International Admissions Consulting Firm Kanan. Co Forays Into The South Market

* Soon to tap into other major metros of India

* The company, which has its presence across 25 locations, is now set to bring its expertise in admission consulting and its network of 1000+ mentors and experts from across the globe to help students in the South to gain admission into premium institutes abroad

International admissions consulting and advisory firm Kanan. Co is making its foray into the South market, with its first branch in Bangalore.

A truly global higher education partner to students, recruiters, and educational institutions, with its presence in 25 locations is all set to bring its expertise in admission consulting and its network of 1000+ mentors and experts from across the globe to help south students gain admission economically into premium institutes in the USA, UK, and Canada, by expanding its educational services to Bangalore.

Commenting on the impact it intends to create in the South market, Founder and Managing Director Manish Shah said, “In the absence of right coaching and a consulting ecosystem for the students to study abroad, the entire Kanan. Co team is eager to embark on this new adventure with a highly motivated and trained career advisor and counsellor in Bangalore. With this fresh beginning, we will ensure that students in Southern India are helped and guided in an economical way to accomplish their dream of studying abroad more hassle-free and pave the way for great success.”

According to a report by a consulting firm, RedSeer, the number of Indians opting for higher education abroad grew from 440,000 in 2016 to 770,000 in 2019 and is set to grow further to roughly 1.8 million by 2024, resulting in increased overseas spending on higher education.

He further commented, "Kanan. Co claimed to have the highest success ratio in student visas for Canada, with more than 60,000 satisfied students placed in Canada, the USA, and the UK over the past 24 years. The emphasis will be on assisting Indian aspirants in navigating the admissions process and diversifying their application profiles.”

Additionally, they promise to assist students in achieving excellent scores to fulfill college and visa requirements. The examinations, practice exams, live lessons, and self-paced (video) courses for IELTS (academic & general), TOEFL, Duolingo, PTE, SAT, GRE, GMAT, and languages like (English, French, and German) will be available to students in Banglore and other Southern regions. 

The organization will also deliver "Kanan Prep," Kanan's test preparation portal offering online tutoring services to help prepare students for the tests mentioned above and fulfill their visa and dream college requirements. More than 1 Lac student from India and abroad have benefitted from the courses available on Kanan Prep.

Kanan. Co started operating its services in India from some well-known places of Gujrat in 2000, particularly in Surat, Vadodara, and Vallabh Vidyanagar, to help students make the right decisions at the right time and in the right way.

About Kanan International

A truly global higher education partner to learners and education institutions. It supports learners at every point in their global education journey with its reliable services, products, and solutions. 

Wonderchef Launches New Range Of 9 Coffee Machines Across India

* Introduces WondeRent to make coffee accessible to every home

Coffee is happening in India and the world’s favourite beverage has taken the country by storm. The arrival of international coffee houses in the country prepped customers’ taste buds, and they began to discern between their espressos and cappuccinos, between arabica and robusta beans. People now miss their coffee shot if they don’t get one during the day and when a guest comes home, the host now wants to serve coffee to give an elevated experience.

Wonderchef has been quick to spot this trend and as always, has taken the initiative of leading the change. The company has launched a full stack of 9 coffee machines, right from the French Press and Brew Machines to 5-Bar and 15-Bar Espresso Machines that give the same experience as a coffee bar. For those fond of coffee from pods or capsules that contain powder hermetically sealed at the origin, there is a machine that makes fine espresso from these pods at the touch of a button. A frother is at hand to magically convert your espresso shot into a cappuccino.

The pièce de resistance is the fully-automatic coffee machine that can make espresso, cappuccino, latte, macchiato or americano in a jiffy. The machine has an inbuilt grinder that uses coffee beans to make fresh powder for each cup thus ensuring your drink is always rich and aromatic. This machine is perfect even for small offices of the growing start-up ecosystem in the country that thrives on energy and intellect.

