Archives February 2024

Mumbai 08th  Feb 2024: upGrad, one of Asia’s largest integrated learning, skilling and workforce development majors announced the appointment of Ankur Nyati as the new President of its Study Abroad segment, effective 6th February 2024.

Ankur brings a distinguished career spanning over 2 decades, with notable contributions across manufacturing, retail, e-commerce, and education. His leadership roles at leading brands such as ITC, Unilever, Flipkart, Ola, Ola UK, WhiteHat Jr, and The Manipal Group highlight his strategic acumen and execution prowess. His extensive experience in India and the UK, coupled with a track record of driving growth initiatives on a global scale, positions him as a value-add to the company. In his new role, Ankur Nyati will lead the Study Abroad operations, leveraging his expertise to further enhance upGrad’s standing in India and overseas markets and build the largest suite of study abroad offerings.

With this, the former President, Ankur Dhawan will move on to take up fresh responsibilities within the upGrad ecosystem to further support the company’s growth.

“Constant innovation and strategic growth serve as upGrad’s cornerstone. Ankur Dhawan has laid the foundation very strong within the study abroad segment and now is the time we elevate ourselves as the market leader. The next 12 months will witness both – market and portfolio expansion with innovative study-abroad solutions coming into play. Ankur Nyati’s deep expertise in scaling operations will support us in driving stronger business outcomes while also ensuring sustainable profitability for the segment,” said Mayank Kumar, Co-founder & MD, upGrad.

Commenting on the move, Ankur Nyati said, “I’ve followed the education ecosystem very closely over the years and what upGrad has been solving for is commendable. It resonates with India’s efforts of building a wider talent matrix/powerhouse for global opportunities. I’m thrilled to get on to the bandwagon and help the brand build a stronger global network for a million aspirants coming out of Indian markets.”

“In the last three years, building a product from scratch has been like a dream come true, and I now feel it’s time for me to move on and leverage my skills and capabilities for planting newer growth seeds within the overall upGrad matrix. We’re in an exciting period of growth that requires smarter and more innovative business experiments,” added Ankur Dhawan.

An IIT Delhi and IIM Bangalore alumni, Nyati’s commitment to building long-term businesses and driving scale will realise upGrad’s study abroad goals in the coming years. He will be based out of upGrad’s Noida office (IN).

Mumbai, February 8th, 2024:  After setting a record for the highest first-day bookings in its segment, India’s Kia Seltos continues its winning streak, surpassing over 100,000 bookings since its launch in July’23. During this period, the company has received 13,500 bookings (approximately) every month. The starting price for the New Seltos in India is 10.99 Lakhs (Ex-showroom). Since its initial launch in August 2019, Kia has manufactured over 6 Lakhs Seltos units in India, with nearly 75% sold in the domestic market. In 2023, Kia sold a total of 1.04 Lakhs units of the Seltos.

The automatics emerged as the top choices among Seltos’ new-age customers, comprising nearly 50% of the total bookings. With growing awareness of advanced Active Safety features, approximately 40% of buyers are expressing strong interest in variants equipped with ADAS. Seltos booking trends mirror the enduring preference for sunroofs among Indian customers, with 80% of Seltos buyers opting for this feature. The ratio of petrol to diesel bookings also remains healthy at 58:42%. The premium appeal of the Seltos is evident in the booking preferences, with 80% of buyers inclined towards owning the top variants.

Commenting on Seltos success, Mr. Myung-sik Sohn, Chief Sales & Business Officer, Kia India, said, “We are excited about the market success of the new Seltos. Undoubtedly, it stands out as one of the smartest SUV choices available, and the response from our customers resonates with this sentiment. The New Seltos is helping us consolidate our market leadership consistently in the mid-SUV segment. We are actively realigning our manufacturing processes to ensure that our customers gain access to their favourite SUVs as swiftly as possible. We are thankful to all Seltos and Kia fans in India who support and inspire us to do better with every product.”

