Tier II Pushing up Online Western Womenswear sales – Uptrend Healthy, says Madame

 Gurugram, 22ndMarch 2021:Madame, India’s leading women’s western wear fashion brand for apparel, handbags, footwear, and accessories, has witnessed a significant growth in their online sales during the pandemic period of 2020.The online salesjumped from 2% of overall sales to nearly 10% with a continuing upward trend majorly contributed to by growth in Tier II and Tier III cities. Cities like Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Jaipur, Mohali, Noida, Jammu and Shimla were the high growth cities for the brand. Madame has been striving to continuously inspire young women to express their individuality and spirit through accessible fashion. In the recent past, the fashion brand launched the well-received Wonder Woman inspired collection in collaboration with Warner Bros coinciding with the launch of the movie featuring Gal Gadot in the lead role.

 

With the revamp and modifications implemented to their exclusive online platform – www.glamly.com, Madame continues to provide personalized customer experience and is expecting a three-fold growth through online sales by 2025. The brand has also reinforced the need to strengthen the supply chain management with faster product delivery for international clients. In the future, a major share of the company’s overall revenues will be attributed to online sales only.

Commenting on the growth in sales, Shalvi Govil, Head -eCommerce, Madame said, “Online shopping emerged as a most sought-after shopping mode for many consumers owing to the pandemic. We at Madame had created a robust digital market penetration strategy and expanded our reach to multiple pin codes after a detailed research of our consumers. We realized that the demand for our brand was high, and if we delivered effectively, we could gain market share quickly. There is an enormous latent demand in Tier II and Tier III cities where women have the same aspirations as from the bigger cities, and Madame helps them express themselves uniquely through fashion”. Currently, buyers on Madame’s exclusive online shopping website, www.glamly.com, get their purchased merchandise within two days of purchase.Other online platforms which contribute to Madame’s online sales are Myntra, Amazon and Ajio. The brand is also available in 500+ retail outlets across India.

Sumedha Jain, Director – Marketing & Communications said, “Madame is known for its stylish and comfortable clothing which getting wonderfully captured visually on the website and relates very well with the brand ethos. With a no-compromise policy, our website is designed to provide quality content that showcases the latest trends. Some product images also display elements of relaxation and fun which helps the customer to connect with the brand online too. Apart from our seasonal collection, image capsules have also been showcased on the website that models some of our exclusive collections like the Wonder Woman and Valentine’s themes. We expect our online sales to contribute upto 15% of overall sales by the end of this year”.

Madame is also intensifying its market penetration through offline stores as well to have an integrated multi-platform approach combining online and offline sales points.

Purplle.com closes $45M deal from Verlinvest, Sequoia Capital India, Blume Ventures & JSW Ventures; Ivy Cap partially exits with 22X gains

 • Existing investors double down; Sequoia Capital India joins the cap table

• Purplle witnesses exponential growth of over 110% in Q4 2020 vis-à-vis Q4 2019 in Northern market

 

March 25, 2021: Purplle.com, one of India’s largest online beauty destinations, closed a $45M deal from Verlinvest, Sequoia Capital India, Blume Ventures, and JSW Ventures. While the three existing investors reinforced their commitment, Purplle welcomed Sequoia Capital India. The investment will further bolster the brand’s ambition to deliver 8-10X growth in the next 4-5 years.

 

On the deal, Manish Taneja, Co-founder & CEO Purplle.com, said, “We are excited to partner with Sequoia Capital India, as they foray into the online beauty industry. Reinvestment from Verlinvest, JSW Ventures, and Blume Ventures, is a testament to the conviction of our investors. Purplle has been on a robust growth trajectory. Even with a Covid year, we have delivered >90% GMV CAGR for the last 3 years. This, while scaling our private brands successfully; Good Vibes is already an INR 150 Cr brand. The investment will help to shape Purplle into a multibillion-dollar, digital-first, beauty and personal care enterprise.”

 

Sequoia Capital India has successfully pre-empted market needs with early investments in innovative start-ups and has partnered with Indian unicorns like BYJU’S, OYO, Ola, Zomato, and Freshworks.

               

“We are seeing a growing trend towards the gentrification of e-commerce in India. Consumers are making a clear distinction between distribution platforms and brands that are more relevant to them. We are excited to partner with Purplle as we believe they have cracked the beauty playbook of value retailing with 3 key tenets – a business built on high retention and low customer acquisition cost (CAC), a wide assortment of brands offering quality at best prices, and an attractive private label portfolio mix. We see Purplle emerging as a dominant beauty destination as the online beauty penetration grows from 10% to 25%+ over the next decade,” said Sakshi Chopra, Principal, Sequoia India.

 

For Purplle, this year brought an upsurge with the brand’s commitment to making beauty reach the comfort of every home. Purplle signed Sara Ali Khan as the first brand ambassador, rolling out the #GoPurplle campaign. The brand is witnessing a surge in overall volumes, transaction value, and an increase in users’ vis-à-vis last year.

 

On the investment, a year after funding Purplle’s extended Series C Round, Arjun Anand, Executive Director at Verlinvest, said, "Despite Covid, Purplle delivered remarkable growth. We believed in their mission of democratising beauty across the heartlands of India, with affordable and accessible products. Our investment this year will further enable Purplle to strengthen its position as a market leader in the beauty e-commerce segment.” 

 

IvyCap Ventures was instrumental in fuelling Purplle’s expansion, being a Series A investor. On delivering 22X growth to IvyCap Ventures, Vikram Gupta, Founder & Managing Partners, IvyCap Ventures, said, “We have invested in Purplle.com from our Fund 1 and Fund 2. When we first invested in Purplle in 2015, we were confident that digital would disrupt and redefine the beauty industry in India. With an initial investment of INR 15 crore from our Fund 1 growing by manifolds to INR 330 crore, our partnership has been rewarding. We continue to believe in the growth of the company and therefore we have retained our stake for Fund 2. Our belief in the brand and the vision of its founders ‘Beauty for All’, enabled us to generate 1.35x of our entire Fund 1 from Purplle.”

Runner, Sameer Singh to run 10 thousand kilometers “100x100 Ultra” to spread health awareness

 • Sameer to race 100 km daily for 100 days

• Will make a name in the Guinness Book of World Records by running 10 thousand kilometers

• Awareness campaign for immunity boosters in the Corona era

 

March 2021: Runner Sameer Singh is going to run a 10,000 km race “100x100 ULTRA” to prevent infection during the Corona period and to raise awareness about immunity among the people. For this initiative they choose slogan “Make yourself fit and Beat the covid". Sameer Singh, a resident of Kanahera village in the Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, is now going to take a different route to spread awareness against Corona. 40-year-old Sameer believes that running is the most effective way to increase immunity by freeing our body from all germs and diseases. The main purpose behind this marathon race is to encourage those who shy away from running to run at least 2-3 km every day.

  Sameer will make 4 daily trips in Mandsaur, located in the area of 25 km from 28 March. The race will be end on 6th July 2021. With this goal, he will be running a hundred kilometers daily. This will be recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as well. Troopel and PR 24x7 are the Online and PR partners for the ‘100x100 Ultra’ respectively. In the past, Sameer Singh has also participated in running more than 14 thousand km to support the martyred soldiers. 

Kirui Kurui is koach of Sameer. Kirui Kurui from Kenya, himself is a well known runner and guided him from last five years. Under his guidance Sameer has participated in several events of the Marathon & Ultra Marathon. By getting technical training from Kirui Kurui, Sameer has not only created awareness towards the race but has also tried to unite people towards the race.

 Notably, Sameer wanted to go to Research and Analytical Wing (R&AW) since childhood but since he is only a matric pass, he could not fulfill his dream of becoming an officer in RAW. Although, his passion for running earned him nationwide fame. Sameer collaborated with film actor Akshay Kumar in December 2017 to run a 14,195 km marathon race from Wagah border Punjab border in Haryana to Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Bengal, North-East states, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Himachal Leh and back to Wagha Border in seven months 6 days.

At the same time, his mother passed away, but Sameer, who was running to help the families of the soldiers, did not attend the funeral of the mother. It is worth noting that Sameer Singh now gives training for marathons while residing in Mumbai.

*Equitas Small Finance Bank renews partnership with Chennai Super Kings for IPL 2021*

 ~Appointed as the ‘Official Retail Banking Partner’ of the team

Chennai, 25th March 2021: Equitas Small Finance Bank has renewed its partnership with Chennai Super Kings for the IPL season 2021. It will be the ‘Official Retail Banking Partner’ for the team. In line with the brand ethos and the logo positioning at the back of the helmet & cap, it is also going to launch a new campaign titled “The Bank Behind Every Champion”. 

Chennai Super Kings team will sport the Equitas SFB logo on the back of the helmet and the cap as part of the team jersey. The new campaign will be aimed to communicate that, Equitas has been transforming lives of individuals through their lending and social responsibilities over time with the support and funds of people who are banking with them. Equitas Small Finance Bank has been previously associated with the three-time IPL champions from season 2018-2020.

Through this association, the bank wants to bring forth some of the key benefits of banking with them which includes up to 7% interest on savings, contactless video KYC service, no maintenance charges on savings accounts, free online fund transfer, reward points on all debit card spends thereby transforming lives of customers with the aim to build stronger communities. 

Mr. Murali Vaidyanathan, President & Country Head- Branch Banking, Liabilities, Product & Wealth, Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited said, “Equitas Small Finance Bank is delighted to associate with a champion team like Chennai Super Kings again. Through this partnership, we will be able to deepen our association and extend our reach to a diverse segment of our population. The new campaign is in line with the philosophy of our brand, which will provide us an ideal platform to build a sustainable society and a responsible tomorrow.”

Speaking about the association, Chennai Super Kings CEO KS Viswanathan said: "I'm delighted Equitas has extended our partnership and we look forward to welcoming those who bank with them into CSK family of fans. We have had a good association over the years, including being champions in the first season of our partnership in 2018 and are thankful for their continued support."

