Singapore Airlines Offers Fee Waiver and Flexible Re-booking for all Customers

Singapore Airlines is waiving all rebooking fees for tickets issued on or before 15 March 2020, for travel up to 31 May 2020, with immediate effect. Customers can cancel their existing flight itineraries, retain the value of their tickets and rebook their travel at a later date, when they are able to firm up their new travel plans. The new flight itinerary should be completed by 31 March 2021. 

This new policy will allow customers the flexibility to defer their travel plans and applies to all bookings for travel up to 31 May 2020. All rebooking fees will be waived, although a fare difference may apply for the new itinerary.

SIA will continue to review its waiver policy and retains the flexibility to extend the cut-off date of 31 May 2020 as it assesses the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on global air travel in the coming weeks. For all new SIA and SilkAir tickets issued from now to 31 March 2020, SIA will also waive change fees.

Customers may contact us through our online form. Customers who booked their tickets directly through Singapore Airlines may also contact their local Singapore Airlines reservations teams. Customers who booked their tickets through travel agencies are advised to contact their agents for assistance.

Due to the high volume of incoming requests, we seek our customers’ understanding that it may take longer than usual for our service agents to respond. Customers are encouraged to only contact us if their flight is departing in next 72 hours in order for our agents to focus on and assist those with urgent flight changes. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Updates on Covid-19 travel restrictions and waiver policy can be found on the Singapore Airlines website.

As Fitness Becomes Mainstream in India, Airtel to Power Youth-First Digital Platform for Fitness Content

Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), India’s largest integrated telco, has acquired a strategic stake in Spectacom Global Pvt Ltd (“Spectacom”) under the Airtel Start-up Accelerator Program, which focuses on supporting growth of early stage Indian start-ups.

Spectacom, which has been conceptualised to produce path breaking digital content that allows people across languages, geographies and fitness levels to connect with each other and explore innovative health & fitness training programmes, is the brainchild of Adnan Adeeb and Zeba Zaidi, the creators of the highly popular Devils Circuit military-style obstacle races.

Spectacom will also carry the exclusive digital rights for the promotion of all content for brand Devils Circuit, including the new seasons of its popular shows – The College Frenzy & The Corporate Challenge.

A digitally connected world is witnessing increased awareness around Health & Fitness, with a growing tribe of young Indians taking up physically demanding X sports such as obstacle racing. Devils Circuit, which pioneered obstacle racing in India, has already built a community of two million followers. It is India’s largest sports property of its kind with presence in eight cities. And given India’s vast young population of appx. 600 mn under the age of 25 years, there is a massive opportunity to make available Health & Fitness based platforms that connect fitness enthusiasts deeper and wider across the country.

Airtel will work closely with Spectacom to help increase awareness and adoption of its cutting age Health & Fitness platform and encourage individuals to overcome mental barriers and achieve their full potential.  Spectacom will cater to India’s growing interest in staying fitter and healthier by creating training and nutrition videos along with live extreme sporting events.

Airtel will help Spectacom to deliver this exciting exclusive digital content through its platforms Airtel Xstream and Wynk Music directly into the homes and smartphones of hundreds of millions of Indians. This deep digital distribution reach will allow Airtel customers, including youth in small towns and villages, to discover this high octane content and make the fitness movement a part of the mainstream.

Says Adarsh Nair, Chief Product Officer, Bharti Airtel: “We believe that X Sports, which are all about fitness, aligns beautifully with our brand. Thanks to the deep penetration of mobile internet in India, the potential to grow the adoption of Devils Circuit style X Sports amongst India’s youth is immense. This also fits into Airtel’s strong focus on connecting with the youth and providing them digital platforms to fulfil their aspirations. We look forward to collaborating with Spectacom on this exciting journey.”     

Adnan Adeeb, co-founder, Spectacom, echoed this thought and added that “As India is becoming a younger nation, it is also becoming a fitter one. Through our collaboration with Airtel, we aim at not just reaching millions with bespoke offerings around Health & Fitness but also give the fitness enthusiasts from around the country, a platform to shine! We have always believed that the real hero is the ordinary guy who overcomes   extraordinary challenges and this will be reflected in all our offerings. We are very excited at partnering with Airtel and look forward to bringing innovative content to life”

Spectacom is the second company to join the Airtel Start-up Accelerator Program. It allows start-ups to leverage Airtel’s robust ecosystem, including its core strengths in data, distribution, networks and payments. This includes access to a vast online and offline distribution network that touches 300m+ customers, deep market understanding and platform of global strategic partners. Further, start-ups also get access to advisory services from Airtel’s executive team.

