May, 2022 - Business News Week

Repsol Honda Rider Pol Espargaro at the Spain GP

news

Marquez ready to fight from fifth, Espargaro shows speed to match

May 2, 2022 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Marc Marquez, #Pol Espargaro, #Spanish Grand Prix

Spain: Saturday at the Spanish Grand Prix saw Marc Marquez deliver when it mattered, securing fifth on the grid while Pol Espargaro showed speed to battle for the top five but was left looking for more.

It was a classic Jerez day as the Gran Premio Red Bull de España began, the Spanish sun warming the 4.4-kilometre-long circuit throughout the day. When Qualifying got underway, near ideal conditions were waiting for the MotoGP class.

Putting a complicated Friday behind him, Marc Marquez and the Repsol Honda Team steeled their focus in Free Practice 3 and got the job done. Setting the fourth fastest time of the session, Marquez earned a spot in Q2 and was able to make some progress with the feeling of his Honda RC213V. This one lap speed continued in Q2, the Repsol Honda Team rider able to set a best lap of 1’37.145 to secure fifth on the grid for Sunday’s 25-lap race. This is Marquez’s second-best Qualifying of the year after starting from the front row in Qatar.

Free Practice 4 saw Marquez work almost exclusively on very used tyres, producing strong and consistent pace. A fast start to stay with the leading group will be the first objective for Sunday, Marquez ready to see how the race then unfolds.

Having shown such promise during the opening day of practice, Pol Espargaro’s Free Practice 3 hit a roadblock right at the end. Ashe was on his quickest lap of the weekend to that point, the #44 fell at the last corner of his last run and finally missed out on the combined top ten. Bitterly disappointed, Espargaro was fired up for Q1 and attacked from the opening of the session as he went about setting his times alone.

But Zarco’s final lap of the session was enough to push Espargaro from a transfer spot, the Repsol Honda Team rider lining up in 13th for Sunday’s race. The 1’37.138 from Espargaro’s Q1 session would have been good enough for fifth on the grid, 0.007s faster than his teammate. Clearly able to run the times, Espargaro heads into the race with a point to prove.

Sunday’s Gran Premio Red Bull de España is schedule to start at 14:00 Local Time and run over 25-laps. Fans look set to once again fill the hills and grandstands of Jerez.

Marc Marquez (5th)

“I am very happy with how it went because I was trying to survive today, to follow some riders and push to the limit and to also try to find my rhythm alone. But we are far from the podium, however starting in fifth will help a lot for the race but I predict it will be a difficult one. Yes, following a rider for one lap allows you to gain in some areas but it can cause problems in other areas. In the past it was the opposite way and it was people looking for my wheel, of course I would like it to be the opposite but now I try to find something.”

Pol Espargaro (13th)

“Today we were missing a little bit of luck, we crashed at the worst possible time and missed the ability to go straight to Q2. Then in Q1 we set a time that was fast enough to be fifth on the grid and the fastest Honda, but we still just missed the timing to advance. We need to understand why we crashed a little bit more. When you’re working well and have the speed like we have this weekend but nothing comes, it’s extra painful. Anyway the race is tomorrow, we will reset and focus on making a good start to the race. Understanding the situation at the end of the race will be very important but starting in 13th we need to push from the start.”