About Equitas Small Finance Bank:

Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited is the largest SFB in India in terms of number of banking outlets, and the second largest SFB in India in terms of assets under management and total deposits in Fiscal 2019. (Source: CRISIL report). As of September 30, 2019, its distribution channels comprised 853 Banking Outlets and 322 ATMs across 15 states and union territories in India. Its focus customer segments include individuals with limited access to formal financing channels on account of their informal, variable and cash-based income profile. It offers a range of financial products and services that address the specific requirements of these customer segments by taking into account their income profile, nature of business and type of security available. Its asset products are suited to a range of customers with varying profiles. These include provision of small business loans comprising loan against property, housing loans, and agriculture loans to micro-entrepreneurs, microfinance to joint liability groups predominantly comprising women, used and new commercial vehicle loans to drivers and micro-entrepreneurs typically engaged in logistics, MSE loans to proprietorships, and corporate loans. On the liability side, its target customers comprise mass and mass-affluent individuals to whom the Bank offers current accounts, salary accounts, savings accounts, and a variety of deposit accounts. In addition, it also provides non-credit offerings comprising ATM-cum-debit cards, third party insurance, mutual fund products, and issuance of FASTags.

*Lux Industries plans Greenfield expansion with capex of Rs. 110 crores*]

 March 25, 2021, Kolkata - Lux Industries Limited (NSE: LUXIND, BSE: BOM: 539542) one of India’s largest hosiery producer and exporter has announced that that its Board of Directors has approved a greenfield expansion plan attuned to INR 110 crores. The company has already identified a land parcel measuring the construction area of around 4,60,000 Sq.ft of which 20% to 30% will be used for manufacturing unit and balance for warehousing, storage and finishing facilities. The capex will be completed over next 12-18 months. Lux Industries has three major facilities in Kolkata, Tirupur and Ludhiana, which are capable of producing more garments than the installed capacity due to the improved efficiency and flexible manufacturing capabilities. It is also working towards way more flexibility in terms of capacity with enhanced mechanical tools and scientific way of working according to the market demand.

Currently Lux Industries is running at full production capacity however it is also having 3rd party long-term contract to enhance the production capacity and hence company is planning to infuse the capital for supply chain but well supported with the increase in own production capacity also. Lux Industries generates sufficient internal accruals to finance its capital expenditure and do not need any external funding. The company’s profits take care of their capital expenditures. With this investment Lux Industries is expecting to get an incremental sale of around Rs. 400 crores.

Commenting on the expansion Mr. Ashok Kumar Todi, Chairman said, “Despite the advent of Covid-19, our performance continues to remain strong, and we continue to see robust demand. To support this northward trajectory of growth, we have decided to invest Rs. 110 crores in a greenfield expansion to be completed in next 12-18 months. Our flexible manufacturing approach has made us more agile in responding to strong demand estimation. The new investment will further augment our ability to act swiftly and improve our market share in existing segments as well as new segments like kids’ and women innerwear.” 

Commenting on the expansion Mr. Pradip Todi, Managing Director said, “The new capex of Rs. 110 crores will have an asset turnover of around 4 times thereby generating additional revenue of around Rs. 400 Crores. The flexible manufacturing approach has helped usto improve our operating as well as return matrix and the new capex will strengthen it further. Ason December 31, 2020, we had a cash balance of Rs. 140 crores which will be sufficient to fund the capex fully. We expect to maintain our Net Cash status positive even after completing the capex backed by our strong operating cashflow and focus on reducing working capital further.” 

Currently the company has around +1 million sq. feet area of which around 30% is being used for manufacturing process like knitting, cutting and rest is used as warehousing, storage and finishing facility. Due to improved operating efficiency and flexible manufacturing approach, the total stock movement in FY20 was around 200 million pieces translating to a utilization of around 100% across all the major facilities in Kolkata, Tirupur and Ludhiana. The company continues to operate at full capacity, which necessitated the investment in greenfield expansion of manufacturing as well as warehousing and storage facilities.

Lux have always been proactive in adopting newer methods of production developing innovative products and targeting the right audience via branding and promotional activities. Its customer centric approach has helped the brand to expand their visibility and created strong brand equity for the entire brand portfolio. With a strong assortment of 15 brands offering mass, mid premium and premium products across demographics. It has helped the brand to outperform the market and generate a pricing premium. Another new initiative which the company recently ventured into is EBOs network called COZYWORLD, currently operating with 5 stores. And going forward by the end of FY2022, the company is looking at opening about 60 to 70 stores both company owned and franchisee operated stores enhancing the brand experience with all products from Lux portfolio under one roof. Lux Industries works for increasing customer satisfaction by providing value for money. It aims to capture the additional market share in existing segment as well as entering to new segments like Kids and Ladies wear. The company is planning to expand in the southern parts of India where there is extreme potential for business growth. The merger with JM Hosiery and Ebell Fashions will help unlock substantial value to their stakeholders and will help in streamlining the business.

About Lux Industries Limited Lux Industries Limited, incorporated in 1995 is one of the largest players in the hosiery business having a market share of ~20% of the organised industry. Products include Men’s, Women’s & Kids Innerwear, Winterwear, Socks & Sacks for Women in varied colours and designs. The company has ~5,000 SKU’s under various Brands and Sub Brands of LUX. With focus on growing exclusive retail outlets and in providing customers with a seamless buying experience, the company’s products are available in ~4,50,000 retail points spread across India. LUX has a presence across the globe with exports to 47 countries.

*Medica Superspecialty Hospital conducts Eastern India’s first Artificial Heart Implant (LVAD)*

 ~ Offers a new lease of life to a 54-year patient from Chhattisgarh ~

Kolkata, 25th March, 2021: Medica Group of Hospitals, the largest private hospital chain in Eastern India, at its flagship facility Medica Superspecialty Hospital in Kolkata conducted a critical operation for around 6 hours to retrieve a 54 year old gentleman, from Chhattisgarh, and pioneered an ingenuous marvel in the treatment of heart implants by having the first LVAD ( Left Ventricular Assist Device ) – Artificial Heart implant in Eastern India, where the team of experienced doctors from departments of Cardiac Surgery, CTVS and Cardiology joined hands together for this unique case. The team put in their combined efforts under the leadership of Dr. Kunal Sarkar, Senior Vice Chairman, Director and Head of Cardiac Surgery at Medica Superspecialty Hospital who was ably supported by the Cardiology team led by Prof. Dr. Rabin Chakraborty, Senior Vice Chairman Medica Superspecialty Hospital, Dr. Dilip Kumar, Senior Consultant & Director Cath Lab Services, Department of Cardiology, Dr. Saptarshi Roy, Senior Consultant & Cardiac Surgeon, and experienced CTVS team, Dr. Arpan Chakraborty and Dr. Dipanjan Chatterjee helped achieve this momentous feat on 22nd March 2021. Having set benchmarks in patient care, Medica Superspecialty Hospital, which has a world-class comprehensive department for heart failure and heart transplant, at the facility, in Kolkata, is widely known for its excellence in cardiac care has now added another feather to its cap, after successfully completing Eastern India's first comprehensive treatment by Artificial Heart Implant Program with extensive options for treatment and management of congestive heart failure.

Sudheer Kumar Singh (Name Changed) had sustained a severe heart attack 12 weeks ago which caused acute damage to his cardiac function.  

Dr. Kunal Sarkar, Senior Vice Chairman, Director and Head of Cardiac Surgery at Medica Superspecialty Hospital who led the team of surgeons said, “The patient had visited us in a critically ill state with a failing heart and rapidly deteriorating health. We had no recourse but advise to undergo a heart transplantation or artificial heart implant. Since this was the first of its kind in this part of the country, we were extra cautious and currently after a successful surgery, he is under constant monitoring of his implant.” 

Dr. Sarkar further elaborated, “The Artificial Heart Device (Heartmate 2) is a cutting edge, titanium Impeller pump with ruby bearings, which pumps blood at 9000- 12000 revolutions per minute. It works on electric current and wearable batteries that needs to be recharged every 12 hours. They are mobile and once patients recover; they can be physically active. We aim to be one of the main South Asian Centers for Advanced Cardiopulmonary Support.”

Heart failure is a major health concern worldwide including in India. Twenty million people world-wide suffer from heart failure, out of which India witnesses two million new cases every year with at least a third of them requiring advanced therapy to survive. The mortality rate in heart failure patients is as high as 30-40%, within a year of diagnosis. In India, the treatment for heart failure is restricted to medical therapy, revascularization therapy (restoration/augmentation of blood supply to the heart), valvular surgeries and cardiac resynchronization (heart pacing) therapy.

Dr. Alok Roy, Chair FICCI Health Services Committee and Chairman, Medica Group of Hospitals, stated, “Advances in science and medicine have made heart transplants safer and a real option in managing cases of end stage heart failure. 

Cardiac care at Medica Superspecialty Hospital is well established and ranked amongst the finest in the country. Our goal is to provide the highest quality of patient-centered care, right here in India, utilizing our interdisciplinary approach, enormous talent and the multi-skilled resources within our team of highly accomplished doctors led by Dr. Kunal Sarkar. I on behalf of Medica applaud their feat of the first LVAD in Eastern India. I am sure we will be able to become the Centre of Excellence and will benefit many of our patients who will no longer have to seek treatment abroad for heart failure.”

This is a part of Medica’s Advanced Heart Lung Support program, which has performed more than 100 ECMO’s, numerous Heart transplants and now, the first Artificial Heart Implant.  

*****

About Medica Group of Hospitals: 

Medica Group of Hospitals, one of the major and fast-growing chains of hospitals in Eastern India today, has built and managed numerous healthcare facilities across the Eastern region over the past few years. The healthcare chain launched its operations with Medica North Bengal Clinic (MNBC) in Siliguri in 2008 and soon followed up with its flagship Hospital – Medica Superspecialty Hospital (MSH) – in Kolkata in 2010. The group has footprints in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, and Assam.

