VMSIIHE Open Admissions For “Bachelor’s And Master’s Degree Programs In Hospitality & Tourism”

Admissions to Goa’s premier hospitality education Centre, the V.M. Salgaocar Institute of International Hospitality Education (VMSIIHE),Manora- Raia, Goa have commenced for the academic year 2023-2024.  

VMSIIHE, which is affiliated to the Goa University and Supported by Marriott Inc - India Group, offers a range of degree programs in the field of hospitality, including a B.Sc. International Hospitality Management, B.Sc. Culinary Arts and M.Sc. International Hospitality and Tourism Management. 

B.Sc. International Hospitality Management degree program is structured to help students develop a critical, analytical and evaluative approach to Hospitality Management – The program offers a perfect combination of hospitality-driven academic learning, practical sessions and strategic tie-up with the industry to give one  the best foundation. 

B.Sc. Culinary Arts Programme, provides in-depth exposure to diverse cuisines and gastronomic intricacies through renowned Indian and international faculty with extensive teaching and industry experience. Students can establish and evolve their own culinary concepts, even as the curriculum lays a strong emphasis on developing managerial and entrepreneurial skills in them, enabling students to find motivation to improve their communication, problem-solving, time management and teamwork abilities. 

M.Sc. International Hospitality and Tourism Management Program is structured to meet the educational needs of young hospitality Graduates who aspire  to be managers, entrepreneurs, educators and other Professionals in business and in the industry  

VMSIIHE’s annual round of admissions comes at a time when the hospitality industry in India witnessed a year-on-year growth of 169 per cent in recruitment according to a survey by Naukri.com and the projection for the upcoming years as far as recruitment in the hospitality sector is concerned, is expected to increase further.  

VMSIIHE has a long-standing association with international and domestic hospitality majors, making it one of the leading hospitality institutes in India. The full-time program offered by VMSIIHE is designed to equip young hotel management students with intensive practical training and honing of necessary skills, with a special focus on the development of personality, professional attitude and leadership qualities, which are signatures of outstanding industry professionals. 

The institute has the distinct advantage of already working with Turismo de Portugal, the Portuguese government's official tourism agency along with the Swiss Education Group (SEG)- Cesar Ritz Colleges & Culinary Arts Academy for internship, placements and higher education options. VMSIIHE is also a member of EuroChrie, EU Chambers, India and the Hotel and Restaurant Association (H&RA). As a member, it provides the institute with internships, placement and curriculum support from industry professionals associated with these organizations. 

As part of the MoU with Turismo de Portugal, students keen to embark on an international education-related adventure are offered an opportunity to visit Portugal through an exchange program. VMSIIHE also offers professional internships at reputed starred hotels in India and abroad, including JW Marriott Marquis - Dubai, Taj Coral Reef Resort & Spa - Maldives,  Ritz-Carlton Penha Longa, Martinhal Family Resorts, Portalegre Palace Hotel,  Marriott B&G - Portugal, Lake Resort B&G  in Portugal, Grand Hyatt - Kochi, Taj Exotica - Goa, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts - Kuwait and many more. 

VMSIIHE offers 100 percent placement assistance to its graduates, with students having the opportunity to go through selection rounds for management trainee and other positions at renowned hotel chains such as The Taj, The Oberoi, Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt, to name a few. Further, VMSIIHE students are selected for management trainee positions in prestigious hotels in Portugal, as well as in leading hotel brands in Portugal, Switzerland, the United States, Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. 

The Institute is located in the idyllic village of Raia in South Goa and the campus, spread over six acres, is ideally suited for nurturing students keen on developing themselves as hotel management professionals and industry leaders of the future. The campus includes a fully-functional five-star training hotel with a grand lobby area and reception, well-appointed guest rooms, training kitchen, restaurant with banqueting facilities, air-conditioned hostels with attached baths, gymnasium, swimming pool, sports and recreational facilities 

One can visit 

www.vmsiihe.edu.in  for more details. 

Demand For IT Accessories And Peripherals To Remain Resilient In India: GfK

* Looking ahead to 2023, GfK Market Intelligence has forecasted long-term trends that will provide tailwinds for IT storage and peripherals. These trends include a focus on performance, simplification, premium features, and durability. 

The demand for IT accessories and peripherals in India is expected to remain resilient, according to GfK Market Intelligence. The pandemic has stimulated demand for such products, as businesses and households adapted to enable remote working. 

According to GfK Market Intelligence - Offline Retail Tracking for pointing devices covering eight cities and 19 state groupings within cities having >50,000 population, the pandemic has unleashed potential for future growth. What’s promising is that IT devices such as PCs still have less than 10 percent estimated penetration in India. 

