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Education

FLAME University invites high-school students to campus for its Summer Immersion Program 2022

Apr 27, 2022 by Gouri 0 Comments

Pune, April 27 2022: FLAME University, the pioneer of liberal education in India, invites applications for the ‘FLAME University Summer Immersion Program’ (FUSIP) 2022 for high-school students. Participants at the FUSIP 2022 will get an opportunity to gain a first-hand understanding of liberal education, with an interdisciplinary curriculum that is delivered in a framework that embraces the spirit of liberal education at FLAME University. Every course has been designed to be contemporary and relevant, with consistency in content and delivery that goes beyond what is covered in a traditional learning medium. Courses offered at this program are, The Exciting World of Data Visualization, Marketing Manthan, Backyard biodiversity: Conducting ecological research from the comfort of our homes, Contemporary Dance, and many more.

Dr. Dishan Kamdar, Vice-Chancellor, FLAME University, says, “The FLAME University Summer Immersion Program (FUSIP) 2022 has been creatively and aptly designed to give students a hands-on and holistic learning experience. It gives them an incomparable opportunity to imbibe life skills, experience the significance of interdisciplinary education, and become digitally savvy even as they learn how to enhance their personal and social awareness. FUSIP 2022 is our endeavour to groom these young minds into well-rounded individuals and provide them a competitive edge in their higher education choices”.

Prof. Suniti Vadalkar, Chair, Summer Immersion Program, FLAME University, says, “We are strengthening the interdisciplinary education framework by providing a holistic learning experience to high-school students every year. During the program, students will be exposed to multiple areas including psychology, technology, writing, environmental conservation, and arts, among others. The Program will open several opportunities for the students in the future and also help them network with peers from different walks of life.”

The FUSIP 2022 will be conducted in two batches. The application deadline for the first batch (May 15-28, 2022) is May 9th, while the application deadline for the second batch (June 26-July 10, 2022) is June 20th. High-school students in grades IXth, Xth or XIth can apply for the FUSIP 2022.

Candidates can apply for the FLAME University Summer Immersion Program (FUSIP) 2022 at https://www.flame.edu.in/academics/summer-immersion-program

business

Gross absorption in industrial and warehousing facilities up 11% YoY; Grade A vacancy drops

Apr 27, 2022 by Gouri 0 Comments

India, 27April 2022: Activity in Grade A industrial and warehousing facilities continues to be robust during Q1 2022 with gross absorption in the top 5 cities at 6.2 mn sq feet, an 11% increase from Q1 2021. The demand was led by heightened leasing in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai. Vacancy across Grade A projects also declined during the quarter, indicating a healthy demand environment in the sector. Overall, the demand was steered by robust warehousing demand from third-party logistics players, amidst strong consumer demand across sectors.

About 50% of the gross absorption was led by third-party logistics players, followed by the Engineering and Automobile sectors with a share of 17% and 12% respectively.

Trends in Grade A Gross absorption

City	Q1 2022 (mn sq ft)	Q1 2021 (mn sq ft)
Bengaluru	0.9	1.5
Chennai	0.7	0.8
Delhi NCR	1.7	1.2
Mumbai	1.3	0.3
Pune	1.6	1.8
TOTAL	6.2	5.6

Source: Colliers

Trends in Grade A Supply

City	Q1 2022 (mn sq ft)	Q1 2021 (mn sq ft)
Bengaluru	0.8	0.2
Chennai	1.0	1.4
Delhi NCR	2.3	4.0
Mumbai	1.0	1.1
Pune	1.3	0.9
TOTAL	6.4	7.6

Source: Colliers

“Demand for Grade A spaces remained robust with healthy take-up witnessed this quarter across key cities with NCR market leading the space take-up. Growing concerns about rising construction costs has exerted upward pressure on rents quoted for upcoming developments across markets. Developers are now looking to cater to build-to-suit demand keenly as opposed to speculative supply addition traditionally due to this increased input cost scenario. The trend is expected to continue in the next few quarters as Logistics and E-commerce players take up larger spaces in top cities as they scale up their operations in Tier-I cities”, said Shyam Arumugam, Managing Director, Industrial and Logistics Services, Colliers India.