*521 students from Aakash Institute achieve stupendous results in KVPY national fellowship program 2020*

 • 3 students in Top 10 are Aakashians with Nikhil, Anshul and Pravar Kataria securing AIR positions 3, 9, 10 respectively

• The KVPY program of Govt. of India is meant to attract exceptional school students for pursuing basic science courses and research career in science

• 435 students from Classroom & 86 students from DLP+Digital qualified in the KPVY Stage 2 fellowship

March 22, 2021: A whopping 521 students of Aakash Institute have secured a stupendous result in the Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY), the National Program of Fellowship in Basic Sciences run by the Indian Institute of Science and funded by the Dept. of Science & Technology, Govt. of India. The results for the fellowship exam were announced recently. 

Nikhil, Anshul and Pravar emerged as the top rankers out of all students at Aakash Institute who cleared the renowned national fellowship. Nikhil secured All India Rank AIR 3, Anshul acquired AIR 9 and Pravar Kataria became AIR 10. The KVPY program is meant to attract exceptional school students for pursuing basic science courses and research career in science. Generous fellowships are provided up to the pre-Ph.D. level to selected KVPY Fellows by the Indian Government. 

Congratulating the students, Aakash Chaudhry, Managing Director, Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL) said, “We at Aakash believe in imparting quality test preparatory services to students. We are extremely proud to announce that a huge 507 students from Aakash have secured remarkable results in KVPY this year, which is considered among one of the toughest examinations in India. Congratulations to Nikhil, Anshul and Pravar and all other Aakashians for performing well in KVPY. We are delighted that the hard work put in by our students and faculty has paid off.”

Selection of the students to KVPY is made from those studying in XI standard to 1st year of any undergraduate Program in Basic Sciences having aptitude for scientific research. Special groups and Committees are set up at IISc to screen the applications and conduct an aptitude test at various centers in the country. Based on the performance in the aptitude test, short-listed students are called for an interview which is the final stage of the selection procedure. 

The objective of the program is to identify students with talent and aptitude for research; help them realize their academic potential; encourage them to take up research careers in Science, and ensure the growth of the best scientific minds for research and development in the country.

Aakash Institute aims to help students in their quest to achieve academic success. It has a centralized in-house process for curriculum and content development and faculty training and monitoring, led by its National Academic Team. Over the years, students from Aakash have shown proven selection track record in various Medical & Engineering entrance exams and competitive exams such as NTSE, KVPY, and Olympiads.

About Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL)

Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL) provides comprehensive test preparatory services for students preparing for Medical and Engineering Entrance Examinations, School/Board Exams and Competitive Exams such as NTSE, KVPY, and Olympiads. AESL believes that the “Aakash” brand is associated with quality coaching and a proven student selection track record in various Medical and Engineering Entrance Examinations, Scholarship exams & Olympiads.

With over 33 years of operational experience in the test preparatory industry, the company has a large number of selections in Medical & Engineering Entrance Exams and several Class 9th and 10th level Scholarship exams/Olympiads, a pan India network of 215+ Aakash Centers (including franchisee), and a student count of more than 250,000.

The Aakash group also owns famous K-12 EdTech brand, Meritnation.com as well.

www.aakash.ac.in

GIA India OffersKnowledge Webinar on‘Navratna’ Around 25participants from the Delhi NCR Jewellers Committee attended the webinar

 New Delhi – Mar.23, 2021–GIA India organised theKnowledge Webinar ‘Navratna’for members of Delhi NCR Jewellers Committee in New Delhi. Around 25 participants attended this webinarto learn important information about the nine gemstones.To stay informed about GIA India’s upcoming Knowledge Webinars, call +91-22-68493960.

GIA India Instructor Jamsheed Dastoorshared insights about the nine gems that represent the celestial bodies of Indian astrology: Sun (ruby), Moon (pearl), Mercury (emerald), Mars (coral), Jupiter (yellow sapphire or topaz), Venus (diamond), Saturn (blue sapphire) and the rising (zircon or hessonite) and descending (cat’s-eye) nodes of the moon.

“GIA India conducted a very informative and an engaging webinar on the topic, ‘Navratna’for our members,” said NareshDhingra, President,Delhi NCR Jewellers Committee. “This knowledge webinar plays a pivotal role in acquiring gemmological information about the nine precious gemstones and will help the participants to build consumer trust and confidence. We are grateful to GIA India for their continued commitment to sharing knowledge and creating awareness through these webinars.”

“Navratnais quite an interesting topic from not just a gemmological perspective, but also due to the astrological importance in India,” said Apoorva Deshingkar, Senior Director – Sales, GIA India.“As a pioneer of gemmological research, GIA is poised to share scientific knowledge about these nine gemstones so jewellers can communicate effectively with consumers. We are thankful to the Delhi NCR Jewellers Committee for their support in organising a knowledge webinar for the benefit of their members.”

“Informative and enriching webinars such as these constitute a part of GIA’s mission to ensure public trust in gems and jewellery,”said Sriram Natarajan, Managing Director of GIA India.“Equipped with the knowledge gained during this and several such webinars we’ve been conducting over the past year or so, jewellers are able to buy and sell with confidence. With the help of these webinars as well as our retail sales associate training programmes,members of the gem and jewellery trade are building consumer trust and furthering the Institute’s mission.”

 

GIA India Knowledge Webinar on ‘Navratna’

About GIA India

GIA India Laboratory Private Limited (‘GIA India’) is an independent subsidiary of the Gemological Institute of America, Inc. (‘GIA’). Established in 1931, GIA is recognised as the world’s foremost authority in gemmology. GIA invented the famous 4Cs of Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat Weight and, in 1953, created the International Diamond Grading System™ which is recognised around the world as the standard for diamond quality. 

Through research, education, gemmological laboratory services and instrument development, the Institute is dedicated to ensuring the public trust in gems and jewellery by upholding the highest standards of integrity, academics, science and professionalism. All of GIA’s activities are governed by its mission to serve the public. Visit GIA.edu or GIAindia.in.

जातिवाद और मजबूरियों के बीच में घिरा भीमराव

 

रामजी (जगन्नाथ निवानगुने) के जीजाबाई (स्नेहा मंगल) के साथ सतारा चले जाने के बाद, भीमराव (आयुध भानुशाली) और उसके भाइयों पर पूरे परिवार की जिम्मेदारी आ जाती है। जीजाबाई रामजी सकपाल और भीम के बीच दरार डालने की कोशिश करती है जिससे इन दोनों के बीच गलतफहमी बढ़ जाती है। भीमराव और उसका परिवार आर्थिक तंगी के साथ-साथ भावनात्मक रूप से भी काफी परेशानियों का सामना कर रहा है। हालांकि, भीमराव हिम्मत के साथ खड़ा होता है और आनंद के साथ नई नौकरी तलाशना शुरू कर देता है। लेकिन बाला बुरी संगत में फंस जाता है और उसे चोरी करने की आदत पड़ जाती है। अपने सिद्धांतों पर चलते हुए, भीमराव बाला को जेल भेजने का मुश्किल और सही निर्णय लेता है। इस बीच, तुलसा बीमार पड़ जाती है, और आनंद एक छोटी सी नौकरी पकड़ लेता है जबकि भीम लगातार काम की तलाश करता है। इसी के साथ, गोरेगांव में जब लोगों को यह पता चलता है कि रामजी एक निचली जाति से हैं, तो लोग उनका अपमान करना शुरू कर देते हैं। उन पर हमले करते हैं और उन्हें अपने समुदाय से बाहर निकाल देते हैं। इस मौजूदा ट्रैक के बारे में बातचीत करते हुए रामजी सकपाल की भूमिका निभा रहे जगन्नाथ निवानगुने ने कहा, भीमराव कई परेशानियों का सामना कर रहा है। उसकी जिंदगी यहां से एक नया मोड़ ले रही है और वह नई राह पर निकल रहा है। अपनी मां के निधन के बाद उसके पिता ने भी उनका परित्याग कर दिया, जिसके बाद अब भीमराव के सामने कड़ी लड़ाई है। उसे भेदभाव और भुखमरी का सामना करना है और उससे लड़ना है, वित्तीय एवं भावनात्मक सदमों से बाहर निकलना है और परिवार को बांधकर रखना है ताकि वह अपने भाई-बहनों को सहयोग दे सके और उनकी शिक्षा जारी रख सके। किसी के भी सहयोग के बिना भीमराव कैसे अपनी जिंदगी के इन हालातों को बदलेंगे और इन गहन चुनौतियों से उभरेंगे?

*66% customers ready to buy Electric Vehicles: CarDekho OMG Survey*

 New Delh

i, 22 March, 2021:An increasing number of Indian customers are willing to buy electric vehicles, according to a CarDekho OMG survey. CarDekho, the leading auto-tech firm, today released the Electric Vehicle Customer Awareness Study in association with and OMG (Omnicom Media Group) a leading global advertising & marketing company.

The survey was conducted with a broad objective of understanding the current state of consumer awareness, interest and apprehensions related to electric vehicles.

Of late, the government has been making a determined push towards electric mobility. The Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Mr Nitin Gadkari recently asked the EV manufacturing industry to shift towards indigenous battery technologies while assuring the industry that the Government will provide all possible assistance. This is a clear indication of the Government’s intention to promote the EV industry, with self-reliance at the core. The OEMs have already introduced several EV 4-wheeler models in the market.    

At present, EVs contribute less than 1% of total vehicles sold, but has the potential to scale up to 5% within a few years. In 2019-20, about 3.8 lakh electric vehicles were sold in India of which 58% were low-speed E3W and 40% E2W. 

According to the survey, 66% of customers are willing to buy Electric Vehicles, out of which 53%said they were strongly inclined to go electric. Among those surveyed, 13% are not yet ready for the transformation whereas 19% decline to go either way.

Further, 68% of the customers showed their concern towards the environment and believe switching to EVs will help reduce air pollution, whereas 11% & 6% of respondents considered driving pleasure and lower maintenance cost as the main reason for considering a shift to EVs. 

The unique opportunity created by the EV segment also comes with a few challenges. 43%of respondents stated that frequent recharging will be a big concern, 20% raised concerns on the reliability of EVs during long drives/ inter-city travel, while 16% considered inadequate infrastructure (charging stations) a bigger hurdle. Nearly 12%of those surveyed said that pricing was an important consideration.