Devils Circuit is now India’s biggest X sports platform with two million strong community, including young people from smaller towns who are breaking barriers and taking up X Sports professionally and participating in international competitions. Apart from international participants from over 16 countries, the editions also include army pros, blade runners, and even cancer survivors.

About Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 18 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 3 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed home broadband, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G, 4G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 418 million customers across its operations at the end of December 2019. 

Binge-Playing, Mobile Video Gaming on the Rise According to New Limelight Networks Research Report

Indians are binge-gaming longer than ever, increasing over 10 percent from 2019 to an average of 4 hours and 8 minutes. That’s according to the latest “State of Online Gaming” research report on worldwide consumers’ gaming behaviors and expectations from Limelight Networks Inc., (Nasdaq: LLNW), a leading provider of edge cloud services.

The rise of binge-gaming is an even bigger trend among young gamers. This report showed global respondents ages 18 to 25 binge-play for an average of 6 hours and 34 minutes, 11 percent longer than one year ago. Also, nearly one in ten Indians (9 percent) say they’ve played for more than 10 hours at a time.

While the report shows gamers worldwide spend less time playing video games each week than last year -- averaging 6 hours and 20 minutes-- their longer binge-gaming sessions can be attributed in part to the rise of anywhere, anytime gaming. Mobile phones are the primary gaming device for Indians and global gamers with the preference for smartphone gaming increasing 15 percent in India from 2019. In addition, this year’s report identified strong interest in console-less gaming services with 44 percent of respondents saying they’re interested in subscribing. Demand for console-less gaming is highest in India where 83 percent of gamers express interest in these services.

Additional insights from the report include:

* Price and performance could limit adoption of console-less gaming. Interest in new console-less gaming platforms is especially high among those who define themselves as experts (71 percent), and among aspiring professional gamers (77 percent). However, concerns with high price points (52.6 percent) and performance issues such as latency (28 percent) are cited by Indians as the top reasons they wouldn’t subscribe. Price sensitivities are highest in the United States (67 percent) and performance concerns are highest in India.

* Watching others play video games increased in popularity for younger gamers, sparking the desire to go pro. Gamers ages 18 to 25 watch others play video games online (via platforms such as Twitch or YouTube Gaming) for more than four hours each week and are the most likely to want to turn this hobby into a profession (53 percent).

* Gamers prioritize playing over many daily activities. Around half of Indian gamers (49.2 percent) have missed sleep to keep playing. Singaporeans are the most likely to choose playing video games over sleeping (60 percent). Many Indians have also skipped meals (30 percent) and showers (29 percent). Younger gamers are the most likely to miss a meal (39 percent) or shower (35 percent) to continue playing.

* Download speed is a top frustration especially for hardcore gamers. The vast majority of Indian gamers (94 percent) find the process of downloading games frustrating. Two-fifths (40 percent) of Indians note slow download speed is their primary concern. Frustrations with download speed are the highest with expert gamers (41 percent) and aspiring professionals (58 percent).

“Players are excited about the flexibility of console-less gaming,” said Michael Milligan, Senior Director at Limelight Networks. “As the world of gaming is being redefined, wide adoption depends on low latency solutions that eliminate frustrating performance disruptions and delays. Keeping gamers engaged requires innovative technology that powers real-time, interactive gaming at the edge.”

The State of Online Gaming report is based on responses from 4,500 consumers in France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States age 18 and older who play video games at least once a week.

Discovery Launches ‘Discovery Plus’, India’s First Aggregated Real-Life Entertainment Streaming App

Highlights

* Discovery Plus will offer never-seen-before premium shows in 40+ genres including Science, Adventure, Food, Lifestyle & many more
* Superstar Rajinikanth’s TV debut show – ‘Into The Wild With Bear Grylls’ will be launched first on Discovery Plus
* Priced at Rs. 299 p.a., Discovery Plus will reach out to core infotainment consumers in the initial phase
* Launches with one-of-its-kind rewards in association with Google Pay

Discovery, India’s leading and most trusted real-life entertainment network, is set to disrupt the OTT landscape in the country with the launch of ‘Discovery Plus’, an exciting new D2C streaming app, to satiate the unmet need of a differentiated product offering premium real-life entertainment. Priced competitively with an introductory offer of INR 299 per annum, the app has been developed and curated specifically for India. In the initial phase, the company will reach out to 25 million strong base of core TV infotainment consumers across Tier I and Tier II towns (defined as those who watch over 3 hours of infotainment every month).