Qualifying Results – Gran Premio Red Bull de España

Pos.	Rider	Num	Nation	Team	Constructor	Time/Gap
1	BAGNAIA FRANCESCO	62	ITA	DUCATI LENOVO TEAM	DUCATI	1’36.170
2	QUARTARARO FABIO	20	FRA	MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA MOTOGP	YAMAHA	0.453
3	ESPARGARO ALEIX	41	SPA	APRILIA RACING	APRILIA	0.763
4	MILLER JACK	43	AUS	DUCATI LENOVO TEAM	DUCATI	0.879
5	MARQUEZ MARC	93	SPA	REPSOL HONDA TEAM	HONDA	0.975
6	ZARCO JOHANN	5	FRA	PRAMAC RACING	DUCATI	1.05
7	NAKAGAMI TAKAAKI	30	JPN	LCR HONDA	HONDA	1.084
8	BEZZECCHI MARCO	73	ITA	MOONEY VR46 RACING TEAM	DUCATI	1.115
9	MIR JOAN	36	SPA	TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR	SUZUKI	1.16
10	MARTIN JORGE	89	SPA	PRAMAC RACING	DUCATI	1.356
11	BASTIANINI ENEA	23	ITA	TEAM GRESINI RACING MOTOGP	DUCATI	1.448
12	VINALES MAVERICK	12	SPA	APRILIA RACING	APRILIA	1.505
13	ESPARGARO POL	44	SPA	REPSOL HONDA TEAM	HONDA	0.135 Q1
14	RINS ALEX	42	SPA	TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR	SUZUKI	0.398
15	BINDER BRAD	33	RSA	RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING	KTM	0.541
16	MORBIDELLI FRANCO	21	ITA	MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA MOTOGP	YAMAHA	0.665
17	DI GIANNANTONIO FABIO	49	ITA	TEAM GRESINI RACING MOTOGP	DUCATI	0.879
18	GARDNER REMY	87	AUS	TECH 3 KTM FACTORY RACING	KTM	0.886
19	MARINI LUCA	10	ITA	MOONEY VR46 RACING TEAM	DUCATI	0.907
20	BRADL STEFAN	6	GER	HRC TEST TEAM	HONDA	0.934
21	OLIVEIRA MIGUEL	88	POR	RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING	KTM	0.955
22	MARQUEZ ALEX	73	SPA	LCR HONDA	HONDA	1.011
23	DOVIZIOSO ANDREA	4	ITA	WITHU YAMAHA RNF MOTOGP TEAM	YAMAHA	1.061
24	SAVADORI LORENZO	32	ITA	APRILIA RACING TEST TEAM	APRILIA	1.241
25	BINDER DARRYN	40	RSA	WITHU YAMAHA RNF MOTOGP TEAM	YAMAHA	1.402

business

Paytm Money gives HNIs in Maharashtra ₹5 lakh limit for IPOs through UPI; offers free demat accounts to new investors

May 2, 2022 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #CEO, #Paytm Money, #Varun Sridhar

Mumbai- May 2022: One97 Communications Limited (OCL) that owns the brand Paytm, India’s leading digital payments and financial services company, today shared that its wholly-owned subsidiary Paytm Money Limited (PML) is enabling high networth individuals (HNI) in Maharashtra to place higher bids of upto ₹5 lakh for Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) effortlessly through UPI. The platform is growing organically, with the lowest prices in the country, as it charges zero fees for delivery, ₹10 for intraday trades and ₹10 for F&O orders.

To enable new retail investors to start their wealth management journey, Paytm Money is also offering free demat accounts for lifetime to all. Paytm Money was the first platform to offer pre-open IPO applications and it is also available for LIC IPO.

Varun Sridhar, CEO, Paytm Money, said, “We are the super app of wealth management, giving users the power of investing. The addition of the HNI investor category will allow retail investors in Maharashtra to place higher IPO bids through NPCI UPI in a convenient and seamless manner. This new service has been launched in view of the growing appetite for high-value IPOs among Indian investors and comes at an ideal time, right ahead of the much-awaited LIC IPO.

He further added, “We have seen immense growth on the platform organically in such a short period of time. Our aim is to enable new investors in their wealth management journey and so ahead of LIC IPO, we are offering free demat accounts for lifetime.”

