been certified as a Great Place to Work® (GPTW) India for the year 2022 in the mid-size company category. As part of the Trust Index© Employee Survey conducted by GPTW, employees ranked Skit.ai favorably on parameters such as Credibility, Respect, Fairness, Pride, and Camaraderie.

The Great Place to Work® certification affirms Skit.ai’s core cultural values of striving for excellence, being a learning organization, building a client-first mindset, exercising constructive disagreement, and fostering commitment at work. These values are the driving force behind Skit.ai’s vision of a future that is voice-first, that enables customer service organizations across the world with sophisticated, differentiated, and unique voice technology.

Regarding the certification, CEO and Co-Founder of Skit.ai, Sourabh Gupta said, “We are glad to be recognized as a "Great Place to Work®". At Skit.ai, we have a holistic view of employee well-being and focus on every aspect of their professional and personal growth—physical, mental, emotional, and financial. Our values and beliefs of diversity, inclusion, and flexibility serve as a foundation for the way we work. The same values guide Skit.ai’s culture, policies, perks, and benefits, making it a great workplace for our team. We look to create more such milestones in the future.”

For Skit.ai, employee health and well-being are key priorities that go far deeper than standard practices. They follow an unlimited sick leave and vacation policy and provide employees with a comprehensive insurance package. With the implementation of hybrid work and flexible working times, Skit.ai's overall team productivity has increased by several folds.

“In the last six years, we have grown tenfold and with each passing day, we are rapidly expanding our global footprint, tapping into emerging new markets with our revolutionary technology. All this is possible because of the team—and the values and culture we have all worked together to shape,” Sourabh added.

Skit.ai works with a deep focus on creating employment opportunities that foster diversity in the workplace, with representation from all socioeconomic backgrounds and races. The company is also an ally of the LGBTQ+ cause.

Going forward, Skit.ai will continue on the path of learning, hearing, adapting, and implementing strategies that improve its work environment by putting its employees first.

About Skit.ai:

Skit.ai increases effortless contact center conversations at scale with its Digital Voice Assistant and Augmented Voice Intelligence Platform. By fusing advanced spoken language understanding systems, speech-first behavioral modeling, natural and fluent response production systems, and domain-specific AI, Skit.ai empowers contact centers to manage customers’ needs more efficiently. Skit.ai has automated millions of calls for global enterprises across industries, shifting the traditional contact center experience from automated responses to meaningful, human-feeling conversations. Skit.ai has received numerous awards for its best-in-class technology, including CCW Excellence Awards 2022 Disruptive Technology of the Year, Gartner Cool Vendor 2021, and Venture Intelligence’s Seed Capital Investment of the Year 2018. Learn more at Skit.ai.

MIT World Peace University Is Now “Great Place To Work-Certified” In India

MIT World Peace University is now Great Place to Work-Certified™ in India from August 2022 to August, 2023! MIT-WPU is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce. The University has been able to attract talent from across the country and has about half the faculty and employee base as women. A culture of maintaining respect and dignity for each employee has been the founding stone of the University’s culture.

The University provides flexibility to faculty to build their career in the area of their choice of research and service suiting their career aspirations and offers full freedom and autonomy to achieve this.

In addition, the University has leveraged multiple digital interventions effectively to enhance employee experience at various levels.

"We are thrilled to be recognized as a great place to work by our employees," said Rahul Karad, Executive President, MIT World Peace University. "For over 40 years, we've worked hard to create an organization that values culture, engagement, and progress. This certification validates our efforts, and we will continue to prioritize a great work experience as a major priority and a hallmark of our organization.”

Great Place to Work® is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, they have surveyed more than 100 million employees worldwide and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. Their employee survey platform empowers leaders with the feedback, real-time reporting, and insights they need to make strategic people decisions. The Institute serves businesses, non-profits and government agencies in more than 60 countries and has conducted pioneering research on the characteristics of great workplaces for over three decades.

In India, the Great Place to Work® institute partners with more than 1100 organizations annually across over 22 industries to help them build High-Trust, High-Performance Culture™ designed to deliver sustained business results. Hundreds of CEOs and CXOs from India Inc. are part of the great place community that is committed to the vision of making India a great place to work for all.

The Institute’s research shows that great workplaces are characterized by great leadership, consistent employee experience, and sustainable financial performance. These organizations can deliver a consistent experience to all their employees irrespective of their role, gender, tenure, or level. Their leaders believe in the vision of creating and sustaining a Great Place to Work For All™ and role models being ‘FOR ALL’ Leaders.

