Tuesday, August 31, 2021

*IIM SAMBALPUR welcomes its first Executive MBA batch through a virtual inauguration program*

 ~The degree program for working professionals aims to aid entrepreneurship and digital transformation~


31th August 2021, Sambalpur: After introducing their Executive MBA degree program for working professionals in March 2021, IIM Sambalpur, welcomed their first Executive MBA batch through a virtual inauguration program. The session was graced by distinguished and esteemed guests which included Chief Guest, Mr. Rajeev Dubey, Chairman – Mahindra Insurance Brokers Ltd., Mahindra First choice Wheel Ltd. & Mahindra Steel Service Centre Ltd. and Guest of Honour and Keynote Speaker Mr. Sandeep Tyagi, Director-HR, Samsung Electronics. The inauguration program also witnessed a welcome address by Prof Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director, IIM Sambalpur. The program began with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp, followed by introduction of the Executive MBA Program by Prof. Shikha Bhardwaj, Chairperson, EMBA to the faculty members, staff, students and media journalists. The program was concluded with vote of thanks by Prof. Merlin Nandy, Chairperson, PGP. There are 54 students in the first batch of the two-year program. They have come from diverse sectors from Banking and Finance to It & ITEs, manufacturing and several others. SBI, ICICI, AXIS, TCS, Deloitte, Amazon, IBM, JK Cement, Tata Steel, Alstom, Ministry of Home Affairs are some organisations whose employees are a part of the first batch of Executive MBA. The average work experience of the students is 9.7 years, and they are working as mid to senior level executives in their respective organizations. There are 2 students from Germany in the mix.


Speaking on the occasion, Prof Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director, IIM Sambalpur, said, “The Executive MBA Class of 2021 with 54 participants is a vibrant combination of executive in terms of diversity in their profile, industry, academic, gender with experience ranging from 4 to 15 years at the executive role. In a very short span, IIM Sambalpur has become a fully integrated Business school. Generally, it takes 15-20 years to achieve what we have accomplished in 6 years. We operate around our 3 core values of Innovation, Integrity and Inclusiveness. If you as a professional acquire these 3 Is in your value system, you will be highly civilised and have a transformed personality and will be able to create value and impact for yourself, your surroundings, society and civilization. The role of IIM Sambalpur is to build entrepreneurial capacity so as to create wealth for our Country and our society. Our unique proposition is to nurture a larger number of start-ups and entrepreneurs across the country. Hence, we encourage our young MBA students to align themselves with our Vision and participate in executing the same. We desire you to acquire skill and capability to create for the organisation and yourself.” 


He further added, “We are all witnessing massive disruption in our socio-economic life due to the global pandemic. We have to learn and discover ways to fight it and move on. However, a new world order is expected post the COVID crisis. New jobs will also get created in industries which will be more in demand post lockdown such as healthcare services, pharma, telemedicine, ecommerce, social ecommerce, eLearning, online offline solutions, robotics and drone-based logistics, specialized IT services for global as well as domestic clients, organic farming, manufacturing for domestic and global clients which will boost and guide companies to further invest in Make in India. We are all waiting for the curve to flatten including the Government, but as equal stakeholders I believe it is the right time to shift from an economy focused on aggregate GDP growth to differentiate among sectors that can grow and need investment.”


Chief Guest, Mr. Rajeev Dubey, Chairman – Mahindra Insurance Brokers Ltd., Mahindra First choice Wheel Ltd. & Mahindra Steel Service Centre Ltd. added, “My congratulations and salutations to all those who are embarking on this fascinating journey. I am sure it will be a journey of magic, mysticism, learning, unlearning, relearning, discovery, and fun. In this new normal what organisations require is proactive decision making at various points of the value chain which means the concept of leadership has to change. We have to go to what is known as distributed leadership. In addition, there is a requirement for a deep connection with stakeholders, especially the consumers and that requires empathy and extreme care. Five leadership behaviours that will be highly crucial in this time of disruption and transformation – the ability to connect the whole mind, to be a multiplier of energy, passion and engagement by listening and respecting and not wanting to command and control, knowing how to manage fear and leverage failure to enable innovation to take place, being mindful by being open to all possibilities and to create trust through authenticity. Transformational leaders are led by purpose, have the ability to combine knowledge with implementation and aligning these two with their being, their inner space, their purpose, their dream.”


Guest of Honour and Keynote Speaker Mr. Sandeep Tyagi, Director-HR, Samsung Electronics highlighted, “I am delighted to be amidst you today in the Executive MBA Orientation Program. The topic today is a most talked about discourse - Business transformation in a digital era that has been disruptive and the transformation that has happened is humungous and unparalleled. The speed at which business has transformed has made digital become the key enabler. Some of the statistics tell us that that by 2025 there will be 900 million active users of internet customers in India and the third largest online shopping country after USA and China. The pandemic has changed the human experience, buying and using behaviour. The onset of Omnichannel mode of selling (a combination of Online and Offline mode) from digital to phygital is the new mantra. It connotes that digital is going to be synchronized with offline mode of selling. India is expected to add 140 billion turnover in terms of online shopping. Rural penetration is and connecting the last mile population through optic fibers has been phenomenal. Online education has become the new normal given a thrust to digital sales and customer choices. We need to find a hybrid model of online and offline model of classrooms to bridge the digital divide. Digital competency has become a key skill set for success and benchmark. I wish all the students the very best and wish they all have a great career ahead.”


The Two-year degree program will follow the institute's innovative experience learning through Flipped classroom pedagogy in blended mode (mostly online). The classes will be scheduled on weekends and weekday evenings. The program has been designed to provide candidates with rigorous, cutting-edge curriculum to build responsible leaders with entrepreneurial mindset. It will entail interactions with faculties from top national and international Business Schools, CEO immersion program, and specialization in all domains with emphasis on digital innovation. With the core values of Integrity, Inclusivity, and Innovation, the institute will be extending their aim of creating responsible leaders with an entrepreneurial mindset, for working professionals as well, while accelerating the digital transformation of the country. Being a pioneer among IIMs, to conceive the concept of Flipped classroom, which enabled a smooth transition from offline to online classes, and online proctored examinations and admission process, IIM Sambalpur truly stands for comprehensive education. 


Executive MBA Student Video Byte- https://wetransfer.com/downloads/5d1abfe93f8a77073d3c7e705ce2378420210828080951/917f0d07ded8c77a1471ab4875c7d7c220210828081030/cd867f 


About Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur:

Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur is one of the most promising and dynamic management institutions among the new generation IIMs of the country located in Sambalpur, Odisha, India. MHRD, GOI established IIM Sambalpur in 2015. IIM Sambalpur is Institute of National Importance as per the IIM 2017 Act. Specked in the picturesque settings and nestled in Barapahad (Twelve Hills), the campus lies near Hirakud Dam – the world’s longest earthen dam. The foundation stone of the permanent campus of IIM Sambalpur was laid by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, on 2nd January 2021. The permanent campus is likely to be operational in 2022.


Since its inception, the institute has already taken positive steps for Entrepreneurial Innovation and Experiential Learning. IIM Sambalpur currently offers full-time Master in Business Administration (MBA), full-time Ph.D., Executive Ph.D., and Executive MBA program. Since 2019, the institute has one of the best gender diversity in MBA programs among all the IIMs. The institute is also the pioneer in its unique experiential learning pedagogy called “Flipped Classroom.”

*From Paytm Wallet, Postpaid to FASTag — Take a look at the Paytm Payment Instruments that are driving the company’s next phase of growth*

 India’s leading digital ecosystem for consumers and merchants (1),Paytm, which is going for India’s largest market debut, has built a strong base in India, with multiple payment instruments. These payment instruments create a complete network effect and a multi-stack payment architecture, which also bring in multiple drivers of revenue.


The company has listed the same in its competitive strengths, as it said, “Our payments platform, with a wide selection of daily life use cases and payment instruments, provides us with large scale and reach.”


The payment instruments or financial products or services offered in partnership by us with partner financial institutions, including our associates such as Paytm Payments Bank, and third parties.


These instruments include prepaid payment instruments such as Paytm Wallet, sub wallets and prepaid card; Savings account, current account, debit cards, FASTag, National Common Mobility Card, and Unified Payments Interface (“UPI”) handle, which are issued or opened by Paytm Payments Bank, and Paytm Postpaid, equated monthly instalment, credit cards, amongst others, issued by our financial partners.


Here’s a look at all the payment instruments that Paytm has to offer


Paytm Wallet: Paytm Payments Bank provides a secure digital wallet that allows consumers to make payments at over 87,000 online merchants and 21.1 million in-store merchants. Consumers use wallets for its convenience including having greater control on their expenses, highly secure payments, Fast Forward on bill payments, and seamless integration across mobile, online and in-store payments, on and off the Paytm app. Consumers can add money to their Paytm Wallet using any instrument on the Paytm app, and also while on some partner apps. Corporates can also create sub-wallets such as Food Wallet, Gift Wallet, Allowance Wallet, and Fuel Wallet customized for their employees. As of March 31, 2021 Paytm Payments Bank had 333 million Paytm Wallets.  


Paytm Postpaid: Through Paytm Postpaid, in collaboration with our financial partners, we provide consumers the flexibility to use the buy-now-pay-later option across our merchant base. Consumers can make transactions up to their individual credit limit every month and repay their balance next month by UPI, Paytm Wallet, debit card, and net banking, using the Paytm App. The feature of bill EMI enables our consumers to convert their total spends into customized EMIs, payable alongside nominal interest rates.  



Paytm UPI: Over 155 million Paytm UPI handles have been created by the Paytm Payments Banks and are used to send and receive payments. Users use these for money transfers, on the Paytm app, to add money to the Paytm wallet and at third party merchants, and make payments by scanning any UPI QR code. Our users can register for Paytm UPI using their Paytm app and transact digitally in a secure manner, as well as instantly check the balance of the linked account.  


Paytm FASTags: FASTag is promoted by the National Electronic Toll Collection (“NETC”) program for making toll payments directly from the customers linked prepaid or savings/current account. Issued by the Paytm Payments Bank, the Paytm FASTag, a reusable tag based on RFID technology, can be placed on a vehicle’s windscreen and enables electronic toll fee collection on highways across the country. A key differentiator of Paytm FASTag is that it does not require a separate prepaid account or login credentials, and is linked seamlessly to the Paytm Wallet. This increases consumer convenience, since they can be assured that as long as they have balance in their Paytm Wallet they will be able to use their FASTag seamlessly. Consumers who actively use Paytm FASTags are, hence, more likely to keep a wallet balance which in turn makes it more likely that they will use Paytm Wallet at other merchants.