The platform has achieved a rapid growth rate organically with over 8.5 lakh trading accounts along with 9 million registered direct Mutual Fund investors. Over 75% of users on the platform are below the age of 35. Paytm Money has a total AUM of ₹11,000 crore, with an average daily turnover of over ₹70,000 crore. In the last one year, the platform has processed over 16.2 million mutual funds transactions and over 31 million equity orders. The platform is also among India’s Top 3 digital distributors of NPS on fintech apps with 1L+ registered users. The Paytm Wealth Community has over 1.3 lakh unique users, has hosted 390 Live Events which have made way for 3,000 Hours of content viewed. In the last year, most popular IPOs on the platform were Zomato, Glenmark Lifesciences, Paytm while the top stocks held by the users were Tata Motors, Tata Power, ITC.

Steps to apply for LIC IPO through Paytm Money:

● Go to the IPO section on Paytm Money’s home screen.

● Select the investor type as per preference. Individuals who are looking to place bids upto Rs 5 lakh can do so by opting for the HNI category. Allotment in HNI investor type will be done proportionately on the basis of subscription numbers in this category for IPO.

● If you are a policyholder, on the IPO details page, under the ‘Investor Type’ select Policyholders. Additionally, your PAN should be linked to LIC policy and this PAN should be the same as the one linked to Paytm Money’s demat account. If you meet these criteria, you can choose the policyholder option.

● The LIC IPO option will be available in the ‘Current & Upcoming’ tab within IPOs.

● Once you click on the option you will see the ‘Apply now’ button which will take you to the bid page. On this page, you can update the price and quantity for your application.

● In the ‘Add UPI Details’ section, update your UPI ID and click on ‘Apply’.’

● Once the allotment happens, you would be notified about your allotment status.

Optimum Way to Apply for LIC IPO on Paytm Money across different categories
Application amount upto	2 Lakhs	2 Lakhs	2 Lakhs	5 Lakhs
Discount	Rs. 60	Rs. 45	Rs. 45	Rs. 0
Category	Policyholder	Employee	Retail	HNI
Individual upto 2 lakhs	N	N	Y	N
Individual upto 5 lakhs	N	N	N	Y
Policyholder upto 2 lakhs	Y	N	N	N
Policyholder upto 4 lakhs	Y	N	Y	N
Policyholder upto 7 lakhs	Y	N	N	Y
Employee + Policyholder upto 6 lakhs	Y	Y	Y	N

Education

Allen Career Institute and Bodhi Tree Systems announce Strategic Partnership…

May 2, 2022 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #ALLEN Career Institute (ALLEN), #Bodhi Tree Systems

Mumbai, May 2022: ALLEN Career Institute (ALLEN) and Bodhi Tree Systems have announced a strategic partnership with the goal of building the world’s most admired and trusted education brand.

ALLEN is an education powerhouse with an unparalleled track record of success in the world’s most competitive college entrance examinations and Olympiads. ALLEN has a pan-India footprint with a growing presence in Middle East through 138 classroom centers in 46 cities, a team of highly dedicated and renowned faculty members, and a pedagogy that has been perfected over three decades. ALLEN’s partnership with Bodhi Tree Systems will build further on the test-prep offering and deliver at-scale positive impact for millions of students in test-prep and K12 segments, using technology as the core driver of value.

Bodhi Tree Systems is a newly formed platform between Lupa Systems Founder and CEO James Murdoch and Uday Shankar, the former president of The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific and former Chairman of Star and Disney India. Bodhi Tree Systems will leverage its founders’ shared track record of building iconic consumer businesses to build ALLEN into a world-class digital education business of the future. Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar, is an investor in Bodhi Tree Systems.

“Education is a critical consumer need, driven by its deeply transformative impact on lives and livelihoods of consumers.”, Murdoch and Shankar said. “We believe that education is on the cusp of a technology led renaissance that will fundamentally alter how education is imparted and will increase its efficacy. ALLEN’s unrivaled success and scale provide the right foundation to build the digital education company of the future. We are excited to work with the Maheshwari family to build an outcomes-focused digital education company that delivers on the aspirations of millions of learners and parents in India and beyond.”