Learn more at https://www.greatplacetowork.in/  and on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

About MIT World Peace University

MIT Group of Institutions was established in the year 1983 by Dr. Vishwanath. D. Karad, Founder President, MIT Group of Institutions. Since then, the MIT Group of Institutions has grown exponentially and has made a strong impact in the field of education throughout India. Today, the MIT Group provides education in the fields of Engineering, Medicine, Pharmacy, Marine Engineering, Insurance, Distance Education, Telecom Management, Lighting, Design, Food & Technology, Retail Management, and Masters in Business Administration, School of Governance, School of Education and Hospitality Management.

MIT-WPU’s multidisciplinary approach towards providing a premium quality educational experience to students is what makes it one of the best private universities in the country. They implement well-researched methods, which bring about a perfect balance of an academic framework reinforced through experiential learning.

Onwards & Upwards: 6 Ways To Improve Career Prospects For Students

In this cut-throat competitive world, it is important for every student to stand out. When it comes to employability, the organisations are looking for students who have knowledge beyond the classroom, students who are eager to learn and curious about the contemporary world. One can boost their chances of finding work if they have certain qualities that make them instantly employable in the workplace.

In this globalised and digitalised world, you must put in a lot of effort not just to find a job that meets all your expectations, but also to convince an employer that you are the best candidate. Students should take the initiative to develop specific traits that make them industry ready.

Read the full article to understand some ways of improving career prospects –

Understand the industry

The first step is to decide what profession you want to work in, and after that, it is crucial for students to understand the workings of that industry to gain a holistic perspective. The goal is to be informed of everything going on around you and keep an eye on how things are changing. Employers prefer to work with people who are up to date with current events and are aware of the world around them. Being informed about developments in an industry will surely help you ace your interviews!

Learn a foreign language

Learning a foreign language is crucial for personal and professional growth since it allows you to learn more about different cultures and, as a result, fosters a favourable attitude towards people from diverse backgrounds. It also allows you to work seamlessly with teams across the globe. Digital, gamified apps are some of the best resources to learn a new tongue. For instance, Duolingo now allows native Bengali speakers to learn English with the help of their own language – all for free! A lingua franca, English will enable students to explore opportunities on a global scale.

Upskill and reskill yourself

Given circumstances over the last couple of years, business models need to be agile and respond to changing times efficiently. Therefore, they are on the lookout for talent holding multiple skill sets. Keep updating your existing skills, while also trying to learn additional ones. Say you are a proficient writer – upgrade your SEO skills for sure but start reading up on the basics of finance too. This will help you write better about the finance genre. Upskilling and reskilling increase the chances of getting hired exponentially.

Create your personal website

Creating your own personal website is a great way to get noticed by potential employers. It gives you a competitive edge over other candidates. A website gives you the chance to show your creativity and the way you design it can display a part of your personality to recruiters. It acts as your own personal brand. You can keep adding your achievements, skills, awards etc. Add your portfolio, previous work, recommendations and let the website speak on behalf of you. There are multiple easy-to-use tools available online that can help you create your own personal website.

Get mentored

It is important to identify and find a mentor that can guide you through the course of your career. It can be a professor from your college or someone from the industry with whom you have worked with in the past. They can help you make better decisions, give honest feedback, and help you get your hands on important resources. Having a mentor can ease your transition from academics to industry and can even be useful in expanding your network. If the mentor is happy with your progress, they might introduce you to their colleagues, friends, and other relevant people in the industry.

Keep your social media profiles updated

When it comes to your professional life, your social media networks provide a first glimpse of who you are as a person. Therefore, make sure all of them are updated, especially, your LinkedIn profile. Recruiters look at a candidate’s social media presence to do a background check and to get them to know better. Be conscious about what you are putting up on your social media accounts and update your network with relevant achievements and skills regularly. Besides, sites like Twitter, Facebook can also help you network professionally and gain insights and news about the industry.

SBI Opens Country's First Dedicated Branch For Startups In Bengaluru

* The new facility will be called the 'SBI Startup Hub' branch. The MoU was signed in presence of the state IT minister. 

The State Bank of India (SBI) has signed an agreement with the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) to start a separate bank branch for facilitating the necessary credit facility for startups. The first such branch will be opened at Koramangala in August this year, CN Ashwathnarayan, Karnataka's Information and Technology minister.

The new facility will be called the 'SBI Startup Hub' branch. The MoU was signed in presence of the state IT minister. "This MoU would boost the prevailing startup ecosystem in the state. The SBI would start such branches at Mysuru, Mangaluru, and Hubballi-Dharwad clusters in the next 6 months," the Karnataka minister said.

As per the agreement, the SBI will work with the Karnataka government to enabling mechanism for startups recognised by the state and supported by KDEM for availing time-bound credit based on the purchase order. While the KDEM would establish a Fin-tech Innovation Hub at Mengaluru focusing on financial technology.

Karnataka has more than 13,000 startups and some of them are facing a paucity of funds. The MoU between KDEM and SBI would help to address this by facilitating access to credits. It also facilitates, exploring options to extend CGTMSE (Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises) loans to eligible firms.