The core objective of this survey was to gauge the consumer psyche and understand what sort of information or services from automobile OEMs could help in the buying decision. Respondents suggested manufacturers offer a full list of service stations in any city, accessories for easy and fast home-charging, and an extended service warranty assurance for the car. 

The survey was conducted across India among potential 4W vehicle buyers. Almost 40% of the respondents own an SUV and 29% own a hatchback, followed by 25% owning sedans.

About CarDekho Group 

CarDekho Group, headquartered in Jaipur, was founded in 2008 and has footprints in India and theSouth East Asia. The group currently operates various leading Indian auto portals such as CarDekho.com, Gaadi.com, ZigWheels.com, BikeDekho.com, PowerDrift.com and more. With more than 70 stores, It’s CarDekho Gaadi stores serve as the one-stop destination for customers to sell pre-owned cars and CarDekho Gaadi Trust Mark Stores serve as the one-stop destination for customers to buy pre-owned cars. The group is now recognized in India as the largest automotive video content player with 4 million+ hours viewed on YouTube, the largest consumer-facing digital destination with 55 million monthly unique visitors, and the largest auto social media platform. In 2016, the company expanded its presence in Indonesia under the brand name OTO, which has become the number one auto site in the country. It recently acquired the Philippines operations of Carmudi thereby expanding its operations to two Southeast Asian countries. CarDekho has raised funding from marquee investors including Sequoia India, Hillhouse Capital, Ping An, Sunley House, CapitalG (formerly known as Google Capital), HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Times Internet, Trifecta, Ratan Tata, Times Internet Limited, Kreatif Media Karya and Dentsu.

About Omnicom Media Group

Omnicom Media Group (OMG) (is the media services and communications division of Omnicom Group Inc ..(NYSE OMC), the leading global advertising, marketing and corporate communications company, providing services to over 5 000 clients in more than 100 countries. A forward-thinking media and communications company, Omnicom Media Group includes three full service, award-winning agency brands OMD, PHD, M2M Hearts and Science apart from a suite of specialist media communication units.

----- End of Press Release -----

*DVARA KGFS RAISES 8 MILLION EUROS AS EXTERNAL COMMERCIAL BORROWINGS*

 Chennai, 22nd March 2021: Dvara KGFS, a NBFC operating in deep rural pockets of India, announced that they have raised 8 Million Euros from leading European social impact funds, Invest In Visions, Germany (IIV) and Darlehenskasse Muenster, Luxembourg (DKM) as External Commercial Borrowings (ECB). 

The company intends to deploy the ECB proceeds for their onward lending program targeted to support their microfinance as well as small business customers in more than 9000 deep rural villages with little or no access to formal means of credit. The company has designed these micro loans to suit the dynamic requirements of their customers and potentially enhance their means of livelihood.

Commenting on the fund raiser, Joby C O, Chief Executive Officer, Dvara KGFS, said, "We are happy that through Agents for Impact (AFI), we have been able to raise 8 Million Euros as ECB from globally renowned impact funds - Invest In Visions (IIV) and their partner fund Darlehenskasse Muenster (DKM. This helps us to diversify our fund raising effort to foreign Institutional investors(FII) and DFIs. The funds will be utilised to fund our microfinance customers and Micro Enterprise customers in the rural parts of India. There are a variety of small business that we fund in rural India which includes retail shops, small dairies, agri entrepreneurs and this would help customers to restart their businesses, post covid. Our wealth management approach helps these customers to enhance their financial well-being through a variety of products.”

Mr Vijayakumar G, Chief Financial Officer, Dvara KGFS further commented saying, “Coming from pioneering social impact investors, the ECB is a testimony of the successful impact of the deep /dense business model employed by Dvara KGFS to bring about financial inclusion in the rural geographies it operates in. The ECB will also provide great fillip to our fund raise plan from overseas lenders in the coming financial year.”

On this transaction, Dr. Andrij Fetsun, CEO, Agents from Impact (AFI) commented, “AFI’s goal is to bring in new investment opportunities from India and around the globe to receive funding from Invest in Visions GmbH and this deal is an evidence to our commitment and determination to achieve such goal. I am excited to see the positive impact and effect that this loan will have on micro enterprises and entrepreneurs in deep rural and remote parts of India, which are rebuilding itself in light of the COVID pandemic.”

About Dvara KGFS 

Dvara KGFS a part of Dvara Group is a systematically important Non Deposit taking NBFC regulated by RBI, It is a mission oriented organisation aiming to maximise the financial well-being of every individual and every enterprise by providing complete access to financial services in remote rural India through its technology backed unique Wealth Management approach. Dvara KGFS has a strong presence in Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh Odisha and Jharkhand, with its 308 remote rural Branches spread across 48 districts servicing more than 1 million enrolled rural customers.

आर्गेनिक एक्सपो 2021: एक्वाकल्चर, टेरेस गार्डन जैसे विषयों पर चर्चा, जैविक प्रदर्शनी में लोगों का उत्साह

 जैविक शपथ सेल्फी जोन बना हुआ है आकर्षण का केंद्र

- उन्नत किस्म की गिर गाय का भी सजीव प्रदर्शन

- राज्यसभा सदस्य सुधांशु त्रिवेदी ने वर्चुअल रूप से किया सम्बोधित 

- नए आदेशानुसार सोमवार को समाप्त होगा आर्गेनिक एक्सपो 2021

- रात 8 बजे तक चालु रहेगी आर्गेनिक उत्पादों की प्रदर्शनी

इंदौर, 20 मार्च 2021: जैविक कृषि ज्ञान सम्मलेन एवं प्रदर्शनी के चौथे दिन की शुरुआत राज्यसभा सदस्य व भारतीय जनता पार्टी के राष्ट्रीय प्रवक्ता डॉ सुधांशु त्रिवेदी के वर्चुअल सम्बोधन के साथ हुई। उन्होंने जैविक को अपनाने की अपील करते हुए इस प्रकार के आयोजनों पर जोर दिया। वहीँ चौथे दिन के कार्यक्रम में मुख्य रूप से दिल्ली बेस्ड ट्रेनर अंजली मलिक ने किचन व टेरेस गार्डन के महत्व व उपयोगिता को समझाते हुए कहा कि, टेरेस गार्डन एक बेहद आसान प्रक्रिया है जो पूरी तरह कैमिकल मुक्त है। हम सब्जियों के छिलकों से लेकर घर के हर वेस्ट को टेरेस गार्डन के बेहतर पोषण के लिए इस्तेमाल कर सकते हैं। उन्होंने कहा कि इसके जरिये हम हमारी आने वाली पीढ़ी को अच्छा खाने और उगाने की सीख दे सकते हैं, इसके आलावा किचन वेस्ट मैनेजमेंट से पर्यावरण संरक्षण करने में भी मदद मिलती है। 

इसके आलावा डॉ श्री हरेंद्र प्रसाद, डायरेक्टर फिशरीज डिपार्टमेंट लखनऊ, ने एक्वाकल्चर से जुड़ी चुनौतियों और संभावनाओं का जिक्र करते हुए ऑर्गनाइक मैनेजमेंट प्लान के बारे में बताया। जिसके तहत मछली पालन की सारी गतिविधियों को एक ही स्थान पर अंजाम दिया जा सकता है। इसके अतिरिक्त उन्होंने एक्वाकल्चर के अंतर्गत रेन वाटर हार्वेस्टिंग को सबसे शुद्ध बताते हुए इसके संरक्षण पर जोर दिया।

प्रमुख आयोजक मनोज मिश्रा ने जानकारी देते हुए बताया कि इंदौर में लगे लॉक डाउन के कारण ऑर्गेनिक एक्सपो का समापन रविवार की जगह सोमवार को होगा। आज के कार्यक्रम में मुख्य वक्ताओं में राजेंद्रभाई राजपुरोहित, संजीवन ऑर्गेनिक जिन्होंने सबसे कम दर में जैविक उत्पाद उपलब्ध करने का प्रण लिया है, समेत श्री पी एस बार्चे, कृषि एक्सटेंशन ऑफिसर, खरगौन ने देसी बीज विधाय पर बीजों की गुणवत्ता उत्पादकता कर सटीक रोपण प्रक्रिया के बारे में बताया वहीँ जैविक प्रमुख भारतीय किसान संघ श्री आनंद सिंह ठाकुर ने जैविक खेती की विशेषताओं को रेखांकित किया। 

 #मिशनहेल्दीइंडिया के तहत जारी इस आयोजन का प्रमुख आकर्षण जैविक शपथ सेल्फी जोन बना हुआ है जिसमें आमजनों को जैविक शपथ दिलाई जा रही है। इसके अतिरिक्त उन्नत किस्म की गिर गाय का भी सजीव प्रदर्शन देखने को मिल रहा है। आयोजक पंडित शिव प्रसाद मिश्रा के संरक्षण एवं युवा उड़ान वा भारतीय किसान संघ के संरक्षण में सारा कार्यक्रम आयोजित किया जा रहा है।

बता दें कि आर्गेनिक एक्सपो 2021 में जैविक कम्पनियों के स्टाल तथा जैविक कृषि कर रहे किसानों के उत्पादों की प्रदर्शनी और विक्रय किया जा रहा है। जैविक कृषि ज्ञान सम्मलेन का मुख्य उद्देश्य जैविक खेती के साथ आर्गेनिक उत्पादों के अधिक प्रोडक्शन को बढ़ावा देने के लिए किसानों को प्रोत्साहित करना है। यहाँ आपको घी, तेल नमक मसाले, पूजा पाठ सामग्री से लेकर फल व सब्जियों तक, सब कुछ जैविक खेती से तैयार किया हुआ ही मिलेगा।

गौरतलब है कि एक्सपो के आगामी दिनों में गौ आधारित जैविक खेती का सजीव प्रदर्शन भी देखने को मिल रही है। जहां उन्नत किस्म के पशुओं की प्रदर्शनी, गोबर, गौमूत्र व फसल अवशेष के माध्यम से निर्मित विभिन्न प्रकार की जैविक खादों की प्रदर्शनी तथा जैविक सूक्ष्म पोषक तत्वों के निर्माण की विधि का सजीव प्रदर्शन भी शामिल है। इसके अतिरिक्त मेले में पहुंचने वालों के लिए जैविक सब्जी मंडी एवं फ़ूड ज़ोन भी मुख्य आकर्षण का केंद्र बने हुए हैं।

THE ROYAL ENFIELD 650 TWIN MOTORCYCLES GET NEW COLOURWAYS WITH AN ARRAY OF MAKE-IT-YOURS OPTIONS

 FIVE new eye catching colourways for Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 expand personalisation options for potential customers via the Royal Enfield MiY

 

March 22nd, 2021, : Royal Enfield, the global leader in mid-size motorcycles (250cc-750cc), today announced the launch of new colourways on the 650 Twin motorcycles - the Interceptor INT 650 Twin and the Continental GT 650 Twin. The motorcycles will also be available with a host of new MiY options which the customers can choose to personalise their motorcycles. The MiY options include seats, touring mirrors, flyscreen, sump guards and a host of options that add to the style and enhance the riding experience.