Founded by Rajesh Maheshwari in 1988, ALLEN is India’s most respected test prep brand that has created a positive transformational impact on over 2.5 million young lives since its inception. Aspirants for engineering and medical college entrance exams have gained tremendously from ALLEN’s high-quality pedagogy, resulting in an unparalleled track record of selections in prestigious exams such as IIT JEE Mains & Advanced, NEET-UG, KVPY, and the Olympiads.

Senior-most Director of ALLEN, Govind Maheshwari, said, “Our decision to enter into this strategic partnership with Bodhi Tree is founded on shared values, principles and an aligned vision of creating societal impact at scale through education globally.”

“Since its inception, ALLEN has focused on providing high quality education to students to help them achieve their highest potential and fulfil their career aspirations. In the process, we have helped create hundreds of thousands of doctors and engineers, who contribute to building India and the society of today. Our partnership with Bodhi Tree is an essential ingredient in furthering our mission to significantly increase ALLEN’s reach and impact. We are quite pleased and excited that the Bodhi Tree team also sees value in combining their expertise with our experience in Education.”, Rajesh Maheshwari said.

ALLEN’s Director Naveen Maheshwari said, “The journey of ALLEN has been one of always giving back to the society. ALLEN’s student-centric caring system has been its highlight. We believe this partnership is only going to take our pedagogy, caring-system and values to a very wide student community which was not able to associate with ALLEN otherwise due to physical constraints.”

Chairman-designate of the new Board, Brajesh Maheshwari further mentioned, “Most of the edtech products & services in the market are currently not solving for the needs of a student. With ALLEN’s time-tested pedagogy and Bodhi Tree’s track record in technology, the 2 T’s –‘Teaching’ and ‘Technology’, will now come together to finally solve the problems of millions of students of outcome-driven learning in a tech-enabled environment.”

Keshav Maheshwari, from the second generation of the Maheshwari Family, mentioned, “Our partnership with Bodhi Tree will not only help us scale our Indian operations through technology but also fuel our growth journey in the Middle East.”

The transaction is expected to close within three months and is subject to closing conditions and requisite approvals.

EY acted as the exclusive financial advisor. Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas provided legal advisory and documentation support to ALLEN. EY provided due diligence services to Bodhi Tree. AZB & Partners were the legal advisors to Bodhi Tree.

L-R Chintu Pandey, Amarpreet Singh Saini, Chief Channel Officer, Bhojpuri Cluster, ZEEL, Jit Sengupta Director, Marketing ZEEL

Entertainment

ZEE Biskope Introduces ZEE Maaiskope on Mother’s Day…

May 2, 2022 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments ##MaaiKeNaam, #Amarpreet Singh Saini, #Bhojpuri Cluster, #Chief Channel Officer, #Chief Cluster Officer, #East, #Samrat Ghosh, #ZEEL

Mumbai: We all hold huge value for the bond we share with our Mother. The emotional association with them is not just strong but deep rooted. The love for Mother in the Bhojpuri region extends even to the ethos of its culture and rituals where worshiping the Mother Goddess Chhati Maaiya is of immense significance. Mother-son or Mother-daughter relationships have also been prominent themes in Bhojpuri movies. Like movies depict the world to us, it’s our mothers who show us the world making it more meaningful.

She is the one to cook for all but eat last at home. She is the one who does not even have a weekend off. She is the one who will fast and make delicacies for everyone to feast during a festival. She gives so much to us. However, have we ever reflected on what are we giving back to her? ZEE Biskope decided to give back to the epitome of Indian ethos… The Mother!

ZEE Biskope elevates this Mother’s Day to acknowledge and honour Mothers for their untiring contributions to our lives. The brand dedicates the day to the one who locks her dreams to fulfil ours, to the one who loves us unconditionally without expecting to be loved and to the one who grinds through the challenges of life with a smiling face only to ensure our well-being. The brand invites all to dedicate this Mother’s Day #MaaiKeNaam (in the name of Mother). The channel stems this initiative into three verticals: Channel #MaaiKeNaam, Maai Ke Din #MaaiKeNaam & Maai Ke Movie #MaaiKeNaam.

