HMD Global Partners With Teach For India To Provide Underprivileged Students With Better Access To E-Learning

HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, has partnered with Teach for India for promoting e-learning among under-privileged students in Hyderabad. The device distribution drive concluded on 22nd March at Kushbow Vidya Niketan School in Hyderabad under the attendance of Sanmeet Singh Kochhar (Vice President- INDIA and MENA, HMD Global), TV Celebrities, Avika Gor and Milind Chandwani, along with other key leadership from HMD Global and TFI. This CSR initiative is a part of HMD Global’s endeavor to promote e-learning for under-privileged students in India.

Under this initiative, 250  students of Hyderabad and Maharashtra region were given 250 smart devices and scholarships to support their e-learning activities. The smart devices were handed over jointly by Avika Gor and Mr. Sanmeet Singh Kocchar.      

Speaking on the occasion, Sanmeet Singh Kocchar, Vice President-India & MENA, HMD Global said, “HMD Global's objective to provide dependable and reasonably priced technology for education aligns perfectly with the goals of Teach for India. Working alongside this organization is a source of great excitement for us, as we share a mutual desire to make a meaningful and lasting impact on people's lives. Our team feels privileged to be able to contribute to the educational journeys of these young individuals, helping them to realize their full potential. Our primary focus is to go beyond the traditional classroom setup by equipping all students with the necessary resources and tools for learning. We will continue to undertake similar social projects that align with our core mission and beliefs.”

Vignesh Krishnan, City Director, Teach for India Hyderabad said, “We are thrilled to collaborate with a reputed company like HMD Global, maker of Nokia smartphones, who also values societal change. With this initiative, we want to give these students better chances in a world that is increasingly dominated by technology. These students have much potential to make a difference in their communities. We believe that by taking this small step, we will help them achieve their goals and raise the aspirations of the community and society as a whole.”

Smart devices, such as smartphones phones and tablets, are now indispensable in learning. Due to their limited or no access to such technological devices, students from underprivileged backgrounds have found this to be challenging. HMD Global and Teach for India aim to bridge this gap by offering them scholarships and extra data benefits in order to support the young guns of India. HMD and TFI together aim to improve the learning outcomes of children, and reduce the digital divide in rural areas. This digital drive is aimed at digitally empowering the less privileged and giving wings to their dreams through digital literacy.

About HMD Global

Headquartered in Espoo, Finland, HMD Global Oy (“HMD”) is the home of Nokia phones. HMD’s mission is providing accessible connectivity for everyone. HMD designs and markets a range of smartphones and feature phones and an expanding portfolio of innovative service offerings. With an ongoing commitment to security, durability, reliability, and quality across its range, HMD is the proud exclusive licensee of the Nokia brand for phones and tablets. For further information, see www.hmdglobal.com. Nokia is a registered trademark of Nokia Corporation. All specifications, features and other product information provided are subject to change without notice. Variations on offering may apply. Check local availability. Android is a trademark of Google LLC

About Teach For India

Teach for India’s Fellowship program places outstanding working professionals and college graduates as Fellows - who work full-time as teachers for two years in low-income and under-resourced schools. With operations in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Kolkata, Teach For India has around 1000 Fellows impacting more than 33,000 children across the country. Post Fellowship, they join a growing movement of over 4000+ Alumni working at all levels of the education sector.

A part of a global Teach For All network of 60 countries, with a shared vision of an excellent education for all children, Teach For India’s mission is to end educational inequity in India by creating a strong pipeline of driven, skilled talent within the educational ecosystem.

Donations can be made via this link: https://www.teachforindia.org/donate

For media enquiries, get in touch at communication@teachforindia.org

This Mother’s Day Gift Your Mom A New Favourite Scent With Eze Perfumes

Eze Gift Set – Women

An exquisitely designed gift box that offers three perfumes full of lasting impressions and forget-me-not messages. A gift that will be welcomed for spreading enthralling aromas as well as delightfully positive vibes with beautiful fragrance profiles. The set of three Eze Perfumes are available in 30 ml bottles: Eze Joy, Eze Flow, and Eze Awe. They are distinctive both in terms of appearance and aroma. Price: 1895 INR. Available on Amazon, Flipkart and ezeperfumes.com.