Overall, grade A supply declined 16% YoY across the top five cities to about 6.4 million sq feet. Lower supply and robust leasing during the quarter led to a drop in vacancy. Grade A vacancy levels declined to 9.8% at the end of Q1 2022, from 11.8% in Q4 2021. This was largely led by strong leasing activity in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Pune.

Delhi-NCR dominated leasing activity with a share of 28%. The demand was led by large deals that accounted for about 91% of the total leasing. Deals by third-party logistics players led most of the activity through large deals. The majority of the activity was in the Luhari location. Pune accounted for 26% of the leasing. The automobile sector continued to lead the demand with a notable share of 43% in total leasing of the city, followed by Engineering at 20% share.

Large deals account for 80% of the leasing

Deals above 100,000 sq feet accounted for 80% of the total leasing. This was led by larger deals by third-party logistics players and e-commerce companies.

“We are seeing larger warehousing deals which has pushed up the average deal size by 30% to about 1.1 lakh sq feet. This shows that occupiers and third-party logistics players especially are increasingly taking up larger integrated warehousing space led by higher demand and shorter delivery timelines,” says Vimal Nadar, Head and Senior Director, Research, Colliers India.

business

Leading PR firm ICCPL awarded as the Best PR and Communications Firm for the real estate sector

Apr 27, 2022 by Gouri 0 Comments

In a sparkling event put up by Exchange4media Group with leading PR agencies in attendance, Integrated Centre for Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.(ICCPL) bagged the award for the Best PR and Communication Firm for the real estate sector third time in a row on the 12th edition of the IPRCCA Awards.

ICCPL is one of the major PR agencies founded in 2011 by a young entrepreneur Dushyant Sinha. Currently, it is one of the top PR firms in India. For well over a decade, it has proved its place as one of the fastest-growing PR organisations in the country. The company has dedicated expertise in Real estate and its allied sectors since its formation. ICCPL has serviced over 300+ companies from across the country in their decade long existence. Breaking the barriers of traditional PR services, the agency has forayed into a wide range of services like innovative online services, including managing social media communication and online content management on search engines.

Apart from its expertise in real estate PR, ICCPL has a wide and diversified client base drawn from various sectors like education, health, agriculture, hospitality, travel like Gaurs Group, Best Agrolife Ltd., Pacific Group, Oyo Rooms, Gulshan Group Housing.com, DPS Schools, Central Park. It has established its niche in various industries and has successfully carried out inventive and out of the box campaigns to create brands.

“Our services have always been appreciated by our clients profusely, and we have witnessed an upscaling growth in our client’s networks. The right PR firm helps the brands to get the right traction and communication, and that’s where we have excelled,” said Dushyant Sinha, the Founder of ICCPL.

“We have always believed in team power and collaborative effort. That is why we pick and nurture deserving talent. Creating a good team is a significant responsibility for any agency so that the strategies can be implemented without any loopholes. Regular training, studying research materials, and working on on-ground media relations have helped us retain our clients for a longer period which eventually helped us expand our portfolio. Despite never having a dedicated sales team, we are amongst the rarest agencies to create one of the largest portfolios of clients across the country based completely on references,” he added.

The PR firm based out of Delhi/NCR has a wide presence in over 35 cities in India and plans to expand to more cities. Opening offices in UAE and EU might also be on the cards.

business

Michelin Is India’s First Tyre Brand To Get Energy Labelling Instituted By Bureau Of Energy Efficiency (Bee)

Apr 27, 2022 by Gouri 0 Comments

New Delhi: Michelin, the world’s leading mobility company, has become the first tyre brand in the country to be accredited with the recently introduced star labelling program of Government of India which is aimed at improving sustainability and newly introduced performance standards for tyres.

Michelin X® MULTI ENERGY Z tyre has been awarded the industry’s first fuel savings label with a 4-Star rating by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). The tubeless truck and bus tyre 295/80R22.5 X® MULTI ENERGY Z is manufactured and designed by Michelin in India and offers robust fuel savings, longevity with multiple re-treads and safety on Indian terrain. This efficient 4-star rated tyre promises up to 8%* more fuel saving.