“In CY 2021, the IT device market saw record demand, and the momentum continued in CY 2022 with offline PC sales increasing by 27 percent compared to CY 2019. Several factors, including the growing importance of IT devices among the middle-class section, hybrid work culture, and enhanced awareness among the younger generation, have contributed to favorable market trends.” Anant Jain, Head of Market Intelligence – India, GfK said. 

EMERGING THEMES DRIVING GROWTH 

The Technical Consumer Goods industry has observed some emerging themes that have influenced its growth, including performance, simplification, premium, and durability. Consumers are increasingly seeking devices that can keep up with their fast-paced lifestyles and simplify the user experience. 

Overall, the IT accessories and peripherals market is poised for growth as consumers continue to prioritize these key trends. Manufacturers who can offer products that meet these demands are likely to see success in the years ahead. 

RISE IN SALES OF COMPUTER PERIPHERALS 

Consumers are no longer interested in only traditional IT peripherals, especially mice and keypads. The market for products with advanced features like cordless, Bluetooth, and programmable mouse keys is constantly expanding, especially owing to the rise in Gen Z users. The emphasis on the design of computer mice is becoming a popular trend, with honeycomb design mice and those with 5 or more keys growing in popularity. 

Trends reveal the mix for computer mice with 5 or more keys, etc. has grown from a 2% mix in Q1 2022 to a 4% mix in Q4 2022 in offline retail. Additionally, we witness a growing focus on Programmable keys, portability, Bluetooth connectivity, and thinness in the computer mouse category. Premium features and ergonomic design in a computer mouse can result in a higher revenue share for brands. 

On the other hand, compact keyboards with Bluetooth & RGB backlighting continue to flourish in the market with Bluetooth keyboards and tenkeyless (TKL) keyboards contributing significantly to the overall market growth. This can be attributed to the enhanced user experience that it offers. 

MARKET MOVEMENT WITH INTERESTING ZONAL TRENDS 

The Indian market for computer mice and keyboard devices is seeing interesting zonal trends in terms of volume contribution. The West Zone emerges as the biggest market, with a contribution of nearly 30% in CY2022, closely followed by the North. 

The South Zone has also witnessed growth, with its volume contribution increasing from 20% in Q1 2022 to 22% in Q4 2022 in the keyboard category, and from 20% in Q1 2022 to 24% in Q4 2022 in the computer mice category. 

Meanwhile, the East Zone has a modest volume contribution of 18% in CY2022, which has remained stable and flat for mice over the quarters, while in the keyboard category, the East Zone contributes 21% in CY2022. These zonal trends indicate that businesses can benefit by focusing on specific regions to capture the growing demand for IT accessories and peripherals. 

THE GAMING WORLD IS CHANGING THE MARKET DYNAMICS 

The gaming sector has also seen enormous expansion during the pandemic, with 74% of surveyed urban Indians having played video games on a personal computer at least once, and 88% having played games on smartphones and tablets according to the GfK Consumer Life 2022 Report. 

A CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC OUTLOOK 

Although macroeconomic uncertainty is likely to impact growth during 2023, businesses adapting to new working models are expected to support demand, and consumers are still willing to pay more for high-performance products, premium features, and products that simplify their lives. 

The growth of gaming and the rise of the Metaverse are expected to open new segments of demand for IT accessories and peripherals. 

In summary, manufacturers and retailers are advised to focus on developing high-performance products with premium features that simplify customers' lives and meet their evolving needs. 

GfK. Growth from Knowledge. 

For over 85 years, we have earned the trust of our clients around the world by solving critical business questions in their decision-making process around consumers, markets, brands, and media. Our reliable data and insights, together with advanced AI capabilities, have revolutionized access to real-time actionable recommendations that drive our clients and partners' marketing, sales, and organizational effectiveness. That’s how we promise and deliver “Growth from Knowledge”. 

Nuvoco Expands Its “Southern Footprint With New Ready-Mix Concrete Plant”

Nuvoco Vistas Corp. Ltd., India’s fifth largest cement group in terms of capacity and among the leading players in East India announced the launch of its new Ready-Mix Concrete (RMX) plant. With a capacity of 60 cubic meters per hour, the plant will cater to construction projects in the area, providing a reliable source of high-quality concrete while also improving efficiency, reducing costs, and promoting sustainability. 

The Coimbatore Plant is Nuvoco's second RMX facility in Tamil Nadu, after Chennai, and is part of the company's strategy to expand its footprint in Southern India. The plant is equipped with advanced technology and equipment that ensure the quality and consistency of the concrete produced and faster delivery, which is the need of the hour for the southern market’s fast-growing infrastructure.  