Women’s Discovery Set

If you’re looking to gift a specially curated experience to a loved one, this discovery box of EDPs contains four exciting fragrant experiences. A set of enthralling perfumes that will introduce a charming new world to the receiver. This discovery set consists of 3 women and 1 unisex variant. Price: 495 INR. Available on Amazon, Flipkart and ezeperfumes.com.

About Sawai Fragrances

A leading name in the craft of perfumery, Sawai Fragrances has a rich legacy as a manufacturer and supplier of essential oils and fragrances to leading brands around the world. The journey began with a whiff of rose petals in Kannauj by founder, Mr Sawailal Jain who set up the first hydro-distillation plant for the production of natural attars in 1965. The brand has distillation centres and plants in Silvassa, Kannauj, Nilakkottai, Orissa, Tirupathur and Surat to develop the finest quality of perfumes. Sawai Fragrances, one of the leading B2B companies continues to evolve and has recently made a transition into the B2C segment. It has recently launched its own perfume brand Eze, which is a carefully curated range of perfumes that has a young and global vibe to them.

To learn more about Sawai Fragrances visit: https://sawaifragrances.com/

upGrad And NITTE (Deemed To Be University) Collaborate To Support Engineering Graduates With FSD Specialisation

upGrad Campus, the higher education arm of Asia’s largest integrated career skilling and workforce development & placement company upGrad and NITTE (Deemed to be University), Mangalore have announced a collaboration to support the B.Tech students with the added Full Stack Development (FSD) Specialisation to power their skill competencies. The partnership is expected to produce a higher number of job-ready talent who’d be well adept with modern-day tech requirements while also accelerating India’s ambition of becoming a global talent powerhouse. 

Spread over a period of 4 years, the specialisation begins in the first year integrated within the university curriculum and has been designed for engineering aspirants who aim to build a career in the Information Technology domain. It will cover around 1400 hours of learning content with over 300 live sessions, 11 projects and case studies, in sync with the B.Tech syllabus to ensure learners get higher experiential learning. It will also encourage live & interactive faculty engagements, alumni networking, and industry-specific sessions/simulations to enhance the overall subject understanding to further enable them with the expertise required to succeed in the said industry.

Dr Satheesh Kumar Bhandary, Vice Chancellor of NITTE (Deemed to be University), Mangalore, said, "I firmly believe that this Program will help the students a lot to be industry-ready and will assist them in being ready for their career prospects. We, at NITTE, are excited to onboard upGrad Campus for their FSD Specialization integration with our BTech Program. This will make our students stand out from the Lacs of Engineering students in India." 

As a part of the added specialisation module, upGrad, via its higher-Ed arm upGrad Campus shall also provide placement assistance to learners and access to the exclusive job portal in their final year that will better their chances of achieving desired career outcomes. upGrad Campus offers Industry-Ready Courses to various Institutions across Bharat to accelerate the employment throttle of the nation. 

“upGrad campus is focused on bringing heavily practice-oriented curriculums to its learners, and this association is an extension of our commitment. We want our learners to get a stronger understanding of the subject from the very beginning while also helping them acquire market-ready skills for real-life business problems. At such an important growth stage, where One upGrad, is expanding multi-fold in its portfolio and programs, we are delighted to exchange synergies with the progressive leadership of NITTE, who are equally committed to building a skilled nation together. The collaboration will allow youth to acquire new-age tech capabilities and ensure their readiness for the jobs of tomorrow,” concluded Amit Mahensaria, CEO - upGrad Campus. 

NITTE (Deemed-to-be University) received A+ Grading in NAAC accreditation in 2021 and is consistently placed in NIRF's Top 70-80 rank band.