Efficiency of freight transportation, which is a critical backbone of India’s growing economy will play an essential role in realising the benefits of various Government initiatives. As part of an ambitious road map by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for a smooth transition towards green mobility, a draft notification was issued in 2021 proposing that the tyres of cars, buses and trucks to meet requirements of rolling resistance, wet grip and rolling sound emissions, as specified in Stage-II of the Automotive Industry Standards (AIS). Under this process, Michelin India was one of the first brand to register the brand and was subsequently awarded with India’s first 4 Star rating for Michelin X® MULTI ENERGY Z

Ranganathan BHUVARAHAMURTHY, Executive Director, Michelin India Chennai Plant said “The introduction and standardisation of tyres performance and fuel efficiency parameters is a historic milestone for the Indian automotive industry, and we want to congratulate the Government of India for this initiative. As a champion of high performance and fuel-efficient tyres throughout our innovation history, we are delighted to receive the first star labelling for our made in India tyre, reinforcing our leadership in both innovation and manufacturing. In India, we are dedicated to offer our customers the finest products which is best tailored to the country’s conditions and with the most advanced global Michelin technologies.”

Devender SINGH Commercial Director B2B, Michelin India said: “Fuel is number cost for any fleet owner and fluctuation fuel price is major concern in recently. This first 4 Star rating for Michelin X® MULTI ENERGY Z opens a greater opportunity for us with fleet customers, who are environment and total cost of ownership conscious. With the introduction of the star labelling, customers will now be better placed to select tyres that are best suited for their driving usage, at the same time keeping their vehicles fuel efficient and safe. More and more certified low rolling resistant tyres on Indian road will lead to better fuel savings for Indian fleets and will lead to reduction of CO2 emissions in the country.”

The new regulations will demand that all tyres sold in India meet crucial performance and safety standards such as rolling resistance, wet grip, and rolling sound emission. Domestic and foreign tyre makers and importers for automobiles, buses, and heavy vehicles will be required to follow the proposed mandatory standards starting 2023.

WhatsApp Image 2022-04-27 at 11.55.52 AM

health

Surgeries Aasaanhain: FirstCure, a healthcare startup that simplifies Surgeries, with care

Apr 27, 2022 by Gouri 0 Comments

New Delhi 27th April 2022: Noida-based healthcare startup FirstCure Health (‘FirstCure’), to make advanced surgical care available to all by providing the right doctors, the right advice, the right treatment at the right prices, recently launched a healthcare service network. With mentorship from his family of senior reputed doctors and entrepreneurs, founded by Nikhil Bansal (a Chartered Accountant and alumnus of Harvard Business School), the startup aims to make modern surgical care safe, seamless, accessible and affordable.

The startup recognizes the problems of unavailability of modern treatments everywhere, being available but at high prices, patients not aware of whom to consult to get the right treatment and stress of the process involved in arranging a treatment. For addressing these issues, Firstcurehealth.com aims to make the state-of-the-art modern and safe surgical care, typically available in super-specialty hospitals of big cities, accessible, affordable, standardized and integrated.

In keeping with the need to solve above problems, FirstCure has built a strong network of 40+ clinics and leading hospitals in six cities – New Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Bhopal, connecting patients and their families with modern and reasonably priced treatments for 50+ ailments by its team of 50 + specialized doctors. Going forward it plans to expand its presence in many more towns and cities in India.

“The healthcare industry in India today is very fragmented, unstructured, non-standardized and in most cases inaccessible to a very significant proportion of the Indian population. By trying to solve these problems and by providing the right treatment by the right doctors at the right price at a hospital near the user, we want to be a healthcare provider of choice which people from India and outside India trust for high-quality safe surgeries at the right prices.” says founder Nikhil Bansal.

FirstCure Health through its network of doctors and experts offers following services:

Best surgeons: To ensure safe and successful surgeries, FirstCure has handpicked doctors who have a minimum of 10 years of experience, have at least post-graduate degrees in surgery from reputable institutions, are equipped with modern surgical methods and are reputed in their areas of practice.
Standardized surgeries with modern procedures: FirstCurepromotes and offers only modern surgical minimally invasive methods of treatment that ensures minimal pain, bleeding and scars ensuring speedy recovery of the patient.

