Archive: March 1, 2022

talabat Mart Expands to Assiut

Cairo – Egypt, 1 March 2022: talabat Mart, the 20-minute grocery delivery service by talabat, the region’s leading food delivery and q-commerce platform announces its latest expansion in Assiut, Zagazig, Ismailia and Port Said.

The company introduced Egypt to quick commerce upon launching talabat Mart in March 2021, which uses talabat’s proprietary order, dispatching and fulfillment technology adapted for the retail environment. Powered by dark-stores, the service relies on real time inventory management, high-speed order transmission, as well as efficient pick, pack, and delivery operations to safely minimize delivery times.

The recent expansion marks talabat Mart as operational in 9 governorates through 35 dark stores and comes in parallel to introducing a new range of frozen seafood and fresh bakeries to its mixed assortment. Which is aligned with the company’s long term mission to bring its innovative grocery delivery technology to all communities in Egypt and offer a reliable, affordable and ultra-fast service.

Commenting on the expansion, Mohamed Sekkina, General Manager of talabat Mart stated, “This is yet another incredible milestone in the journey of talabat Mart since launching almost a year ago. We are proud of not only introducing quick commerce to Egypt, but also of our sustainable growth that enables us to better serve our customers, create employment opportunities and foster talent. I am very proud of how we are building a product stack from the ground up that is designed to maximize efficiency and customer value across the country.”

Talabat mart is also considered the fastest growing online grocery platform; it takes an average of one month only to open a new store and in fact, the most recent store took only one week. “We have the most efficient and the fastest dark store operations. Our picking time average is less than 3 mins. across the 35 stores in 7 cities,” added Sekkina.

Furthermore, talabat set forth its horizontal growth strategy that aims to further enhance its customer experience and diversify the variety of product offerings. The company is introducing new product categories, with emphasis on groceries, alongside flowers, cosmetics and supplements. talabat is also adding new local stores to the platform, enabling customers to shop from Beit El Gomla and BIM from the comfort of their homes.

Hadeer Shalabay, talabat Egypt’s Managing Director stated that “Groceries come at the top of our focus areas for expanding into new product categories. Which in turn allows us to further support local supermarkets and shops in improving their reach and operations. We utilize our technologies to enable our partners in reaching their full business potential and in ensuring that our customers are receiving a more diversified, enhanced experience when shopping for their everyday essentials from talabat.”

ICICI Bank signs MoU with Assam Rifles to offer special banking services

Guwahati: ICICI Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Assam Rifles, the oldest paramilitary force of the country, to offer a range of specially curated banking services to the serving as well as retired personnel. The MoU was signed at the headquarters of Assam Rifles at Shillong by Lt. Gen. P.C. Nair, AVSM, YSM, Director General- Assam Rifles and Mr. Vishal Batra, Regional Business Head & Head of Defence Ecosystem, ICICI Bank.

As part of the MoU, the Bank offers a comprehensive bouquet of benefits like a zero balance account, preferential allotment of lockers, unlimited free transactions at any ATM in India, and lifetime free credit card from the Bank’s premium gemstone collection. Further, the Bank provides an array of insurance benefits to the personnel. ICICI Bank offers air accident insurance cover of Rs. 1 crore on aircraft—both military and commercial. The unique offer is valid even if the tickets for commercial aircraft are bought by cards of other banks. The account holders get a personal accident insurance cover of Rs. 50 lakh. They are entitled to get another Rs. 10 lakh, in case of casualty during combat or hostile action, which is the most offered by any bank for similar salary accounts. Further, in case of accidental death, the family of the deceased will get Rs. 5 lakh for the education of children and additional Rs. 5 lakh for the education of the girl child. The benefits also include permanent total and partial disability insurance covering upto Rs 50 lakh for disabilities due to accidents. These benefits are available to the person across all ranks and are extended to the new recruits as well as to the retired personnel of Assam Rifles upto the age of 80 years.

