Archives February 2023

National, February 23, 2023: To ensure that parents can make smarter choices and save more while spending for their kids, especially for recurring expenses, Multiply – the world’s 1st Invest to Spend app – has launched the Parenting category on the app.

Having a child is a delightful experience. It is also one that comes with a lot of responsibilities – managing finances being one of the primary concerns. Everyone wants their kids to get the best facilities, education, and extracurricular activities so that they grow up to be successful participants in society.

However, financial planning for children remains restricted to age-old financial instruments such as bank savings, fixed deposits, and long-term insurance plans.

These plans and instruments often do not benchmark the rising education and miscellaneous costs and could end up being inadequate the meet expenses when the child grows up. Huge educational loans, families getting deeper into the debt cycle, and similar stories are very familiar.

In fact, the concept of financial planning for anything except college funds is practically non-existent. With annual school fees rising to up to Rs 2 lacs in tier 1 cities, this is a huge expense that a parent has to partake in every year. However, it’s not an effectively planned expense for most parents.

When a baby is born, parents make purchases anywhere between Rs 10000 – 30000 month on month, meeting the needs of baby products such as diapers, cribs, clothes, skincare, stroller, car seats, and more. But most parents do not plan for these expenses and rely on their bank savings to spend for them, without realizing that they could have saved much more had they gone the smarter way.

Multiply’s parenting category launch aims at solving this problem.

They have partnered with popular kids-first brands such as FirstCry, Hamleys, Vendatu, and StayQrious. Moreover, other popular brands such as Decathlon, Myntra, Flipkart, Nike, Puma, etc. also feature in this category from where parents usually purchase for their kids.

Multiple users, aka Multiplers, can plan for their kid’s expenses 3-12 months in advance, and earn investment returns on their savings. Moreover, the brands mentioned provide 3% – 25% additional savings in the form of co-investments. Overall, a parent saves big time while they have already planned for these inevitable spends.

Talking about the initiative, Paddy Raghavan, the CEO, and co-founder, of Multiple, said,

“Youngsters look at saving for vacations and gadget purchases. However, as one grows older, their priorities may change, and be more focused on their regular expense-based lifestyle, a big part of which includes their children’s education and other expenses.”

He added, “The new category on Multiply is launched with the purpose of helping parents become more prudent while spending for their children. It ensures that young parents do not fall into a debt trap and are able to build positive savings behavior. We will be adding many more relevant and exciting brands to this category to make it exciting for the parents.”

To further strengthen this category, Multiply has done a strategic partnership with iMumz – a platform to empower pregnant mothers to deliver healthy, happy, and intelligent babies through a positive lifestyle. The goal of this partnership is to help mothers (and parents) plan for a change in their lifestyle once their baby is born.

iMumz CEO and Founder Ravi Teja Akondi said, “Multiply and iMumz sync perfectly as we both have a clear purpose of helping young parents in all aspects of parenthood. While iMumz provides the necessary lifestyle guidance to unlock the true potential of the newly born, Multipl enables parents financially to achieve the same thing. We’re very excited about this partnership.”

Bengaluru, Feb 23, 2023: The Ballroom Hall of Hotel Ritz Carlton was abuzz with anticipation at the 5th edition of the CREDAI Awards for Real Estate (CARE Awards) 2023. Real estate developers from across Karnataka had submitted their nominations across various categories before an eminent jury panel. The awards were presented across multiple categories for Karnataka and Bengaluru City.