Enabling healthcare at affordable costs: FirstCure treats its patients with its skilled surgeons using its standardized modern methods using the infrastructure of its partner hospitals. Since it buys the hospital rooms, OT hours and consumables in bulk, it costs lesser enabling FirstCure to provide services to its patients at lower costs.
Assist, help and offer the right guidance:FirstCure wants its users to focus only on getting better and leave everything else to them. Getting the user to the right doctor, arranging diagnostic tests, identifying the right treatment, organizing the surgery, handling all admission/discharge process, insurance paperwork, etc. are all handled by FirstCure. Post-surgical consultation is arranged and provided free of cost.

With these services, the startup aspires to be a one-spot source for its users requiring surgical care offering peace of mind and a stress-free experience.

business

Role of e-governance and digital India in empowering Indian citizens

Apr 27, 2022 by Gouri 0 Comments

Authored by – Jitendra Joshi, Director, Probity Soft

Innovation is critical to the vision of a Digital India. Virtual Entertainment, Mobility, Analytics and Cloud are the establishments that will empower the Digital India dreams of giving “governance and services on request” and “carefully enabling residents” and backing the social consideration plans being sent off by the Government.

Driven through innovation, e-Governance is changing citizens’ administrations by giving admittance to data, coordinating different frameworks and administrations among government and citizens, accordingly enabling and upgrading citizen’s social, natural and financial qualities.

The Government has been leading extremist digitalisation to instigate monetary comprehensiveness and social change, through drives like ‘Digital India’, ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skill India’. How the process is empowering citizens are as follows:

Greater convenience to citizens and businesses

Government services like issue of Birth and Death Certificates, trade licenses, building permissions, permits, etc. can be delivered faster and efficiently online.

In the offline process, the citizen/business has to visit a government office, find the right window, stand in a queue, fill up a form, pay a fee, photocopy and attach documents to get the job done. This process is time-consuming and if a citizen makes a mistake while filling the form or attaching a document, then the process has to be redone.

E-governance transforms this experience by taking citizen service delivery online. The citizen can fill up the form online, attach scanned copies of documents, make the payment and submit the request from the comfort of their homes. This online process takes significantly less time and there is no travel involved. Making these services available on mobile apps makes it even easier since now the service can be availed while being mobile.

Citizens’ empowerment through access to information

Citizens are empowered through correct & timely information. This will make better choices which will benefit the society as a whole. Dissemination of correct information in a timely manner can be done through electronic media such as email, sms, whatsapp, social media, etc.

e.g. – Government policies around Covid related restrictions was primarily communicated through electronic media. This enabled citizens to be aware of how they can contribute towards control of the spread of Covid.

Less corruption in the administration

E-Governance modules enable remote interaction of citizens/businesses with government offices. This removes the middle-man from the communication loop and also disables the corrupt official, if any, from wielding the power of his/her authority for unlawful personal gains.

Such direct interaction enables the citizens and businesses to get correct information and services without having to engage in pleasing anyone in a government office.

Improves delivery and efficiency of government services

Delivery of government services via the traditional paper route is inefficient, time-consuming and prone to errors. This process is often stalled by the personal biases of the officers involved.

E-Governance applications shift this process from man to machine. This brings a new level of efficiency and speed to decision making and therefore service delivery. Additionally, service delivery through systems improves the scale at which services can be delivered within a certain time-frame by removing human limitations from the equation.

Cost reductions and revenue growth

E-Governance applications bring economies of scale to the Citizen Service Delivery experience. The cost of service delivery per application is significantly lower in electronic mode.

E-Government can altogether change how the Government capacities both inside and outside. E-Government is considerably more than a tool for further developing public service cost-quality proportions. It is a change model and a device for government change. Therefore, e-Government is tied in with changing the manner in which the public authority carries on with work and conveys administrations.