Mr. Prashant Jha, Chief of Ready-Mix (RMX) Concrete and Modern Building Materials business, Nuvoco said "We are delighted to launch our new RMX plant in Coimbatore, which is a growing market and a strategic location for us. The plant's proximity to our customers highlights our customer-centric approach, and we are committed to providing them with the best-in-class products and services. Our RMX product portfolio includes Concreto (Performance Concrete), Artiste (Decorative Concrete), InstaMix (Ready-to-Use Bagged Concrete), X-Con (M20 to M60), and Ecodure (special Green concrete), which are designed to meet the diverse needs of our customers and promote sustainable construction practices." 

He further added, "Our new RMX plant in Coimbatore will be a game-changer for the construction industry in the region. We look forward to contribute to the growth and development of Coimbatore as a smart city and a textile hub along with the surrounding areas." 

Seclore Puts Risk Into Focus With New Data Classification And Risk Insights Capabilities That Protect Enterprises’ Most Critical Assets

* Company pioneering data-centric security offers new functionality that will provide customers expanded visibility and actionable insights to help secure data wherever it goes.

Today Seclore, the leading provider of data-centric security solutions, announced the release of new Digital Asset Classification and Risk Insights capabilities delivering security risk visibility and insights for the most sensitive digital assets within the enterprise, such as intellectual property, and customer and employee personally identifiable information. 

"In today’s digital age, data is the lifeblood of businesses. Digital assets, be it IP or PII, are the company’s crown jewels,” said Vishal Gupta, Chief Executive Officer at Seclore. “Yet too many organizations rely on traditional security approaches that rigidly secure perimeters and devices but leave organizations without a clear understanding of who has their data, where it is, and how it’s being used. Our new Digital Asset Classification and Risk Insights functionalities provide organizations powerful visualizations, detailed logs, and actionable insights so security teams can confidently protect data, no matter where it travels inside or outside the enterprise.”

The expanded capabilities enable enterprises to precisely classify, understand, protect, and control their data across any user, device, application or cloud in order to prevent data theft and achieve compliance. Legacy classification solutions have existed in the market for decades, but most are standalone tools that require users to have separate tools to protect and control the digital assets. The new Digital Asset Classification capability from Seclore, combined with its new risk insights, enables enterprises to simultaneously classify and protect their most sensitive digital assets and visualize where the greatest risks lie in real time.

“At MODON, we are always looking for ways to increase the security of our sensitive information without introducing friction for authorized users. The new Seclore classification capabilities that we tested have the ability to apply controls based on level of sensitivity, without restricting collaboration or slowing down operations,” said Majid Ahmad Bin Sawad, Director, Cyber Security at MODON. “The Seclore Digital Asset Classification would give our customers so much control over their sensitive digital assets, so they know they don’t get into the wrong hands or fall into non-compliance.”

Cross-Enterprise Risk Visibility and Actionable Insights

The new Digital Asset Classification and Risk Insights functionalities expand the visibility of sensitive assets and provide insights into risk exposure by:

Enabling security teams to create custom classification categories and apply labels and sub-labels to digital assets and emails based on their level of confidentiality.

Discovering sensitive information and providing users with suggested classification labels at the time of asset or email creation, or while the digital asset is in use. 

Providing insights into classification and risk trends in real time through three interactive dashboards:

Risk Insights: Key insights of increasing or decreasing risk activity, including data extraction activities, risky unauthorized attempts, and access by external users. Snapshot current risk and prevented risk regarding data extraction risk trends and geographic breakdown. 

Digital Asset Classification: Breakdown of classification activities taken across the enterprise, classification activities by label, percentage of suggested classification labels accepted or ignored, and whether additional protection was applied to classified documents. 

Protection: Authorized activities and unauthorized attempts taken on digital assets by domain, classification label, and geographic location, as well as actions taken on documents (open, share, print, screenshot, protect, unprotect, etc.).

Enforcing granular controls and reporting capabilities that align with regulations and industry standards, such as GDPR, SDAIA, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS.

Classification-Driven Protection & Control

The Digital Asset Classification functionality introduces new protection and control capabilities for sensitive digital assets and emails, enabling organizations to apply more protection with less friction.

Classification-driven Protection: Enforce protection policies by classification label and team, including which actions can be taken and domain controls, for scalable and easy asset protection across the enterprise. 

Dynamic Watermarks: Thwart exfiltration of sensitive information with customizable watermarks, including identifiable information like name or email address.

Visual Labeling: Apply visual classification labels to inhibit unauthorized sharing and consumption of sensitive assets. 