Fixed Deposits: We offer fixed deposits on the Paytm app, through the partnership that Paytm Payments Bank has with commercial banks in India. The fixed deposits come with “super liquid” feature allowing real-time, 24*7 management, including instant redemption with no penalty, as well as earn interest on the balance. Users also have ability to redeem their fixed deposit at transaction check-out, and instantly fund their Paytm Payments Bank account, which can be used for purchases. As of March 31, 2021, total outstanding fixed deposits were ₹17.5 billion.  


Paytm Payments Bank Debit Card: Every account holder with a Paytm Payments Bank account is provided with a free digital debit card which can be used to make in-store and online payments. Consumers also have other benefits from direct integration on the Paytm App, such as activating their debit card, adjusting daily spend limit, changing and setting up of ATM pin, among others. Consumers can also separately order a physical debit card to withdraw cash from ATMs or pay at stores in India and abroad.  


Paytm Credit Card: We offer co-branded credit cards (in partnership with leading commercial banks in India), and digitize the entire credit card experience on the Paytm App, from the application process to tracking and issuance of the credit card. We also offer card management services on the Paytm App, including real-time transaction history, spend analytics, and ability to change credit limits, among others.  


Other Paytm Payments Bank instruments: As of March 31, 2021, Paytm Payments Bank had 64 million bank accounts. Each account holder has the ability to use Paytm Payments Bank Debit Card and Paytm Net Banking to access their bank accounts and make payments to merchants.


(1) Source: “The Digital Transformation of Payments and Financial Services in India” dated July 15, 2021, prepared by RedSeer.


About Paytm: Paytm is India’s leading digital ecosystem for consumers and merchants (1), and offers payment services, commerce and cloud services, and financial services to 333 million consumers and over 21 million merchants, as on March 31, 2021. Paytm is India’s largest payments platform (1) based on the number of consumers, number of merchants, number of consumer to merchant transactions and revenue, as on March 31, 2021, and with a FY21 GMV of ₹4,033 billion. Paytm is the largest payment gateway aggregator in India based on total transactions, with the widest ecosystem of payment instruments (1). The company’s lending business (offered in collaboration with financial institution partners), includes personal loans, merchant loans, as well as its Buy Now, Pay Later product Paytm Postpaid. Paytm’s financial institution partners disbursed 1.4 million loans in Q4FY21

*PROSUS AGREES ACQUISITION OF BILLDESK BY PAYU FOR US$4.7bn*

 • Acquisition of BillDesk will see PayU become one of the leading online payment providers globally, handling a total payment volume (TPV) of US$147 billion

• Deal will bring Prosus’s cumulative investment in Indian tech to more than US$10bn

• Prosus CEO: “Payments and fintech is a core segment for Prosus, and India remains our number one investment destination”



Amsterdam, 31 August 2021: Prosus N.V. ("Prosus"), the global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world, announced today that an agreement has been reached between PayU and the shareholders of the Indian digital payments provider BillDesk to acquire BillDesk for US$4.7 billion.


The proposed acquisition will see PayU, the payments and fintech business of Prosus which operates in more than 20 high-growth markets, become one of the leading online payment providers globally by total payment volume (TPV). 


PayU focuses on high-growth markets and operates across three distinct businesses:


1. Payments for domestic and cross border transactions. For the financial year ended March 2021, PayU reported a strong performance, increasing TPV 51% year-on-year to US$55bn across India, Latin America and EMEA;


2. Credit solutions for consumers and small businesses. Licensed in India and distribution agreements in five other markets; and


3. Strategic investments in innovative fintech companies. Including Remitly in the US and the building of a full financial services ecosystem in India.


BillDesk, founded in 2000, is an Indian success story and one of the leading payment businesses in the country.


Together, PayU India and BillDesk will be able to meet the changing payments needs of digital consumers, merchants and Government enterprises in India and offer state-of-the-art technology to even more of the excluded sections of society, while adhering to the regulatory environment in India and delivering robust consumer protection.


The transaction, which is subject to approval from the Competition Commission of India, builds on previous successful acquisitions by PayU in India, including CitrusPay, Paysense and Wibmo.


Bob van Dijk, Group CEO of Prosus, said: “We have a long and deep relationship with India, having supported and partnered with some of its most dynamic entrepreneurs and new tech businesses since 2005. We’ve invested close to US$6 billion in Indian tech to date, and this deal will see that increase to more than US$10 billion.


“BillDesk exemplifies the ambition and expertise of Indian entrepreneurs, who are among the best in the world, with exceptional abilities to build products and services and understand scale and value. This is critical in a country as vast as India.


“Our announcement today reflects Prosus’s desire to build valuable, global consumer internet businesses that provide useful products and services for millions of people in their everyday lives. Along with classifieds, food delivery, and education technology, payments and fintech is a core segment for Prosus, and India remains our number one investment destination.”


Laurent Le Moal, CEO of PayU, said: “We believe this transaction will stimulate both innovation and competition within India’s digital payments industry. This will not only help to strengthen India’s digital economy, but also bring financial services to those who may have historically been excluded. This ambition is fully aligned with the Government of India’s vision of ‘Digital India’ and is a key objective for PayU across all the communities we serve globally.


“This deal is an example of how our purpose and our business objectives work together, accelerating growth and increasing access to financial services.”


M N Srinivasu, Co-founder of BillDesk, said: “BillDesk has been a pioneer in driving digital payments in India for well over a decade. This investment by Prosus validates the significant opportunity in India for digital payments that is being propelled by innovation and the progressive regulatory framework put into place by the Reserve Bank of India, India’s central bank.


“BillDesk has always been committed to making payments faster, easier and more secure. We are excited about what the two great teams at BillDesk and PayU can deliver together as a driving force within the evolving digital payments landscape in India.”


According to the FY21 annual report of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the number of transactions for digital retail payments has grown by more than 80% from 24 billion in 2018-19 to 44 billion to 2020-21. 


Over the next three years, RBI expects more than 200 million new users to adopt digital payments with the average annual transactions per capita rising tenfold from 22 to 220. 

PayU India and BillDesk run complementary businesses within India’s digital payment industry. Together, the two expect to create a financial ecosystem handling four billion transactions annually - fou*PROSUS AGREES ACQUISITION OF BILLDESK BY PAYU FOR US$4.7bn*r times PayU’s current level in India.

*2x Olympic Medallist PV Sindhu interacts with fans in a Insta LIVE AMA session powered by Bank of Baroda*

 Mandira Bedi interviewed PV Sindhu on her passion, inspiration and goals


Mumbai, August 31, 2021: Bank of Baroda celebrated National Sports Day by organising an AMA session #SmashItWithSindhu2 with 2-time Olympic Medallist PV Sindhu and renowned sports commentator Mandira Bedi. The session has been viewed by more than 65,000 fans of the shuttler. Fans asked questions on various aspects of Sindhu’s journey. Bank of Baroda has been associated with the athlete for almost 5 years now, a relationship which started even before she won at Rio Olympic.


On winning her second Olympic medal, Sindhu said, “Winning back-to-back medals at the Olympics is definitely a dream come true.” During the conversation, Sindhu highlighted that India is getting much better in sports year after year and the future looks very promising.


In a rapid-fire conversation with Mandira Bedi, Sindhu revealed her personality traits being very jovial and sensitive unlike being aggressive on the court. When asked about the movie on PV Sindhu, the shuttler expressed Deepika Padukone as the best fit to play her character as the actor is a badminton player as well.


When a fan asked Sindhu, what does she like to do when she is not training, she replied that she loves dressing up and like a true millennial uses bob World extensively for its convenience and attractive offers. As a stressbuster, Sindhu loves travelling and with bob World services she is able to plan her vacation by herself.


Sindhu doesn’t spend much time on social media – she even lost a bet to Mandira on guessing the number of her followers. In the sportsman spirit the Olympian agreed to transact the bet amount via Bank of Baroda’s recently launched app – bob World, which she described as super-fast and the right partner for all her banking needs like Save, Invest, Borrow and Shop.


Sindhu stressed upon the importance of encouraging young kids to explore sports. She added that parents must support and inspire their kids to take their passion for sports seriously.


Watch the entire conversation with the first Indian woman athlete to win 2 Olympic medals packed with many more interesting questions on Bank of Baroda’s official Instagram handle: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CTKNeE_phfg/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link


 


About Bank of Baroda:


Bank of Baroda (“The Bank”) established on 20th July 1908 is a State-owned banking and financial services organisation, headquartered in Vadodara (earlier known as Baroda) in Gujarat, India.


Bank of Baroda is India’s leading public sector bank with a strong domestic presence supported by self- service channels. The Bank’s distribution network includes 8,200+ branches, 11,600+ ATMs, Cash Recyclers supported by self-service channels and over 23,000 Business Correspondents. The Bank has a significant international presence with a network of 96 branches/offices of subsidiaries, spanning 19 countries. The Bank has wholly owned subsidiaries including BOB Financial Solutions Limited (erstwhile BOB Cards Ltd.), BOB Capital Markets and Baroda Asset Management India Ltd. Bank of Baroda also has joint ventures for life insurance viz. IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited and India Infradebt Ltd., engaged in infrastructure financing. The Bank owns 98.57% in The Nainital Bank. The Bank has also sponsored three Regional Rural Banks namely Baroda Uttar Pradesh Gramin Bank, Baroda Rajasthan Gramin Bank and Baroda Gujarat Gramin Bank.


Visit us at www.bankofbaroda.in

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bankofbaroda/

Twitter https://twitter.com/bankofbaroda

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/officialbankofbaroda/

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdf14FHPLt7omkE9CmyrVHA

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/bankofbaroda/

Friday, August 27, 2021

*Heartfulness Meditation reduces vengeful attitude in Youth through increase in positive motivation and minimizing negative motivations that lead to revenge - says study*

 Hyderabad, 27th August 2021: Heartfulness Meditation’s HELP program has a positive impact on students’ motivation as per a study published in International Journal of Current Research. It concluded that Positive motivation (Benevolence) leads to rewards and negative motivation (Revenge & Avoidance) towards pain. Students must develop Positive Motivation to cultivate a healthy society. HELP Program significantly decreases Negative Motivations (Revenge and Avoidance) and shows a greater improvement on Positive Motivation (Benevolence) amongst students that can eventually raise a healthy & a positive generation.

Revenge is a very powerful emotion, and its effect is but counterproductive to the wellbeing of the individual as well as the society. Revenge is one of the main reasons for Cyber bullying especially against women, that causes anxiety, major depression and may even push victims to commit suicide.


Revenge attitude not only harms the other person, but the one who holds it. For those who harboured the feelings of revenge are often subjected to adverse psychological issues such as depression and reduced life satisfaction. School students often commit serious crimes such as school shootings, genocide, civil war atrocities, homicide-suicide, rape and harassment etc., which are in turn motivated by revenge. 