 

Speaking on the new colours of the 650 Twins and the wide ranging MiY options Vinod K. Dasari, CEO Royal Enfield said “The launch of the 650 Twins marked a new chapter for Royal Enfield and for the mid-sized motorcycle segment. The global success of these motorcycles over the last couple of years has been phenomenal with the Interceptor growing the 500cc+ category by more than 4-times in India, and also becoming the best selling naked motorcycle in the mid-sized category in the UK in 2020. The introduction of Make-It-Yours on the 650 Twin motorcycles in October last year further enhanced the personalization possibilities and overall appeal of these motorcycles. MiY unlocks thousands of personalization options and is becoming a game changer for Royal Enfield. We believe that the newly introduced colourways on the Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT 650, along with unique personalisation options via MiY will go a long way in bringing more enthusiasts into the brand fold.”

 

The Interceptor INT 650 Twin is now available in two new Standard (single tone) colourways - Canyon Red and Ventura Blue; two new Custom (dual tone) colourways - Downtown Drag, and Sunset Strip and has a new updated version of the ‘chrome’ variant in the Mark 2. The Mark 2 Chrome Interceptor is an ode to the original Interceptor 750 that’s redolent of the heydays of California’s sun drenched culture of the 60’s. The Interceptor INT 650 Twin retainsthesingletone Orange Crush colourway and the dual tone Baker Express that has been extremely popular with the customers and the motorcycling community across the globe. The Continental GT 650 cafe racer has also been introduced in five new colourways. Taking inspiration from the Continental GT of the 60’ and calls from die-hard fans of this motorcycle, Royal Enfield has reintroduced the Continental GT 650 Twin in its most loved Rocker Red Standard (single tone colourway) and has also introduced the motorcycle in British Racing Green Standard colourway. The motorcycle is also available in two new Custom (dual tone) colourways - Dux Deluxe and Ventura Storm, and has a new updated version of the chrome variant in Mister Clean. With seven colour options on the Interceptor INT 650 Twin, and five new colourways on the Continental GT 650 Twin, both motorcycles will get a range of aesthetic updates as well, to compliment the new colourways. Apart from the new colours, Royal Enfield is introducing blacked out rims and mudguards in single tone colour variants of the Interceptor INT 650 Twin, adding to the overall appeal of the motorcycle. This update has been made after receiving a fabulous response from the community on the blacked out rims that were available only on the dual tone colours earlier.

 

Royal Enfield has introduced a host of new offerings via MiY for the Interceptor 650 enhancing its roadster appeal. To enhance the riding comfort on the Interceptor 650, two new seat options - a standard touring dual seat and touring seat with ribbed styled stitching and cowl finish have been introduced. Enhancing the protection on the Interceptor 650 will be engine guards and sump guards available in various finishes. To add to the style and riding experience, the Interceptor 650 will have a host of offerings such touring mirrors, tall and short tinted flyscreens, fork gaiters and many more. Adding to the cafe racer style of the Continental GT 650, MiY will now have several personalisation and accessorisation options like the painted screen kit in black, bar end mirrors, single seat cowl in various colours. There are a host of other offerings as well such as sump guards and engine guards for additional protection. All of these personalisation and accessorisation options are homologated and the accessories come with a two-year warranty.

 

The Interceptor 650 in Standard colourways are now available at Rs 2,75,467 (all India ex-showroom)*, Custom colourways at Rs 2,83,593 (all India ex-showroom)* and the chrome variant Mark 2 is available at Rs 2,97,133 (ex-showroom)*. The Continental GT 650 in Standard colourways is available at Rs 2,91,701 (ex-showroom)*, Custom colourways are available for Rs 2,99,830 (ex-showroom)* and the chrome variant Mister Clean is available for Rs 3,13,367 (ex-showroom)*. All the Interceptor 650 colourways and the Continental GT 650 colourways are open for bookings across all Royal Enfield stores in India from today.

 

Launched in September 2018, the 650 Twins, were received extremely well by motorcycle enthusiasts in India and across the globe. The Interceptor 650 - the quintessential roadster, won several awards including the prestigious Indian Motorcycle of the Year 2018 and has continued to dominate the upper end (500cc and above) of the mid-sized motorcycling segment in the country. Even in the international markets, the Interceptor INT 650 Twin has been extremely successful and has won several prestigious awards including MCN’s Best Retro Motorcycle of the Year 2019 and also for the 2020 in the UK, becoming the only Indian brand to do so, not just once but twice in a row. The Interceptor 650 Twin has also been the highest selling naked style motorcycle for the entirety of the 2020 calendar year (as per MCIA data from January 2020 - to December 2020) dominating the mid-sized segment for over a year, propelling Royal Enfield to become one of the fastest growing motorcycle brands in the UK. In the APAC region, the 650 Twins contribute to more than 50% of the volumes with the highest demand of the motorcycles in Thailand where the 650 Twins account for more than 65% of the volumes.

 

*Karnataka Ex-Showroom Price

The Interceptor 650 starting at Rs 2,59,244 Standard (single tone), Dual Tone (Custom) is Rs 2,67,370 and chrome - Rs 2,88,898 (ex-showroom) and the Continental GT 650 starting at Rs 2,75,491 is the Standard (Single Tone), Dual Tone (Custom) is Rs 2,83,620 and Chrome is Rs 2,97,134 (ex-showroom) are available for bookings across all Royal Enfield stores in Karnataka.

 

*Kerala Ex-Showroom Price

The Interceptor 650 starting at Rs 2,60,909 Standard (Single Tone), Dual Tone (Custom) is Rs 2,69,103 and Chrome - Rs 2,82,731 (ex-showroom) and the Continental GT 650 starting at Rs 2,77,307 is the Standard (Single Tone), Dual Tone (Custom) is Rs 2,85,476 and Chrome is Rs 2,99,090 (ex-showroom) are available for bookings across all Royal Enfield stores in Kerala.

 

About Royal Enfield:

 

The oldest motorcycle brand in continuous production, Royal Enfield made its first motorcycle in 1901. A division of Eicher Motors Limited, Royal Enfield has created the mid-sized motorcycle segment in India with its unique and distinctive modern classic bikes. With its new manufacturing base in Chennai, India, Royal Enfield is able to grow its production rapidly against a surge in demand for its motorcycles. With more than 40% growth every year for the last 5 years, Royal Enfield is fast becoming a very important player in the global mid-size motorcycle market and is working towards re-inventing this space with motorcycles that are evocative and engaging, and great fun to ride.

 

Royal Enfield’s motorcycle lineup includes the newly launched Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT 650, powered by a modern 648cc twin-cylinder engine. Royal Enfield also manufactures the Classic, Bullet, and Thunderbird models in 350cc displacement and the purpose-built Himalayan powered by the new LS410 engine. Royal Enfield operates through 18 company-operated stores and 940 large format stores and 500 studio stores in all major cities and towns in India, and exports to over 50 countries across the world including the USA, UK, several European and Latin American countries, as well as the Middle East and South-East Asia.

 

Royal Enfield also organizes and supports many motorcycling events and rides globally, more prominently the Rider Mania – an annual gathering of Royal Enfield riders from all over the world to the lovely beaches of Goa, and the Himalayan Odyssey, the most arduous motorcycle ride over some of the toughest roads and highest mountain passes in the Himalayas. Royal Enfield also conducts the popular ‘One Ride’ where people around the world ride out on their motorcycles on the first Sunday of April.

Tekie - India’s First Animated Coding Startup, Emerges as a Major Contender to WhiteHat Jr

 March 18, 2021 || India

For a society that has grown rapidly since the Internet boom, Coding is definitely a must-have skill. As per National Education Policy 2020, students will be taught coding from Class 6 onwards. This will give children an early start, with valuable skills that are useful even if they don’t opt for a computer science-related field.

A startup based out of Bangalore, named Tekie, has taken a unique approach to this. While many coding classes focus on simple block-based tasks, Tekie has built an interactive - animated educational series. Along with this, there are many activities that teach them about real world concepts and abstract sci-fi problems, with easy to consume lessons for kids in class 6th to 12th.

Tekie was founded in 2017 by Anand Verma and Naman Mukund. Commenting on the inspiration behind Tekie, Naman stated, “With Tekie, we aim to deliver a hands-on programming experience to our students. After some quick lessons, our students build basic algorithms like programming an elevator, a calculator, guessing a number, etc.”

Tekie has been an instant hit among schools as the National Education Policy complements text-based coding, unlike its contenders. The team at Tekie invested 3 years in product development & research and launched the beta version in July 2020. Since then, Tekie has grown to over 10,000 paid users and continues to expand at an unprecedented pace.

A typical class of Tekie starts with a student watching an animated interactive video. Animated characters across the video introduce kids with the concept of programming - like how kids follow a set of rules to get ready for school, a computer also follows a sequence of commands to perform any task. And to communicate with the computer, programming languages are used.

After the video, a chat window appears to help kids discuss their lessons. While Tekie has pioneered “coding for kids” with animated interactive videos, a teacher is there to walk the student through the lesson and make sure that the concept is understood by the child.

