Capital First Raises Rs 340 Cr Funds from Affiliate of GIC, Singapore

Capital First announced that it is raising fresh equity capital of Rs 340 crores on a preferential basis at Rs 712.70 per share (face value of Rs. 10.00 and premium of Rs. 702.70 per share) subject to approval of Shareholders. The company will allot 47,80,000 shares to Caladium Investment Private Limited, an affiliate of GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund.

Post this transaction, the total capital (including Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital) of the company will increase to Rs. 3,263 Crores on a consolidated basis and the Capital Adequacy will increase to 21.6%.

For the recently concluded quarterly results, Capital First Limited reported a Profit after Tax of Rs. 57.6 Crores for Q2FY 17, an increase of 40% from Rs 41.0 Crores in Q2FY 16, which is the highest ever quarterly profit in the history of the company.

The Company’s AUM grew 32% to Rs. 17,937 Crores as on September 30th, 2016 on a year on year basis, with its retail loan portfolio contributing to 90.1% of its overall AUM as of September 30th, 2016. The Gross NPA and Net NPA of the company stood at 0.98% and 0.45% respectively as on September 30th, 2016 on 120 DPD NPA recognition basis.

V Vaidyanathan, Founder and Chairman, Capital First said “We are delighted to receive a firm proposal from Caladium to become a new Shareholder of the company, who will provide growth capital to the Company, and we wholeheartedly welcome them. This reaffirms the strong institution built at Capital First over the years in the Indian Financial Services space. Post this transaction the Capital Adequacy Ratio will increase from 19.1% to 21.6%, which will help the Company to continue its future growth plans on a strong capital base.”

Accenture Among Top 10 Companies for Women Employees in India

Accenture has been recognized in the Top 10 of the 100 Best Companies for Women in India list, which celebrates organizations that champion sustainable careers for women. The inaugural list was published by Working Mother and AVTAR.
 
Accenture was recognized for providing an inclusive and supportive environment for its more than 45,000 women in India. It scored highly on several of the list’s categories, including women’s recruitment, retention and advancement, safety and security, flexible work programs and paid-time off. The company was also recognized for its leading maternity benefits and support for returning moms.

“Creating an inclusive environment that enables women to achieve both their personal and professional ambitions, reflects Accenture’s core values and culture,” said Rekha M. Menon, chairman and managing director, Accenture in India. “We’re pushing barriers to make our company more inclusive, and we’re honored to have our efforts recognized by Working Mother and AVTAR. We remain committed to ensuring that our women feel empowered to drive their own success.”
 
Accenture leads several initiatives in India that enable its female employees to be successful, both personally and professionally. For example, the company:
 

 Offers leadership development programs for its high-potential women, helping them hone the key skills needed to advance and foster relationships with senior leaders;

·  Helps women build and extend their professional networks – both in and outside of Accenture – with Vaahini, its networking forum for women;

·  Offers career-track focused initiatives specifically for women, including one that helps them advance their tech skills and become technical architects; and

·  Provides access to a variety of flexible work programs; the company helps new mothers in their transition back to work by identifying ideal re-entry roles and providing various women’s leadership development programs to support their long-term success.

In Accenture’s 2016 fiscal year, more than one-third of Accenture’s new hires in India were women. The company recently announced that it surpassed its goal to reach 40 percent female new hires worldwide by 2017. Currently, there are more than 145,000 women globally at Accenture.

One Year Old T-Hub Puts Hyderabad on the Start-Up World Map

T-hub, India’s fastest growing start-up engine celebrated its first anniversary announcing strategic initiatives which puts  Hyderabad on the start- up world map. 

The anniversary celebration was inaugurated by Telangana IT Minister KT. Rama Rao amid senior Industry leaders and government officials.  Among those present, included T-Hub Board of Directors, Jayesh Ranjan, IT Secretary, Telangana State, B.V.R. Mohan Reddy, Executive Chairman, Cyient and Srini Raju, Managing Director and Founder of Peepul Capital. 

The event was marked open by the lighting of the ceremonial lamp by Shri K.T. Rama Rao, Board of directors, Srinivas Kollipara, Founder and COO, T-Hub and Jay Krishnan, CEO, T-Hub.

Commenting on the celebrations  KT. Rama Rao, Minister for IT, Govt. of Telangana, India, said, “When we started T-Hub a year back there were many questions about how we will create a mark in the startup world. But looking at what we have achieved, makes me proud. Today the world wants to talk to Hyderabad, and know how we can bring in more investments. Through T-Bridge we will access and bring the best to you to grow and make the city one of the top startup cities in the world.”

Speaking on the occasion, Jay Krishnan, CEO, T-Hub said, “Innovation is the core of what we do. Through the year we have strived each day to build a strong structure that fuels a culture of innovation through capacity building and mentorship. This has enabled us to catalyse deal flow and take Hyderabad on the world map in the start-up ecosystem. Some of the products and services we launched through the year, T-Bridge, Sandbox, Playbooks have truly set us apart. We have brought structure to the madness which investors and corporates are recognising. We are an evolving organization and will constantly keep learning and changing as we go along only to ensure we bring the best to Hyderabad and fulfil our vision to make this city one of the top 10 startup cities in the world.”

