Category business

The timeless Taj Mahal, New Delhi presented an exquisite evening with leading voices celebrating the spirit of women. The panel was graced by distinguished leaders from various walks of life – H.E. Ms. Ritva Koukku-Ronde, Ambassador of Finland to India, Ms. Satyavati Berera, Partner, PwC India, Dr. Sanjukta Parasor, Indian Police Service, Dr. Ritu Garg, Chief Growth & Innovation Officer Fortis Healthcare and Mr. Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director & CEO, IHCL.

Panelists from Right to Left – Mr. Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director & CEO, IHCL, Dr. Sanjukta Parasor, Indian Police Service, H.E. Ms. Ritva Koukku-Ronde Ambassador of Finland to India, Dr. Ritu Garg, Chief Growth & Innovation Officer Fortis Healthcare, Ms. Satyavati Berera, Partner, PwC India and moderator Mr. Nikunj Dalmia

Noida, February 27, 2023: To further enhance the customer experience of commuters availing petrol/diesel from petrol pumps, energy major Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) has announced the commencement of this year’s grand Scan & Win sales promotion campaign for its customers at 203 petrol bunks in Noida, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Hapur, and Muzaffarnagar districts. The commencement of this year’s mega campaign was announced during an event organized by IOCL at the energy Maharatna’s Uttar Pradesh State Office II (Noida Division).

The event, a part of IOCL’s New Year Bonanza, was graced by the presence of the Director (HR), IOCL, Mr Ranjan Kumar Mohapatra, and other dignitaries from Indian Oil. During the event, a brand new Maruti Alto was awarded to the last year’s lucky winner of the campaign. Mr. Mohapatra also announced the initiation of the enrollment of the daughters of customer attendants at the retail outlets in the Noida division of Indian Oil under the government’s ambitious project, Sukanya Samridhi Yojna, launched under the “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” campaign.

“The core ideology of the Indian Oil Corporation Limited has always been to create the largest customer interface in the country and reach precious petroleum fuels to every nook and corner of the country. Our mega Scan & Win sales promotion campaign is intended to further engage with the consumers of IOCL. The campaign indeed showcases the quality of services IOCL has been providing and that is also a testament of how the energy major has always kept customers at its utmost priority,” said Mr. Ranjan Mohapatra.

Any consumers, except employees of IOCL and their family members, can participate in the Scan & Win sales promotion campaign. Customers can participate in the event by filling petrol / XP95 / XP100 of Rs 500 and above for two-wheelers and Rs 1500 and above for four-wheelers. Customers can redeem the e-coupon code by visiting https://pgshop.in/exclusive- deals/.

The exciting offers that customers can avail of through the lucky draw include one Maruti Alto, 8 Bajaj CT 110X bikes, 8 Lenovo detachable laptops, and 100 electric kettles. The campaign also includes instant gifts like Prolyte Energy Drinks, Hand Wash & Energy Drink Sachet on the purchase of fuels.

Chennai, 27 February 2023: IIM Raipur is collaborating with Veranda Learning Solutions Limited (“Veranda”), a publicly listed education company (BSE: 543514, NSE: VERANDA), represented by its brand Edureka Higher Ed, to launch an Executive Development Programme (EDP) in General Management. This one-year programme will be offered through a combination of on-the-campus immersion modules and live online sessions.

This programme has been designed to upskill working professionals to foresee and take advantage of business opportunities, as well as, confront challenges in this world of uncertainty. Learners in this programme will become the managers of tomorrow, agile and capable of handling ambiguity. The programme is uniquely designed with a structured academic curriculum that will be taught by experienced IIM faculty. The programme will help professionals secure in-depth exposure to emerging themes, acquire a 360-degree approach to Management, gain access to an exclusive Startup Bootcamp and personalized Career Support Services, etc.

Elucidating on the association, Prof Ram Kumar Kakani – Director of IIM Raipur said, “At IIM Raipur, our endeavour has always been to create a niche with our industry partnerships, and this is another step on that path. We are looking forward to providing an excellent learning experience for students in partnership with Veranda.”

Speaking about the partnership, Aditya Malik, CEO– of Higher Ed, Veranda Learning Solutions said, “We are pleased to be teaming up with IIM Raipur and launching this Executive Development Programme in General Management. We are very confident that this course will help our students to become agile and take on challenges in the business environment head-on.”

