All posts by Neel Achary

CHENNAI – Dr. TM Roh, President & Head of the Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics, said the premium smartphone market in India is likely to grow despite the economic slowdown. Rising adoption of 5G smartphones and the global consumer trend to buy smartphones that are more reliable will lead to growth in the Indian market, he added.

“Demand for premium smartphones, with a price tag of over $400 in India, is rising quickly as the 5G network expands. The 5G smartphone market here is expected to grow by over 60% in 2023, with the premium smartphone market projected to grow by more than 30%,” Dr Roh added.

Samsung recently said it had notched over 140,000 pre-bookings for its premium Galaxy S23 series in just 24 hours in India, twice the number of pre-bookings it received for the Galaxy S22 series last year.

“It is being very well received by Indian customers, especially the Galaxy S23 Ultra in green,” he said.

Dr. Roh, the youngest President ever appointed at Samsung, said the Indian smartphone market will keep growing and Samsung will be there for the ride.

According to analysts, India will have nearly 1 billion smartphone users by 2026, driven by the rapid adoption of smartphones in young consumers. India has over 600 million Gen MZ consumers, the largest in the world.

Dr Roh said Samsung will continue to invest in its R&D center in India and advance the smart factory technology at its manufacturing center in India.

“2023 marks the 50th anniversary of Korea and India’s diplomatic relationship. I am looking forward to the next 50 years and please continue to show your love and support for Galaxy products, which are created with effort, dedication and innovation,” Dr Roh said.

New Delhi, 22 March 2023: MGM Healthcare, a multi-specialty quaternary care hospital in the heart of Chennai, successfully performed a complex brain surgery on a new born, saving the day-old child with a huge blood clot in the brain. Dr. L.S. Harishchandra, Consultant Neuro Surgeon, Specialist in Pediatric, Epilepsy and Movement Disorder Surgery at MGM Healthcare, with support from Neonatal Intensive care unit headed by Dr Binu Ninan, performed the timely intricate two-step surgical procedure on the brain of the newborn to remove the blood clot and rescue the child.

A day-old infant was brought to MGM Healthcare’s Neonatal Intensive care unit from an outside hospital with drowsiness and was refusing any feed from the mother. After in-depth examination and an MRI, it was identified that the child had a huge blood clot compressing the brain stem and obstructing the normal flow of fluid in the brain.

Vital functions like breathing, heartbeat, and maintaining a conscious state are controlled by the brain stem. When this part of the brain is compressed, it affects all these functions. The immediate solution for this is to remove the clot.

Speaking about the complexities in the surgery, Dr. Harishchandra said, “Performing any surgery on newborns is loaded with challenges. It’s a tightrope walk between being meticulous and also being as quick as possible. The surgery took about 5 hours. The baby was under the excellent care of our Neonatal team during her post-operative period. Timely intervention and meticulous neonatal post op care was key in saving the life of the child. It’s been few months since we performed this procedure. The baby is doing fine and is keeping up her developmental milestones.

There have been hardly 100 such newborn cases reported worldwide. With very strong support from our Neonatal intensive care unit and advanced infrastructure, we at MGM Healthcare are able to perform such complex surgeries. “

22 th March 2023, Bangalore: The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world’s largest HR association is organizing the 3rd edition of SHRMI Talent Conference. The theme of the conference is ‘Lead the Charge’ in 2023 and beyond. The Conference will be held offline on 5 th and 12th of April in Bengaluru and Mumbai respectively. The event is expected to witness 800+ HR leaders and CXOs across the 2 cities, 30+ knowledge sessions, 60+ Speakers, and showcase sessions encompassing 4 content pillars – Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Talent well-being, and Talent Development.

The world of work today is riddled with questions such as, “How do we transition into the new hybrid world while maintaining exemplary culture and innovation?”, and “How do we do this in an equitable and fair manner?”

This unique event for HR Professionals will equip them with the know-how on how to radically re-imagine fairness in the workplace, to build the high-performing, equitable organizations of tomorrow. Meant also for Talent Specialists & People Managers, SHRMI Talent Conference will help delegates find objective insights, strategic advice and practical
tools to achieve their most critical priorities.