In a category first stance under the #MaaiKeNaam initiative, ZEE Biskope will mark an iconic milestone on Mother’s Day by dedicating the channel #MaaiKeNaam. It creates ZEE Maaiskope – a gesture to place Mother at a pedestal of love, reverence & gravitas. Mother’s Day is an occasion that goes beyond mere tokenism or trend-jacking. The brand intends to take an impactful route that strike the right chord of acknowledging the contributions of a Mother and thereby inspiring the viewers and other stakeholder groups to propagate this thought further.

Mothers are always on duty. Whatever be the occasion, she is always in the backdrop ensuring a fun time for her children & family. While we can’t compensate for the unconditional contributions that a mother extends to her children and family, we can at least appreciate her love and efforts by giving her a day off that she so well-deserves. ZEE Biskope invites viewers to dedicate Maai Ke Din #MaaiKeNaam. Viewers can share videos on how they plan to contribute to their mother’sresponsibilities this Mother’s Day such that she can enjoy a day-off. The top 3 mother-son/ daughter duo will be invited to Mumbai for a gratifying experience where the mother becomes the focus for the day. She will get a grooming session, fine dining experience, feature on ZEE Biskope and also a tour of the city of dreams. While all this while it has been the mother gratifying her children, its now her children who can earn the gratification for their mothers by just a small gesture of giving her a day off.

If you think that’s it, you are mistaken. ZEE Biskope takes yet another category first initiative – Maai Ke Movie #MaaiKeNaam. All this while, the channel has been curating movie festival with its sharp consumer understanding. However, this time, the brand invites the viewers to curate a movie festival that their mothers can enjoy on Mother’s Day. The channel will share a list of mother-themed movies which the viewers can vote for as per their Mother’s choice. The top 3 voted movies will be set as the line-up for the Mother’s Day festival. It will be a content offering for the Mothers curated by their sons/daughters.

Samrat Ghosh, Chief Cluster Officer, East, ZEEL said, “ZEE Biskope, salutes the spirit of motherhood this Mother’s Day by changing the narrative around the occasion. We have all seen our mothers toiling away for the well-being of our families with a smile on their faces. ZEE Biskope sparks the thought of giving back to her in an impactful way. Evident from the success of the brand’s earlier initiatives, such efforts with an emotional appeal create a huge impression among the young audience uplifting the brand’s value and making it more approachable and ‘Apna’ to the viewers. This is yet another evidence of the brand’s thought leadership and dedication to live upto its promise of delivering initiatives that the category has never seen before. The category is sure to see more such initiatives from the brand’s kitty in the coming months.”

Amarpreet Singh Saini, Chief Channel Officer, Bhojpuri Cluster, ZEEL said, “For a mother, the fact that her children contribute for her happiness and earns her a gratifying experience is much more rewarding than the material gratification. It’s the sense of acknowledgement that means a thousand words for her. At ZEE Biskope, we always strive to make our viewer’s life more rewarding through the lens of entertainment. #MaaiKeNaam initiative is a testimony to the brand’s commitment to provide its viewers with platforms where they can develop positive impact in their lives while enjoying their core cultural ethos. We wish all Mothers a very Happy Mother’s Day.”

Through this never-done-before feat in the Bhojpuri entertainment industry, ZEE Biskope, a channel that knows the pulse of its viewers, looks to drive the right conversations amongst its viewers by inspiring them to appreciate the love and effort a mother has for her child.

The channel is motivated to grow from strength to strength and break new ground in the industry as the ultimate Bhojpuri entertainer. ZEE Biskope is available on Airtel (channel no 663), Tata Sky (channel no 1120), DEN Bihar (channel no 840), DEN Jharkhand (channel no 839), DD Free Dish (channel no 31), D2H (channel no 2073), Dish TV (channel no 1555), Siti Cable (channel no 214) and Darsh Digital (channel no 189). It’ll soon be available on all other major cable platforms.