About upGrad

Started in 2015, upGrad is Asia’s largest integrated Learning, Skilling, and Workforce Development & Placement Company. The offerings range from online & hybrid Degree programs to pathway and study abroad programs to certification and Bootcamps to Diploma, Master’s and Doctorate programs for working professionals. upGrad also provides most of these programs to enterprise clients through its B2B arm along with recruitment and staffing services. To date, upGrad has impacted 10 million+ learners across 100+ countries. It boasts a strong network of 300+ direct global university partners, a wide lineup of 2500+ pathway connections, over 20,000 recruitment partners, and a robust enterprise arm with a clientele of 3000 corporate partners worldwide.

ZEE’s Technology And Innovation Centre Conducts First-Of-Its-Kind Codathon Event - #JustCode

* 60-Hour Non-Stop Coding Extravaganza witnessed participation from over 400 coders

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL), a leading content and entertainment powerhouse, recently concluded a first-of-its-kind Codathon event - #JustCode. The 60-hour non-stop coding marathon, held from May 3rd to May 5th witnessed over 400 participants divided across 30+ groups. The unique engagement activity was an exciting opportunity for the Company’s Technology and Innovation Centre's coding enthusiasts to showcase their programming skills, brainstorm new ideas, and take on new challenges.

At the Centre, the Codathon offered participants the chance to unleash their coding potential while working alongside like-minded individuals. The event centered on leveraging cutting-edge technology to develop innovative features for the digital platform. The challenges presented were advanced and aligned with the company's business goals and objectives. Participants created solutions that added value to the company's offerings, making them more user-friendly, accessible, and engaging. The winning team received a trophy, while the top three initiatives were awarded cash prizes.

In reference to the undertaking, Mr. Kishore A K, Chief Technology Officer of ZEE5, expressed that "Our commitment is to maintain our position at the forefront of technological advancements in this rapidly-changing world. We have been trailblazers in the industry for over three decades, producing groundbreaking content that reaches over 1.3 billion viewers worldwide. Our Technology and Innovation Centre is dedicated to enhancing ZEE's capabilities by utilizing the latest AI & ML technologies to deliver exceptional experiences to our consumers. With an impressive 70% participation rate from our staff, the Codathon has successfully fostered a disruptive mindset that has paved the way for new frontiers and redefined entertainment by delivering robust experiences across all platforms."

The Codathon event featured several innovative initiatives that promise to revolutionize the entertainment industry, including advancements in VR, AR, and content delivery. Additionally, the event showcased Fast Channels - a free ad-supported linear format on the television layered with a guide. This feature is expected to enhance the user experience by providing an uninterrupted viewing experience while also generating revenue through ads. The event also showcased the introduction of the 'Immersive Content Discovery' experience to ZEE5 users in the form of reels, which provides an easy sampling of content to improve viewership and Ads revenue.

A new watch party feature for Zee5 was successfully implemented on a few select platforms during this event. With this new feature, users can now enjoy movies and TV shows with friends and family, even when they're not in the same location.

The company announced its association with partners such as Amazon and Conviva for this successful event. The participants leveraged the Technology and Innovation Centre’s state-of-the-art infrastructure. The event aims to foster a culture of innovation and experimentation to empower employees to become early adopters of various new-age technologies, aiming to enrich the consumer experience on the company’s digital platforms.

Record Participation Of 1.9 Lakh Kids In The Star Sports Incredible IPL School Quiz

With the advent of the IPL, Star Sports, the official television broadcasters of the TATA IPL 2023, launched an innovative initiative ‘Incredible IPL School Quiz’ to engage young cricket fans across the country for the ongoing marquee tournament. The ‘Incredible IPL School Quiz’, a first-of-its-kind activation aimed at the youngest fans in the cricket ecosystem, has been a huge success throughout the course of the tournament. The quiz that recently concluded the initial phase has attracted over 1.93 lakh participants, the highest number of unique participants in an online quiz to date. More than 9,140 unique schools have participated in the quiz, highlighting its immense popularity among the youngest set of fans. The defining feature of the quiz has been the seamless integration with the IPL broadcast on the Disney Star Network into an online quiz using the ‘Incredible Question of the Day’ feature, which has tested the knowledge of young minds. As the quiz enters its zonal rounds, top five schools from each zone will compete in the zonal finals on May 10th, 2023. The zonal finale will determine the top eight teams from across the country, who will then receive a unique opportunity to compete in the national finale on May 16th, 2023, at the Star Sports studio, in Mumbai.