With Tekie’s unprecedented success, several competitors have tried to hack their business model. In October, 2020, a WhiteHat Jr. employee, allegedly impersonated a grade six student’s persona to attend Tekie’s trial class.

But unlike its competitors, Tekie doesn’t promise students that will be able to build an app within a week - that according to its founders, is a plain marketing gimmick. According to Naman, “Coding helps students excel across various verticals, and it is not just limited to computer science-based verticals. All we’re saying is coding will help a child build skills for the future, to excel in their career.”

*Need for Regulation & supervision of Advertisement and Playstore Operations and Platform fees as ‘Critical IT intermediaries*

 • Any search bias or advertisement bias should be restricted on Playstore and Search platforms

• High platform fee charged by leading app playstores or any large needs to be regulated under IT act provisions, similar to MDR charges capping to merchants by RBI

• Government may consider towards framing regulations/guidelines on restricting the bidding of IP keywords to take advantages by platform or competition

• Need to have Digital Regulatory Body of India, similar to TRAI to regulate operations and pricing of Critical Digital Organizations with more than a specific use base

• 5% of profits generated from Indian Digital ecosystem should be mandated to be reinvested in Indian government initiatives to promote startup, research and innovation in country

• Need to have regulatory landscape as per IT Act or IT intermediary guidelines to bring Playstore under self-regulation to regulate their data storage and capping of platform fees on app store

• To work with the government and regulators to draft India specific laws and policy framework to ensure a level playing field for Indian digital organization 

• Esteemed panel constituted of Ramesh Abhishek, Ex-Secretary, DPIIT, Murugavel, Founder & CEO, Matrimony.com, Rohan, CEO Map My India, Ajay Data, ADIF Secretary General, Ashim Sood – Supreme Court Advocate 

New Delhi, March 17: 

The Aatmnirbhar Digital India Foundation (ADIF), an industry body representing India's digital and technology startups, deliberated on the need for an India specific policy framework IT intermediaries for Playstore, Search, and rankings. 

The esteemed panel constituted of Ramesh Abhishek, Retd IAS, Ex-Secretary, DPIIT, Co-Founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip, Murugavel, Founder & CEO, Matrimony.com, Rohan Verma, CEO, MapmyIndia and Ajay Data, Founder and CEO, Data Xgen Technologies, who is also Secretary General, ADIF.

 

The deliberations revolved around the need for government’s intervention to ensure that no organization specific keywords were permitted for bidding by third parties in Google Ads policy. This has come in the wake of Delhi HC order in favour of Makemytrip where the Court directed Google to suspend the advertising account of HappyEasyGo on the Google Ads Programme.

Murugavel Jankiraman, Founder & CEO, Matrimony.com while speaking at the panel discussion said, “Stop Google monetizing the brands of Indian companies. Brands are created with so much hardwork, years or decades of effort, built by hundreds or thousands of people, marketed by spending 100's of crores of investment. All the effort is monetizing by Google by allowing anyone and everyone to bid for these brands. Companies end up in spending crores of money to protect their own brands to prevent their customers going to competitors or frivolous entities. Companies are losing their revenue and customers because of Google not protecting brands.”

Ashim Sood, Supreme Court, Advocate said, “India has a robust intellectual property law regime which gives protections to entrepreneurs who have worked hard to create brand recognition for their products and services. Similarly, Indian courts are sophisticated in their understanding of issues including the problems raised by keywords based advertising. But judicial delays sometimes come in the way of an entrepreneur being able to protect his mark to the fullest extent – many times the fact of whether a trademark was violated comes down to evidence, and this evidence only becomes available in a trial that lasts years. This coupled with the dominance of Google in the search market renders local entrepreneurs vulnerable. There does need to be a discussion based regulatory initiative to deal with the issue.”

Ramesh Abhishek, Ex-Secretary, DPIIT said “It is essential to take adequate measures to promote Indian Digital ecosystem and work towards improving ease of doing business. It is needed to undertake in-depth study of the impact of permitting the bidding of brands by competition and benefits obtained by advertisement platforms. Neutrality and unbiased behaviour of large platforms in search and playstore results and rankings is important for ensuring a level playing field”

Rohan, CEO, MapmyIndia said, "Need of immediate, effective regulatory and legal measures to stop monetizing ‘brand value’ by Advertisement and search platform of Big Techs. Every efforts should be made to eliminate any bias and manipulation in the search and ranking algorithms attributing to advertisement keywords, to eliminate any loss to brands”.

Ajay Data, ADIF Secretary General Ajay Data said, “At ADIF, we represent the aspirations and interests of India’s dynamic startup ecosystem. To protect the interests of Indian startups, we need to create an India specific policy framework and work in a collaborative manner going forward. We request government that no organization specific keywords should be permitted for bidding by third parties and ASCI guidelines should be expanded to cover search engine advertising to avoid such in future.” 

In line with ADIF’s objective of playing a role in policy framework, the power packed panel brainstormed on the topic - ‘Protection of Your Organization, Brand Name and IPR for online bidding on advertisement platforms.’ ADIF, which is committed towards building an open, fair, neutral and self-reliant technology ecosystem, aims to promote a level playing field for Indian companies to build solutions for the country that are adopted globally.

Owing to unfair policies by leading Big Tech platforms, the usage and bidding on company name specific keywords such as Matrimony, Map My India is allowed. This has resulted in other companies selling similar products and services to capitalize on the brand value of the companies, putting existing companies at a greater disadvantage. To feature at the top of the search results, Indian startups have shell out extra money to safeguard their own company name that was being used as keywords. 

Through such discussions, ADIF aims to assist in the creation of forward-looking regulatory processes and ease of doing business policies to propel India as the top destination for innovation and capital. The objective is to listen and understand the challenges of the startup ecosystem and to become the voice of entrepreneurs for policymakers and regulators.

This is in line with ADIF’s vision is to make India a world leader in the technology ecosystem by ensuring a level playing field for Indian organisations and to enable the flow of Indian and international investments to build products and services for Indian and global consumers. 

About Aatmnirbhar Digital India Foundation

The Aatmnirbhar Digital India Foundation (ADIF) is an initiative to support technology startups in India become self-reliant and self-sustainable by offering policy-level leadership. At its core, the ADIF will contribute to the Aatmnirbhar Bharat campaign. A core group of Indian startup founders and other stakeholders in the startup ecosystem have come together to form the ADIF, so technology startups can play a larger role in building a vibrant Aatmnirbhar Bharat.

*Lionsgate Play announces the launch of its second Original Series “U-Special”*

 College Romance Drama Series Features A-List Cast Led by Sumeet Vyas, Arjun Mathur, Parambrata Chatterjee, Rukshar Dhillon, Taaruk Raina, Gopal Datt and Ahsaas Channa

Directed by Celebrated Filmmaker Akarsh Khurana and Adhaar Khurana

India, March 17th 2021: Lionsgate Play, the India-based over-the-top platform of global premium streaming service STARZ, has announced its second original series production, the college romance drama series “U-Special.” With celebrated director Akarsh Khurana as showrunner, the series will star a talented ensemble cast led by Sumeet Vyas, Arjun Mathur, Parambrata Chatterjee, Rukshar Dhillon, Taaruk Raina, Gopal Datt and Ahsaas Channa, among others. The announcement comes on the heels of Lionsgate Play’s kickoff of its slate of highly curated, bold, edgy, original and exclusive content last month with the Indian adaptation of the hit Lionsgate U.S. series Casual, to be directed by Kunal Kohli, starring Lara Dutta and Prateik Babbar. 

“U-Special” (working title) is set in the cheerful, quirky and vibrant world of a large university campus filled with young people from all over the country. We live with them, love with them, and share their highs and lows while they build, abandon, rebuild and eventually own their hopes, dreams and ideals. We also watch them encounter one of the most corrupt, widespread and long running academic scams ever to hit the north of India. 

“After receiving a great response to the announcement of the adaptation of Casual, we couldn’t wait to reveal the next series in our line-up of exciting and provocative original programming,” said Rohit Jain, Managing Director South Asia and Networks-Emerging Markets Asia. “This series is designed to connect and resonate with young audiences who are our largest demographic. The production starts this month, with the show coming to the comfort of screens soon.”

Lionsgate Play is committed to innovation in its content, technology, pricing and availability by making premium Hollywood and original content available in multiple Indian languages. The app is available to download across a broad array of platforms and devices in India including Google Play, Apple TV+ and Amazon Firestick. 

About Lionsgate Play

Lionsgate Play, a premium streaming service from Lionsgate India and Starz, offers bespoke Hollywood content for Indian consumers. It boasts of thousands of hours of Premium Hollywood content including Premieres, billion-dollar Franchise Movies and binge worthy Box Sets. Lionsgate Play has a widely distributed network in the region spanning across partnerships like Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel, Jio FTTH, Apple TV+, Amazon Firestick, OEM’s with an ambitious roadmap ahead. Lionsgate Play also develops and produces a diverse slate of high budget premium Indian originals.

Daljeet and Rajeev held on gunpoint as their bank becomes a target of a money heist

 Sony SAB's light-hearted show Tera Yaar Hoon Mainhas kept the audience hooked to the show with its appealing and light-heated storyline. However, the show will soonwitness a thrilling sequenceas the bank where Rajeev (Ssudeep Sahir) and Daljeet (Sayantani Ghosh) work becomes a target of a heist. 

Rajeev and Daljeet are a bit tense as there is a huge amount of cash deposited at the bank, and the matters become more intense when a group of robbersenter the bank toseize it. While Daljeet is in her cabin busy working, she has no idea that the robbers are looking out for her and Rajeev. Things further get intriguing asRajeev claims to be the Bank Manager to protect Daljeet, and eventually ending up on gunpoint as the robbers embark on their mission. Rajeev’s attemptsat saving Daljeet go in vain as the robber informs him that they has come well researched and asks him to direct him to the ‘real’ manager.The robber holds Rajeev and Daljeet on gunpoint and ask them to open the vault?

How will Daljeet and Rajeev save themselves from this situation?