Statistics from Cyber Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI) have figured out that among revenge victims, 93% reported significant emotional distress, while 82% reported suffering significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. Over half (51%) of victims indicated that they had even considered committing suicide. With regard to their occupation, 55% of respondents feared that their professional reputation would be tarnished, while 39% said that the crime actually affected their professional life. Moreover about 300 acid attacks are reported in India each year. A latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) showed that the IT hub reported 106 revenge murders last year.

The Study 


In an article published in the International Journal of Current Research, authors Dr Raja Amarnath, Dr Jaya Prashanthi, Aiswarya Ravichandran, Gyaneshwar Dayal Sarin, Dr Asuwathy Sivasubramaniam, Poornima Chinnadurai and Anjali Bapat from Apollo Hospital, Sree Balaji Medical College, Madha Medical College & Research Institute and CIPACA Institute of Research in Chennai have drawn a comparison between meditation and positive motivation among students from a study they conducted.






The study was conducted by CIPACA Institute of Research decided to assess the effect of HELP program amongst Junior College Students in Andhra Pradesh. Out of 4,038 students who participated in the study, 3084 students were taken into statistical analysis. Among them, 48.4% were females and 51.6% were males. Most of them were from Rural areas (59.4%), followed by Urban (20.9%), Sub-urban (10.3%) and Metro (9.4%). More students reported from Nuclear family (81%) system than Joint family (19%). 


Dr Raja Amarnath said: “Very few researchers have explored the benefits of meditation in lowering revenge motivation. This study is one of its kind. “


Community will prosper if the vengeful attitude is eradicated from every individual. It is important to nullify this vengeful attitude from a young age itself. To commemorate the purpose, we have conducted a research study on reducing vengeful attitude among students through Heartfulness Meditation.


HELP program: potential to transform the youth


HELP (Heartfulness Experience Life’s Potential) is a course for students on life-skills and holistic wellbeing through Heartfulness practices for self-development and inner excellence. It facilitates positive social behaviours and social relationships during the school years, reduces behavioural problems and psychological distress and helps to prepare young people to succeed in college, work, family and society. HELP is imparted free of cost to over a million students across 10,000 government and private academic institutions in the country. These institutes are using the program to help the students manage their emotions and mental wellbeing more effectively.


The study purported to observe the pre & post effect of Heartfulness “HELP” Program on the levels of various motivation levels such as Benevolence Motivation (BM), Revenge Motivation (RM) & Avoidance Motivation (AM).


The results revealed that based on students’ residential place that there was a significant improvement in Benevolence Motivation for the students from Sub-urban areas whereas on the other hand, there was improvement recorded in students hailing from other areas although it was insignificant. The AM levels significantly reduced for the students from metro, urban and rural areas. On other hand, the reduction remained insignificant for the students from sub-urban areas. Irrespective of their residential place, RM levels in students reduced significantly. 








The study stated that HELP Program has significantly reduced Revenge and Avoidance motivation among students irrespective of gender disparities which will probably help society to have a crime-free generation. Dr Raja Amarnath and his team figured out that meditation helps to reduce harassment which is also an outcome of RM.


The findings encourage integrating HELP program in school’s curriculum to help in the holistic development of students.


About Heartfulness Institute: Heartfulness, is a Raja Yoga system of meditation, which is also known as ‘Sahaj Marg’, or the ‘Natural Path’. It originated at the turn of the twentieth century and was formalized with the founding of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission in 1945 in India. With several million practitioners worldwide, Heartfulness meditation is a set of practices for self-development that help us find inner calm and stillness in our fast-paced world. The easily adopted practices are appropriate for people from all walks of life, cultures, religious beliefs and economic status, over the age of fifteen. Ongoing Heartfulness meditation training can be found at thousands of schools and colleges, and over 100,000 professionals are meditating in corporations, non-governmental and government bodies worldwide. More than 5000 Heartfulness Centres, known as HeartSpots, are supported by many thousands of certified volunteer trainers in 160 countries.

*Practically Partners With Almoe, Brings Practically School Solution Free To Schools Using Promethean & Specktron Interactive Displays *

 India, August 27, 2021: Leveraging the rapid adoption of technologies in the education field, Practically, India’s first experiential learning app designed to make learning immersive and increase retention in STEM learning among students of class 6 to 12 has tied up with Almoe Digital Solutions Pvt Ltd India, a part of Dubai-based Almoe, to provide FREE access to Practically School Solution. Through this partnership, Almoe will assist Practically to offer immersive content and learning experiences through its innovative Practically School Solution to 3000 schools where 50,000 Promethean and Specktron Interactive Displays are already in use.


Almoe, the largest audiovisual distribution company in the Gulf countries, offers cutting-edge Promethean and Specktron Interactive Displays. Promethean is a global leader in interactive displays for education and lesson delivery software for schools. Specktron is a leading brand pioneering in Audio Visual (AV) and Information & Communication Technology (ICT) products.


The Practically School Solution offers teachers free access to 3,000+ videos and 1,000+ simulations and Augmented Reality (AR), making the pedagogy more convenient and engaging. The Classroom Management System features makes scheduling and conducting of classes, from anywhere, any time and on any device easier. Teachers can connect and collaborate with students in the same way as they would in a physical classroom. For virtual sessions, it also provides Zoom and Google Meet licenses to teachers. Teachers and students can refer to recordings if they have missed out on sessions or to revisit concepts. The exhaustive content library covers all major boards along with test preparation features and live classes. This helps students develop a holistic understanding of STEM concepts for enhanced learning outcomes and performance in competitive tests. The Practically School Solution additionally offers features like reports, polls, analytics, assigning homework, etc. which supports the teacher to closely monitor the progress of each student. 


While announcing the partnership, Mr. Subbarao Siddabattula, Founder & CEO, Practically said, “We are pleased to ink this partnership with Almoe Digital Solutions, and offer our one-of-a-kind Practicallly School Solution full of customised solutions with pioneering technologies to make teaching more effective. With hybrid learning becoming the new normal, it is essential to provide high-quality digital content to students. The combination of advanced digital tools like Interactive Flat Panels (IFP) and Practically School Solution will aid in the continuous development of students, teachers and schools management and propel them to international standards.”


Speaking about the association, John M. Simento, Managing Partner, Almoe Group of Companies said,”In the age of remote learning, we believe Practically School Solution is uniquely positioned to provide the education ecosystem a need-of-the-hour solution with its focus on experiential learning tools. We are happy to make it accessible to all the schools where we have our Interactive Flat Panel (IFP) brands. The availability of Practically School on our interactive displays is a great value add to our product as well. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship and hope to be a part of the successful journey of a rising Edtech company to watch out for.”  


Currently, over 400,000 students in 350+ schools with 18,000 teachers in India and the Middle East are using Practically School Solution to conduct online classes during the pandemic. 



About Practically

Founded in 2018 by Mr Subbarao Siddabattula, Founder & CEO, Ms Charu Noheria, Co-Founder & COO and Mr Ilangovel Thulasimani, Co-Founder & CTO, Practically uses next-generation interactive methods, such as Augmented Reality (AR), Simulations and 3D videos for an enhanced learning experience.


Practically is an intelligent, interactive and immersive learning app for students of classes 6 to 12 with a focus on STEM learning. Practically is the only such product in the world that combines game engine, immersive learning assets, and AI-assisted study buddy, all in one compact cross-platform app. Through its patent-pending technology, thousands of exhilarating, life-like simulations, and Augmented Reality (AR) experiences are combined with learning pathways to bring learning alive and increase the rate of retention of concepts. Practically also offers Live classes, Coding ++ course and a 24x7 Seek Help feature for doubt resolution, where students can reach out to subject experts on the platform. 400,000+ students, 350+ schools and 18,000 teachers across India and the Middle East are already benefiting from the engaging content on Practically. 


The Practically School Solution, a B2B2C offering, gives schools and their teachers access to the Practically teacher app FREE of cost. Teachers can access 3000+ videos and 1000+ Simulations/AR and features like reports, test-preps, polls, analytics, assigning homework, etc. The app covers all major boards across Math and Science for 6th to 12th grades. 


So far, Practically has raised over $9M from Siana Capital, Exfinity Ventures, YourNest Venture Capital, IDFC Parampara, and angel investors.


Practically was named TiE50 Award Winner at TiEcon 2021. It was awarded the EdTech Startup of the Year at Entrepreneur India magazine’s Startup Awards 2021 and adjudged the Most Innovative STEM Solution at the World Education Summit 2021. Practically School Solution won the Best Online Learning Management Platform at EDTech x Indian Education Congress 2021. Practically was also listed as ‘Top 50 Organizations in Education’ at GFEL (Global Forum for Education and Learning) 2021 in Las Vegas, USA.

You can watch the latest brand commercial on YouTube. The app is available for download for free on Play Store and App Store. Visit the Practically website here: https://www.practically.com/

*FC Goa secure Nongdomba Naorem signing *

 ~ Young winger pens a multi-year deal with the Gaurs ~


Goa, August, 2021: FC Goa can confirm they have completed the signing of young winger Nongdomba Naorem on a free transfer.



The 21-year-old has put pen to paper on a long-term contract after passing medical and agreeing personal terms. 


Immediately after inking the deal, Naorem told fcgoa.in: “Today is a big day. I am very happy to sign for one of the biggest clubs in India. It’s a club that I feel is the best fit for me and is one that I have admired for a long time.


“I am now looking forward to understanding what the coach demands from me and script a new chapter in my life.”


FC Goa’s Director of Football Ravi Puskur was also delighted at having completed formalities. He said, “We’re delighted to secure the services of Nongdamba. He’s a highly technical player and has the directness needed in one on one situations for a player in his position. He caught our eye with his performances for Mohun Bagan in the I-League in the 19/20 season and was unlucky to have his season curtailed by injury last year. We feel that he can develop into a player who fits very well into our system and can become a differential player with a real emphasis on providing the end product.”


Nongdomba moves to Goa after two seasons with Kerala Blasters - the first of which he spent out on loan with Mohun Bagan, helping them to the I-League title in 2020 alongside fellow Gaur Alexander Romario Jesuraj. That season saw him bag 2 goals and 5 assists in 16 games for the Mariners. 


Last season saw him play 3 games in the ISL in the colours of Kerala before an unfortunate injury brought down the curtains to his campaign earlier than expected.


Hailing from Wabagai in Manipur, Nongdomba came through the ranks at the Minerva Punjab Academy. He shot to fame first with some eye-catching performances for the Indian national U17 team in the FIFA U17 World Cup in 2017.


