Category business

New Delhi, 14th Feb 2023: Leading AI-enabled one-stop solution provider for school education, Zamit got the opportunity to present its services at the first conference of the Boarding Schools’ Association of India (BSAI). The Boarding Schools Associations of India is a pioneer body that supports, represents, and advances the goals of India’s fully residential, private, and unaided boarding schools. The conference was held at Welham Boys’ School, Dehradun.

“We are delighted that BSAI gave us the platform to showcase our innovative AI ideas to the heads of prestigious boarding schools in India. The facilitators from Zamit and its partner Qualification and Assessment, UK, demonstrated various services for teachers, students, schools, and parents, including the 360-degree holistic report card, ZQ for students, and teacher professional development opportunities. Our presentation was well-received by the community, which encourages us to keep thriving in AI. The conference was empowering as we got valuable input on the needs of the teaching fraternity. We look forward to meeting the market demands to aid in the delivery of quality education,” said Mr. Aarul Malaviya, Founder & Director of Zamit.

Mr. Manpreet Singh Badal, former finance minister of Punjab and alumnus of the Doon School, Dehradun, was the conference’s chief guest. The forum was attended by over twenty-five eminent educationists, principals and senior teachers of premier boarding schools in India, including The Doon School, Welham Girls’ School, Welham Boys’ School, Hopetown Girls’ School, and Mayo College.

In line with the government’s initiative Make AI in India, Zamit is playing a pivoted role in delivering advanced AI-driven solutions to enhance education quality worldwide. It believes in creating future-ready solutions for students and teachers on the global stage. Its visionary approach led to the creation of Zamit Quotient, the world’s first AI-enabled measurable future readiness indexing system. Besides, its 360-degree holistic report card provides individualized support plans for students based on their academic progress and skill level.

The facilitators, principals, and heads of the participating schools as well as eminent educationalists and academic advisers, had the chance to interact with our team over lunch and discuss ideas and opportunities to establish a cooperative partnership between schools and Zamit.

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New Delhi, 14th February 2023: EduBridge, India’s leading Workforce Development platform, organized SkillsFactor 2023, the largest skill marathon in the country. The event was in its third successive season, which was conducted recently in association with UNICEF-YuWaah.

SkillsFactor is an of its kind platform that brings CXOs of renowned multinationals and startups under one platform to engage with the youth in a purposeful interaction that can deliver them to sustainable careers. The day-long event was strategically planned, with 10 sessions of 60 minutes each from 8 am to 8 pm. Each speaker was given time to interact with an audience comprising of fresh graduates and young professionals, who were seeking to accelerate their career prospects or were looking to switch careers. Over 30000 registered participants had the opportunity to garner insights in the spheres of Technology, Banking and Finance, and Self-Development topics from prominent industry experts.

Over 10,000 youth attended the program this year and with many more following the live stream on the Learn Online with EduBridge YouTube channel. The topics helped participants understand the need for required skills in the workforce in order to build sustainable career paths or make career switch decisions. The event assumed the format of a ‘Marathon’, giving experts an opportunity to answer a maximum number of questions and conduct back-to-back sessions throughout the day.

Some of the topics included 10 Must-Know Things about a Career in Data Analytics, Roadmap to Full Stack Development Career, Move your Career Forward with AWS, Talk to our Young Entrepreneurs, Investing in Mutual Funds, How to Master Skills for Data Analytics, Ultimate Investment Banking Career Guide, Top Career Options for Finance Graduates, Building a Career in Software Programming, and many others. Top Industry Experts like S.Karthik (Delhivery), Ramesh Ekambaram (Leading MNC Bank), Rohit Sharma (AWS), Neelabh Sanyal (Kuvera), Rajat Khatri (Ferns & Petals), Sudarshan Ramakrishnan (Leading Investment Bank), Deepak Jain (Ather Energy), Dhairya Gangwani (Dhairya Decodes), Dhinakar Selwyn (Capgemini), and more have conducted these sessions. The audience participation was riddled with enthusiasm, each session ended with an average of over 15 questions.

EduBridge has also given participants access to useful tools, a book to read, website links, etc. which were shared with the audience. To mark the success of SkillsFactor 2023, EduBridge launched the Elite Learner’s Club, giving learners an opportunity to become part of the EduBridge family. Learners can avail of attractive discounts, prizes, cash-back, and other rewards on making a referral.