HR Professionals will connect with and learn alongside peers and experts and thus gain practical and cross-functional insights to drive organizational performance through talent. The delegates will also learn new, short- and long-term workforce planning strategies to prepare for the future of work.

Prominent speakers at the conference are Anita Bhogle, Speaker, Author Partner & Learning Content Head, Pro search Consultants &Bizpunditz; Saurabh Govil, President & CHRO, Wipro;; Richard Lobo, Executive Vice President, Head HR, Infosys; Amit Sharma, CHRO, Volvo Group;; Vikas Maheshwary, CHRO, Biocon; among others.

The Conference will delve into topics like Talent at the Helm: Shift Towards a People-First Culture, The Equity Imperative: Nurturing Talent with Fairness, Pursuit of Wellness: Fostering a Workforce that’s Too Fit to Quit, Employment Value Proposition: Purpose Beyond the 3 Cs; Untapped Potential: Scripting the Perfect Employee DEI&B Storyboard, HR Leading the Digital Age: Employer-driven Upskilling and much more.

Achal Khanna, CEO of SHRM India, APAC & MENA, said, “Talent plays a vital role in any organization. It is essential for the HR fraternity to identify the right talent to take the company to greater heights. SHRM India believes in identifying those with immense talent and helping them achieve great success, along with their organizations. The Conference will help HR Professionals strategize to compete in today’s challenging talent marketplace.”

New Delhi, 22 March 2023: Sportiqo, a blockchain-based fantasy sports platform has announced ace Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa as their brand ambassador. Sportiqo marked the beginning of its operations in India in the month of February and so far, amassed 32,000 active users owing to its beta launch.

The stylish batter from Karnataka, Robin is a generational talent, wanted by every cricket league in the world. Uthappa was a part of the Indian squad which won the ICC World T20 in 2007. He is known for his masterful batting performances and his great impact on his team’s success.

Speaking on the association, Robin Uthappa said, “Sportiqo is the perfect platform where I am able to find a cohesive link between sports and technology. The stock market is something that is often portrayed as being meant for a particular segment of the audience but with Sportiqo sports fans across age groups would not only be able to learn how the stock markets work but at the same time be able to use their sporting knowledge and skills to do it in a fun and engaging manner.”

He further added, “Making the youth learn about investing and trading using cricket is a great idea. India needs creative options to improve the financial literacy of the masses and I am glad that Sportiqo is addressing that gap. I am proud to be associated with the platform.”

“We are delighted to welcome Robin Uthappa to the Sportiqo family as our new brand ambassador. He is one of the most exciting cricketers of his era. said Anindya Kar, Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of Sportiqo. “With his disruptive and instinctively innovative approach to his sport, Robin Uthappa embodies the same pioneering spirit that will drive Sportiqo to keep pushing boundaries in the sector.”

Sportiqo will also launch a host of digital campaigns with Robin Uthappa in the near future.

Sportiqo has so far, raised $1.25 million (Rs. 10 crores) in the pre-seed round from angel investors with a focus on user acquisition in its first phase post-launch. The cricket stock market platform is already live for the ILT20 League, Pakistan Super League (PSL) and additionally, in the coming time, Sportiqo will add a portfolio of other sports and leagues as well such as the English Premier League and the Indian Premier League among others.

Chennai, 22.03.23: Indian Overseas Bank conducted the SHG Special Campaign at Chennai District on 21-03-2023. Indian Overseas Bank General Manager & SLBC Convenor Shri. Reyazul Haque and TNULM Chennai, Asst. Project Officer Thiru E Ravi participated as a special guest for the campaign. Loans to the tune of Rs. 507.80 lakhs were sanctioned and disbursed to 87 Self Help Groups across Chennai District. Financial Literacy to SHGs was also conducted. Chennai-I, Chennai-II region, and Lead Bank, Chennai conducted the second SHG campaign of the month totaling Rs. 1010.70 lakhs to 171 Self Help Groups in Chennai District alone during the month of March 2023.

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Mumbai, March 22, 2023: Global warming and its resultant impact on the environment and mankind have forced countries globally to take concrete measures to curb the damage and preserve for the future – and India is at the forefront of this movement.

