Archives November 2024

National, 5th November, 2024- The Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS) Pilani has entered into a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) to foster collaboration across research, academic-industry projects, transnational partnerships, and international student mobility. This partnership aims to strengthen academic ties and open new avenues for global knowledge exchange.

The MoU signing ceremony took place in the city office of BITS Pilani, Mumbai Campus. The meeting was attended by Mr. Richard McCallum, CEO of UKIBC, Prof. V. Ramgopal Rao, Group Vice-Chancellor of BITS Pilani, and Prof. Ashish Bharadwaj, Founding Dean of BITS Law School. The collaboration is set to initiate new programs, including an annual outreach event for undergraduate and postgraduate students at BITS Pilani’s campuses to support increased student mobility between India and the UK. Mr Arun Khetan, CEO (non-academic functions) of BITS Mumbai and Mr Ravi Mishra, Chief HR Officer of BITS Pilani also attended the meeting.

Prof. V. Ramgopal Rao, Group Vice-Chancellor of BITS Pilani, remarked, “We are thrilled to formalize our partnership with the UK India Business Council. This MoU will create pathways for our students to engage with global educational and industry standards, fostering a truly transnational academic experience.”

This alliance underscores a commitment to advancing educational opportunities and promoting cross-border academic partnerships in new advances in engineering and computer science, pushing frontiers in deep-tech, and academic collaborations in management, law, and design. Through the MoU, BITS Pilani and UKIBC will share insights to drive innovation in academic and industry outreach.

Mr. Richard (Dickie) McCallum, CEO of UKIBC, added, “We look forward to a productive relationship with BITS Pilani. This partnership will not only facilitate knowledge exchange but also strengthen the connection between the UK and Indian educational ecosystems, benefiting students and industry leaders alike.”

India, November 05, 2024: Marut Dronetech Pvt Ltd, a leading drone technology company with DGCA certification for manufacturing and training has raised  in Series A funding from Lok Capital. Marut Drones is at the forefront of innovation in drone technology and is building a robust ecosystem to promote drone adoption across various sectors in India. Lok Capital’s investment in Marut Drones reaffirms its commitment to backing innovative tech-enabled food and agriculture business models. The impact of Marut’s initiatives extends far beyond individuals, the proactive approach will translate into heightened economic activity in tier 2 and 3 cities, fostering entrepreneurship and financial independence for rural communities at the grassroots level.

Marut Drones plans to allocate funds towards several key initiatives, including the development of advanced agricultural drones tailored to customer needs, expanding its channel partner network and service centers into Tier 2-3 cities to better serve rural customers, and establishing drone agriculture service hubs to offer Drone-as-a-Service with a partnership approach. The company also aims to recruit professionals across all verticals, foster drone entrepreneurship, launch 17 new drone academies to train skilled professionals and enhance its research and development efforts in partnership with leading institutions in India to create advanced applications like direct seeding and crop monitoring.

Hari Krishnan, Director of Lok Capital expressed his enthusiasm for this transformative investment, stating, “We’re excited to partner with the team at Marut to bring solutions to farmers and the broader rural economy. Drones for agriculture are a novel technology that can secure the health of crops, while also saving water, preserving soil health, avoiding exposure to chemicals, increase yield to farmers and providing income to village-level entrepreneurs. Our investment in the company will support market expansion, new technology innovations, and indigenous manufacturing efforts.”

Prem Kumar Vislawath, CEO and Co-Founder, Marut Drones said, ‘We are excited about this fund raise and bringing on-board like-minded investors. This significant investment reinforces Marut Drones’ commitment to empower Indian farmers and develop applications for aggregating drone-based services for institutions across sectors. The fresh capital will also allow us to make investments in building our team, increasing our manufacturing capacity to 3000 drones per annum, and marketing to continue scaling at a rapid pace to reach a revenue target of 1000 cr in the next five years.”