Mr. Ravi Saxena, founder and CEO of the company said, “We expect coffee to explode in India. A multitude of coffee beans and powder start-ups is an indicator of the growing trend but good coffee requires the right machine. Wonderchef provides the largest selection of machines for every style of coffee and to suit every budget, backed by our famed after-sales service. We are targeting revenue of INR 1 billion in two years from this category.”

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, founder and the face of the brand added, “Coffee is not only a reflection of a refined lifestyle but also has amazing health benefits including an increase in energy levels, weight management, enhanced athletic performance, and protection against chronic diseases. Our machines are designed to conveniently extract the best flavours from coffee in the comfort of home.”

Wonderchef also launched its new Wonderent Service today which enables early adopters to begin experiencing their coffee journey. This is an industry-first initiative, where a customer can rent premium Wonderchef products from the brand website. Mr. Amit Tilekar, CMO of Wonderchef said “WondeRent will give the brand a deeper penetration with the millennials who are the customers of tomorrow and believe in the philosophy of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. This service also enables the transient workforce to live in style without committing to consumer durables for the long term. We are indeed proud to be a pioneer in this pathbreaking idea with our partner Rentity.”

The selection of Wonderchef coffee machines is now available with prices ranging from the French Press at INR 1,399 to the fully-automatic machine at INR 84,999.

About Wonderchef Home Appliances Private Limited:

Established in 2009 by serial entrepreneur Mr. Ravi Saxena and Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, Wonderchef is the leading brand of quality cookware and premium kitchen appliances that enable customers to cook healthy, tasty food with convenience. With over 600 products, Wonderchef reaches every corner of the country with its strong omnichannel distribution including over 70,000 women entrepreneurs, 25 exclusive brand outlets and is present in over 12,000 retail outlets. The brand has a growing footprint worldwide and is available in about 25 countries across 5 continents.

ICICI Lombard’s Health, Motor, MSME, Travel And Corporate Segments To See A Host Of Innovations In Consumer Experience

* The extensive line-up of insurance solutions and products prioritizes customer centricity and seamless experience

ICICI Lombard, the largest private non-life insurance company in the country, launched its latest line-up of new insurance solutions. The new offerings, announced at a Press Conference in Mumbai on Friday, including insurance products, riders/add-ons, and upgrades across Health, Motor, MSME, Travel and Corporate segments, will transform the way consumers experience insurance, providing them with a seamless journey and tech-enabled solutions.

The insurance industry is now seeing new types of risks emerging, be it pandemic, climate change or privacy and data protection. This calls for comprehensive coverage steered by the changing customer behaviour and some of it driven by the availability of new technological solutions. This was the core thought behind the new offerings. It is worth noting that this development aligns ICICI Lombard with the latest objectives of the IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority), thus, making it one of the first companies to adopt the new regulations.

Speaking about the consolidation of ICICI Lombard’s product portfolio, Sanjeev Mantri, Executive Director, ICICI Lombard, said, “We, at ICICI Lombard, have always been at the forefront of providing millions of customers with simple and cutting-edge risk solutions that are tailored to their specific needs. The slew of offerings that we announced is backed by innovation and designed to meet the futuristic needs of the customers. With technology as a backbone of our offerings and the core of our customer life cycle, these additions and upgrades to our product portfolio will be a significant step in establishing ICICI Lombard as a comprehensive insurance solutions provider across the lengths and breadths of the nation.”

ICICI Lombard offers a variety of tech-enabled solutions, one example being its IL TakeCare App, which allows users to purchase policies, handle claims, as well as renew them on the same platform, all of this while maintaining a seamless client experience. In addition to this, ICICI Lombard also has RIA (Responsive Intelligent Assistant), an NLP-enabled chatbot that will help upgrade the end-user experience. Customer support and assistance have always been a priority for the leading general insurance company: various digital initiatives such as Instaspect (a self-inspection feature in car insurance) and Whatsapp aide (for quick resolution of customer concerns) are a testimony to this fact.