February 2023: Healthy cooking has become a part of everyone’s life be it regular cooking or for special occasions. This Valentine’sthose who are looking for baking yummy cookies, cakes and other savouries now have an option of making a healthier variant of these.

This is when a Cooking Sheet comes to rescue where one can bake various types of dishes using the product. Best part is that no butter or oil is required before baking/cooking. The silicone coating sheet does not allow food to stick to the sheet and also does not affect the taste of the food. The best part, there is no need to grease the pans before baking/cooking and this makes it so convenient to use as there is no need to wash utensils after use. It is a multipurpose product as it can be used in Microwave and is Oven safe as well.

A must use for health-conscious people as by using Asahi KaseiCooking Sheet for oil free cooking, reduction in oil intake can reduce their calories intake.

The Cooking Sheet is now available in stores like Big Bazaar, Spencers, Le Marche, Foodhall in Delhi NCR, Reliance stores and many general trade stores in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kerala, Punjab and also online at Big Basket, Amazon and Flipkartat a price point of INR249/-

NOIDA, India, Feb. 27, 2023 – HCL Foundation today announced the NGOs selected for the 2023 edition of its flagship program HCL Grant – which supports pioneering work in sustainable rural development in India. HCL Foundation delivers the corporate social responsibility agenda of HCLTech.

Three NGOs—Planatearth, Innovators in Health (IIH) India and Meghshala Trust will receive ₹5 crore (appx. $620,000) each for their projects under the HCL Grant endowment. This year’s winners were chosen from submissions from more than 15,000 entities, an increase of 80% versus last year.

According to Ms. Robin Ann Abrams, Chairperson of the HCL Grant Jury and Board Member, HCLTech: “These organizations and their projects – aligned to the HCL Foundation’s core areas of focus in environment, health and education – will bring a visible and inclusive change to the ‘last mile.’ We believe their work will provide an important lifeline to rural communities by bridging inequality in healthcare, helping in freshwater conservation and more readily bringing education to underserved populations.”

In addition, six NGO finalists will receive grants of ₹25 lakh (appx. $30,000) each in the following categories:

Environment: Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER); North-East Initiative Development Agency (NEIDA)

Health: MAHAN Trust, Sri Sri Rural Development Programme Trust (SSRDPT)

Education: Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Guria Swayam Sevi Sansthan (GSSS)

HCL Foundation has funded more than ₹130 crore (appx. $16 million) to NGOs since the HCL Grant program’s onset eight years ago, reaching over 1.8 million beneficiaries in more than 25,000 villages in remote districts across 19 states and two Union Territories of India.

Dr. Nidhi Pundhir, Vice President, Global CSR, HCL Foundation, bestowed the recipients with their awards in a virtual ceremony attended by representatives of NGOs, HCL, HCLTech and the media fraternity. The ceremony was the culmination of a thorough, Grant Thornton-audited process, which earlier in the year involved a series of pan-India symposiums bringing together more than 2,000 representatives from NGOs, government and corporates.

“We are delighted at the volume of applications received for this year’s selection process. HCL Grant partners with these NGOs to strengthen their governance and help scale their innovative ideas for sustainable rural development. We look forward to working with this year’s selected NGO partners to scale innovative interventions that will supercharge progress for rural communities,” Dr. Pundhir said.

She also announced the release of the seventh volume of the compendium ‘Fifth Estate – NGOs Transforming Rural India in Environment, Health and Education,’ which chronicles the work done by past HCL Grant recipients. The book will be available in all national libraries and through international affiliates.

Planatearth was awarded HCL Grant in the environment category for its project on conservation of water bodies by cleaning plastics from oceans and invasive species like water hyacinth from ponds and backwaters. It is expected to directly benefit at least 170,000 fishermen across 45 villages in Kerala. The project aims to improve quality of water bodies along with positive impact on the livelihood of fisherfolk.

“The oceans of the world, and the coastal waters of Kerala in particular, are polluted by plastic, which seriously affects the livelihood of marine fishermen. The HCL Grant is the only way we could realize our goals of helping the rural fishermen of Kerala and conserving the planet,” said Sooraj Abraham, Founder, Planatearth.

