Archives March 2023

By Lokendra Ranawat, Co-Founder & CEO, Woodenstreet

With accelerated growth in technology, India is becoming digital in almost all fields. The adaption of technology by people is also improving the capability and demand for technology everywhere. This growth is one of the reasons which has made technology both a necessity and a luxury. And home furniture and decor is the sector which is both our basic necessity and a way to determine luxury that requires the involvement of technology. Well, the demand has already started, and you can find hundreds of products in home furnishing which are tech-inspired—sensor-controlled, automated and voice-controlled home decor items. You can find a world filled with tech-inspired home decor.

On this topic, Interior designer at WoodenStreet, Sejal Parikh, stated, “Technology is simply a medium to make our lives easier, and nothing is better than bringing its convenience to our home space. However, maintaining the balance of the tech blend with aesthetic and stylish designs in home decor is what WoodenStreet aims to deliver to the techno-driven world.”

So, read below if you are also interested in transforming your space with minimal yet innovative tech-inspired home decor ideas.

1- Voice Command Massagers

With covid amplifying our sanitising habits, it has also broadened our minds to adopt technology for avoiding health issues. One such product available in malls, fun parks, and airports is voice-automated massagers. This furniture item is the perfect combination of technology added with luxury. The voice efficiency sensor makes it easier to control the temperature, pressure and all other features with a voice command. It also becomes a tech-smart home decor element which attracts all your guests and their compliments.

2- Beds with Hydraulic Mechanism

The struggle we faced planning a day when the whole family came together to flip open the bed storage is long gone. It required hard work, unnecessary effort, and strength; and was hazardous to our health. However, with our favourite mechanism of technology, you can now flip open the bed with easy and handy mechanism. You can find these hydraulic beds and enjoy their comfort and convenience.

3- One-Click Automated Recliners

Adjusting to your body, and supporting it effortlessly, is the work of a basic recliner. However, old designs of recliners required more work than they returned pleasure. Changing the position from a sofa to reclining was itself a task. This task is also taken over with upgraded technology to make our lives uncomplicated. You can purchase reclining seats that change position with a click of a button. It also has other mind-blowing features, such as built-in speakers, a charging port, cupholders, and cushioned seats.

4- Human Sensor Aroma Diffuser

It was a hassle to prepare the material and essentials for your aroma diffuser for hours before actually using it. Now you can find attractive designs of aroma diffuser which dispenses the aroma by just sensing the human presence nearby, based on a set timer. These sensory aroma diffusers are convenient as they remain in the device and effortlessly add to the aesthetic beauty of your home decor.

5- In-Built Remote Operated Study Table

Lastly, a study table is another gorgeous and effortless home decor and furniture item laced with technology for a more manageable lifestyle. You need to flick a button to adjust the height of this study table and make it highly comfortable for a more personalised setting. The simple change in position makes it a mindblowing innovation because the adjusted setting helps avoid health issues caused because of working on an uneven surface.

Closing Words

Technology and digitalization open endless possibilities for us. We can take it as far as we want for a smart, convenient, and stress-free lifestyle. However, in a few years, with upgraded technology, creative designers and an energy-efficient solution, the world fully embraces the tech-inspired lifestyle for their homes. Start by owning the gadgets mentioned above for your home to experience and value the gift of automation.

Mumbai, 15 March, 2023: Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Limited, a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Capital Limited, an investment manager to Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, further strengthened its presence in the ETF space. The Aditya Birla Sun Life Nifty Bank ETF registered a growth of over 25x in its AUM during from 1st April 2022 to 28th February 2023 and surpassed the milestone of Rs 2000 crore.

The Aditya Birla Sun Life Nifty Bank ETF, an open-ended exchange-traded fund tracking the Nifty Bank Index, launched on 23rd October 2019 is for investors looking for long-term capital growth.

Nifty Bank Index is comprised of the most liquid and large-capitalized Indian Banking stocks. It provides investors and market intermediaries with a benchmark that captures the capital market performance of Indian Banks.