Appended are the segment-wise details about the new offerings:

* Health

Golden Shield provides financial security for senior citizens against uncertain health-related risks. The plan provides customizable policies that cover exhaustive hospitalization expenses that are more relevant to the golden ager. The coverage includes expenses pertaining to room rent, ICU charges, medical practitioner fees, anaesthesia, blood, oxygen, operation theatre charges, medicines, surgical appliances, and more. It also includes medical expenses for day-care procedures/treatments requiring less than 24 hours of hospitalization, and for modern treatments including uterine artery embolization, stem cell therapy, balloon sinuplasty, oral chemotherapy, robotic surgeries, deep brain stimulations and more.

Health AdvantEdge, a flagship offering, includes international cover, enhancement of pre- and post-hospitalization, unlimited teleconsultation, air ambulance, and emergency assistance services. 

Complete Health Insurance & Health Booster: These products are included under health indemnity offerings. The refiled and newest avatar of these products includes many enhanced benefits along with zone-based pricing and higher sum-assured in both the products. These, along with ICICI Lombard’s existing offerings like CritiShield and Family Shield, shall help the company offer a very comprehensive spread of retail-health-products suiting varied segments of their customers.

BeFit: Introduced at the end of FY22, BeFit is an add-on offering/rider to indemnity health products, which enables 360-degree support for all health-related risks. What was initially launched in 20 locations has now broadened its reach to 50 locations.

* Motor

Motor Floater Insurance: Customers can enjoy the convenience of a single policy, a single renewal date, and a single premium for all their motor policies with a Motor Floater Policy. Customers opting for this product are provided with a lower premium for their multiple vehicles insured under this offering. Overall, it saves customers’ efforts of maintaining multiple motor insurance policies for each vehicle owned by them.

Telematics add-on: This add-on service converts the base motor product into an ‘Asset cum Usage’ based product wherein the premium charged for the insurance of the base motor vehicle would depend partially on the usage. Customers can opt for the below plans under this add-on:

o Pay-As-You-Use (PAYU) Plan: Customers are provided with the flexibility to choose from different ‘kilometre plans’ depending on usage. Hence, the premium for the policy is limited only to the extent the vehicle is used or estimated to be used by the customer.

o  Pay-How-You-Use (PHYU) Plan: Under this plan, the premium charged changes as per the driving behaviour score. A customer with good driving behaviour can avail of attractive discounts over the base premium of the policy.

Emergency Medical Expense (EME)/EMI add-ons: The EME add-on covers the occupants of the vehicle against medical expenses and daily hospital cash benefits in the event of an accident. If the vehicle is involved in an accident and the cost of repairs exceeds the threshold level, one instalment is due under the EMI add-on service.

* MSME

Under the Use & File guidelines, ICICI Lombard will be filing new insurance products dedicated to the MSMEs in the 0-5 crore and 5-50 crore segments. These upgraded offerings will replace the existing standardized products and will be flexible to increase or decrease the coverage based on requirements.

* Home Insurance

House Shield Package: Currently in the process to be filed, this offering for housing societies and apartment complexes will provide security against risks including fire, natural catastrophes, breakdown of electrical/electronic equipment, burglary, money in transit, and more.

Business Shield Advantage: With the success of the Business Shield Product, ICICI Lombard is launching the new package product – Business Shield Advantage – with property coverage on all risk basis and coverage of miscellaneous sections including money, public liability, etc. This product will easily cater to all the needs of corporate customers in the form of a single policy.

Club Royale Home Insurance Policy: Exclusively curated for the elite base, this product is tailor-made for the premium group, owners, directors and senior management customers to ensure complete protection pertaining to not just their residential units, but also their family, pet and appointed staff. This Product can be sold to homeowners with the feasibility of insuring multiple locations in a single policy. This is a comprehensive product with a wide array of add-ons that can be customized as per requirement. The objective is to get you back where you belong in case of any unforeseeable event.