Innovators in Health (IIH) India received the HCL Grant in the health category for a project on universal tuberculosis care in rural Bihar. The project aims to reduce tuberculosis burden through enabling public health system, improving diagnostics and treatment outcomes. It will reach out to more than 10,500 households in 1,260 villages in the Samastipur district of Bihar.

“I am deeply humbled by HCL Foundation’s trust in us. This grant will help us extend the services we are already providing to a wider audience and community and make Samastipur a unique district in tuberculosis care in India,” said Dr Manish Kumar, CEO, Innovators in Health (IIH) India.

Meghshala was awarded the HCL Grant in the education category for a project on technology-enabled teacher capacity building, with focus on local languages. It will directly benefit 2,700 primary and secondary teachers of government schools and 63,000 students from Grades 1-8 in 460 villages of Sikkim. The project will help in promoting digital literacy and encouraging the use of local languages among younger generation.

“We continue to keep languages at the center of all our development work and HCL Grant’s support will help us extend our services to more classrooms across the nation, especially those that teach local languages, where our intervention is most required,” said Jyoti Thyagarajan, Founder and CEO, Meghshala Trust.

Recipient NGOs were selected after screening and review of applications by an eminent jury, monitored and audited by HCL Grant governance partner Grant Thornton. Jury members include: Ms. Robin Ann Abrams, Chairperson of the Jury, Board Member, HCLTech; Mr. Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director, Nestle India Limited; Mr. B. S. Baswan, Former Director, Indian Institute of Public Administration and Former Secretary, Human Resource Development Ministry; Ms. Pallavi Shroff, Managing Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co; Dr. Richard Lariviere, Sanskrit Scholar & President Emeritus, Field Museum (Chicago); and Mr. Shiv Nadar, Founder, HCL Group and Chairman Emeritus, HCLTech.

Bengaluru, February 27, 2023: Explorex, a restaurant focused full-stack SAAS fintech start-up, has partnered with MSwipe, to facilitate streamlined payment solutions to their partner restaurants. This partnership will help the company in delivering one of its key USPs, which is auto settlement of tables and elimination of night audits. This helps in bringing a huge amount of relief to the restaurant staff because manual audits consume 2-3 hours of the staff’s time everyday post the restaurant closing operations for that day.

Explorex looks at disrupting the restaurant industry with its full-stack solution while also aiming at empowering business owners to nurture their dreams with care. Explorex does not only build software tools but also dedicates itself to creating an ecosystem for the restaurant industry that has never existed before. The company wants to empower restaurants to drive operational, financial and customer excellence to redefine the restaurant experience. The company has assisted more than 300 restaurants across India.

Sharing thoughts on the partnership with MSwipe, Mr. Mainak Sarkar, Co-Founder & CEO, Explorex, said, “At Explorex, our vision is to provide a holistic range of services to our clients, which will act as a one-stop solution to all their requirements. We understand the gap that is present in the larger hospitality industry and we try to integrate our software in a way that would help our clients streamline operations, making them hassle-free. In the two years of service, we have partnered with several restaurants across India. Our partnership with MSwipe is another step towards our goal, where we aim to make payment processes more swift and easy.”

Speaking about the partnership with Explorex, Mr. Ketan Patel, CEO, MSwipe, said, “Explorex is not just a software company, it believes in building products with empathy, just like us. Hence, the vision alignment process between both companies was super smooth. Streamlining an industry that has been operating with age-old methods is a huge task and the innovations that they have done for the restaurant industry are nothing short of spectacular. Building tools to eliminate night audits & auto settlement of tables is something no one in the industry is currently doing & we are happy to play a part in it. We believe in their vision and product as they are very unique, different from the market and new.”

Bhubaneswar, 27.02.2023: Minister of Higher Education of Odisha, Shri Rohit Pujari on Saturday calls to make town planning more inclusive and sustainable which can accommodate all sections of society, specifically the urban poor.