He has since then gone on to play for the Indian Arrows in the I-League before making the switch to Kerala. His sole campaign in that competition will be remembered for a breathtaking solo goal - which saw the nimble-footed winger cut in from the left before dribbling and willing past 5 Shillong Lajong defenders before slotting the ball past the keeper.

*Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham gets A++ Grading from NAAC*

 • The varsity is the youngest one in the country to bag this honor

• This is the third time that the institution is getting A grade from NAAC after 2009 and 2014

• It scored an impressive 3.7 out of 4 CGPA

August 24, 2021: Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, ranked the 4th Best Overall University in India in the 2020 NIRF Ranking, has received the highest possible A++ grade from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), scoring an impressive 3.7 out of 4 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA).


This is the third time in its short history of 18 years that Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham has been rated as ‘Grade A’ institution by NAAC. It had also received Grade A rating in previous NAAC assessments in 2009 and 2014. With this, the varsity has become the youngest institute of higher education in India to have received the A++ rating. 

Said Dr P Venkat Rangan, Vice-chancellor, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham: “It is a privilege and honor for us to have received the highest-possible A++ grading from NAAC, considering that we are still a young university founded in 2003. It is quite an achievement and a testament to the global standards of academic excellence and professionalism that we follow. The credit goes to the vision and leadership of our Chancellor Mata Amritanandamayi Devi. The university’s mission rooted in ‘Education for Life’ and ‘Research for Societal Benefit’ have inspired highly qualified faculty all over the world to come back to India and enrich and enhance the higher learning experience for our students.”

NAAC is an autonomous body funded by UGC that accesses and accredits the quality and excellence of Higher Education Institutions in India. The accreditation process involves a detailed assessment across seven criteria including curriculum, learning and evaluation, research and innovation, infrastructure, student support, governance and institutional values. 

Universities after assessment are assigned one of the 8 grades by NAAC, namely A++, A+, A, B++, B+, B, C, and D. Those with “A” series grades are believed to impart outstanding quality standards in terms of academics and facilities. Universities with CGPA ranging between 3.51 and 4.00 achieve grade A++, which is the highest grade of accreditation in the seven criteria.

Thursday, August 26, 2021

*Bharti Foundation and KATHA India collaborate to support students from Satya Bharti Schools across 5 states through story based learning*

 26th August 2021 Gurgaon: Bharti Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Bharti Enterprises, partnered with KATHA India to promote story based learning in Grades 1 to 5, increasing reading and comprehension competency in the formative years. 

This initiative addresses one of the urgent national mission under NEP 2020 - attainment of ‘Universal Foundational Literacy’ as well as ‘ART Integrated Pedagogy’.

The first phase of 300 Million Alliance (KATHA’s objective to reach out to 300 million underprivileged children in India) was initiated this year in April. The collaboration aims to use Story Pedagogy, eBooks, activities and Teaching-Learning materials through the 300M Portal: tadaa.katha.org / learn.katha.org. 

More than 33,000 students from underprivileged background (Grades I to V) of 173 Satya Bharti Primary schools spread across five states of India will benefit from this partnership. Over 100 stories both in audio and video format in English, Hindi and Tamil will be used by the language teachers of Satya Bharti Schools. Learning from these stories will be supplemented by various group activities and worksheets to develop the students’ critical and creative thinking, comprehension proficiency and decision making. Further on, all teachers will be trained to take forward ‘ART Integrated Pedagogy’ by using KATHA Resources in their respective subjects.

Emphasizing on the importance of reading, Mr. Antony Nellissery, Chief School Excellence, Bharti Foundation said, “Children are the future, we at Satya Bharti Schools have been working towards providing the best of education to our students. These new resources will add-on to our existing innovative teaching-learning tools. The formative years of a child is very important and story-telling complimented with activities will further enhance the process.”  

Bharti Foundation is committed to ensure that learning remains a continued process for our students and teachers. These resources will augment are existing curriculum and compliment the language teaching-learning. It will also help our teachers’ enrich their integrated pedagogical techniques which will further percolate down to our student’s overall growth. 

Rajesh Soundararajan, Chief Sustainability Officer, Katha-300M says, "We strongly believe that the Bharti Foundation-Katha partnership is a significant milestone in the 300M Citizen's Challenge journey. Together, we plan to educate and empower over 33,000 children and 100s of facilitators through storytelling with an anytime, anywhere 300M learning portal. This is yet another step in our mission to create a nation of reader-leaders and empower and uplift women and communities at large with the Bharti Team."

 

About KATHA INDIA 

Started in 1988 with a magazine for children from the underserved communities, Katha’s work spans the literacy to literature continuum. By seamlessly connecting grassroots work in education and urban resurgence, Katha brings children living in poverty into reading and quality education. Over the past three decades, through its many programmes, Katha has helped over one million children help themselves out of poverty.

Katha has several programmes in place to help check poverty across the country. Katha Lab School, Katha’s Slum Resurgence Initiative (SRI), Katha English Academy (KENGA), Katha School of Entrepreneurship (KSE), etc. are some of the many programmes Katha runs to ensure the child receives holistic learning. Katha’s I Love Reading campaign is another initiative undertaken to achieve this. ILR.


About Bharti Foundation

Bharti Foundation was set up in the year 2000 as the philanthropic arm of Bharti Enterprises. It implements and supports programs in primary, secondary and higher education as well as sanitation. Since 2006, the flagship Satya Bharti School Program has been providing free quality education to thousands of underprivileged children in 183 schools in rural areas across six states, with a focus on the girl child. The impact of quality education has been scaled-up by transferring the learning and good practices of this program to 2,45,556 students studying in 791 partner government schools across 13 states and union territories, through the Satya Bharti Quality Support Program, since 2013. Satya Bharti Abhiyan, the sanitation initiative started in 2014, has benefitted 2,17,129 beneficiaries by improving sanitation conditions in the districts of Punjab, providing access to toilets and by fostering behavioral change in communities. Together, these programs have cumulatively impacted over 2 million community members.  

https://bhartifoundation.org/

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

ऊषा इंटरनेशनल के नये किचन अप्लायंसेस कैम्पेन में नजर आयेंगी कीर्ति सुरेश राष्ट्रीय पुरस्कार विजेता अभिनेत्री कंपनी की किचन अप्लायंसेस श्रृंखला के विभिन्‍न उत्‍पाद दिखाने वाले कई विज्ञापनों में दिखाई देंगी

 नई दिल्ली, XX अगस्त, 2021: भारत के प्रमुख कंज्यूमर ड्यूरेबल ब्रांड ऊषा इंटरनेशनल ने आज एक नया मीडिया कैम्पेन पेश किया है। इस मीडिया कैम्पेन में किचन अप्लायंयेस की श्रृंखला पेश की गयी है, जिसमें ब्रांड एम्बेसडर और राष्ट्रीय पुरस्कार विजेता (2018) कीर्ति सुरेश नजर आयेंगी। इस कैम्पेन के तहत ऊषा ने पारंपरिक तथा डिजिटल माध्यमों पर चार विज्ञापन जारी किये हैं।



 


पूरे भारत में ग्राहकों को जोड़ने और उनकी भागीदारी को बढ़ाने के लक्ष्य के साथ, ऊषा के टीवी विज्ञापनों में कीर्ति सुरेश ऊषा के चार प्रमुख उत्‍पादों- ट्राईएनर्जी प्लस मिक्सर ग्राइंडर, कोलोसल डीएलएक्स वेट ग्राइंडर, राइस कूकर और कैलिप्सो ओटीजी का इस्तेमाल करते हुए स्वादिष्ट पकवान बनाती नजर आयेंगी। हरेक फिल्‍म 35 सेकंड की है, जिसे पूरे भारत भर में पेश किया गया है। ये फिल्‍में ऊषा के बढ़ते बाजार पर ध्‍यान केंद्रित करती हैं। इन विज्ञापनों में अभिनेत्री को होम-शेफ के अवतार में दिखाया गया है जोकि ऊषा प्रोडक्ट्स के साथ खाना पकाने की अपनी खुशी जाहिर कर रही हैं, क्योंकि ये प्रोडक्ट उनके सामाजिक रुतबे को भी बढ़ाने का काम कर रहे हैं। उनके लिये किचन वो जगह है, जहां वह रचनात्‍मक तरीके से खुद को व्यक्त कर पाती हैं। इसके लिये उन्हें तेज, आरामदायक और बिना किसी झंझट वाले उत्‍पाद चाहिये ताकि कुछ जादू दिखाया जा सके। ये टीवी विज्ञापन ज्यादा से ज्यादा लोगों तक पहुंचने और अपना असर दिखाने के लिये हिन्दी, अंग्रेजी, तमिल, तेलुगु, कन्नड़ और मलयालम जैसी कई सारी भाषाओं में प्रसारित किये जायेंगे।


 


नये कैम्पेन के बारे में, श्री सौरभ बैशाखिया, प्रेसिडेंट अप्लायंसेस, ऊषा इंटरनेशनल ने कहा, “जिस तरह से यह कैम्पेन तैयार हुआ है मैं बहुत खुश हूँ। बेशक, कीर्ति सुरेश जैसी अदाकारा को परिचय की जरूरत नहीं। यह साल हमारे लिए बेहद उम्‍मीद भरा और संरक्षण का रहा है जहां हमने ऊषा की उत्‍पाद श्रृंखला को बेहतर बनाने के लिए अपने प्रयासों पर ध्‍यान केंद्रित किया। हमारे पास ऐसे प्रासंगिक उत्‍पाद हैं जोकि भारत के ग्राहकों को खुश करते हैं और उन्‍हें बेहतरीन मूल्‍य भी देते हैं। हम सुनिश्चित कर रहे हैं कि हम ग्राहकों तक पहुंचे और उनकी जरूरतों को पहचानने, जानकारी इकट्ठा करने, खरीदारी करने और खरीदारी के बाद के अनुभव की उनकी यात्रा में सहयोग करें। ग्राहकों को सुचारू अनुभव देने के लिये हम संचार के सारे माध्यमों में मौजूदगी और हर जगह अपनी उपस्थिति सुनिश्चित कर रहे हैं। ग्राहकों की बढ़ती संख्‍या, उपकरणों की अत्यधिक पहुँच और उपकरणों के अलग-अलग श्रेणियों के उपयोग के फायदों के साथ दक्षिण भारत ऊषा के लिए महत्‍वपूर्ण बाजारों में से एक है। इस कैंपेन के साथ, हमें ग्राहकों के साथ अपना जुड़ाव मजबूत करने की उम्‍मीद है। साथ ही इससे ना केवल इन बाजारों में बल्कि पूरे देश में ब्रांड का प्रभाव बढ़ेगा।”


 


 