Founded in 2019 by Prem Kumar Vislawath, Suraj Peddi and Sai Kumar Chinthala, Marut Drones has a goal of establishing a pan-India presence, thus positioning the company to play a pivotal role in modernizing agriculture across diverse geographies. While agriculture will remain a priority, Marut Drones is also exploring disaster management and surveillance applications, reinforcing its role as a comprehensive drone technology provider. Marut is committed to creating rural employment opportunities for tier 2 and 3 cities, contributing to enhanced productivity and reduced input costs for farmers. The company has grown to over 200 team members and has a fleet of 750 drones and over 1000 drone pilots across 14 states in India. Marut’s AG365H India’s first DGCA Type Certified medium category multi-utility agricultural and fish feeding drone was recently inaugurated by Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and Minister of Civil Aviation of India. Marut Drones is inviting partnerships from enterprising individuals, agri entrepreneurs, large agri input companies, agri equipment manufacturers, agri retailers/ dealers/ distributors for all its business activities – drone sales, drone service and drone training, to join in its journey in creating a revolution in the Indian agri industry.

New Delhi, 5 November 2024 – Concertgoers and hoteliers alike are in ‘para-para-Paradise’ as British pop-rock band Coldplay is set to return to India next year for the first time since 2016. Following the announcement of the January 2025 concerts, digital travel platform Agoda noted 33x more accommodation searches on its platform compared to the week prior to the announcement, highlighting the buzz generated by the event. Indian fans in particular displayed a keen interest, as domestic accommodation searches increased 45 times on the concert’s announcement date compared to the corresponding day a week before.

In addition to domestic interest, fans from across the globe are eager to attend the much-awaited concert. Agoda’s data indicates that the top five international markets searching for accommodation in Mumbai during the concert dates are France, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Spain and Australia.

Commenting on this, Krishna Rathi, Senior Country Director India Subcontinent and MEA, Agoda said, “Earlier this year, we saw Indians flock to Thailand to watch Coldplay perform live in Bangkok. The band’s popularity among Indians suggests that Mumbai is about to be the stage for something really memorable, and we are thrilled to help travellers find the perfect stay for the event.”

With Coldplay fans eager to secure their stay, travellers are encouraged to book early and take advantage of the best rates and availability. In addition to holiday accommodations in Mumbai, Agoda also offers flights to the nation’s entertainment capital, as well as activities and experiences.

India, November 05, 2024: Epson, a global leader in printing technology, will be participating in the country’s most important label & packaging printing exhibition, Labelexpo India 2024 scheduled from November 14-17, 2024, at the India Expo Centre in Greater Noida. Epson will be exhibiting its latest innovations in labeling solutions at stand K14, showcasing the new SurePress digital label presses and ColorWorks on-demand Label Printers that enhance efficiency and quality in the label and package printing industry.

Epson will be showcasing the following innovative solutions at its booth:

SurePress UV Inkjet Label Press: Epson will be debuting the new UV inkjet digital label press, the SurePress L-6534VW UV in India. This versatile digital label press which will be on live demo is designed to meet the demands of high-quality label production, offering exceptional print quality and flexibility for a wide range of applications. The SurePress L-6534VW UV digital inkjet label press produces consistent colour and an outstanding finish at speeds of up to 50 meters per minute and is equipped with digital varnish. It supports various substrates and is equipped with advanced color management tools to ensure consistent color accuracy.Visitors to the Epson booth can also check out the print samples of SurePress L-4733AW, a water-based resin ink digital label printer which can deliver accurate spot colors and gradients required for brand-quality color prime labels and packaging.

Epson’s SurePress Printers offer high quality prints, expanded color gamut, consistency, flexibility, and value for label converters. All Epson SurePress models are Pantone-certified.

Colorworks Color Label Printers: Designed to give flexibility of printing one or thousands of labels at a time, Epson’s ColorWorks CW-C6500A on-demand, high-quality color label solution helps maximize efficiency and reduce obsolete inventory costs. This printer is designed for high-speed production environments and will be also help to achieve lower printing costs without compromising quality.