The Digital Asset Classification and Risk Insights functionalities are now available in English and Arabic in the Seclore platform and are included with Seclore’s core data protection and control solution offering. 

Protectt.ai's Mobile App Security Platform “AppProtectt” Recognized As Winner Of Banking Frontier Technoviti Award, 2023

Protectt.ai, a leading Mobile Threat Defence & cybersecurity company, is proud to announce that its flagship Mobile App Security platform “AppProtectt” has been chosen as the winner of the Technoviti Award, 2023. This recognition highlights the company's commitment to developing innovative mobile app & device security solutions that provide maximum protection to businesses by controlling threats and Frauds to Mobile Apps

AppProtectt is a cutting-edge security solution that uses Deep Tech powered by Cloud & Machine Learning to protect mobile applications from advanced cyber threats and frauds.

Commenting on this win, Manish Mimani, CEO and Founder, Protectt.ai said, "We are honored to be recognized by Technoviti 2023 as one of the innovative products providing advanced mobile app security platform to industry. This recognition is a testament to our team's hard work and dedication to developing the best security solutions focussed on emerging Mobile Threats & Frauds.”

Our team at Protectt.ai has always believed that innovation is the key to providing the best Mobile App security solutions to our customers. We are committed to continuing to innovate and develop solutions that provide the highest level of protection to businesses, mobile banking apps, and individuals alike," said Pankaj Patankar, Head of Marketing, Protectt.ai 

Technoviti is an annual event that brings together the best and brightest in the fintech and technology industries. The event is known for recognizing the most innovative products and solutions that have the potential to transform the industry. Protectt.ai's AppProtectt was chosen for its innovative approach to mobile application security and its ability to protect against emerging cyber threats. With cyber threats on the rise, it is more important than ever for businesses and individuals to take steps to protect their sensitive information.

Voltas Launches Its Extensive Range Of FreshAir Coolers For 2023

* Showcases its new 4-side cooling technology in Air Coolers

*  Launches an extensive range of Room air coolers, Dessert coolers, Tower coolers, Window coolers, and Personal coolers

*  Introduces dynamic features like 4 side cooling, Eco cool mode, Turbo air throw, Honeycomb cooling pads, Motor with thermal control, smart humidity controller, amongst others

Voltas, India’s undisputed leader in Cooling Products, and the No. 1 AC brand, from the house of Tata’s, announced the launch of an extensive range of all new Voltas FreshAir Coolers. This latest offering of Voltas FreshAir Coolers offers a wide range of features including the unique smart humidity controller for optimizing the humidity, 4-sided honeycomb padding for the ultimate cooling experience, mosquito repellent for protecting from mosquitos, 7 Hours timer for giving you uninterrupted sleep, turbo air-throw for cooling large spaces, and less energy consumption. Equipped with a Wi-Fi controller that enables hassle free operation of the product, Voltas’ new range of FreshAir coolers are all set to revolutionize the Indian air cooler industry. 

These new features are incorporated in a wide range of coolers customized for different weather conditions. Customers can choose an air cooler based on their specific need like the Desert Air Cooler, Tower Cooler, Personal Cooler, Window Cooler and Room Air Cooler that are available in sub variants as well.

Key Features of Voltas FreshAir Coolers: 

• Smart Humidity Controller: optimizes the humidity in the air

• Mosquito Repellent: Resists mosquito breeding and keeps them away

• Turbo Air Throw: Large fan size delivers powerful air throw to cool large spaces.

• Fully Collapsible Louvers: Prevent dust and insects from entering the air cooler

• Motor with Thermal Overload: Designed to protect the motor from damage in the

• event of short circuit, overloading or overheating 

• Eco Cool Mode: Eco mode feature optimally saves water and efficiently consumes power

• 4 Side Honeycomb Cooling pads: More cooling and durable without letting dirt and sediment deposit.

Commenting on the launch of the new range of Air Coolers, Mr. Pradeep Bakshi, Managing Director & CEO, Voltas Limited said "Innovation and customer satisfaction have always been the blueprint on which Voltas products are developed. We understand a large segment of our customers, across both large and upcountry towns, prefer an air cooler to beat the summer heat. We wanted these customers to have the best in class air coolers from Voltas. The new range of FreshAir Coolers are equipped with latest features that focus on efficiency, convenience and hygiene. These air coolers also offer intelligent cooling solutions, like smart humidity controller, that is suited for diverse weather conditions in India. We are delighted to bring in these innovations within the air cooler industry.” 