Launched in July 2023, the New Seltos has maintained its stance as an aspirational vehicle in the Indian market, setting new benchmarks for SUVs. Featuring a refreshed design, enhanced performance with a sportier touch, a robust exterior, a futuristic cabin, and advanced technology, the vehicle boasts a total of 32 features, encompassing Robust 15 Hi-Safety features and 17 ADAS Level 2 autonomous features.

 New Delhi, 08 Feb 2024: The rapid advancements in AI and technology have transformed the job-market dynamics across sectors – highlighting the urgent need for not easily automatable and high-demand employability skills that increase a candidate’s attractiveness in the competitive job landscape. Addressing this requirement, the Wadhwani Foundation today announced the launch of three new AI Co-Pilots to enhance the employability of youth and young adults across the nation. The newly launched functionality is a critical addition to the Foundation’s AI-powered, Genie.AI platform – aimed at upskilling job seekers, especially those from underserved communities.

 Genie.AI provides over 1000 hours of skilling and entrepreneurship content, backed by a network of experts and mentors. Offering free, tailored learning in English, Hindi, with expansion plans in other Indian languages, the platform partners with government and global entities to enable learning for a wide audience – aiming to reach 10 million learners by 2027. The AI Co-Pilot function accelerates the impact the Genie.AI platform by providing each learner with a set of robust tools to accelerate their mastery of employability skills, all personalized to the learner’s target job.

 Speaking about the launch of the new functionality, Dr. Ajay Kela, President and CEO, Wadhwani Foundation said, “In an era where technological prowess is a given, the real differentiator lies in one’s ability to problem solve, critically think, effectively communicate, and innovate. These skills often remain out of reach of numerous job seekers from underserved communities. By harnessing AI, we can ensure that critical employability skills are not only ingrained in educational institutions but also transcend socio-economic barriers to learning. The idea is to sculpt a workforce which is not just job-ready but future-proof.”

 Sunil Dahiya, Executive Vice President, Wadhwani Foundation said, “Amidst evolving workplace dynamics, the Wadhwani Foundation focuses on empowering individuals with critical in-demand employability skills like adaptability and digital proficiency. Our AI-enabled platform and industry-led training equips job seekers with essential proficiencies for success ensuring they thrive in this rapidly changing job market.”

 Employers require learners with a range of skills beyond technical knowledge, including effective communication, adaptability to change, customer-centricity, professionalism, and innovation, amongst others. To address these needs, the Wadhwani Foundation has released three exciting AI Co-pilots: My Tutor for students, My Mentor for faculty, and My Interview Coach for job applicants.

 My Tutor personalizes the learning experience with immediate assistance and tailored content. Users can ask questions during lessons for instant clarifications, engage in targeted skill practice to check their learning, and receive clear guidance on key points to remember. With My Tutor’s cutting-edge personalization, each lesson is adapted the user’s individual career goals, such as providing specific insights and scenarios for a learner aspiring to become an automotive sales associate. Additionally, it incorporates real-life, scenario-based learning challenges relevant to the user’s career path. My Tutor also encourages collaborative learning, allowing users with similar career goals to engage in group activities, enriching the learning process through shared experiences.

 My Mentor significantly enhances the teaching experience by offering faculty additional tools to deliver more effective and engaging lessons. It provides AI-generated discussion prompts for each lesson, aiding faculty in creating more engaging and interactive classroom discussions. Additionally, My Mentor offers insights into common misunderstandings learners might encounter, helping educators anticipate and address learning challenges effectively.

 Finally, My Interview Coach helps learners demonstrate their knowledge during job interviews. Recognizing that most learners lack access to one-on-one coaching, My Interview Coach gives each learner specific job questions customized to the learner’s target job, enables the learner to video themselves answering the question, and then provides scores and detailed guidance on how to improve. Through this tool, learners build their confidence and ability to convey their knowledge and experience effectively in high-stakes interviews.

