Blum, the Austrian manufacturer of furniture fittings, has been represented in India for more than 20 years, offering innovative fittings for the furniture industry. The Austrian company has developed its Indian subsidiary which includes a newly constructed warehouse as well as a new and diverse distributor network.

International company Blum offers top-quality, “made in Austria” furniture fittings to its customers in trade, the furniture industry, and the interior design segment to bring creative furniture projects to life. Blum India has expanded its distribution network with a promise to provide internationally acclaimed standard products. Explaining the strategy, Nadeem Patni, Managing Director of the subsidiary, says: “For many countries, India has been a center of investment, and we see this potential materializing on a larger scale. From taking the first step of establishing headquarters in Mumbai in 2017 to building the warehouse and directly catering to our customers from 2022 onwards, we have strong expansion plans for India.” In support of these plans, Blum has built a large, new warehouse in Bhiwandi (closer to Mumbai), to guarantee a reliable delivery experience for its customers.

Intensifying customer relationships

The furniture market is changing, and demands for quality of living are evolving. As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of fittings, Blum wants to provide its customers with comprehensive support to navigate these new developments. “More end-consumers are now moving towards quality furniture fittings as they’ve started to understand the difference that these can make”, explains Nadeem Patni, adding: “And we are seeing a huge shift in the industry towards modular kitchens”

To maintain good customer relations and promote a personal exchange of ideas and experiences, Blum India has set up a customer service team in Mumbai along with a newly furbished Experience Center. This new development will help to serve Blum customers in a more organized and direct manner. For Blum, it’s very important to remain a trusted partner to their customers in the face of this substantial growth. Customers can now contact Blum directly or visit their experience centers to purchase premium Austrian-made products.

New Delhi, February 23rd, 2023: Dreamotion and KRAFTON, Inc., makers of the popular battle royale game BGMI, today announced pre-registration for an all–new Indian version of Road to Valor: Empires, a real-time player-versus-player (PvP) strategy game. Renowned for bringing high-quality, engaging games to users worldwide, KRAFTON, Inc. has reimagined the game for the Indian audience, bringing several new updates including full-fledged Hindi language support to provide an immersive experience for the Indian gaming community.

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In Road to Valor: Empires, the first casual game for India from KRAFTON, players embark on a quest to build armies and win thrilling battles while commanding mythical guardians and troops. With the addition of the Hindi user interface, players can enjoy an enthralling visual journey as they play with various civilizations. Furthermore, exclusive India-specific updates include the option to create custom rooms where users can host, spectate, and play together with fellow gamers. Keeping in mind the regional pricing, the new optional starter pack with exclusive rewards for Indian users will also be available starting at INR 29.

With stunning graphics, captivating music, and easy-to-use controls, Road to Valor: Empires delivers an exhilarating experience for both hardcore and casual gamers alike. In addition to being made available in Hindi, the game will also subsequently support other Indian languages. More than just a launch, RTV Empires will also bring in new content regularly such as new characters, civilizations, in-game events, and esports tournaments.

“We’ve been at work on a neat surprise for our beloved Indian audience and are excited to bring Road To Valor: Empires along with Indian nuances and local customizations. We’re very excited to have worked with our talented studio, Dreamotion to bring in an authentic strategy experience in a casual format for Indians. With the addition of Indian rewards, new UI, and unique features, we hope players have a great time exploring the world of mythical and historical civilizations.” said Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO, KRAFTON, Inc. India. He further added, “We are committed to the Indian audience and will continue bringing new and exciting games that will enthrall our Indian gamers”

“We are eager to bring the all-new Road to Valor: Empires to India and hope that users enjoy the interplay of strategy, realistic graphics, and exclusive features that the game offers. With thrilling large-scale wars, and a host of characters, we are excited for users to experience the game. The new custom room feature will help casual players in India invite and jump into quick 2v2 matches or even spectate top players” said Junyoung Lee, CEO, Dreamotion. “For us, this is more than just a launch. We will be bringing in new civilizations, local characters, and features that challenge and excite our players in the future. And hopefully, make it esports ready, to encourage the vast talent in India to compete for valor!”