The awardees list are as follows:

Special Awards

– Outstanding Contribution to Realty Sector – Mr. R Nagaraj Reddy, CMD Zonasha Projects & Mr Jayaram Shetty, Managing Director, Laxmi Sai Investments & Developers, Hubballi

– Lifetime achievement award – Mr.Ravi Puravankara, Founder &Chairman, Puravnnkara Ltd & Dr KC Naik, Founder & Managing Director, Mahabaleshwara Promoters & Builders, Mangaluru

Bengaluru:

Dwelling above 1500 sft : Klassic Enterprises. For Klassic Landmark

Dwelling below 1500 sft: Rohan Housing for Rohan Iksha

Villas & Row Houses: NVT Quality Lifestyle Projects for NVT Lifesquare

Commercial Complex: Vaishnavi Infrastructure for Vaishnavi Techpark

Innovative Asset Class – Senior Living: Primus Lifespaces for Primus Reflection

Best CSR activity: Brigade Foundation

Karnataka North & South:

Karnataka North:

Dwelling below 1500 sft : BM Associates Hubballi. For BM Garden

Plotted development – less than 10 acres: Siddharth Realty Vijaypura for Model Colony

Plotted development – more than 10 acres: Kalaskar & Associates, Kalaburgi for Sharddha Metropolis

Commercial/ Shopping Mall: Ambizone Infrastructure Kalaburgi for Orchid Malls

Innovative Asset Class – Club: Siddharth Realty Vijaypura for Spoorthy Club

Best CSR activity: Siddharth Realty Vijaypura

Karnataka South:

Dwelling below 1500 sft : Sankalp Constructions Mysuru. For Temple Tree

Commercial/ Shopping Mall: Asiya Developers Karwar for Asiya Business Park

Best CSR activity: Beary’s Properties & Development, Mangaluru

Members from all across Karnataka attended the awards night.

Mr.Chaitanya Kulkarni, President, CREDAI Karnataka said, “The CARE Awards is a way for us to recognize members of the real estate fraternity who have done exemplary work in the field and to encourage others to do the same. It is very prestigious for the members as it is a recognition from CREDAI.”

Mr.Bhaskar T Nagendrappa, President of CREDAI-Bengaluru said, “This is a platform to recognize the efforts of real estate development across the state. Let these awards be an inspiration for all to excel in their field.”

These winners were chosen by an eminent jury panel based on presentations made in each category.

Mumbai, February 23, 2023 – In line with its vision to support Indian MSMEs, DBS Bank India announced its partnership with eSamudaay today. eSamudaay (a SAAS-based solutions provider, owned and operated by Nirmund Digital Distributions Private Limited), focuses on non-metro towns and cities, providing digital solutions on both the buyer and seller side and logistic support to make doing business on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) convenient for smaller players in the market. With this partnership, DBS Bank India aims to meet the needs of SMEs and MSMEs while conducting business through ONDC and expanding its digital solutions beyond traditional banking.

Under this alliance, which was finalized on Republic Day (January 26, 2023), DBS Bank India will gain deeper insights into the end user’s requirements and can offer them customized solutions. Focusing on a more inclusive offering, the Bank will leverage its robust, globally-renowned digital capabilities and go beyond traditional banking to offer bundled and bespoke cash management solutions to cater to the diverse needs of SMEs and MSMEs – such as efficiently managing collections, payments, payroll, liquidity management, and financial products. As eSamudaay’s financial partner, DBS Bank India will pilot their solutions in a few South Indian cities such as Udupi, Thanjavur, Mangalore and Mysore, with a long-term plan to cover 24 cities across India, managing end-to-end flows of the entire supply chain in those cities.

Divyesh Dalal, Managing Director & Head – Global Transaction Services at DBS Bank India, said ” Our endeavor has always been to enable our customers to drive efficiency and growth through customer-focused, digital solutions. This partnership furthers our commitment to empowering MSMEs, especially those beyond metro and tier-1 markets. We are excited to partner with eSamudaay, who share our ethos of enabling businesses to grow through innovation. We look forward to offering our customized financial solutions to local businesses and contributing towards the growth of India’s burgeoning e-commerce market.”

Expressing confidence at what could become a unique growth model for India and other countries, Anup Pai, co-founder and CEO of eSamudaay said, “Our team is happy to partner with a global bank that has taken a futuristic stand on decentralization as a means to spread the wealth, as well as provide the financial resources to individuals and communities to expand their business. We have created a digital solution for decentralized, inclusive economic growth and believe that in DBS Bank India, we have found the right partner to offer a slew of financial products for local commerce to thrive.”