Furthermore, in order to drive engagement, Discovery Plus is launching with one-of-a-kind rewards with India’s leading mobile payments app, Google Pay.  Google Pay users who tune-in to the premiere of Into the Wild with Bear Grylls featuring Rajinikanth on March 23rd at 8:00 PM on Discovery can match  the audio for the first four minutes of the show or  the promos leading up to the show with Google Pay’s ‘On-Air’ feature, and get a reward upto 100% off on Discovery Plus annual  subscription price*.

The newly launched OTT service will offer thousands of hours of exclusive content across 40+ genres, including Science, Adventure, Food and Lifestyle, in 8 languages including Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali & Marathi. Discovery Plus will offer Premium subscribers a large selection of never-seen-before Premium Discovery titles, must-watch documentaries, India originals and exclusive acquisitions. Free users of the app will have access to all-time favorites from the Discovery library.  Additionally, a unique destination titled ‘Shorts’ will feature hundreds of free short-form videos that will satisfy the new and emerging Indian mobile user looking for infotainment on the go.

The much-anticipated Superstar Rajinikanth’s TV debut show –‘Into The Wild With Bear Grylls’ will be launched first on Discovery Plus at 6:00 am on March 23 much before the television premiere which is at 8:00 pm. Discovery Plus will also exclusive videos including Behind The Scenes for Thalaiva’ s fans.

The content will be curated from the world’s most trusted content brands such as Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, BBC, TLC, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo, ID, Food Network, HGTV, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel, DIY Network, Motortrend and VICE.

Discovery officials on the launch

Speaking on the occasion, Simon Robinson, President APAC & CFO International, Discovery, Inc., said, “Globally, we are observing healthy trends from direct-to-consumer businesses and Discovery Plus, with its India focused strategy, is a valued addition. The launch of Discovery Plus is a significant development for our business in India and reflects our commitment to this critical market.”

“The consumer is spoilt for choice in the scripted content space but doesn’t have a dedicated offering in the unscripted space – a place we intend to fill with the launch of Discovery Plus,” said, Megha Tata, Managing Director – South Asia, Discovery,  “Our large global library of 300,000 hours of premium content and expertise in owning passionate communities will give us a huge competitive advantage in the digital domain.”

“In a digital world that’s laden with hours and hours of scripted content, Discovery Plus offers a unique and untapped opportunity for us to build on the trust of the flagship brand and offer content that truly powers people’s passions across verticals as varied as Adventure, Science and Lifestyle to name a few,” said, Issac John, Business Head – Digital (South Asia), Discovery, “Over the next 12 months, the lineup includes premium content across all our key genres such as Into the Wild with Rajnikanth, Expedition Unknown, Coronavirus: The Silent Killer, Food Factory, Mythbusters, Wild Karnataka and Project Runway among many others.”

Developed, curated and priced for India market

Discovery India has conducted multiple consumer researches to find cues to develop a truly diffrentiated product. In a nationwide research conducted across 10 cities, 62% of consumers indicated that they are keen to subscribe to a product that will offer interesting knowledge about the world. Additionally, research from Vidooly, indicated that interest in core categories of factual and lifestyle entertainment on YT, the world’s largest streaming platform went up by 36% contributing to an overall 70 bn views in 2020. This growth and increase in infotainment consumption has been proven in the consumption pattern of the Discovery Plus destination on Daily Hunt App where over the last 12 months, over 40 million consumers have viewed Discovery short-form videos.

It’s interesting to be rare but rare to be interesting

Discovery’s research clearly shows that even though consumers are happy with their current entertainment products, there is still a need for a trusted product that helps them stand out among their peers and that will teach them interesting things about the world. They expressed the need that in various situations in life, knowing something interesting about the world makes them seem smarter and helps them progress in life.  This specific need combined with the trust of the Discovery was a strong reason for consumers to prefer Discovery Plus as an app of choice on their mobiles.

App Interesting toh AAP interesting

Discovery has launched a targeted marketing campaign ‘App Interesting toh AAP interesting’ to connect with consumers across the country.  Discovery’s network of channels including Discovery, Animal Planet, TLC, DSPORT, Discovery Kids DTamil, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo, Discovery ID reaches 164** million consumers on a monthly basis and all will promote the newly launched service. In addition, Discovery has planned a strong and targeted digital campaign to reach out to infotainment genre seekers.