 Mark Malaspina, Chief Product Officer, Skilling, Wadhwani Foundation, spoke about the potential of these three AI Co-Pilots, “In a country where students and job seekers struggle to find personalised coaching, these AI Co-Pilot can be a game-changer. They not only accelerate learners’ acquisition of skills adapted to their career goals and the opportunity to practice critical communication skills in interview settings, but they also enable trainers with information and strategies to make training more effective and relevant to their students. The AI functionality coupled with the robust 360-degree support of Genie.AI platform has the potential to create a workforce adept not just in technical skills but also armed with critical thinking and communication proficiencies that enable innovation and its implementation in an ever-evolving job market.”

 In the coming months, the Foundation will continue to roll out impactful new AI features on the Genie.AI platform. In development now is a new AI Co-pilot, My Career Advisor, that will enable learners to explore careers based on their skills and interests, understand the “day-in-the-life” of different job roles, and create a personal plan for building the skills and experience they need to pursue the career of their choice.

 Genie.AI and these embedded AI Co-Pilots are transformative steps in education and employment that revolutionize skill development and career readiness with personalized learning, innovative teaching aids, and robust interview preparation. Democratising education, the platform is set to help millions of Indians realize their career aspirations in today’s dynamic job market.

India, 08th February 2024: India retained its third spot on U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) annual list of Top 10 Countries and Regions for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) in 2023. 248 projects, across both buildings and spaces, were certified for LEED in the country covering 7.23 million gross square meters (GSM). China topped the top 10 rankings for 2023 with over 24 million GSM certified followed by Canada with 7.9 million GSM. The annual ranking by USGBC highlights the significant progress made by countries and regions outside the United States in adopting healthy, sustainable and resilient building design, construction and operations.

LEED is the most widely used green building rating system in the world and the certification is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership. The rating system is available for virtually all building types thus providing a framework for healthy, highly efficient and cost-saving green buildings.

Over the last few years, India has consistently ranked among the top three countries, underscoring its commitment to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals outlined for 2030. The ranking highlights India‘s focus on climate change, with a particular emphasis on Green Development and the promotion of environmentally conscious practices. In India, LEED is administered by the Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), which has been working to accelerate the adoption of green buildings across the country.

Commenting on this milestone, Mr. Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan, Managing Director – Southeast Asia & Middle East, GBCI, said, “With India‘s rapidly growing urban landscape, the investment in green buildings becomes imperative, which extends beyond resource efficiency and reduced environmental impact; it is a fundamental step towards enhancing the well-being of our communities. India‘s consistent presence among the top countries for LEED underscores the dedicated pursuit of sustainable living and widespread adoption of green buildings. India has made a commitment to achieving the Net Zero emission target by 2070, demonstrating its active engagement in global climate initiatives.”

The list is compiled based on data and analysis of LEED-certified Gross Square Meters (GSM) space as of in 2023. While the United States is not included in the list, it remains the world’s largest market for LEED with more than 51 million GSM certified during the year. The ranking of the top 10 countries is as follows:

On a cumulative basis, India’s overall commercial projects under LEED stand at more than 2,200 buildings, representing more than 212 million GSM. India is also a global leader in net zero, leading the world in LEED Zero certifications. In 2023, India had 24 LEED Zero certifications. LEED is a recognized symbol of excellence around the world and continues to raise the bar in terms of sustainability for buildings, cities, and communities. LEED provides a pathway to certification for green buildings at the beginning of their sustainability journey, as well as those that are more advanced and looking to verify net zero performance.

Through LEED, USGBC pushes the market toward high-performing buildings. As part of its continued effort to set new benchmarks in the space, USGBC introduced a draft of the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) v5 framework for Operations and Maintenance (O+M) in 2023. It is the first rating system to be released under the LEED v5 umbrella. LEED v5 for Building Design and Construction (BD+C) will be rolled out in 2024.

New Delhi, 08th February 2024: Merging cutting-edge tech with the spirit of love, Locus.sh, a global logistics technology company and prominent online gifting platform IGP have united to orchestrate smooth and seamless deliveries across major Indian cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and others.

By harnessing Locus.sh’ supply chain execution technology, IGP will streamline its last-mile delivery operations, ensure on-time and efficient fulfillment of its orders, optimize fleet management, and provide an enhanced end-customer experience. The online gifting platform will leverage an end-to-end tailored dispatch management solution to automate and optimize the process from order placement to delivery completion.