Speaking about the initiative, Mr. Vishal Batra, Regional Business Head & Head of Defence Ecosystem, ICICI Bank said, “We are honoured to sign an MoU with the Assam Rifles. We are delighted to offer a bouquet of banking services and benefits that are specially curated to provide comfort and convenience to the personnel in daily transactions, easy access to banking through our large network of branches, ATMs and digital banking channels. We believe that this renewed proposition will benefit a large section of the serving and retired personnel of Assam Rifles. Additionally, to provide increased protection to the personnel and their families, we are offering enhanced insurance covers as well as financial assistance for education of the children of the martyrs.”

To apply for the account, the personnel can visit the nearest branch of the Bank. They can also contact officials of the Bank during the Bank’s outreach to cantonments/regiments.

Clix Capital appoints Santwana Periwal as CHRO

New Delhi, March 1, 2022: Clix Capital, a new age NBFC officiates Santwana Periwal as its new Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO), with effect from February 2022 and will be reporting to Rakesh Kaul, CEO – Clix Capital.

In this role Santwana will be spearheading the people agenda at Clix Capital & would provide strategic leadership in the areas of talent growth, capability building, organization design and performance management. She would be further emphasising on building a people-first, healthy and creative work environment.

Santwana a 2000 batch alumnus of MDI Gurgaon, brings diverse industry exposure of driving the talent agenda in organizations like EXL Service, Max Life Insurance, Idea Cellular as well as through numerous projects/long term assignments in her strategic HR Consulting role at Salto Dee Fe, wherein she worked with organizations in the telecommunications, technology, healthcare, FMCG and other sectors.

She successfully led and delivered on various assignments across people strategy, talent management, capability development, organization culture, employee engagement and leadership selection.

Speaking on the appointment of Santwana Periwal as CHRO, Rakesh Kaul, CEO – Clix Capital said: “We are excited to have Santwana as a part of the leadership team. With a robust growth plan in place, Santwana will be able to add immense value through people agenda strongly aligned to the business strategy and the organization growth plans at Clix Capital. With Santwana’s diverse experience, she will further help reinforce our core values as we focus on building a highly performance-driven culture here. We are confident, she will advance Clix’s mission and help the organization pivot back to stellar growth post the pandemic.” 

In her official statement, post her appointment, Santwana said, “I am very excited to be a part of the leadership team at Clix and partner with leaders to design and deliver a comprehensive People Strategy that focuses on effective talent attraction, development and retention. I am passionate about building a diverse and inclusive culture that encourages everyone to be their best. The organization is at a tipping point and is well placed to leverage our experience and learnings to take it to the next level. “

#Digitization: The enabling factor for MSME growth in India post the pandemic!

“The Indian MSMEs sector contributes about 29% towards the GDP through its national and international trade”

As the much-feared COVID pandemic is losing its toll, the world economy is experiencing a rebirth. With India at the cusp of a digital edge, Industry 4.0 has built in-roads across sectors, accelerating the process of digitization by at least a decade.

Even as the pandemic caused unprecedented disruptions across businesses and supply chains, the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector was the worst hit. Contributing to about 29% of the country’s GDP and referred to as the country’s growth accelerator, the MSME sector is now embracing digital transformation persuaded by the rise of the internet economy and a host of new-age start-ups. Several tech-led companies & Business Accounting firms have also joined the movement to deliver creative solutions to MSMEs. Also, the government’s recent efforts have been beneficial in re-establishing its footing.

In the Union Budget, the Government has tried to magnify the Digital India vision and importance of technology in all focus areas like infrastructure and skills. MSME eco-system is expected to get a nice boost given the increased focus in developing the sector in the past few years. The extension of ECLGS to March 2023 will ensure to fill the much-needed credit gap and MSMEs will get sufficient time and funding to carry on their functions smoothly. Also, the revamping of the CTGMSE scheme will help the micro sector businesses who were not able to avail ECLGS earlier because they did not have existing credit outstanding, which was the basic requirement for availing ECLGS.