Labelworks Printers: The compact, easy-to-use label printers, the LW-300 and the LW-1000 are designed to deliver easy to use and high-quality labels for various applications. They are perfect for businesses looking to enhance their branding and operational efficiency. The LW-300 is an intuitive label printer delivering quality while the LW-1000 is ideal for high-volume label printing needs, which offers reliability and advanced features for professional-quality labels.

“Epson has always been focused on delivering compact, efficient and energy saving products which deliver amazing output quality. We are taking label printing to a whole new level now. We are excited to introduce our industry defining UV inkjet digital label press the the SurePress L-6534VW UV for the first time in India, along with our other Coloworks and Labelworks label printers” said Satyajeet Satpathy, Director of Sales & Marketing, Epson India. “With our innovative lineup, including versatile, high-quality label printers, we aim to empower businesses with enhanced branding capabilities and operational efficiency. At this event, we look forward to connecting with customers seeking diverse labeling solutions, from creative design to high-volume printing capabilities, all while maximizing productivity and minimizing waste.”

BANGALORE, India, Nov. 5, 2024 – Think41, a next-generation Generative AI (GenAI) services company, officially launches today with a bold mission: to harness AI’s transformative power to drive innovation, scale, and efficiency for enterprises worldwide. Founded by serial entrepreneurs and former Deloitte Managing Directors—Anshuman Singh, Harshit Singhal, Himanshu Varshney, and Sripathi Krishnan—who are also the visionary minds behind HashedIn (acquired by Deloitte LLP)—Think41 unites decades of expertise in cloud-native solutions and AI-driven transformations for Fortune 500 clients.

With the GenAI landscape evolving at unprecedented speed, Think41 is setting a new standard in enterprise software development and digital transformation. By embedding AI across workflows, Think41 empowers businesses to automate processes, optimize operations, and bring innovative ideas to market. Committed to delivering secure, high-quality, and scalable AI solutions, Think41 ensures each implementation is practical, sustainable, and cost-effective.

‘Born in GenAI’: Rethinking Software Development

As a company ‘Born in GenAI’, Think41 brings an inherently AI-centric mindset to reimagining the future of software and enterprise operations. This philosophy underpins every service and solution, from conversational AI for recruitment to fully optimized workflows in software engineering. By continuously innovating with AI at the core, Think41 drives remarkable gains in efficiency and productivity for its clients.

A key pillar of Think41’s approach is its Autopods—agile, AI-driven engineering pods that leverage Dev41 Platform, Think41’s proprietary AI platform. These Autopods operate with speed and precision, fast-tracking projects from concept to completion. By automating critical engineering tasks, Think41’s Autopods enable clients to reach the market faster, delivering high-impact results that set them apart in a competitive GenAI services landscape.

Rising Demand for Conversational AI and Process Automation

Think41 is seeing growing demand for conversational intelligence and business automation solutions. Organizations are increasingly seeking innovative ways to enhance customer experiences, streamline internal communications, and boost operational efficiency. “We’re witnessing a surge in interest for conversational AI use cases like AI-powered learning systems, sales support tools, and workplace automation,” said Himanshu Varshney, Co-Founder of Think41. “Enterprises want to automate and transform their standard processes, and we’re here to help them achieve substantial gains in efficiency and performance.”

With deep expertise in these areas, Think41 is well-positioned as a trusted partner for enterprises aiming to capitalize on the latest AI innovations.

SAN ANTONIO, Nov. 5, 2024- Frost & Sullivan recently researched the cybersecurity services industry and, based on its findings, recognizes CHT Security with the 2024 Taiwan Company of the Year Award. CHT Security is Taiwan’s leading managed security service provider (MSSP), offering superior customer support and innovative AI-powered cybersecurity solutions that seamlessly protect businesses from the latest cyber threats.