SEBI has mandated the top 1,000 listed companies in India by market capitalization to make filings as per the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) from FY23. Coming against this backdrop, Thomas Cook (India) Limited, India’s leading omnichannel travel services company and its Group Company SOTC Travel, announced their partnership with global technology consulting and digital solutions company LTIMindtree, to launch “Green Carpet” – a global platform to monitor and manage business travel emissions.

Green Carpet is built on the combined prowess of Thomas Cook & SOTC’s deep expertise in the travel industry, LTIMindtree’s ESG consulting and digital solutions capabilities, and also leverages the global expertise of Fairfax Digital Services (a Fairfax company).

A SaaS-based platform, “Green Carpet” is designed to address specific concerns faced by organizations, helping them capture, monitor, analyze, and reduce their carbon emissions from business travel. It offers real-time insights related to Scope 3 emissions and helps organizations to significantly reduce their ESG reporting costs.

“Green Carpet” enables:

1.  Simplified data capture & analysis of travel emissions with real-time dashboards
2.  Adherence to BRSR and alignment to global audit requirements
3.  Swift and easy integration with current business travel platforms of corporates
4.  Advanced AI & ML to provide analytics & recommendations
5.  Decision-making to drive enterprise net zero goals

Mr. Madhavan Menon, Chairman & Managing Director, Thomas Cook (India) Limited said, “Under its G20 Presidency, India has set ambitious ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) goals, & India Inc. has been called on to implement SEBI’s BRSR mandate starting FY23. The need for a trustworthy partner to provide accuracy and speed in reporting is hence imperative. At Thomas Cook & SOTC, our leadership in the travel sector formed the basis of our partnership with LTIMindtree – a leading technology solutions provider. “Green Carpet” therefore, not only embodies this potent partnership of leaders but also leverages the global expertise of Fairfax Digital Services to collectively empower enterprises with the ability to seamlessly monitor and manage business travel emissions and drive their net zero goals.”

Mr. Sudhir Chaturvedi, President and Executive Board Member, LTIMindtree said, “ESG has become a board-level priority for nearly all organizations, especially in cognizance of India’s ambitious goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2070. To achieve this goal, organizations are investing in initiatives and infrastructure that will enable them to track, reduce and report carbon footprint seamlessly. The Green Carpet, powered by LTIMindtree’s ESG digital platform and advanced analytics techniques and Thomas Cook & SOTC’s travel expertise, will help climate-conscious clients to comply with regulatory expectations. It will accelerate their net-zero journey through data-driven engineering solutions, cloud computing data analytics, and enable business decisions towards sustainable future.”

Mr. Sanjay Tugnait, CEO of Fairfax Digital Services said: “Green Carpet is a scalable and powerful to l that will enable the enterprise customers accelerate their journey to Net Zero. This is an exemplary partnership between Thomas Cook, SOTC & LTIMindtree powered by the Global Knowhow of Fairfax Digital to create ESG solutions. To capture, measure, benchmark and report is not only a requirement by SEBI for scope 3 emissions but also a social obligation for us to do our bit and save the planet. In this the year of India’s G20 Presidency, as a member of the G20 Startup 20 Task Force on Sustainability, under the leadership of Dr Chintan Vaishnav, I am delighted we have built this digital solution that India can showcase amongst the G20 nations.”

India-wide release, 22 March 2023: After the successful Bangalore edition last year on its home turf, India’s greenest music festival, Echoes of Earth, is now making its way for the first time ever to the metro cities of Delhi and Mumbai along with Bangalore, the event’s home turf by bringing forth the ‘Echoes of Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi’. As a 3-city concert India tour with a single-stage concert format, the event will be a one-day affair in each city, offering the unparalleled experience of Echoes while highlighting each city’s local ecosystems. British nu-jazz collective, The Cinematic Orchestra will be touring all three cities.

The 3-city concert India tour will begin from Bangalore on the 14th April, Mumbai 15th April, and culminates in Delhi on the 16th April. The event will take over each city to foster awareness about issues related to diverse ecosystems unique to these cities via art forms, ranging from workshops, art spaces, and interactive installations to food, flea markets, and more. Through its unique format, the concert envisions focusing on education and celebrating these urban ecosystems through powerful art and music, connecting with the audience, and starting important, inclusive conversations about the need for their conservation and sustainability.