यह मीडिया कैम्‍पेन 25 अगस्त से शुरू हो रहा है और यह प्रमुख क्षेत्रीय जनरल एंटरटेनमेन्ट चैनल (सामान्‍य मनोरंजन चैनल/जीईसी) तथा समाचार चैनलों पर प्रसारित किया जायेगा, ताकि सारे राज्यों पर प्रभाव पड़े। इसके बाद पूरे देशभर में संबंधित प्लेटफॉर्म पर प्रभावी रूप से डिजिटल क्षेत्र में इसका प्रसारण किया जायेगा।


 


ये टीवी विज्ञापन यहां देखे जा सकते हैं:


 


नीचे दिए गए लिंक्स का इस्तेमाल कर अंग्रेजी टीवी विज्ञापन देखिये:

Saturday, August 21, 2021

प्रेस कॉन्फ्रेंस में पीआर संचालक के साथ हुई हाथापाई पर पीआर संगठन ने की निंदा

 जबलपुर से दिल्ली, मुंबई और इंदौर के लिए तीन नई हवाई सेवाएं शुरू की गई हैं। बीते दिन जबलपुर में इस हेतु प्रेस कॉन्फ्रेंस का आयोजन किया गया था, जिसमें शहर की एक पीआर एजेंसी के साथ ही भाजपा के कई कार्यकर्ता मौजूद थे। मीडिया के साथ हुई झड़प के चलते पीआर एजेंसी के संचालक पर जो हाथापाई की गई, वह निंदनीय है। 


पीआर एजेंसी की भूमिका मीडिया तथा क्लाइंट के बीच समन्वय स्थापित करना होता है। क्लाइंट तथा मीडिया के बीच हुई झड़प में पीआर एजेंसी को दोष देना कतई सही नहीं है। इतना ही नहीं मौजूदा स्थान पर पीआर एजेंसी के अहम् सदस्य के साथ हाथापाई किया जाना सरासर गलत है। समस्त पीआर संगठन इसकी निंदा करता है।

Friday, August 20, 2021

Madhya Pradesh: मध्यप्रदेश का जनसंपर्क विभाग आया स्वदेशी ऐप Koo पर, अब घर बैठे पाइए सभी सरकारी योजनाओं की जानकारी

 लोग घर बैठे Koo App पर जनसम्पर्क विभाग की सहायता का लाभ उठा सकते हैं 


 मध्यप्रदेश जनसम्पर्क विभाग ने उठाई जिम्मेदारी, लोगों को मिलेगी पूरी जानकारी


 Koo App मुख्यमंत्री शिवराज सिंह चौहान, कांग्रेस के दिग्गज नेता और पूर्व मुख्यमंत्री कमलनाथ, लोकसभा से सांसद नकुलनाथ पहले से ही काफी सक्रीय हैं


 



मध्यप्रदेश, 20 अगस्त: हाल ही में आई बाढ़ और उसके पहले कोरोना के संकट ने मध्यप्रदेश के जनजीवन को काफी प्रभावित किया है | जनजीवन को पटरी पर लाने के लिए और लोगों तक सरकारी योजनाओं की पूरी जानकारी पहुंचाने के लिए मध्यप्रदेश के जनसम्पर्क ने एक बड़ा कदम उठाते हुए Koo App का हाथ थामा है | अब मध्यप्रदेश का जनसम्पर्क विभाग स्वदेशी ऐप Koo के माध्यम से लोगों को सभी जानकारी देता रहेगा और लोगों की मदद करेगा | जनसम्पर्क विभाग से कोई भी सहायता लेने के लिए और सरकार की सभी योजनाओं की जानकारी सबसे पहले पाने के लिए आप भी Koo पर उनके ऑफिशियल हैंडल @JansamparkMP को फॉलो करें। जनसम्पर्क विभाग ने इसका एलान अपने Koo App के ऑफिशियल हैंडल @JansamparkMP पर पोस्ट कर बताया कि अब Koo पर शासन- प्रशासन संबंधी सभी ज़रूरी जानकारी नागरिकों को उपलब्ध करवाई जाएगी | 


 


आपको बताते चलें कि स्वेदशी ऐप Koo पर मध्य प्रदेश के मुख्यमंत्री शिवराज सिंह चौहान, कांग्रेस के दिग्गज नेता और पूर्व मुख्यमंत्री कमलनाथ, लोकसभा से सांसद नकुलनाथ पहले से ही काफी सक्रीय हैं और सारे अपडेट्स इस ऐप के जरिए साझा करते रहते हैं।         


जनसंपर्क विभाग कौन सी जानकारियां कराएगा उपलब्ध?


राज्य के सभी नागरिक इस जनसम्पर्क विभाग से Koo App के जरिए प्रदेश में चल रही सभी सरकारी योजनाओ की जानकारी बहुत ही आसानी से प्राप्त कर सकते हैं और सरकारी योजनाओ का लाभ घर बैठे सरलता से उठा सकते हैं | Koo पर जनसम्पर्क विभाग के माध्यम से सरकार द्वारा वार्ड/पंचायत में क्रियान्वित सभी योजनाओं की जानकारी एक ही जगह उपलब्ध करवाई जा रही है। यह सूचना का अधिकार अधिनियम , 2005 की धारा 4(2) को क्रियान्वित करता है । अब लोगों को सरकारी योजनाओं की जानकारी पाने के लिए कहीं जाने की आवश्यकता नहीं है अब राज्य के लोग बड़ी ही सरलता प्रदेश सरकार द्वारा नागरिकों के हित के लिए चलाई जा रही योजनाओं और सेवाओं का लाभ Koo पर जनसम्पर्क विभाग को फॉलो कर के उठा सकते हैं |   


मध्यप्रदेश जनसम्पर्क विभाग का Koo से जुड़ने का उद्देश्य


पहले प्रदेश के नागरिकों को किसी भी प्रकार की जानकारी प्राप्त करने के लिए काफी कठिनाइयों का सामना करना पड़ता था फिर भी उन्हें सही ढंग से जानकारी प्राप्त नहीं हो पाती थी। इन सभी समस्याओ को देखते हुए राज्य की सरकार ने Koo के माध्यम से जुड़ने का फैसला लिया है और इसके माध्यम से से राज्य के आमजनों को सरकारी योजनाओ और सेवाओं से जुड़ी सूचनाएं व्यापक रूप से उपलब्ध कराने का फैसला किया|


जनसम्पर्क विभाग -मध्य प्रदेश से Koo पर कैसे जुड़ें


Koo ऐप यूजर्स के लिए मोबाइल ऐप स्टोर पर डाउनलोड करने के लिए उपलब्ध है। यूजर्स के पास अपने मोबाइल नंबर या ईमेल आईडी का उपयोग करके पंजीकरण करने का विकल्प होता है। एक बार पंजीकरण पूरा हो जाने के बाद, वे Koo पर अपने पसंदीदा हस्तियों, एथलीट, राजनेताओं, फिल्म और कला जगत के लोगों और आध्यात्मिक गुरुओं का अनुसरण कर सकते हैं। Koo यूजर्स को उनकी मूल भाषाओं में संवाद करने में मदद कर के उन्हें सशक्त बनाता है।


 


Koo के बारे में


Koo App की शुरुआत मार्च 2020 में भारतीय भाषाओं के माइक्रो-ब्लॉगिंग प्लेटफॉर्म के रूप में की गई। कई भारतीय भाषाओं में उपलब्ध इस ऐप पर भारत के विभिन्न क्षेत्रों के लोग अपनी मातृभाषा में अपने विचार व्यक्त कर सकते हैं। एक ऐसे देश में जिसकी सिर्फ 10% आबादी अंग्रेजी बोलती है, वहां एक सोशल मीडिया प्लेटफॉर्म की बड़ी आवश्यकता है जो भारतीय लोगों को उनकी भाषा में बात करने का अनुभव प्रदान कर सके और उन्हें कनेक्ट करने में सहायता कर सके। कू उन भारतीयों की आवाज़ के लिए एक मंच प्रदान करता है जो भारतीय भाषाओं को पसंद करते हैं।

Thursday, August 19, 2021

ENGIE commissions 200 MW Solar Power Plant in Gujarat

 ENGIE’s second-largest solar PV project in India has been completed in line with the schedule, despite multiple challenges during the pandemic



Ahmedabad, India, August 18, 2021: ENGIE has announced the commissioning of a 200MWAC (290 MWp) Solar Power Project at the Raghanesda Solar Power Park, in Raghanesda, Gujarat. ENGIE collaborated with multiple Government of Gujarat entities to construct the project that will generate close to 546 gigawatt-hours of electricity, while reducing 387,056 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.


The project was won under a tender process run by GUVNL and the Power Purchase Agreement for 25 years was signed in August 2019 with GUVNL (Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited), and the Implementation Support Agreement was signed in October 2019 with GPCL (Gujarat Power Corporation Limited). Debt for the project has been secured under a long-term project financing arrangement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and SocieteGenerale. The project has been implemented through Electro Solaire Private Limited (ESPL), a special purpose vehicle owned by the ENGIE Group.


Modules were sourced from Jinko and Longi and String while inverters were procured from Huawei. Sterling & Wilson was our Balance of Plant contractor and will also be the O&M provider for this project for a period of five years.


The project was completed in 14months, adhering to the environment standard of ADB Safeguard Principle and Equator Principle, with 1.5 million+ safe man-hours by over 800 skilled and unskilled manpower setting up the plant, which is spread across 380 hectares inside the RaghanesdaSolar Park that has been developed by a Gujarat state entity – GPCL.


Despite the challenges of executing a project during a global pandemic, a very high-water table creating a challenging design and implementation issue for the module mounting structures, and the project being situated in a seismic zone, the team of experts ensured the completion of the project in line with the schedule.


Speaking about the project, NeeravNanavaty, Country Manager, ENGIE India, said, “After overcoming several challenges at the site, the team is excited to announce the commissioning of this marquee project that is sure to boost the dynamic Indian solar industry and contribute towards decarbonizing India’s energy mix. We would like to thank all the public and private sector stakeholders and the local communities for their support and cooperation in helping us achieve this critical milestone in our renewable growth journey in India.”


Suresh Bhaskar, Managing Director Renewables– Middle East, Egypt & India, ENGIE Asia Middle East and Africa, said,“ENGIE is fully committed to play an active role to support India in achieving its ambitious clean energy goals for 2030. Successful commercial operation of this project is a testament to ENGIE’s continued interest to pursue renewable opportunities in India and further grow its renewable portfolio of more than 1 GW installed capacity in the country.”


With this project, ENGIE’s portfolio developed in India now stands at 17 projects with over 1.1 GWp of solar PV and 280 MW of wind power. This milestone reiterates ENGIE’s ambition to be a major renewable energy provider, as India becomes a rapidly growing market in the transition to clean energy.