Ssudeep Sahir, essaying the role of Rajeev said, "The viewers will get to see the protective side of Rajeev and as the story moves forward, things are about to get more exciting. Daljeet and Rajeev are in a life and death situation. While they want to save the bank, they also have to think about saving themselves. However, with the robbers taking everyone as hostages, it will be interesting to watch how Rajeev and Daljeet will deal with this situation and save everyone.It was exciting to shoot this sequence as you can feel the same amount of emotions as the character in such situations. I am sure our viewers will love what is about the come next."

Sayantani Ghosh, essaying the role of Daljeet said, "This has been one of the thrilling weeks on the show. Rajeev and Daljeet have turned hostage in the middle of a money heist. The entire onus of saving the bank and the people inside the bank is upon them. It will be interesting to watch how they both come together to find a solution to this. Interestingly, while shooting, even if a fake gun is pointed at you, your heart automatically beats faster. It was an interesting experience for me. It will be interesting for the viewers to watch whether they succeed in their motives or Daljeet and Rajeev can save themselves and the bank.” 

Watch Tera Yaar Hoon Main every Monday to Friday at 9:30 PM only on Sony SAB

भारती एक्सा ने गारंटीड समाधानों के साथ जीवन के महत्वपूर्ण उद्देश्य पूरा करने के लिए निश्चितता के चयन के लिए समन्वित अभियान शुरू किया

 15 मार्च, 2021। भारती एक्सा लाईफ इंश्योरेंस, भारत के अग्रणी बिज़नेस समूहों में से एक, भारती इंटरप्राईज़ेस एवं दुनिया की सबसे बड़ी इंश्योरेंस कंपनियों में से एक, एक्सा के बीच संयुक्त उपक्रम ने आज भारती एक्सा लाईफ गारंटीड इंकम प्रो के लिए अपने नए समन्वित अभियान के लॉन्च की घोषणा की। यह अभियान उपभोक्ताओं से जीवन की बड़ी योजनाओं, जैसे रिटायरमेंट की योजना, बच्चों की महाविद्यालय की शिक्षा एवं परिवार के वित्तीय भविष्य की सुरक्षा के मामले में गारंटीड समाधान के साथ निश्चतता का चयन करने का आग्रह करता है।

इस अभियान द्वारा, भारती एक्सा का उद्देश्य शहरी भारत में, खासकर उन शहरों में, जहां 8 प्रतिशत भारतीय जनसंख्या रहती है, जो भारत में घरेलू बचत में 33 प्रतिशत का योगदान देती है, वहां पर 30 से 55 साल के आयु समूह के लोगों के साथ संलग्न होना है। यह चार करोड़ से ज्यादा टैक्सदाताओं को एक मजबूत विवरण देता है और उन्हें जीवन के बड़े उद्देश्यों के लिए निश्चितता का मार्ग चुनने के लिए प्रोत्साहित करता है। यह इस अंर्तदृष्टि पर आधारित है कि जीवन के महत्वपूर्ण उद्देश्यों, जैसे रिटायरमेंट की योजना, बच्चों की शिक्षा एवं विवाह की योजना बनाने के मामले में ब्याज दरों एवं उतरते-चढ़ते बाजार के कारण निर्मित अनिश्चितताओं के चलते व्यक्ति जोखिम नहीं ले सकता। इसलिए यह भारती एक्सा लाईफ गारंटीड इंकम प्रो प्लान के लिए स्पष्ट व सीधा मामला है।

इस अभियान का अनावरण करते हुए, श्री मानिक नंगिया, चीफ ऑपरेटिंग ऑफिसर, भारती एंटरप्राईज़ेस ने कहा, ‘‘हमने अनिश्चितताओं के बीच उपभोक्ताओं की विकसित होती जरूरतों एवं पसंदों की दृष्टि से अभियान की व्यख्या को समकालीन बनाया है। यह गहन अंर्तदृष्टि एवं विस्तृत ग्राहक वर्गीकरण के आधार पर निर्मित है और इसमें उपभोक्ताओं के साथ सीधी वार्ता कर जीवन की उपलब्धियों के बारे में उनके वित्तीय अनिश्चय को पूर्व संबोधित किया जाता है। प्रश्नचिन्ह के रचनात्मक उपयोग से उपभोक्ताओं के मन की अनिश्चितता का संकेत मिलता है और जीवन में सुरक्षा कवर एवं निश्चित वित्तीय रिटर्न द्वारा निश्चितता का मार्ग प्रशस्त होता है।“

ब्रांड का अभियान उपभोक्ताओं की इस गहन अंर्तदृष्टि से उभरा है कि ग्राहक ऐसे वित्तीय निवेशों की ओर आकर्षित हो सकते हैं, जिनमें रिटर्न्स की अनिश्चितता हो या जो जोखिम वाले हों। जीवन के महत्वपूर्ण उद्देश्यों- रिटायरमेंट की योजना, बच्चों के कॉलेज की शिक्षा, या संपूर्ण परिवार के भविष्य का चयन करने के वक्त व्यक्ति जोखिम नहीं ले सकता। यह उपभोक्ताओं को भारती एक्सा लाईफ गारंटीड इंकम प्रो में निश्चित समाधन के लिए प्रेरित करता है, जो उन्हें अनिश्चित बाजार में इंश्योरेंस कवरेज, बचत उत्पाद के फायदे एवं मजबूत वित्तीय रिटर्न प्रदान करता है।

ब्रांड का विवरण ‘डू द स्मार्ट थिंग्स’ (स्मार्ट चीजें करें) मैच्योरिटी पर निश्चित वित्तीय रिटर्न प्रदान कर नए युग के उपभोक्ताओं को जीवन के उद्देश्य प्राप्त करने में होने वाली अनिश्चितता दूर करने में सशक्त बनाता है। भारती एक्सा लाईफ इंश्योरेंस ने टेलीविज़न, प्रिंट, डिजिटल एवं सोशल मीडिया प्लेटफॉर्म्स पर 360 डिग्री का मल्टीमीडिया अभियान चलाया है, ताकि वृद्धि के चक्र में अनिश्चितता दूर कर जीवन के विभिन्न चरणों में आने वाली वित्तीय

जरूरतों को पूरा करने के बारे में जागरुकता बढ़ाई जा सके। पूरे भारत में उत्पाद विशिष्ट अभियान बाजार में प्रभावशाली मीडिया प्रॉपर्टीज़, जैसे टेलीविज़न पर भारत बनाम इंग्लैंड टी20 क्रिकेट मैच, एवं प्रिंट में टाईम्स ऑफ इंडिया एवं हिंदुस्तान टाईम्स एवं डिजिटल वेबसाईट्स पर विभिन्न रोडब्लॉक्स के माध्यम से मौजूद है। इसके साथ भारती एक्सा लाईफ इंश्योरेंस का उद्देश्य 20 मिलियन से ज्यादा इंश्योरेंस के इच्छुकों तक पहुंचना है।

 

अभियान के लॉन्च के बारे में कार्तिक स्मेटैसेक, ज्वाईंट एनसीडी - एलएंडके साची एंड साची ने कहा, ‘‘यह टीवीसी जीवन के विभिन्न चरणों की अनिश्चितताओं के लिए भारती एक्सा लाईफ गारंटीड इंकम प्रो को एक समाधान के रूप में प्रस्तुत करता है। साथ ही यह भारती एक्सा लाईफ- ‘डू द स्मार्ट थिंग’ के लिए ब्रांड का नया प्रस्ताव है। हम ब्रांड को एक सार्थक एवं स्पष्टवादी रूप में चित्रित करना चाहते थे, जो श्रेणी में बड़े बड़े वादों एवं उज्जवल भविष्य के दावों की परंपराओं को तोड़ दे। यह हमारा सिग्नेचर स्टाईल एवं टोन है, जो हम भविष्य में भी अपने संचार के लिए आगे ले जाएंगे।’’

 

हिंदी, बंगाली, तमिल, तेलुगू, कन्नड़ एवं मलयालम में बहुभाषी अभियान का निर्माण एवं अवधारणा क्रिएटिव एजेंसी एलएंडके साची एंड साची द्वारा प्रस्तुत किए गए हैं और यह लोगों को मजबूत वित्तीय सुरक्षा कवर बनाने के लिए स्मार्ट काम करने के बारे में शिक्षित करता है।

 

टीवीसी का लिंक - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A6mZ7B89XM&feature=youtu.be

ऊषा इंटरनेशनल @ अनएकेडमी रोड सेफ्टी वर्ल्ड सीरीज 2021

कंपनी इस इवेंट की ग्राउंड स्पॉन्सर है और इसके लिए सड़क सुरक्षा पर जागरुकता फैलाने के लिए क्रिकेट के दिग्गज खिलाड़ियों से सहयोग किया गया है

 

नई दिल्ली, 5 मार्च 2021 : भारत में कंज्‍यूमर ड्यूरेबल्‍स की प्रमुख कंपनी ऊषा इंटरनेशनल, अनएकेडमी रोड सेफ्टी वर्ल्ड सीरीज 2021 की ग्राउंड स्पॉन्सर है। इस इवेंट का उद्देश्य क्रिकेट के जुनून के माध्यम से सड़क सुरक्षा को प्रकाश में लाना है। टी-20 क्रिकेट टूर्नामेंट का दूसरा संस्करण रायपुर के शहीद वीर नारायण सिंह इंटरनेशल क्रिकेट स्टेडियम में 5 से 21 मार्च 2021 तक खेला जाएगा। इस टूर्नामेंट में क्रिकेट की दुनिया के सुपर स्टार्स, सचिन तेंदुलकर, वीरेंद्र सहवाग, युवराज सिंह और ब्रायन लारा को एक्शन में देखा जा सकेगा। यह इवेंट समाज के प्रति अपनी जिम्मेदारी निभाने की ऊषा की प्रतिबद्धता को दोहराता है । इसे ऊषा प्ले के साथ जोड़ा जाएगा, जिससे लोगों को सेहतमंद और एक्टिव लाइफस्टाइल अपनाने के लिए प्रेरित किया जा सके।