Talking at the valedictory ceremony of the 71st National Town and Country Planners Conference organized by the Institute of Town Planners conference on the theme of “Challenges for Urban and Regional Planning towards sustainable development’ at Bhubaneswar, He said, “Cities need to be more inclusive and sustainable. We have to think about the poor section of the society like domestic bits of help, street vendors, laborers and slum dwellers in the city planning process. We need to focus on affordable housing and better amenities for them. While calling to use globally recognized best practices on city planning, he has also urged town planners to think from local perspective and said that challenges here are different from other parts of the world.

On this occasion, Commissioner of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation Shri Vijay Amruta Kulange said that “Time has come to think about a small town and cities. We have to make these cities beautiful, inclusive, sustainable, and liveable. In Odisha our urban infrastructure is emerging like anything specifically in Bhubaneswar.”

He said that we are working on how to monitor Bhubaneswar through smart applications and Odisha through ITC centers. We have started from a sanitation point of view on how to monitor development activities. He added. Shri Pradeep Kumar Jena, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner, Government of Odisha, also addressed the need for the development of Small and Medium Towns, and also mentioned taking into consider the aspects of resilience, while planning of cities.

Other dignitaries present at the occasion were, Dr. L P Patnaik, Chairman, of Odisha Regional Chapter, Shri Milland B Patil, Former Vice President, of ITPI, Prof Dr D S Meeshram, President of ITPI, and lastly vote of thanks given by Shri S B Khodankar, Former Secretary General, ITPI. Earlier during the second day of conference several technical sessions were held on the theme of Reforms in Urban Governance, Innovative approaches to Planning education, and Experiences of Smart city’s missions in Odisha. Lastly, Prof V N Prasad National Best Thesis Awards and Prof Dr. D S Meshram National Best Thesis Awards were given by the dignitaries.

Hyderabad, 27th February 2023: NAR-India [National Association of Realtors India], India’s largest association for realtors has announced the 15th edition of its Annual Convention NARVIGATE 2023, to be held at Coimbatore in March this year. The Convention is a two-day event with 2000 + industry stakeholders.

The convention is named “NARVIGATE 11* 76*” based on the location coordinates of the city & PSG Convention Centre where it will be hosted by the Coimbatore Association of Realtors (COAREA). The event is held to showcase the available opportunity in different parts of the country in various aspects of real estate to all the stakeholders, thereby contributing to India’s goals of becoming a $ 10 trillion economy. Industry stalwarts will gather to discuss current and future trends in the Indian Real estate sector. The Convention is a much-awaited event and magnum opus for the real estate industry from India and abroad.

Going by past year events, NARVIGATE 2023 will bring together dignitaries from the Government, regulatory bodies and real estate sector. Realtors, developers, investors and financial institutions from India and around the world will network, learn and forge valuable business relationships. A special step to that end will be the 18-18-18 digitization initiative , under which on 18th March at 18:18 hours, under a single NAR-India mandate 2000 + brokers, builders and bankers will come on-board a common technology platform to list, showcase and transact real estate under their own unique brands.

President-Elect Mr.C.R. Shiva Kumar has an ambitious vision to leverage state-of-the-art technology to create a level playing field for every NAR-INDIA Realtor with their own brand, tech, and network to compete with the latest and best in real estate and proptech. This 18:18:18 digitization initiative will be available for free over the next 12 months for all the convention attendees and will be facilitated by Arun.C.R, member COAREA.

In partnership with NAR-India, COAREA is hosting the event with Casagrand as title sponsor and GRD School of Business, Coimbatore as a knowledge partner. Also, in presence would be, keynote speakers including industry stalwarts like, (M.N. Arun, Dr Sumit Chowdhury, Pushyamitra Bhargav (Hon. Mayor Indore City), Sudharsan Lodha, P.C. Mustafa, Sumit Jain, Shalini Saraswathi, Sridhar Vembu, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev and many others)

Speaking about the Event the President-Elect, of NAR India, Mr. C.R Shiva Kumar said, “Real estate brokerage has always been a profession that enables every home buyer, every industrialist, every institution, every investor to achieve their very own dream, to professionalize this industry and make it a knowledge-based service to the people will be NAR-INDIA’s objective this year.”

Hyderabad, 27th February 2023: Oakridge International School, Bachupally is proud to recognize its students as future leaders for their exceptional achievements on the national and global stage. These talented students have demonstrated excellence in various fields, including academics, arts, and community service. Due to their outstanding academic achievements and potential for future success, these Oakridgers from Grade 12 have now made it to some of the most prestigious universities around the world.