Mr. Finn M. Tørjesen - Executive Vice President, Mr. Arpit Goyal – Director at GLS Group and Board of Director at GLS India with Mr. Bjarke Ravn-Christensen – Director for Elopak

business

Elopak and GLS announce 35 Million USD Joint Venture GLS Elopak in India

May 2, 2022 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Arpit Goyal, #CEO at ELOPAK, #GLS Director, #Thomas Körmendi

New Delhi – GLS and Elopak are pleased to announce their collaboration for a long-term strategic partnership to augment the sustainable packaging solutions industry in India. This joint venture will leverage the respective expertise, assets, and networks of GLS and Elopak to capitalize on the significant consumer demand in India.

With each party helming 50% of the joint venture, the newly formed company, GLS Elopak, headquartered at Gurugram in Haryana, India will facilitate and undertake the manufacturing and distribution of superlative, sustainable and safe packaging solutions, designed to ensure the safety and easy accessibility of liquid food to consumers across the globe. The company will cater to both fresh and aseptic segments with an industry-agnostic approach including sectors like dairy, plant-based drinks, juice, water and liquor. \

There has been a paradigm shift in the demand for environmentally friendly packaging which had catapulted brands to take make more informed decisions and work towards finding and adopting sustainable packaging solutions. Aided by the pandemic, the need for a more environmentally safe packaging has accelerated exponentially. With its manufacturing base at Rewari in Haryana, India, GLS Elopak will be the only producer of fibre-based packaging for liquid food in the Haryana area. Their proximity to the capital will help them roll out products on priority. The product range comprises Roll-Fed aseptic cartons under the brand “ALPAK” in varied sizes, along with end-to-end service support, to customers. Going forward, the company will introduce Pure-Pak® fresh cartons, Pure-Pak® aseptic cartons and complementary solutions.

At its core, the collaboration is built on the companies’ shared commitment to sustainability and innovation in packaging solutions. Commenting on the partnership GLS Director, Arpit Goyal shared, “This partnership aligns with our vision and mission to move towards a sustainable future with Eco-friendly solutions. We are elated to announce this venture with Elopak. We strongly believe that the capabilities and synergies between the two organizations and the shared vision will accelerate the growth of sustainable liquid packaging solutions in India.”

Thomas Körmendi, CEO at ELOPAK states, “Partnering with GLS to deliver innovative packaging solutions for our consumers is the right step towards a better future. We aim to provide the very best program and strategies to conceive, design, and build the next generation of sustainable, liquid packaging solutions. India is the world’s biggest milk market, with bounteous growth potential. Together with GLS, there is an opportunity for us to be at the forefront of offering innovative and sustainable packaging solutions to this industry that are safe for both the product and the environment.”

One of the key targets of GLS ELOPAK is to add value and contribute to the world’s strive towards sustainability. With India’s growth potential and location advantages, this need for alternative packaging solutions, especially in the fresh milk and water segment will be successfully furnished.

Education

Students of PES University, Bangalore won the 1st prize in the 6th National Social Enterprise Idea Challenge event hosted by Azim Premji University

May 1, 2022 by Neel Achary 0 Comments

Bangalore, May 1, 2022: Students of PES University, Bangalore won the 6th edition of Azim Premji University’s National Level Social Enterprise Idea challenge organized at the University Campus, Bengaluru.

The Social Enterprise Cell of Azim Premji University organizes the Idea Challenge event every year with the purpose to provide students of Colleges and Universities across India an opportunity to explore social entrepreneurship and share their innovative social impact ideas in a rigorous and competitive manner. The event also acts as a great networking platform for young minds to meet each other, exchange thoughts, and showcase their talent and skills to some of the early-stage mentors and funders.

