Residential Prices Surge 11.2% YoY In Bengaluru: Magicbricks PropIndex (Oct-Dec 2023)

* Residential demand jumped 12.0% YoY in the same quarter 

Magicbricks, India's leading real estate platform, released its flagship PropIndex Report (October-December 2023) which observed a significant surge of 11.2% YoY in property prices in Bengaluru. The report further unveiled that despite the price rise, the residential demand increased 12% YoY in the same quarter, while supply reduced 21.9% YoY.  

At the same time, compared to the previous quarter, the residential demand decreased 13.6% QoQ as prices increased 3% QoQ and supply reduced 2.9% QoQ, a cyclical reduction due to fluctuations in demand, prices, and supply that shape market dynamics. The average rates of ready-to-move and under-construction properties in Bengaluru increased 2.2% QoQ and 4.9% QoQ respectively. 

Elaborating on these trends, Abhishek Bhadra, Research Head, Magicbricks, commented, "The year 2023 served as a pivotal period for the real estate sector, witnessing an exponential surge in residential demand propelled by robust macroeconomic factors and positive customer sentiment. However, constrained residential supply and increasing home loan rates had an inflationary impact on residential prices, subsequently declining demand this quarter. Despite these short-term challenges, we foresee a positive trajectory for residential demand in the medium to long term, anticipating a rebound in supply and moderation in residential prices.” 

The report further shared that the residential demand in Bengaluru was dominated by 3BHK configurations, commanding a substantial 48% share, closely trailed by 2BHK configurations, which accounted for 29%. Sarjapur Road and Whitefield emerged as the preferred residential localities in Bengaluru.  

The report, based on insights from the behavior and preferences of over 2 crore customers within the primary (first time sale) and secondary (resale) residential real estate market on the Magicbricks platform, also unveiled that across 13 key cities, property prices surged 18.8% YoY between with an 18.8% YoY and 3.97% QoQ surge between October and December 2023. This report also revealed notable trends in residential demand, supply, and property rates in Bengaluru.  

About Magicbricks: India's no 1 property site   

As the largest platform for buyers and sellers of property to connect in a transparent manner, Magicbricks has monthly traffic exceeding 2 crores and an active base of over 15 lakh property listings. Magicbricks has metamorphosed into a full-stack service provider for all real estate needs, with 15+ services including home loans, pay rent, movers and packers, legal assistance, property valuation, and expert advice. 

With 15+ years of experience and deep research-based knowledge, Magicbricks also presents a repertoire of insight-driven platforms like MBTV- India’s leading online real estate YouTube channel, and other proprietary tools so that home buyers can access all information related to price trends and forecasts, locality reviews and more.  

Zuno General Insurance Harnesses Tech For Safer Roads With Zuno Driving Quotient' Initiative During Indian Road Safety Month

Zuno General Insurance, a new-age digital insurer, announced its road safety initiative as it proudly supports the Road Safety Month organized by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India. The initiative, spanning from 12th to 25th January 2024, aims to raise awareness about the critical importance of road safety and encourages responsible driving practices for safer roads. 

Given its digital first approach, Zuno General Insurance is using Tech  along with an interesting marketing campaign to drive home the message. The campaign will lean on Bollywood driven pop culture  in the country to drive activation programmes in five major cities across India, namely Mumbai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru. At identified long-duration signals in each city, these iconic characters will engage with citizens urging them to follow traffic rules and help raise awareness in their signature style. 

The initiative will also introduce the Zuno Driving Quotient challenge (ZDQ), encouraging individuals to download the Zuno App and assess their driving skills and get an objective score through the app. 

The Company conducted surveys and found that there was a general overconfidence bias amongst people while assessing their own driving ability, with over 65% drivers believing their driving was very good. On the contrary, some case studies on the subject state that only around 30-35% drivers are good or excellent drivers. This reaffirmed Zuno’s conviction that there was a dire need for a mechanism that would effectively measure driving behviour and  encourage and guide people to improve it over time. 