Sharing his views on the same Mr. Rajesh Gupta, CTO & Co-Founder of BUSY Accounting Software says, “The acceptance of Digital Transformation by local businesses has been a revelation in the MSME & SME sector. Today these business owners can leverage complex technology to streamline their day-to-day functioning, this in return is not only helping them in addressing to a much larger consumer market but their financial and operations needs are also being taken care of”

“To add to it, there are also effective measures taken by the Indian Government to integrate these rural business owners with the National Economy” He further adds

The acceptance of Digitization will enable MSMEs to grow faster with digital payments & in turn this will lessen the credit burden. Digital acceptance of invoices is also one of the few good steps in digitizing the value chain. Today, MSMEs can have seamless access to Financial Accounting, Inventory Management and Management Information systems with the help of these digital tools.

Given the rapid rise of digital payments it was also critical to develop digital infrastructure to support digital banking, which has enormous potential. With enhanced access to funds, clusterisation of MSMEs and ease of doing business initiatives, the sector is expected to grow exponentially.

PNB to make high-value cheque verification system mandatory

Delhi, March 01, 2022: In a move to protect the bank customers against large value cheque frauds, Punjab National Bank (PNB) to make Positive Pay System (PPS) mandatory from April 4, 2022. As per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines, PNB had introduced PPS for cheques of Rs. 50 Thousand and above presented in CTS clearing from January 1, 2021, which will now become mandatory from next month for the cheques of Rs. 10 Lacs and above.

As per the Positive Pay System (PPS) developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), a customer issuing the high-value cheque has to reconfirm some essential details which are cross-checked while presenting the cheque in clearing before payment.

PNB customers need to share details like account number, cheque number, cheque alpha code, issue date, amount, beneficiary name. These details are to be shared with the bank at least 24 working hours before the cheque is presented for clearing. Customers can share the details through its internet banking, mobile banking, SMS banking or in their home branch in the prescribed format.

The cheques that are registered in the PPS will only be accepted under the dispute resolution mechanism.

Last year, RBI had issued guidelines to the banks to implement PPS system to safeguard customers from the fraudulent collection of high-value cheques. It instructed banks to enable the facility for all account holders issuing cheques for amounts of Rs. 50,000 and above. It had also said that while availing of the facility is at the account holder’s discretion, banks may consider making it mandatory for the cheque values of Rs. 5 lakh and above.

Huawei Releases GUIDE at MWC to Light up the Future

At this year’s MWC Barcelona, Huawei meets with global operators, industry partners, and thought leaders for discussions on topics including 5G business success, green technology, connectivity + IT for new growth, and their GUIDE business blueprint, with a focus on business and social value, to light up a bright future of the digital economy.

Huawei’s booths, located in Hall 1 of the MWC venue, were designed to mimic a “DigiTelligent Forest”, showcasing the lush opportunities now available within the ICT industry. The booths present the company’s latest products and solutions, such as gigabit mobile networks, cloud-network “fast lines”, all-optical target networks, digital and intelligent O&M transformation, and comprehensive green development solutions. Through the booths, Huawei shows its commitment to innovation to create value for customers and fulfill its social responsibilities.

MWC22 Barcelona Huawei Booths in Hall

Huawei’s recent GUIDE business blueprint provides industry support to digital network providers, as it lays out the five key capabilities operators will need to develop to achieve business success in the coming decades, including expanding services, innovating efficiently, leveraging resources, competing on value, and contributing to society.
The company supports operators’ green development strategy. With its full range of green solutions, including green site, green network, and green operation, Huawei aims to help operators increase network

capacity and cut the energy consumption per bit, achieving “More Bits, Less Watts”.

Huawei works with operators and partners around the world to create simplified, green, and intelligent ICT infrastructure, allowing operators to deploy leading 5G networks. Third-party test results show that 5G networks delivered by Huawei for customers in 13 countries, including Switzerland, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia, all provide an optimal experience.

The company has already signed more than 3,000 contracts for industrial 5G applications, where they collaborate with operators and partners from various industries, gaining a wealth of experience in industrial applications. Huawei says it wants to help operators tap into more new opportunities from industry digitalization by delivering innovative XtoB solutions that integrate 5G, premium private lines, intelligent cloud networks, data centres, and cloud.

deRivaz & Ives to auction top-quality art by the Progressives and Zaheer Vakil’s famous Historic Vehicles Collection

Mumbai & New Delhi, 01 March, 2021: Following deRivaz & Ives successful inaugural online auction on 22 January 2022, it will hold two further online sales “Progressives & other Modern Masters” (8-9 March) and the “Vintage & Classic Automobile Collection of Zaheer Vakil” (11-12 March).