CHT Security efficiently integrates AI and automation capabilities into its operations, dramatically reducing the time required to detect and mitigate cyber threats. Its services span multiple sectors, including critical infrastructure, healthcare, and finance, and its customer base includes over 300 large enterprises and nearly a million consumers. Additionally, the company’s solutions cover all stages of cybersecurity management, from pre-event detection, during-event monitoring and response to post-event digital forensics and recovery. This end-to-end approach, combined with its powerful Security Operations Center (SOC) and Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services, ensures that clients receive proactive and responsive protection tailored to their operational needs.

CHT Security also invests heavily in cultivating talent to meet the growing demands of the cybersecurity sector. The company encourages professional development by offering extensive training opportunities and helping employees obtain globally recognized certifications. Through collaborations with universities and ongoing internal training programs, CHT Security ensures it has a highly skilled team ready to tackle complex cybersecurity challenges. This strengthens its internal capabilities and enhances its customers’ experience.

“Frost & Sullivan acknowledges that CHT Security is well-positioned as a client-centric vanguard in Taiwan’s cybersecurity services market by merging its SOC with MDR services, capitalizing on AI and automation, and facilitating real-time incident response (IR) and threat detection. The company’s all-encompassing offerings meet diverse environments’ (including IT and OT) dynamic requirements and agilely respond to evolving cyber threats,” said Iqra Azam, best practices research analyst at Frost & Sullivan.

CHT Security is steadily growing in the Taiwanese market and offers first-class cybersecurity solutions to over 900,000 households and mobile subscribers, over 40,000 SMEs, and 300 large enterprises and government institutions.

The company implements a customer-first approach to ensure its solutions align with each client’s specific needs. CHT Security continuously improves its services by conducting tri-annual satisfaction surveys and closely reviewing feedback. This dedication to addressing customer pain points is reflected in its high retention rates, with over 90% of its clients choosing to continue their partnerships. Furthermore, CHT Security assigns dedicated project managers to each client to guarantee personalized service and rapid response times, enhancing its outstanding brand reputation and reliability.

“Frost & Sullivan opines that CHT Security’s exemplary customer service and steady talent cultivation reinforce its competitive advantage. The company delivers unique benefits and fosters solid stakeholder relationships by leveraging the voice of the customer and investing in skilled professionals,” noted Vivien Pua, senior industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents a Company of the Year award to the organization that demonstrates excellence in terms of growth strategy and implementation in its field. The award recognizes a high degree of innovation with products and technologies, and the resulting leadership in terms of customer value and market penetration.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies in various regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

CHENNAI, India, Nov. 5, 2024 – Premier B-School, LIBA which recently opened registrations for its two-year PGDM programme has been witnessing a surge in interest from applicants across India. The programme’s registration page has recorded a massive traffic of over 1 Lakh visitors within a fortnight of announcing the start of student registrations for its 2025-2027 batch.

Ranked amongst the top B-schools in India, LIBA has been at the forefront of creating ethical business leaders since its inception in 1979. Built to uphold the tenets of ‘Excellence with Ethics’, for nearly half a century, LIBA has been striving to create leaders of tomorrow who prioritise integrity, accountability, and transparency at work and beyond.

The renowned Jesuit institution’s Post Graduate Diploma in Management programme which is now open for registration is well-known for its distinctive pedagogy. Continually striving to inculcate the values of excellence, justice, honesty and service to the society, LIBA’s two-year, full-time residential PGDM programme offers students an immersive, experiential learning environment that promotes individual excellence and fosters creativity like no other institution in the country.

As pointed out by the Director of LIBA, Dr. C. Joe Arun, SJ, who holds a D.Phil (Oxon) from Oxford University, “LIBA is a learning institution and the faculty act as facilitators who strive to enhance each student’s unique strengths by guiding them towards pursuing their personal goals and taking ownership of their work. We let our students be the captain of their own ship. And our fundamental philosophies emphasise the need to focus and test our student’s strengths and not their weakness. At LIBA we believe singers must be tested on singing and dancers must be tested on dancing. And that’s reflected in our continual student assessment model that has completely done away with the conventional practice of annual evaluation.”