Link to view the zonal school finalists : https://twitter.com/StarSportsIndia/status/1654455355718668288?t=e9UKKqAW7G5aYUrgJn_ddw&s=08

The continuous engagement with schools and children has helped Star Sports witness a staggering growth in viewership among kids (2-14 years), a big fillip for brands targeting the consumer cohort. Around 10 Crore kids tuned in to watch the live broadcast of the first 38 games, an increase of 61% over the last edition. This achievement showcases the growing popularity of the League and the broadcaster's ability to engage audiences across age groups with high-quality content.

Happiest Minds FY 23 Net Profit Accelerates By 27.5% To Rs 231 Crores; FY24 Revenue Guidance Growth At 25%

* Proposes final dividend of Rs 3.4 per share

Happiest Minds Technologies Limited (NSE:HAPPSTMNDS), a ‘Born Digital. Born Agile’, digital transformation and IT solutions company, today announced its consolidated results for the fourth quarter and year ended March 31, 2023 as approved by its Board of Directors.

Ashok Soota, Executive Chairman, said “I am pleased to announce that Happiest Minds has delivered outstanding results for FY23 with 23.7% revenue growth and 26.2% of EBITDA. We have missed our revenue growth target by 1.3% due to the right-shifting of some Q4 revenues. This has been more than compensated by delivering an EBITDA which exceeded the upper band of our guidance of 22 to 24%. In view of our strong business pipeline, we are planning a record people addition of 1,300. Accordingly, we are retaining our FY24 revenue guidance growth at 25%.”

Financial highlights

Quarter ended March 31, 2023:

·         Revenue in constant currency grew by 1.3% q-o-q and 17.6% y-o-y.

·         Operating Revenues in US$ stood at $46 million (growth of 1.4% q-o-q: 15.2% y-o-y)

·         Total Income of Rs 38,643 lakhs (growth of 3.1% q-o-q; 24.5% y-o-y)

·         EBITDA of Rs 10,062 lakhs, 26.0% of Total Income (growth of 3.5% q-o-q; 23.3% y-o-y)

·         PAT of Rs 5,766 lakhs, 14.9% of Total Income (growth of 0.1% q-o-q; 10.7% y-o-y)

·         Free cash flows of Rs 9,946 lakhs

·         EPS (diluted) for the quarter of Rs 3.98.

Year ended March 31, 2023:

·         Revenue in constant currency grew by 23.7%

·         Operating Revenues in US$ stood at $178 million (growth of 21.2% y-o-y)

·         Total Income of Rs 145,040 lakhs (growth of 28.3% y-o-y)

·         EBITDA of Rs 37,997 lakhs, 26.2% of Total Income (growth of 28.9% y-o-y)

·         PAT of Rs 23,099 lakhs, 15.9% of Total Income (growth of 27.5% y-o-y)

·         Free cash flows of Rs 36,480 lakhs

·         EPS (diluted) for the full year of Rs 16.01.

Venkatraman N, MD & CFO, said “Our excellent results both in terms of growth and profitability reflect our operating strengths. This is the 12th successive quarter where we have reported EBITDA of more than 25%.  Based on our strong financial results we are happy to recommend a final dividend of ?3.4 per share.”

Joseph Anantharaju, Executive Vice Chairman, said “Our compelling value proposition and effective land and expand strategy has led to good performance on our customer metrics. The average revenue per customer and the number of billion-dollar corporations have shown consistent progression during the fiscal. We saw a marked improvement in pipeline and deal velocity in the second half of the quarter setting us up well for the first quarter and FY24.”