DBS believes in delivering a banking experience that is safe, transparent, and hassle-free. Recently DBS Bank India partnered with Gofrugal Technologies to help SMEs catalog their products quickly and expand their sales channels via ONDC. Earlier, DBS Bank India launched a first-of-its-kind digital and paperless trade financing solution for freight forwarders that leverages Electronic Way (eWay) bill verification for digitalizing and simplifying trade transactions.

eSamudaay works with various stakeholders, including local associations, the chamber of commerce, and financial institutions, to digitalize local trade. This new-age technology company helps businesses become self-reliant and compete with larger organizations. The Open Network ensures that potentially every seller gets enhanced discovery opportunities, not to mention the possibility of trading overseas as the model develops.

DBS Bank India leverages the power of ecosystems and technology to help clients connect across the value chain and provide enabling solutions that drive efficiency and synergies for growth. Furthering its goal of financial inclusion and digital penetration in the country, DBS Bank India offers an online credit solutions platform, “DBS Digital Business Loans,” which ensures easy access to business credit for the entire spectrum of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, offering up to Rs 20 crore in credit.

As per data from the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, as of 25th November 2022, the Udyam Registration portal registered 12,201,448 MSMEs1. Indian MSMEs are rapidly adopting digital payments over cash, with 72% of payments done through the digital mode compared with 28% of cash transactions. The rise in digital adoption presents prospects for further growth in the sector.

Gurugram, 23 February 2023: With the onset of spring, the people of NCR celebrated the biggest Literature and Music festival of the year – Invincible Fest at DLF CyberHub on 17th-18th February. The festival witnessed a starry line up with experts sharing valuable insights from the space of literature, music, and art. The two-day extravaganza demonstrated knowledge sharing from book discussions, the entertainment industry to finance, crypto & technology.

With over 50 speakers and panelists engaging in thought-provoking conversations around literature, finance, tech & art the event was a cultural hub inducing community empowerment. There were book launches by Ranveer Brar, Durjoy Datta, Manoj Tiwary, and many more. This was followed by other enriching sessions by eminent personalities namely Kabir Bedi, Anu Kapoor, Karan Tacker, Anant Ladha, and Stock Market Expert among others.

The festival witnessed the book launch of Jayam Amma’s Palakkad Palate by Ranveer Brar.

There was a large crowd that was amassed near the Amphitheater at DLF CyberHub, who were enthusiastic and excited to absorb the knowledge that was imparted. The fervor in the air was further celebrated with a musical performance by ‘Prayag the band’ on the first day, followed by a dance performance by ‘Sadanand Dance Performance’ on day two.

Celebrating the association Ms. Pushpa Bector, Executive Director, of DLF Retail, said, “The Invincible Festival was a synthesis of the literature, thought, and culture for our new age audiences at DLF CyberHub. By bringing outstanding individuals together on this special stage, Invincible Fest celebrated the diversity of the social fabric and literature. This further affirms DLF Malls’ ongoing effort to elevate consumer experience across all our properties.”

Shedding light on the event, Mr. Ajay Setia and Sagar Setia, CEO & Founders, of Invincible Festival said, “The Future Depends on What we do in the Present by Mahatma Gandhi, this is what we are trying to do at Invincible. We are curating a platform for authors, content creators, artists, and musicians to come together under one roof and curate an offline networking channel where one can get to meet the best of the lot. These two days were spectacular and most importantly we were able to pull in a large crowd and put on an amazing show. Thanks to DLF CyberHub and Team Invincible, and special thanks to some of our notable speakers like Saurabh Shukla, Kabir Bedi, Ranveer Brar, Ashish Vidyarthi, Pushkar Raj Thakur, Karan Tacker, Ravinder Singh, Durjoy Datta, Kaveree Bamzai, Ananth Ladha, Dear sir and many more.

The venue and the vibe of the festival was amazing, special thanks to our partner Rigi, an app which helps you monetize content for creators, gifting partner and DLF CyberHub as our Venue partner. Let’s celebrate this together Art, Literature, Music and Much More.”