According to Girish Singhania, CEO, EduBridge, “We commenced with SkillsFactor in 2020 with the intention of educating the youth on the merit of skilling. Over the years, the event got bigger and better. We invite industry experts across disciplines to strike up a one-on-one conversation with the youth while addressing the in-demand requirements. SkillsFactor is an open platform enabling learners to exchange their views and resolve queries relating to their career path and start accelerating their interest in the desired direction to achieve growth. This season we launched the unique referral program extending our gratitude to the learners and including them as we enliven our efforts at skilling the youth. We look forward to another successful season in 2024.”

Mumbai, February 14, 2023: HDFC Bank has launched a pilot in partnership with Crunchfish, to test offline digital payments for merchants and customers under the RBI’s Regulatory Sandbox Program, known as ‘OfflinePay’.

HDFC Bank’s ‘OfflinePay’ will enable customers and merchants to make and receive payments even when there is no mobile network. HDFC Bank is the first bank in the industry to launch a digital payment solution in a completely offline mode. This can boost the adoption of digital payments in smaller towns and rural areas with poor network connectivity.

Even in urban centers, it can enable cashless payments during large public events, fairs & exhibitions despite network congestion; underground metro stations, parking lots, & retail stores with network blind spots; and even in airplanes, sea ferries, and trains with no network.

HDFC Bank has been working with the regulator to pilot offline digital payments under the Payments cohort of RBI’s Regulatory Sandbox program. In September 2022, RBI approved HDFC Bank’s application, in partnership with Crunchfish, to access the Regulatory Sandbox. Crunchfish Digital Cash AB is a subsidiary of Crunchfish AB, a publicly listed company on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market in Stockholm, Sweden. The pilot, if successful, will provide the basis for RBI’s guidance and regulatory support in providing offline digital payments based on ‘The Crunchfish Digital Cash platform to the payment ecosystem of India.

Digital Payment typically requires one party (either the customer or the merchant) to be online. This limits the usage of such payments to areas with good data connectivity. HDFC Bank’s ‘OfflinePay’ brings in the unique capability where both customer and merchant can be fully offline and yet do the transaction. Merchants can receive an instant payment confirmation even in an offline mode. As soon as either the merchant or the customer goes online, the transaction gets settled.

“HDFC Bank is pleased to work under the regulator’s guidance and partner with Crunchfish Digital Cash to launch ‘OfflinePay’, an industry-first digital solution. This innovation will accelerate financial inclusion in remote areas by enabling the adoption of digital payments as both merchants and customers can do transactions without any network. HDFC Bank is committed to bringing more digital innovations and payment solutions to its customers and merchants,” said Parag Rao, Country Head for Payments Business, Consumer Finance, Digital Banking, and Marketing at HDFC Bank.

As of now, HDFC Bank would roll out this service as part of a limited pilot for 4 months in 16+ cities & towns across India. Bank would be enabling merchants and users of even other banks to experience ‘OfflinePay’ via an invitation link. During the pilot, the offline transaction amount would be limited to up to Rs. 200 per txn. To showcase off-us transactions with other banks’ customers and merchants, HDFC Bank has partnered with IDFC First Bank. For building customer & merchant apps for a pilot, HDFC Bank enrolled M2P Fintech Pvt Ltd.

TOKYO, Feb 14, 2023 – (JCN Newswire) – JCB International Co., Ltd., the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co., Ltd., Japan’s only international payment brand, today announced the issuance of one million Rupay JCB Cards in India. These credit and debit cards, issued by 12 public and private sector banks and co-badged as RuPay JCB Cards, offer their card members a seamless payment experience within and outside India.

Along with the 3-fold growth in card issuance, a significant growth in Rupay JCB Card usage was also seen with international spending growing 8-fold between April 2022 to December 2022. This is expected to further grow rapidly given the extremely lucrative international campaign currently available for RuPay JCB cardmembers. All RuPay JCB cardmembers are eligible for a whopping 40% cashback on face-to-face transactions in Singapore, Thailand, and Bahrain. The maximum cashback amount per transaction is 3,000 INR and the maximum cashback amount per card is 15,000 INR within the campaign period. The current campaign started on December 29, 2022, and will conclude on March 31, 2023.

This is the second such campaign as RuPay JCB just concluded a similar 40% cashback campaign in UAE, Qatar, and Australia. The offer was on face-to-face transactions from October 1 to December 31, 2022. This campaign has also successfully increased the number of transactions and was well appreciated by bank issuers and cardmembers.

In addition to this, there are multiple ongoing offers across countries in different categories such as a retail stores, restaurants, hotels, and transport.