Speaking on the occasion Srinivas Kollipara, Founder and COO of T-Hub said, “On this occasion of one year, we would like to thank the support and confidence we have received from our board members.  We are the only ecosystem in the country which is run by professionals. We would like to thank the government for giving us this opportunity and free hand to create a startup world in Hyderabad that is uniquely structured and build to allow for progress and innovation with strong support with policy initiatives and access to the world at large. Today the world wants to talk to us only because we have a structured ecosystem backed by technology with innovation at its core. With this support and interest the sky is the limit.”

The inauguration witnessed MoU signings with several Strategic Partners, Corporate Partners and announcement of Partnership Programs

The Strategic partnerships include:

1.         PwC Innovation Hub Partnership

PwC, one of the leading consulting firms in the world has partnered with T-Hub to create an Innovation Hub within the Catalyst building.  

This strategic partnership is aligned with PwC's Innovation Program to support and mentor startups. The Innovation Hub will give startups access to PwC clients across 157 countries and open floodgates for new opportunities.  

We at T-Hub welcomes this opportunity through which our startups, PwC & its ecosystem of global clients can exchange the role of being an accelerator for collective growth.        

2.         Carnegie’s Policy Hub within T- Hub 

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, India, a public policy think-tank has partnered with T-Hub to create a ‘Policy Incubator’ within Catalyst. 

a. The objective of this one-of-a-kind ‘Policy Incubator’ is to help startups guide through the regulatory and policy implications of innovation. 

b. Operationalise a tracking system to record exciting innovation within T-Hub and create awareness around the same in collaboration with T-Hub.

The Corporate Partnerships include:

3.         DBS Asia Hub-2 partners with T-Hub to create an ‘Innovation Hub’ for Fintech startups  

DBS Asia Hub-2 & T-Hub today entered into a strategic partnership to reimagine banking and drive innovation in fintech space. This partnership would leverage a network of fintech start-ups to make banking simpler, seamless and joyful for customers. Further to its quest to lead digital transformation, DAH2 aims at driving innovation and agility in banking through this partnership.

Programs announcement include: 

4.         Agri-Tech Accelerator announcement with ICRISAT, RVP & T-Hub

T-Hub’s AgriTech Accelerator Program is a startup focused initiative created in partnership with ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics) and powered by RViP (Riverbridge Ventures Innovation Platform). It is a unique three-month accelerator program, which enables AgriTech start-ups to move game-changing products to market and scale their existing businesses, providing Market, Business Scale, Global Exposure, Funding Support, Expert Advice, Corporate Partnerships, Government Connects, and more game changing opportunities.

5. CL Educate- Innovation Partnership for student innovation

T-Hub and CL Educate entered into an MoU to make innovation accessible to millions of youngsters in schools, colleges and jobs. Awareness, research, Technology-platform, curriculum, access to mentors and funds, are some of the benefits that will reach young entrepreneurship aspirants through this collaborative partnership. 

T-Hub and CL Educate also hope to bring in innovation driven corporations to support and benefit from this program.

Zone Unveils ‘Gateway 91’ to Help International Startups Grow in India

Zone Startups, a joint venture between Ryerson Future, Toronto, and the BSE Institute, has launched, “Gateway 91”, a soft landing program to work with international startups and growth stage companies looking to access the Indian market.

Gateway 91 is the fourth new program announced by Zone Startups in 2016, including empoWer, Rise Accelerator with Barclays and Thought Factory Accelerator with Axis Bank that will offer end-to-end services for international technology companies looking to set up their first office in India.

Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Navdeep Bains also used the platform to announce a partnership between the governments of Canada and Ontario to fund five Canadian financial technology startups to participate in the new program to help Canadian innovators seize the many opportunities provided by the Indian market.

“Through programs like Gateway 91, Zone Startups will continue to assist early stage enterprise software companies as they look to scale in the Indian market. Our extensive connections and programming continue to attract great founders developing innovative solutions. We’re proud to partner with both the Federal and Ontario governments to give Canadian FinTech startups the opportunity to benefit from our leading services to grow and thrive in India,” said Matt Saunders, President of Zone Startups.

Zone Startups India will help companies make the daunting transition to a new market by providing support including workspace within a community of like-minded entrepreneurs, local industry expert mentors, professional and administrative services for business establishment, corporate connections for customer development and; networking opportunities with potential investors

The first set of companies expected to be a part of Gateway 91 will be selected through a competitive program in Canada and will be announced in early 2017.

“Setting up Gateway 91 was a natural extension of what we have been doing at Zone Startups India,” said Ajay Ramasubramaniam, Director, Zone Startups India.