Madhusudan Ekambaram, Co-founder & CEO, KreditBee

business

KreditBee partners with SafeGold; forays into Digital Gold offering

Apr 27, 2022 by Gouri 0 Comments

Bengaluru April 27th, 2022: KreditBee, one of India’s leading fintech platforms, today announced the launch of ‘KreditBee 24K Gold’, a digital gold investment product. Customers can securely buy digital gold with 99.5% purity at live market rates with a single tap on the KreditBee app. Currently, the offering is available for a select set of customers wherein they can start with a minimum investment value of as low as ₹1 and up to ₹3 lakhs. Soon, the option will be available for the larger customer base.

For the offering, the company has partnered with SafeGold, a digital platform building an ecosystem that enables consumers to transact in gold digitally. The partnership will allow customers to buy, sell, and receive vaulted gold around the clock for ticket sizes as low as ₹1, with the tap of a button. KreditBee has started this service to let customers invest in gold instantly, securely, and in real-time.

The purchased gold can also be converted into physical coins or bars and stored in a vault. In case the customer requires their physical gold in person, they can request delivery of the same at their doorstep across the country. The quantity for delivery can be as low as 0.5 gm, secured by free transit insurance from SafeGold.

Speaking on the launch, Madhusudan Ekambaram, Co-Founder & CEO, KreditBee said, “We are elated to partner with SafeGold and launch our distinctive offering ‘KreditBee 24K Gold’, which will make buying gold affordable and highly convenient for customers. It will further encourage savings by providing them with a long-term investment option while eliminating the costs of storage. Gold has always held a special place in India and is one of the most valued universal commodities. The launch of this service also aids our business diversification goal, to engage with our customers effectively and cater to their varied financial needs.”

Mr. Gaurav Mathur, Founder & MD, SafeGold, commenting on the partnership said, “Gold is an essential part of almost every Indian’s investment portfolio. We aim to empower Indians, with access to a simple, convenient and secure way to save in gold while giving them assurance on quality, purity, and price. We are honored to partner with KreditBee to enable their 24K Gold offering. This partnership will help simplify digital gold investment for millions of KreditBee users and enable them to buy gold in a few clicks.”

Key benefits of ‘KreditBee 24K Gold’:

· Quality: Guaranteed 24K Gold (99.5% purity) will be available for the customer to buy/sell

· Minimum quantity: Customer can buy gold for as low as ₹1 and up to ₹3 lakhs

· Security: Gold is stored in secure vaults that are 100% insured

· Doorstep delivery: The customer can avail delivery of gold at their doorstep or they can also get it converted to physical gold through merchant partners

· Easy Buy back: The customer can resell the stored digital gold on SafeGold at the current market price

Steps to start investing in ‘KreditBee 24K Gold’:

· Sign in to the KreditBee app

· Click on the ‘KreditBee 24K Gold’ section to begin investing in digital gold

KreditBee currently offers multiple types of personal loans and a credit-line backed prepaid card. The company further plans to diversify its product offering by venturing into digitally-enabled secured loans, home loans and credit lines, which involves expanding its lending portfolio by introducing financial services like insurance, credit score report, merchant-side offers, among others.

business

FloBiz Expands Senior Management Team to Support Expansion and Growth

Apr 27, 2022 by Gouri 0 Comments

Bengaluru/Gurgaon, April 26th 2022: FloBiz, India’s leading neobank for small & medium scale businesses (SMBs), announced the expansion of its leadership team with the appointment of three senior leaders. Deepak Teotia has joined as the Vice President of Enterprise Business and will be responsible for setting up and scaling up the business vertical. Rishikesh Varma has joined as the Vice President for Sales and will lead the direct, channel and inside sales team across the country. Himanshu Mehta has joined as Director for Growth Marketing and will lead the performance marketing & digital branding efforts. These significant hires come on the heels of the exponential growth and adoption seen by ‘myBillBook’ which is FloBiz’s flagship GST invoicing and accounting product. FloBiz has grown in size by more than 300% in the last 12 months and is hiring across levels as it continues to focus on ecosystem partnerships, building a robust sales infrastructure and further fueling the business growth with digital marketing efforts.