Furthermore, the event will also serve as a platform for experts to deep-dive into the wealth of environmental diversity in the most prominent ecosystems across the three cities through various talks and panel discussions. At the same time, Echoes will also lend a voice to powerful human-impact conservation and restoration stories and struggles of local communities and ecowarriors whose positive human interventions are actively aiding in preserving these ecosystems at a grassroots level.

The festival will culminate in a music performance by the British nu jazz collective, The Cinematic Orchestra, celebrating the Earth and enthralling the audience through the evening.

Festival director Roshan Netalkar said, “When we think about biodiversity, we rarely picture cityscapes. However, urban areas are home to multitudes of ecosystems and natural wealth, hosting rich biodiversity. We are an intrinsic part of nature, and yet we know very little about it. Through the 3-city concert India tour, we aim to support the audience in exploring their local natural environment and put it at the heart of urban life.”

He further added, “Echoes of Earth offers a unique experience of coming together as a community to celebrate the Earth responsibly through music, art, and environmental workshops. The 3-city concert India tour will reflect this ethos while allowing room for more sustainable conversations to take place pan-India.”

Udaipur’s entertainment destination Urban Square Mall organised a movie screening of Bollywood’s cult classic rom-com, Jab We Met, on 19th March, in collaboration with Sunset Cinema Club. As many as 1500 cinephiles participated in the event and enjoyed the movie joyfully with their families and friend groups. The event was themed on Rajasthan’s first-ever ‘Movie Under the Stars’ theme-based screening, named ‘Weekenders ’, which was shifted indoors at Food Court due to rainy weather conditions.

Sharing his thoughts on the first-time experience for Udaipur, Mr Uddhav Poddar, MD, Bhumika Group, said, “The Jab We Meet movie screening was one of our efforts to position Urban Square as a prominent center of popular entertainment which was conducted successfully due to our team’s conviction. We are elated to see that we got such a humungous engagement at our first film screening organised in association with Sunset Cinema Club. The positive reception of the audience motivates us to come up with many such events. Many more unique and first experiences with community engagement are planned for the future as well.”

The Urban Square project is a mixed-use development spanning over 3 acres and includes phases I and II. Urban Square Mall phase has already leased out close to 91% of its space to over 75 lifestyle brands from India and abroad. Brands such as Go Karting, Shopper’s Stop, Lifestyle, Smash, Crossword, Nini Kitchen, Ghoomar, Forest Essentials, and Looks are already open.

Urban Square Mall has become a prominent retail destination in Rajasthan, just 25 km from the famous Shrinathji Temple in Nathdwara.

Mumbai, March 22, 2023: SOTC Travel, a leading omnichannel travel, and Tourism Company has been honored with two awards for ‘Best Outbound Travel Operator’ and ‘Best MICE Travel Operator’ at The Economic Times Travel & Tourism Annual Awards. The first edition of The Economic Times Travel and Tourism Annual Awards brought together top leaders from the travel and tourism industry on a single platform. The selection criteria covered a range of parameters, with the nominations being judged by an eminent grand jury and validations by Ernst & Young.

SOTC Travel was recognized for innovative product development across its Outbound and MICE teams that reassured and inspired customers to travel once again. The Company was the first to deliver a mega group of over 750 delegates each to Dubai and Switzerland. Further, they also successfully managed multiple mega MICE groups ranging from 700 to over 3500 to destinations across India and internationally.

SOTC Travel strategically developed products based on sustained consumer research to target the strong travel desire emerging from India’s metros, mini-metros, and tier 2 – 3 cities. The Company leveraged multiple opportunities like special occasions, public holidays, long/extended weekends, summer/winter breaks and the festive season to create exceptional holiday portfolios. This played a vital role in maximizing their business potential.

SOTC Travel launched a range of offers: Holiday Now and Pay After You Return, Buy One-Get One Companion offers, family discounts, and more; also consumer roadshows to assist customers with travel and health protocols and accelerate spot bookings. The Company built & leveraged strong partnerships & alliances to deliver distinctive experiences to its MICE corporates and leisure travel customers.

SOTC Travel’s Outbound and MICE teams successfully demonstrated innovation, agility, and digital astuteness in consistently leveraging technology – ensuring seamless delivery of contactless, scalable, secure solutions. The Company launched a Virtual Holiday Store and a Live Video Connect platform enabling customers to connect with experts via video call and chat.