* Travel Insurance

Voyager Group Travel Insurance: The new covers under this product, caters to the evolving needs of customers. In-demand covers included in this product, such as self-driven holiday, cruise etc., and reflects the changing lifestyle and preferences of travellers. Re-launched as a single solution for group and corporate coverage, this product covers both domestic and overseas travel. The new offering also includes extensions to the base cover in the medical segment (wellness and PA cover) as well as non-medical segment (baggage loss, trip cancellations, student cover, car rental cover, specialised adventure sports cover, sea to land evacuation for cruise trips etc.). 

ICICI Lombard as a company is driven by innovations and these aforementioned products are a strong justification for the same.

FIS To Launch A Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) Virtual Lab Across Nations Including India

Key facts

* FIS To Modernize Real-Time Payments Infrastructure And Central Bank Digital Currencies Across Countries

* FIS Launches New Central Infrastructure Payment Solution, RealNet™ Central For central banks of countries around the globe including India

With real-time payments increasing, many countries must either modernize outdated payments infrastructure or build entirely new real-time payments networks to move money faster. In response, FIS® (NYSE: FIS) has launched its new central infrastructure payment solution, RealNet™ Central, to help central banks transform their markets to digital-first, real-time payment economies.

Currently, 72 percent of world’s population has, or will soon have, access to instant payments, according to the 2022 Worldpay from FIS Global Payments Report. Many markets are also replacing or renovating their established real-time services, especially those that repurposed their corporate real-time gross settlement (RTGS) services to cater for instant payments, such as Brazil, United Kingdom, Japan, South Africa and Mexico. Similarly, India and the U.S. are introducing additional competing services that will sit alongside the established schemes.

As this shift occurs, RealNet™ Central will accelerate real-time payments adoption by connecting a country’s businesses, consumers, financial institutions and government entities to real-time networks, both domestically and internationally. FIS will also help central banks launch Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). Through FIS’s CBDC Virtual Lab – created in collaboration with M10 Networks (M10) and its high-performance digital money platform – FIS will support countries’ efforts to integrate CBDCs into their economy.

The CBDC Virtual Lab allows central banks, commercial banks and other financial participants to experiment with – and pilot – core concepts of issuance, transfer, redemption, offline payments, programmable payments, retail, wholesale and cross-border payments. FIS’ CBDC Virtual Lab is enterprise-grade technology that supports over one million transactions per second at less than a second latency.

“The global economy has rapidly shifted toward digital-first mindsets and methods. While the idea of making payments in real-time may sound simple, the reality of delivering on that promise is enormously sophisticated, especially when doing so across borders,” said Aman Cheema, Head of Global Real-Time Payments and CBDCs at FIS. “Our latest offering sets out to change that, bringing consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments closer together in the payments ecosystem. The launch of this solution is the latest proof point of FIS’ commitment to invest in innovative technologies and solutions that advance how the world pays.”

FIS has been shortlisted as a finalist on the G20 TechSprint 2022 CBDC challenge to build a prototype using the FIS Virtual Lab to demonstrate secure, resilient and effective CBDC issuance, redemption and transfer, whilst maintaining financial stability and integration with the existing payments landscape.

About FIS

FIS is a leading provider of technology solutions for financial institutions and businesses of all sizes and across any industry globally. We enable the movement of commerce by unlocking the financial technology that powers the world’s economy. Our employees are dedicated to advancing the way the world pays, banks and invests through our trusted innovation, system performance and flexible architecture. We help our clients use technology in innovative ways to solve business-critical challenges and deliver superior experiences for their customers. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, FIS is a member of the Fortune 500® and the Standard & Poor’s 500® Index. To learn more, visit www.FISglobal.com. Follow FIS on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (@FISglobal).

Cummins India Limited Wins The Prestigious “Golden Peacock Occupational Health And Safety Award 2022”

Cummins India Limited is awarded the prestigious Golden Peacock Occupational Health and Safety Award 2022 in the engineering sector. Celebrating 60 years of remarkable presence in India, the company won the award for major achievements in the field of Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S), as well as the successful implementation of innovative Occupational Health and Safety programmes.  