Invincible Fest is a nod to maestros from the space of literature, music, finance, art & technology by providing them a platform to connect with the audiences and create a budding community.

India  Feb 22, 2023: Procter & Gamble India today announced the ‘Lead With Care’ Program that offers holistic support to employees who are caregivers to children with disabilities and special needs. Effective April 1, 2023, this program will enable employees to avail early preventive care and treatment for children impacted by specific neurodevelopmental, cognitive, behavioral, or physical impairments. The Program includes medical coverage across diagnosis, doctor consultations, treatment, cost of medicines and devices, and builds on top of the existing medical support the company extends to all its employees and their families, including employees of the LGBTQ+ community. Additionally, the Company will facilitate specialized and trained day-care support via certified partners and shall provide an employee assistance program (EAP) available 24×7 to all employees and their families to navigate this journey.

With this, P&G India is pioneering holistic support to employees who are caregivers to children with disabilities and special needs, not just for the industry in India, but also for P&G globally, serving as a learning ground for other markets.

Srinivas P.M. – Head, of Human Resources, P&G India Subcontinent said, “At P&G, CARE is the cornerstone of our people policy – CARE for our people and their families. We have undertaken deliberate efforts to prioritize their health and well-being, which is yielding visible results. Several studies indicate that early diagnosis and treatment of disabilities can positively impact the long term. With ‘Lead With Care’ our endeavour is to help our people avail early-stage medical and care interventions for their children, which can significantly impact their growth and overall quality of life. We also understand that this can be a challenging phase for our people, and therefore are extending our Employee Assistance Program to get the necessary help in their journey.

This is in line with our philosophy that prevention is better than cure. We believe that only when our people and their families are truly happy and healthy at their core, is when they will be able to bring their full selves to work. With this, and several other initiatives, we continue to Lead With Care.”

Details of ‘Lead With Care’:

UNICEF estimates that 1 in 10 of all children worldwide have disabilities. Early intervention becomes a critical first step as several studies indicate that early detection and early intervention can avoid the precipitation of several of disabilities and can reduce the impact the disability may have on the child and the family. With this approach, the ‘Lead With Care’ program includes:

– Medical Coverage: For over 10 types of treatments including diagnosis, consultations, treatment, cost of specialized devices, and medicines for eligible dependent children up to 18 years of age. This enables employees to avail of early-stage medical interventions and diagnoses which can significantly impact the quality of life and the overall development of their children. These focused interventions range from medical devices to cognitive therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy including neuro rehabilitation, and prostheses/orthoses among others.

– Day Care Support: Enabling employees to avail specialized daycare facilities for their children by facilitating specialized and trained day-care services via certified partners. This aims to help working parents ensure quality care and a specialized teaching environment is always available to their children so that the intervention and recovery continues unhindered.

– 24×7 Employee Assistance Helpline (EAP): The EAP facility is available to all employees, round the clock, where they can seek specialized counseling, assistance, and guidance through difficult moments along the journey

Caring for its employees and their families has truly been the cornerstone of the culture at P&G India, with the topmost priority being their health and well-being. Recognizing that a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work across a diverse workforce, the Company has evolved its medical benefits program periodically, basis real employee experiences and needs, which resulted in the curation of a more holistic program that includes the ‘Lead With Care’ Program.

Bengaluru, 22 February 2023: PhonePe, India’s leading fintech platform, today, announced its record-high distribution of 20 Lakh SmartSpeakers within just six months of launch. This is the fastest ramp-up seen for such devices among offline merchants in the country. PhonePe’s SmartSpeakers help validate customer payments without any intervention, and their speed of audio confirmations has helped build exceptional trust and reliability across over 3.5 Crore merchants on the company’s platform.

As merchants across India are increasingly adopting the PhonePe SmartSpeakers, they are realizing the value it creates for their business every day. On average, PhonePe SmartSpeakers are being used for the validation of more than 75 crore transactions per month. Merchant partners spread across ~16,000 pin codes (>75% pin codes) in the country are now using the SmartSpeaker, with Tier III locations seeing the deployment of more than 5 lakh devices.

