Plus Offices Launches Attractive Anniversary Offers for Coworking Offices in Gurgaon

Plus Offices, one of Gurgaon’s most-popular coworking offices has launched some enticing offers on the occasion of their anniversary. These offers include flat discounts, free office Spaces, Walk-In and Win offers for both their Sector 44 and Sector 67 location.

Plus Offices has 2 premium coworking locations in Gurgaon in Sector 44 and Sector 67.

Here is a glimpse of some of the offers launched by Plus Offices in January.

Plus Offices first anniversary sector 67 Lucky draw for walk ins

Walk in and get a chance to be a part of the Plus Offices anniversary Lucky draw

* Free 6 seater cabin for a month
* Flexi seat for a month
* 50% discount on billing for 3 months

Plus Offices Sector 44 Anniversary Offer

Plus Offices is also offering office space in Gurgaon for a special price of Rs.6, 999 per seat, instead of the regular price Rs.14, 999/-

There are other offers like discounts on 6 seater cabin, meeting rooms as well.

“We are pleased to see the encouraging response to our New Year and Anniversary offers.” says Aakanksha Rathee, Plus Offices. “We look forward to welcoming new members to our coworking locations” says Ms. Rathee.

Both Plus Offices locations are equipped with international amenities including state-of-the art meeting rooms and conference rooms.

Plus Office’s Mentor Network Program is another highlight of the Plus membership, wherein the members get access to a global network of professional mentors and advisors that help in business growth.

T&C apply on all offers.

Gartner Predicts 50% of Organizations Will Experience Increased Collaboration Between Business and IT Teams by 2022

Over the next two years, 50% of organizations will experience increased collaboration between their business and IT teams, according to Gartner, Inc. The dispute between business and IT teams over the control of technology will lessen as both sides learn that joint participation is critical to the success of innovation in a digital workplace.

“Business units and IT teams can no longer function in silos, as distant teams can cause chaos,” said Keith Mann, senior research director at Gartner. “Traditionally, each business unit has had its own technology personnel, which has made businesses reluctant to follow the directive of central IT teams. Increasingly, however, organizations now understand that a unified objective is essential to ensure the integrity and stability of core business. As a result, individuals stay aligned with a common goal, work more collaboratively and implement new technologies effectively across the business.”

Evolution of the Role of Application Leader

The role of application leader has changed significantly with the replacement of manual tasks by cloud-based applications in digital workplaces. The application leader must ensure that this transition is supported by appropriate skills and talent.

As more and more organizations opt for cloud-based applications, AI techniques such as machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), chatbots and virtual assistants are emerging as digital integrator technologies. “While the choice of integration technologies continues to expand, the ability to use designed applications and data structures in an integrated manner remains a complex and growing challenge for businesses. In such scenarios, application leaders need to deliver the role of integration specialists in order to ensure that projects are completed faster and at lower cost,” said Mr. Mann.

Application leaders will have to replace the command-and-control model with versatility, diversity and team engagement with key stakeholders. Application leaders must become more people-centric and provide critical support to digital transformation initiatives.

Additionally, in a digital workplace, it is the application leader’s responsibility to serve as the organizational “nerve center” by quickly sensing, responding to, and provisioning applications and infrastructures. “Application leaders will bring together business units and central IT teams to form the overall digital business team,” said Mr. Mann.

Gartner clients can read more in the report "Predicts 2020: The Future of Application Architecture, Development, Integration and Platforms.” Additional predictions and trends for 2020 and beyond can be found in the Gartner report “Predicts 2020: Barriers Fall as Technology Adoption Grows.”

Haptik Develops Intelligent Virtual Assistant for Leading Financial Services Firm IIFL

Haptik, one of the world’s largest conversational AI platforms. has built a next-generation Intelligent Virtual Assistant (IVA) for IIFL Holdings Limited (formerly India Infoline Finance Limited), an Indian diversified financial services company headquartered in Mumbai that serves over 4 million satisfied customers across various business segments.

IIFL’s customer base has a unique profile where a significant share of their customers is loyal and have high repeat usage. Investments and broking being a high-touch, time-sensitive service, IIFL worked with Haptik to offer a 24X7, context-aware IVA.

ASK-IIFL IVA by Haptik employs automated query resolution for a variety of common use cases.  and through multiple API integrations, the IVA was linked to IIFL’s Knowledge system and CRM, ensuring effective dissemination of information to users at any point of time. With this deployment, IIFL was successfully able to respond to high-frequency investor queries like trading report, account statements & ledgers, investment tips and analyst recommendations.

The IVA runs at a resolution time of 45 seconds, resolving queries 75% faster whilst enabling more than 30,000 conversations and receiving an average user feedback of 3.7 out of 5. It has significantly transformed IIFL’s customer support.