With more than 1.2 million monthly active businesses using the product and generating trade upwards of 1.5 billion dollars per month, FloBiz is rapidly growing to become a one-stop solution to enable SMB growth. The company has also recently branched out into banking services for SMBs with the launch of Smart Collect as a part of myBillBook’s smart banking module.

Rahul Raj, Founder and CEO, FloBiz, said, “We are thrilled to have experienced leaders like Deepak, Rishikesh and Himanshu join the team and bring in value with their proven track record and extremely relevant skill sets. With their passion and industry experience adding to the fundamentals of our successful business, we are confident of scaling further. The new appointments underscore our relentless commitment to power the growth of SMBs through technology.”

Deepak Teotia will lead FloBiz’s efforts to offer highly customised and scalable products to mid-to-large scale enterprises. He joins FloBiz, after completing an impressive tenure at Simplilearn as the Senior Associate Director, Enterprise Business. He comes with 16+ years of experience in enterprise sales, spanning across IT services, Telecom, HR & EdTech industry. In the past, he has worked with reputed firms like Infosys Technologies, Vodafone, Quess Corp and Simplilearn.

With 12 years of experience in managing sales, marketing, and operations, Rishikesh Varma will be responsible for leading Offline, Channel and Inside Sales teams and revenue growth for ‘myBillBook’ across India. He has successfully established and scaled multiple geographies & processes over the last decade for Byju’s, OYO Rooms & Airtel. He brings in skills like P&L management, customer acquisition, people management, strategic partnerships, and process design to the table.

Himanshu Mehta is a highly experienced growth marketing professional in the start-up ecosystem with 10 years of experience spanning stints with Goodworker, Rebel Foods, RailYatri.in and Times Internet. He will be responsible for leading myBillBook’s digital efforts for new user discovery, acquisition, retention, enhancing customer LTV, improving acquisition funnel, improving return-on-ad-spends and digital branding across Google, Facebook and various other mobile applications and websites.

business

Top Management Change at Isuzu Motors India

Apr 27, 2022 by Gouri 0 Comments

27th April, 2022, New Delhi: Isuzu Motors India (IMI), a subsidiary of Isuzu Motors Limited, Japan, has announced key changes in the top management.

Mr. Wataru Nakano, President and Managing Director, Isuzu Motors India Pvt.Ltd.

Mr. Wataru Nakano, General Manager, LCV Business Dept., at Isuzu Motors, Japan takes over from Mr. Tsuguo Fukumura, as the President and Managing Director of Isuzu Motors India (IMI). Mr. Wataru Nakano, who was responsible for the LCV Business Dept. at Isuzu Motors, Japan brings his rich global experience of over 30 years in the areas of international sales operations and business strategy to India. His vast experience will add to accelerating Isuzu’s growth in the domestic and export markets.

Mr. Toru Kishimoto, Deputy Managing Director, Isuzu Motors India Pvt. Lt.

Mr. Toru Kishimoto, General Manager, Isuzu Oceania, Europe & Americas Dept., Mitsubishi Corporation, Japan, succeeds Mr. Ken Takashima as Deputy Managing Director of Isuzu Motors India (IMI). Mr. Toru Kishimoto has an experience of over three decades across global markets. He comes with a rich experience in distribution and marketing of ISUZU products in Europe, Thailand and key emerging markets. He is also familiar with the Indian market in his earlier role at IMI, as Vice President leading the Sales and Marketing function.

Mr. Rajesh Mittal, President, Isuzu Engineering Business Centre India (IEBCI) and Deputy President, Isuzu Motors India (IMI)

Mr. Rajesh Mittal, Sr. Vice President, from UD Trucks Corp., Japan joins the top management team as President of Isuzu Engineering Business Centre India (IEBCI) and as Deputy President at Isuzu Motors India (IMI). Mr. Rajesh Mittal brings 37 years of technical, business and operations experience predominantly in the commercial vehicles industry, across global markets. He was heading Logistics at UD Trucks Corp., Japan prior to this assignment. He has played vital roles in the automotive technology domain and supply chain logistics also.

The changes in the management are as per the business plan of the company.

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