Some of the features that make this device stand out in the market include portability, a best-in-class battery, great audio clarity even in the noisiest of environments, and the compact and versatile form factor which allows merchants to use it even in the most congested counter spaces. Earlier merchants using feature phones relied heavily on SMS, but now with the PhonePe SmartSpeakers, their payment validation experience has been significantly eased. PhonePe SmartSpeakers provide payment notifications in 11 Indian languages and comes with up to 4 days of battery life, dedicated data connectivity, a dedicated battery level LED indicator for ease of use, audio alerts for low battery level, and a dedicated replay button for the last transaction. By offering such convenience to merchants, PhonePe is seeing the successful adoption of PhonePe’s SmartSpeakers in the market, thus enabling an increase in digital payments.

Speaking on this milestone, Vivek Lohcheb, Head of Offline Business at PhonePe said, “The deployment of over 20 lakh SmartSpeakers across the country in record time is a testimony to PhonePe’s superior execution capabilities. PhonePe has always crafted innovative products and customized offerings to address unique merchant requirements. We are delighted to see our SmartSpeakers being widely accepted across all regions and cities of the country. This strong merchant preference for our SmartSpeakers is due to our device performance, and the trust associated with PhonePe as a brand. As we continue to build for our merchants, we will enhance the hardware and software capabilities of the device to actively benchmark our product in the market.”

PhonePe provides a suite of services to offline merchants which primarily include the interoperable QR code to accept digital payments through any UPI-enabled app, the PhonePe Stores functionality where merchants can access a large base of customers in their vicinity, the PhonePe Business app to facilitate end-to-end control of an entire payment process, Store Analytics feature for merchants to see their ratings and reviews, payment links for merchants to collect payment for goods and services remotely, and now, SmartSpeakers for reliable & convenient payment tracking at stores.

Mumbai, 22 January 2023: Aiming to support people with quick medical care, CarDekho has onboarded ambulance service provider Medulance on its mobile app and website. Amit Jain, the new Shark on Shark Tank India show, decided to add Medulance, a GPS-based platform enabling fast ambulance services that pitched its business on the show, to CarDekho without any financial transaction. Amit Jain, Co-Founder and CEO of India’s largest auto tech company – CarDekho Group – did this with an aim to expand the reach of the emergency first care service and help bring down the number of road accident fatalities. This offer was made by Amit Jain in succession to his offer of Rs. 5 crore for 5% equity in Medulance, the biggest offer in the history of Shark Tank India.

This free-of-charge integration of Medulance on the CarDekho app and website will enable users to call for an ambulance from the app and website in case of a mishap. This is in line with Amit Jain’s view of supporting cause-based businesses and will seek to prevent road accident fatalities in India.

Present in 500 cities, Medulance is India’s first, GPS-based technology platform that enables fast and reliable first-point medical attention. Started in 2017, Medulance intends to make finding an ambulance as easy as finding food or taxis these days to assist lives. It is an integrated emergency response support provider, ambulance booking and tracking system designed to provide first-point medical attention.

Speaking on this partnership, Mr. Amit Jain, CEO, and Co-Founder, CarDekho Group, said, “India reports one of the highest numbers of fatalities caused by road accidents every year, cutting short great life stories. About half of these lives can be saved if the injured receive timely access to medical care, and Medulance is playing a pivotal role in bridging this gap. As a responsible group, CarDekho has integrated Medulance on its mobile app and website, and is playing its part in helping create awareness about a service that can help save lives.”

Pranav Bajaj, a CEO, of Medulance, said, “Medulance was started with the aim to help people call for early first care in case of an accident. Our efforts have saved hundreds of lives so far and this social gesture by Shark Amit Jain will further amplify the reach of Medulance, allowing timely availability of ambulances and curbing the loss of lives.”