The Zuno app employs motion detection and monitors factors such as sudden braking, distracted driving, and over-speeding to calculate a comprehensive Driving Score. This score not only offers valuable insights into one’s driving habits but also encourages safer driving practices. Simply put, the better you drive, the better your score will be and the more you can save on your insurance premium. The users can take the 15-day driving challenge by downloading the Zuno app and take a journey of self-discovery and road safety. 

Specially curated brand spots on high-frequency radio platforms will urge people to follow traffic rules and drive safely or face encounters with the scariest/deadliest characters of Bollywood in their city. 

Shanai Ghosh, MD and CEO of Zuno General Insurance, remarked, "Road safety is a shared responsibility, and Zuno is committed to driving positive change on our roads. Our initiative seeks to create a lasting impression on the driver community in understanding their role and impact in fostering safer roads in the country. We aim to promote safer driving habits while engaging the audience through a blend of curiosity and nostalgia. Our ‘Zuno Driving Quotient’ is an important step in raising awareness on around good driving behaviour, correlation with road accidents and eventual positive impact on the society, as a whole. We are going a step beyond awareness, by using rewards to influence behavioural change. Everyone who engages with it, will be incentivized to drive better, thus making roads safer for people in India, leading to lower accidents and lower fatalities. For us, it is not just a campaign but a movement to make India drive better with Zuno Driving Quotient”. 

Blue Dart’s Records Quarter 3 Sales At Rs 1,383 Crores

Blue Dart Express Limited, South Asia's leading express air, integrated transportation, and distribution logistics company, announced its financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2023, at the Board Meeting. 

The company posted Rs 82 crores profit after tax for the quarter ended December 31, 2023. Revenue from operations for the quarter ended December 31, 2023, stood at Rs 1,383 crores. 

Reflecting on the company's performance, Balfour Manuel, Managing Director of Blue Dart Express Ltd., said, "In the post-pandemic era, as global trade normalizes, we continue to navigate challenges such as higher interest rates and increasing costs. Despite these hurdles, we not only surpassed pre-pandemic revenue levels but also have continued to invest in capacities and strengthened our position as the provider of choice for our customers. Our commitment to customer-centricity remains our top priority, driving our success." 

Discussing the business outlook, he emphasized, “The growth opportunities and continued focus on customer centricity have enabled us to continue to invest, aligned with our strategic focus on People, Process and Technology. This is complemented by a Last In-First Out approach, further reinforcing our market leadership.” 

Exceptional Service Quality, coupled with automation and technology, continues to be pivotal in providing customers with a seamless, one-stop solution for all their logistics requirements. The company handled 919 lakh shipments, weighing 314,239 metric tonnes, in the Quarter ended December 31, 2023. 

Blue Dart was recently recognized as India's Top Value Creator 2023 in the transport and logistics category, highlighting its commitment to excellence. The company has not only established itself as the Provider of Choice but also stands out as an Employer of Choice and an Investment of Choice for all its stakeholders. Blue Dart continues to set a precedent in the industry, dedicated to delivering outstanding value and upholding its leadership position.  

Union Bank of India Wins “STAR PERFORMER-RANK 1” Award

Union Bank of India was awarded “STAR PERFORMER-RANK 1” in NPS The Game Changer Campaign organized by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), Ministry of Finance across all financial institutions for the period from November 20, 2023 to December 30, 2023. 

The felicitation ceremony was presided by Mr. Deepak Mohanty, Chairman, PFRDA at a glittering function held at Hotel Indian Habitat Center, Delhi on January 19, 2024. Ms. Beena Vaheed, Chief General Manager-Union Bank of India on behalf of Mr. Nidhu Saxena, Executive Director- Union Bank of India, was felicitated by Chairman, PFRDA in the felicitation ceremony. 

The Bank qualified as the Winner in Category 1 and its top performer executives including Executive Director along with 10 field functionaries were felicitated by PFRDA during the ceremony.  

PFRDA is the regulating body under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Finance, Government of India for overall supervision and regulation of pension in India.  

Plant-Based D2C Nutrition Brand Earthful Raises $400K In Pre-Seed Funding

* Earthful, a direct-to-consumer, plant-based nutrition brand has raised a Pre-Seed investment of USD 400 Thousand from Green Ivy Ventures among others. Marquee investors such as Abhishek Goyal of Tracxn; Jayant Paleti of Darwinbox; and Brij Bhushan of Magicpin have also participated in the round.