Commenting on ETF’s milestone and growth, A. Balasubramanian, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Ltd. said, “We are thrilled to see a tremendous response from investors for Aditya Birla Sun Life Nifty Bank ETF. The strong performance of the banking sector has played a significant role in the success of the fund, and we believe that the trend will continue in the future. I firmly believe, a robust banking system is a must to support India’s growth.”

The asset under management for Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Ltd in the ETF space has grown over 3x to over Rs 4000 crore as on the end of 28th February 2023 since the start of the current financial year.

In addition to Aditya Birla Sun Life Nifty Bank ETF, the other ETFs offered by the company have also witnessed substantial growth in AUM demonstrating the company’s commitment to providing investors with a diverse range of investment options that cater to their needs.

FY23 Highlights of other ETF’s offered by Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Ltd

1. Aditya Birla Sun Life Nifty 50 ETF’s AUM up 72% at Rs 1095 crore

2. Aditya Birla Sun Life Gold ETF’s AUM up 50% at Rs 534 crore

3. Aditya Birla Sun Life Silver ETF’s AUM up 76% at Rs 169 crore

For disclosures of quarterly AUM/ AAUM and AUM by Geography, please visit our website: https://mutualfund.adityabirlacapital.com/

Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.

NSE disclaimer: It is to be distinctly understood that the permission given by NSE should not in any way be deemed or construed that the Scheme Information Document has been cleared or approved by NSE nor does it certify the correctness or completeness of any of the contents of the Draft Scheme Information Document. The investors are advised to refer to the Scheme Information Document for the full text of the ‘Disclaimer Clause of NSE’.

Tajurba Business Network, a business networking firm that provides a growth ecosystem for entrepreneurs and practicing professionals to network and grow their businesses, has begun its new chapter in Pune. Founded by a family of serial entrepreneurs, Suresh Mansharamani and Uma Mansharamani in 2017, Tajurba Business Network is successfully empowering businesses in India through four of its ongoing chapters in Mumbai, and three in Delhi and one in Kolkata.

The platform’s founder, Dr. Suresh Mansharamani, states that “MSMEs are the real value creators in any economy, and Tajurba’s aim is to assist and guide businesses on their journey to growth and success by helping them launch their own IPOs. This helps start-ups become profitable, Scale up their business, and in turn lead to the growth of the economy.”

Mr. Suresh Mansharamani further states that “Pune, being the hub of innovative ideas, is their next destination for expansion. The Tajurba Network is expanding its chapters across various cities and has collaborated with several entrepreneurs in Pune to help them accelerate their businesses and increase their profitability. “

Through its vast network spread all across India, Tajurba has created a corporate culture of family and is actively fostering a platform for entrepreneurs to connect, interact, and undertake growth through collaboration. The community’s leadership team, which comprises growth experts, has mentored scores of entrepreneurs and guided them in tackling business challenges.

In addition, the Tajurba platform is focused on building a network of 10 million members by the end of 2027 and get listed at Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Commenting on the same Makrand Palnitkar & Venkat Iyer, Regional Director States that “We are excited to see what Pune adds to our mission of empowering MSMEs. Our team is pumped up to build a great chapter in Pune and we look forward to networking and building meaningful relationships with businesses to lead a future of growth and collaboration.”

Mumbai, 14th March 2023: Promate, a global leader in Mobile Accessories, has partnered with Sangeetha Mobiles, India’s leading multi-brand retail chain, to strengthen its retail presence in India. With this association, Promate shall establish its retail footprint across 800+ stores of Sangeetha Mobiles spread across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Gujarat, Tamilnadu, and Goa states. The available categories & products in the first phase at the stores shall include – GaN chargers, fast-charging power banks, Type C Hubs with Multi Streaming Transport, TWS, and neckbands.