***


About ENGIE

Our Group is a global reference in low-carbon energy and services. Together with our 170,000 employees, our customers, partners and stakeholders, we are committed to accelerate the transition towards a carbon-neutral world, through reduced energy consumption and more environmentally friendly solutions. Inspired by our purpose (“raison d’être”), we reconcile economic performance with a positive impact on people and the planet, building on our key businesses (gas, renewable energy, services) to offer competitive solutions to our customers.

Turnover in 2020: 55.8 billion Euros. The Group is listed on the Paris and Brussels stock exchanges (ENGI) and is represented in the main financial indices (CAC 40, DJ Euro Stoxx 50, Euronext 100, FTSE Eurotop 100, MSCI Europe) and non-financial indices (DJSI World, DJSI Europe and Euronext VigeoEiris - World 120, Eurozone 120, Europe 120, France 20, CAC 40 Governance).

Wednesday, August 18, 2021

*Neuberg Diagnostics partners with MS Dhoni to send the message of health and wellness*

 Tuesday, August 17, 2021: Neuberg Diagnostics, India’s fourth-largest diagnostic lab chain, today announced that it has partnered with ace cricketer, MS Dhoni, for creating awareness about Neuberg’s health and wellness campaign and conveying its efforts towards empowering every citizen with better and affordable healthcare. 

Dr. GSK Velu, Chairman and Managing Director, Neuberg Diagnostics, said, “MS Dhoni complements our growth mindset, and thus is a strategic fit during our growth years. We are excited about this association and are honored to have him on board as our evangelist and global brand ambassador. We are keen to take our plethora of diagnostic services across the country and convey our efforts towards empowering every citizen with better and affordable healthcare. Furthermore, Dhoni’s commitment towards maintaining good health and fitness resonates well with our mission and will remind people to prioritize their health. Dhoni’s backing will enable us to communicate about our commitment and services more effectively.” 

MS Dhoni, Former India Skipper and Captain of Chennai Super Kings, said, “The leaders at Neuberg are committed to providing affordable healthcare across India, and that really struck me and it’s a pleasure to be associated with the team and their various programs aimed at providing access to quality and affordable healthcare. Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, they have taken up the campaign to raise awareness about health and wellness across age groups. I personally feel that these efforts are important and deserve to be advocated.”

On the back of growing footprints, the company has been seeing robust growth. In a matter of four years since its inception, with a presence in three continents, the company ended its FY21 with revenues of Rs.800 crore, and on the back of its differentiated offerings, it is aiming to close FY22 with revenues of Rs.1000 crore with more than 200 labs and 3000 collection centers, located across the world.

MS Dhoni will also enable the company to generate recall across its global markets in the UAE, South Africa and the USA.  

About Neuberg Diagnostics:

The best-in-class laboratories across India, the UAE, South Africa and the USA have united under the banner of Neuberg Diagnostics, to bring the latest technology and techniques within the reach of developing countries. Utilizing their combined strengths, Neuberg Diagnostics brings capabilities to perform over 6000 varieties of pathological investigations and promotes Prevention & Early Diagnosis, Focused Wellness Programs, and Structured Disease Management programs for rare diseases using the most advanced technologies, assisted by data science and AI tools.


Since its inception, besides starting greenfield labs, it had also acquired Anand Diagnostic Laboratory in Bengaluru, Supratech Micropath Laboratory in Ahmedabad, Ehrlich Laboratory in Chennai, and A.G. Diagnostics Laboratory in Pune, to expand its presence across India. In addition, it has also acquired Global Labs in South Africa and Minerva Diagnostics in Dubai, to expand its footprint in the global arena. 

With 14 approved labs for COVID-19 testing in India, it has the capability to process more than 65,000 COVID samples in a day. 

Some of the best Pathologists, Biochemists, Geneticists, Microbiologists, and several other Clinical Lab Professionals from around the world are working closely, sharing knowledge, and using the latest generation of diagnostic techniques to take accurate and timely diagnosis to the next level.

Currently, Neuberg Diagnostics has over 120 labs and 1000 touch points across 4 countries. Neuberg Diagnostics also provides Hospital Laboratory Management Services, Preventive Health Checks, Corporate Wellness, Home Health Services and Drive-through Phlebotomy Services.

*Renault India presents the all new Sporty, Smart & Stunning KIGER to Ace weightlifter and #TokyoOlympics2020 Silver Medalist Saikhom Mirabai Chanu*

 New Delhi, August 18, 2021: Renault, which is in its 10th year of operations in India, presented Renault KIGER to the Ace weightlifter and #TokyoOlympics2020 Silver Medalist Saikhom Mirabai Chanu for her stunning performance on the world stage and making every Indian proud of her feat. Hailing from a village in East Imphal, Mirabai not only lifted the spirits of the entire nation but with her dedication and commitment, she also became an inspiration for other athletes. Her journey finds resonance with a billion Indians who aspire to break out of their humble backgrounds. Renault is proud to celebrate her journey with the Stunning, Smart and Sporty KIGER. 



Mr. Sudhir Malhotra, Vice President – Sales & Marketing, Renault India handed over the keys of the brand new Renault KIGER to the #TokyoOlympics2020 Silver Medalist, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu.

Renault KIGER is a brand-new sub four metre compact SUV designed and developed for India. Loaded with several smart attributes and powered by a sporty, world-class turbocharged 1.0L petrol engine, Renault KIGER is a breakthrough product targeted at the core of Indian automotive market. The stunning design of Renault KIGER is exemplified by a host of sporty and muscular elements which make Renault KIGER stand out as a true SUV. On the inside, Renault KIGER’s smart cabin combines technology, functionality and roominess. This high performance, modern and efficient engine ensures a sporty drive and is complemented by multi sense drive modes which offer the flexibility to best suit the customers driving preferences.

Renault India is celebrating its ten glorious years of its operations in India. As part of the tenth anniversary celebration, Renault India launched the all new RXT (O) variant of the Renault KIGER. Together with its product portfolio expansion strategy to drive volumes in India, Renault is substantially increasing its network reach in India and introducing several unique and pioneering initiatives to ensure that customers have an unparalleled association with the Renault brand. Currently, Renault India has more than 500 sales and service touchpoints in India, which include 200+ Workshop On Wheels locations across the country

*GO FIRST SET TO STRENGTHEN GLOBAL PRESENCE THROUGH PARTNERSHIP WITH WORLDTICKET AND DISCOVER THE WORLD*

 Mumbai, August 18, 2021: GO FIRST (formerly known as GoAir) today announced a new sales and content distribution partnership with WorldTicket as its GDS sub hosting partner and Discover the World (DTW) as its sales distribution partner. 

GO FIRST believes that the tripartite global distribution partnership will strengthen GO FIRST’s penetration in the international market and will enable the carrier to expand its inventory and services to over several countries.

WorldTicket and Discover the World are in sales partnership and the synergies between the two companies will assist GO FIRST to extend its global presence. GO FIRST believes that the partnership will help GO FIRST in attaining pre COVID-19 levels faster while bringing in incremental revenue and mature loads.

The agreement with WorldTicket will allow travel agents to book GO FIRST flights via their GDS. GO FIRST’s code will be visible in the GDS for the first time with the prefix of W2 acting as marketing carrier. This will include all routes up to 11 months of the booking date.  

Speaking on the partnership, Mr Kaushik Khona, CEO, GO FIRST, said, “We are excited to partner with Discover The World and WorldTicket to strengthen our international presence. DTW and WorldTicket are globals leaders in global sales and distribution, and their combined expertise and reach will give impetus to our growth plans in the global market. We believe that the outsourcing of our global sales will open avenues for additional revenue streams while minimising risk. ”

GO FIRST believes that Discover the World, a leader in global sales and marketing representation, with its presence in the forefront , will help GO FIRST reach the travel companies, build market awareness and trust and drive growth.

Peer Winter, VP Commercial Business Development at WorldTicket commented, "We are absolutely thrilled to enter into this global distribution partnership with GO FIRST and Discover the World, who will be acting as dedicated sales partner in many countries. Global OTAs, TMCs as well as Business Travel chains will finally be able to book seats on GO FIRST’s flights via their preferred GDS, which will result in additional revenues and an optimized Load Factor for GO FIRST. By outsourcing their entire GDS distribution to WorldTicket/Flex Flight (W2), GO FIRST will be able to exploit new revenue streams resulting from global sales with a higher average revenue quality, without any risks and without any running costs. Moreover, GO FIRST will be able to use the same API integration to our "Air connection engine" platform in order to potentially benefit from other services offered by our group such as Virtual Interlining incl. Thru Bag. By partnering with Discover the World, W2 and GO FIRST will benefit from 100% targeted sales based on historic market KPI's, which will contribute to generating large volumes for GO FIRST resulting from GDS Sales via W2"          

Aiden Walsh head of Airline Development for Discover the World, said, “We are so delighted to work alongside GO FIRST and WorldTicket to bring these excellent products and innovative approach to our trade partners. We will be introducing and educating agents and we see great opportunities to grow sales especially with TMC’s and Tour Operators who in the past would not of consider GO FIRST as they could not be booked via the GDS. With WorldTicket GDS distribution and GO FIRST’s excellent product offering, great value and on time performance, we see this as a winning combination for our trade partners.”

Discover the World will partner to offer Sales and Marketing to select markets.  

GO FIRST believes that this partnership will facilitate its global expansion drive and further fortify its plans to leverage international sectors. 


About GO FIRST:

Founded as GoAir, GO FIRST, which was recently rebranded from GO AIR, is the aviation foray of 285-year-old Wadia Group that comprises leading brands including 150-year-old Bombay Burmah, 140-year-old Bombay Dyeing, 102-year-old Britannia Ltd., 67-year-old National Peroxide Limited, a nine-year-old Bombay Realty. 

Disclaimer: Go Airlines (India) Limited is proposing, subject to receipt of requisite approvals, market conditions and other considerations, an initial public offering of its equity shares (the “Equity Shares”) and has filed a draft red herring prospectus (the “DRHP”) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”). The DRHP is available on the website of SEBI at www.sebi.gov.in and the respective websites of the Global Coordinators and Book Running Lead Managers at www.icicisecurities.com; www.online.citibank.co.in/rhtm/citigroupglobalscreen1.htm; www.morganstanley.com, respectively. 

Any potential investor should note that investment in equity shares involves a high degree of risk. For details, potential investors should refer to the DRHP, including the section titled “Risk Factors”. Potential investors should not rely on the DRHP for any investment decision. These materials are not for publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States (including its territories and possessions, any state of the United States and the District of Columbia). These materials are not an offer of securities for sale into the United States, Canada or Japan. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States, except pursuant to an applicable exemption from registration. No public offering of securities is being made in the United States.