Clients:

·         237 as of March 31, 2023

·         16 additions in the quarter

Our People - Happiest Minds:

·         4,917 as of March 31, 2023 (net addition for the quarter 306)

·         Trailing 12-month attrition of 19.8%

·         Utilization of 74.6%, from 80.1% in last quarter

Q4 FY23 Key Project Wins:

·         For a large EduTech company that enables learners and academic institutions to achieve their goals, Happiest Minds was chosen as their strategic partner to provide digital engineering and test automation services.

·         For a leading provider of hardware for the gaming industry, Happiest Minds was chosen to provide embedded and software development services.

·         For a world leader in the recreational travel and hospitality industry, this consulting-led engagement entails Happiest Minds to evaluate, recommend and advise for building their ESG Reporting Platform.

·         For a global industrial technology leader, Happiest Minds is providing application testing services.

·         For this existing client in the property and casualty insurance industry in North America, Happiest Minds has been chosen to provide security services.

·         For a large loyalty program provider in the ANZ region, Happiest Minds is chosen to provide consulting, support and implementation services to enhance security and privacy environments around data and cloud.

·         For this Australia-based existing client in the Quick Service Restaurant industry, Happiest Minds is a partner of choice in their digital transformational initiatives.

·         For a reputed Hi-Tech company providing digital transformational services in the middle east, Happiest Minds has been chosen to provide cloud migration services.

·         For an India-based international provider of quality B2B solutions in the higher education space, Happiest Minds is building their next-gen platform for test prep leveraging cloud.

·         For a reputed India-headquartered global automotive company, Happiest Minds has been chosen to provide engineering services leveraging 5G for their connected car program.

Recognitions:

·         Happiest Minds won the ICAI Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting 2021-22

·         Happiest Minds’ MD & CFO, Mr. Venkatraman Narayanan recognized as a ‘Leading CFO of the Year’ at the CII CFO Excellence Awards 2022.

·         Happiest Minds is among the Top 50 India’s Best Workplaces™ for Building a Culture of Innovation 2023.

·         Happiest Minds is among Top 10 India’s Best Workplaces™ in Health & Wellness 2022

·         Priya Kanduri was awarded at ‘Women In Tech Leadership Awards 2023' by AIM and the ‘Women at Work Achiever of the Year 2023’ by FKCCI 

Analyst Mentions

·         Happiest Minds is selected as ‘Standout Case Study’ - ISG Digital Case Study Awards 2022.

Announcements

·         The Board of Directors of the Company at their meeting held on May 8, 2023, has recommended a final dividend of Rs 3.4 per equity share of face value Rs  2/- for the financial year 2022-23 subject to shareholder approval.

For further details please refer to the Investors presentation on the Company’s website.

About Happiest Minds Technologies:

Happiest Minds Technologies Limited (NSE: HAPPSTMNDS), a Mindful IT Company, enables digital transformation for enterprises and technology providers by delivering seamless customer experiences, business efficiency and actionable insights. We do this by leveraging a spectrum of disruptive technologies such as: artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud, digital process automation, internet of things, robotics/drones, security, virtual/augmented reality, etc. Positioned as ‘Born Digital . Born Agile’, our capabilities span digital solutions, infrastructure, product engineering and security. We deliver these services across industry sectors such as automotive, BFSI, consumer packaged goods, e-commerce, EduTech, engineering R&D, healthcare, hi-tech, manufacturing, retail and travel/transportation/hospitality.

A Great Place to Work-Certified™ company, Happiest Minds is headquartered in Bangalore, India with operations in the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia and Middle East.

ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus Rolls Out Offline MFA For Enhanced Remote Work Security

* Ensures Authorized Access to Business Data with Cutting-edge Verification Methods, Regardless of Time, Location or Connectivity Issues.