Speaking on the association, Gopal Jeyaraj – Country Head, Promate India & SAARC, said, “We are glad to associate with one of the oldest and trusted multi-chain retail stores – Sangeetha Mobiles. We are confident that Sangeetha Mobiles’ in-depth understanding of the market and its substantial reach will be instrumental in establishing our strong retail presence.”

Commenting on the tie-up, Mr. Anil Prabhas – Director – Sangeetha Mobiles Pvt Ltd said, “We look forward to a long-lasting association with Promate. With this partnership, our customers will be able to explore the wide range of Promate products with some exciting deals & offers. On top of it Promate offers 2 years warranty to all their products which definitely gives more confidence to us as a retailer and in turn supports our customers.

Sangeetha Mobiles has a strong market in South India. The association will help Promate in serving a larger customer base, especially those who like the touch & feel the experience of goods before taking any purchase decision. This association further reiterates the importance of India as its priority market for Promate. Very recently, Promate extended a warm welcome to Sangeetha Mobiles in Dubai, hosting a training and meet-and-greet with international associates.

Promate, a global brand, has sold over 90+ million units worldwide. Promate makes the right fit to Indian market and will be focusing on bringing new innovative lifestyle accessory products to India consumers at aggressive price points.

Website

Guests traveling to Four Seasons Resort Maldives at LandaaGiraavaruthis year will benefit from the island nation’s most elevated arrival experience, thanks to two superlative new additions: The Flying Boxfish seaplane and The Island Café – a Landaa haven located in the new Seaplane Terminal at Velana International Airport.

The Flying Boxfish is the second marine-inspired marvel to take to the Maldivian skies as part of Four Seasons private seaplane fleet, following the 2019 launch of its Picasso-inspired predecessor, The Flying Triggerfish.

With a bold yellow and black spotted livery, the new customized premium 10-seater DHC-6-300 Twin Otter Flying Boxfish is a striking option for private seaplane transfers from Velana International Airport to LandaaGiraavaru, a scenic 35-minute flight from Malé in the secluded Baa Atoll UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.

International arrivals can now experience Four Seasons service in The Island Café: a retreat with a wrap-around balcony, revitalizing dining options, areas for lounging, dining, resting, and refreshing, as well as a play area, and an observation telescope to watch the seaplanes take off and land.

The Island Café isn’t just an arrivals haven. As seaplanes only fly during daylight hours, late international departers can now take the last flight from Landaa and stay in The Island Café until their international check-in gate opens.

To be one of the first to experience the Maldive’s most elevated arrival experience, contact the Central Reservations Department team at tel: (960) 66 00 888 or email: reservations.mal@fourseasons.com.

14th March 2023, India Garuda Aerospace who has created a huge impact with their defense drone showcased four of tis indigenous drones at the 54th Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) day. The event, which took place at the National Industrial Security Academy (NISA) in Hyderabad, was attended by the Hon’ble Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah. The showcased drones included Tethered Drones for disaster communication, aerial surveying, inspection, surveillance, and rescue operations for the NDRF. Other drones like Munition & Ordinance Dropping Drone, Fire Fighting Drones, Bomb Dropping Drone,s and Tactical Surveillance Drones were also exhibited, displaying Garuda Aerospace’s latest innovations in drone technology.

Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder and CEO, of Garuda Aerospace, said, “We are proud to showcase our latest innovations in drone technology to the Hon’ble Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah Ji and the CISF. Our drones are designed and manufactured in India and we are committed to promoting indigenization and self-reliance in the drone industry.”

New Delhi, 14th March 2023: SohanLal Commodity Management (SLCM), one of India’s leading comprehensive service providers in the global post-harvest space for agricultural commodities, has received the coveted accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Testing & Calibration Laboratories (NABL) for its ground-breaking AI ML QC application which falls under its Patented Process Management system “Agri Reach”. This is the first time in the history of NABL that a Mobile App has received a NABL Certification.