Mr. Yoshiki Kaneko, President & COO, of JCB International Co., Ltd. said, “We are very proud of our strategic partnership with NPCI. This first million Rupay JCB issuance milestone is a testament to the strength of our partnership which will continue to grow in the coming years. India is a key market for JCB with huge potential given the aspirational young and vibrant base of consumers who especially enjoy international travel and new experiences. We are confident the feature-rich RuPay JCB Card, which offers many international benefits to its cardmembers including an international airport and JCB PLAZA Lounge access, besides many special offers, discounts, and cashback that saves our cardmembers’ money, will be well enjoyed outside India. We will continue to focus on and invest in growing the India business through our esteemed partner, NPCI, to ensure that our issuing partners always have access to the best-in-class technology to create path-breaking products.”

Bengaluru, February 13, 2023 – Boeing [NYSE: BA] today announced an investment in a new logistics center in India to cater to its regional customers. Continuing to expand its footprint in the country, Boeing is investing in building capabilities that support an efficient and cost-effective service solution for regional customers to maintain higher fleet utilization and mission readiness rates.

In the initial phase of the operations, the India Logistics Center will focus on supporting airline customers as the civil aviation sector continues to rapidly advance towards becoming the world’s third largest passenger market, surpassed only by the U.S. and China. The fleet of Indian airlines is projected to nearly quadruple in size by 2041 compared to 2019. With a growing domestic market and increasing opportunities for international growth, the airlines will require more holistic service support to drive efficient fleet operations. Today, more than 150 Boeing airplanes, including the Next-Generation 737, 737 MAX, 757, 777, and 787 Dreamliner, are operated by leading Indian commercial airlines.

“The further expansion of our footprint in India with the India Logistics Center supports our long-term investment strategy for the country. We remain excited and committed as we provide critical service support towards the growth of the Indian civil and defence aviation ecosystem,” said Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India.

In the second phase, the India Logistics Center will cater to the larger network of Boeing’s customers in the region. Through the Boeing India Repair Development and Sustainment (BIRDS) hub program, Boeing is already supporting local customers by creating an ecosystem of comprehensive support packages and indigenous Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) capabilities with its partners. This initiative is a testament to Boeing’s commitment to “Make in India” and “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”. Currently, India operates a fleet of Boeing aircraft, including 11 C-17s, 22 AH-64 Apaches (with an additional 6 on order), 15 CH-47 Chinooks, 12 P-8Is, 3 VVIP aircraft, and 2 Head of State aircraft.

“A key element of efficient customer support is rapid response and distribution of replacement parts. The India Logistics Center will allow better responsiveness and build on Boeing’s existing global reputation for the highest quality of customer service,” said Ashwani Bhargava, senior director, India Supply Chain, Boeing India.

India is well-positioned to localize maintenance services capabilities and provide cost-effective solutions given its large technical labor force, including uniquely qualified and highly trained technicians and industry capabilities. With over eight decades of presence in India, Boeing has built a strong network support for its customers in the region through various initiatives and partnerships while contributing to the growth and development of Indian aerospace and defence sector.

Bengaluru, Feb. 14, 2023 – Boeing [NYSE: BA] has launched its first Global Support Center (GSC) in India to continue supporting the development of the aviation ecosystem in the country. Based in Gurgaon, the Global Support Center – India will deliver customized operational efficiency and safety improvement projects for Boeing’s airline customers, civil aviation regulatory bodies, and other industry stakeholders.

“With India continuing to see an unprecedented surge in civil aviation traffic, Boeing is committed to innovating and bringing value to modernize the Indian aviation ecosystem,” said Salil Gupte, president, of Boeing India. “Today, we are proud to launch the Global Support Center – India, which will provide a platform to enable knowledge transfer for enhancing safety and increasing operational efficiency for Boeing’s airline partners in the country,” he added.

As part of the initiative, the Global Support Center – India will conduct technical workshops and projects to support aircraft reliability, enhance airplane performance, and encourage the adoption of Airplane Health Management (AHM) systems. For operational improvements, Global Support Center – India will work with operators and regulators on structures and airworthiness; the Maintenance Error Decision Aid (MEDA), a human-factors tool; Air Traffic Management (ATM); aerospace optimization; and low visibility operation through Head-Up Display (HUD) and Enhanced Flight Vision System (EFVS). The Center will also conduct flight operations symposiums, engineering seminars, and continue the development of new technology studies impacting airports and operators alike.