Shark Tank India 2.0 is witnessing increased participation from entrepreneurs that are battling societal odds and are keen on solving problems through their businesses. Amit Jain has been at the forefront of promoting such ventures by looking beyond profit and investing in businesses that help India move forward.

Mumbai – February 22, 2023 – Kingston Technology, a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, today announced its 64GB, 32GB, and 16GB Server Premier DDR5 4800MT/s Registered DIMMs have been validated on the 4th Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processor (formerly codenamed Sapphire Rapids). Kingston offers server memory and Data Center (DC) SSDs for the most demanding workloads, and supports the global needs to store, manage and instantly access large volumes of data in both traditional databases and Big Data infrastructures.

For over 35 years Kingston has been the memory brand trusted by leading server manufacturers and the world’s largest data centers. Server Premier is Kingston’s industry standard memory solution sold by a specification for use in white-box servers, and is platform validated and qualified by leading motherboard/system manufacturers. Featuring a locked BOM (Bill of Materials) to provide a consistent brand and revision of primary components (including DRAM, register, PMIC, SPD hub, thermal sensors, and PCB), all Kingston server memory solutions are 100% tested and undergo a rigorous dynamic burn-in process designed to catch early-life failures at the factory.

Server Premier features include:

• Locked Bill of Materials (BOM)
• Part Change Notifications (PCN) – 90 days
• 8Q roadmap visibility
• Server platform validation
• Leading server motherboard manufacturer qualification
• Limited Lifetime warranty
• Industry-leading service and support

Intel’s 4th Gen Xeon Scalable Processor is their first to support next-generation DDR5 server-class memory and features eight memory channels, arranged in up to two DIMMs per channel, or 16 DIMMs per CPU socket. At 4800MT/s, each DDR5 Registered DIMM provides a peak bandwidth of 38.4GB/s, which when grouped in multi-channel configurations provides a marked increase in performance over DDR4-based servers. DDR5 introduces advanced features for a more reliable and more efficient memory subsystem, including on-die ECC (ODECC), double the number of banks and double the burst length, improved refreshes, inclusion of a power management circuit (PMIC), additional temperature sensors, decision feedback equalization (DFE), and dual independent 32-bit subchannels (40-bit for ECC).

The following modules are available now:

“We’re excited to announce the validation of our next-generation server memory parts on Intel’s 4th Gen Xeon Scalable processor,” said Kingston. “Validation is always the first step for memory manufacturers to demonstrate the quality and compatibility of their memory solutions. DDR5 delivers the technology to scale in bandwidth and capacity to meet the performance requirements of tomorrow’s data centers.”

In addition to server memory, Kingston’s Enterprise SATA 3.0 and NVMe Data Center (DC) SSDs are storage solutions designed with a stringent set of development requirements and a thorough testing process. The Kingston’s SATA Data Center SSDs are reliable high-performance, low-latency drives built for data centers and efficient client systems. Kingston’s NVMe Data Center SSDs provides extreme speeds for exceptional Quality of Service (QoS) demands for extensive daily tasks to mission critical information. Offering enterprises a wide variety of products to choose from.

Pune, February 22, 2023: India’s leading incubation and investment platform, AIC (Atal Incubation Centre)-Pinnacle Entrepreneurship Forum, supported by Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, Ministry of MSME, and Ministry of Electronics and IT, Govt. of India, has announced the launch of the AIC – Pinnacle EV Challenge. This one-of-a-kind EV challenge is envisioned at encouraging startups from across the country working in the EV charging infrastructure, EV products, components, EV-related service, and solutions space to work on the challenges faced by the electric vehicle (EV) industry and come up with innovative resolutions. Nominations for AIC-Pinnacle EV Challenge will remain open till 28th February 2023. Startups offering specialized groundbreaking and potentially scalable solutions in one or multiple domains of challenges faced by the EV industry can apply.