In the 6 year of the event, more than 100 teams participated and submitted their innovative social impact models in the first round. The submissions were broadly in the domains of education, livelihood, health, sustainability and governance. 16 teams were shortlisted for the finale round which was held in the University campus on 30th April Saturday.

The jury members for the event were 1) Dr. Gayathri Vasudevan, Executive Chairperson, LabourNet 2) Dr.Suresh Nair, Chief Technology Advisor, Foundation for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship, an initiative of Tata Trust and 3) Dr. Richa Govil, Director, School of Development, Azim Premji University.

Team Sitara from PES University, Bangalore won the 1st Prize in the 6th National Idea Challenge event

Team Members: 1. Shriya Shankar 2. Srushti Jayaraman 3. Ananya V

Summary of the Idea: Sitara is proposed to be a for-purpose nonprofit organization working towards helping children from underserved communities become self-sufficient, through an equitable education. They want to leverage their processes through YouTube and WhatsApp, and use the power of local language communication, to bring about improved learning outcomes in the children.

The 2nd Prize went to Team Abyaan from the College of Vocational Studies, Delhi university

Team Members: 1. Riddhi Oberoi 2. Shrutika Gambhir 3. Arsh Bhatia 4. Pranav Hoon

Summary of the Idea: Project Abyaan aims to address the problem of disposal of Used Cooking Oil (UCO), which usually ends up blocking drainage pipes or sewers, contaminating landfills leading to soil pollution. They aim to use this to make soaps and other products.

3rd Prize went to Team Khwab from Ramjas College, Delhi

Team Members: 1. Manya Vats 2. Vanshikha Gourisaria

Summary of the Idea: Khwab aims to fight the menace of plastic pollution and unsustainable consumption. They create a range of sustainable products for personal care, substantially reducing non-biodegradable waste. They make “zero-waste” alternatives to everyday alternatives like shampoo, deodorants, etc.

Nazrul Haque, Mentor for the Social Enterprise Cell at Azim Premji University noted that “It is always encouraging to see that young students are disturbed by social issues around them and are not only complaining but actively thinking how can they contribute towards solutions. In the last 5 years, the Idea challenge event has become a brand name in the social enterprise ecosystem.

Out of the 18 winning teams from the past 5 years, 11 have gone on to pursue their ideas after they completed their studies. The ones who do pursue the entrepreneurial journey benefit from the media coverage and the award resulting from the competition and most have gone on to receive additional financial or mentoring support from incubators and other organizations such as IIT Kanpur, IIM Bangalore, YCombinator, etc.”

business

TV9 Bangla presents Manikda’r Songe

May 1, 2022 by Neel Achary 0 Comments

Kolkata, May 1: This is the centenary year of Satyajit Ray, master filmmaker who is widely regarded as the last relic of Bengal Renaissance, the period of exemplary flowering of creative genius which brought to life different aspects of arts and culture. To celebrate this remarkable man and his works, TV9 Bangla’s favourite News Series brings ‘Manikdar Sange’ (With Manikda). The programme will be telecast on Monday, May 2 at 2 pm.

Ray conjured up his characters from life and immortalised them on celluloid. The search and portrayal led him to seek out the likes of Karuna Bandyopadhyay for ‘Pather Panchali’, Sharmila Tagore and Soumitra Chatterjee for ‘Apur Sansar’ and Pradip Mukherjee for ‘Jana Aranya’. He also did not fail to spot the talent in men like Dhritiman Chatterjee, Dipankar De and Barun Chanda.