Commenting on IIFL’s strategic association with Haptik, Dharmender Narang, EVP & Chief Customer Experience Officer at IIFL, said, “IIFL Securities greatly prizes its customers and believes in empowering them to get self-help at their convenience. However, we are always available to support them whenever required. Our ASK-IIFL (Chatbot & Live Chat) developed & supported by Haptik's Intelligent Virtual Assistant, has helped us cater to a large number of queries in real-time. The Ask-IIFL IVA has significantly reduced our resolution time and is leading our customer support efforts from the front. We would like to thank Haptik for a great beginning and look forward to working with them to further enhance our customers’ experience.”

IIFL is a financial services conglomerate started by a group of passionate entrepreneurs in 1995. A pioneer in the retail broking industry, its flagship 5paisa trading platform offered the lowest brokerage in the industry and freedom from traditional ways of transacting. The company’s strength has been a continuous process of innovation and reinvention to adapt to the ever-changing modern marketplace.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Observes 31st Road Safety Week by Promoting Safety Practices Amongst Stakeholders Nationally

Highlights

* Marking the Road Safety Week, TKM donates 525 helmets to Karnataka State Traffic Police, driving the message of Road Safety among citizens
* TKM also initiates various activities within the organization and its stakeholders -  Logistic partners, Suppliers, and Dealers to create awareness around Road Safety and enhance safety mindset
* Across all TKM sales and service outlets, TKM is organizing Road Safety talks, spreading awareness on Good Samaritan, organizing awareness camps and eye check-ups for drivers, Road Rallies involving women, involving family member of the staff through quiz and drawing competition and many more
* At the Bidadi plant, it is conducting talks and awareness programs on road safety, eye check-ups for drivers, sharing insights and tips etc.
* Through these activities, TKM also reaches out to school children and college students, motivating them to be more aware of road safety challenges and be responsible safety ambassadors

In-line with its commitment towards the cause of Road Safety, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) commenced its nationwide program to promote road safety awareness, as part of the 31st Road Safety Week being observed between January 11 & 17, 2020. As per the recent report on Road Accidents in India, road traffic continues to be a major area of concern, becoming a leading cause of death and injury across the globe killing more than 1.35 million globally with 11% of the causalities being accounted by India alone. The report further states that India witnessed close to 151,417 accident related deaths in 2018, despite the various initiatives taken by the Government in this regard. Source: https://morth.nic.in/sites/default/files/Road_Accidednt.pdf

This year, TKM has joined hands with the Karnataka State Traffic Police to sensitize people about road safety and bring about a behavioural change towards it. Towards this end, TKM has handed over 525 TKM procured helmets to the State Traffic Police Department spreading awareness on the importance of traffic rules and responsible road safety habits. Marking the 31st Road Safety Week, TKM also initiated various activities within the organization and its stakeholders including logistic partners, suppliers and dealers. Aligning its efforts with this year’s theme – ‘Bringing Change Through Youth’, TKM is reaching out to school children and college students, imparting knowledge on good road sense with an aim to develop them as the Road Safety Ambassadors of tomorrow.

Awareness activities at Dealerships

With an aim to enhance a safety culture amongst all its dealer staff, TKM is conducting road rallies also involving women, spreading safety awareness for dealer staff and customers through promotional materials, sharing driving tips, organizing eye check-ups for drivers and involving dealer staff family members through drawing and quiz competitions at its

dealerships. Furthermore, acknowledging their efforts, TKM will felicitate the dealer partners post evaluating the best theme campaign activities.

Awareness activities at the TKM Plant

At its Bidadi plant, TKM is conducting talks and awareness programs on road safety, conducting eye check-ups for drivers, school children education, sharing insights and tips to be more aware and alert at all times. The activity at the plant mainly focuses on three key contributors for fatal accidents, namely: Over-speeding, distraction while driving, and overtaking.

Sharing his thoughts on the various Road Safety initiatives taken by TKM, Mr. Naveen Soni, Senior Vice President, Sales & Service said, “Toyota remains committed as a safety leader and will continue its safety journey to become the most admired company by offerings best-in-class safety technology through its products and  promoting right safety culture in the society through varied road safety campaigns in the nation.  We acknowledge the support of Bangalore Traffic Police and our stakeholders for their dedicated efforts towards spreading awareness on various road safety problems and responsible safety habits.”

He further adds, “We are continuously striving to be a safety role model in the industry, taking safety to the next level by thoroughly eliminating accidents both inside and outside the workplace. We are happy to witness the enthusiasm and the overwhelming participation from our partners and stakeholders to drive this message. Road safety today, has become a critical issue that requires collective efforts in order to build a safer environment for tomorrow. We need to create and reinforce awareness about how each one of us can contribute to it. Through these activities, we hope to bring in the required positive changes and inculcate best road practices among the society.”