Key features of the game include:

Command armies, your way: It is a real-time PVP strategy game where players can outplay their opponents by creating their own army from different factions and unique units to claim the throne.
Hindi and English language support: With the latest addition of Hindi UI users can choose to enjoy the game in a way that feels natural to them

Bring legends to life: Choose characters from different mythologies and experiment with a diverse range of characters. From Athena, the Goddess of War, to Odin, the King of Asgard, to Caeser and and Cyrus players can select their guardians and experiment to see which characters and armies suit their playing style.

Stunning visuals: Realistic and fierce battles with immersive experience. From cavalry rushing to destroy enemy towers, continuing the fight even when knocked from their horses – feel the realistic fierce feel of battle right in your hands No one way to glory: Choose different mythological beasts and gods from the myths of multiple cultures and pit them against your enemy’s army while you’re vying for supremacy. As you gradually progress, you unlock features, heroes, units and better upgrades to your troops

Host epic battles: Custom rooms to host, spectate and enjoy multi-player experiences with friends
Road to Valor: Empires is the successor to Road to Valor: World War II, which launched in January 2019 and crossed more than 3 million downloads. Players can now pre-register to download the game from Google Play and the Apple App Store and the title will be available to play in March 2023.

To pre-register for Road to Valor: Empires, please visit Google Play Store and Apple iOS Store. For more details, follow the official India website, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube pages of Road To Valor: Empires.

Mumbai, 23 February 2023: SVKM’s NMIMS Shirpur Campus hosted the 14 th edition of Narsee Monjee Model United Nations (NMMUN) 2023 on 11th and 12th February 2023 at its Shirpur campus.

NMMUN is an annual event that provides students from various fields with the opportunity to participate in a simulation of the United Nations conference. This conference is a flagship event of the SVKM’s NMIMS Shirpur campus and has become one of the most prestigious Model UN conferences in the country. NMMUN 2023 has reached remarkable milestones over the past decade. The mission of this conference is to instil a holistic approach to debate, public speaking, and current affairs while promoting peace and the United Nations’ goals through
partnership and diplomacy.

The NMMUN conference provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students to participate in comprehensive global debates that help them “lead towards change.” It is an unforgettable experience that engages students with delegates from all across the country. NMMUN enables students to express their thoughts and opinions on various global issues, expand their network, and hone their diplomatic skills. The conference aims to produce well-informed
individuals who comprehend not just the decisions their nation takes, but also the effects of those actions on national, regional, and international politics. Students from a wide range of fields, including law, engineering, pharmacy, among others, from eminent institutes in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan were a part of this event.

NMMUN is different from other MUNs in the country because of its recognition by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres himself. The conference has been conducting successive events since 2009, and it is the only MUN in the Maharashtra circuit to do so. Even during the global pandemic and the lockdown of the entire nation, the Narsee Monjee MUN did not stop and continued in online mode for those two years.
NMMUN 2023 conducted conferences for 5 different committees, each with its own agenda.

The agendas of various committees in a MUN are chosen through analysis of current worldwide situations and the need for them to be addressed. This year, the agenda was:

1. 1. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): Internal Displacement of refugees in rehabilitated countries.
   2. United Nations Security Council (UNSC): Discussion of possible actions in the situation between Russia and Ukraine.
   3. Lok Sabha: Discussion on the constitutional validity of reservation in the light of the recent trends.
   4. Historical Crisis Committee (HCC): Discussing the course of the third Indo-Pak war of 1971 and role of non-alignment nations.
   5. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC): Role of sustainable development goals in taking illicit drug trade.

In the committee sessions, delegates discussed the root causes of the respective issues and explored various initiatives and programmes that have been developed to address them. 2 Delegates also considered new and innovative ways to address these issues and ensure the protection and well-being of those affected.