About Discover the World:

Discover the World has earned a reputation as an innovative global sales representation leader in the travel industry through a worldwide network of 85 offices in more than 60 countries. With a portfolio of over 100 clients utilizing its sales, marketing and business process outsourcing services, the work of Discover the World has a direct positive impact on the growth of our clients and trade industry partners every day.

*The Wait is Over! BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA has launched on iOS App Store today!*

 New Delhi, 18th August 2021 – KRAFTON, the South Korean video game developer, today announced the launch of BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA on iOS for gaming enthusiasts and fans in India. The game is now available to download and play on the Apple iOS App Store for fans in India.


There is a ton of rewards waiting for fans of the game who’s just joined the party! Starting off, all players will get exciting Welcome Rewards – the Recon Mask, Recon Outfit, the Celebration Expert Title and 300AG which can be redeemed together from the Event Center. As a part of welcoming them to “India Ka Battlegrounds”, exclusive gifts like the Supply and classic Crate Coupons along with the Constable Set can be redeemed separately from the Event Center.


Earlier, BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA had hit the milestone of 50M downloads, and Krafton had given out numerous rewards in celebration including the Galaxy Messenger Set, which is the third set of rewards waiting for fans playing on iOS as well.

To download BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA, please visit the iOS Link and click on the “GET” button, and the rewards will automatically be available to claim inside the Event Center, once you’ve started and logged into the game.

Watch the Launch Video here and what’s more, to celebrate the launch, here’s a small snippet from fans in India. 

BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA is available exclusively to play in India. Fans can follow us on our official YouTube, Instagram and Facebook pages for all the latest news.

For more information on the game please visit https://www.battlegroundsmobileindia.com

*Women’s World Banking And Bank Of Baroda Report Recommends ‘Jan Dhan Plus’ To Catalyse Formal Savings Behaviour In Women Jan Dhan Customers*

 Banks could potentially attract Rs. 25,000 cr. (250 billion) in deposits by serving 10 crore (100 million) women Jan Dhan customers 

India, 18 August 2021: Women’s World Banking, a global non-profit committed to giving low-income women access to financial tools for their financial security and prosperity, and Bank of Baroda, among India’s largest Public Sector Banks (PSBs) today unveiled a new report ‘The Power of Jan Dhan: Making Finance Work for Women in India’. The report estimates that by serving 100 million low-income women, Public Sector Banks in India could attract approximately Rs. 25,000 crores (250 billion) in deposits while financially empowering 40 crore (400 million) low-income Indians. 

The report highlights the importance of savings as a powerful tool to help low income women, and their households, build financial resilience. Providing in-depth insights into the savings behaviour and financial inclusion barriers of women, the report also provides recommendations to PSBs and policymakers to successfully empower the account holders of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), the government’s flagship financial inclusion scheme launched in 2014.

According to the Global Findex Report 2017, 77% of women and 83% of men in India own an account, and the gender gap between male and female account ownership has dropped to 6% (from 20% in 2014). Today, 23.73 crore (237.3 million) women have Jan Dhan accounts. However, the report makes the distinction that having access to a bank account does not mean it is being used, which is a critical determinant of full financial inclusion. 

Women’s World Banking and Bank of Baroda designed a pilot product specifically to encourage greater account usage among women Jan Dhan customers. Jan Dhan Plus is a solution that combines a Jan Dhan account with an incentive to deposit Rs. 500 over four months. In return that account holder receives a Rs. 10,000 credit/overdraft facility. This has several benefits – women account holders engage more with banks and build skills and trust, while the bank learns more about an important customer base and how to address it with products and services. The women and their households not only develop a body of savings to support them in times of economic hardship, such as Covid-19, but they also have access to an overdraft facility, providing both an emergency fund, and a credit footprint for them to potentially access loans and other services in the future. 

The pilot was conducted with 101 Bank of Baroda branches across Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai and over 300 Business Correspondent points between February 2020 to August 2020. During this period, nearly 50,000 men and women customers signed up for Jan Dhan Plus. 32% of women who visited the Business Correspondent points enrolled in the scheme within the first two months of the launch. 


Offering the keynote, Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, Government of India said, “Women’s financial inclusion requires a more gender-inclusive financial system that addresses the specific demand and supply side barriers women face and leverages a partnership-led approach to address existing gaps. It is heartening to witness the collaboration between Women’s World Banking and Bank of Baroda whose innovative Jan Dhan Plus package showcases an opportunity to bring more low income women customers into formal banking, and highlight their potential as valuable customer segment for banks and financial service providers. I invite more banks to engage women Jan Dhan customers and share their success. I also would like to invite organisations working in this area to collaborate with the Women Entrepreneurship Platform, a NITI Aayog initiative with the aim to overcome information asymmetry, showcase such initiatives and enable women to avail of their benefits.”


“COVID-19 has exacerbated income gaps and disproportionately affected women, particularly low-income women. Enabling them to view formal savings as a viable financial tool is important to help restore their financial resilience. Women’s engagement with financial institutions and their ability to access credit from such institutions can also increase their social capital.”, commented Sriraman Jagannathan, Executive Vice President, Asia, Women’s World Banking. “Through Jan Dhan Plus, piloted with Bank of Baroda, we were able to study women’s savings behaviour and perceptions closely, which allowed us to design a product that caters to their unique needs. Our study underscored the need for sex-disaggregated data to design products for women that make them confident and comfortable in engaging with banks. We believe that if financial service providers adapted the features of Jan Dhan Plus at scale, it could become the product that transforms women’s savings habit.”, he added. 

Shri Sanjiv Chadha, Managing Director & CEO, Bank of Baroda said, “Financial inclusion has always been acknowledged worldwide as a key driver of economic growth and a critical factor to dissolve gender inequality and engender social transformation. Jan Dhan Plus, created in collaboration with Women’s World Banking, showed us that with the right encouragement and environment, women strive faster for financial independence and resilience. Such a meaningful engagement between women and financial institutions can increase the latter’s social capital and contribution towards building a more stable nation. I urge financial institutions to recognise women customers as an emerging and distinctive segment. They hold the key to not only empowering millions of households in India, but their long-term formal savings habit can create tremendous value for the banking sector.”

Recommendations for Indian financial service providers and policymakers 

1. Create relevant and simplified products for women by offering Jan Dhan Plus to mobilise savings, overdraft for loans, and launch (Unified Payment Interface) UPI-Receive only handle for ease of receiving payments into their Jan Dhan Accounts.

2. Promote awareness & nudge customers to save at the Business correspondent touch points. Explore low-cost mediums to reach women and build awareness using communication hooks specially designed for her, and nudges to trigger behaviour change. 

3. Strengthen the Business Correspondents network to make them relationship managers who can help branches minimise low-value transactions and assist PSBs to engage the growing PMJDY segment.

4. Track data at a sex-disaggregated level and monitor portfolio data. Understanding the differences in women customer behaviour will help financial institutions and policy makers succeed in their efforts to advance financial inclusion.

Ends

Notes to the Editor

The report’s key findings about women Jan Dhan customers 

Why India’s PSBs must prioritise women savers

• Women are loyal customers. Once women become familiar and comfortable with using a financial service, they tend to be more loyal customers of financial institutions than men.

• Women are more active and committed savers than men. 70% of the women Jan Dhan customers surveyed save “small” amounts of money by curtailing their expenses.

• Women can influence the saving habits of family members, as well as act as brand ambassadors in their communities.

• Women have a favourable credit repayment behaviour.

Barriers that women face in saving formally

• Women do not see banks as a familiar or trusted place to deposit their savings. Intimidated by negative experiences and often hard-to-understand banking terminology, leads women to save money via informal and familiar channels. 

• 45% of women prefer to save spontaneously when the opportunity arises. As they do not consider banks to be amenable to depositing small amounts, they reserve bank deposits for larger transactions. 

• The need for instant access. Women do not find banks to be a viable option in saving money that they may want to access instantly for emergencies. 

• Awareness about the value of a local Business Correspondent is low to absent. Consequently, women who are not comfortable travelling a long distance to their local bank branch, choose to save informally.


Women’s World Banking and Bank of Baroda’s Jan Dhan Plus solution, has inspired long-term savings behaviour in women via formal channels:

• The robust potential for banks to redirect women’s small savings. Of the women that were educated about the small savings scheme, 50% expressed interest in depositing savings. 

• 34% of the women visited the Business Correspondent channel as it was either conveniently located or were considered helpful and trustworthy. The Business Correspondent’s ability to engage efficiently with women is also reflected in higher cross sell penetration. 

The Jan Dhan Plus appealed to women and proved relevant, resulting in 32% Business Correspondent walk-ins enrolling to start small savings. Despite COVID impacting the pilot, 18% of participants managed to save and completed four account deposits of Rs 500. Women who started saving with Bank of Baroda have proved to be valuable, as they grew their balances 1.5 times compared to customers who did not enroll. Even women whose bank accounts were inactive for a year found the scheme to be relevant, changed their savings behaviour and grew their balances by over 90%.


About Women’s World Banking 

Women’s World Banking designs and invests in financial solutions, institutions, and policy environments in emerging markets to create greater economic stability and prosperity for women, their families, and their communities. With a global reach of 57 partners in 32 countries serving more than 69 million women clients, Women’s World Banking drives impact through its scalable, market-driven solutions; gender lens private equity fund; and leadership and diversity programs. To learn more about Women’s World Banking, visit womensworldbanking.org. 

About Bank of Baroda: 

Bank of Baroda (“The Bank”) established on 20th July 1908 is a State-owned banking and financial services organisation, headquartered in Vadodara (earlier known as Baroda) in Gujarat, India.

Bank of Baroda is India’s leading public sector bank with a strong domestic presence supported by self- service channels. The Bank’s distribution network includes 8,300+ branches, 11,600+ ATMs, Cash Recyclers supported by self-service channels and over 23,000 Business Correspondents. The Bank has a significant international presence with a network of 96 branches/offices of subsidiaries, spanning 19 countries. The Bank has wholly owned subsidiaries including BOB Financial Solutions Limited (erstwhile BOB Cards Ltd.), BOB Capital Markets and Baroda Asset Management India Ltd. Bank of Baroda also has joint ventures for life insurance viz. IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited and India Infradebt Ltd., engaged in infrastructure financing. The Bank owns 98.57% in The Nainital Bank. The Bank has also sponsored three Regional Rural Banks namely Baroda Uttar Pradesh Gramin Bank, Baroda Rajasthan Gramin Bank and Baroda Gujarat Gramin Bank. Visit us at www.bankofbaroda.in. 