Speaking on the announcement, Dr. Sudhir Mehta, Founder, AIC-Pinnacle Entrepreneurship Forum, and Chairman of Pinnacle Industries & EKA said, “We are excited to launch the AIC – Pinnacle EV Challenge and provide a platform for startups to work on the challenges faced by the EV industry. With this EV Challenge, we aim to discover promising products, technology, and startups, explore commercial opportunities, and encourage the implementation of solutions and innovation in the EV sector. While the electric vehicle industry in India is growing vigorously, it is concurrently posed with a diverse set of challenges. We firmly believe that startups in our country possess a huge potential, talent, and futuristic vision and have an enormous ability to play a significant role in addressing the challenges the EV industry faces. They deeply understand the ground-level problems of the EV Industry and are highly driven to come up with innovative-scalable ideas and solutions that contribute largely to our country’s sustainability goals. We are positive that this challenge will inspire and support startups to come up with innovative solutions that will shape the future of the EV industry.”

The forum plans to facilitate the winning startups with cash prizes, product development support, and manufacturing partnerships with the EV industry. The first winner will be awarded a cash prize of INR 2,00,000, the second winner will receive a cash prize of INR 1,50,000, followed by a prize of INR 1,00,000 to the third winner of the challenge. In addition, the startups shall be provided incubation support, mentoring, co-working space, lab space, IP and legal support, funding support, networking support, etc by AIC-Pinnacle Entrepreneurship Forum. The startups, if deemed fit, will also be provided support in the commercialization of the products.

The primary areas of conundrum are challenges related to the product, cost, Infrastructure, service, supply chain, investments, skilled manpower, the transition of ICE to EV, vehicle-to-grid integration, and any other latent issues. Only registered startups will be eligible for consideration and must apply on the official application website upto 28th February 2023. Winners will be announced in the first week of March on AIC-Pinnacle’s official website.

The EV Challenge conceptualized & organized by AIC -Pinnacle Entrepreneurship Forum will serve as a proving ground for future automotive engineers and organizations. The challenge is aimed at realizing energy-efficient solutions while meeting the decarbonization needs of the automotive industry. The challenge will provide startups with a platform to showcase their ideas and receive support in the form of mentorship and access to industry experts.

The AIC – Pinnacle EV Challenge will be conducted in two stages. The first stage will involve a selection process based on the applications received, and selected startups will have the opportunity to work on their ideas with support from industry experts. The second stage will involve a pitch session, where selected startups will present their solutions to a panel of judges, who will select the winning startups.

India, February 22nd, 2023: Sports have been an integral part of world culture dating back as far as ancient civilizations. The most eminent example of sports culture and society, the Olympic Games are more than 3,000 years old. Sports have always had an extraordinary impact on society, culture, economy, and every other facet of a nation. For those engaged in sports, sports are the epitome of diligence, hard work, and dedication. In India, the sports sector has seen exponential growth and is considered to be the next big opportunity. With the best outcome at the Olympics and the Commonwealth games off late, India is on the rise, and all due to the best infrastructure and nutrition being provided to them. In the past few decades, we have witnessed countries such as America, Australia, and China invest heavily in the sports domain, especially at the grassroots level to develop community sports complexes and facilities. These facilities are available to their young population across schools, colleges, and universities. This has aided these countries to be some of the chart leaders and global sporting powers in world games with their athletes being able to practice at state-of-the-art infrastructure facilities.

When it comes to sports, the Northeast can least be ignored. Over the years the athletes from this region have held the Indian tricolor high. The Meghalaya Government run by the National People’s Party and the visionary Shri Conrad Sangma has seen an upsurge in Youth Affairs and Sports Infrastructure, besides significant other developments over the course of the last few years. Meghalaya has been a state that lives and breathes sports, especially football, since its inception in 1972 when it became a separate state from Assam. The state boasts of some international players that have represented the country in the past. It is seen that the state of Meghalaya is capable to produce several champion athletes in various sports. With a state-of-the-art sporting infrastructure that is being developed for various sports, the aspiration to develop sporting talent in the state is currently being effortlessly accomplished. The State Sports Policy of Meghalaya aims at promoting active participation in sports and physical activity as the central premise of Meghalaya’s culture, ethos, and way of life. The Government of Meghalaya believes that participation in sports and games improves the well-being and quality of life, brings social harmony, and promotes economic activities.