“The ecosystem of mentors, potential partners and professional service providers needed by international startups to succeed in India is something that we have already built. In fact, over the last year, we have supported 16 companies from different areas, helping them with introductions to several potential partners and clients. To a great extent, this also aligns with Government of India’s Invest in India and Make in India vision as these international technology companies will create knowledge economy job opportunities” he further added.

Over 100 To Be Layed Off at eBay India from Its Bangalore Tech Team

It appears that the Trump effect is already working. eBay is laying off nearly 100 odd employees from its product and technology team in Bangalore and shifting work to other global centres.

“As a normal course of business, eBay regularly reviews its operational structure and today we announced some changes to our global product and technology team. As a result, we are reducing our overall technology workforce in Bangalore and shifting work to other global centers around the world,” an eBay spokesperson confirmed to Economic Times.

The layoffs, which were first reported by Tech in Asia, are part of a global reorganization of the tech and product teams, the company says.

“The development centre in Bangalore has two teams, the analytics team and the product and tech team,” the spokesperson added. “The reductions affects the product team, the analytics team is fully intact.”

Without disclosing the exact number of people to be impacted by the decision, the spokesperson said that Bangalore centre will now focus on eBay India – dedicated product and development work. “We remain committed to India and will continue to invest in core product and technology development for eBay India.”

Last year, eBay had cut around 350 jobs across its Bangalore and Chennai development centers, as per several media reports. Employees across eBay Marketplaces and PayPal business were reportedly impacted in those layoffs.

Agencies

TSSC, TiE and IESA Signs MoU for IoT Skill Development Centre

At IoTNext 2016, India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) with The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), Bangalore and Telecom Sector Skill Council (TSSC) announced a MoU for opening a Center of Excellence (CoE) in Bangalore.

With the growth of IoT in every industry, there is an urgent need to train technicians to deploy, manage and maintain the IoT edge Nodes & Gateways. The main objective of the COE is to prepare the current workforce to be industry-ready in the coming years.

The collaboration between TSSC, IESA and TiE, the CoE will help in providing a platform to skill, develop and train blue collared workers in the field of IoT. It will empower the group to focus on gaining competency using some of the best practices and help in creating job opportunities for them as the industry shifts towards automation.

Naganand Doraswamy, president, TiE Bangalore stressed about the need for such initiatives. He said, “Both TiE and IESA are proud to present the second edition of IoTNext. 
As the industry shifts towards automation, it will help empower the group to focus on gaining competency using some of the best practices and also help create job opportunities. The growth of IoT in every industry has led to the need to train technicians in order to deploy, manage and maintain the IoT edge Nodes and Gateways. 

At the summit, TiE-IESA has also launched a unique IoT Startup directory, a compilation of IoT startups across the nation. It will be an online repository with detailed information on the startups and the products they offer. TiE- IESA has also teamed up with HAX Accelerator to support Indian startups.

New Volvo Coach Range 9400 Unveiled at Busworld 2016, Bengaluru

Swedish coach maker Volvo has unveiled new 9400 range of buses at the Busworld 2016 show that started on November 10, 2016 at the International Exhibition Centre, Bangalore.

The new range of buses include range topping 9400, 14.5-metre long coach powered by new 11-litre engine and 9400, 12-metre long, 7.7-litre engine equipped coach that will replace the popular B7R model.

The 12-metre long 9400 coach gets 7.7-litre engine sourced from the VECV's Pithampur facility. Volvo in association with Eicher started local manufacturing of this engine in line with Make in India initiative of government of India. The new engine replaces 6-cylinder 7-litre engine. BS IV compliant new engine will develop 333bhp and 1,200Nm of torque mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox.

On the other hand, the 9400 multi-axle features 11-litre engine in place of 9-litre engine. The 6-cylinder unit develops 410bhp of power at 1600-1900rpm and whopping 1980Nm of torque at 950-1400rpm mated to I-Shift 12-speed AMT transmission. The bus measures 14.5-metre long (up from 13.8-metre), 3.6-metre in height and 2.6-metre in width. It also has 8.35-metre wheelbase and 19,500kg gross vehicle weight. This coach has been showcased in 2+1 seating layout with dedicated USB charging points at the show. It comes with three-point seatbelt for each seat similar to cars. The coach also comes with optional chemical toilet, and pantry with fridge.

"Volvo Buses has always positioned itself to provide products that deliver the right value to our customers. The engine range is a good example of India's role in Volvo Group's global plans. The way forward for us is to offer in India the latest solutions that can provide the finest ownership experience," said Haken Agnevall, president of Volvo Bus Corporation.

The new range of buses will be manufactured at the plant near Hoskote, Bengaluru. Volvo has sold more than 6000 buses in India from 2001 in which 1,500 Volvo city buses currently operate in 34 cities. The company recently launched 8400 hybrid city bus in Navi Mumbai and it has a parallel hybrid system, which comprises a 5-litre, 4-cylinder, in-line diesel engine and an electric motor.