* Allows remote users to securely authenticate via MFA (Multi Factor Authentication) even if they are not connected to the authentication server or the internet

* Uses highly secure, TOTP-based authenticators to comply with security regulations that extend across industries

* Download the latest version of ADSelfService Plus with the newly released feature: https://mnge.it/FiY

ManageEngine, the enterprise IT management division of Zoho Corporation, today announced that its identity security solution, ADSelfService Plus, now offers offline MFA for Windows. This new feature allows organizations to secure their data with next-gen authentication methods that prevent unsecured access to remote machines even when they are disconnected from the internet or when the authentication server is inaccessible.

Offline MFA greatly improves the security posture of organizations by allowing users to access their machines only after confirming their identity using MFA, even if they are not connected to the internet.

Fortify Defenses with ADSelfService Plus' Offline MFA

Remote work is here to stay, but working from anywhere poses cybersecurity challenges that could lead to the potential exposure of sensitive data to unauthorized users. The rise of hybrid work models has also resulted in a sharp surge in cybercrime, with projections indicating that the cost of global cybercrime in 2023 will be over $8 trillion.

While security measures like MFA can help secure endpoints and data, they may not be usable when the authentication server is offline or inaccessible, leaving organizations vulnerable to attacks. Furthermore, once a compromised machine regains access to the server, attackers could move laterally through the network and access other sensitive data, posing a significant threat to the entire organization. This is where offline MFA plays a crucial role in hardening endpoint security as well as network security.

"Remote and hybrid work models introduce new attack surfaces, are susceptible to modern attack strategies, and need to be secured using modern security measures," said Parthiban Paramasivam, Director of product management, ADSelfService Plus.

"ADSelfService Plus enables remote work by ensuring authorized, secure access to the enterprise network, resources, and the data held in them. Its offline MFA feature mandates identity verification beyond a mere password and expands the security perimeter to physical devices that may be accessed offline, such as the laptop of a senior executive who is on the road or an engineer at a remote client site," he said.

Protect Business Data While Complying with Regulations

This feature also helps meet compliance requirements for various industries across defense, medical, and financial sectors. Regulations such as HIPAA, the PCI DSS, and the GDPR recommend or mandate the use of MFA for access to sensitive data. With ADSelfService Plus' offline MFA, organizations can meet the authentication and security requirements of these regulations while empowering their end users to securely work from anywhere.

ADSelfService Plus supports offline MFA for Windows logons, RDP logons, and User Account Control logons. The supported authenticators are Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, Zoho OneAuth TOTP Authenticator and custom TOTP authenticators, including hardware tokens. They are all TOTP-based, making them highly resistant to common attacks.

Pricing and Availability

Offline MFA is available immediately in the latest edition of ADSelfService Plus as part of the Endpoint MFA add-on for its Standard and Professional editions. Pricing for the Endpoint MFA add-on of ADSelfService Plus starts at $395 annually for 500 users.

Pricing for the Standard and Professional editions starts at $595 and $1,195, respectively. ADSelfService Plus also offers a Free edition for up to 50 users. It can be downloaded at https://mnge.it/EVK. A fully functional, 30-day trial version is available for download at https://mnge.it/FiY.

About ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus

ADSelfService Plus is an identity security solution to ensure secure and seamless access to enterprise resources and establish a Zero Trust environment. With capabilities such as adaptive multi-factor authentication, single sign-on, self-service password management, a password policy enhancer, remote work enablement and workforce self-service, ADSelfService Plus provides your employees with secure, simple access to the resources they need. ADSelfService Plus helps keep identity-based threats out, fast-tracks application onboarding, improves password security, reduces help desk tickets and empowers remote workforces. For more information about ADSelfService Plus, visit https://mnge.it/nmV.

About ManageEngine

ManageEngine is the enterprise IT management division of Zoho Corporation. Established and emerging enterprises—including 9 of every 10 Fortune 100 organizations—rely on ManageEngine's real time IT management tools to ensure optimal performance of their IT infrastructure, including networks, servers, applications, endpoints and more. ManageEngine has offices worldwide, including the United States, the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, India, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Singapore, Japan, China and Australia, as well as 200+ global partners to help organizations tightly align their business and IT. For more information, please visit manageengine.com, follow the company blog and get connected on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.