In addition, Oakridge like Ananya Jain (grade 12 student) have also excelled at the national level in JEE mains. She secured an impressive 95 percentile in JEE Mains while also serving as the Academic Head of her school and a member of the prefect council. She credits her success to the constant support of her teachers and the Oakridge community, which has made her journey to college admission a much easier one.

Dwihitha, another Oakridge student, is a talented artist, an accomplished MUN and UNICEF volunteer, and a born leader. Her skills and passion for change have earned her honorable mentions and outstanding delegate awards at MUN events, and her volunteering at UNICEF inspired her to pursue a career in law. With numerous dance competition wins and even a throwball tournament victory under her belt, Dwihitha credits her success to the incredible support of her school, teachers, and parents.

Dwihitha University Offers: The University of Manchester | University of Leeds

“My journey to becoming who I am today started at Oakridge, 7 years ago. The school encouraged my ambitions from 6th grade,” says Simran, an avid debater, TEDx speaker, and community service provider. She had offers from various universities with scholarships ranging from 28000 USD/year. With her passion for international relations and dedication, she makes a difference. She thanks Oakridge for encouraging her ambitions from a young age, allowing her to become the Perfect Head in the 12th grade.

Simran University Offers: University of San Francisco | Ohio University | University of Texas | Drake University | Bryant University | U Mass Amherst

Vaishnavi, with her passion for public speaking and debate, has been a natural leader since her primary years. She recently served as the event organizer for TEDx Oakridge Bachupally and has been a part of the MUN circuit and a UNICEF ambassador for over half a decade. Her segment head, Ms.Navneet, says, “Ms. Vaishnavi is a student with a flamboyant personality who, from a very young age, had a deep passion for experimenting with new endeavors.”

Vaishnavi University Offers: the University of Illinois Chicago | The University of Arizona | Indiana University Bloomington | University of Massachusetts Boston | The Ohio State University |Northeastern University

With offers from prestigious universities around the world, these students are ready to take on the world and make a difference.

Celebrating the student’s success, Ms. Baljeet Oberoi, Principal at Oakridge Bachupally, says, “Proud to see our students recognized and placed at top universities, these students are a shining example of an Oakridger who embodies our mission to inspire and equip the next generation for the future.”

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Vizag: 27 February 2023: Fortune, the No. 1 edible oil brand in the country is celebrating National Protein Day with Fortune Soya Chunks, one of the leading brands in the category in Texturized Soya Protein (TSP). TSP is also one of the most preferred substitutes for vegetables and meats.

Fortune Soya Chunks has launched a campaign, to mark the fourth edition of National Protein Day, which is centred on the theme, ‘Easy Access to Protein for All’. With the campaign, it aims to increase awareness about the numerous health benefits of protein-rich soya chunks which include nine essential amino acids that the body needs for good health and growth, low-fat content, vitamins, minerals, and fibre.

Soya Chunks are known to have more protein than milk (15X more protein than milk) and is made from Wenger machine technology which retains all-natural nutrition and make it super soaking in texture which absorbs all the masalas well, thus making it suitable for culinary exploration.

Talking about the National Protein Day initiative, Vineeth Viswambharan, Associate Vice President, Marketing & Sales, Adani Wilmar, said, “Fortune Soya Chunks consistently features among the top Soya brands and most perceived as a perfect replacement to meat or vegetables. However, many are not aware of its richness in protein and other nutritional benefits. National Protein Day is an apt occasion to further awareness about the significance of protein in our diet for our overall well-being.”

Fortune Soya Chunks are not only popular among housewives looking for healthy options for their family, but also among those who love to explore new recipes as well as those who are health-conscious or fitness enthusiasts and are keen on upping their daily protein intake. Soya Chunks are also essential for kids in their growing stage of 8-14 years age for their overall development. Protein-rich foods are beneficial for boosting muscle mass, managing weight, stabilizing blood sugar levels, healthy brain functioning, maintaining strong bones, and protecting heart health.

Fortune Soya Chunks is widely consumed in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, UP, and Delhi.