Director of SVKM’s NMIMS Shirpur campus, Dr Akshay Malhotra, said, “The 14th edition of Narsee Monjee Model United Nations (NMMUN) was hosted at the prestigious SVKM’s NMIMS Shirpur Campus, and it was a proud moment for all of us. NMMUN is a flagship event of our campus and one of the most renowned Model UN conferences in the country. We are honoured to have played a pivotal role in enabling students from diverse fields to participate in a comprehensive debate, where they get a chance to express their views and opinions on various
global issues while promoting peace, partnership, and diplomacy.”

India, 23rd February 2023 – Fibe, India’s largest consumer lending app, marks its 7th year and disbursal of 4 million loans worth Rs. 10,000 Crores. The company also launched its 3.0 app version, featuring a conversational UI. With the new app, the brand aims to offer a simplified and immersive experience to new and existing users.

The brand revealed the Fibe Carnival – the biggest gamified platform in the fintech space to celebrate this momentous occasion with its customers. The carnival theme is in keeping with the Carnival of Upgrades theme of the new app. Games with a carnival theme would be featured in the campaign, along with vibrant, amusing graphics. Through this interaction, consumers will get to know about the new features and acquire information about Fibe’s lending services and products. In addition, customers also get a chance to win freebies like the latest iPhones, AirPods, Alexa as well as gift vouchers from leading brands.

Fibe completed its 7-year journey in the digital lending space and reached a milestone of Rs. 10,000 crore loan disbursement. By entering the affordability segment through the launch of BNPL (Buy now Pay Later), Fibe reached multi-verticals and thereby had a diverse customer base across Edtech, Healthtech, Shopping and Lifestyle.

The launch of the new campaign marks the introduction of an app with unique features for digital lending to enhance better Conversational UI, and personalized and cross-selling capabilities. Through gamification, customers will get to learn more about Fibe’s product offerings.

Thanking customers and investors, Mr. Akshay Mehrotra, Co-Founder and CEO, Fibe said, “We at Fibe take pride to adhere to our customer-first philosophy when it comes to lending money to young working professionals. Our constant efforts to provide enhanced technology and security to customer data will be further enhanced through this new app launch. We believe that this new feature will aim to improve the overall customer experience by making the loan application process more interactive and easier to use.”

Launching the new app, Mr. Ashish Goyal, Co-Founder and CFO, Fibe said, “Our main goal is to provide our audience with access to financial services at ease. We are extremely happy to celebrate the disbursement of Rs. 10,000 crore loans. With an aim to achieve significant growth and best-in-class customer experience in line with changing preferences, our new app features will provide our customers faster loan application processes, better engagement and financial learning.”

Since its inception, the company has taken numerous measures to provide its customers with a better experience. Fibe as a brand has evolved over the course of its 7-year journey, helping numerous young people. In the coming years, Fibe intends to serve an increasing number of customers and become the lender of choice for every professional in India as consumer expectations rise.

New features:

• o Conversational UI: Newer approach Vs Conventional form-filling approach
• o Dynamic/modular journeys
• o Better personalization & cross-selling capabilities
• o Engagement & gamification
• o Enhanced UI/UX

Benefits to the customers:

• o Faster journeys with fewer Qs & limited typing
• o Better engagement with the App
• o Financial learning within the App

February 23, 2023, New Delhi: MapmyIndia (C.E. Info Systems Ltd.) (NSE: MAPMYINDIA, BSE: 543425), India’s pioneering and leading deep-tech digital mapping, geospatial software & IoT company, today announced the launch of its new line of Mappls Gadgets for cars and two-wheelers – including advanced Vehicle GPS trackers, Dash Cameras, In-Dash Navitainment Systems & Smart Helmet Kits. Mappls Gadgets are available direct from the company at www.mapplsgadgets.com, as well as offline through approved genuine accessory showrooms of various OEMs, and can be shipped and installed pan India, with prices ranging from INR 4,990 to INR 38,990. Users of Mappls Gadgets can access the various features and benefits through the Mappls App, which can be downloaded free from www.mappls.com/getApp, works on Android, iOS, Android Auto and Carplay, and can also be accessed for free on the web from www.mappls.com