The Agri Reach app puts the power of recent scientific advancements in agriculture into the hands of regular smartphone users. People in rural India are making the most of this application’s advantages. In just two months since its launch, it has been utilized to inspect 21.59 lakh metric tons of crops at 303 locations in 17 states.

Using this AI ML QC module smartphone application to conduct a quality check of agricultural products is as simple as taking a picture. A simple click and submission through the app will analyze the image for a variety of quality metrics. The user will then receive a quality report that details the photographic evidence’s evaluation on specifications like damaged, shrunken, shriveled, or immature grains, foreign matter, and a host of other physical parameters like height, length, grid, color, and pattern of the commodity. Results are automatically compared with pre-fed data in the back-end system, which updates itself on a regular basis utilizing a combination of technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) with Python programming language.

Commenting on the NABL accreditation, Mr. Sandeep Sabharwal, Group CEO, SLCM said, “We had the vision for ‘phygitalizing’ (physical + digital infrastructure) the warehouse management system over a decade ago. With a dedicated team of professionals, SLCM created ‘Agri Reach’ – a system that enables effective warehousing solutions agnostic of infrastructure, geography, and crops. We are the only company in the Indian agriculture sector that has registered a technology patent in the Agri-Logistics (warehousing) segment to date which spans 75 years post-Independence and now I am proud to state that we have reaffirmed our leadership status by being again the first and only company in this space to get the coveted NABL accreditation for an Application which will transform the way Agri industry assays the Quality of its Commodities.”

In addition to this, SLCM recently added new proprietary solutions to its product line under the ‘Agri Reach’ umbrella, such as ‘Agri Suraksha,’ which enables REAL TIME remote audiovisual monitoring of storage facilities that are holding commodities, regardless of whether the commodities are kept inside a Godown or out in the open. Also, according to a study conducted by FICCI, India’s oldest and largest top business association the “Agri Reach” framework of services implemented in warehouses has contributed to reducing post-harvest losses to a mere 0.5% from a normally accepted loss of 10%

New Delhi, March 14, 2023: Welspun One Logistics Parks (WOLP), India’s first integrated fund and development management platform focusing on warehousing and industrial real estate, today announced the launch of its second fund of INR 2,000 crores, including a green shoe option of INR 1,000 crores.

Welspun One Logistics Parks Fund 2 is the successor of WOLP Fund 1, a SEBI-regulated Alternative Investment Fund or “AIF” offering for domestic investors which it launched in early 2021. WOLP Fund 1 received a favorable response from investors and successfully raised capital commitments of ~INR 500 crore from a set of high net-worth investors including marquee individuals and family offices. WOLP Fund 1 has delivered strong performance with a track record of 100% commitment across a portfolio of 6 investments, aggregating to ~6.5MM sf in a short span of ~1.5 years from its first close. Further, the portfolio has also seen excellent traction on the ground with ~50% of the portfolio expected to be physically delivered, leased, and operating by mid-CY2023. The fund’s performance is reflected in its inception to-date gross IRR of ~21% basis its 30 September Net Asset Value (NAV) which is computed based on an independent third-party valuation by a leading international property consultant.

Due to its unique integrated fund and development management offering, the warehousing and industrial real estate platform not only raises, invests, and manages capital on behalf of its investors, but is also able to execute the real estate side of the business in-house, including securing approvals, master planning, and design, leasing, and project management/execution, thereby providing its investor’s access to “full cycle” returns right through land acquisition, leasing, development and sale of the completed assets. In order to deliver this, the Company has built a team of 150+ professionals led by a highly experienced senior management team.

The Company places a strong emphasis on creating and implementing robust processes for a high level of governance and transparency across its business. A recent initiative on this front is the “WOLP investor portal”, a first-of-its-kind offering in the real estate private equity space which provides investors with online access to comprehensive information on their portfolio assets and performance along with a full repository of fund documents, all at the click of a button.