A rigorous, two-year programme, LIBA’s PGDM is designed to give fresh graduates, aspiring young professionals and those looking for a career-change a solid foundation in the key areas of business. With work experience considered an added advantage for applicants, the stringent admissions process includes application submissions, where in information such as past academic, co-curricular performance as well as the candidates’ CAT / XAT IDs are captured.

With the institution already witnessing a steady rise in interest within weeks of opening registrations for its 2025-2027 batch, it now remains to be seen how many of the best aspirants make it to the final round of selection.

BANGKOK, Nov. 5, 2024 – CKPower Public Company Limited (SET: CKP), one of Southeast Asia’s largest producers of electricity from renewables, reported that in the first half of 2024, the company further reduced energy consumption by 2,883 MWh (equivalent to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 1,313 tCO₂e), or the equivalent of turning off lights in Bangkok for 119 hours, through innovations to reduce energy consumption and enhancing the efficiency of electricity production.

Mr. Thanawat Trivisvavet, Managing Director, CKPower Public Company Limited, said, “We made a serious commitment to becoming a Net Zero company.  This reduction marks significant progress on that journey and reinforces our position as having one of the lowest carbon footprints of all major electricity producers in the region.”

He said that CKPower’s initiatives to become a Net Zero company include making further improvements to its power generation efficiency across the 18 power plants at which it generates electricity.  The company currently releases around 0.0691 tCO₂e of greenhouse gases per megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity produced, as compared to Thailand’s national average that is more than seven times higher at 0.4999 tCO₂e/MWh.

In addition to managing its greenhouse gas emissions and improving it power generation efficiency, CKPower also reported that it has been successful in boosting the proportion of its power generation capacity that is renewables-based to be 93%, as compared to around 89% two years ago.

Among the large power producers of Thailand, CKPower has the greatest proportion of power generation capacity that is renewables-based.

According to Mr. Trivisvavet, in order to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the company is also studying an electricity generation project utilising hydrogen fuel mixed with natural gas in combined cycle power plants, in line with Thailand’s energy transition plan laid out in the draft Power Development Plan of Thailand 2024 – 2037 (PDP2024).

CKPower’s renewables-based power plants supplied Thailand with around 8.5 million megawatt-hours of clean electricity, or around 17% of the total clean electricity used in Thailand during 2023 and thereby helped avoid the creation of around 4.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions per year.

TAIPEI, Nov. 5, 2024- According to the Asian Scam Report 2024 published by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), over 40% of Asians encounter scams monthly. Hong Kong and Thailand face scams most frequently, with up to 90% of its citizens facing scams once per month or more. Identity theft, investment fraud, and online platform scams are among the most common threats, bearing the brunt of a  scam burden in 2024 alone.

FinTech associations from 14 Asian economies signed MOU to enhance collaborations in anti-fraud on November 5th at FinTechOn 2024, hosted by Taiwan FinTech Association (TFTA).

Scammers are constantly evolving their techniques and utilizing new technologies such as AI and blockchain. Additionally, illicit funds are moving across borders. To effectively intercept these funds and combat fraud, a robust cross-border joint defense network is essential.

Taiwan’s FinTechOn 2024 forum took place on 4th November and the Asia FinTech Alliance (AFA) made its debut at FinTechOn this year, where representatives of FinTech associations from 14 Asian economies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on anti-fraud collaboration. The goals include raising public awareness of FinTech-related fraud; establishing channels for sharing information and insights on anti-fraud; developing and promoting best practices in anti-fraud; and creating a unified cross-border approach to handle reported fraud incidents internationally.

“Virtual asset regulation and fraud prevention require both public-private collaboration and international cooperation,” said Jin-Lung Peng, Chairman of Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC). “AFA and international platforms like FinTechOn facilitate partnerships and exchanges among countries to address the most pressing FinTech challenges.”

“Taiwan has completed amendments to four anti-fraud laws and the Money Laundering Control Act to enhance its regulatory framework. To build public trust in the virtual asset industry and bolster industry confidence, it is essential to foster smooth dialogue between the government and industry stakeholders,” said Shih-Chieh Huang, Deputy Minister of Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice, who expressed strong support for AFA’s anti-fraud initiative.