“MapmyIndia has been at the forefront of digitally and geospatially transforming India and enhancing people’s lives since 1995 and continues to provide state-of-the-art, best-in-class and first-in-class products & technologies which deliver innumerable benefits to users and customers. Our newly launched, comprehensive product suite of Mappls Gadgets, paired with our free Mappls App, help users get peace-of-mind with relation to the safety of their loved ones and their vehicles, wherever they may be, through live and historical monitoring of the GPS location, movement and video of the vehicle. Thus, Mappls

Gadgets can also help prevent the theft of vehicles, help in the recovery of stolen vehicles or reconstruct why an accident or incident happened and whose fault it really was. Mappls Gadgets, especially the revolutionary Smart Helmet Kits, also provide hands-free, distraction-free, and accurate navigation to the exact doorstep of the user’s destination, ensuring their drive or ride is hassle-free and safe. Finally, with built-in features for infotainment and communication, the Mappls Gadgets ensure users stay connected and entertained while on the go. Through Mappls Gadgets, we at MapmyIndia are excited to directly deliver the most advanced automotive technologies to vehicle owners, drivers, passengers and riders and empower them with better connectivity, safety, and convenience while on the go” said Rohan Verma, CEO & Executive Director, MapmyIndia.

Bengaluru – February 23, 2023: Ekart, India’s largest supply chain network will now make its warehouses across the country available to brands, manufacturers, retailers, and SMEs as a part of its vision to become a 4PL (fourth-party logistics) player in the country. The initiative will enable brands of all sizes, manufacturers, and retailers from across industries to leverage Ekart’s technologically advanced fulfillment centers for flexible, affordable, and scalable inventory storage solutions.

The end-to-end warehousing services by Ekart will include ready-to-use best-in-class warehousing space, order management, integrated logistics, and inventory management further helping brands scale their business. Ekart will also offer specialized facilities such as temperature-controlled storage and storage for high-value inventory for businesses in need of these requirements.

Ekart has a pan India supply chain network spread across more than 20 million sq feet. To begin with, it will offer four dedicated sites across Bilaspur in Haryana, Malur in Karnataka, Saidham in Mumbai, and Uluberia (West Bengal), as well as 17 shared sites across India to businesses of all sizes. The expansive warehouses will ease the fulfillment process of orders for customers by helping reduce the transit time and better delivery speed. The state-of-the-art, Grade-A fulfillment centers are equipped to facilitate the safe and speedy delivery of orders. Ekart’s capability to handle 80+ product categories will also now be available to the brands.

Commenting on the announcement, Mani Bhushan, Chief Business Officer at EKart, said, “Ekart today is one of the largest supply chain companies in the country, and we are committed to helping businesses reach scale. Today a majority of businesses across industries including manufacturing, D2C, and consumer electronics have a pain point of not being able to find Grade A warehousing and dealing with multiple partners for operations. We want to leverage our operations, infrastructure, and technology capabilities to provide ease of doing business while also reducing the cost of doing business and further strengthening and streamlining the nation’s supply chain ecosystem. We are positive that our deep understanding of the value chain will not only ease last-mile delivery for our partners but also help them focus on their core strengths, thus contributing to the larger economy.”

Some of the services provided by Ekart will be:

Order Management including

• • QC-based inwarding and smart picking to minimize dispatch failures
• • QC at packing to avoid mis-shipment and damaged item dispatch
• • Return management

Logistics Management

• • Efficient vendor management to offer synergy across the supply chain Inventory Management
• • Real-time visibility on inventory – reservable, under processing, and rejects
• • Continuous inventory monitoring as per touchpoints for minimal defects

Value Added Services

Refurbishment centers for Apparel Category and Value Recovery for Electronics Category
Sampling & marketing opportunities for brands to enhance the reach and help acquire new customers
Green Packaging options
With the introduction of Ekart’s warehousing services for brands and businesses, brands will be able to leverage cutting-edge technology such as – Automated Storage & Retrieval System, Multi-Tier Shelving, Cross Belt Sorters, Spiral Conveyors, Smart picking to minimize dispatch failures.