Nishith Rastogi, the CEO of Locus.sh expressed his enthusiasm about the collaboration and said “By integrating Locus.sh’s advanced logistics technology with IGP’s passion for connecting people through meaningful gifts, we are redefining what it means to deliver not just parcels, but experiences. Our focus is on precision, efficiency, and the seamless integration of technology to meet and exceed the evolving expectations of today’s consumers. Together, Locus.sh and IGP are committed to ensuring that every delivery not only reaches its destination on time but also contributes to a memorable moment. This is the future of logistics—personalized, reliable, and consistently exceeding expectations.”

The Indian market has witnessed the expansion of Valentine’s Day into a multi-million dollar industry, marked by extravagant spending on gifts and experiences to convey love. Notably, metropolitan cities are at the forefront of this trend. With this partnership, IGP is poised to meet the escalating demand and enhance the Valentine’s experience for the customers.

Echoing similar sentiments, Tarun Joshi, CEO and Founder of IGP said, “In the spirit of celebrating love on Valentine’s Day, our partnership with Locus marks a pivotal moment for IGP, as we embrace smart technology to optimize the last mile delivery orders for us. With Locus at our side, we are poised to achieve impeccable and timely deliveries, ensuring that every heartfelt expression reaches its destination promptly. IGP is not only committed to enhancing customer satisfaction through Locus’s cutting-edge technology but is also thrilled to announce the launch of 30-minute deliveries on over 250 curated products across 400+ cities in India. This strategic collaboration with Locus is a testament to our dedication in providing innovative solutions, ensuring seamless and unforgettable moments for our customers throughout Valentine’s week and beyond.”

As Locus.sh and IGP come together this season, it also sets up the stage for future innovations in the world of e-commerce and logistics ultimately benefiting the end consumers.

Mumbai, 08th February, 2024: Senco Gold & Diamonds, the pan India jewellery retailer with a legacy of eight decades, is all geared up to embrace the sweet and endearing emotions that one feel towards their loved ones, aiming to create an unforgettable moment this Valentine’s Day with the introduction of their newest collection, “Romantique” and “Love 2024”. Poised to be a perfect gift, this new collection spreads its warmth to encompass the special bonds shared between warm hug of parents, cute love story of new couples and old couples, companionship of best friends and friendship with sisters. This new love collection is specifically designed to celebrate and cherish the spirit of love in various forms, making it a memorable experience for all.

• Capturing the essence of love and companionship, the recently unveiled “Romantique Collection” features exquisite necklaces adorned with diamonds and coloured stones, each hand crafted to perfection.
• The enchanting “Love 2024 Collection” from Everlite showcases irresistibly charming gold and diamond jewellery embellished with heart-shaped ruby stones. This new collection elegantly captures the cupid patterns of love in lightweight & everyday-wear jewellery for women.
• The breath-taking “Perfect Love” collection exudes timeless elegance in its representation. Crafted with impeccable precision, the laser-cut solitaires embrace the brilliance of expressing beauty and love in this Valentine month.
• Senco Gold & Diamonds’ “Lovely Solitaire” reflects immense expertise in its embellishment, adding to its charming allure.

Expressing her excitement about the launch of the latest collection, Mrs. Joita Sen, Director and Head of Marketing and Design at Senco Gold & Diamonds, stated, “We are thrilled to announce the unveiling of our new collection, celebrating the ‘Festival of Love’ as we do every year. This year, through our Romantique and Love 2024 Collection, we aim to celebrate love, joy and happiness, thereby calling our campaign “Festival of Love 2024”. The collection showcases innovative designs, featuring a diverse range of heart-shaped diamond jewellery and exquisitely crafted solitaire couple rings. With a focus on celebrating the spirit of togetherness, our diverse range redefines the simplicity of falling in love. We believe that our consumers will truly appreciate and enjoy this new collection.”