AFA was formally launched last year and recently marked its first anniversary. Jalcyn Tsai, Honorary Chairwoman of Taiwan FinTech Association (TFTA), serves as the founding Chairperson of AFA, which comprises association members from 14 Asian economies, including TFTA, Korea FinTech Industry Association (KORFIN), Elevandi Japan, Philippines’ Fintech Alliance.Ph, FinTech Association of Malaysia (FAOM), Thai FinTech Association (TFA), FinTech Association of Hong Kong (FTAHK), Singapore FinTech Association (SFA), Fintech Indonesia, Mongolian Fintech Association (MFA), Cambodia Association of Finance and Technology (CAFT), FinTech Alliance Nepal, Vietnam Fintech Club, and India’s Fintech Convergence Council (FCC).

“International cooperation, tracking and eliminating the source, and law enforcement via technologies are key priorities in combating fraud,” stated Tou-Hui Chang, Chief Prosecutor of Taiwan High Prosecutors Office. “It’s challenging to combat cross-border fraud as the operation centers of illicit actors are always set overseas. With this backdrop, it’s critical to build international cooperations, including mutual legal assistance and coordination among law enforcement, police, and the private sector, such as partnerships between virtual asset exchanges across different countries.”

Regulation and anti-fraud are the two major topics in FinTechOn forum this year. FinTechOn is Taiwan’s most authoritative FinTech policy discussion platform. AFA’s participation in this forum underscores Taiwan’s leading role in Asia’s FinTech regulatory harmonization

SINGAPORE, Nov. 5, 2024 – As a global business hub with advanced digital connectivity, Singapore is well-positioned to lead the charge in quantum-safe technologies. The 2023 Singapore Digital Connectivity Blueprint highlighted an 8.6% expansion in the Information and Communications sector in 2022, emphasizing the importance of resilience and security in a digital world. With advancements in quantum computing threatening traditional encryption methods, Singapore plans to implement quantum security technologies such as Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) through the National Quantum-Safe Network Plus (NQSN+).

Toshiba is at the forefront of establishing a quantum-safe future for Singapore, leveraging its extensive expertise in QKD technology. With over three decades of research in quantum technology, Toshiba has shifted from academia to commercializing QKD systems. The recent opening of a £20 million Quantum Technology Centre in Cambridge, UK, underscores Toshiba’s commitment to developing quantum-secure networking solutions. This initiative addresses the vulnerabilities of traditional encryption methods, ensuring robust data security through advanced QKD technology that utilizes quantum physics principles to create resilient encryption against potential decryption attempts.

In 2021, Toshiba formed a strategic partnership with SpeQtral to develop cutting-edge quantum security solutions, combining Toshiba’s fiber-based QKD expertise with SpeQtral’s satellite QKD innovations. This collaboration has yielded significant achievements, including launching Southeast Asia’s first Quantum Networks EXperience Centre (QNEX) for demonstrations and prototyping.

The partnership has achieved significant milestones, including the first quantum-secure link across SPTel’s diverse and scalable fiber network, enhancing the security of sensitive data. The joint efforts are further solidified by the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with SpeQtral and ST Engineering to accelerate the development of tailored quantum-safe solutions, ensuring robust protection for sensitive communications across sectors such as finance and government while positioning Singapore as a leader in quantum security in Southeast Asia.

Toshiba collaborates closely with SPTel-SpeQtral to educate businesses about quantum technologies, including Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), as part of the NQSN+ initiative to create a Quantum-Safe Singapore. This partnership enhances digital infrastructure and data protection against quantum threats while fostering innovation and security for sustainable economic growth. With nearly 150 years of experience, Toshiba is committed to advancing quantum cryptography and establishing strategic alliances to secure Singapore’s digital landscape, bolstering the nation’s position in quantum technologies and cybersecurity.