*About  Google Pay’s On-Air feature:

* On-Air is a feature on Google Pay which lets users scan audio within GPay and earn rewards if their scan matches a target audio. New to Google Pay users can simply download the app to enjoy different types of rewards.

Content

* Thousands of hours of marquee programs featuring our top talent like Bear Grylls (Running Wild with Bear Grylls, Man vs Wild), Josh Gates (Expedition Unknown), Jeremy Wade (River Monsters, Mighty Rivers), Ed Stafford (Into the Unknown), Buddy Valastro (Cake Boss) and many more

* 4,000+ hours of content at launch spanning across 40+ genres in the language of your choice

* Kids-friendly shows like Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, Crikey! It’s The Irwins, Kids Baking Championship, The Cute Ones, How Do They Do It? The Great Indian Factory & more

* Hundreds of blue-chip documentaries and specials – Racing Extinction, First In Human, The Great Migration, Terra, Sherpa, India Emerges: A Visual History, Apollo: The Forgotten Films

* Exclusives and all-time favorites like Body Hack, Say Yes to the Dress, Food Paradise, Cake Boss, Gold Rush, Savage Family Diggers, Chopped, American Chopper, Deadliest Catch and more

* #MindBlown – a curated destination featuring learning focused collections of kids-friendly science and wildlife content

**Source : BARC India (2+ , Jan 2020)

thyssenkrupp -Elite Elevators Launch New Home Lift- ALTURA H200

After the successful launch of ALTURA H300 in 2017, thyssenkrupp is back with another marvel of a product for Indian Homes. Introducing the “ALTURA H200” also called the “ALTURA Platinum”. It takes advantage of the state-of-the-art Hydraulic technology perfected from the renowned thyssenkrupp home lifts product portfolio. Built from German engineering expertise and designed with our customers in mind, we can ensure that the ALTURA H200 will deliver a personalised quality solution for your home.

Elite Elevators in association with thyssenkrupp have launched the ALTURA H200 in India, and is set to take Home Elevators standards to a complete new level. The ALTURA H200 comes as a Safety Integrity Level - 3 (SIL-3) certified model and keeps up with the safety and comfort standards of all the designs that are delivered from thyssenkrupp. From excellent proficiency on elevator engineering, thyssenkrupp has developed their latest product range to include components that are manufacturedwith precise attention to detail.

The ALTURA H200 offers numerous configurations and a range of platform sizes for almost every specification required due to its futuristic compact mechanism. The ALTURA H200’s hydraulic technology allows it to be versatile and adaptable with energy efficiency and tailor made designs. Combining German engineering with Italian design, you are sure to have found a solution that is environment friendly, unobtrusive and will integrate beautifully into your home with numerous sophisticated, elegant and stylish options

Elite Elevators has two experience centres, the first of their kind, in Chennai and Bangalore where you can see first-hand the ALTURA H300 model and other products offered by Elite Elevators. We are in the process of launching similar experience centres for ALTURA H200 models in Hyderabad and Mumbai in the near future where you can easily step into the World of Home Elevators.

About thyssenkrupp Access Ltd:

thyssenkrupp is a 200+ year old German goliath, with its wings spread across multiple sectors like automobile, steel, elevation etc. They generate a revenue of around $44 billion annually and are pioneers of technology and innovation in multiple sectors. In 2018 thyssenkrupp officially established themselves as No. 1 Home Elevator selling Company. Established in 2002, thyssenkrupp Elevator (India) installs, maintains and modernizes elevators and escalators in India and Bangladesh. They have a strong presence in various segments, such as residential, office and infrastructure

About Elite Elevators: Elite Elevators is a 6 Year old organization with their headquarters established in Chennai. They’re are official business partners and represent thyssenkrupp Access in India. With more than 500 installations across India, their Home Lifts serves the entire country from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. 

Handwashing Practices Reaches 1,00,000 Madrasa with Dettol Banega Swasth India Paigham-e-Sehat Campaign

Reckitt Benckiser, world’s leading consumer Health and Hygiene Company, after a successful launch of its Dettol Banega Swasth India Handwash Digital Curriculum announces the second phase of the program in collaboration with the All India Organization of Imams of Mosque. The program in its first phase successfully influenced the lives of 1,00,000 children through a holistic hygiene education program.