To add an extra touch of romance to this month of love, Senco Gold & Diamonds is delighted to unveil an enticing collection of offers on its jewellery collections as “Festival of Love 2024”. These exclusive offers will be accessible across all 150+ Senco Gold & Diamonds outlets and on its online platform sencogoldanddiamonds.com. The diverse range of offers include:

• Upto 20 % discount on Diamond Jewellery
• Also 24% off on making charges of Diamond Jewellery
• Upto 10% off on Diamond Value
• Free Gold on purchase above Rs 50,000
• 0% Deduction on Old Gold Exchange
• Attractive offers on Platinum, Polki, Silver & Gossip Jewellery

Senco Gold & Diamonds is renowned for its exquisite, handcrafted jewellery collections inspired by Indian culture and heritage. The company offers an extensive jewellery collection, including gold, diamond, silver, platinum, and precious and semi-precious stones. Its brands include Everlite, which specializes in lightweight jewellery; Gossip, offering silver and costume jewellery; and D’Signia, providing a premium jewellery shopping experience. Senco Gold & Diamonds also houses the Aham collection for men and the Vivaha collection, a premium designer wedding jewellery range.

New Delhi, 08th February 2024: PURE EV is thrilled to announce the launch of the X Platform 2.0 Limited Edition Variants for the ePluto 7G, PRO, and MAX models. This exclusive release is set to offer enhanced speed, improved mileage, and an unparalleled user experience.

The X Platform 2.0 Limited Edition Variants build upon the acclaimed X Platform, incorporating 12 standout features that set the standard for electric scooters. Additionally, PURE EV has taken innovation a step further by redefining speed numbers, particularly in the ecoMode, where riders can now enjoy speeds ranging upto 58 KMPH across all three variants (7G, PRO, and MAX). This surpasses industry standards, providing a significant advantage over competitors who offer a maximum of 35 KMPH in similar modes.

This transformative feature eliminates the need for constant mode switching, providing users with a seamless and enjoyable urban commuting experience. The Mileage numbers have seen significant improvements, meeting the demands of long urban commutes. Adding to the excitement, the Limited Edition Variants feature a revamped Sports mode, contributing to an overall increase in speed to 72 KMPH.

What sets these Limited Edition Variants apart is not just the increased speeds but also the meticulous performance optimization that has resulted in mileage improvements. PURE EV  has fine-tuned each model, ensuring that the enhanced speeds do not compromise the impressive Mileage/Charge numbers.

“We are delighted to introduce the X Platform 2.0 Limited Edition Variants for the ePluto Series. These models represent a new era in electric mobility, offering a power-packed user experience.Lot of effort has been invested in R&D over the past few months behind this groundbreaking release. This achievement is a result of rigorous research, innovation, and a commitment to pushing the boundaries of what electric scooters can deliver. With the ecoMode enhancements, users can now enjoy higher speeds while maintaining impressive mileage, addressing the long-commute needs of urban dwellers.” said Rohit Vadera, CEO, PURE EV. He expressed confidence that this innovation would not only elevate the user experience but also contribute significantly to the industry’s evolution.

PURE EV’s foray into the X Platform 2.0 Limited Edition Variants is poised to set new benchmarks in the electric scooter market. By combining speed enhancements with an unwavering commitment to addressing user needs, the company aims to contribute significantly to the ongoing evolution of the electric mobility industry.

These exclusive variants are available for a limited time on a first-come, first-serve basis. Bookings open on the 1st of February at PURE EV dealerships, and customers are encouraged to seize this unique opportunity.

PURE EV remains committed to shaping the future of sustainable transportation, and the X Platform 2.0 Limited Edition Variants stand as a testament to their dedication to innovation and customer satisfaction. These models are poised to revolutionize electric commuting, setting new standards for speed, efficiency, and overall performance.

Bengaluru, 08 February 2024: In a significant move set to redefine the traditional boundaries of humanities education, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Bengaluru, and its distinguished Department of Liberal Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (DLHS), announce a transformative partnership with LabourNet Services India Pvt. Ltd., under their CLARE – Centre for LabourNet’s Academic Research Endeavour initiative.