Bangalore, February 14, 2023:
With 80+ hotels across 50+ locations in India, Royal Orchid Hotels Limited is India’s fastest-growing hospitality chain with a diverse portfolio of hotels. In the last quarter, we have done good business in all locations. Below are the financial details.

Highlights of Q3 FY 22-23 V/s Q3 FY 21-22 (Standalone)

•  Total Operational Revenue of Rs. 46.79 Cr V/s. Rs. 28.57 Cr
  (increased by 63.77%)
•  EBIDTA of Rs. 17.36 Cr V/s. Rs. 8.97 Cr (increased by 93.53%)
•  PAT of Rs. 8.19 Cr V/s. Rs. 1.81 Cr (increased by 352.48%)
•  EPS of Rs. 2.99 V/s. EPS of Rs. 0.66

Highlights of Q3 V/s Q2 of FY 22-23 (Standalone)

• Total Operational Revenue of Rs. 46.79 Cr V/s. Rs. 37.56 Cr
  (increased by 24.57%)
•  EBIDTA of Rs. 17.36 Cr V/s. Rs. 13.30 Cr (increased by 30.52%)
•  PAT of Rs. 8.19 Cr V/s. Rs. 5.92 Cr (increased by 38.34%)
•  EPS of Rs. 2.99 V/s. EPS of Rs. 2.16

Highlights of Q3 FY 22-23 V/s Q3 FY 21-22 (Consolidated)

• Total Operational Revenue Rs. 72.49 Cr in V/s. Rs 52.78 Cr
  (increased by 37.34%)
•  EBIDTA of Rs. 27.75 Cr V/s. Rs. 19.07 Cr (increased by 45.52%)
•  PAT of Rs. 15.18 Cr V/s. Rs. 5.73 Cr (increased by 164.92%)
•  EPS of Rs 5.27 V/s. EPS of Rs. 1.61

Highlights of Q3 V/s Q2 of FY 22-23 (Consolidated)

• Total Operational Revenue Rs. 72.49 Cr in V/s. Rs 58.06 Cr
  (increased by 24.85%)
•  EBIDTA of Rs. 27.75 Cr V/s. Rs. 20.44 Cr (increased by 35.76%)
• PAT of Rs. 15.18 Cr V/s. Rs. 9.38 Cr (increased by 61.83%)
• EPS of Rs 5.27 V/s. EPS of Rs. 3.22

IND-AS 116 adoption led to a notional increase in depreciation and finance cost of Rs. 3.32 Cr leading to a reduction in PAT by  Rs. 0.61 Cr and has also impacted the debt-equity ratio at standalone level (SA) for Q3 (October to December 22) of FY 22-23.

Management Comment

Commenting on the results, Mr. Chander K. Baljee, Chairman & Managing Director said, “The third quarter of 2022-23 has surpassed our expectations. The buoyancy of the market is a positive indication of what lies ahead in the year to come. We are confident to achieve our targets this year with a growing occupancy of over 80% just in the last quarter. The forthcoming summer season looks promising and is a sign of opportunity and profitability.
This is a much-needed impetus for the hospitality industry that has been battered in the last two years. ROHL’s growth is a testament to the belief of our customers, but more importantly, the untiring staff who work 24×7 to make the brand a success. This year the spotlight will be on Regenta by Royal Orchid Hotels with the expansion and target of touching 100 hotels before the end of the year. The aim is to establish and reckon with a brand that is the most sought after ‘value Indian brand’ in the country.”

Vanity Wagon – India’s largest clean beauty marketplace, the one-stop e-Commerce platform is set to make its second appearance by opening a Kiosk at Pacific Mall, Subhash Nagar, Delhi on 18th February 2023.

The clean beauty products that Vanity Wagon promotes can be physically experienced by customers through samples before they decide to buy them, which is another important factor in establishing an offline retail presence. Customers will receive the requested trial and experience the products’ appearance and textures. The trust consumers have placed in Vanity Wagon as an online retailer, has led to its expansion into the offline market.

Prateek Ruhail, Co-Founder and CEO of Vanity Wagon said, “2023 is indeed one of the best years to make an offline presence. We have received an amazing response from our customers since our first launch in Select City Walk. As a young company, we are very eager to enter the offline retail market.’’

Naina Ruhail, Founder and Co-CEO of Vanity Wagon said, ‘’Even though e-commerce is a rapidly expanding and significant component of the market, we are aware that people enjoy shopping offline as well. In order to deepen consumer relationships with us, we are launching our second kiosk in Delhi.”