The Kolkata trilogy consisting of ‘Pratidwandi’, ‘Seemabaddha’ and ‘Jana Aranya’ was released in the tumultuous decades of the seventies. All three films carry the stamp of the political consciousness of Ray that was not possible to fathom within the familiar parameters of the Left thought process. In the programme ‘Manikdar Sange’, Dhritiman Chatterjee who played Siddhartha in ‘Pratidwandi’, Barun Chanda who played Shyamal in ‘Seemabaddha’ and Pradip Mukherjee who put flesh and blood in the character of Somnath in ‘Jana Aranya’ bared their hearts and memory in front of the camera of TV9 Bangla. Dipankar De, who used a small role in ‘Seemabaddha’ to tiptoe into Ray’s team, also relived his memories for TV9 Bangla. Siddhartha Chatterjee, who was Ray’s Topshe and Mamata Shankar, who had important roles in the last two films of the master also spoke before the camera.

What sort of relation did the director share with his unit? How was his chemistry with his actors? From Dhritiman Chatterjee to Mamata Shankar, everybody spoke in detail about all these aspects.

Ray was not only a father to son Sandip but also his teacher and they shared a very deep and intimate relation on both fronts. Sandip Ray spoke his heart on his family and life with his father’s film unit.

Veteran journalist Sankarlal Bhattacharya interacted with the master on a number of occasions for discharging his professional responsibilities. ‘Manikdar Sange’ has been strung together by Sankarlal Bhattacharya, who has his own memory and stories to recount adding depth, value and variety to the programme.

business

Sabanci Acquires OT Security Vendor Radiflow

May 1, 2022 by Neel Achary 0 Comments

The acquisition will include an initial controlling stake in Radiflow with a phase 2 planned for Q1 2025. “We are confident that this transaction will enable Radiflow to continue its growth in the fast-growing OT Security market,” said Ilan Barda, CEO of Radiflow.

Radiflow, an Israeli OT cybersecurity startup, announced that it is being acquired in a two-phase process by Sabanci Group, market leaders in the financial services, energy, and industrial sectors. The initial phase entails a $45 million primary and secondary investment in several installments to reach a majority stake in Radiflow. In the second phase, Sabanci intends to acquire a 100% stake in Radiflow by 2025.

A recent increase in demand for comprehensive OT cybersecurity solutions has allowed Radiflow to rapidly expand across the US and Europe, doubling its sales in 2021. This growth was based on the launch of a first-of-its-kind platform, CIARA Risk Management, which provides OT facilities with data-driven digital risk assessment by conducting breach attack simulations without having an impact on physical operations. Common in the IT world, this new digitized capability allows for cybersecurity officers (CISOs) to monitor their cyber risk posture in multiple facilities simultaneously and prioritize their security roadmap plans.

Winning multiple awards and contracts from private and government organizations, CIARA has grown Radiflow’s business to protect critical government infrastructure and manufacturing facilities. “This acquisition will allow us to enhance our portfolio and strengthen our positioning in critical industries,” said Ilan Barda, CEO of Radiflow. “We are excited that Sabanci selected Radiflow to materialize its digital transformation growth plan, and we are confident that this transaction will enable Radiflow to continue its growth in the fast-growing OT Security market.”

This acquisition provides Radiflow with a unique position in the OT security market. By leveraging the extensive industrial footprint of the Sabanci Group, Radiflow plans to further optimize its OT security offering. Barda added, “We believe that the next phase in OT Risk Management is based on industry benchmarks, and our collaboration with the Sabanci group subsidiaries will provide us in-depth insights to various industrial sectors and will enable us to continue and provide our customers leading-edge solutions.”

Sabanci Holding plans to create a digital business pillar focused on Advanced Analytics, IoT, and Cybersecurity. “We will strengthen Sabanci Group companies’ global position through the power of technology. We will pioneer projects and practices that will make a significant global impact in the ‘new economy’, particularly in digital technologies. The acquisition of Radiflow, a global player in cyber security with a proven track record, is a key step in the materialization of our strategic plan in the digital sphere. We, as Sabancı Group, are very pleased to add a global cyber security company serving in various markets with great human capital and strong partnerships in our portfolio.” said Kıvanç Zaimler, chairman of Dx Technology Services and Investment BV (DxBV), a newly established subsidiary of Sabancı Holding.

Archive: May 2, 2022