Over the last year, Earthful, co-founded by sisters Sudha Gogineni & Veda Gogineni, has shown an exemplary 5X growth. The clean label startup has witnessed a 15% MoM growth along with building a community of health enthusiasts. Earthful products are available to consumers through its own website and online marketplaces. More than 70-80% of the sales comes from their own website showcasing the strength of the brand love.

Earthful’s flagship product range includes 100% Plant Multivitamins, customised to the needs of Teens, Adults & Elderly, across genders. Their uniqueness lies in sourcing every single Vitamin & Mineral, from a science-backed plant source. For eg: Iron from Curry leaves, Vitamin C from Amla. They are also disrupting the Protein space, with a clean, 6 ingredients only, Plant Protein powder range, with natural Indianized tastes such as Kerala Vanilla, Alphonso Mango, Dark cocoa. They ensure the formulations are absolutely clean by avoiding unnecessary excipients, flavours, processed sugars and choosing natural alternatives.

Earthful was born out of a very personal need for founders, Sudha and Veda, to solve for their health needs. Coming from a health-conscious family, they understood the importance of eating right and staying fit. Yet, hustling a fast-paced lifestyle they fell prey to nagging health issues such as knee pains, energy crashes, etc. They understood the problem was hidden in their nutritional deficiencies. Being unhappy with the synthetic or animal-derived choices in the market, they went on to build a Clean, Plant based nutrition brand, Earthful.

Earthful has adopted a bold mission to fight hidden hunger in India, where we consume enough calories for our hunger but not the right amount & variety of nutrients. ~75% of Indians have deficiency of at least one Vitamin or Mineral, leading to health concerns. Earthful aims to tackle this problem head-on with its science-backed, plant nutrition.

Commenting on the investment, Veda Gogineni, Co-Founder, Earthful said, “We are delighted to have received the investment which will help us invest in research & development, build omni-channel distribution & expand our team.”

Abhishek Goyal, Co-Founder, Tracxn said, “Earthful is truly rebuilding trust in nutrition products by formulating clean products with transparency. Their choice of unique plant ingredients with scientific backing is very novel.”

Sudha, a Chemical engineer from IIT Kharagpur and ISB Hyderabad alumnus, has previously worked with ITC Ltd and Uber. While her co-founder, Veda, a Biotechnologist from IIT Kharagpur, earlier worked with Deutsche Bank and Meesho. Leveraging their strong science backgrounds & working with a team of qualified doctors & scientists, Earthful founders place highest importance to innovation & research. They also actively create content in increasing awareness about nutrition and wellness.

Highlighting the importance of quality, Sudha Gogineni, Co-Founder, Earthful said, “We are the first consumers of every product we make and are obsessed with quality & efficacy of our products.”

Dr. Sindhura, Director, Green Ivy Ventures said “I’m thrilled to partner with Earthful, founded by the incredible sisters Sudha & Veda. Their mission to fight undernutrition through 100% plant-based health supplements resonates deeply with me as a Doctor & Mother.”

Earthful is disrupting the fast- growing nutraceutical market in India, pegged to reach ~$18 billion by 2025. With the rise in lifestyle diseases, adoption of nutritional supplements has been on the rise.

Pidilite Ventures Hosts ‘Building Bonds’: Its First Ever Community-Building Event

Pidilite Ventures, the venture capital arm of Pidilite Industries, launched its first-ever community-building event in Bengaluru titled 'Building Bonds 2024,' with support from their partners, 100X.VC. The event gathered trailblazers from the venture capital, startup, and corporate realms, all sharing synergies with Pidilite’s core and adjacent businesses.

The platform featured over thirty industry experts across seven engaging sessions. The event garnered an overwhelming response, with over 300 participants attending the first edition of ‘Building Bonds 2024.’ The event focused on the following key areas that also form Pidilite Ventures’ core investment thesis:

·         Home Care & Maintenance: Businesses that simplify the process of caring for and maintaining people's most cherished possession—their homes.

·         Contractor as a Customer: Solutions and services that cater to contractors in the building and interior space.