The array of clean beauty products will include brands like Aqualogica, Ayuga, Dr Sheth’s, Love Earth, Power Gummies, Kiro Beauty, and Better Beauty. The highlight of the launch will be Influencer Tie-ups, High Tea in collaboration with_____, and a fun Open Mic as well.

New Delhi: February 14, 2023: Electronics Mart India Limited, the 4th largest consumer durable and electronics retailer in India retailing under the brand’s Electronics Mart, Bajaj Electronics, Kitchen Stories, Easy Kitchens and Audio & Beyond across AP, Telangana, NCR, has announced its financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended on December 31st 2022.

Highlights for Q3 FY23 (YoY) Consolidated Financials

• Revenue from Operations stands at Rs. 1,481.7 crores as against Rs. 1,265.3 crores in Q3 FY22
•  Core EBITDA reported was at Rs. 72.8 crores as compared to Rs. 77 crores in Q3 FY22
•  Profit Before Tax stands at Rs. 29.6 crores as against Rs. 37.5 crores in Q3 FY22
•  Profit After Tax reported was at Rs. 21.9 crores as against Rs. 27.7 crores in Q3 FY22
• EPS stands at Rs. 0.59 (Face Value Rs.10 per share)

9MFY23 Vs 9MFY22 (Consolidated)

•  Revenues from operations were reported at Rs. 4,117.9 crores as compared to Rs. 3,118.7 crores in 9MFY22; up by 32%
•  Core Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization (Core EBITDA) stands Rs. 245.2 crores in 9MFY23, as against Rs. 203.2 crores in 9MFY22. The Company’s Core EBITDA margin stood at 6%.
•  Profit Before Tax (PBT) stood at Rs. 117.1 crores for 9MFY23 as compared to Rs. 92.3 crore in 9MFY22. The Company’s PBT margin stood at 2.8%.
•  Profit After Tax (PAT) increased to Rs. 86.7 crores in 9MFY23 as against Rs. 68.6 crores in 9MFY22. The Company’s PAT margin stood at 2.1%.
•  Earnings per share (EPS) for the 9MFY23 stood at Rs. 2.68
• Other Highlights
•  As on December 31, 2022, we have added 19 new stores. (18 MBOs and 1 EBO).

Commenting on the results, Mr. Karan Bajaj, Chief Executive Office, Electronics Mart India Limited, said, “Our focused expansion strategy, flexible business model, robust inventory management systems, and long-term relationship with marquee brands have helped us maintain a strong balance sheet and made us one of the fastest growing electronics retailers in the country. We are very happy with the financial performance of the company has reported 32% growth in Operational Revenue and an EBITDA growth of 21% for 9MFY23 (Y-o-Y). We have also reported growth of 26% PAT reported at Rs. 86 crores. Our Same Store Sales Growth stood at 23.5% (Y-o-Y). We aim to increase our geographical presence and with this in mind, we have opened up 12 new stores in the NCR area during the 9M FY23. We currently have 122 retail stores across 38 cities in 4 states with 1.19 Mn. Sq Ft of retail area.”

Hyderabad, 14th February 2023: Osho Nanak Dham Mandir, Murthal (ONDM), is a spiritual scientific organization that is on a mission to reveal the spiritual and scientific base of Sanatan Dharma for happiness and bliss through various programs. ONDM will be conducting Dhyan Yoga (Meditative Living), a preparatory program for Right Mindfulness, starting from Monday, 20th February, to Saturday, 25th February at Kanha Shanti Vanam, Hyderabad.

Dhyan Yoga is a 6-day program that consists of two parts, i.e., Anand Pragya or Blissful Living, and Yoga Pragya or Divine Living. Each program is for three days. Anand Pragya, or Blissful Living, is based on the Eightfold path of Lord Buddha and solves most of the problems related to stress, relationship, and boredom. Yoga Pragya, or Divine Living, teaches various courses of Yoga. The participants listen and experience the Divine Sound (Omkar) and learn techniques of Samadhi and Divine Remembrance.

The Dhyan Yoga program will be guided by the master ‘Samarthguru Siddarth Aulia.’

Oshodhara is the only spiritual stream that has gifted the world – ‘Spiritual Science.’ by converting Spirituality into Science – which is unprecedented! It provides a practical roadmap of spirituality – its programs are designed in such a way that one can pragmatically experience specific spiritual milestones and level-wise moves ahead on the spiritual path under the proper guidance of the Master.