Hon’ble Justice M. N. Venkatachaliah, National Chairman - Institute of Directors, Former Chief Justice of India, Former Chairman - National Human Rights Commission of India, Former Chairman - National Commission of Constitution of India Reforms, and Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, Director General - Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Secretary - Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, presented the award to Shubhankar Chatterji, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Cummins India; Jenoy Joykutty, HSE Leader India/ APAC, Cummins Inc.; Rajat Kumar, HSE Leader, Cummins India; and Nitish Kulkarni, HSE Risk Support, Cummins India at the award ceremony held on August 25, 2022, in Bengaluru in the presence of esteemed business and industry leaders.  

Following his acceptance of the award, Shubhankar Chatterji, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Cummins India said, “Cummins India is honored to receive the acclaimed Golden Peacock Occupational Health and Safety Award. At Cummins, the shared responsibility for safety of our employees is derived from our core value of caring. We continuously endeavor to create an enhanced and holistic health and safety system which is not restricted to just physical safety, but also excellence in product and psychological safety. I am extremely proud of our team who has been steering the OH&S policy and annual safety plans to reduce health, safety and environmental risks and ensure the continual improvement of our Health, Safety and Environment performance. This award is also dedicated to all our employees, who play an integral role in creating a robust safety culture at Cummins through active consultation, participation, and feedback.” 

Rajat Kumar, HSE Leader, Cummins India also presented Cummins best practices during the event, underlining how HSE partners with leaders, employees, and key stakeholders across the organization to reduce risks continuously and proactively. Cummins India benchmarks world class HSEMS (Health, Safety and Environment Management System) practices through a dedicated HSE (Health Safety and Environment) department and all India manufacturing locations certified for ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 standards, an internationally recognized framework of criteria, to reduce health, safety, and environmental risks.  

Employees are the driving force and share equal responsibility to advance the Health, Safety, and Environment Culture at Cummins India. Health and safety committees have been established across Cummins plant locations to regularly monitor the health and safety of employees. Employees and trade unions are members of safety committees and are actively engaged in periodic site-level risk reduction through Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) Prevention and HSE Risk Assessment Tools. Several employee engagement initiatives such as Lead It, Live It and Find It, Fix It, have been instrumental in sustaining the HSE performance. In alignment with our Destination Zero strategy, Cummins HSE department also drives PLANET 2050 sustainability goals and 2030 targets by regularly organizing environment awareness initiatives across Cummins India plants.  

About Cummins Group in India: 

Cummins in India, a power leader, is a group of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute, and service engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, air handling, filtration, emission solutions, and electrical power generation systems. Its technology and pioneering initiatives are bringing innovative solutions and dependable services at the best possible value to users across the country. Its high-performance outlook is based on customer focus, integrity, and capability of its people. Part of the $19.8 billion Cummins Inc. USA. Cummins in India is a Group of seven legal entities across 200 locations in the country with a combined turnover of ?17,900 crores in 2021 and employing over 10,000 individuals. Learn more at cummins.com.  

Cybernetik To Set Up 5th Manufacturing Unit In Raigad, Maharashtra

* With 120 personnel, the new plant will augment production capacity by 15x

Industrial automation firm Cybernetik will set up a new manufacturing plant in Vile Bhagad MIDC, near the Goa-Mumbai highway. At a location spanning 20 acres, the new plant will cover an area of 80,000 square metres. With 120 personnel, it will increase the firm’s production capacity by 15x. This will be the Company’s fifth manufacturing unit, besides the four existing ones in Pune and Nadiad.

Set up in 1989, the Company undertakes the designing, building and installation of end-to-end, turnkey automation systems for the Food, Agro, Pharmaceutical, Chemical and other manufacturing industries.