A dozen of the carefully curated cars from the highly reputable collection will be on offer for the discerning enthusiast looking out for pedigreed, high-quality, and beautifully restored automobiles from yesteryear.

One of the most pre-eminent and highly respected luminaries of the historic vehicle movement in India, Zaheer Vakil’s enviable collection of exceptional automobiles, ranging from the 1920s to the 1990s, is known across India. This collection has a fine reputation for being selective and tasteful, with almost all the cars restored to a very high level of quality and authenticity.

Amongst the earliest cars he bought, one was a 1947 Buick Super Convertible which was owned by Digvirendrasinghji Solanki, from the princely family of Vansda (Gujarat). This car triggered a passion for Buicks, and over the years Zaheer Vakil acquired more than a dozen of them over the years earning him the moniker – the “Buick Man of India”.

A very rare 1947 Buick Roadster Convertible Coupe (Lot 12), previously from the Collection of the Raja of Chamba is offered in this auction.

All the Vakil Family cars are exceptionally well restored and are all proper runners in fine mechanical nick. None of the cars are recent restorations of the “restore-to-sell” type, and thus there are no superficially finished automobiles on offer. Most of the cars are older restorations, executed meticulously, with the desire to retain them in the longer term.

All the cars on offer come with a complete set of papers. None of the cars are imports – all are of Indian provenance, most with well-documented histories, some with exceptional origins and stories with them.

The Opening Auction Preview for this rare Collection is at the Vakil’s Pune estate on 5th March 2022

The Fine Arts “Progressives & the Modern Masters” Online auction offers some of the finest artworks by artists such as M.F. Husain, S.H. Raza, F.N. Souza, K.H. Ara, V.S. Gaitonde, Tyeb Mehta, Bhupen Khakhar, Nasreen Mohamedi, Prabhakar Barwe, among others.

A beautiful little Bhupen Khakhar painted in 1980, the year he decides to publicly and boldly come out of the closet with his homosexuality and a Tyeb Mehta from his 1976 Gesture series which starts after the end of his famous Diagonal Series.

Nasreen Mohamedi’s famous geometric Ink & graphite drawing from the 1980-85 period represents the finest and most significant ink drawing on paper in the auction.

The auctions are to be held online on www.derivaz-ives.com. The ARTS Auction begins on the 8th March, and the Vintage Automobiles auction starts on 11th March 2022.

Sattvik Council of India offering Sattvik Quality Management Course

1st March 2022, New Delhi | In collaboration with Shri Vishwakarma Skill University, Sattvik Council of India (SCI), the world’s first and pioneering vegetarian food and lifestyle standard development organisation has come up with a management course- The Sattvik Quality Management Course(SQMC).

The primary goal of this course is to assist youth to improve their abilities and providing them with a source of income. In addition to assisting in the creation of new work prospects for the youth of the country, the course aims to have a beneficial influence on the unemployment rate.

The course will commence on March 12th, 2022, with registration closing on March 2nd. A minimum qualification of Undergraduate and Graduate is required for the 6-month certification program. Training from industry specialists will be provided for a small cost. It guarantees a job in organizations like BUREAU VERITAS, BIKANERVALA, AnnaKoot, IRCTC, and many more coupled with a minimum monthly income of Rs. 12,000/-.

Abhishek Biswas, Founder of Sattvik Council of India said, “To promote Sattvik vegetarian certification, the Sattvik Quality Management Course (SQMC) strives to combine education policy with food safety and certification sector. By 2025, the objective is for India to have one lakh certified skilled resources in food safety vegetarian/vegan compliance.”

Sattvik Quality Management Course (SQMC)

Duration of the course: Six months

Who can apply: Undergraduate and graduation

For registration: Visit admission@svsu.ac.in

Job oriented course: Min. salary 12,000/-month

Last date of registration – 2nd March 2022