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*Netafim India Introduces Revolutionary Portable Drip Kit for Today’s Farmer*

 ~ The company, through the kit aims to cover 10,000 hectares of land under drip irrigation and reach 25,000 marginal farmers across India in the upcoming year ~


~ The cost-effective, all-in-one irrigation solution brings several Netafim products under one umbrella and offers modular system that save installation cost ~


Mumbai, 18 August 2021: Netafim India, a leading smart irrigation solution provider, has unveiled revolutionary Portable Drip Kit – a comprehensive all-in-one irrigation solution that is easy to install and comes at an affordable price. The kit is designed, particularly for small farmers with farmland up to one acre that offers installation assistance without additional labour. The Portable Drip kit is available across India through Netafim’s dealer network. It is suitable for all types of Rabi and Kharif crops varieties including vegetables, cucurbits, close spacing crops etc.


The company through the launch of the Portable Drip Kit aims to cover 10,000 hectares of land under irrigation and reach 25,000 farmers across India in the upcoming year. In Madhya Pradesh, the company intend to reach additional 5% of the farmer community and cover ~ 2000 hectare of the marginal farmland under drip irrigation.


Addressing the diverse operational and environmental needs of today’s farmers, the kit with several Netafim systems under one umbrella provides user-friendly, lightweight and moveable solutions to match their unique requirements. Designed for irrigation of 4500 m2 fields, all the products and parts can be easily installed and dissembled after use to relocate at a convenient storage space. Additionally, the kit is integrating advanced durable drippers that provide excellent operational performance.


The key component of the kit is FlexNet™️ - a ground-breaking leak-proof flexible mainline and manifold piping solution that offers precise water delivery solution and increases water savings as well as improves crop performance potential through enhanced system performance. It reduces weeding and muddy spots thanks to perfect sealing between the patented outlets and the pipe, which guarantees to provide top performance over many years. It offers a full line of lateral connectors compatible with all Netafim systems. The white colouring offers thermal resistance and can withstand high chemical and UV exposure.


Speaking about innovation, Mr. Randhir Chauhan, Managing Director - Netafim India, commented, “Netafim India focuses its energies on simplifying cultivation process for farmers and empowering them on the road to growth. We understand that most farmers in India hold fragmented land pieces smaller than 1 acre. Such conditions make crop cultivation a daunting and challenging task for them. The debut of Portable Drip Kit is a result of Netafim’s continued commitment to offer convenient technology, especially to marginal farmers for improved yield potential and productivity, while reducing costs, labour and bring efficiency to water use.”


The Portable Drip Kit includes all needed components for field installation and operation that comprises of Screen filter, FlexNet pipe, Dripline and Connectors.


Contact details: 

For Rajasthan and Gujarat: 1800-419-5000 | Email: response@netafim.com

Other states of India 1800-103-2000 | Email: response@netafim.com

About Netafim India

Netafim India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Netafim, the global leader in smart irrigation solutions for sustainable productivity. Established in 1997, Netafim India offers a wide range of micro-irrigation, greenhouse, digital farming solutions and Community irrigation projects. Netafim India with 3 manufacturing plants, over 1000 employees and an exclusive network of over 2500 dealers across all the major states have provided an irrigation system for over 10 lakh hectares of land over the years covering a wide range of crops. The company has successfully offered extensive agronomic, design, after-sales support, and agri-extension services to ensure sustainable prosperity to over 9.5 lakh farming families to date. Netafim India is an active partner in several government projects like GGRC, APMIP and TANHODA.

Friday, August 13, 2021

Say No To Plastic Tiranga: Koo App पर Our MITTI Foundation की बड़ी मुहिम, तिरंगे की शान का ना करें प्लास्टिक से अपमान, अपनाएं कपड़े या कागज के तिरंगे और बढ़ाएं देश का मान

 नेशनल, 13 अगस्त:: एक तरफ देश की सीमा पर देश के जवान तिरंगे की शान को बचाने के लिए अपनी जान की परवाह किए बगैर दुश्मनों से लोहा लेते ही रहते हैं ताकि देशवासी सुरक्षित रह सकें, लेकिन देश के अंदर ही जाने-अनजाने लोग कई बार तिरंगे का अपमान कर देते हैं और पर्यावरण को भी नुकसान पहुंचाते हैं। ऐसे में तिरंगे को अपमान से बचाने और पर्यावरण को स्वच्छ बनाने के लिए भारत के पहले माइक्रो-ब्लॉगिंग प्लेटफार्म Koo App के साथ Our MITTI Foundation ने एक मुहिम की शुरुआत की है| 


अक्सर लोग 15 अगस्त, 26 जनवरी और 2 अक्टूबर को तिरंगे का अपमान जाने-अनजाने में कर देते हैं। प्लास्टिक के छोटे-छोटे तिरंगे अभिभावक बच्चों के हाथों में दे तो देते हैं, लेकिन जब वो बच्चे इन्हें फेंक देते हैं तो रास्ते में पड़े इन तिरंगों पर भी किसी का ध्यान नहीं जाता है। 

तिरंगों के सम्मान को बचाने और पर्यावरण को स्वच्छ और साफ बनाने के लिए Our MITTI Foundation ने Koo App पर एक मुहिम शुरू किया है जिसका नाम है; Say No To Plastic Tiranga. इस अभियान में Our MITTI Foundation, Koo App की मदद से नागरिकों से जुड़ कर अपील कर रहा है कि वो इस साल प्लास्टिक के तिरंगे का प्रयोग ना करें। 

Koo App पर मिट्टी फाउंडेशन की मुहिम Our MITTI Foundation ने Koo App पर इस मुहिम को लोगों तक पहुंचाने के लिए #SayNoToPlasticTiranga हैशटैग के साथ देश के नागरिकों को उनका कर्तव्य समझाने की कोशिश कर रहा है कि किस तरह प्लास्टिक हमारी प्रकृति के सौंदर्य पर एक बड़ा दाग लगा रह है

और समय आ गया है की हम इस बारें में सोचें और मिलकर अपनी प्रकृति की रक्षा करें | गृह मंत्रालय ने भी दिए निर्देश गृह मंत्रालय ने भी सभी राज्यों और केंद्र शासित प्रदेशों को एक पत्र में कहा कि प्लानस्टिक से बने तिरंगों को ठीक से डिस्पोहज करना एक समस्याय है। राष्ट्री य ध्वज को लेकर केंद्र सरकार ने कहा

है कि प्लायस्टिक के झंडे प्रयोग ना किए जाएं। राष्ट्रीय, सांस्कृतिक और खेल आयोजनों पर कागज

के बने तिरंगे की जगह कई बार प्लास्टिक से बने तिरंगे का प्रयोग किया जाता है। गृह मंत्रालय की ओर से यह सुनिश्चित करने के लिए कहा गया है कि ऐसे आयोजनों पर केवल कागज के बने तिरंगे का उपयोग होना चाहिए।


प्लास्टिक के अलावा क्या है विकल्प? MITTI Foundation ने Koo App पर प्लास्टिक झंडे के विकल्प के बारें में भी बताया गया कि प्लास्टिक की जगह आप कपड़े या कागज के झंडे इस्तेमाल कर सकते हैं जो हमारी प्रकृति के लिए भी सुरक्षित हैं।

इस स्वतंत्रता दिवस, चलिए प्लास्टिक से होते हैं स्वतंत्र

 देश-दुनिया में हर दिन बढ़ता प्रदुषण बेहद दयनीय है। हर थोड़ी दूर पर पड़े प्लास्टिक के अवशेष मिट्टी की उर्वरता को समाप्त करने का वृहद् कारण हैं। इससे पहले कि जमीन की उपजाऊ क्षमता पूरी तरह खत्म हो जाए, हमें चाहिए कि इसकी रोकथाम के लिए हम आगे बढ़कर सभी को जागरूक करें और नई पीढ़ी को भी इसकी वास्तविकता और दुष्परिणामों से अवगत कराएं। इसे सर्वोपरि रखते हुए, इस स्वतंत्रता दिवस के अवसर पर देश की अग्रणी पीआर संस्था, पीआर 24x7, #NoPlasticFlag कैम्पेन का संचालन कर रही है, जिसका उद्देश्य देश के नागरिकों को प्लास्टिक के झंडों के बजाए, कपड़े तथा कागज़ के झंडे का उपयोग करने के लिए जागरूक करना है। 



संस्था के फाउंडर, अतुल मलिकराम कहते हैं, "देखने में आता है कि चौक-चौराहों पर बड़ी मात्रा में प्लास्टिक से बने झंडों की बिक्री की जाती है। दुःख तब होता है, जब कुछ घंटों की देश-भक्ति व्यक्त करने के बाद ये झंडे धूल के समान सड़कों पर पड़े मिलते हैं। क्या यही देश-भक्ति है? भारत माता के त्यौहार पर ही, भारत को दूषित किया जाना क्या भारत के नागरिकों को शोभा देता है? ऐसे तमाम प्रश्नों के सटीक उत्तर हेतु संस्था के सभी 68 शहरों से जुड़े प्रतिनिधि, इस कैम्पेन के चलते 15 अगस्त को सुबह 9 बजे से 11 बजे तक सड़कों पर पड़े हुए झंडों को एकत्रित करेंगे, और साथ ही जनता को झंडे का अपमान और प्लास्टिक के झंडों का उपयोग न करने के लिए जागरूक करेंगे।" 


यदि हम सच्चे देशभक्त हैं, तो हमें देश की भावना और प्रकृति की एहमियत को समझना होगा। सिर्फ प्लास्टिक के झंडे ही नहीं, प्लास्टिक बैग्स आदि का उपयोग करना भी अब हमें बंद करना होगा। यदि नागरिक इनका उपयोग ही न करें, तो प्रत्यक्ष रूप से इनका निर्माण ही बंद हो जाएगा। यह सीधे तौर पर पर्यावरण संरक्षण में और अन्य प्राणियों को मृत्यु के घाट उतरने से बचाने में कारगर साबित होगा। यदि एक वस्तु को बंद कर देने से प्रकृति को दूषित होने से बचाया जा सकता है, तो क्यों न हम भी पीआर 24x7 के #NoPlasticFlag कैम्पेन से जुड़ें और अपने आसपास के सभी लोगों को भी इसका उपयोग न करने के लिए जागरूक करें। तो इस बार प्लास्टिक फ्लैग को करें 'ना', और सच्ची देशभक्ति को करें 'हाँ'।

एसीसी की निर्माण सलाहकार पहल के जरिये हजारों राजमिस्त्रियों, ठेकेदारों और घर बनाने वालों को प्रदान की गई तकनीकी सहायता

 एसीसी ने अपनी निर्माण सलाहकार पहल के तहत घर बनाने वालों, राजमिस्त्रियों और ठेकेदारों को सशक्त बनाने की दिशा में उठाया एक महत्वपूर्ण कदम • ए...