According to the World Health Organization, poor hygiene practices are believed to be the main cause of death among children under five years. Significantly, primary research showed that there is a huge difference in knowledge (50%), attitude, practice (32%) and behaviour around handwashing among kids in Madrasas. With the initiative we aim to create positive impact on children and ensure we create the shift in knowledge from 50% to 90% in year two.

The program is aimed at gaining mindshare and turn the best hygiene and sanitation practices into natural habits among the school children across various regions in rural India. It is conceptualized keeping in mind the background, acceptance and the current academic curriculum of the kids. The video-based learning program is available for the children in both Urdu and Hindi. In its second phase, the program will improve knowledge.

Salient features of the program:

* Module included as a co-curricular/extra-curricular activity in schools
* Module provides innovative ways of engaging children through text and audio-visual content, training, games, etc.
·         The content of the modules /capsules can be tailored for schools across government schools across peri-urban, rural and backward regions

* Three level of modules are in place for different grades elementary, intermediate and high school
* Modules are available in 7 languages and are translatable in various regional languages

Elated on the launch, Ravi Bhatnagar, Director External Affairs and Partnerships, RB Health India, said, “We are proud of the impact created by the initial year of Paigham-e-Sehat in creating knowledge, behavior, attitude and practice of the hygiene and handwashing across Madrasas. This year we are focusing on driving behavior change through collective community efforts. Consequently, we will execute this campaign in a phased manner to sensitise about 6 crore children in over 5,50,000 madrasas in India, over a period of five years. I strongly believe that this effort would help boost the movement we have gathered to reach the desired goal of overall cleanliness (सफाई) and health (सेहत).”

Commenting on the development, Hon’ble Dr Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, Chief Imam of All India Imam Organization said, “Education is the catalyst to social change and one of the most critical areas of empowerment for children. We are proud to embark phase II of our partnership for Dettol Banega Swasth India Handwash Digital Curriculum. After witnessing the success from phase I wherein the program effectively impacted lives of 1,00,000 children, we are confident that our collaboration will ensure outreach to many more children resulting in a healthier India.”

Innova Crysta and Fortuner Continue to Reinforce Supremacy with Over 50% and 60% Segment Share

True to its reputation of delivering ever better cars, Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s (TKM) legendary products Innova Crysta and Fortuner continued their undisputed  market leadership. With their magnificent design and unbeatable performance, both the Innova Crysta and Fortuner have carved a niche for themselves in their respective segments. Dominating the MPV segment, Innova has sold more than 900,000 units over the years, holding a segment share of more than 40%. Despite a segment degrowth, in the month of February 2020 the Innova Crysta recorded one of the highest segment shares with 52.91% since its launch in 2016. On the other hand, the Fortuner has held a segment share of 54% in the last one year alone. In February 2020, Fortuner recorded the highest segment share of 63.9% as compared to last one year.

Staying strong by its ‘Customer First’ philosophy over the last two decades, Toyota Kirloskar Motor has introduced serval products and services, setting new benchmarks and creating lasting bonds with its customers. While the Innova has been the undisputed leader in the MPV segment, known for its luxurious features, comfort, safety and powerful performance, the Fortuner with its bold design and imposing presence has distinctively given a new dimension to the driving experience, winning hearts across the country.

Commenting on the success witnessed by both the products, Mr. Naveen Soni, Senior Vice President, Sales and Service, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “At TKM, we have always strived to listen to our customers’ voice and offer products and innovations that align with their ever-evolving needs. The Innova and Fortuner have been significant milestones in our journey of two decades in India. We are overwhelmed with the sales performance and truly appreciate the phenomenal response we have received from our customers over the years.”

“Thanks to this response and the confidence entrusted in the products, regardless of the ongoing slowdown, both the brands have been able to hold their respective segment leadership and continue to cater to the changing requirements of our customers.” he added.

The Innova often referred to as the segment creator, has maintained a leadership position since its launch in India way back in 2005, continuing to be the most preferred MPVs in the country. Moreover, the 2nd Generation Innova - Innova Crysta also received a warm welcome from the customers during its launch in 2016. Earlier this year, in order to smoothen the transition to BS-VI, TKM introduced the BS-VI compliant Innova Crysta at an introductory offer for limited time period.

Known for its compelling design and strong identity, the Fortuner has achieved a cult status in the SUV segment ever since its launch in 2009. Sought-after for both off-roading and city driving, the Fortuner unbeatable performance and great riding comfort has made it the undisputed choice among SUV owners in the country. Even during the recent degrowth being faced by the industry, Fortuner has continued to hold its segment leadership share in the medium SUV segment.