The official ceremony for this pioneering collaboration took place on February 6th, 2024 (Tuesday) at MAHE, Bengaluru Campus, where Dr. Shilpa Kalyan, Head of DLHS, and Dr. Gayathri Vasudevan, Chairperson, LabourNet Services India Pvt. Ltd. signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Mr. Siddharth Srinivasan, Consultant, LabourNet Services India Pvt. Ltd., the faculty members and student representatives of DLHS were also witness to the beginning of this momentous collaboration.

Centre for LabourNet’s Academic Research Endeavour (CLARE), is LabourNet’s knowledge wing that offers experiential learning and hands-on training to university students to understand subject problems and implement solutions. LabourNet’s Capstone Project is a landmark initiative by CLARE to build lasting relationships between academia and the industry in real time. It is a programme that enables students to gain valuable insights from the world of work and apply their learning to solving current business challenges.

Extending Education Beyond Boundaries: Key Highlights of the Collaboration:

Engaging with Real World Problems: Students of DLHS, MAHE, Bengaluru will embark on the challenge of solving real-world problems in a workplace setting. LabourNet extends its support by providing a platform for experiential learning through practice-based live projects that promise a transformative educational experience.

Promoting Interdisciplinary Application: This collaboration facilitates a fruitful engagement between academia and the development sector. Going beyond theoretical learning, it enables interdisciplinary thinking and practice, thereby equipping graduates to test out their innovative ideas and strategies.

Mentorship by Seasoned Professionals: LabourNet with its pool of experts provides intensive one-on-one mentorship for students throughout the process of completing their capstone projects. From designing data collection tools and formulating policy suggestions to crafting media campaigns, the mentors will handhold students besides offering masterclasses in essential job-related skills.

Excited about the partnership, Dr. Shilpa Kalyan, Head of DLHS, said, “The collaboration between LabourNet and DLHS represents a strong coalition committed to creating sustainable lives. Within academia, we understand that tackling societal issues necessitates a multidisciplinary approach, and our partnership is evidence of the significant influence the humanities can have on promoting social responsibility, empathy, and long-lasting change”.

The collaboration will facilitate capstone projects, a mandatory requirement in the curriculum, for postgraduate students from 2023-24 and for undergraduate students from 2024-25 onwards. These projects, custom-designed for students of humanities and social sciences, will give students a chance to work on high-impact interventions in a purpose-led and performance-driven organizational setting.

Mumbai, 08th February 2024: Habitat for Humanity India, a leading housing non–profit organisation, raised awareness about the need for decent shelter and sanitation at the recently concluded Tata Mumbai Marathon 2024. 189 professionals ran in support of Habitat India’s vision of building a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Corporate professionals, entrepreneurs, fitness enthusiasts and school students put their best foot forward to raise awareness about Habitat’s work.

The runners consisted of 180 employees of Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI). In addition to running the marathon, SPNI is making a significant impact by partnering with Habitat for Humanity India to build sanitation units for 2 Zilla Parishad (ZP) schools and provide 3 ZP schools with access to solar energy in Khed block of Pune district, Maharashtra. This noteworthy project is set to positively touch the lives of over 250 students across 5 schools, fostering a better environment and infrastructure.

The marathon also witnessed an active participation of 9 individual runners including several notable individuals such as Neeraj Roy, Founder, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.; Raunaq Roy, Senior Vice President, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.; Hemant Hemnani, Senior Financial Advisor; Shailaraj Karkera, Founder, Vikhroli Fitness Community (VFC); Vandita Jain, Nutritionist; Sanjay Mittal, Managing Director, Interra Systems and Atul Ladha, Director, Vectus Industries Ltd.

They were joined by Vir Kamath, an IBDP 2 student from Ascend International School (Bandra, Mumbai), who along with 15 other students – 5 from Ascend International School and 11 from Oberoi International School (Goregaon, Mumbai) – used the platform of Tata Mumbai Marathon to mobilise INR 3,03,547 to support Habitat for Humanity‘s mission.