·         Home Improvement & Renovation: Products, solutions & services leading to an improved home; be it aesthetics or utility.

·         Arts & Craft: New-age and differentiated solutions within the arts and crafts space.

·         Smart/Green Building Materials: Innovators involved in revolutionary building material that are both environmentally friendly and intelligent.

Sanket Parekh, Director, Pidilite Ventures, said, “At Pidilite Ventures, our mission is to invest in fast-growing and innovative companies that have synergies with Pidilite’s core and adjacent businesses. The construction and home improvement categories are usually not associated with tech innovation, and with ‘Building Bonds 2024’ we wanted to take this opportunity to highlight the innovators working in this space and bring more attention to their work. We look forward to seeing the next generation of entrepreneurs creating sustainable innovations, and adding value to their growth journeys, through our experience and expertise.”

Yagnesh Sanghrajka, Founder & CFO, 100X.VC said, “100X.VC strongly believes that innovation thrives with collaboration and is focused on discovering category-defining businesses for Pidilite Ventures. ‘Building Bonds 2024’ has set the stage for the road ahead, and we are very excited about the new possibilities. The platform witnessed some of the best minds from across industries engaging in vibrant discussions, uncovering trends, sharing investment-worthy insights, and exploring innovative sectoral opportunities."

Visionaries like, Karan Virwani (CEO, WeWork), Anand Lunia (Founding Partner, IndiaQuotient)| Arindam Paul (Founding Member & CBO, Atomberg Technologies), Bhavna Suresh (Founder & CEO, 10Club), Ramakant Sharma (Founder & COO, Livspace), Tanuj Choudhry (Founder & COO, HomeLane), Siddharth Pai (Founder, 3one4 Capital), Parag Dhol (General Partner, Athera Ventures) Srikanth Iyer (Founder & CEO, Homelane), Rajkamal Agarwal (Head- L&T Innovation Fund) and Sagar Gandhi (Head of Strategy and Business Excellence at Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Pvt Ltd), and many more shared valuable insights.

About Pidilite Ventures

Pidilite Ventures (www.pidilite.vc) is the venture arm of Pidilite Industries Limited. Pidilite Ventures invests in fast growing and innovative companies that have synergies with Pidilite’s core and adjacent businesses.

About Pidilite:

Pidilite Industries Limited is a leading manufacturer of adhesives and sealants, construction chemicals, craftsmen products, DIY (Do-It-Yourself) products and polymer emulsions in India. Our products range also includes paint chemicals, automotive chemicals, art materials and stationery, fabric care, maintenance chemicals, industrial adhesives, industrial resins and organic pigments & preparations. Most of the products have been developed through strong in-house R&D. Our brand name Fevicol has become synonymous with adhesives to millions in India and is ranked amongst the most trusted brands in the country. Some of our other major brands are M-Seal, Fevikwik, Fevistik, Roff, Dr. Fixit, Araldite and Fevicryl.

Photo Caption: From right to left Salil Dalal, Chief Business Officer at Pidilite Industries Ltd.; Tanuj Choudhry, Founder & COO of Homelane; Anil Goel, Former MD at Hettich India Pvt Ltd.; Anand Lunia, Founding Partner at India Quotient; and Ramakant Sharma, Founder & COO of Livspace, at the panel discussion on India's growth as a construction and home improvement hub at inaugural edition of Building Bonds by Pidilite Ventures in Bengaluru.

Free Infertility Camp For “Motherhood” By Gunasheela

After successful completion of camp in November 2023, on popular demand we announce another camp in this year for a healthy & happy family. With 47 years behind them Gunasheela has created miracles for birth. 

The torchbearers of IVF in Bengaluru have a track record of handling over 100,000 pregnancies with 74% success rate in IVF supported by over 20 fertility experts. Here is an invitation for “wanting mothers” to be part of the camp which is scheduled at their Basavana Gudi centre all day long on Friday 26thJanuary 2024.

 Now those struggling to conceive and have lost hope can come & rediscover at Gunasheela. Just register & stand to gain a comprehensive diagnostic package Consultation, Examination, Investigations & Scan is FREE.. T&C Apply. Call on 46462600 or 080-26673588 now.Toll Free: 1800-425-0524