 

पिछले साल यह टूर्नामेंट काफी जोर-शोर से शुरू हुआ था, लेकिन कोविड-19 महामारी के कारण समय से पहले ही समाप्त हो गया था। अब जब कोरोना के मामले में स्थिति सुधरी है तो आयोजक इस 15 दिन के टूर्नामेंट में 15 मैचों की मेजबानी करने के लिए बिल्कुल तैयार है। इस सीरीज में भारत, वेस्ट इंडीज, दक्षिण अफ्रीका, श्रीलंका, बांग्लादेश और इंग्लैंड के मशहूर और दिग्गज क्रिकेट खिलाड़ी एक साथ आएंगे और सड़क सुरक्षा पर लोगों का ध्यान आकर्षित करने के लिए क्रिकेट खेलेंगे।

 

ऊषा इंटरनेशनल में स्पोर्ट्स इनीशिएटिव और एसोसिएशंस की हेड कोमल मेहरा ने साझेदारी पर अपनी बात रखते हुए कहा, “अनएकेडमी रोड सेफ्टी वर्ल्ड सीरीज 2021 एक बेहद महत्वपूर्ण मुद्दे पर जागरूकता उत्पन्न करता है। अगर सड़क सुरक्षा के नियमों का पालन किया जाए तो हर साल बहुत सी जिंदगी बचाई जा सकती है। भारत में क्रिकेट के जबर्दस्त जुनून को देखते हुए हमारा मानना है कि क्रिकेट के इन शानदार खिलाड़ियों के एक साथ आने से सड़क पर होने वाले हादसों से बचाव के लिए लोगों को जागरूक करने में मदद मिलेगी, जिससे सड़क पर होने वाले जानलेवा हादसों में कमी आएगी। हम इस साझेदारी को लोगों की जिंदगी पर ज्यादा सार्थक अंदाज में असर डालने वाले एक बहुत बड़े मौके के रूप में देख रहे हैं ।“

 

इस साझेदारी के एक हिस्से के रूप में ऊषा के लोगो का प्रयोग स्टेडियम में ब्रैंडिंग के लिए किया जाएगा, जैसे स्टंप्स के पीछे लोगो मौजूद रहेगा। ऊषा फैन आर्मी स्टैंड्स में मौजूद रहेगा। मैदान की परिधि को मापने के लिए रोप ब्रैंडिंग में लोगो दिखाई देगा। मैदान के कोने में खिलाड़ियों के लिए बैठने के स्टैंड में लोगो होगा। इसके अलावा यह लोगो मैदान में लगी विशाल स्क्रीन और स्पॉन्सरशिप की पट्टियों पर भी दिखाई देगा। ऊषा अपने डिजिटल प्लेटफॉर्म से भी लोगों का ध्यान अपनी ओर आकर्षित कर रही है। इसके साथ ही ushafans.com, ushacook.com और ushasew.comपर एसोसिएशन बैनर्स के माध्‍यम से भी यह लोगो दिखाई देगा।

 

ऊषा देश भर में कई खेल पहलों को सहयोग करती है और इन्‍हें बढ़ावा देती है, जिसमें मुंबई इंडियंस टीम,, अल्टिमेट फ्लाइंग डिस्क, लेडीज एंड अमेचर गोल्फ, मैराथन, दिव्यांगों के लिए क्रिकेट, जूनियर गोल्फ ट्रेनिंग प्रोग्राम और दृष्टिहीनों के लिए कई तरह के खेल (जैसे एथेलेटिक्स कबड्डी, जूडो, पावर लिफ्टिंग) और फुटबॉल शामिल हैं।

अधिक जानकारी के लिए कृपया usha.com पर जाएं।

*Paytm Payments Bank remains the top beneficiary bank for UPI payments, as per NPCI report*

 - Registers the lowest technical decline rate of 0.11% as compared to all UPI remitter banks & 0.04% as compared to all UPI beneficiary banks

- Ranks ahead of SBI, Yes Bank, ICICI, as the leading beneficiary bank

- Rapidly gains traction as the remitter bank among banks such as SBI, HDFC, Axis & ICICI

- Growth on account of increased adoption in merchant payments across small cities and towns

- Leads as the largest digital payments platform in merchant payments with the highest market share of over 50 percent driven by Paytm UPI, Paytm Wallet, cards & PPBL

India’s home-grown Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) today announced that it leads as the largest beneficiary bank ahead of all major banks in the country. It is also rapidly gaining traction as a remitter bank for UPI payments among banks such as SBI, HDFC, Axis & ICICI. According to the latest report by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), PPBL has registered 389.24 million transactions in the month of February 2021 as a beneficiary bank, with a month-on-month increase of 5.5%. Beneficiary banks are the banks of the account holder who is receiving money.

PPBL has also continued to outperform other banks in terms of the success rate of UPI transactions. The NPCI data reveals that it has the lowest technical decline rate at 0.11% among all UPI remitter banks and 0.04% among all UPI beneficiary banks. All major banks have a way higher technical decline rate of around 1%. It has become the largest enabler of digital payments in the country driven by merchant payments & increased adoption across small cities and towns. This also confirms the superiority of the in-house technology-infrastructure at Paytm Payments Bank and has been the key reason for its success.

Satish Gupta, MD & CEO of Paytm Payments Bank Ltd said, "UPI payments are an integral part of PPBL's ecosystem and we have built one of the finest technology infrastructures to facilitate such transactions. Our tech team, which comprises the best minds in the business, works round the clock to provide a seamless and efficient experience to our users and merchant partners. We have witnessed rapid adoption of our UPI payments service across the country as more users are embracing our seamless technology that powers a fast payment experience. Our performance as highlighted in the latest NPCI report is a testament to the trusted & long-lasting relationship that we have with our partners.”

Paytm PaymentsBank already has over 100 million UPI handles on its platform and is accelerating the growth of UPI payments at offline retail stores and even large merchants.

*NEW BENTLEY BENTAYGA – THE DEFINITIVE LUXURY SUV, LAUNCHED IN INDIA*

 • New Bentayga is first car of Bentley’s Beyond100 business strategy 

• Pinnacle SUV benchmark to be raised even higher 

• Bentayga to continue to have the widest brief of any car on sale 

 

New Delhi, 16 March 2021: The new Bentley Bentayga is now launched in India. The new Bentayga is the first car launched under Bentley’s new Beyond100 business strategy, a journey that will see the company become the world leader in sustainable luxury mobility.  

 

The Bentayga continues to be the fastest, most luxurious and most versatile SUV in the world, offering a true Bentley driving experience and showcasing unparalleled luxury combined with effortless performance and everyday usability. The new Bentayga is built on the popularity of the first-generation model of which more than 20,000 examples have now been handcrafted.     

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Satya Bagla, Managing Director, Exclusive Motors said: “Bentley is the world leader in luxury mobility and has been defining new luxury in the automotive world. The newest addition to the range, the new Bentayga, is everything Bentayga was designed to be, balancing exquisite refinement with astonishing performance. The new Bentayga encapsulates the desire to innovate as well as celebrate our heritage and take the Bentley ownership experience to the next, unparalleled level. We are elated to bring the new Bentayga to the Indian customers. Bentley has been at the forefront of luxury automotive for over 100 years and this new Bentayga is the pinnacle of design and engineering achievements and marks the next step in Bentley’s journey.”

The new Bentayga is priced at INR. 4.10 Cr (Ex-Showroom Delhi), subject to exchange rate fluctuations and options, and is now available for booking through the sales team in Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad.

The Bentayga set the luxury SUV benchmark back in 2016, offering customers the ultimate Grand Touring experience unrestricted by landscape or conditions. Go-anywhere driving ability and imperious luxury are the hallmarks of the Bentayga – powerful, individual and exquisite in equal measure, the Bentayga is for those who demand luxury without compromise. Now, Bentley raises the bar for the luxury SUV sector even higher. Others will strive to achieve the same combination of luxury and performance – but none can do it like Bentley. 

- ENDS –

Notes to editors

About Bentley

Bentley Motors is the most sought-after luxury car brand in the world. The company’s headquarters in Crewe is home to all of its operations including design, R&D, engineering and production of the company’s three model lines, Continental, Flying Spur and Bentayga. The combination of fine craftsmanship, using skills that have been handed down through generations, alongside engineering expertise and cutting-edge technology is unique to UK luxury car brands such as Bentley. It is also an example of high-value British manufacturing at its best. Bentley employs around 4,000 people at Crewe.

For more information, please visit: www.bentleymotors.com 

For more information on the New Bentayga and product images, please visit: https://www.bentleymedia.com/en/newsitem/1115-new-bentley-bentayga-the-definitive-luxury-suv

For additional queries:

Bentley India 

Amy Arora: amy@bentleyindia.net

Join Ishaan and Ananya for their full-on entertainment ride with &pictures premier of Khaali Peeli

 ~ Khaali Peeli will air on &pictures on 19th March at 8 pm ~

Get ready for an unpredictableand thrilling ride as & pictures premieres the Ishaan Khatter (Blackie) and Ananya Pandey (Pooja) starrer Khaali Peeli on 19th March at 8pm. This movie is a perfect watch for all those who chooses to hustle every day and follow their heart. It’s a total package of entertainment, comedy, action and thrill that you just can’t miss.

Khaali Peelishifts gears between comedy, drama and action with ease and promises to keep you hooked. It’s a perfect Bollywood flick told through the eyes of two young street-smart Mumbaikars, who are always on the run, driven by their dreams and free spirit.

The movie effortlessly brings back the awesomeness of 80s-90s Bollywood masala thrilland merges it with the adventures of Blackie and Pooja. Their characters have a lot in common with the youth, who always want more from life. The movie also recreates the true sights, sounds and charm of Mumbai. Khaali Peeli is a fast-paced film with sharp turns and spectacular reveals. The ‘fun on the run’begins whenBlackie, a taxi driver, crosses paths with Pooja.

Inki Full On Raftaar Machayegi Dhamaal 

Don’t miss the &pictures premiere of Khaali Peeli on 19th March, Friday at 8 pm