Voltas FreshAir Coolers portfolio: 

• Room Air Cooler: Windsor, Windmax

• Dessert Cooler: Jetmax, Epicool, Mega, Grand, Victor, Velocity

• Tower Cooler: Slimm

• Personal Cooler: Alfa, Alfa Fresh, Windsor

• Window Cooler: Wind

This summer, Voltas has launched 51 SKUs of its Voltas FreshAir Coolers under various sub-categories such as Personal, Room, Window, Tower, and Desert Air Coolers. The new range of top-notch Voltas FreshAir coolers has been created to cater to all types of weather conditions in India and includes unique features in select models. The new range comprises of new models like, Jetmax with honeycomb pad for long lasting cooling, Slimm with sleek and compact design, Alfa fresh with advanced filtration techniques, and Velocity with ice chamber.

This Summer, Voltas’ new range of air coolers are also coupled with unique & exciting promotional offer for consumer like Easy EMI offer with attractive down-payment options, for ease of adoption & access to customers.

About Voltas Limited: Voltas Limited is a premier air conditioning and engineering solutions provider and a projects specialist. Founded in India in 1954, Voltas Limited is part of the Tata Group, and in addition to Room Air Conditioners, Voltas also has Air Coolers, Air Purifiers, Water Dispensers, Water Coolers, Commercial Refrigeration and Commercial Air Conditioning products in its portfolio. Voltas is one of the leading companies within the Tata group and is the undisputed market leader in room air conditioners in India, with a footprint of over 25,000+ customer touchpoints. It has also recently launched its range of Voltas Beko Home Appliances, through its JV in India, in equal partnership with Arcelik.

IDPL Unveils 7+ Premium Digital Channels On Samsung TV Plus India

IndiaDotcom Digital Private Limited (IDPL), rolled out its 7+ premium digital channels on Samsung TV Plus, Samsung’s free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) service. With this move, the widespread viewers of Zee News, WION, Zee Business, Zee24 Kalak, Zee 24 TAAS, ZEE 24 GHANTA will be able to watch their prime-time news shows on Samsung  TV Plus in India.

The shift to streaming coupled with the appeal of free streaming TV has seen viewership in FAST services grow across the globe. Connected TVs (CTVs) are the ultimate device for that big-screen co-viewing experience, and locally Kantar estimates that Smart TV adoption in India will grow to 36M devices by the end of this year. Connected TV ad spending is also projected to jump 14.4% this year, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). That's more than double IAB's projected 5.9% growth in overall ad spending. With a huge headroom for growth, the CTV space is expected to attract more attention from advertisers to earn consumers’ and other stakeholders’ trust.

IDPL will bring together premium news content both live and on-demand from several digital channels including; Zee News, WION, Zee Business, Zee24 Kalak, Zee 24 TAAS, ZEE24 KALAK. This original programming will extend and grow IDPL audiences to Samsung TV Plus India viewers.

Emphasizing on the market demand, Mr. Devadas Krishnan- CEO, IDPL said, “Providing a customized program content package as per the market demand has always been the top priority of our company. In order to ensure viewers don't miss their most-liked news shows across 7+ digital channels, our team took up the initiative of making it available to Connected TV who are tech-savvy and consume content as per their convenience.

This will further boost advertisers and brand's engagement in terms of branding, open doors to video ads delivered via a streaming service during different timeslots of news shows running across the digital channels."

"We are thrilled to partner with IDPL and welcome the Zee channels to our platform," said Mr. Kunal Mehta, Head Business Development, Samsung TV Plus India. "Samsung TV Plus is committed to providing its viewers with a wide range of content, and this partnership with IDPL is a testament to that commitment. We look forward to a successful partnership with them.”

This partnership is expected to provide viewers with a seamless TV viewing experience and access to a wide range of content. Samsung TV Plus is one of the leading FAST streaming service in India, and ABP Network is poised to extend its reach and provide its content to a broader range of viewers.

About IndiaDotcom Digital Pvt Ltd: 

IndiaDotcom Digital Private Limited (100% subsidiary of Zee Media Corporation) is one of India’s leading media technology companies with a strong presence in the news, information, and entertainment genres. It is India's second largest Digital Entity touching more than 300 million monthly users and owns 30 plus digital properties including India.com, Zee news, Zee Business, Zee Hindustan, WION news, Bollywoodlife.com and more.

About Samsung TV Plus

Samsung TV Plus is the leading global smart TV manufacturer’s free FAST platform, offering over 220 channels in the U.S. and more than 1,600 channels globally across news, sports, entertainment, comedy, reality, movies and lifestyle programming via linear channels and on-demand content. Available on Samsung Smart TVs in India, Samsung TV Plus reaches 24 countries and 465M+ devices globally.