Balkrishan Goenka, Chairman, of Welspun Group said, “The warehousing industry is now a fully integrated priority sector in India that contributes to the USD 1 Trillion economies. Owing to the country’s favorable policy changes, this resilient asset class has drawn the significant interest of national investors; Welspun One is the only warehousing platform to permit domestic capital to be invested in the Indian warehousing growth story. This sector provides lucrative development returns and stable long-term yields proving to be an attractive investment destination. In the current climate, Welspun One will continue developing Grade-A warehouses that will serve prominent and emerging businesses across the country.”

Anshul Singhal, Managing Director, Welspun One Logistics Parks, said, “Our strong performance in WOLP Fund 1 has encouraged us to launch our second Fund on a larger scale allowing domestic investors to be part of this exciting asset class which has already attracted US$5-6BN of foreign institutional capital. With the financialization of real estate taking center stage with REITs, our fund takes this a step further by allowing investors to participate across the entire asset creation cycle without any of the hassles of owning and managing physical real estate. We’re also pleased to offer this product in collaboration with India’s leading wealth management franchises.”

Karan Bhagat, Founder, MD & CEO, of 360 ONE, (formerly IIFL Wealth & Asset Management) said, “The Indian warehousing sector presents an excellent investment opportunity while checking all the right boxes. It offers robust growth potential, with favorable demand-supply dynamics and potentially attractive returns. Additionally, its de-risked nature is noteworthy, as warehouses are quick and easy to construct, and are typically built only after securing a lease commitment from a tenant. We are excited to offer Welspun One as an extension of our real asset/infrastructure investment options; it’s perhaps the only platform through which, domestic investors can access this opportunity in an institutional, transparent, and organized manner.”

@Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre

Come and explore the delectable world of Pate De Fruit (real fruit jelly made from a variety of fruits) at Le’ Cafe. An indulgent experience of the pure joy of savouring French classics awaits you. Get ready to fall in love with Pate de fruit this season and enliven your senses.

Where: Le Café at Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre, Hyderabad, Telangana.

When: 20th to 29th March, Time – 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM

                                                For Reservations, call: +91 9642326164

Kolkata 14th March 2023: DUDigital Global is pleased to announce the opening of a new Bangladesh Visa Information Centre at Kolkata Railway station in (Chitpur) Kolkata, India. The purpose of this centre is to facilitate and empower the process to visa Applicants of Indian citizens who wish to visit Bangladesh for business, tourism, or other purposes. The Bangladesh Visa Information Centre in Kolkata will be operated by DUDigital, a leading visa processing company, which already operates Bangladesh Visa Application centres in Kolkata and Siliguri. Existing Centres are located at the 1st Floor, Plot No. 15 (Infinium Digispace) CP Block, Sector 5, Salt Lake in Kolkata and Shop No. 30 & 31,2nd Floor International Market, Sevok Road Near Pani Tanki More in Siliguri.

The opening of the Bangladesh Visa Information Centre in Kolkata is a major step forward in strengthening the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India. It will make it easier for Indian citizens to obtain visas to Bangladesh, thereby increasing trade and tourism between the two countries.

The Bangladesh Visa Information Centre in Kolkata will provide updated information and complete the visa application process. Applicants can apply for Bangladesh Visa by visiting the application centre in Salt Lake, Kolkata and Siliguri by walk-in, and they don’t require any prior appointment to submit their application. The centres will also provide a wide range of services, including visa application form filling, photograph taking, passport collection and delivery, and more. We hope that the opening of the Bangladesh Visa Information Centre in Kolkata will serve as a catalyst for increased travel and trade between Bangladesh and India. It is part of our ongoing commitment to improving the ease and convenience of travel between India and Bangladesh. We look forward to welcoming more visitors from India to Bangladesh.

DUDigital Global Limited is focused on and has served 6 Governments through our own 35 Visa Application Centres and some partnered 3,546 Application Centres, operating in 143 countries across the world. We deliver the highest quality of service through our own trained staff, the utmost use of safe and secure technology and best-in-class infrastructure.