Ekart offers brands, platforms, and businesses end-to-end supply chain and inventory management, including distribution, and aggregation of products. Today it has a vast network of fulfillment and sortation centers, and thousands of delivery hubs. It delivers over 120 million packages every month across all serviceable pin codes.

Mumbai, February 23, 2023: IceWarp India and Middle East CEO Pramod Sharda has been honored with the prestigious ET Ascent Business Leader of the Year Award 2022-23. The award was presented at an event held at Hotel Taj Lands End Mumbai, recently. This award is an acknowledgment of Pramod’s forward-thinking leadership under which IceWarp India has been consistently delivering great results.

Under Pramod’s leadership, IceWarp has seen a mammoth growth in its operations ever since the rapid adoption of remote work and has adroitly capitalized on various opportunities by serving leading brands from BSFI, IT, ITeS, Pharmaceutical, Healthcare, Manufacturing, and FMCG sectors in the past 8 years of presence in India.

In a bid to address the growing business requirements and increased traction witnessed in sales and operations verticals, IceWarp recently launched its new office in Mumbai to accommodate its growing team. This new office has expanded IceWarp’s foothold and strengthened its position in the country and exponentially grow its vision. IceWarp is also looking to double its 100-member strong India Teams by end of 2023.

On receiving the award, Pramod Sharda, CEO, of IceWarp India and Middle East said, “It is an immensely proud moment for me to be recognized by the ET Ascent for our outstanding work in the IT sector and bringing in years of expertise in Technology domain at IceWarp. Winning the Business Leader of the Year Award title certainly gives me confidence and motivation to work harder and create a benchmark in the Indian IT industry”

Dr. R.L Bhatia, Founder and Chairman, World CSR Day & World Sustainability commented “Congratulations to Pramod Sharda for being recognized with Business Leader of the year in IT Sector. This honour reflects his commitment to providing the right products, services, and experiences to its enterprise customers and taking IceWarp to new heights. At a time when technology is playing a vital role in business growth, we believe that his leadership qualities outshine as a true pioneer in Indian IT Industry.”

Mumbai, February 23, 2023: IceWarp is delighted to announce that Anita Kukreja Head of Marketing and Channel Sales was honored with the prestigious Global Woman Leader Award 2023. This recognition is an acknowledgment of her outstanding performance in practicing Innovative marketing strategies in the Information and Technology sector. The award ceremony was organized by World Women Leadership Congress and was recently held at Hotel Taj Lands End, Mumbai.

Anita Kukreja is responsible for developing, driving, and implementing a go-to-market strategy for Channels along with creating the marketing strategies and driving marketing operations for India & Middle East region. On receiving the award, Anita said, “I feel honored to be recognized as the Global Woman Leader in the IT sector and I’m very grateful to receive this prestigious award for the appreciation of my work. At IceWarp, we are truly motivated by these recognitions as they are a testimony of our hard work and dedication to thrive and successfully achieve our goals.”

Dr. R.L Bhatia, Founder and Chairman, of World CSR Day & World Sustainability and World Women Leadership Congress commented “I extend my heartiest congratulations to Anita Kukreja for being recognized as the Global Woman Leader of the year in IT Sector. This award reflects her commitment towards her work and will act as a torchbearer for hundreds of women, who will be inspired by her and will follow her footsteps.”

The entire selection program was chaired by Dr. R L Bhatia, Founder of World CSR Day, World Sustainability and World Women Leadership Congress. The jury consists of senior leaders, researchers and academicians who went through a rigorous and independent process short listing Individuals who are doing extraordinary work and track their record of achievements.