James Samuel, National Director (Interim), Habitat for Humanity India said, “Year on year, business leaders, students, youngsters and corporate professionals who believe that everyone needs decent shelter, participate in the Tata Mumbai Marathon to support Habitat for Humanity’s vision of building a world where everyone has a decent place to live. We express heartfelt gratitude towards all the 189 runners who ran for us this year. We are thankful to Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), Ascend International School and Oberoi International School for their support. A big thank you to United Way Mumbai – the philanthropy partner of the Tata Mumbai Marathon for giving us this incredible opportunity to raise awareness about Habitat for Humanity India’s work. We encourage corporates, young professionals to join hands with Habitat for Humanity India through mediums such as Tata Mumbai Marathon so that families in need of decent shelter can build brighter futures.”

Rajkumar Bidawatka – Head CSR, Sony Pictures Networks India expressed pride in the company’s association with Habitat for Humanity India and said, “We support meaningful causes that create a positive and lasting impact on our community. The enthusiastic participation of our employees, each lacing up their running shoes to make a difference was heart-warming. Partnering with Habitat for Humanity is a natural choice for us owing to their impactful work in housing, sanitation, and disaster response management.”

 India, January 08, 2024 – AAO NXT, Odisha’s premier OTT platform, is set to unleash a wave of uncontrollable laughter with the debut of its latest show, ‘Comedy Capsules.’ The uproarious comedy series features a stellar cast of Odisha’s finest comedians, promising an unforgettable experience for viewers. Streaming exclusively on AAO NXT ‘Comedy Capsules’ is poised to become a comedic sensation.

 The show introduces a stellar cast, featuring the comedic brilliance of Satyabrat Mohapatra, the charm of Barsha Mishra, the wit of Riten Pattnaik, the humor of Ashish Kumar, the laughter-inducing talent of Malaya Ranjan Parida, the comedic timing of Bishal Mohanty, the hilarious antics of Jyotirbindu Sahoo (Dadal), the rib-tickling Ashish Mohapatra, and the uproarious humor of Akash Rout.

This four-episode comedy bonanza is a unique blend of observational comedy, anecdotal sets, and a sprinkle of crowd work, ensuring a diverse and entertaining experience for the audience. Kaushik Das, Founder & CEO of AAONXT, expresses his excitement, stating, “We are thrilled to present ‘Comedy Capsules,’ a show that not only showcases the rich and diverse talent of Odisha’s comedians but also marks a milestone in the local comedy scene.”

 The show is not just about laughs; it’s a rollercoaster of humor that promises to leave you in splits. AAO NXT is the first OTT channel to shine a spotlight on the local comedy scene, and ‘Comedy Capsules’ is poised to win hearts with its unique and refreshing approach.

 The comedic lineup features Riten Pattnaik, a stand-up comedian from Bhubaneswar known for his side-splitting humor in the Odia language. Ashish Kumar, an Electrical Engineer turned stand-up comedian, has performed in over 500 shows and opened for renowned comedians. Malaya Ranjan Parida, a Ph.D. scholar, combines academia with humor, specializing in observational comedy. Akash Rout, also known as Badabeta, is a storyteller and comedian with a knack for turning life experiences into humorous anecdotes.

 Bishal Mohanty, active in the local comedy scene since 2019, is recognized for his funny anecdotes, observational jokes, and crowd work. Satyabrat Mohapatra, an engineer turned banker turned stand-up comedian, brings his corporate experience to the stage with anecdotes and storytelling. Barsha Mishra, an occupational therapist turned comedian, combines her professional background with humor. Jyotirbindu Sahoo (Dadal), a content writer pursuing an MBA, adds a touch of humour to his search for a job and jokes. Ashish Mohapatra, a coding geek by day and comic by night, entertains with witty current affair-based jokes.

 Don’t miss out on the fun! Subscribe to AAO NXT now at https://aaonxt.com/subscribe https://aaonxt.com/subscribe to catch all the hilarious episodes of ‘Comedy Capsules.’ Join AAO NXT on this exciting journey where the magic of Odia storytelling meets the convenience of modern streaming.