TKM has been championing the cause of road safety and driving behavioral change since 2007 with the launch of various road safety awareness programs. Recently, it organized the second edition of the Toyota Hackathon – Code for Safer India in Bangalore, engaging with school students from grade 9th to 12th to develop effective digital road safety solutions.

As part of its CSR interventions, TKM also encourages its employees to voluntarily contribute to the cause of Road Safety by building basic road safety requirements and installing: Sign Boards, Solar Blinkers, Cat Eye Reflectors, Convex Mirrors at turns etc. at prime locations to avoid road-related risks as a preventive measure and enable good road infrastructure.

Expectations and Demand from the Upcoming Budget 2020 on Behalf of the Healthcare Industry Leaders

Ms Meena Ganesh, MD & CEO, Portea Medical, India’s leading consumer healthcare brand

India has one of the lowest spending on healthcare globally. While it was stated that the country is set to increase healthcare spending to 2.5% of the GDP by 2025, it continues to stand at 1%. We hope to see some action around this in the upcoming budget. A major focus must be given to the home healthcare industry which is one of the ways to realize the government’s vision of affordable healthcare for all. However, current taxation policies and regulations do not cover home healthcare and diagnostic tests and other at-home aspects still form a large part of people’s out of pocket expenses. Home healthcare is not recognized as a mainstream sector and should be brought under the ambit of governmental schemes like the Ayushman Bharat yojna. We also expect to see an increase in the limits on reimbursement of expenses on diagnostics, preventive health check-ups, etc. and for home healthcare to be made a part of this exemption. Critical healthcare equipment such as ventilators, wheelchairs, crutches, and medical equipment spare parts should be exempted from GST. This will help make quality healthcare more accessible.

While it is encouraging that steps have been taken to register services like elder care homes and home care agencies for the provision of care to elderly, the real challenge is in terms of lack of facilities. Add to this is the cost of elder care and complete non-availability of insurance.

Mr Sarvesh Shashi, Founder, SARVA, India’s fastest growing yoga and wellness ecosystem

Data from the World Economic Forum indicates that over 77% of Indians will be under the age of 45 by the next decade. However, despite being one of the youngest countries, we are also the most unfit with estimates suggesting that 1 in every 3 Indians are medically unfit and suffer from preventable lifestyle disorders. In the last five years, the government has exhibited a keen interest in the revival of Yoga. The hon’ble prime minister has personally taken a lot of interest in positioning Yoga as a universal exercise that can help people stay fit, look good and be healthy. While these have been welcome and have helped encourage players like SARVA who are ensuring that there is a more organized and holistic approach to the concept of yoga, we still have a long way to go. Preventive health and wellness is the need of the hour for each given the high instances of disease and lifestyle-induced illnesses in our country. In order for holistic health to be made more attractive to consumers, it is important that the tax component on commercially-run Yoga practices and institutes be revisited since yoga can help address chronic medical ailments and fill the gaps in traditional healthcare.

Under section 80D of the Income Tax Act of 1961, taxpayers can claim tax deductions on health checkups and health premiums; preventive wellness, however, is still placed under a high tax bracket. This year however we hope that the budget goes beyond providing tax deductions to those getting back to good health after falling sick but also supports and incentivize those who take care of their own fitness. This could potentially include fitness services such as memberships to gyms, fitness studios, commercially-run yoga centers, etc.

Amit Choudhary, Founder & CEO, Dawaa Dost

The government had pushed for affordable and accessible healthcare in its last term, and we hope that this year’s budget will also have some concrete action plans to realize this vision. Innovative, tech-based, large-scale and affordable healthcare solutions are the need of the hour in India and our expectations from the budget also revolve around the same.

We hope the government will simplify regulations for pharmacies buying medicines from GST paid channels. There should be 100% input credit for such entities and the working capital must be freed even under circumstances where the manufacturer or authorized distributor have erred on paying the deposit. The retailer has no recourse to anyone else nor the margins to absorb the entire GST as is the case today. We also hope the government will consider offering income tax breaks to affordable medicine providers like Dawaa Dost as this will make them more accessible to the masses. There can be specific provisions for the creation of a sunrise industry for providingincome tax subsidies for hiring new talent from a PF contribution standpoint, accelerated depreciation on stores, and subsidy on technology development via grants. There is a huge opportunity in terms of building a new industry and the need of the hour is for government support like the one provided to the IT sector two decades back.

Neha Rastogi, Founder and COO-Agatsa, Innovator of world’s smallest and leadless ECG machine

The start-up ecosystem in India is thriving thanks to some conducive government policies announced in the last budget. Given this, startups in all sectors including those focusing on healthcare and health tech innovation are going to witness rapid growth in the years ahead. However, the issue that needs to be addressed at the outset is India’s current healthcare infrastructure and allotted budget which are not adequate to ensure universal healthcare services to all. This is where innovations in medical devices and services come into picture and we hope the budget will focus on this aspect. A growing number of tech-enabled companies like Agatsa are stepping in to provide specialized healthcare monitoring solutions through portable devices using cutting edge technology. The need of the hour therefore is to provide adequate funding and support to fuel further innovations under the Make in India and Digital India campaigns.