Tirupati, February 23 2023: India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA), India’s leading industry association for ESDM (Electronics System Design and Manufacturing) sector, today, in conjunction with the Government of Andhra Pradesh organized the Defence Electronics and Semiconductor Innovations (DESI) Conclave 2023. This one-day event is being held in association with the Andhra Pradesh Electronics and IT Agency (APEITA) and the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) at the IIT Tirupathi campus.

The conclave is aimed at holding discussions with respect to the current metrics of semiconductor applications with respect to defence research and forging the way ahead for ESDM innovations in this segment. The conclave witnessed active participation from several speakers on myriad topics including ‘Evolution of semiconductor design ecosystem in India’, ‘Opportunities in enabling secure ecosystem around semiconductor fabs’, ‘Successful Startup’s – a mobility example’, ‘Innovation Ecosystem’, ‘Andhra Pradesh ESDM Landscape’, and ‘Emerging and future technologies of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)’. Panel discussions on topics ‘Enabling Semiconductor Design Ecosystem in AP – A practical road map’. A session on ‘Defence & Aerospace: Growing Impactful MSMEs to support Defence Electronics Industry in India- How & Why?’ was also conducted during the conclave. The conclave also provided ESDM startups with a chance to showcase their products and innovations, along with discussions around the direction in which the Indian ESDM industry is headed.

The attendance at DESI Conclave 2023 included Dr Satyanarayana, Director, IIT Tirupathi, Mr K Krishna Moorthy, CEO & President IESA, key appointments from the Indian Navy, Shri Saurabh Gaur, IAS Secretary,Government of Andhra Pradesh, Mrs Gowthami, IAS, CEO EMC’s – Govt of Andhra Pradesh, officials from Defence Machinery Development Establishment (DMDE) and a host of industry leaders in Semiconductor, R&D and ESDM space.

Mumbai, 23 February 2023: M/s Jay Wood Industry, a market leader in the wooden pallet manufacturing sector, aims to increase its annual production to 6 lakh wooden pallets, in order to meet growing customer demand. As the global economy continues to rebound after the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies across the world are accelerating the production of their goods with the aim of reaching pre-pandemic levels, to cater the increasing consumer demand. Consequently, there is a corresponding increase in the demand for wooden pallets, which are universally popular for the safe and convenient shipping of nearly 80% of all produced goods in the world.

The company’s goal to increase wooden pallet production to 6 lakh, represents a projected increase of 20% over the last year, which translates to an increase in YoY revenue by 20% in 2023-24. JWI also plans to boost its production of EPAL pallets (wooden pallets certified by the European Pallet Association) which are in high demand due to their rigorous quality standards, by installing automatic high-capacity chamfering machines imported from Italy in their manufacturing units. The ramping up of JWI’s production capacity is driven in large part by a surge in demand from booming sectors such as pharmaceuticals, glass, chemicals, automotive, and manufacturing.

Commenting on Jay Wood Industry’s robust growth, Jay Shah, Managing Director & CEO, said, “M/s Jay Wood Industry is celebrating its 30th birthday this year, and we are overwhelmed by how much we have grown and achieved during this journey. We started our operations from a humble little office in 1994 and, today, we have two world-class plants, and loyal customers across industries such as pharmaceuticals, glass, chemicals, automotive, and manufacturing, among others. During this time, we have grown from a modest count of 65 employees to a robust workforce comprising 90+ personnel.

As the global economy continues on its recovery trajectory, we are also committed to becoming a trusted partner, by providing our ever-increasing customer base with a high-quality product that meets global benchmarks, and will protect their goods as they travel through the supply chain to the end consumer.”

M/s Jay Wood Industry is the first wooden pallet manufacturer in India to be certified by the European Pallet Association to produce EPAL CP pallets. The company also manufactures pallets customised for specialised requirements. Additionally, the company is focusing on developing its own software to monitor operations and increase efficiency. All the wood used by JWI for pallet manufacture is also acquired from sustainable forest.