SOTC Travel’s powerful hybrid omnichannel network continues to offer customers the choice and convenience of selecting their preferred mode or a combination of channels: virtual holiday store, website, call center, or extensive retail network pan India.

To build customer confidence in travel, SOTC Travel launched its Safe Travel Program in association with Apollo Clinics; “TravShield” – with only vaccinated staff and co-passengers among many other precautions featuring a 360° safety commitment.

Mr. Daniel D’souza President & Country Head – Holidays, SOTC Travel said, “We are truly honored to be selected as the Best Outbound Travel Operator at the first Economic Times Travel & Tourism Annual Awards. This prestigious award acknowledges our leadership in the outbound sector and recognizes our efforts toward revival and growth post the challenges of the pandemic.

With the reopening of borders and restart of commercial aviation, our multipronged strategy across product development, health & safety initiatives, technology, and Marcomm has served us well in inspiring customers to go on their much-awaited holiday. Our wide range of products and offers ensured the best deals for our customers, and we continue to create more such exciting offers/value propositions. I would like to thank the grand jury and the team for recognizing our sincere efforts to create exceptional holiday experiences for our customers with this prestigious award.”

Mr. S D Nandakumar, President & Country Head – Corporate Tours, SOTC Travel said, “We are delighted to be awarded as Best MICE Travel Operator at The Economic Times Travel & Tourism Annual Awards. At SOTC Travel, we aim to deliver superior experiences to our corporate MICE customers and this special award recognizes our strong delivery.

With the pandemic putting a halt on MICE travel, India Inc. displayed increased interest to organize incentive trips for their key growth contributors as restrictions began to ease. We were quick to seize the opportunity and were the first travel company to a deliver mega group of 750 delegates each to Dubai – as early as January 2021 – followed by another mega group of 750 to Switzerland. Post this, we continued to successfully manage multiple mega groups ranging from 700 to 3500 to various destinations across India and internationally. Further, we leveraged technology to deliver seamless, contactless, and secure solutions to our MICE corporates while also reassuring them of their safety during their travel. We are grateful to our customers for investing their trust in us and inspiring us in our continuous service. We dedicate this award to them!”

Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh, March 22, 2023: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has formally launched the additional nutrition in Jagananna Gorumudda by providing Ragi Malt Drink to 37,63,698 students of 44,392 government and aided schools across the state by spending Rs.86 Crores annually from his camp office in Tadepalli on Tuesday.

Addressing the students and officials virtually, the Chief Minister said, “We have taken many radical steps from the first day of coming to power by working towards reducing the number of school dropouts, providing facilities to school, and increasing the intellectual development of the students.”

Highlighting the schemes taken by the government, Chief Minister Jagan said, “From pregnant women to children, we provide nutritious food. English Medium in schools, CBSE Syllabus, Bilingual Textbooks, and IFAP Panels are set up from the 6th class onwards, Tabs are given to the 8th class children. We are guiding the children by hand at every step.”

“Schemes like Amma Vodi, Vidya Deevena, and Vasathi Deevena are undertaken by the government so that all our children can compete with the future world. From now on, we will also provide Ragi Malt to the children. These practices are to make the Gorumudda even better. This food provides useful iron and calcium which helps the growth of children,” the Chief Minister added.

Taking a dig at the previous government, he said, “How were the conditions before our government came? How are things now? Notice the difference for a moment. In the past, Rs 450 crores were spent by the previous government in a year. They kept 8-10 months of arrear bills pertaining to Aayas and groceries, which affected the quality. We are running a mid-day meal program by spending Rs.1824 crore rupees per year, and with 86 crores for Ragi Malt drink, it adds up to Rs 1910 crore.”

“We are feeding children with a daily menu, and never before a Chief Minister has thought about what children are eating. If we don’t do it, who else will do it? A total of 15 types of food items are provided to children. We give boiled eggs 5 days a week, Peanut Chikki for 3 days and from now on Ragi Malt Drink for 3 days. It is a pleasure to have Sathya Sai Trust as a partner in this program,” the Chief Minister added. Before signing off his address, Chief Minister Jagan also wished the students who will be writing the public exams next month.