While the market for healthcare startups and digital healthcare devices is robust, we also need more support from the government to promote indigenous innovations and provide an impetus to domestic device manufacturers. We would like to see the government procure more Indian products from the market so that our dependency on foreign imports can be brought down to a minimum. This will not only boost the Indian startup niche but also make healthcare services more affordable for the common people.

Mr Vikas Bagaria, Founder, Pee Safe, India’s premium sanitation and personal care brand

The femtech industry has a huge potential and is expected to reach $50 billion globally by 2025, as per estimates by Frost and Sullivan. Though this is a relatively new industry, it aims to address some of the age-old problems women have been facing and is projected to be the next big thing in the women’s health and hygiene market.  It promotes the use of digital health applications such as hygiene products, diagnostics, reproductive health monitoring systems, etc. to help women take control of their health. Given this, our expectation from the budget 2020 centres around government policy and regulation to enable ease of doing business through centralized policies. This will also attract more foreign investment opportunities in the segment. There is also a need to simplify the taxation process and make early stage funding easier. While the government has done well in terms of facilitating foreign investments in India, this outlook needs to be maintained going forward to effectively promote more innovations under the Make in India campaign. Even though there is immense potential, the investor confidence in the Indian femtech industry is still considerably low – and we hope the policies to be announced in the budget ahead will be an enabler.

Jawa Motorcycles Thumbs the Starter on Perak Fridays for Customers'

Jawa Motorcycles commenced the Perak Fridays initiative for its customers, both existing and prospective, throughout the country. The program entails ‘Night Rides’ led by the newly launched Jawa Perak across city streets and will offer customers a chance to test ride the Perak in its natural habitat – the afterhours and the dark.

Perak Fridays concept of test rides in the dark is a country first, and this will evolve into a full fledged night ride program for Perak owners once the deliveries commence in April 2020. While the Peraks led the way in the first edition of this night ride, Jawa and Jawa forty two owners as well as local Jawa clubs rode along for company. Perak Fridays ride happened in dealerships all across the country.

The Jawa Perak was launched on November 15th 2019 at a price of INR 1,94,500 (ex-showroom, Delhi). The bookings for Perak, India’s first factory custom bobber opened on January 1st this year and continue both at the dealerships and online for a limited period of time. The deliveries of this motorcycle will start from April 2nd this year.

‘Airtel Wi-Fi Calling’ Crosses One million Users in Indian Market

Highlights

* Service Now LIVE across India. Works over any Wi-Fi connection.
* The new technology has dramatically improved indoor network experience for Airtel mobile customers through seamless coverage 
* Over 100 smartphones support Airtel Wi-Fi Calling
* In one of the fastest uptake of a new network technology in India, Airtel Wi-Fi Calling has already crossed one million users.

Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”) was the first mobile operator to introduce Voice over Wi-Fi in India. Following the extremely positive customer feedback, the company has accelerated the roll-out of its innovative service across the country.

Airtel Wi-Fi Calling is now available to Airtel mobile customers across India.

Also, the service can now be accessed by Airtel mobile customers over any Home or Public Wi-Fi network, making their indoor service experience truly seamless. 

Airtel Wi-Fi Calling leverages cutting edge technology to enhance the indoor voice calling experience for Airtel smartphone customers. It uses Wi-Fi networks to create a dedicated channel for voice calls and allows customers to make telco grade calls to any network. This dramatically improves customer experience as customers can seamlessly switch to Airtel Wi-Fi Calling.

There is no extra charge for making calls via Airtel Wi-Fi Calling and customers can get started on Airtel Wi-Fi calling on their smartphone without the need for any additional calling App/ SIM.

Randeep Sekhon, CTO – Bharti Airtel said: “We are delighted with the extremely positive customer response for Airtel Wi-Fi Calling. The technology has truly transformed the indoor network quality for Airtel mobile customers, particularly in high population density areas in urban markets. Airtel is also the first to make the service LIVE across India and our customers can use the feature on any Wi-Fi.”   

Here is how you can get started with Airtel Wi-Fi Calling

1.      Check device compatibility on airtel.in/wifi-calling
2.      Upgrade device operating software to the latest version that supports Wi-Fi Calling*
3.      Now, go to Settings on your mobile phone and Switch On Wi-Fi Calling to get started
4.      Keep VoLTE switched on as well for a seamless experience 

Airtel has been engaging with smartphone manufacturers to make all popular smartphone models compatible with the service.  Over 100 smartphone models across 16 brands are now compatible with Airtel Wi-Fi Calling.