Elaborating on the establishment of the new plant, Mahesh Wagle, Co-Founder & Director – Cybernetik, said, “As a growing company, we are expanding operations to several markets. Given its proximity to the new Bombay-Goa Highway, plus better connectivity to the airport and port, the new plant will help in catering to the US and other export markets. Increasing demand for quality products is one of the key factors driving the growing trend for integrating robotics to automate manufacturing processes. Around 15 years ago, Indian industries had less than 100 robots manufactured within the country. Currently, we have 5,000 to 6,000 robots being built every year. Moreover, manual processes involve a higher degree of risk for the labour force, prompting companies to install automated processes to ensure error-free, safe operations. Our vision to boost this trend was the major motive for setting up the new plant.”

Cybernetik is actively involved in the development of many systems and processes to automate food processing, automotive and other non-standard products, along with emerging technologies such as EV battery assembly. Accordingly, it has partnered with leading firms such as Hershey, Cipla, GSK, Tata Motors, TVS, Dr Reddy’s, Godrej, Hindustan Unilever, Pidilite, ITC and Himalaya, among many others. It has also worked with some of the world’s biggest robotic manufacturers, including ABB, Mitsubishi, et al.

About Cybernetik

Established in 1989, Cybernetik is an Indian industrial automation company that designs, builds and installs end-to-end, turnkey automation systems to serve the Food, Agro, Pharmaceutical, Chemical and other manufacturing industries. It operates through three verticals – Automation, Process and Extraction. Providing a single-source solution for all automation requirements, Cybernetik’s mission is to achieve excellence through technology with vision and hands-on experience. Headquartered in Pune, Cybernetik has two design offices, four manufacturing units and three international offices in the USA (Charleston), UAE (Dubai) and Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh).

Ageas Federal Life Insurance Launches Its New “Assured Income Plan”

* The plan will offer guaranteed annual income to fulfill the monetary requirements of an individual and their family’s recurring lifetime needs while building a financial safety net. 

Ageas Federal Life Insurance, one of India’s most trusted private life insurance companies announced the launch of its new “Assured Income Plan” a non-linked, non- participating, savings plan for individuals. The product is designed to protect the family’s future to ensure that they lead their lives comfortably without any financial worries, even in the policy holder’s unfortunate absence. 

The plan offers guaranteed financial payouts that help to achieve dream goals at different stages of life, be it preparing for the child’s future, getting ready to start your aspirational business, or planning for a comfortable retirement.  

Catering to customers with different mind-sets and requirements, the plan offers the flexibility to choose from three plan options – Short Term Income, Long Term Income and Lifelong Income.  

The plan pays a survival benefit in the form of Guaranteed Regular Income (GRI) for a fixed period of 10 years in the case of the Short Term Income option, and for 25 or 30 years (depending on the premium payment term chosen) under the Long Term Income option. For the Lifelong Income option, the survival benefit in the form of GRI is paid till age 100 years of the life assured. 

For all three plan options, a lumpsum benefit called the Guaranteed Maturity Booster is paid out at the end of the income payout period. 

In case of the unfortunate death of the life assured during the policy term, the death benefit shall be payable immediately in lumpsum to the nominee. 

Speaking on the launch of the Assured Income Plan, Mr. Karthik Raman, CMO and Head-Products Ageas Federal Life Insurance said “In this current economic scenario, we see that individuals prefer guaranteed products with stable income that is not impacted by market volatilities and fluctuating interest rates. To cater to this demand, we have introduced our Assured Income plan which offers individuals an attractive combination of protection and guaranteed payouts to help them fulfil their goals and requirements at different stages of life.” 

“Considering that unfortunate circumstances can hit us at any time in life, our Assured Income plan provides life cover even during the income payout period. This is aimed at giving our customers and their families the confidence to sail through uncertain times fearlessly!” Raman added. 

For more information on Ageas Federal Life Insurance Assured Income Plan, click here : https://www.ageasfederal.com/insurance-plans/savings-plans/assured-income-plan