In their quest to earn more sporting laurels for the state, the Government has implemented 400 Grassroots Sports infrastructure projects which are under construction and several iconic sports stadiums like the much-awaited Football Stadium at the P.A. Sangma Sports Complex have been inaugurated in record time. The stadium invokes a great historical significance as it witnessed Tura Football League and Subroto Cup since its inception in the year 2006. The upgradation of this stadium has been a mammoth undertaking by the NPP Government in Meghalaya. The Stadium is a technological marvel, being the country’s largest pre-engineered composite football stadium with a sizeable seating capacity of 9500. The beautiful stadium is part of an equally magnificent Sports Complex built at a cost of ₹.127.7 Crore which is also nearing its completion. The Football Stadium and the two Indoor stadiums are built over a combined area of over 17,000 sqm. The Indoor Stadiums with Gymnasium, Swimming Pool, Table Tennis Hall, Squash Hall, and Badminton Hall have also been operational. Additionally, large infrastructures will also be ready in the next few months with JN Stadium (Polo Grounds Shillong) being upgraded, and Wahiajer Stadium and Indoor Stadium in Jongksha entering their concluding stages.

Sport is woven into the fabric of every community in the state. Traditional sports have been a part of every community’s lifestyle over the years, and it is seen to date that several communities still engage themselves in these traditional sports. Meghalaya has performed well in sports at the national and international levels in the past and has huge opportunities to develop more athletes in various other sports. With an aim to achieve laurels for the state, the “Meghalaya State Sports Policy 2019” is proposed with a commitment to excel in sports and to position Meghalaya as a leading sporting state in India. The State provides year-round, high-intensity, individual, event, and position-specific training. Teach athletes, who are now proficient at performing basic and sport-specific skills, to perform those skills under a variety of competitive conditions during training. Place special emphasis on optimum preparation by modeling competitions in training. Individually tailor fitness programs, recovery programs, psychological preparation, and technical development. Emphasize individual preparation that addresses each athlete’s individual strengths and weaknesses.

The NPP government has launched a talent identification program for athletes. The program aims to identify talented athletes at a young and impressionable age and then hone their skills through curated training programs. In the first phase of the program, 4,600 children in the age groups of 10-18 were tested on international standards for their athletic abilities. The initial findings are very encouraging and dozens of kids whose athletic abilities are at par and even better than international benchmarks have been identified. Raksan Sangma, a 17-year-old boy from Southwest Garo Hills clocked 2.84 seconds in the 20-meter sprint against the international benchmark of 2.99 seconds.

To realize this vision, STAR Talent Identification Program was launched to identify sports talents and impart quality training as per international standards, to encourage Coaches and Athletes, Cash award Scheme has been initiated. Rs. 4 Cr have been disbursed benefitting nearly 3000 athletes. ASPIRE program was launched where 23,000+ youths were skilled in soft skills and life skills for confidence building and nurturing critical thinking. Sports Scholarship Scheme was initiated to award sports achievers. The incentive is being transferred every month to the sportspersons. Meghalaya Games was held after 16 Years while hosting the 2nd Northeast Olympics successfully as one of the best-hosted games in the history of the Northeast region.

Bearing testimony to the entire effort by athletes supported by Government, the 2nd Northeast Olympic Games was a remarkable success. The organization of this event is a testament to what the Northeast can do and the signs of what the Northeast can achieve in the times to come. There was a concerted and systemic effort behind the stupendous success of Team Meghalaya with unprecedented successes. Despite COVID, the NPP-led government continued supporting the athletes, ensuring that they get the best of facilities, training, and opportunity. The Government and the various sporting associations worked with a single-minded focus to emerge as champions. Meghalaya is now completely ready to host the National Games in 2023 and other international events. Meghalaya finished with a rich haul of 36 Gold Medals and an overall tally of 149 Medals.